fat_tony

Sorry mate but you must be having a laugh. Tokely's not a footballer. Big useless lump of shite!

I know, I pissed myself at that too! That's what the software's called:

Now there's a load of posts on the Cardiff boards that the Bluebirds have backed out of a deal for Porter. Who knows what the hell is going on!? Cardiff Boards

Positive at least to hear McGhee say that he knows who we can get in should Porter go and everything's ready to be put in place.

People on the Cardiff boards are saying that the Welsh media is reporting that Porter was on his way down but has received word of other interest and has turned around to come back up and consider other offers.

My hope is that he is still available to play on Saturday. We've not had the time to prepare without him and it would be great for all the fans to get a chance to send him on his way.

BBC are running the story now Article here: Clicky

I know mate, and I would have liked him to stay too but it was always likely to happen and I really don't think any of us can deny him a move. He's done a great job for us and I'm happy to have seen him play for the Well.

I would rather keep him as well but if the fee quoted is correct I think it can be put to much better use by securing some of the other players on new deals (Buzz, Shug, Klimpl) as well as possibly brining in one or two others. From a business perspective, selling him now is really the only option.

Gutted to see him go if true but he's done a superb job for us and will leave us with some fond memories. For £425k with only 6 months left on his contract he's a steal and I'm sure he'd be looking forward to playing with McCormack again. Would have liked him to stay as I feel his goals could be the difference between a push for europe again and a push for top 6 but I can't grudge him the move if he goes. He's been a good, hard-working, honest servant for the club and he'll leave with a pat on the back, a "good luck" and the best wishes.

I'm a member of the social club as I enjoy going there for a few before the match with the people I sit with in the Cooper and I can safely say that I've never heard of it being a Rangers bar or seen anything to suggest that's the case. It's great before a match and loaded with Well fans (as you would expect). That's all I'm looking for!

We do have a very decent bunch of players at the club and recent performances have shown the difference that having a full squad can make. Reynolds looks much more solid with Craigan at his side and although he's still making mistakes, he's recovering well. He did this last season as well so it's certainly not a new thing. I've noticed as well that Craigan seems to be taking his time a lot more over passes since coming back. Sure he still plays the old "out the park special" but he's now more often than not looking for a short pass to lay it off to the side rather than just thumping it. Fizzy's playing much better now with a bit of confidence and I think his goal the other week did him the world of good. I'm liable to get completely slaughtered for this but I think Jim O'Brien is fast filling the type of role left by McCormack. While not quite the same calibre of player IMO, since OB has been getting a run in the team he's increasingly been pulling defenders out of position, running into space and even getting doubled up on by the opposition just like McCormack did which leaves a lot more space for Clarkson and Porter to operate in. This was crucial to our success last year and I think O'Brien can make a similar contribution if he keeps improving as he has done.

Bingo, Andy. I cannot stand people shouting abuse at the players. Especially those who victimise certain players and give them dogs abuse for absolutely nothing while letting others away with murder. We're meant to be supporters yet some amongst our number believe that paying their money entitles them to verbally abuse a bunch of young lads who are trying their hearts out on the pitch. I sit in the Cooper and some of the abuse targetted at Fitzpatrick, O'Brien, Clarkson and others over time has bordered on the ridiculous. How does telling one of our players to "Fuck off" help anything? Much better to show some support and encouragement and try and inspire, rather than bully our players to do better. Also, the whole thing with booing the team off the park. Really disappointing IMO. Yes, we're entitled to an opinion but if the team hasn't performed well, they know better than any of us that they've not achieved what they should and being booed off the pitch by a bunch of ungrateful, fickle so-called supporters is hardly going to inspire them to come out and do better for us the week after. Again, we pay our money and are entitled to be frustrated, disappointed and even angry but taking it out on the team helps nothing. Who's going to want to play for a team who's fans will boo their own players more than the opposition?

