Coldest ground in England

[chicoazul]

Jock's already done it for me, there was another quote where you said Stoke was like a piece of Ukraine placed over a landfill.

Dirty stinking hypocrite.

And where I sneered at their football style?

licks finger and holds in air*

 

[bluejock]

That's ace, where's that from?

End of last season.

 

[chicoazul]

End of last season.

F*cking hell I just deleted that as I didn't realise I wrote and it and would have looked a tit.

Great quoting lid ffs.

 

[bluejock]

And where I sneered at their football style?

licks finger and holds in air*

There's a lot of subtle hints at grockishness which then then cover up with "but I actually quite like them" because you lived in a yurt by the side of the M6 for 6 months.

You fool no one.

 

[chicoazul]

There's a lot of subtle hints at grockishness which then then cover up with "but I actually quite like them" because you lived in a yurt by the side of the M6 for 6 months.

You fool no one.

Hahaha.

So lids, this where I sneered at Stoke's style of play? Them vaults eh?

 

[Brennan]

There's a lot of subtle hints at grockishness which then then cover up with "but I actually quite like them" because you lived in a yurt by the side of the M6 for 6 months.

You fool no one.

'They're grocks but i like them'

You still said they were grocks Chicomelt. It's like saying one of your female friends is an utter dirt bag who'll sit on any [Poor language removed] that's hard enough but she's quite nice really. You still said she was a huge ****.

 

[Allezfan]

Hahaha.

So lids, this where I sneered at Stoke's style of play? Them vaults eh?

After we lost 1-0 to them you posted this in the next weeks preview.

"Dull as dishwater football is no way to spend the Sabbath. "

 

[Dharma Bum]

A few points:

- I don't think anybody has said you should be spending £15m on one player, but there are plenty of bargain players to be had for less than £5m. Distin, Heitinga, Jagielka, Lescott, Arteta just to name a few were all bought for £5m or less.

- Wage Cap is a fair point, although i don't think that stops you from buying good players on the cheap and then selling them on for a profit, which you have so far failed to do. Wigan have spent a lot less than you partly because they've made good buys in the transfer market but also because they've bought players and sold them on for a fair whack. Your wage cap of what i've heard is around £40k a week shouldn't stop that.

- It doesn't particularly bother me if you play 'crap' football, i simply think it's a bit weak that as a club you haven't pushed on and finished top 10 at least once since you've been promoted. You may not be earning as much as other teams like us when it comes to income, but that's all a bit irrelevant when you're spending £13m or so a season on transfers, clearly you have an owner who is happy to fund the club, i just think Pulis and the scouting team should be making better use of that money.

The 'joke of a club' comment was probably a bit strong from me earlier, don't think that's directed at you as fans, because it's not. Nothing wrong with having a few extra fingers and toes.

- Shawcross, Begovic, Huth, Etherington, N'zonzi... all £5m or less, all been key players. Before them, Fuller for £500k was probably the best value for money. Generally, with Pulis, the more inflated the fee the worse the player (Whitehead for £5m, Kitson, Palacios for £8m...)

- But there's no need for us to sell players on. Not that Coates has bottomless pockets, but what's the point in us selling star players (Shawcross and Begovic in particular) for a quick buck? You don't progress by selling your star players (look at Wigan, same **** for 8 seasons). Also important to remember that, until this season, we've always had a relatively old (and hence little/no resale value) team.

- Be interesting to see what the actual difference in points was between a top ten finish and where we actually came... I'd guess we weren't a million miles away most years. A tenth placed finish means nothing that an eleventh/twelfth/fourteenth placed finish doesn't... First ever FA cup final, run to the knockout stages in Europe- that's real measurable progress for me.

I'd agree partly with the scouting thing. Pulis is, at best, a little bit wary of anyone too unproven or foreign, but at the same time he's (almost) made some astute signings. He was desperate to sign Ba, almost nabbed Loic Remy... it's not as if he's never tried, despite what some fans will tell you.

£13m or so a year on transfers... but, Crouch aside, that's usually on two/three/four players. We've not been paying out £15m for 20 year olds like you have with Fellaini. Obviously, that's a gamble for you that's more than paid off, but there's no way a club like ours can be spending that much on someone who may or may not do the business.

