betterguy

They never used to show UFC live on Bravo though did they? I hope we still get that. When will the channel actually officially go away? Will it still be around to show UFC 100?

Iain Lee is not a complete cock bloke.

Following on from my last post... 2011/12 Season Spoiler: Click here to view SUMMER 2011 IN/OUT: Andres Guardado (£48m!, from Liverpool) Lorenzo De Silvestri (£23m, from Lazio) Asmir Begovic (contract expired) Francisco Javier Heredia (contract expired, to Santos Laguna) Alessandro Gamberini (£11m, to Liverpool) Antonio Nocerino (£10.5m, to Liverpool) Nelson (£4.9m, to Blackburn) At this point we had a huge transfer budget, which is why I was willing to spend so much on Guardado, who would obviously become our first team left winger. De Silvestri would become our first team right back. I let Begovic's contract expire, because he was never going to get good enough to replace Ochoa. Heredia is a young right winger I signed, but his contract expired before he could get a Belgian nationality. With the signing of Guardado, De Ceglie would be moving back to left back, and Felipe back to centre back, once again taking Gamberini out of the first team. Him and Nocerino were both backups, so I let them go. The signing of De Silvestri made Nelson a backup, so I was happy to let him go. £4.9 was a very good price for Blackburn. I may have signed him if I were them. JAN 2012 IN/OUT: Robinho (£22.5m, from R. Madrid) Francesco Bolzoni (£14.5m + 50%ONS, to Aston Villa) Robinho was unhappy for some reason at Real (I don't remember why). I'd now signed two of the best strikers in the world in Tevez and Robinho, for not much over £20mil. Quagliarella was already starting to deteriorate due to age, so Robinho came available in good timing. Bolzoni is a youngster I signed from Inter for £5.75m. He wasn't happy, and he would probably never get good enough to replace any of my existing central players (Kroos, Ben Arfa, Robinho, Tevez), so I accepted Villa's bid of £14.5m, with 50% of next sale. 18 months later, he left Villa for Juventus for £16m, netting me a further £8m. END-OF-SEASON SQUAD (first team players underlined) GK: Francisco Guillermo Ochoa, Anthony Guy DR: Lorenzo De Silvestri, Gordon Woodman DL: Paolo De Ceglie, Christian Pander DC: Felipe, Andrea Barzagli, Dumitru Negrea, Rafael Forster MR: Shaun Wright-Phillips, Fabio Quagliarella ML: Andres Guardado, Stewart Downing MC: Toni Kroos, Hatem Ben Arfa, Marek Hamsik, Douglas (re-promoted from reserves) ST: Robinho, Carlos Tevez, Karadeniz Batuhan, Peter Crouch END-OF-SEASON SUMMARY PORTSMOUTH STATS Premier League: 1st FA Cup: won League Cup: lost in Quarter Final Community Shield: won Champions League: won (treble!) UEFA Cup: N/A Super Cup: N/A Club World Champ: N/A Top goalscorer: Fabio Quagliarella (42) Top league goalscorer: Fabio Quagliarella (23) Highest AvR: Fabio Quagliarella (7.43) Fans' Player of the Year: Fabio Quagliarella LEAGUE STATS Champions: Portsmouth Relegated: Hull, Bolton, West Ham Promoted to PRM: Derby, Birmingham, Sunderland Top goalscorer: Dmitry Sychev (35, West Brom) Most assists: Giovani dos Santos (17, Arsenal) Highest AvR: Alberto Gilardino (7.60, Newcastle) Overachievers: Tottenham (5th) Underperformers: Fulham (16th) Best signings of the season: Stevan Jovetic (Fulham, £0), Marcus Berg (Fulham, £0) Worst signings of the season: Alessandro Gamberini! (Liverpool, £11m), Antonio Nocerino! (Liverpool, £10.5m) CUP STATS FA Cup winners: Portsmouth League Cup winners: Arsenal Community Shield winners: Portsmouth Champions League winners: Portsmouth UEFA Cup winners: Man City Super Cup winners: Ajax Club World Champ winners: Sao Paulo 2012/13 Season Spoiler: Click here to view SUMMER 2012 IN/OUT: Gai Assulin (bosman, from Barcelona) Henri Saivet (£7.5m, from Genoa) Manuel Neuer (£17m, from Schalke) Stewart Downing (£20m, to Newcastle) Karadeniz Batuhan (£25m + 50%ONS, to Arsenal) Assulin and Saivet were good young backup players. £17m was a great price for one of the best keepers in the world. He'd replace Ochoa, who was starting to want a new challenge. At this point I didn't know you could avoid having players want to leave for a new challenge by offering them a new contract. Either way, he's older and not as good as Neuer. Downing had been a backup for a while, so £20mil was good for him. Batuhan was a great young striker prospect, but I didn't think he'd ever replace Robinho or Tevez, so selling him for £25m + 50% of next sale was a good deal. He's since gone from Arsenal to Liverpool for £14.5m, giving me a further £7.25m. JAN 2013 IN/OUT: Mamadou Sakho (£35m, from Tottenham) Thierry Francois (£30m + 50%ONS, to Chelsea) I wish I'd signed Sakho when he was a teenager. Still, £35m was good considering he was the second-best centre back in the world, after Sergio Ramos. He replaced the aging Barzagli, who by now disliked me and found me difficult to work with . Sakho is the last signing I've made in the entire game that's not a youngster. Any new additions to the first team from this point on are youngsters who have risen up the ranks. I'd signed Francois for £4m, and now he was in a similar position as Batuhan, but he's not quite as good. So to get £30m + clauses was great. In my current game he's still at Chelsea, as their lead striker, so no additional fees yet. END-OF-SEASON SQUAD (first team players underlined) GK: Manuel Neuer, Francisco Guillermo Ochoa DR: Lorenzo De Silvestri and Gordon Woodman (rotation) DL: Paolo De Ceglie, Christian Pander DC: Mamadou Sakho, Felipe, Dumitru Negrea, Rafael Forster MR: Shaun Wright-Phillips, Sebastian Schafer (youth signing) ML: Andres Guardado, Gai Assulin MC: Toni Kroos, Hatem Ben Arfa, Marek Hamsik, Douglas ST: Robinho, Carlos Tevez, Henri Saivet, Fabio Quagliarella END-OF-SEASON SUMMARY PORTSMOUTH STATS Premier League: 1st FA Cup: lost in 6th Rnd League Cup: lost in Quarter Final Community Shield: lost Champions League: lost in Semi Final UEFA Cup: N/A Super Cup: won Club World Champ: won Top goalscorer: Carlos Tevez (37) Top league goalscorer: Carlos Tevez (27) Highest AvR: Hatem Ben Arfa (7.63) Fans' Player of the Year: Hatem Ben Arfa LEAGUE STATS Champions: Portsmouth Relegated: Birmingham, Blackburn, Derby Promoted to PRM: Bolton, Hull, Leicester Top goalscorer: Goran Pandev (36, Chelsea) Most assists: Hatem Ben Arfa (20, Portsmouth) Highest AvR: Hatem Ben Arfa (7.68, Portsmouth) Overachievers: Fulham (6th) Underperformers: Tottenham (13th) Best signings of the season: Archie Campbell (Everton, £160k), Martin Fenin (Liverpool, £12m) Worst signings of the season: Thierry Francois! (Chelsea, £30m), Stewart Downing! (Newcastle, £20m) CUP STATS FA Cup winners: Fulham League Cup winners: West Brom Community Shield winners: Arsenal Champions League winners: Lazio UEFA Cup winners: At. Madrid Super Cup winners: Portsmouth Club World Champ winners: Portsmouth

