Saint Paul C

Source - Autosport A war of words between Renault boss Flavio Briatore and Nelson Piquet has increased speculation that the Brazilian driver is unlikely to finish the season with the team. Piquet admitted ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix that his place at the team was in doubt, with rumours having already suggested he could have been absent from the Hungaroring race, where the Brazilian qualified in 15th and finished in 12th. Speaking to Autosprint magazine, Briatore said he expected more from Piquet and was critical of the driver for "opening the book of excuses" for his lack of results. "I've always been fair with my drivers," Briatore was quoted as saying by Autosprint. "I expected more from Piquet because this is his second year with a full-time drive. He's done less testing compared to Alonso, but Webber as well tested less than Vettel because of his broken leg, but look where he is now. "When a driver lacks results, he opens the book of excuses and begins: the fault is the weather's, a spectator's sunglasses, a spin on the straight, this and that... "It's not true that there's a technical difference of seven tenths between Alonso's and Piquet's car. If that was true, we'd have a car capable of winning the title, and that unfortunately isn't the case. The technical difference has always been minimal and never longer than one race." Piquet, who is yet to score a point this season, was critical of his team boss, saying he only thinks about money. The Brazilian driver claimed Briatore, who left Sunday's race before it was over after Fernando Alonso had retired, has no respect for him. "Flavio is a business man, but he doesn't understand sh!t about F1," Piquet was quoted as saying by the Italian magazine. "He's my manager, but in his role of team boss he doesn't respect me. "He only thinks about money, at how much money he can pocket in everything he's involved, he's a man with no friends. Every day everyone asks me what's going on, so why should I always keep quiet? "Webber has been in F1 since 2001, he started in a different era, when testing wasn't limited. He's probably done more than 20,000 kms in testing, so it's not a fair comparison. Now the situation is more difficult for a driver with little experience. "And besides that, I have to fight against Briatore and Alonso himself, who is a fantastic driver. When I wasn't competitive in qualifying, I was the first owing up to it. But if Briatore doesn't understand that, what can I do?" Doesn't sound like Nelson will be in a job for much longer IMHO. Renault could be looking for 2 new drivers next season perhaps?

An excellent return to form IMHO. Always had a soft spot for James and this is my fave album since Gold Mother.

And that is exactly what we should be doing. Get in a few discarded Championship level players, persuade them to drop down with the decent manager/stadium/fans/reputation this club has and get on with winning a few games of footie and enjoying life again. Too many people on here are willing to criticize and spout b0110x (the real legacy of RL's tenure).

St Kilda AFL team.

Starting to think that the OP has issues when it comes to being happy from looking at the threads he's started recently. Maybe comes from being locked up in a tube for weeks on end.

I concur. It's been pretty chilly here in QLD this winter. Was only 21 the other day. BbbRrrrrrrr.

James - Hey Ma. I'm liking very much.

Perhaps he was influenced by Peter Taylor being their manager - the power of a reputation alone can deliver some decent freebies.

We don't want any free transfers - no way mucker. Lets buy someone else instead.... they're bound to be better if we have to pay a fee, Eh?

He had a very misguided approach to signing players - not only did he not want to spend much cash (compared to other teams in the same league as us at the time) but also had the silly wage cap (45 players on crap wages rather than 20 on decent) which prevented us from signing decent players on a free due to wages. A combination of these poorly thought out strategies has led to our relegations.

Why spend money on something when you can get an equivalent for free? Is it a Gen-Y thing?

Because some people are a bit thick and can't see that decent players are regularly available on a free transfer (M Owen etc...)

Carl Hoefkens? Tony Stokes?

Even let him go on a free just to get his wages freed up for someone who wants to play for us. (Can he take Pulis with him on a BOGOF deal?)

And we were warned by a couple of fans from his previous club that this would happen. Contract bandit IMHO. He may be a decent player when he chooses but unfortunatley that is fairly rare. Bye.

ignore

From what Pilchards posted yesterday about the 1st training session with AP and the seemingly woeful performance against Salisbury I guess a few players will get invited to visit Mr Pardew in his office and be told to find a new club. This is a good thing IMHO.

Am I looking forward to work tomorrow or what. Well played by Swannie and Fred - top quality bowling. Loved the dismissal of Mr Arrogant (M Clarke (best player of spin on the world according to the aussie press)). \\:D/

Sorry Ducan, don't often read your posts and disagree but I have to with this one. It makes not one IOTA of difference where he lives just as long as he puts in the effort and the hours to turn the club around. I feel that's it a pretty small minded attitude that says he needs to live within spitting distance of the club. When I used to live in the UK, my home was in Bournemouth, my office was in London and my customers could be anywhere from Lands end to John O'groats and in Ireland. Didn't make me any less committed to doing my job well.

Did Pards or Coppell sign him for Reading?

Excellent news - I'm really happy with this appointment. The new broom is sweeping clean. COYR's

I think that this could be a really good appointment for us. Pardew has a decent reputation and has shown when he builds his own team that they can perform.

Try advertising on Pistonheads. http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/

My dad went to school with Steve Perryman and kept in touch with him for years afterwards. He used to give me free football boots from his sports shops in Hayes. Nice bloke.

If this is true then it's excellent news. COYR's