Legod Third Coming

It is beyond question that we are the richest team in the league? Ergo we are the Chelsea of this league just as QPR are the Chelsea of the Championship. Whether our board choose to spend the money is up to them. But we have it in buckets! And I wouldn't say we have been looking for bargains and loans. Lenny Lawrence says we tripled Lambert's salary, it will have cost us to retain Lallana, Papa will not be on this air wages nor Jaidi... If we were in the hunt come January, I expect you will see more moves for more expensive players to increase our chances.

As it says on the tin.

I am sat on my two betting slips: Champions 150/1, Promotion at 18/1. I said at the start of the season I fully expect to collect on one of those bets. I am as confident now - but NO MORE confident. I think the plan has been pretty bloody apparent from day one and for those who could remain a touch objective despite the results, you could see what was happening - buying a new spine (Trotman, Lambert) adding an outfield captain (Hammond), adding a proven goal-scorer (Lambert), addressing the left back position (Harding), adding HEIGHT and BULK and STRENGTH and essentially getting some of the kids who may not/will not cut it out of the team. I have heard people talk about Pardew turning results around? Whereas to me at least, it looks like the culmination (or at least partial delivery) of a plan. We could well get beaten next Saturday - it doesn't mean the strategy is failing, just that we are building something. But when we do get beaten the usual naysayers will be out in force. Muppets

Excellent point. Adam has actually been in and around the first team for some time. And was out for a period last season with an injury that I think probably knocked his confidence as much as his fitness.

No, I'm not, I was being sarcastic because from day one people criticised Pardew for his reliance on having Lallana in the team and have bleated constantly about us having no width for which they blame Lallana. I suspect we had as little width against Southend as we did against Gillingham - two games in which we scored seven goals and hit the woodwork and missed handfuls of sitters. I don't recall any of those magical bye-line crosses we so desperately needed? How strange... Now Lallana is scoring goals in a system that works for the players we have/have puchased, the manager has apparently 'turned Lallana around' or 'turned results around'. Niether of which hold water. The manager has done a good job of assessing the squad, working out their best positions, buying players to address weaknesses and training to remove our most common faults. Lallana always was a brilliant, technical footballer played out of position in failed systems. I genuinely haven't seen him do any better this season than last. Last season he was wasted in a team of losers probably working harder than he is this season. But now we have a manager who knows what to do with him!

Playing Lallana is unabalancing our side, the left is weak and Pardew seems wedded to AL...

You don't think he spotted it before then...!!!!

Looks like the Chapel fans are at Roots Hall...

lmao

Er, I reckon if you let me have Lamps, Terry, Drogba, Deco, Cech my local pub side would also top the Premiership... Who is bottom of the Premiership? Championship? League One... You fecking idiot!!!

Why not start with Thomas? The defence was much more solid with him in.

Anyway fells you should be listening to the OC in the morning! At least he's a Saints fan!!!

Give us the win ratio of those ten teams will you?

It did my head in that the BBC have 500 channels of digital guff so you can listen to Phil Jupitus whenever you want, but they couldn't be arsed to broadcast a TMS on the Champion's Trophy games until we got to the semi-final?? What is all that about?? Now that we have Sports Extra and some of us have invested in digital radios, digital TVs or the interweb, why not bloody use it?? Eh?? Most of us taxpayers (licence fee payers) would rather have sports coverage than more queers dancing around and calling each other P**is... But then, what can you do. The BBC only make one programme for your average, middle-aged, working-middle-class white male. Top Gear. When my wife starts paying the licence fee, show as much fecking ballroom as you like, until then stick with football, cricket, Top Gear and Ashes to Ashes.

Priceless!

It depends on your definition of 'proving yourself'. Some would say the only proof is winning every game. If this is the case, managers would be sacked weekly. In Pardew's case, he had/s to prove that he understands why we have won fewer games than any other club in English league football over the past decade and specifically why we were relegated last season. This, on all available evidence, he has proven already surely? In every area where the casual or professional observer has identified a weakness in our team, Pardew has reacted accordingly and moved to address the issue. Our team is better than it was last season, much better. It is better in just about every position on the pitch, using a mixture of players available last season and new players we clearly desperately needed. If we are still losing more often than winning by the end of this month, I will be stunned. But as Roy Hodgson said, there are people today who simply don't accept that sometimes you can play well and still lose. And lose two games, and you've lost it as a manager... it really is ridiculous.

What a ridiculous statement. AP has to prove himself every day. Whether he is, is a decision for Nicola Cortese, not some miserable fan who has no idea what expectations/objectives have been set and whether the manager is meeting/exceeding them. We all know football is about results. Thankfully, some football managements also know that it is about building a succesful club to deliver results over many years, not over a fortnight...

Let's be honest guys. I am all for giving managers time, but John Barnes?? Really. Where has he ever given the evidence that he can manage?? A joke appointment and joke sacking. In my view, the only players who make good managers are those who had brains when they played.

The pink thing was better tbh.

Is this why Kelvin has gone to pieces?

You're right DD, funny though isn't it how you can take to a manager or not, without really knowing their record or what they're about?

Lol that's why you're so anti superstar players!

Have to say, he has amazed me. Would have been hopping mad had we appointed him say, after WGS, but in hindsight would have been one of the best choices we could have made!

I have never ever believed that boll0x about 'concentrating on the league'. It's a sad excuse for crap managers. For example, I never heard Jose Mourinho talk about losing in one competition to win another. Winning is a habit. Losing is a habit.

Gawd blimey you're asking the wrong fella here... It could be on iplayer on bbc.co.uk It would be radio fivelive, this evening's 'Sport on Five'. The programme is a few hours long but the interview was on around 7:20ish from memory so 20-30 mins into the programme? Yours, Chief Luddite!!