Nibs

Now there is a player I was gutted to see go. Robben is not in the same class. And as for Robben not slagging the club off, give him time.....................(his dad has certainly had a lot to say in recent weeks).

It's a shame that there will not be that many too sorry to see him go. And that says a lot about Robben. With the squad we have now, I don't think we need a replacement.

Thought Lamps had one of his best games in an England jersey for ages. Could it have something to do with not having to carry that over-hyped scouser? Joe did great. Mark Lawrenson is a bit of a tosser but he got it spot on when he said the thing with Joe is that he always commits defenders. He might not always get it right but he will run at defenders and he did it time and time again tonight. Still doesn't look 100% fit but surely that will come with more games. A start against Pompey is what's needed. As for Beckham? He was sh*te. Wasted ball after wasted ball. Bad ankle or not, re-calling him has been a step backwards. The future is SWP or Lennon on the right NOT Beckam.

Well said Barak. There are not many who would question JFH's goal scoring ability. He scored goals. It was what he was good at and fair play to him for that. But to be looked upon as a Legend by a clubs supporters you have to do a lot more - especially nowadays. I, and I imagine most fans, want to see a players that will give everything every single time they put on that shirt. He might have scored loads of goals (and he has received more than enough credit for doing so over the years), but I very rarely if ever, saw him work his (huge) arse off like other players do. Even allowing for his limitations, you still never got the impression he was a team player. He always seemed to be out for himself. And looking back on his career and his significant lack of honours sums him up really. JFH - great goal scorer but far from ever being a legend.

You could be right gullit, but the same newspaper said the Alves deal was done last night, others in Spain have even suggested both are on their way to Madrid. I'm 99% certain both deals will go through and the last week has been purely Chelsea and Seville trying to get the best price for their players. So what's the latest on this? The silence is deafening. The fact we have not even included Robben in our squad to date could I guess point towards him going and us not wanting to run the risk of him get injured (yet again!!!) to scupper any deal?

Ludicrous situation - again. To only get about 10 minutes, especially with his great record against that lot Oh well, at least he'll get a good run out Wednesday for the second team, or England as they are also known.

Hard call today. Don't think many if any of our guys stood out today. Perhaps it should go to Styles after awarding THAT penalty. What a shocker

What a bad decision for the penalty but any luck like that we'll happily take Bloody well taken by Lamps though.

Bring on Maka? Maybe if we were 1-0 but we need goals here. Pizarro would be a good shout but we need some imagination out there. Get Joe on NOW!!!

He stamped on his leg. At first I thought that Pizarro was making a meal of it but on second viewing you could see that he came right down on his trailing leg. A bit like the Ballack stamp against Liverpool last season. Certainly a yellow, probably worth a straight red. I've watched the replay a few times and I really don't think he did anything of the sort - if anything it looked like Pizarro lunged in a bit (not in a dirt way) but ended up getting caught. Very harsh to send him off but like Loz I ain't complaining.

Pretty obvious. He'll know plenty about his former club and no matter what they say, players always like to perform well against former clubs. Just hope Joe gets some decent playing time.

Have to agree with what he says to be honest and also have to begrudgingly admit that Keane is doing a fantastic job and I think he'll become a bloody great coach. As much as I hated him during his playing days you have to take your hat off to the guy. He's obviously learnt a lot from Cloughie & Ferguson.

Anyone else totally f***ing confused by the scoring system on this??? I was well looking forward to this but haven't had too much time to look at it since the allocation and now I can't get my head around it. Looked at the table yesterday and I was mid-placed - now all of a sudden I'm second from bottom!!! How? Why?

On the one hand I agree. I don't think anyone could argue that Jose does favour the bigger, physical (run all day) type of player. It's not just Jose of course - it does appear to be the trend these days which I hate. Give me a Zola, Joe Cole any day. I know we do have Diarra, SWP & Joe but I don't think it's any coincidence that it's these players that miss out more than most. But to be fair Eidur and Duffer have moved on and what have they done since? I was a huge Eidur fan and still am really, but there is no escaping the fact that his form is not what it was a few seasons back. On his day he was exceptional but we all know how inconsistent he could be and he did seem to struggle with his weight & fitness. As for Duff, as great as he once was, his form dipped worse than Eidur's and by the time we sold him he looked a shadow of the player he once was. Has done absolutely NOTHING at Newcastle and I can't see how anyone could now complain about him being sold. And the way Robben is going he could turn out to be a carbon copy of Duffer and I won't be bothered at all if or when he goes.

Not totally chuffed with my allocation but at least I've got the worlds best keeper & Joey. Just have to work with what I've got I guess.

