sadoldgit

He may have been a donkey, but he was a very successful donkey!

He didn't sign a new contract so was free to move on, which is what he did. He was offered a new contract so it is not as if the club were looking to get shot of him.

Not sure what that has to do with anything. Pahars was accused of malingering and being a "sick note" too by some.

Breaks normally heal quicker and stronger than soft tissue injuries -mind you, this was a particularly nasty break.

That's gotta hurt!

He may have been a disappointment, but to call the bloke a malingerer is harsh. Players cant help getting injured and I am sure the medical team would know better than us if he is faking it. I hope he gets a good move and does well were ever he ends up.

So not so defensive as some have been saying then?

Probably because he is starting more games now. Nice to see the move might had paid off for him.

Doesn't make the slightest bit of sense to label someone injury prone at the start of their career. If he hadn't of had this accident then he could have gone injury free for years.

He seems to have added a final decent ball to his game this season but is young and always going to improve. Shame about the injury but I am pleased we don't have to face him this weekend!

Anything that helps people kick the smoking habit must be good, as long as you don't replace one habit with another if there are possibilities that vaping could cause health damage too. Good luck with your treatment St Billy!

Lovely man who did a wonderful job for us. Nice to see the club belatedly giving him the recognition her deserved after the shabby way he was disposed of. Nice too that he was invited back for the Villa game. Brought a tear or two to the eye. The word legend is often over used but most apt in his case.

He was a good player. It is a shame we never saw the best of him.

The new Guly.

A very brave man. I still wince when I see that footage v West Indies from the 70s. RIP.

Having read Gerrard's attempt at pitching, it is just as well he didn't sell double glazing for a living!

You are kidding, right? I know most footballers are not rocket scientists (apart from Ian Dowie of course) but you don't have to be the brightest knife in the draw to realise that it would be a step up career wise to play for Liverpool or Manchester United over a team of our size.

Even under the great Poch we struggled to get goals against teams who park the bus. We do tend to play better against teams who play attacking football rather than counter attacking so I am expecting a decent game.

No different to Channon "tapping up" Keegan. I am sure it happens all the time but do you really think that players are so simple minded that they need other players to convince them that a massive pay rise and playing for a bigger club aren't attractive options? I expect it goes on all of the time all over the place.

Tim Sparv scored against us a couple of weeks ago....should we sign him too?

At the point that he was sacked he was turning things around and we really don't know where we would be now if he stayed. We can argue the toss all day long but it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference because it is all moot. You could argue that we might have been better off to keep Pardew all these years. He did his job which was to get us promoted but things have moved on so lets be thankful for his time with us and move on.

trouble

wife

The bloke was a striker who could score goals at International level. For £3m is was hardly a cock up in the Osvaldo mode but clearly, with hindsight, it wasn't a good purchase.

Are you saying that Ron is the Dutch equivalent of 'Arry?