keely LUFC

a tough 3-1.

[quote]How well do you think Southampton are going to do this season? For me, i am not as worried as i originally was and heres why......... After selling Phillips, Telfer, Crouch, Jakobson, others and pro...[/quote] i''d put them in the play-off places, but i don''t think they will go back up this season. the season after next i think they will self destruct and go down to league one.

1. norwich city 2. leeds united 3. crystal palce 4. preston 5. southampton 6. plymouth 7. sheff united 8. ipswich 9. reading 10. sheff wed 11. QPR 12. stoke 13.wolves 14. burnley 15. derby 16. coventry 17. leicester 18. crewe 19. luton 20. brighton 21. watford 22. millwall 23. hull city 24. cardiff  

[quote]he means glen johnson lol.[/quote] he said no to glenn johnson. why is it the smilies don''t come up properly for me (it says the emotion then shows a smilie face)?

quality

paulo ferraira? i hate it when someone asks a Q and i think i know the answer but i just can''t get to it (if that makes any sense? :crazy so i looked at the chelsea website. if it is him, you aint gonna get him.

thanks for that lovely welcome gazzathegreat. have we retained enough of our premiership players? no, but that was always going to be the case with our financial position. the only player we''ve still got who was playing regular for us in the premiership is kelly. we have also got seth johnson and erik bakke but there''s a lot going on there. bakke may well be going before the start of the season and bates has said johnson can''t play again ''cause it will trigger a payment to derby. is bates bluffing? who knows. johnson was (a) on insane wages, (b) bought for too much when not needed and (c) very injury prone, but none of that is his fault. if they stay i think they will feature at some point next season but we''ll have to wait and see. who do i think are our best players? we have robbie hulse, dave healy, neil sullivan, ian bennett, shaun derry, steve stone, robbie blake, dan harding and eddie lewis who most leeds fans think should all do good jobs for us if called upon. we also have promising youngsters matthew killgallon, danny pugh and frazer richardson who, if given a chance, will do well. i think we have a solid squad of players who can all do well for us if called upon. good seasoned professionals and a splash of promising youth. that''s where our strength lies. but we don''t really have someone who can come off the bench or conjure up something to change a game. someone who makes you take a deep breathe with anticipation when he receives the ball. that''s what aaron lennon did but we''ve sold him to spurs. healy can score some magnificent goals, but when he''s not in the mood you can tell. he''s a sulker. blackwell is a bit like sven in that when he likes you, you''re in the team no matter how you perform. or that''s how it seemed last year. maybe now that he''s signed more players that will change. i hope so. i also hope we put the ball on the floor more, rather then launching it over the mid-fields head all the time. who i think will be balckwell''s starting 11 if everyone is fit: sullivan (he may be out for the first few weeks so it will be bennett) kelly, butler (c), killgallon/carlisle, harding stone, gregan, derry, lewis healy, hulse (he may also be injured so it will be blake in to replace him) kevin blaclkwell is a difficult man to predict!

[quote]Keely - Funny you should say that, I made a topic entitled "Whats all the fuss about wolves" a week or so back, basically expanding on what you said. I personally think you will do very well to reach...[/quote] just when i''m starting to like you, you have to remind me of ''living the dream''!

i just can''t see anyone else as champions except norwich. your first team is amazing and will rip teams defenses (this includes leeds) appart. teams, managers and fans will be worried about playing you and that''s half the battle won.a lot of peeps on here say norwich have no depth to their squad. how many teams at this level do? crouch WILL leave southampton and with him will go there chance. i''m not so sure about andy johnson at crystal palace (jordan would rather stick someone in the reserves then lose face imho) and i think they will be a strong side. i don''t get why a lot of people rate wolves. how many good signings have they made? none that scare me. sheff united are just coasting along, they never improve (unless they''re playing leeds :angry. they''ll be around the top 6 but they wont challenge for automatic promotion. i honestly think ipswich will struggle and will only just scrape into the top 6. what about leeds? i think we''ll do well. we should be up there challenging all season long and i honestly believe we can finish second. i hope we do and avoid the play-offs. too much of a lottery.