Lets hope Hansen is spot on then. I've always liked Hansen - great player (despite playing for that lot) and a decent pundit. But I must admit, at this stage Man Utd look to have a much stronger squad - certainly in an attacking sense. COME ON YOU BLUES!

It's a good point and pretty much right. There seem to be pretty few out and out wingers these days and that's just the way football has evolved and I think they are seen as a bit of a luxury now (perhaps they always were?). How often do you recall a winger being totally isolated in games. When I was younger, I used to play right wing myself at times and can remember the frustration of games passing me by and not getting a sniff of the ball for ages - perhaps to be subbed because of it. I think these days you just cannot afford the luxury of having what is deemed an orthodox winger as all players need to be adaptable. Shame if you ask me as nothing is better than seeing great wingplay. Charlie Cook was a little before my time but nothing has ever given me more pleasure (football wise that is!!) than seeing Pat Nevin dribble passed defenders as if they weren't there before planting a perfect cross on Kerry or Speedo's head - from the right or the left - it didn't matter. I'd love to see that type of winger again but I just don't think it will happen. As you say, the likes of Joe and SWP will play out wide but will more often than not cut inside and also as much of their game will be their tracking back & defensive responsibilities as opposed to the old style winger who could just hug the touchline and wait for someone to get the ball to them.

I'm sure I read somewhere in the rules that as long as there are at least 10 teams the allocation will take place anyway on the 10/8 so we may not need the full 20. I might be wrong and the more the merrier but I'm not putting another team in - I need to stay fully focused on my boys like Jose not do a Stuart Pearce and get distracted! Now just waiting for a decent allocation. I better not get many scouse muppets!!!

I'd go for something along those lines too, other than Joe starting in place of Lamps amd possibly Diarra ahead of Johnno (and I'd make Carvo skipper in JT's absence).

Come on guys. We have 10 teams but there are still 10 places up for grabs. This one should be more fun than the fantasy premier one as only one manager can have Drogba or Terry etc etc. Get your teams in before the allocation takes place in a few days............................

Community Shield match underlined that. Thing is, I know he has played a heck of a load of games over the past few seasons. BUT it is what top players are supposed to do. He has just had a holiday / summer break - no doubt the kind of break most of us in normal jobs can only dream about (certainly not a week in Hemsby!!!). So give him more of a break? How long? Then if he comes back and still plays sh**e then what? A further break? I'm not so sure we haven't seen the best of Lamps. Yeah, I'm sure he'll still do the biz now and again and no doubt will pick up goals here and there, but lets face it, when was the last time he looked anywhere near good for a run of games. Yet other players continue to get dropped when they have 1 or 2 iffy games. I would drop (not rest) him now.

Hutch up, then, Just and get me a pint. I've always been at that table. Great, great player on his day and one of the few players to have real pace - that has never been in question. But his injury situation is as bad as they come and there is no doubt that he is a very sulky player (well he is Dutch after all!!) and he seems to turn it on and off as & when he feels like it. Unfortunately for the past couple of seasons it's been off more than on Will be kinda sorry to see a talented player go if he does go, but there is no way he could ever be looked upon as a key player for us - not with his record. And none of us will miss his embarrassing play acting & diving. In fact if he does go to Madrid, I would love us to play them in this seasons CL and see JT go through him with one of his trademark challenges and see how he reacts when he's really got something to whinge about.

Used to love Hollins. Used to. Then he took over as manager and totally ruined a bloody good squad with the help of Ernie Walley. So personally I never want to see another picture of him again - especially not with a stupid grin on his face!!!

Great player for us JJ. Fans will always love a player who is a bit of a character and who they know will always give everything and he certainly did. Can't think of too many other ex Liverpool players that have played for us either? But that picture does worryingly look like he had a part time job as a vet and had been putting his left hand up a cow's arse.

So right Loz - I think that's why I love the Simpsons so much - I can never quite have a favourite character because there are so many good ones. Of course Homer (Legend) but the list goes on and on - Lenny & Carl, Moe, Mr Burns, Mayor Quimby, Prof Fink, Dr Hibbert (ho, ho.ho), comic book guy, hapless Gil and of course I think my current faves (even though I said I don't have faves - Chief Wiggum and Eddie & Lou. The dialogue between those three always has me in tears. I am looking forward to the movie as much as my son. As for old cartoons when I was a nipper - loads I used to love - Top Cat was one of them, as was The Hair Bear Bunch, Wacky Races, in fact far too many to list now (I'm meant to be working). Favourite though was Marine Boy!!