Following on from my last post... 2009/10 Season Spoiler: Click here to view SUMMER 2009 IN/OUT: Christian Pander (bosman, from Schalke) Alessandro Gamberini (£13.5m, from Fiorentina) Gordon Woodman (£3.2m, from Bolton) Shaun Wright-Phillips (£16.25m, from Man City) Glen Johnson (£2.7m, to Man City) Jermain Defoe (£9.75m, to Man City) Leonardo (£2.6m, to West Brom) Cristian Molinaro (£17m!, to Blackburn) Niko Kranjcar (£14.25m, to Man Utd) Linvoy Primus (retired) Made a profit here, and improved the squad. Christian Pander accepted my contract offer the same day Blackburn agreed to my negotiated price of £17m for Molinaro. Considering Pander was better than Molinaro, and only slightly older, this was perfect. Gamberini replaced Delpierre as first team centre back, giving me an all-Italian centre-back duo of Barzagli and Gamberini. Gamberini wasn't as good a player as Barzagli, but he's 6 months younger, which counts for a little bit. Gordon Woodman is a regen backup right back replacement for Glen Johnson, who had been overtaken by Nelson in that position. Shaun Wright-Phillips was signed because he's a better winger than both Downing and Barnetta. From that point on Downing and Barnetta would rotate as left wingers, with SWP as my first team right winger. GJ wasn't needed any more, due to Nelson being a better player. I didn't want to sell Defoe, but the board accepted on my behalf, the bastards. He was third choice striker anyway. Leonardo was miles behind my other wingers now, with SWP, Downing, Barnetta, and Utaka all better than him. Molinaro was a great sale. I'm still shocked Blackburn were willing to pay £17m for a mid-table quality DL/ML. Kranjcar left on 29th August. Rakitic had overtaken him as the best AMC in the squad, and he wanted to go to Man Utd of course, so I let him leave. We now only had four players left who were part of the original first team squad; Peter Crouch, Lassana Diarra, John Utaka, and Djimi Traore. Linvoy Primus retired, but due to him being one of the club's favoured personnel, I offered him a job as First Team Coach. JAN 2010 IN/OUT: Paolo De Ceglie (£9.75m, from Juventus) Hatem Ben Arfa (£14.25m, from Marseille) Jonathan de Guzman (£16.5m, from Sevilla) Marek Hamsik (£7.25m, from Napoli) Felipe (£13m, from Ajax) Ivan Rakitic (£37m!, to Barcelona) Mathieu Delpierre (£6.25m, to Betis) Derek Boateng (£3.9m, to West Ham) Once again, a shitload of changes, funded mostly by Barcelona's crazy bid for Rakitic. Pander was out of the first team already due to the signing of De Ceglie. Ben Arfa was a direct replacement for Rakitic, and he's a better player. de Guzman and Hamsik were signed to improve the midfield. de Guzman replaced Nocerino as a first teamer, who had been disappointing so far. Hamsik would rotate with both Diarra and Nelson, with Diarra playing at right back if Nelson wasn't in the team. Felipe made me regret spending £13m on Gamberini 6 months ago, as he'd probably be replacing him soon. Delpierre and Boateng were the 2 left out of the 3 I signed in the first transfer window, but both were now gone. They were both out-of-favour as defender and midfielder respectively. END-OF-SEASON SQUAD (first team players underlined) GK: Francisco Guillermo Ochoa, Asmir Begovic DR: Nelson, Gordon Woodman DL: Paolo De Ceglie, Christian Pander DC: Andrea Barzagli, Felipe, Alessandro Gamberini, Djimi Traore MR: Shaun Wright-Phillips, John Utaka ML: Stewart Downing and Tranquillo Barnetta (rotation) MC: Hatem Ben Arfa, Jonathan de Guzman, Marek Hamsik and Lassana Diarra (rotation), Antonio Nocerino, Douglas (youth signing) ST: Fabio Quagliarella, Peter Crouch END-OF-SEASON SUMMARY PORTSMOUTH STATS Premier League: 1st FA Cup: lost in Semi Final League Cup: lost in Semi Final (same final position in the FA and League Cups three years running!) Community Shield: won Champions League: lost in Quarter Final UEFA Cup: N/A Super Cup: N/A Club World Champ: N/A Top goalscorer: Fabio Quagliarella (39) Top league goalscorer: Fabio Quagliarella (31) Highest AvR: Fabio Quagliarella (7.40) Fans' Player of the Year: Fabio Quagliarella LEAGUE STATS Champions: Portsmouth Relegated: West Ham, Wolves, Hull Promoted to PRM: Charlton, Derby, Leeds Top goalscorer: Wayne Rooney (41!, Man Utd) Most assists: Elano (20, Man City) Highest AvR: Alberto Gilardino (7.82, Newcastle) Overachievers: Bolton (10th) Underperformers: West Ham (18th) Best signings of the season: Hatem Ben Arfa (Portsmouth, £14.25m), Christian