steve_69

It makes no odds if it was the best ball-winning challenge the world has ever seen - what he did was against the rules according to the governing body of football so he had to be punished. I personally think challenges like that make the game a better spectacle but FIFA are a load of kiljoy pussies.

Wum? Seriously of course it wasn't a foul. Was actually a very good piece of defending. Joey Barton touched the ball when he tackled Alonso - was that a great bit of defending?

I didn't notice leazes.ender's post before I wrote my own - pretty much just echoed what he said. I didn't copy, honest!

This 'he touched the ball' protest is bollocks anyway - he went through the player to get the ball which is a foul. In the 1980's and possibly even the 1990's it wouldn't have been but this is something FIFA clamped down on ages ago. Regardless of whether he touched the ball or not he took the player out in the process which he isn't allowed to do. So, no he shouldn't be allowed to play in the final because he should've had more sense than to make that challenge towards the end of a game that Man Utd were going to win regardless of whether Arsenal scored or not. Serves him right for being a thick cunt!

It certainly seems to be the least creative and moct lopsided midfields we've ever had. We've got 3 decent box to box midfielders with Guthrie, Barton and Nolan, and in terms of wingers Guitierrez is capable of decent games. The rest are absolute shite, particularly Nicky Butt. That's only two midfield positions covered. We've been crying out for a creative midfielder for years - we haven't had one since Robert FFS!

Don't know if this has been mentioned already (can't be arsed to look through 38 pages to find out) but Nicky Butt's performance on Saturday was nothing short of a fucking disgrace! His passing has been called into question a lot on this forum but i've honestly never seen a worse attempt at impersonating a professional footballer than his effort at the weekend. I watched the game with two mates (neither a Newcastle fan) and they were genuinley shocked at how shit we were, but in particular how shit Nicky Butt was. The number of times he passed the ball to the opposition, underhit short passes that my 3 year-old daughter could have made, ran the ball out of play etc. suggests he is absolutely the wrong man to have in the team during this relegation dogfight. I'd rather see Smith or Colocini playing the holding role if that's the best we can expect from Butt.

On the whole i'm against managers cuting their teeth in the Premier league. I'd much rather they gained lower league experience first but, putting all bias aside, Shearer is one man I feel confident can do a job at the highest level straight away. He'll know what we need on the playing side to get us to score goals. He scored goals with his feet and head so he appreciates the need for someone who can pick a pass from the centre and players who can deliver well from the flanks and dead ball situations. He can also give our defenders advice on how to neutralise the threat of strikers. Time will tell but at the moment i'm very pleased with the appointment.

I'd love him to pick this lineup: .................Harper Beye...Taylor....Collicini....Enrique .......Nolan....Butt....Jonas ...................Owen ...Lovenkrands..Martins

Big soft cunt!! If you can't stand a bit of physical treatment then fuck off you massive puff!

None of the dickheads around me can say anything - they're all Leeds fans!

Why does everyone seem so certain that Lovenkrands would go. I get the impression he would jump at the chance of a long-term contract whether we're in the Prem or not. I also think he's the kind of player that would do very well in the Championship.

Reminds me of at certain Steve_69 aged 6 - that was before i discovered women, booze and Transformers

I can't work out if it's a shadow or if he's growing a 'tache! Looks like Michael Jackson. NUFC really nearly was the death of a manager. Wow. Best of luck to him in his recovery. In what way does he look like Michael Jackson?

If we go down i'd like Shearer to come in and give it a go - he'd pretty much have everything to gain then. If we stay up i want someone with a bit of pedigree

I'm sure some of these guys will still make it as decent managers but they have learnt a valuable lesson that you can't blood yourself in the top league. In every job you have to be given the chance to learn from your mistakes. That's how you become better at whatever job it is that you do. Managers simply have to gain experience in the lower leagues before managing in the Prem. The lower leagues are far more forgiving than the Premier League - managers are allowed to make mistakes and try new things which helps to improve their competence. This experience in invaluable and ensures that managers are better prepared when they make the step up eg. the knowledge of what it takes to stop a losing run, the most effective tactics to employ against certain systems, the best way to cope with injuries to key players etc. A multinational company wouldn't recruit a new MD from a small local business because they would be woefully out of their depth and 100% ceratin to fail. So why do Premier League clubs continue to make this fundamental mistake.

can't see it to be honest Oh right.........

I'd like to see him given a chance as a DM to be honest. He's got a lot more physical presence than Butt, is far more mobile than Butt, likes to get forward a bit, is strong arially in an offensive capacity, and any clangers he dropped in midfield would be less likely to result in a goal against us or a conceded penalty.

Berbatov is pure class but i agree that Tevez is over-rated. There's no way he's worth £25m - he works very hard but for £25m i'd want about 10 more gaols per season from him

Ah, give the lad a break he's just very sensitive. Big soppy fanny!

Don't particularly rate the lad, Lee "yellow card" Cattermole perhaps. You mean Lee "Wreckless challenge" Cattermole?

To be fair to Nolan, Bolton isn't exactly a club you're going to thrive at if you're a midfielder. They play far too direct for the midfielders to get properly involved.

I reckon he'll end up at Spurs tbh They desperately need a left winger and there aren't too many about. If we can get Huddlestone or Bent in exchance it'll be a cracking bit of business. I'll fucking wet myself laughing if no-one comes in for him though, and he's stuck here rotting in the reserves with the threat of Andy Carroll beating the piss out of him every day. Charles Insomnia.........comedy gold!

Depends if Commons liked him or not. If, like a lot of our players, Commons thought Kinnear was a tool then it probably wouldn't work in our favour

Properly PMSL - I've got fucking tears rolling down my face. This is the funniest thread i've read for a very long time..

It's been obvious for a while that N'Zogbia has to go. He clearly rates himself very highly and his priority is engineering a move away from the club rather than helping us out of our current predicament. No heart, no fight, no guts, no loyalty, no morals and only an average amount of talent. See you later Charlie you spineless prick, you'll be missed like a bad case of the clap. That said, hopefully all of these players wanting to leave the club will make Ashley realise that offering Kinnear the permanent job is a very bad idea.