Skeletor

Well he was name dropped by Oliver so it's possible. I was under the impression that he'd ruled out managing in England for some reason.

He looks really unhealthy there.

So now they don't know who they want?

We'll win 1-0. Pearson will get the job full time. Then come the end of the season we'll have scraped a European place. Next season we'll finish 14th and Pearson will get sacked at which point we'll look for another British manager.

I said that earlier

If there isn't a top manager lined up then perhaps there's been some kind of seedy revelations behind the scenes?

This hurts my brain. Maybe Alan Oliver was right? No that can't be right, cos the end of the world would follow Alan Oliver being right.

I think we're in much the same position as we were in about 2001. If you take Bellamy, Robert and Solano out of the 2002 squad then they would have struggled as evidenced by the season before. I think if Sam signs 3 players who can make a major impact in creating goals like the 3 players above then it would make all the difference. Thing is I just don't see Sam signing players like that.

Butt's been a non-entity away from home. Deserves about a 6 at most overall.

Given, Beye, Faye, Taylor, Emre, N'Zogbia, Duff, Martins, Owen

But he gives 100% and gets stuck in etc.

Spot on.

I miss the days when we could competently attack teams. This team don't even bloody shoot.

I just can't see any positives anymore. Feels like the Souness era all over again.

:-[

Doesn't matter if they want it, it's what's gonna happen anyway.

If we had 2 or 3 flair players added to a team of 7 grafters that would do me.

Finally someone says what we've all known all season. Well said Bobby.

Enrique plot twist. He's been speaking English all along.

There is actually almost no reason on earth to ever play defensive football if you really look at it. Even the fad in the PL has died out now with ManU and Arsenal top. Teams like Reading and Man C go for it...Attack first def when necessary is how I see the game should be played. Play it in their half as much as you can. This season must be on course for including the most goals for a long time. There's at least an 8 goal thriller every week! Never our game though lol.

Before the Liverpool game, if you'd done a straw poll of Newcastle fans - "Who looks better, Beye or Enrique", Jose would have had more votes. That's true. Beye went through an awful patch of form early on.

He was. I was baffled by some on here having a go at him for missing chances from difficult angles in the first half. Particularly the one where the ball was wide and he had 4 Chelsea players busting a gut to get back and no-one in support.

I don't think Rozehnal for Smith was a negative change. It allowed N'Zogbia to push up and moved Duff into the centre and it worked well enough. Owen for Martins wasn't negative either, it just messed things up when we were on top.

Faye was our best player I thought. The kind of midfielder we've needed for ages. It's just a shame that we really need him in defence too AND that he's going to the ACN.

Stayed there and their defence pushed up, grateful that no-one was gonna get in behind them anymore.