I think you need to give him time. He obviously made the right move making Joe Hart the number 1 keeper, he benched David Silva which to me made sense because Silva didn't have a clue where he was supposed to be playing.
I thought the 11 he put out this week certainly played like a team unlike in week 1. Too much talent on the bench though some transfers/loans seem to be definitely in the future.

Any thoughts on the Prem season so far? Liverpool on self-destruct? Can Hodgeson survive under the new owners? Rooney rumoured to be leaving Man U? None of the 'big' teams looking particularly convincing? Allardyce claiming he's better suited to manage Barcelona? Weird times indeed.

rooney's off to man city and liverpool will be ok but not even close to what they should be, i give hodgeson until saturday, if that and then its dalgleish back probably. leeds are doing ok, in touch with the play-off places and waiting on a few players coming back from injury. best team in the world.

I believe at this point that Man City looks like they'll crack the top 4 this year.
Rooney's an idiot. He's been playing like shit for the past 8 or 9 months and now he pops off like this. I think he's going to find his value isn't what he thinks it is. Man City already has Tevez who works twice as hard on the pitch.
Also Man City can't pay him from what I read because they're already close to the UEFA's salary limits. If I was running a club I wouldn't take a chance on him.

Absolutely agree. On paper Rooney's a better player but I'd definitely take Tevez over him right now. I actually think Ferguson letting Tevez go in the first place was one of the silliest decisions of his career. I also think you're right about Man City being likely to break into the top four. I think there's a real danger that Man U might drop out of it. They've not come even close to replacing Ronaldo and last season basically had to rely on Rooney who, as we know, isn't doing it now. Good point about Man City's spending restrictions. I think that might ultimately be the only thing that keeps him at Man U.

Unless Hodgeson really turns things around in the next few games I think he's a dead man walking. The change in ownership may have bought him some time but equally, I think this new owner will be keen to bring in a new face, as always seems to happen weith new owners. I agree with Jon Boy that Dalglish may replace him. He's already said he wants the job and the fans definitely do.

In the meantime, I think it's likely West Ham won't be playing in Europe next year.

but then if they sell Adebyeor and Santa Cruz they will....
I read somewhere Liverpool are lining up a bid for Santa Cruz which i think will help them alot (i really rated Santa Cruz at Blackburn)

Liverpool will be ok. Mid table this season but certainly not relegation. I think they'll stick with Roy Hodgeson unless the new owners have got someone else in mind

Saw Palace against Milwall on Saturday. Fucking shite. But a good win tonight and when Darren Ambrose comes back and Neil Danns (ish) we should be ok.

Zilina is doing fuckall in Champions League. 3 games, 3 losses, 1 goal shot.

Rooney's fate seems more down to whether Fergie will forgive his last few 'transgressions'. There's mixed messages. Some say Man City, some say Real Madrid, others say it's brinksmanship from his agents while they try and work out a new contract.

I'm not sure how much Man U would get for him. His value has to have dropped since last season. I'd not be surprised if the Glazers want to sell him simply to help pay off their debt but that'd just cause even more fan unrest if the money they got didn't go towards buying a top quality replacement. It certainly never happened with the money made from selling Ronaldo. While Rooney's out of form, I don't think they have much on offer without him. Berbatov is too inconsistent, Scholes and Giggs are way too old to build a team around. Without Rooney, Nani's about their only really top draw player. I'd definitely not be surprised if this is the season they end up dropping behind Man City, even with Rooney still onboard.

Like you, I don't think Liverpool will go down. But then I'm reminded of that West Ham team that, with Defoe, DiCanio, Carrick and Joe Cole were considered too good to go down and that's exactly what happened. I'll be surprised if they go down, but not that surprised. Be interesting if Joe Cole ends up playing for two relegated teams that get were considered to good to.

which kind is the west ham?



ok, stupid joke, but who'd name a team that way?

i think rooney's off to either man city, arsenal or chelsea. i just cant see him going to real madrid or anyone else for that matter. i doubt anyone else will be able to afford him.

jesus H Christ tonight.

We were taken to school over the course of the game, its just that Bale is so much better than everyone that allowed us to have the comeback. It was just amazing to watch as a Yiddo, and thats why id never support Chelsea and their big money

These mad games happen if ur a Spurs fan, the problem is we got no points from the game, and every big club is gonna be in for him at Xmas. I really really hope we keep him cos i was blasting him 2 years ago when he got sent off and played like a donkey, he's better than anyone at Man U and if we're gonna challenge them we need him.

BAAAAALE
BAAAAALE
BAAAAALE
BAAAAALE!

That's something I feel really strongly about. Big teams poaching players from smaller ones the moment they begin to shine or when the club they play for has a wobble is killing league football. West Ham's Academy is now little more than a finishing school for the uber rich clubs. You say how Spurs need Bale to challenge teams like Man U, and I agree. But then how much more successful would West Ham be had they managed to keep Lampard, Defoe, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson and Michael Carrick - to name players from just one generation of its academy? That's not a pro West Ham comment or an anti-Spurs one so much as saying that, right now, unless you're Real Madrid, Chelsea, Man City or Barcelona, you're in the same boat.

we've not got a bad academy either and i get a sinking when i see players like Natahaniel Clyne and Wilfred Zahar play. You know they'll be gone over the summer. Same as Victor Moses.
The frustrating thing is they'll go to a club and sit on the bench for a few years! Wayne Routledge went to spurs and didn't play. Moses went to Wigan and rarely gets a game, Ben Watson did ok but hasn't really set the premiership alight.

If those kind of players stay where they are, their team will have more chance of success. (sulk)

Precisely. Academies used to be a great way to nurture home grown talent in a way that reflects the ethos of the club, but now they're little more than factories to grow talent to sell to richer clubs for a profit. All clubs do it to some degree, poaching players from the lower divisions. I'm not sure what can be done about it on a legal level, but the system just seems designed to favour clubs that're already at the top of the pile. Bale originally came from Southampton, after all, so, to a Southampton fan, Spurs losing him to say Man City is no different than them losing him to Spurs.

It's a culture thing more than it is a legal one. I remember growing up (cue violins) at a time when West Ham were able to keep a top international player like Trevor Brooking for the entire length of his playing career, even at times when the club was firmly established in the then second division. No way would something like that happen now.

fuck sake Rooney just signed a 5 year deal at utd!

Alan Hanson's gonna have a field day with this!

Yeah, I heard that too. i'm genuinely surprised. More significant news, from a fan's perspective, is that it now looks like Portsmouth will be shut down for good. Even sadder than that is that it'll probably make no difference at all to the way other clubs go about their business. A good day for Man U fans but a bad day for football more generally.

the bbc had a story today saying that it looks like pompey will be safe.

but your right, clubs wont learn

It could be worse, we could be Feyenoord fans:

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archive..._feyenoord.php

Poor old Pokkeherrie

Paul the Octopus is dead!

(i should wright headlines for the Sun)

Yeah, that was terrible... and a thankful topic for jokes with 010 also being the area code for Rotterdam.
I was actually in London when that happened and only found out a day later via a text message from a friend, while I was on my way of catching a tube train that never came because someone was pushed under it. Of course at first I couldn't believe it... the 10-0 beating I mean, not that someone got pushed under the tube train.

But there's good news too. As of this week, thanks to a financial injection Feyenoord's debt got reduced from €43 million to just €26 million. Of course a debt like that is peanuts compared to Real Madrid's, etc, but it's an awful lot of money for a team competing in the Dutch league. Still no money for new signings sadly.