S-Clarke

True, that says alot then!!!

Not too sure about Baird. He was ok for Fulham for a season but he was raped at full back in this league. I don't think he was ever a great full back for us either, much better as a right sided CB - but he doesn't solve the issue of a lack of pace at the back, which is why we need to look elsewhere.

That's a fair point, forgot about that. So yeah - he's not in the right frame of mind to be any good. Talented yes, but a bad attitude which will ultimately mean he never fulfills his potential.

I would expect Davis to continue as our number 1 next year, but we'd sign someone younger behind him to really push him. To be fair to bart, he's been here 7 years now and has never established himself in the team - he's had his chances too, so I think it's safe to say he's never going to be a regular for us and will probably go in the summer. Such a good servant though, never moaned about being on the sidelines. Ultra pro.

He's not great. I wouldn't want to sign any of P'boro's back 5 to be fair. They've shown they're pretty useless when it comes to keeping the ball out of the net! I thought Ryan Bennett was their better player, but he has been awful for Norwich - totally out of his depth and constantly giving away goals. No one should go near P'boro defenders!

Not too many 'great' games, I'd agree with that. That was mainly down to us being ultra professional though and knowing when the job is done. Good team.

Ipswich away was outstanding, some of our play was stunning that night. Boro was our best home display in my books, and we scored the goal of the season.

The sort of player that would add to our team and improve us. Young, english, a decent age where he can carry on improving too, he's exactly the sort of player I'd expect us to be looking at.

Spot on. I'd expect to see Bart go, but he will be replaced by a young goal keeper with the potential to replace Davis long-term. That's how i see it anyway.

Bit harsh on Falque who never really got a chance to be included in that list. The others though - **** me. Horrific. Every one of them. What we've had to put up with in these last 7 years is criminal.

Not a great list. Fitz Hall is rubbish, which is why we let him go. Danny Murphy isn't the sort of player we sign these days. He's a good pro, but probably only good for another season. Kalou would be great, but I expect him to go to a big European team - same as Hoilett.

I'd expect Fox to get a callup for the Scots if he plays regular for us. Lee, obviously. Doubt Lambert will, unless he eclipses the impact Graham and Holt have had. They've scored 14/15 goals and haven't got a look in so far. I'd expect Morgan to get national team recognition after taking the **** in the premier league. I'd say he's probably the most likely one to go on and get international honors.

Taarabat has all the talent in the world, the problem with him (and has always been) is his mentality. He's not the easiest guy to manage and doesn't really work hard when he's out there on the pitch, he seems to want people to give him the ball rather than going to look for it. He thinks he's a bit of a world beater and doesn't try that hard,I'd say that's one of the reasons he's not looked great. Lallana is a different personality. He works his arse off, he's worked hard to get this opportunity and by all accounts is a terrific lad to coach. He has the right mentality to make a real impact in the premier league.

Nah, you dreamnt that! He did ok on his return game, but didn't do anything special. He worked hard and put in a good shift, but at the end of the day he's gone back into old habits of actually not doing a hell of a lot!

That was Alex Pearce who was on loan from Reading, but we also picked up the fella Ian Pearce on loan from Fulham iirc - but I can't recall him ever playing!

We are owned by the estate of Markus, that is actually stated on the official website. Nicola is a trusted colleague and friend of the family and as well as overlooking this investment, Nicola also looks after the Mali Group of businesses. I would imagine that as with any good business person, you are always looking for an opportunity to generate new money - and if an opportunity does come up to sell us, they will gain so much profit - but one thing you can be sure of, we will not be sold to any tom **** or harry. We have very intelligent owners who care about what they've done here and they'd only sell if it was to someone who could take us on even further, I'm sure of that. The loan that Markus put in to us was a non-repayable loan, and it has since been turned into shares - so that debt is just been wiped out. We're in a very, very good position. Now we go into the premier league to gain even more money, and with the development of the academy and staplewood - that will also create more income in the long term. I'd go as far to say that we're probably one of the best run clubs in the country at the moment. We have significant backing and people behind the scenes who know what they're doing, we were very lucky to land the owner we did.

We've got a very nice batch of kids at the moment, even below the U18 level's there are some players that are causing excitement (although they won't share their names as not to create interest, which is fair enough I guess). With the investment that is going on in that side of the club, I think it's safe to say that we currently have the pick of the best young players in our region. Should be quite an exciting few years if any of these kids get their chance in the top flight. The quality of players we consistently produce is fantastic.

Blimey, i forgot we ever had Ian Pearce - did he ever play for us? Can't actually remember if he did or not...I know Mettomo didn't, he was a bit of a typical Burley signing. Pele was alright though, especially in the middle. We did bloody well making a profit on him when we sold him to WBA, but his career has been on the slide since.

What a slide he has had by the way, now at a very poor Bradford City. He's not got much of a fan base there either as he's made lots of sloppy errors at L2 level.

It's a tricky one, it's hard not to get carried away and expect a decent season next year because we've been winning every week for 3 years now. Next year will be a tricky one because we'll lose more games and probably by some heavy score lines, so it's Important we all keep a level head when this happens. In general terms though, I don't think the premier league is that strong. There are alot of average teams up there (blackburn, bolton, wigan, WBA, ) that I'd fancy our chances of giving a game to now. So we will compete with the teams in the bottom half and our winning menality will give us the edge in the opening months, similar to what happend with Norwich and Swansea. QPR did it all wrong though. They didn't think about what they needed, they just went out and replaced everything (including the manager). That's why they have no continuity or team ethic and is probably why they'll go down. I don't even think Man Utd and Chelsea are as strong as when we were last in it, neither are Arsenal who are beatable if you pressure them in the right way. So in general terms, other than Man City, I'd say it's a weaker league than when we were last in it. I don't think it'll take too many changes to make us really competitive in the bottom half.

He's not a bad player, but I don't think he's the sort of player that fits in with the system Nigel plays - hence his limited appearances. I'll never forget his performance away at Leeds, one of the worst i've ever seen one of our players make. Truly inept and I'm not surprised he didn't feature again after that. I'd expect him to be sold in the summer as I see no place for him here.

What a difference indeed. Relegation helped us, Norwich and Chalrton regroup, rebuild and gain a winning mentality. Sometimes, no matter how hard it is, relegation is required in order to strip out the old and start with the new. Coventry for example have just dotted around the lower parts of the championship for years, never doing anything. Now they've been relegated it's an opportunity for them to rebuild from the ground up (as long as they get a decent owner.) We were lucky in that we were bought by a terrific guy, but relegation should be seen as the start of a new journey - not the end. Since our relegation we have had 3 of the most unbelievable years that I'll never, ever forget.

I would agree with that, the premier league is made for a player like Morgan. He will look majestic up there. I just remember his performance at home to Man Utd a couple of years ago, he dominated Carrick in there and his use of the ball was sublime. He will never play below the top flight again IMO.

What do we think then? The FA have approached WBA regarding him, and WBA have granted permission. I think he's excellent personally and has a real understanding of the game at all levels. He's managed big European clubs in Europe, and international nations. He's turned WBA's fortunes around and he made Fulham into a terrific premier league club. It didn't work at Liverpool but that's because their fans have stupid expectations and fail to realise that they're no longer as good as they once were, for what it's worth he had a better % than 'King Kenny".

You can kind of see a quiver in his top lip as he talks about the parting of the ways being done in the right manner. It does make you wonder if Cortese has expressed some sort of frustration at our results towards the end of the season......you know what he can be like!