The best way to look at the money we've spent is to bear in mind the fact that, with it, Pulis has rapidly assembled and then de-assembled two or three distinct squads to meet our needs. Promotion team > survival team > cup final team > Europa Squad > current squad.

 

[bluejock]

Hahaha.

So lids, this where I sneered at Stoke's style of play? Them vaults eh?

I'll find something tomorrow while I'm sat about Madrid airport for four hours. I've decided to throw little travelling anecdotes in so that people assume I'm one of your multis. It's a new look I'm trying.

 

[Brennan]

- Shawcross, Begovic, Huth, Etherington, N'zonzi... all £5m or less, all been key players. Before them, Fuller for £500k was probably the best value for money. Generally, with Pulis, the more inflated the fee the worse the player (Whitehead for £5m, Kitson, Palacios for £8m...)

- But there's no need for us to sell players on. Not that Coates has bottomless pockets, but what's the point in us selling star players (Shawcross and Begovic in particular) for a quick buck? You don't progress by selling your star players (look at Wigan, same **** for 8 seasons). Also important to remember that, until this season, we've always had a relatively old (and hence little/no resale value) team.

- Be interesting to see what the actual difference in points was between a top ten finish and where we actually came... I'd guess we weren't a million miles away most years. A tenth placed finish means nothing that an eleventh/twelfth/fourteenth placed finish doesn't... First ever FA cup final, run to the knockout stages in Europe- that's real measurable progress for me.

I'd agree partly with the scouting thing. Pulis is, at best, a little bit wary of anyone too unproven or foreign, but at the same time he's (almost) made some astute signings. He was desperate to sign Ba, almost nabbed Loic Remy... it's not as if he's never tried, despite what some fans will tell you.

£13m or so a year on transfers... but, Crouch aside, that's usually on two/three/four players. We've not been paying out £15m for 20 year olds like you have with Fellaini. Obviously, that's a gamble for you that's more than paid off, but there's no way a club like ours can be spending that much on someone who may or may not do the business.

The best way to look at the money we've spent is to bear in mind the fact that, with it, Pulis has rapidly assembled and then de-assembled two or three distinct squads to meet our needs. Promotion team > survival team > cup final team > Europa Squad > current squad.

Precisely ! Not only have you spent £75m, you've also not sold any of the players purchased, but you still haven't managed to get top 10. I find that shocking.

Pienaar
Distin
Heitinga
Arteta
Jagielka
Baines
Lescott
Cahill

Total cost: £30m

Spent more than double that in four and a bit years mate...

 

[Brennan]

I'll find something tomorrow while I'm sat about Madrid airport for four hours. I've decided to throw little travelling anecdotes in so that people assume I'm one of your multis. It's a new look I'm trying.

It's not just about travelling mate, Chico has always lived in the place, far more cultured x

 

[bluejock]

It's not just about travelling mate, Chico has always lived in the place, far more cultured x

And befriended a local and saved a neighbourhood youth centre from being shut down by the filthy capitalista.

Me, I am the filthy capitalista. I provide comms for men that would squeeze an orphan if they thought oil would come out.

 

[Brennan]

And befriended a local and saved a neighbourhood youth centre from being shut down by the filthy capitalista.

Me, I am the filthy capitalista. I provide comms for men that would squeeze an orphan if they thought oil would come out.

And then sell the oil back to the orphan at a highly inflated price.

 

[bluejock]

And then sell the oil back to the orphan at a highly inflated price.

And then kill his grandparents because there might be oil under their rocking chairs.

 

[Dharma Bum]

Precisely ! Not only have you spent £75m, you've also not sold any of the players purchased, but you still haven't managed to get top 10. I find that shocking.

Pienaar
Distin
Heitinga
Arteta
Jagielka
Baines
Lescott
Cahill

Total cost: £30m

Spent more than double that in four and a bit years mate...

So what's the deal with the fabled top ten? As I said, it means nothing, it's completely arbitrary. Top six, yeah, I might give you that. Apart from a few £m in prize money, what's the difference between finishing 7th all the way down to 17th?

And, yeah, the money's been spent but, as I said earlier, we've had to come back from waaaaaay behind. Ever seen Carl Asaba play on the left wing? I have. We've spent 25 years' worth of money in five seasons... because we build incrementally and we've built quickly. You might find it shocking, but it works.