Pander (Portsmouth, £0) Worst signings of the season: Maxi Rodriguez (Man Utd, £21m), Niko Kranjcar! (Man Utd, £14.25m) CUP STATS FA Cup winners: Arsenal League Cup winners: Birmingham Community Shield winners: Portsmouth Champions League winners: Arsenal UEFA Cup winners: PSG Super Cup winners: Barcelona Club World Champ winners: Barcelona 2010/11 Season Spoiler: Click here to view SUMMER 2010 IN/OUT: Carlos Tevez (£21m, from Inter) Djimi Traore (free transfer) Tranquillo Barnetta (£26m, to Man Utd) John Utaka (£5.5m, to Espanyol) Lassana Diarra (£25.5m, to Inter) 3 of that original 4 left the club at the start of this season, leaving Peter Crouch as the only original first team squad member left. Carlos Tevez went to Inter after his Man Utd contract expired at the end of last season. I tried to sign him then but he accepted Inter's offer. Well now that I'd won the league 2 years running, he was willing to come to me. £21m is still a good price for a player of his quality. Traore's contract was mutually terminated, because he's nowhere near our level any more. I let Barnetta leave, because he was only rotating with Downing, and not a solid first teamer. Now that I'd signed Tevez, neither of them would be starting, as I'd be switching to a 4-4-2, to play Tevez and Quagliarella up front together. De Ceglie would move up and start playing left midfield, Felipe would move to left back, and Gamberini would resume his role as regular centre back. de Guzman would no longer be starting for us, just 6 months after I bought him for £16.5m. I may have let Barnetta leave anyway, because £26m is great money for him, and he wanted to go to Man Utd. Utaka had fallen behind in the pecking order and had previously been on the transfer list by request, so it didn't take much for me to let him go. And Diarra was only rotational, and wanted to go, so I let him. JAN 2011 IN/OUT: Toni Kroos (£10m, from At. Madrid) Jonathan de Guzman (£29.5m, to Milan) Thiago Motta (free transfer) Kroos was a really fortunate signing. Atletico Madrid had only bought him a season earlier, for £8.5m, but they'd stupidly given him a £10m release clause. He'd be eased into the first team, and wouldn't be starting right away. I was relieved to be able to profit from de Guzman. He was still a top class player and everything, but he wasn't vital, especially with the signing of Kroos. Motta had never ever been able to break into the first team, and he'd been playing in the reserves for a while now. We mutually terminated his deal, then not long after he retired from football, only in his late 20s. I don't know why that happens. He'd still have been a good player for a mid-table club. END-OF-SEASON SQUAD (first team players underlined) GK: Francisco Guillermo Ochoa, Anthony Guy (youth signing) DR: Nelson and Gordon Woodman (rotation) DL: Felipe, Christian Pander DC: Andrea Barzagli, Alessandro Gamberini, Dumitru Negrea (re-promoted from reserves), Rafael Forster (youth signing) MR: Shaun Wright-Phillips, (no RW backup, but I would bring on an AMC or ST for SWP and put either Ben Arfa or Quagliarella on the wing) ML: Paolo De Ceglie, Stewart Downing MC: Hatem Ben Arfa, Marek Hamsik, Toni Kroos, Antonio Nocerino, Martin Galvan (youth signing) ST: Carlos Tevez, Fabio Quagliarella, Karadeniz Batuhan (youth signing), Peter Crouch END-OF-SEASON SUMMARY PORTSMOUTH STATS Premier League: 1st FA Cup: lost in 3rd Rnd League Cup: lost in 4th Rnd Community Shield: lost Champions League: lost in Quarter Final UEFA Cup: N/A Super Cup: N/A Club World Champ: N/A Top goalscorer: Carlos Tevez (28) Top league goalscorer: Carlos Tevez (25) Highest AvR: Hatem Ben Arfa (7.20) Fans' Player of the Year: Fabio Quagliarella LEAGUE STATS Champions: Portsmouth Relegated: Leeds, Sunderland, Derby Promoted to PRM: West Ham, Hull, Wolves Top goalscorer: Wayne Rooney (36, Man Utd) Most assists: Hatem Ben Arfa (16, Portsmouth) Highest AvR: Wayne Rooney (7.64, Man Utd) Overachievers: Middlesbrough (9th) Underperformers: Tottenham (16th) Best signings of the season: Jose Paolo Guerrero (Reading, £0), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Man Utd, £13.75m) Worst signings of the season: Eddie Johnson (Tottenham, £18.25m), Marc-Andre Kruska (Man City, £16m) CUP STATS FA Cup winners: Man Utd League Cup winners: Arsenal Community Shield winners: Arsenal Champions League winners: Benfica UEFA Cup winners: Ajax Super Cup winners: PSG Club World Champ winners: Sao Paulo

