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straight_red

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Everything posted by straight_red

  1. straight_red
    Ok, this is a what if but I don't think it's a highly unlikely what if... So... What if Rafa goes but G&H are still here? They're not going to want to fork out compensation for a new manager and the prospect of a club up for sale isn't going to attract a top candidate - they'll know they will probably get the boot once the new owners get themselves sorted out. So if Rafa does go we could end up with a medium to long-term caretaker who isn't up to the job. So is it best if Rafa stays until the new owners are in place?
  2. straight_red
    Yup... And look at Newcastle. There's no guarentee owners who put a club up for sale will go at all. All it means is the current pair have an excuse for putting some cash up.
  3. straight_red
    Spot on with that one. Nothing worse than seeing someone conceed an obvious throw in on the halfway line and then throw a paddy because it's been given against them. Does appealing for everything really get you more decisions? I know refs are poor at times, but they're not stupid.
  4. straight_red
    The fact we're so blunt without Torres is shocking. As this Premier League match preview points out West Ham have scored just 15 goals in 17 away games. Now, if most teams in the top half of the Premier League were missing their leading striker you'd still fancy them for a comfortable win. With us, you fear a 0-0. Other teams rely on their main strikers, but the top three have all remained competative without theirs. A good back up striker would have gone a long way this term. As for the injury, why has it taken so long to get to the bottom of it, and why did Torres feel the need to drive all the way to Spain to see a doctor?
  5. straight_red
    Rafa seems to be moving into damage limiation mode now, saying we were never going to win the title anyway... Full interview here. Leaving aside the fact this has been the most open title race in years, I don't think it's unrealistic to say we should have been at least challenging. In fact, I'd agree with the bloke who said "We have to manage the expectations. We know the situation. If you talk about the title, everybody is saying that we have to win it this season. But I don’t think so. We have to be realistic, we want to be in the top four and to be contenders." Now, who might that have been, Rafa? Personally, I'd respect him more if he just came out and admitted the mistakes he's made.
  6. straight_red
    Hmmmm. Boycott or vocal protest? I'm not sure a boycott would send the right message now. Still as this Liverpool v West Ham preview points out, it'll be the right game to miss. Not much chance of a thriller......
  7. straight_red
    Those are some nice looking figures. Hopefully whoever comes in will have the good sense to let people get on with building on that and back the manager with transfer funds (Whoever the manager might be.)
  8. straight_red
    Hmmmmm. Still need to find a buyer of course, and there's no guarantee the new lot won't be worse. But, happy they're going. I just hope things are sorted out quickly and we're not left in limbo over the summer.
  9. straight_red
    Fair play to Schteve, he's done well in Holland, but it's not a massively competative league. I'd rather have Avram Grant, he's proved that he can bring something approaching success in the Premier League with literally no cash. Not saying I want him, but he'd be preferable to McLaren.
  10. straight_red
    The key to being World Cup top goalscorer tends to be 1) A good team in a weak group (If you can bag four in the group stages, you're in with a huge shout), 2) a side likely to get to the semis (to grab those extra two or three needed) and 3) a player who bags the majority of his country's goals (so they're not sharing them around). As this World Cup football article points out, Higuain would be in with a great shout, but Maradonna is so mental he might not start him. Sadly, for me it's got to be Klose.
  11. straight_red
  12. straight_red
    Which just goes to show refs from everywhere make mistakes... I tend to think there's less bias then people might imagine (but maybe I'm an optimist). It's just the constant replays highlight more potential mistakes and make things look worse than they are. I don't think the Premier League's officials are any worse than most European leagues, and probably better than a lot of them. I certainly wouldn't want Itallian refs over here given the recent scandals in serie A.
  13. straight_red
    I'd love to see Barca win, not least because they play some cracking football. Real Madrid are a bunch of preening doodahs as well. However, as this La Liga football expert points out both sides will be missing key men, so I think I'm going to have to go for a draw.
  14. straight_red
    As others have said, I don't dislike the man and even if I did I wouldn't let that get in the way of celebrating a trophy. I don't think it'll make it more likely he'll stay though, the decision has probably been made one way or another and I think he'll head off an a high to another job.
  15. straight_red
    That article is a lot of tripe. Blaming message boards for news papers publishing unfounded rumours.................... That's not the newspapers fault then? Tosh.
  16. straight_red
    Doesn't look too bad, hard to know the quality of the defenders he's up against though. One for the future though, surely? I suppose fully formed players are expensive though... Just hope he doesn't end up being chucked in the reserves for three seasons and then being let go.
  17. straight_red
    Well according to this Champions League football expert he's not going to start tonight... So will the forum be drafting a letter of apology to Fergie.............. As for the "they're our rivals, I don't want them to do well" angle, fair point I suppose. I just hope Fergie rushing him back doesn't knack him for England. Wouldn't be surprised though.
  18. straight_red
    This football blog makes a pretty convincing argument for Messi being the best player in the world. So really the topic is asking "would you swap not the best player in the world for the best player in the world?". Of course you would. The real question would be how much money would you have to throw in along with Gerrard to get Barca to agree to the swap. £25 million? More?
  19. straight_red
    It'll be interesting to see if Nando uses the "circumstance dictated it" line if he heads off in the summer... As for the sales, it does look like that was more down to the owners than the manager. But can we really say the same about the players bought in? Neither Rafa nor G&H are blameless in this situation.
  20. straight_red
    I think whoever comes in is going to have a massive job on their hands. The squad needs a clear out, tactics need to be shaken up and the players who stay need to start believing in themselves again. I don't think this is the kind of job that can be done by a youthful manager. We need someone who commands respect from the most experienced of players and has experience of coping with huge amounts of pressure. Not sure we can afford someone of that nature though...
  21. straight_red
    We're keeping tabs on some lad called Georginio Wijnaldum, according to this football blog. Still, who we'll need will depend on the tactics of the new manager and which players decide they want to head out of the door. If Rafa stays it won't matter who we bring in as he'll keep playing the same old, rubbish football.
  22. straight_red
    What are people's thoughts on the Birmingham game? Last season we probably would have walked it, but as this Premier League football article points out there's reasons to think we'll struggle. I'm hoping for a narrow win but nothing surprises me now...
  23. straight_red
    Why does it matter? It's not like they're playing us at the weekend...
  24. straight_red
    He seems scared to lose. And people who are scared to lose seldom win as they overestimate their oposition, focus on their own weaknesses and don't look at the positives. Ah well, he'll be gone come summer.
  25. straight_red
    Can I have one that's red on red please? I think that would look amazing.
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