Crusoe

Oh, please pull this one off, Donny.

I want to see Donny win, despite having a number of Leeds-supporting mates. Bates has been a disgrace over the points penalty, and - while not the fans' fault - the general (mis-) management of the club over recent years means I want to see them suffer a little longer yet. I can't hate Donny just because of Wellens.

I confidently predict that at some point they'll collide with each other and, in an inspired homage to Station in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, they'll merge into one awesome super-midfielder. Possibly Danny Boshell.

Haha. Gabriel Clarke has to calm van der Sar down after he starts his post-match interview with "F*cking hell!"

Bigger than Dundee United or Preston? Nope.

Preston - average attendance this season 12,753, FA Cup winners twice and runners-up five times, one division higher than us.

Dundee United - average attendance this season 7,650, league champions once, cup winners once and runners-up six times, UEFA cup finalists once and European Cup semi-finalists once, current Scottish premier members.

I'm not trying to do us down unfairly, but come on - as much we love our club let's be realistic about where we stand.

Liverpool have signed Philipp Degen, a Swiss international, to play at right-back. He'll compete with Alvaro Arbeloa for that position. They also have Finnan, although rumoured to be on his way to Fulham. Eardley would be third-choice at best. He'd be a fool to move; I think this is old, re-hashed paper talk.

Clubs often keep an eye on players for many weeks or months. Why isn't it possible that we've been watching Fleming for a while and seeing how Gretna's situation turned out? If they'd survived and he was under contract maybe we couldn't have afford the fee (or not wanted to pay).

I don't believe "couldn't be arsed" at all. We knew we'd need another keeper next season. This rumour's a load of rubbish.

Whys that then?

Was that addressed to me? Personally, I don't feel that a 32-year-old with a poor injury record is someone we should be aiming for. He was great as a player with us before, but I'm not convinced he'll be the same again now (if he proves me wrong at Shrewsbury then fair enough).

Good luck to him. Not convinced he was what we need now, but I wish him well.

Farnborough FC (ex-Farnborough Town FC, RIP), champions of the British Gas Business League Southern & South Western Division 1, are my second team (that's where I was brought up).

I also keep an eye out for Brescia (I loved them when they had the attacking Romanian players, including Hagi) and Dunfermline Athletic (because of a girl I knew at university).

I was at a mate's wedding in Stevenage, slowly melting in a full morning suit in the heat. It's a bit hazy after that, but I think there was some lager, some wine, some spirits, possibly some dancing, and an inexplicable headache today.

I turn 33 in two weeks' time.

I get married in ten weeks' time.

Then I have two weeks off on honeymoon, then back to work to save up for a mammoth trip to Australia (third time there) and China in the spring.

Fairly uneventful I guess

A 34-year-old striker who managed 5 goals this season? Not convinced he's what we need at all.

Kelly

Halle

Fleming

Barrett

Irwin

Holden

Henry

Carss

Eyres

Ritchie

Warne

subs:

Gerrard

Jobson

Palmer

Makin

He bailed because he didn't want to pick up an injury if he was going to be out of contract at the end of the season (and, presumably, either Sheridan didn't offer him one or they couldn't agree on one). Eminently sensible career decision, I'd say (although I'm not quite sure why he's since played a game for Hull City in that case).

Ah right, missed the still playing bit. Carry on!

Or Chris Makin?

Why no Paul Bernard or Nick Henry?

oh, add me to the list for Boys in Blue - I have the Roger Rap now but still lacking the former...

Hmm. I don't think I like any of them.

Normally I'd be ABU, but I don't like Chelsea's football or many of their players, and I don't like the attitude of some Liverpool fans. Barcelona I just don't care about either way - another rich club in the world.

Man Utd are the most entertaining to watch so I'm a bit stuck, really. Probably I'd lean towards Barcelona, but if Man Utd won an entertaining final it wouldn't be the end of the world for me.

Spartacus.

- Wayne Harrison

- David Brown

- Scott Spencer

- Danny Philliskirk (early days, but he didn't make much of an impact on their youth cup run)

I agree with the posters who've said that we're not in a position to the same risks as bigger clubs. Take the money now rather than risk him disappearing into obscurity and us losing out on a sadly necessary payday.

You won't lose your bookmarks, but I wouldn't rush into version 3 yet. It's still a beta (not fully tested) release, with the final version due out later this year. It should work fine but they can't guarantee it, and some of your extensions may not be compatible. The new version is supposed to be much faster though, which should be good.

Heh, well put (and nearly but not quite with the reference - Crusoe Takes A Trip by Red Snapper).

I don't mind the odd player having bad games, it happens and football is a confidence thing. But you really need around 6 or 7 players minimum to be playing steady each game and not giving much away. For most of the season there's only been 2 or 3.

I think some of our poor individual performances also reflect the lack of strength in depth. Players rushed back from injury, players clearly not on form, players without backups to challenge them for a place. I can see Eardley suffering from the same problem that got to McNiven - a lack of anyone better to keep him on his toes or to cover for him in case of a loss of form.