I'm playing FM2008. I'm in the 2016/17 season, and finally getting bored. Been at Portsmouth the whole time, and I'm afraid to leave because I know the new manager will fuck up my squad. I don't want to abandon the game because it's the furthest I've ever gone. I'll probably leave after this season, otherwise I'll be too bored to carry on. I make an archive save at the end of every season, and looking at Date Modified, I can see how long it took me to do each season: Season 1 (2007/08) took 7 days Season 2 (2008/09) took 6 days Season 3 (2009/10) took 3 days Season 4 (2010/11) took 5 days Season 5 (2011/12) took 7 days Season 6 (2012/13) took 8 days Season 7 (2013/14) took 5 days Season 8 (2014/15) took 9 days Season 9 (2015/16) took 14 days (started losing interest that season) I'm only in October 2016 of the 10th season, and it's already been 12 days Playing this long, you realize how retarded the AI is. They're happy to pay ludicrous money for backup players, who proceed to get unhappy about the lack of first team football, and get sold for much less. The worst example of this is Ivan Rakitic. I bought him at the start of the 2008/09 season for £5m from Schalke. He started out in a rotation system with Kranjcar, but eventually replaced him as our first-team AMC. In January of the 2009/10 season Barcelona bought him from me for a whopping £37m. Over the next 2 years he played 20 league games for Barce, got pissed, and left for Chelsea in January of the 2011/12 season for £24.5m. He spent just a year at Chelsea, playing 9 league games, and went back to Barce for £19.5 in January of the 2013/13 season. He got more appearances in for Barce this time, but was still a fringe player, playing 16 league games over the year. In January of the 2013/14 season, Chelsea were interested in him yet again. However, he instead went to Roma for £19.5m. Unsurpringly he left Roma exactly one year later after 11 league games, in January of the 2014/15 season, for £16m, to Spanish champions Zaragoza. After 6 months and 0 league games there, he moved to Betis for £14.5m. Finally he was considered a key player and started getting regular first team football. Unfortunately it was brief, as he's been injured for the majority of his time there. He's now 28, and one of the best AMC's in the world, yet he's not played regular first team football since his 18 month spell with me 6 years ago. 2007/08 Season Spoiler: Click here to view INITIAL SQUAD (first team players underlined) GK: David James, Jamie Ashdown DR: Glen Johnson, Lauren DL: Djimi Traore, Nadir Belhadj (loan) DC: Sylvain Distin, Sol Campbell, Younes Kaboul, Hermann Hreidarsson MR: John Utaka, Glen Little ML: Niko Kranjcar, Jerome Thomas MC: Lassana Diarra, Papa Bouba Diop, Sean Davis, Arnold Mvuemba ST: Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Nwankwo Kanu, Dave Nugent SUMMER 2007 IN/OUT: Mathieu Delpierre (£3.4m, from Stuttgart) Mota (£700k, from Seongnam) Derek Boateng (£675k, from B. Jerusalem) Noe Pamarot (£900k, to Hull) Hermann Hreidarsson (£1.3m, to Catania) Richard Hughes (£1.2m, to Derby) (there's also youngsters bought and sold, but I can't be arsed to mention them) I almost always sign those three at the start of the game when I'm a mid-table side. Such good value. Delpierre replaced the aging Campbell as starting centre-back. Mota became my left winger, moving Kranjcar into AMC, and dropping Diop from the first team. And I started playing only 1 striker, rotating Crouch and Defoe, instead starting Boateng in midfield with Diarra. JAN 2008 IN/OUT: Francisco Guillermo Ochoa (£15.5m, from America [MEX]) Leonardo (£875k, from Ajax) Nelson (£1.6m, from Betis) Cristian Molinaro (£240k, from Jventus) Nwankwo Kanu (£450k, to Blackburn) Papa Bouba Diop (£1.6m, to Bordeaux) Jamie Ashdown (£250k, to Wigan) Lauren (£575k, to Stoke) Arnold Mvuemba (£1.8m, to Hull) Lots of January business. The board made more funds available in about October, and David James was already deteriorating, so I decided to spend big on Ochoa. I bought Leonardo because of how cheap he was, and he started rotating with Mota on the left wing. Same thing with Nelson, who started rotating with Glen Johnson. Molinaro was an absolute bargain, and replaced Traore as first team left back. Kanu fell behind Nugent in the striker rankings, and was aging, so I accepted Blackburn's bid. Diop was no longer first team as mentioned, and I knew I'd never be able to get more than 1.6m for him, so I let him go. Lauren became third choice right back, so I let him go. I was undecided about Mvuemba because I didn't know if he'd become a good player, but I took a risk and sold him on the 31st since Hull put a bid in. END-OF-SEASON SQUAD (first team players underlined) GK: Francisco Guillermo Ochoa, David James DR: Nelson and Glen Johnson (rotation) DL: Cristian Molinaro, Djimi Traore, Nadir Belhadj (loan) DC: Mathieu Delpierre, Sylvain Distin, Younes Kaboul, Sol Campbell MR: John Utaka, Glen Little ML: Leonardo and Mota (rotation), Jerome Thomas MC: Lassana Diarra, Niko Kranjcar, Derek Boateng, Arnold Mvuemba, Sean Davis ST: Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe (rotation), Dave Nugent END-OF-SEASON SUMMARY PORTSMOUTH STATS Premier League: 3rd FA Cup: lost in Final League Cup: lost in Final Community Shield: lost Champions League: N/A UEFA Cup: lost in Group stage Super Cup: N/A Club World Champ: N/A Top goalscorer: Peter Crouch (35) Top league goalscorer: Peter Crouch (27) Highest AvR: Niko Kranjcar (7.48) Fans' Player of the Year: Peter Crouch LEAGUE STATS Champions: Chelsea Relegated: Middlesbrough, Stoke, Hull Promoted to PRM: Derby, Charlton, Wolves Top goalscorer: Michael Owen (37, Newcastle) Most assists: Niko Kranjcar (18, Portsmouth) Highest AvR: Emmanuel Adebayor (7.85, Arsenal) Overachievers: West Brom (8th) Underperformers: West Ham (17th) Best signings of the season: Steven Defour (Newcastle, £3.4m), Derek Boateng (Newcastle, £675k) Worst signings of the season: Rodrigo Palacio (Aston Villa, £12.5m), Emilson Cribari (Everton, £10.25m) CUP STATS FA Cup winners: Liverpool League Cup winners: Everton Community Shield winners: Man Utd Champions League winners: Chelsea UEFA Cup winners: At. Madrid Super Cup winners: Zenit St. Petersburg Club World Champ winners: Man Utd 2008/09 Season Spoiler: Click here to view SUMMER 2008 IN/OUT: Thiago Motta (bosman, from At. Madrid) Tranquillo Barnetta (bosman, from Leverkusen) Andrea Barzagli (£14.25m, from Wolfsburg) Stewart Downing (£7.75m, from Middlesbrough) Fabio Quagliarella (£13m, from Udinese) Antonio Nocerino (£8.25m, from Palermo) Ivan Rakitic (£5m, from Schalke) Nadir Belhadj (loan ended) Dave Nugent (£3.2m, to Fulham) Glen Little (contract expired) Sean Davis (contract expired) Mota (£1.1m, to Betis) Sylvain Distin (£4m, to Deportivo) Younes Kaboul (£4m, to Deportivo) Probably the busiest transfer window I've had in the game. I didn't know whether Motta would start for me, but he was free, so I decided to go for him. Barnetta was an obvious signing, considering he's better than Utaka, Leonardo, and Mota on the wings. The three Italians may have only been interested because I have Italian as a second nationality. Barzagli was probably better than my whole squad, and became a 'world-class centre-back', replacing Distin in the first team. Downing, like Barnetta, was better than my current crop of wingers. Barnetta would be starting on the right, with Downing on the left, replacing Utaka, Leonardo, and Mota. Quagliarella would become my star striker, but for now would be rotating with Crouch, who proved to be better than Defoe last season as a lone striker. Nocerino replaced Boateng as a first team midfielder. Rakitic would rotate with Kranjcar for the time being. I didn't mind Belhadj's loan finishing, with him now being 3rd choice left back. With the signing of Quagliarella, I didn't think Nugent would ever break into the first team, so I let Fulham have him. Glen Little and Sean Davis had no future in the first team, so I let them go. With my 2 winger signings, I was happy to let Mota go for little profit. Distin and Kaboul, both French, left for the same club, for the exact same amount. I was happy to let them go because Barzagli and Delpierre were by far the best two centre backs in the squad, although I didn't know whether good Kaboul had the potential to get into the first team. JAN 2009 IN/OUT: Sol Campbell (free transfer) Jerome Thomas (free transfer) David James (free transfer) They weren't playing, weren't happy, and weren't worth money, so were all mutually terminated. No other business. END-OF-SEASON SQUAD (first team players underlined) GK: Francisco Guillermo Ochoa, Asmir Begovic (promoted from reserves) DR: Nelson, Glen Johnson DL: Cristian Molinaro, Djimi Traore DC: Andrea Barzagli, Mathieu Delpierre, Dumitru Negrea (youth signing), Linvoy Primus (back from loan) MR: Tranquillo Barnetta, John Utaka ML: Stewart Downing, Leonardo MC: Ivan Rakitic, Lassana Diarra, Antonio Nocerino, Niko Kranjcar, Derek Boateng, Thiago Motta ST: Fabio Quagliarella and Peter Crouch (rotation), Jermain Defoe END-OF-SEASON SUMMARY PORTSMOUTH STATS Premier League: 1st FA Cup: lost in 4th Rnd League Cup: lost in 4th Rnd Community Shield: N/A Champions League: lost in Group Stage UEFA Cup: lost in 1st KO Rnd Super Cup: N/A Club World Champ: N/A Top goalscorer: Peter Crouch (26) Top league goalscorer: Peter Crouch (20) Highest AvR: Peter Crouch (7.39) Fans' Player of the Year: Peter Crouch LEAGUE STATS Champions: Portsmouth Relegated: Charlton, Derby, Wigan Promoted to PRM: Middlesbrough, Reading, Hull Top goalscorer: Wayne Rooney (38, Man Utd) Most assists: Anderson (22, Man Utd) Highest AvR: Emmanuel Adebayor (7.88, Arsenal) Overachievers: West Ham (8th) Underperformers: Liverpool (10th) Best signings of the season: Alan Smith (Blackburn £4.7m), Ivan Rakitic (Portsmouth, £5m) Worst signings of the season: Yakubu (Man City, £10.5m), Wayne Bridge (Newcastle, £7.75m) CUP STATS FA Cup winners: Liverpool League Cup winners: West Ham Community Shield winners: Chelsea Champions League winners: Barcelona UEFA Cup winners: Man Utd Super Cup winners: Chelsea Club World Champ winners: Chelsea didn't intend to make a big post, but got a bit carried away. Might carry on if i can be bothered.

