steve_69

Right, i am fully preparing to be shot downs in flames for what i am about to say but..... I feel it may be time for Fat Sam to give Shola a run in the team. If he's not prepared to sell him or loan him out then he should play him. Our strikers haven't exactly been prolific of late, and have in fact been guilty of missing a sack load of chances. Despite being incredibly frustrating to watch and having a frankly shoddy first touch Shola is capable of some good things. He can hold the ball up, has a few tricks and is reasonable in the air. Who knows, maybe a complete change of direction up front could yield some better fortune.

1) Premiership Winners Man Utd 2) FA Cup Winners Man Utd 3) Carling Cup Winners Everton 4) UEFA Champions League Winners Barcelona 5) UEFA Cup Winners Spurs 6) Euro 2008 Winners Italy 7) Teams Promoted to premiership from championship Charlton, Watford, West Brom 8) Teams Relegated from premiership to championship Derby, Fulham, Middlesbrough

Presumably Fat Sam is intending to use Faye as competition for Butt in midfield and sign Brown as cover for RB and CB. If we sign Brown i don't see the need for Ben Haim unless he plans to sell Cacapa, Rozenhal or Taylor.

Apologies, i did actually think Taylor had been dropped in favour of Cacapa. Didn't realise he was injured. My Bad.

Milner is a very good premiership player. He's not great and he's not world class but he does have the potential to be. The fact that he's been playing out of position all season and has done as well as he has is testament to the lad's ability and professionalism. If Duff can recapture his Blackburn/Chelsea form then we have anothe very good premiership player on our hands. He is undoubtedly a better player than Milner on his day but he also has 6-7 years more experience. If we can get them both playing as we know they can, in the same team then we should be looking at goals and chances aplenty.

They're probably working on that but it's not going to happen overnight is it

I was implying that of the defenders we currently have, if we use four who speak the same language we're more likely to keep a clean sheet. I apologise if that didn't come across clearly. I think that the main problem with the four you mentioned is that 3 of them were rubbish.

I'm starting to think that the reason he plays Rozenhal and Faye or Rozenhal and Cacapa as his preferred CB partnership is to do with communication. Cacapa, Beye, Rozenhal, N'Zogbia and Faye all speak French. Enrique only speaks Spanish as far as i'm aware and i'm pretty sure Taylor only speaks English. 4 defenders who speak the same language = clean sheet. It makes sense to have a back line who share a common language but Taylor has had a couple of good games at the back and looked a real threat going forward. I don't think dropping him sends a very positive message. Play well, score a goal and i'll reward you with a place on the bench.

He's a striker but he can also play wide right. A bit like a right sided Diouf i suppose, only not as much of a c*nt!

Owen Out 8m Arshavin in 6m Ameobi out 2m Crouch in 10m Ben Haim in 1m Alan Hutton in 4m Riquelme loan

I heard that Dabo kicked off with Barton about something and he got a good hiding for his troubles, then went crying to the papers. Now, i'm not saying it's true. I'm just saying that's what i've heard. I notice that none of the other players or coaches who were present have come out and spoken for Dabo or against Barton. The only person i have seen quoted on the situation is Dabo himself. Maybe it's just a case of hurt pride. Thought Barton came across really well in the interview last night. He's obviously had a troubled upbringing but so many of the top footballers have. He dealt with the pointless questions about his family members very calmly and with a lot of intelligence, and i really think the BBC should be ashamed of themselves for pursuing that angle on what is supposed to be a sports related program. A very gutsy interview by a player that i hope has a big future here.

So you have a wall that the player has to get the ball over, a player on each post that the player has to get the ball between, and a group of his own players the freekick taker has to avoid as well. Not to mention the players marking the opposition players in the box. I'd fancy the defending team's chances every time.

What benefit would that be to an attacking team? It makes much more sense to go for goal from a direct free kick without their own players in the way, and the ball invariably goes in or over. You can't put in a decent cross from that position, any touch on the goal keeper is deemed a foul.

Why don't teams just put a defender on each post for direct free kicks?

I actually thought Carr had his first good game for us yesterday. I'd still get rid in a shot, but knowing our luck he'll move on and start playing really well.

..................................Shay Carr....Taylor...Roz...........Faye....Cacapa.....Enrique ........Crouch.....Owen......Zigic/Koller...Martins Perfect!

I didn't see the game to be honest. I just hate Sam Allardyce so much that i can't see any good in anything he does. I need to see my counsellor again.

Apparently both Faye and Taylor are fit.

Why don't we just forget the midfield and play 6 at the back with 4 up front (two big and two small) The 6 at the back could just hoof it up to the 4 up front. Problem solved. Next!

Great, another defender who was torn apart by Liverpool. Get him in, the more the merrier! I wonder if Besiktas have anyone we can buy.

Probably Mike Ashley. He's not daft!

nufc.com are reporting that Steven Taylor should be fit to play. If he is, he should be in the starting line-up without a doubt. I like all 3 of new CBs but they don't have the same passion, aggression, attacking threat, popularity and premiership experience as Stevie T. He's also a talker on the pitch which is something we've badly missed at the back. .............................Shay Beye...........Taylor........Rozenhal.............Enrique Milner..........Butt............Emre...........N'Zogbia ..................Martins.......Smith/Viduka There we go. Piece of piss! I 've done the easy bit for you Sam, the rest is up to you. You fat prick!

No doubt the media will make Mourinho and Lippi their odds on favourites, seeing as they are both good, experienced and available. The sad fact is that the standard of coaching in this country is very poor compared to our continental rivals. There isn't one English manager you could realistically say is top drawer. The country's top 4 teams are managed by foreigners, last season's fifth placed team is managed by a foreigner, the league's most improved team is managed by the ex-England manager...who is a foreigner. And just while i'm ranting, as if the English FA weren't a farcical enough outfit already, they agree to host an American football game on the Wembley pitch 2 weeks before a crucial European Championship qualifier. Heads should roll!

Hold on a second, you're making up your own argument here. I didn't say that Duff is a top player because he left Chelsea for first team football. I said he's the kind of player i want at Newcastle because he left the best team in the Country for first team football, unlike many of the other mercenaries who are prepared to warm the bench week in week out. I like to see the positives in our players and wish them well. You it seems do not. I imagine you're one of the so-called fans who wants the manager sacked after 11 games, and boos the team off the pitch.

I didn't STATE that Mourinho wanted to keep Duff. I just disputed the guess that Mourinho let him go easily. The fact is that despite your poo pooing of my comments, you haven't got any more idea about what happened than i have.