david in sweden

Of course, the " big" nations would play at the largest stadiums, but the small countries always seem the play at stadiums with lower capacity...maybe 32,000 is enough ?. If not... a government grant to build out SMS to 40000 /45000 would be ideal when Messers. Liebherr and Cortese get us back into the Prem.

....are you sure he's not a left-over from the Lord of the Rings ?

It does seem that everyone has their own interpretation of what... " playing time " really is. FIVE second half goals + celebrations may well have accounted for most of the FOUR minutes that the lino had indicated before Bellamy scored the 3-3 in 89 mins. Each sub.is (acc. FIFA allowed 30 secs for stoppage /changeover) ..I'm not sure when all the all subs.came on ..perhaps they were part of the designated FOUR minutes.(?) As I recall (any referees here please correct me), the watch is stopped / or the game deemed to have stopped - between the time a goal is scored and the new kick-off ..or (?) maybe that was part of the FOUR minutes (?) Most of the info. I wrote in the original thread came from ; the BBC site with the match timings and info. from the commentator and Mark Hughes in the after match interview. :confused: But as many of you have remarked MU seem to lead a " charmed life " at Old Trafford, or maybe it was that the ref. didn't want to take his car home... in small pieces after the game....who knows ?

At this level, the issue of time-keeping should be left to the fourth official - (as he seems to do little else) . Let the ref.on the pitch take care of controlling the game and the guy in the stand decides on the duration of the match !

....except that the " reported time " of Owens goal was... 95' 26" !

...is perhaps something that Yeovil must feel like after Saturday, but as (most people) seem to agree that one or both our pens. were valid,they have little to complain about ...as they didn't score ANY. It certainly makes up some for the way we've been " mistreated " by some in the recent past, when refs have done us no favours. However, I can't help but sympathise with Mark Hughes after yesterdays travesty at Old Trafford. " Sparky's " lads did really well to come back to 3-3 after going behind 3 times, and then losing the game after..97 minutes. I think Hughes has a good point when he said that they ran way overtime. According to interviews / reports I have seen, it seems Bellamy scored the third equaliser on 89.56secs, whilst the fourth official had already indicated 4 mins. extra. According to FIFA rules, 2 mins. of that would have been for the 4 subs. that were used in the game, and the City goal / celebrations lasted 45 secs. ...so there was no reason for the additional time which allowed Michael Owen to score MU's fourth goal. One can talk about home advanatage, and MU at Old Trafford but it's a clear injustice when refs. allows the game to continue for their own entertainment, and play on waiting for a golden goal ! How on earth do FIFA expect refs to retain respect when a senior man does such a thing? I'd be really feel sick if I was a City player / fan today. Criminal, I call it ! - but then again ..it's Man. Utd at home :mad:

TRUE..In fact .to quote (a few famous managers in the past...) more or less " All good teams are built from the back..."

Too old now I'm afraid, I passed the FIFA age-limit........ LONG AGO !

Perhaps another way to measure progress would be that in having got 8 points from league games this season, we WOULD be around 16/17th compared to other clubs who started with 0 (and not -10). We have lost only two games of eight played, and those were games before we signed; Trotman, Hammond, Weigo and Jaidi. If we can continue winning /drawing on a regular basis, then we could be in the top half by Christmas.

....... should be fun watching him go up for corners, too .......

You can't expect a brick wall to run too fast, and thats his job. I could forgive him for not being the fastest sprinter in the club. Sounds like a good buy.

......wonderful, sounds just like John McGrath. (for those of us who remember ...) with joy.

You are one of several people who made a profound statement Duncan, in recognising that he does have (1) a language problem. One of my greatest disappointments with the signing of Delgado was that..after investing over £3 million on the player (who also had a similar problem) RL didn't spend a few grand more and get him a good personal language consultant (an area I am well-acquainted with)..and not some well-meaning fan, or a Spanish speaking waiter from a local restaurant ..to help him learn English from a footballing perspective. If Waigo does have problems ..get him help NOW. Understanding AP in training may be easier (hopefully) for Waigo than it was for Delgado to understand WGS.. (some of us had the same problem, too). and (2) in the interpretation of the offside law (in England). Yes it's different. Watching (as I do) a great deal of Euro football, I often wonder if some linesmen really live on the same planet as the rest of FIFA as some of the decisions (in variuos Euro matches) are nothing short of criminal. Do referees actually undergo a eyesight test ? (and I'm not being sarcastic).