Spoiler: Click here to viewYeah I understand all that, but that version of him will be dead. The version of him that will continue to live past the plane crash that will never happen is the version of Jack that's a child in 1977. Our Jack will be dead and won't be able to experience having never crashed. About paradoxes, I made a post on my thoughts on them a couple pages back: That applies to this scenario too. Depending on which rules of time travel the show follows, either the paradox can't happen because it's impossible to stop the plane crashing because it always did, OR, the paradox can't happen because Jack isn't required to have crashed on the island (in this timeline) to eventually go back and set off the bomb. Let's assume that they're successful in setting off the bomb and also stopping the plane crashing, therefore following the latter rules. The reason there's no paradox, is because when Jack travelled back in time, he did so from a different parallel timeline. He came from timeline A to timeline B. On timeline B, he set off the bomb, the plane didn't crash, and the Jack that was born and grew up on timeline B didn't get in a plane crash and end up on the island. The one that came from timeline A did though. His setting off the bomb didn't effect timeline A at all, so Jack still came to the island in the crash. Obviously I'm not Marty McFly so I don't have first-hand experience of time travel, but I just think that if time travel is ever proved to be possible, it won't be with rules that allow paradoxes.

Spoiler: Click here to viewThe versions of them that crashed on Oceanic 815 and everything they experienced the past 3 years will be dead. But since they die in 1977 on the Island, the actual 1970s versions not on the island will continue their lives uninterrupted. With the pocket of energy and the Swan gone, nothing will cause that electromagnetic storm and Oceanic 815 will not crash and their lives will continue on and they will land in Los Angeles. Jack buries his father, Claire gives her baby up, Locke is still paralyzed, Kate goes to prison and Boone, Shannon, Charlie, Libby, Analucia, Michael, the Federal Marshall, Nikki, Paolo, etc etc are still alive. Spoiler: Click here to viewyeah I get all that. But why do they care about doing that? They'll be dead. Spoiler: Click here to viewThey're sacrificing whatever crazy, mostly negative existence they would have in a time period they were never meant to be in in order to correct the universe. They're practically deleting everything we've seen happening post-plane crash knowing full well that they will have a better existence even if they, with their current memories/mindsets won't be aware of, they're doing it because they will be dead and, if they die, then it doesn't really matter if Jack loves Kate but it never worked out or that Kate "stole" Aaron because, none of that will happen and they won't be aware of anything after dying anyway. Spoiler: Click here to viewBut are their lives so bad that they'd be contemplating suicide? Sawyer and Juliet were just considering starting a new life on the outside world, and now they're happy to die. Come think of it, Jack actually was suicidal during his beardey phase, so that makes total sense for him. But I don't think it explains why everyone else is happy to die. You don't see my point, that's what Jack's attitude is to why he should go through with it. My comment was a response to those above questioning Jack's motives. Spoiler: Click here to viewThey will be dead though. Well, they should be.. That's why I mentioned that episode where Desmond's consciousness travelled to a previous version of himself, or whatever that was, on the freighter. I don't remember now. I suppose there could be some other ways that they'd stay alive depending on how time travel works on the island, but I think it's stupid. Anyway, it's still pretty risky for them to be assuming that they'll go on living after they blow the island up. They have no proof that they'll somehow go on living. I guess they just trust the plan because it's what Faraday wanted to do.

