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Bit of a funny old season this year in that i don't think many teams can come out of it thinking they have had a good year in the Prem.
United are top so that's a given.
Arsenal have probably done better than expected but then faded away.
Pompey, Everton, Villa good form and league position so they can be happy.
Sunderland doing ok for first season back in the prem.
Citeh, Spurs and the Toon army have all under achieved.
Can't think of many others that can look on the season as one to remember.
Have I missed any?
 :dontask:

Derby.

Will struggle to ever match this season's unwanted record

And Paul Jewell has said they've spent next season's parachute payments already.

Derby fans' chants last weekend:

"Let's pretend, Let's pretend, Let's pretend we've scored a goal YEAAAAAAAAH!"

"He plays on the left, he plays on the right, Mile Sterjovski makes us look alright."
Derby fans sing their hearts out despite going down 6-0 to Aston Villa.

"Let's all laugh at Carson, let's all laugh at Carson, la la la laa."
More efforts from the ever-cheery Rams supporters.

"We're gonna win 7-6, gonna win 7-6!"
Guess who?

On Laurent Robert and Robbie Savage!   rotflmfao rotflmfao

How is that even possible they never spent nowt last summer or in january the should have loads + the american investors ??? They should never have sacked billy davies it was a joke decision imo he's good manager nobody in the world could have done ne fing with that bunch of ...

Victim of his own success.  They had a three year plan to get to the Premiership (bearing in mind they narrowly avoiding dropping to League 1 the season prior to him taking over), he did it in one when they clearly were nowhere ready, winning the play off final was the worst thing that could have happened to him.  I don't think he bought particularly well in the summer but he should have been given the opportunity to learn from the experience and hopefully bring them back up. 

Think MON has done a really good job at the Villa, I never expected them to have such a good season and I think they will get better next year.

Thats why i was shocked they sacked him when they did obviously football is a business first and foremost it seems now but surely even idiot ignorant football big wigs in suits who run football clubs but no fuk all bout football could see that they had a shit team and had no chance should've just been glad they made some money getting them there and then tried getting a better team to bounce back up with.

MON has done a good job so far there and they're developing into a decent side.

I dislike Billy Davies not just because he was a Rangers man but I never liked him as a player, pundit or coach but I think he was harshly treated by Derby and he has a blot on his CV that he should never have had.

Likewise Craig Levein - he is a really good manager but he made a poor decision going to Leicester when he did. 

I hate to see good young Scottish coaches going to bad clubs and struggling when they don't have to.

Craig Levein's problems at Leicester were of his own making

He bought a load of players from the SPL who were either not good enough/paid too much and never got motivated or over the hill..Douglas, Sylla, Hughes etc etc and then. I mean Rab Douglas..on a 4 year contract at £15,000 a week for a 35 year old? he's still on our books until the end of this season and has done nothing bar the odd loan spell except roll around in his money for two years

He has a decent track record in Scotland, but it never translated to the England and his transfer policy was a shocker


and you shouldn't call any club a "bad club"..badly run or poorly performing clubs is what they are, not bad clubs per se

I was surprised that Levein wasn't a success as I rate him highly (him and Mowbray are the only two that have gone down south in recent years that I expected to succeed).  I tend to agree with you though that he didn't help his own case with some of the dross he bought.  I think he freely admits himself that he made mistakes and would love another crack down there at some point.  He has done a fantastic job at Dundee Utd this season, they have given us more problems than the rest of the SPL combined.

It would bother me f i had a manager who only bought players from where he was from as it shows his lack of knowledge imo at players based worldwide.Alex Mcleish seemed to be doing the same at birmingham but guess it worked for him.Lawrie sanchez is another good example of this where he bought loads of NI players who just weren't good enough for the prem.Maybe a bloke at liverpool could be accused of being the biggest offender of this...

I think managers like to bring in players they have worked with before or know of simply because they know or hope they know what they are going to get.  I got to admit this does my head in sometimes also with managers but until they have got a team winning or indeed in McLeish's defence safe I think thats the way its going to be.  I think every manager is guillty of this to some degree.

Rafa and his affinity for Spanish players?

Torres, Alonso, Garcia, Reina - not bad signings.

Nunez, Josemi - not good signings (but not expensive mistakes and they were quickly shipped out).
 
Morientes was the biggest disappointment, only because he'd played so well previously and then completely failed to deliver at Liverpool.

Or were you referring to someone else?

I am not slating benitez for buying spanish as like you say torres and alonso especially have been excellent signings imo just saying that i don't like seeing a manager seeming to mostly only want to buy players from the same country that they're from as they know them best.Maybe this could be why man utd are so succesful in the prem. lge as they have a good basis of english players and then also have a mix of other natioanalties to blend into a great team.Many people have stated that possibly arsenal are missing one or two english playerd who would instill the english mentality and strength into the team.

Like i say though except for sanchez who blatantly bought the whole NI squad that he had worked with and new could kick a ball he took them to fulham and ultimately looks to have taking them down i'm not really having a go just saying i personally don't like it.

Rafa hasn't just bought players who are Spanish.

Arbeloa is another Spanish player he's signed, and he's also signed Sissoko (from the Spanish league, and ultimately couldn't pass a ball to a team mate).  But he's also signed Agger, Kuyt, Crouch, Pennant, Bellamy, Mascherano, Lucas, Aurelio, Skrtel, Babel and Benayoun.  So I don't see where he only wants to buy Spanish. 

It's the same as the 'zonal marking problem' Liverpool have.  Invented by the media, with no basis on facts. 

As i said a wasn't having a go at benitez and was only saying he liked to buy a lot of players who where from spain or played in spain.Seems to be roughly half which i guess isn't most but still a lot i think.

Arbeloa is another Spanish player he's signed, and he's also signed Sissoko (from the Spanish league, and ultimately couldn't pass a ball to a team mate).  But he's also signed Agger, Kuyt, Crouch, Pennant, Bellamy, Mascherano, Lucas, Aurelio, Skrtel, Babel and Benayoun.  So I don't see where he only wants to buy Spanish. 

Interesting that out of all these players who aren't spanish that he's bought how many would get into a title winning side.Maybe agger,possible masch dont think any of the rest would make up a title winning team unless they where surrounded by 10 world class players.

Does Wenger not get a mention

IMHO Wenger is the best manager in the world for buying players maybe doesn't buy many english players(jeffers,wright.. cant blame him but does buy players worldwide.

I rate Wenger as the best talent spotter also, but i know the gunners werent expecting much this season but the collapse near the end is a no for me!

Now if England had him in charge I really would be hiding - yous could win something.

The difference between Wenger and Ferguson, when it comes to buying English, is money.

Ferdinand and Rooney cost the best part of £60 mil between them. It's much easier to be successful when buying that calibre of player. (Not to mention both of them are overpriced IMHO)

Ferguson's record of cheap foreign imports is pretty awful.

Any manager managing England could win a football donkment.

Nearly as bad as Wenger's buying English...

i was refering more to the number of french he has signed over the years rather than the price or quality of the players

Yeah so true:

Bobby Robson
Graham Taylor
SVG
Venables
Steve McClaren

Yes. Wenger's English flops are about on par with Fergie foreign ones. But Fergie has had the resources to spend in both markets, English and foreign. Wenger hasn't, so his flops are far more justifiable - he's had to gamble more. Fergie has never needed to buy unproven talent unless he's chosen to.

I guess what I'm saying is if their roles were reversed in terms of resources over the years past, I think Wenger would have won everything and Fergie would've won SFA.

and you don't want to be winning the Scottish Football Association.