who exactly is it that you want the club to buy trent canary? proven prem players aint gonna sign for norwich or any other championship club. prem youngsters with potential might come to you on loan, but i doubt they will want to stay if they can go back to a side that''s been in the prem for a while. foreigners who have a good reputation, but have never played english football, wouldn''t be the sort i''d want for leeds in the ccc or the first year back in the prem. name name''s please. who are these players you want to sign? and who you honestly think would sign?

i would be surprised if chelsea had bid £83 million for him. the £24 million they payed for drogba was a huge slap in the face for them imho. i can''t believe they''ed start by bidding £83 million for ronaldinho. is he or any other player worth £83 million and £10 million a year? depends how you look at it. whether you like it or not football is now a business. he is a fantastic player and a very saleable assest. beckham pays his own wages, i don''t see ronaldinho having that much power in the marketplace. so i would say no. how to stop chelsea, arsenal and scum. a cap would be a fantastic idea but would have to be implemented throughout football. our clubs aint gonna agree if barcelona and ac milan ect are still paying huge wages and fees. why should they? it''s not chelseas job to help norwich or leeds win the prem. why should they do anything that would put them at a disadvantage in world football just to help ''smaller'' teams? all the clubs aint gonna sit down and agree a cap, so that''s a non-starter. the only other option that i can see is to let the big three go off and start their european super league. how would that impact on club football? no-one can say. personally, i don''t think it would destroy football.

i think the idea is good and would love to see it. we have a great britain rugby league team and union team, as well as every other sport we compete in at olympic level. personally, i don''t see why it should be a problem. how do they decide who competes in the olympics at the mo? trials and then the british olympic commitee decide who would have the best chance based on previous performances? i don''t see why one or two leading people from each fa couldn''t sit down and decide who should or shouldn''t be part of the squad. maybe it should be an independant panel who selects, but who would be on that panel? ex-footballers not currently working for any fa? i don''t think it should be england/ scotland/wales/ n ireland first team regulars but the ones just below that level. this would be the perfect arena for them to prove themselves, albeit every four years. oh yeah... let''s not forget there''s going to be a ladies team as well, eh?  

[quote]I would imagine, just like you, I also feel a tad ''dirty'' talking about sport, when people have died Brum Uni. But as the IOC, has now been on Sky TV, declaring their total confidence in London, I th...[/quote] i 1000% understand your sentiments but if the boards closed for the day the murders would have won. my heart goes out to everyone in london today, victims, the lucky ones and the emergency services.

E) get me a job where you work. i wouldn''t mind getting paid to sit at a desk, stare at a calender and post messages on web forums.

[quote]Remove Leeds, both the Sheffield teams, Plymouth and Reading from the list of serious contenders, ie Top Two, then I think its a race between us, Palarse and Wolves. Southampton are losing their bet...[/quote] i think you may be in for a few shocks this season, evil monkey.

unless you start getting cocky, you''ll go up as champions.

leeds, norwich, palace, sheff wed, sheff united, plymouth, wolves and reading will all be in the hunt imho. luton may well be the dark horses of the championship. cardiff will certainly be relegated . there should be some huge acverage attendances. i bet coca cola are loving this.

koumas would be a great signing for you. i don''t think you need worry about his attitude.

[quote]...had bid £6m (or even £4m) for Ashton at the start of last season would we still be in the premiership?[/quote] i highly doubt it.

i like to see teams with english players. i strongly believe there should be quotas (i do realise it would never happen), too many managers turn to foreign players without giving english lads the chance. i think the ammount english players and clubs want in wages and fees also affects this. how many of those players came through your academy? this isn''t a dig, i''m just wondering.  

please don''t ask why i''ve got two log ins .

same as above... congratulations! i wish the boys and you and your family all the best for the future.

[quote]Great post. I do believe we will be far better than most teams in the Championship, However, there are only 2 automatic places and a play off place and i think its going to be so tight between Norwich...[/quote] what about leeds? i think norwich will win the league with the mighty leeds united in a close second.