Spoiler: Click here to viewThe versions of them that crashed on Oceanic 815 and everything they experienced the past 3 years will be dead. But since they die in 1977 on the Island, the actual 1970s versions not on the island will continue their lives uninterrupted. With the pocket of energy and the Swan gone, nothing will cause that electromagnetic storm and Oceanic 815 will not crash and their lives will continue on and they will land in Los Angeles. Jack buries his father, Claire gives her baby up, Locke is still paralyzed, Kate goes to prison and Boone, Shannon, Charlie, Libby, Analucia, Michael, the Federal Marshall, Nikki, Paolo, etc etc are still alive. Spoiler: Click here to viewyeah I get all that. But why do they care about doing that? They'll be dead.

Spoiler: Click here to viewGreat finale. I guess next season we'll be learning a lot about Jacob and also his nemesis and that group of people from the plane. One massive thing I don't get is... why does Jack and everyone want to blow up the island? They'll be dead. They aren't going to feel the effects of having not ever been on the island in the first place are they? Although I guess it could be to do with the thing that happened with Desmond on the freighter, and how his consciousness time travlled or whatever the fuck that was. Still, I don't like it.

I don't understand how people can want Kate to leave the show. I don't really care for her character.. but she's hot.

My thoughts on the time loop theory posted earlier in the thread... Spoiler: Click here to viewI think it's good how it explains some of the stuff that's going on in Lost, and how it ties some stuff together. It might be right as an explanation of what's going on. But like I said, I hope Lost doesn't follow the theory, because it's stupid. I'll explain.. I hate the theory about time travel that says "if you create a paradox you'll fuck up the space-time continuum, and the universe will cease to exist" or whatever. Back to the Future obviously uses it too. If something's a paradox in theory, then that means that it can't happen in practice. There's no need to try and avoid a paradox, because they can't happen. For example, take the Grandfather paradox: there's two ways it could go down: Either there's no need to try and prevent the paradox, because it's impossible for the grandfather to be killed anyway, OR, the grandfather isn't required to be alive for the grandson to exist (for whateever reason), so it doesn't create a paradox if he's killed. This has nothing to do with fate. Like Miles said a couple of episodes ago in Lost, when the bear is sent back in time, it's living through its present, so it can die. When the bear's sent back in time, there will be two of it in the past: the original bear, and the one that's come from the future.. the original one survived, but that doesn't mean the bear from the future will. I hate the "people can only change things that aren't fundamental to the timeline" theory of time travel. What makes things "fundamental"? Why are some changes more important than others? Why is some dude dying considered more significant than a twig on the floor being snapped by someone walking on it? Also, this again has nothing to do with fate. If it's discovered that things can infact be changed, that doesn't mean that fate doesn't exist. For example, say two people called Mike and Dave are friends in 1980, but in 1985 Mike somehow tricks Dave and steals all his money. In 1990, Dave discovers time travel, and decides to go back to 1980 to shoot and kill Mike to stop him from stealing his money in 1985. If he's successful, and kills Dave, that doesn't mean fate doesn't exist. It simply means that it was fate for them to be friends in 1980, for Mike to steal the cash in 1985, for Dave to discover time travel in 1990, for Dave to go back and kill Mike in 1980, and for the money to not be stolen in 1985. It's all part of fate. Fate is what happens ultimately. It's not even possible to consider a situation in which fate doesn't exist. Again, the meaning of fate has been misunderstood. Fate didn't predict that the test subjects would be cured. Fate doesn't require "course correction" or a "physical means" such as a smoke monster, to do anything. There's plenty other things to quote that I disagree with for the same reasons. Basically, there's lots more mentions of "fate", and it being used incorrectly, including in the conclusion. Also, I think some of the time travel rules listed via bullet points are stupid, such as the age thing, and the "not totally dead" thing. Regarding the general argument of "fate vs. free will", I have my own views. Fate exists - everything that ever happened was always going to happen, and everything that will ever happen was also always going to happen. So what does that mean about free will and the choices we make? I just have a different definition of what a choice is. A person making a choice is their process of working out what's best for themself. People always do what's best for themselves, and this theory ties in perfectly with the theory of fate. I'm only saying I hope Lost doesn't follow this time loop theory. I'm not saying it's a bad explanation of what's going on in Lost, as it may be right. But I hope it ends up being wrong..