I'm interested to see who everyone thinks deserves the man of the match against Falkirk. Jim O'Brien seems to have polarised opinion yet again, as does Marc Reynolds with some calling for him to be dropped. I personally though O'Brien was by far our most creative player and looked like the most likely to make something happen. Some of his distribution was poor but for the most part he was getting into good positions and playing good passes. However, I think Klimpl gets my vote by a nose. In a game where Falkirk were intent on kicking us off the park, I thought Klimpl put himself about well and really gave us some much needed bite in the midfield as well as having a creative influence. He's really looking more and more like the player Bob Malcolm should have been.

That's what I get for just skimming through the thread!

Different Webster I think mate. We're looking at Byron Webster, not Andy Webster. If that's what you were getting at?

Don't get me wrong, I think McGhee's made a good move in getting Fraser in. He seemed like a decent enough keeper and wouldn't be too expensive I imagine. It makes sense but I'm still hoping that Buzz will decide to sign a new deal. Would much rather cut out some dead wood like Malcolm and put more wages towards resigning Smith(and Klimpl if possible).

Interestingly enough, there's a thread on P&B asking everyone to rank the SPL keepers in order of ability and most on there seem to rate Buzz near the bottom of the heap. Personally I'm surprised as I think he's one of the best shot stoppers in the league and has obviously worked hard at the parts of his game that have let him down in the past, namely his kicking, coming for crosses and communication. He's shown a big improvement this season and I think should be ranked near the top of the list. Am I just looking through C&A tinted specs?

I disagree entirely. I don't think Porter has been rank at all this season. McCormack leaving and Sutton coming in has meant we've had to look at a different system where Porter hasn't had the same role. As soon as Calrky came back and we had the 2 of them up front together, Porter's started scoring again. I don't think his "dry spell" can be blamed on his ability or effort, it's the lack of quality service that caused the issue. Sutton, while a decent player is a different mould to Porter and not in the same class. Porter's a lot more mobile and much better on the ball than Sutton. I don't think we'll get anywhere near 500-600K for him either but I've stated before and will again that I think Porter's goals will be much more valuable to us than a nominal transfer fee. If McGhee's serious about challenging for the top 6, we need to keep a hold of him until the end of the season as we are not likely to get someone of his ability again for a while.

Porter's always struck me as an intelligent guy and I'm sure even if this Huddersfield offer is accepted, that he'll realise it's a step back down to where he came from. He's been attracting interest from bigger clubs, reportedly the top end of the Championship and I'm sure he'll recognise that he can get a better move if he waits for other offers.

I posted a link to the BBC in the Chris Porter thread regarding some comments about the Hearts rumours. McGhee also goes on to mention a bit about transfer activity, including that we put a bid in for Kaka too but couldn't afford his 500k per week wages... BBC

My thoughts exactly. It certainly sounds like we can't afford to buy and in that case I really think it's important that we keep hold of our best players at least until the end of the season when we can take stock and build for next year. We categorically will not get somebody of Porter's quality so I believe we need to make use of him while we can and get the most out of our investment.

I would much rather keep a hold of Porter for the rest of the season before sending him on his way with a pat on the back and a "thanks very much". He's been top class since joining us and is destined for much bigger and better things. Without his ability up front I really think we would struggle (just look at this time last year when he was out for a few games) and it would be much better for our season if he hangs around. I honestly think Porter's got too much ambition to sign for Hearts. He's done what he came here to do and is attracting interest from bigger clubs down south. Hearts are not in a position to do anything huge this season and I certainly don't think they can offer him anything more from a football point of view than we did last year. The only step up would be the cash. He'll get a decent move down south, hopefully at the end of the season and we can look at moving on with the squad and rebuilding using the wages his departure will free up. EDIT: There's an interview on the beeb with McGhee regarding Ports: BBC

Wholeheartedly agree with this. Porter has conducted himself well throughout his entire time here and IMO is different class. Would be over the moon were he to stay but if he goes, I will wish him well and look for his goals every week!

I may have 1 ticket for sale, maybe a 2nd too. Let me discuss with the committee and I'll post up here once I know for sure!