Matt

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/8224661.stm just some more reading material...

Oceansize - Everyone into Position, the full album... Magic... followed by Radiohead - In Rainbows...

any news of the line up yet?

its a shame he cant have Kanchelskis' number 17, might encourage him to rise to that standard!

i can understand why people wanted us to go out following the Arsenal game. as long as we get some bodies in, a push for another top5 finish and a good run in Europe is perfectly possible...

i know, and for the most part i agree with him. but my expectations are also realstic (allbeit less realistic), with Arteta Yak and Jags still to comback, we have a decent team. for the 1st time in a long time we have too many attacking options! if we get a couple of centre backs in, a DM, and RB, were sorted! well, nearly....

well is not seems that UEFA are going to look into it: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8223917.stm one last question, did he turn round and look at the referee for a descision or did he just pick himself up?

aaah, whoops! still, he wasnt a striker!

if they did, and he went, i can see Moyes leaving and relegation battle round the corner...

sorry, but not taking a blind bit of notice to an article that claims VDM is still an everton player, least of all when he is refered to as a striker! also, Moutinho has got a min release clause of E24mill in his new contract he signed in April, right?

like our motto says, nothing but the best, so i dont see why we have to choose between european sucess or good finishes in domestic competetions. we should be looking to push for 4th and further, whilst getting to as many finals as possible. dreamland i know but its what we should be looking towards...

there were several posts in the papers in july i think but nothing since then...

handball is usually black and white, but is sometimes missed too. but agree 100%, even if there is contact, you shouldnt go down as if youve been shot. Sagna did that in our opening game, then 2 minutes later was racing up the wing. its just crazy! the other thing that gets on my nerves is it being called Simulation?! what the hell does that mean!? tell it like it is, cheating and diving...

yup, 27 in 2 months apparently, 22/10/1982. i know what you mean, its weird to think im more or less the same age! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakubu

does anyone know if he is "owned" like Manny was?

theres no way they will go against referees though, because of this respect the officials stuff. and it shouldnt been fines if the players concerned are to be punished, ban them for 5 games. this can only be done after the game i suppose, if not they should get a red, non of this yellow nonsense. delibrate handball is red because its cheating, diving should be included...

funnily enough, same reason i settled here! although, i dont know how many more working days i can fritter away, deadlines are approachin!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8223917.stm did anyone see the game last night and was it a dive? just seen on the bbc site that the SFA chief is calling for Eduardo to be banned. In his case, i would understand if he did dive in light of his injury, but if player should be banned for it (and i believe they should) where does it stop? Ronaldo wouldnt have played in his 1st 2 seasons with Manure! ordinarily, i would go off on how i would like to see a panel that evaulates these kind of things after a game, that players are punished for cheating. really, how much can it hurt if theyre clutching a shinpad? sure it hurts, but not enough for you to make a face like someone giving birth to twins. and the likes of Drogba who drop to the floor at the slightest contact. Can you imagine them going down that quickly during a disagrement in a bar? no chance, hes more likely to leave you a bloody stain on the floor. anyway, got slightly off topic here. rant over but question remains, did he dive?

ive got to disagree with all this hype around Huth and Taylor. theyre both part of a defence that saw teams relegated! i didnt see Taylor enough to judge to be fair, but Huth hardly made a lasting impression, although some of my colleagues are Chelski fans and said he was a fan favourite and wouldve gone far. that being said, at the moment, i would be happy for us to have anyone, Distin and Senderos included...

him and McGeady for 6 mill, then i would be happy. otherwise, money can be better spent elsewhere...

i thought he was being touted as a big prospect for the future to be honest. but, best of luck to him either way...

they closed it not just because of the Lescott abuse (and calling him a **** wasnt the worst of it im afraid) but also down to 70% of the posts descending into hurling abuse. the few ruined it for the many. it was my haven from work! anyway, 4Eva, Abraders and the rest, good to see ya again...

im hopin it is a youthful team tonight, trying something new, maybe even a new formation. also hoping the yak comes on for the last 10 mins or so, would be great to see him in action again. but remember boys and girls, they have to beat us 5-0 to win (avoiding extra time) or 6-1 if we score one, which we probably will. i wouldnt be suprised to see us do to them what they did to aberdeen. i understand why people would be worried about a young side going out, Sigma did look quite handy. but we do have a good youth team, several of whom already have 1st team experience. i wouldnt mind seeing baxter/vaughen/gosling all starting, maybe one of the kids in defence too. but maybe im just getting too confident....