Think some of us may have lost the thread here ...(?) I don't recall ANYONE saying he was some sort of saviour...he's come on loan from a fairly ordinary Italian club, because he can't get a place there. He doesn't have a fantastic goal scoring record, though he does score sometimes, his main asset (as I have heard it)... is that he is fast and a bit tricky, and we do need someone to take on defenders, and get balls into the box. If he can do that week in /out, and create chances for others, then he worth his place in the side. Every player needs to play in " his best position" in the right set-up, and we'll expect to see if that's the case in the coming months. I think it hard / wrong to judge anyone on 20 mins. play in any game.

How many time have I heard .. " No-one has ever been able to cut a ball back properly from the by-line since Terry Paine left the club . " (1974 btw) A lot of truth in that, but to be a bit fair to those who have tried...(1) Terry was a genius at putting over crosses - ask anyone who was fortunate enough to have seen him play. (2) it does depend on who's on the receiving end when the ball gets into the six yard box. Lots of " so-called strikers " want it on their correct foot, or at a perfect head height. Ron Davies (there I go with legendary names again) scored lots of his goals from crosses into the box from Paine (and John Sydenham), but Ron knew he had to work for it ...and knew where to meet the ball when it came. Too many players today either won't run for it, or simply lack the positional sense when it comes to meeting the cross / centre when it arrives. But in essence you are correct, but it's not always the kickers' fault either !¨

Great idea. Oscar is a good prospect and he needs matches every week. The " loan-out " principle is not a back door way of getting rid of someone, but in giving experience to someone who might not normally get a game with our first side.

If they get it right, the DOF will be the best footballing brain available to the club. Someone who knows football management, players, teams, strategy and the footballing establishment at a high level. Almost everyone I read ...is still laughing themselves silly at the appointment of Sven Göran Eriksson to Notts County, but the man has enormous football experience and will likely be advising their manager on; players, tactics etc, and I don't expect NC to finish in the bottom 4 of L2 either, ....most likely we will be playing against them (and Sol) next season. We have to find our own special person for DOF. Someone who can offer AP more than just the prospect of getting sacked - if he doesn't get results NOW ....(thats why Messers Liebmann and Cortese talk about longer term planning.)

Mmm, I'm often told I have an unusual sense of humour ..but looking at my calendar I see it's a LONG wait until .....November 31st !

Perhaps...if they fly AEROFLOT, but two of the most promising new signings haven't had a full outing yet, and most people seem to consider that most of the others; Murty, Harding, Hammond, Lambert and Trotman are worth their places... so we haven't actually played our " strongest side " as yet. It needs time, especially when you remember that our opponents are also trying to win and not laying down in the road waiting to be run over.

Yes DPS this thread has developed into a support theme for Lawrie's unique achievements. However, it would be interesting if you could figure out " the reason WHY it is you really dislike him " (your quote). I'm not trying to knock you, and maybe I'm more philosophical than most and his " behaviour / attitude) doesn't overly bother me, but when you take a poke at a legendary figure like LM you must expect to hear a gut reaction from a lot of us.

I don't expect Euell (or Ormerod) to feature in the top 10 scorers in CCC, and I think most people might agree with that. If you have (bought / acquired ) someone, you have to play him, and the law of averages says that they will score SOMETIME during the season, but I don't expect a goal rush from Blackpool either. Newcastle are a better side than most - just a bad day at the office.

...and probably had the help of the Luftwaffe, too !

Is the Echo actually printing some common sense - at last! Given the chaos we've had in the last 9 months, we're lucky to have a club at all. Thank you to M.Liebherr. HE has invested HIS money, and has more patience than the minority of fans who are already calling for Alan Pardews head. When all the lifeboats had gone from " our Titanic voyage " it left only Kelvin Davis (of the established first-teamers) willing to stand up and fight. Well done KD. IF Alan Pardew succeeds in getting us a comfortable mid table position by the end of April - then I'd say he's done a good job - anything better will be a bonus. As for those people who criticise AP & Co. I hope that when you start your next job...your boss has more patience than to sack you after 6 weeks.

Yes I believe you, and I can understand that his " manner " does upset some, but many of the most successful people (in every field) tend to stand out and have some sort or " charisma " or " arrogance " ( as observed by others ). I have met " successful " people in many professions and they have a driving force that many of us don't possess and it can be interpreted in many ways. We are (thankfully) not all alike, but Lawrie had special qualities in handling players and changed our club " image ". Personally speaking, I'd prefer a McMenemy or Strachan to Hoddle or Burley anytime.

Fair enough. They gave AP the job and he doesn't have to choose players ...just to please the fans. As you pointed out, they are ALL new to him and to be fair there are no two people on this site who would choose the same line-up for saturdays game - so whats the fuss ? Players must be consistantly good, and although Gilett did look very good in some games last season but doesn't seem to have been able to re-create that form since his lay-off. The same happened with Pahars, Oakley ...even MLT (at the end). No-one can get a team spot based on past form if he can't hold his form.