I hope that theory's not right. I'm reading their explanation page now and a lot of it's stupid. Might post when i'm done reading if i can be arsed.

I did a Google search a few days ago to find out the same thing. Apparently you can't run RCT2 in windowed mode, but you can on the first game. I've completed the 3 beginner scenarios. I'll move up to the harder ones next. I'll probably download the add-on packs eventually.

I wasnt calling them good shows. I was comparing Lost to them because theyr all a similar format. They all fall under the serial drama category, (Terminator to a lesser extent). All 3 are shitty in the same ways. Yet, Lost is way ahead of those shows.

I'm loving Lost at the moment. And i've grown to not stand Heroes, Prison Break, and the Terminator series at all, so that says a lot. Great episode. Obviously want to see what happens next, but it's not on next week, which hurts.

It was okay. I just don't see what's so great about it to warrant all this fuss though.

I watched the first couple of episodes of Fringe. It was ok, but not good enough to keep me watching past that. I don't like shows where there's a new storyline each episode. I know there's a main storyline too, but they move through that quite slowly. You can miss an episode and it won't make a difference. But like i said, i've only watched 2 episodes.

Miles is great, but he needs more to do. He's not said or done much so far has he? His highlight was when he was captured by Locke. My other favourite characters are the usual favourites of Sawyer, Desmond, and Faraday.

Miles is the best character. If his nosebleed kills him, I'll be upset.

I'm really out of the loop on games in general. I'd just like to know what's regarded as the best online first-person shooter at the moment, and also what's your favourite? The ones I've read about are Call of Duty, Halo, Resistance, and I know Killzone 2 coming February is supposed to be good. Are these the best? I'm generally referring more to console games, but wouldn't mind knowing the best PC games either. I assume COD World at War is more popular online than COD4, and Halo 3 is the most popular Halo? The ones that I've played are Halo on PC briefly, COD4 on 360 briefly, and the two Resistance games.

Spoiler: Click here to viewBut by seeing themselves, they already have changed something. For example, we've already seen the scene where Sawyer tries to get revenge on a boar, and a second Sawyer didn't come along and say "Hey Wassup?". If we were to see him do that on a future episode, he'd have changed what we originally saw in that scene. I think you're only counting "change" as certain events, and not everything.

Spoiler: Click here to viewI liked the episodes, but I really need to know how their time travel works. At the moment it makes my head hurt. I think it follows Terminator rules rather than Back to the Future rules. By that, I mean in Terminator there never was a timeline in which Kyle didn't come back to help Sarah Connor. That ties in with fate, and I think it's the same way in Lost. For example, there never was a timeline in which Daniel Faraday didn't go and visit Desmond in the hatch. Lost isn't like Back to the Future where Marty can go back to 1955 and see himself singing Johnny B. Goode etc. But then then Desmond being the exception to the rule fucks that up because there shouldn't be any exceptions. But like I said it makes my head hurt. They need to clarify some stuff.

Is Affliction shown in the UK?

I watch Heroes, but since the end of season 1 i've just not felt the same about it. Im not really intrigued about anything now, because there's less to think about, because anything can happen. The powers are all way too powerful, and as a result they've had to simply make people use them poorly and act stupidly. Hiro's whole "I wont go back in time because i wreck stuff" shit is annoying. Claire is so negative: Used to be "I want my powers gone! im a freak!", now its like "I have to save people! Let me be a superhero PLEASE!". I know, she changed her mind. I'm just saying it's annoying. It's also so unconvincing that anyone would want their powers removed. Unless its fucking you up like it is Mohinder. I'd want Sylar's power gone too if I was Peter, because it doesnt help him at all. Aside from that though, I just cant take it seriously when people are all "Please, take my powers". Another thing, has Peter forgotten about Caitlin? Im sure anything goes with their interpretation of time travel, but hasnt she sort of been erased? Petey would have to go back in time to stop her going to the future to save her, and that would seriously fuck up the timeline. Still, I follow Heroes every week, hoping they'll correct some of the things that are bad about the show.

Haha, what does that mean? are you joking? please explain.