ohmelads

I thought the problem with N'Zogbia on the right was that he had to cut inside, preventing him from taking on the full back and getting behind their defence. He is our best weapon for getting in behind defenders yet he was put in a position which restricted him from doing this.

It's a real shame after the solid start he made here. He has got away with a few mistakes in prior games but got found out at Reading and totally humiliated today. I hope he has the mental strength to recover from this, the last thing we need is a confidence player in central defence.

?? I'm on about the quality of Joey Barton as a footballer, and how I am surprised at why so many have seen him as a potential saviour. I've suggested that it's perhaps a sign of how desperately poor we've been at times lately that a player like Barton, who really is nothing special, should be held in this light. Aye, he's played two games for us. What's your point? Bizarre post.

I'm not sure Allardyce is flexible or patient enough to work with the current squad and buy himself the time he'll need to build us into Bolton mk II. For the foreseeable future he is stuck with players who don't suit that football and unless he changes tack then we will keep getting disjointed performances. He must bite his tongue or he will fail here, and he'll have noone to blame but himself. Being a manager of a football club is a privilege, not a right. He's inherited a lot of players who are unfamiliar or perhaps even don't like his tactics, and something has to give otherwise it'll be unhappy times.

Allardyce trying to be clever again. If the Reading result didn't bring him back down to earth then hopefully this one will. We can't afford to keep throwing these games away. N'Zogbia on the right and Milner on the left? Butt/Barton in midfield at home to Portsmouth? A bit negative isn't it? We didn't deserve to be beaten 4-1, and Portsmouth must know they enjoyed some good fortune today, but we didn't do enough to say we deserved anything from the game. I'm really worried about Allardyce and this squad, if he wants enough time to build a squad that plays his football then he must be patient and adjust his tactics to fit the current players at his disposal. If he isn't willing or capable of doing that then he will fail here. Players like Owen, Martins and even Smith fighting for high balls isn't going to get us anywhere. If we don't play to our strengths then we will lose games we should be winning and he will lose the respect of the players. Next Saturday is an absolutely massive game for us. I worry that if we play for the draw we will lose and Allardyce will lose a huge amount of respect from the fans, which will ultimately filter down to the players. We must get something from this game, and have a real go at the mackems. No funny stuff from Allardyce, just players in their familiar positions going out to win the game. Portsmouth showed us how to play away from home today.

It was perhaps a sign of how poor we have looked recently that so many Newcastle fans were waiting for Joey Barton the saviour and come in and sort out our problems. When did Joey Barton become a top class footballer? I must have missed that one. I always thought he was a decent-at-best Premiership midfielder, who happened to be English. Before anyone talks about hindsight or fickle views, I did voice these thoughts a while back.

It will recharge and give importance back to main domestic cup competitions and help spread the money around a bit. It's getting to be that the big 4 are getting so rich from the CL that it is in danger of becoming/or will become a mini-league hoovering up all the money. Both arguments are good ones. We're one of the few countries who really value our domestic cup and you're right that in many other countries such as Spain and Italy it would give a lot of importance back to the domestic cups and make them more competitive like the FA Cup over here. But what price is worth paying for that? The Champions League may not be perfect but it's pretty good the way it is and the last thing we want to do is dilute the quality - it is a tournament which prides itself on quality and by and large I think a good compromise has been reached already. It may not be a league of 'champions', but that idea was never feasible anyway because most of the quality is found in a few select leagues. The more convincing argument is the one about the oligopoly of the Premier League's "big four". This has threatened to become a real problem for a while, because year on year if the same 4 sides are qualifying for the lucrative CL then the rest of the league will never catch up. However the superwealthy new owners who are coming in and buying clubs like ourselves, Man City, Villa and West Ham, may help to bridge that gap.

I think that's more to do with the fact our league has got stronger in recent years while Serie A for example has suffered. Traditionally the lack of a winter break has left English teams struggling with injuries and fatigue in the latter stages of the Champions League and UEFA Cup. Liverpool rotate their squad all season which compensates for this, but as a result their league form suffers. I don't agree that playing right through the winter (usually about 4 games in 8 days around new year) gives you an advantage over teams who get a break, quite the opposite. If our clubs had the break, I think you would see a marked improvement in our form in Europe. When Milan put Man Utd out for example they just looked sharper all over the pitch.

Good player at Arsenal, but an awkward age in his career to be switching from Arsenal's free flowing football to Sam Allardyce football. We need to be buying players with their best years ahead of them for these positions which are not an urgent priority, or players significantly better than what we have. Butt, Barton, Emre, Geremi, Faye and Smith are not world class but is Gilberto so much better than all of them? We have loads of depth there, it's only worth going for someone who is a major step up or a youngster who will develop and I think he ticks neither box.

Red card for Raul Albiol, could be more goals yet!

Olliemort, you're predicting Martins to score yet you don't even want him in the squad?

Everton were away in the Ukraine, like. Aye that's true, but it's something we can look to take advantage of if we play at a high tempo.

Portsmouth 1-0 down at the moment at home to Blackburn in the Carling Cup. Our lack of a midweek fixture should help us in this game, as it did against Everton when they had a midweek UEFA match.

I don't think any of them were good enough for Arsenal or right for his system. No point flogging a dead horse, he moved them on and they haven't suffered for going to Arsenal. They were given a good footballing education and are playing in the Premier League now. Sidwell is another example. Can you imagine the day when our academy rejects are players like these? I assume Newcastle are the type of club Platini goes for, buying average players for top prices while being seen as a graveyard for talent (Hugo Viana, anyone?). Not true. Upson was directly replaced by Pascal Cygan, a simply terrible defender. Who has been the better player for the last 16 months, Rosicky or Bentley? Neither were given the chance or it seems shown that they were valuable players. I don't think any of them were good enough for Arsenal and I'm sure their fans would agree. I'd also say Rosicky is a better player than Bentley and certainly more suited to Arsenal's style of play. Cygan was a mistake, but that doesn't make Upson a champions league quality defender. Still never gave either of them a chance, he was prepared to give Cygan a chance even though he was some 28 year old, slow as owt ball head. From what I saw Rosicky was fabulous at Dortmund but from the 12+ months he's been at Arsenal he's nowt special. Bentley has a great first touch; good short, crisp passing and has the pace and skill to beat a man. His final ball and decision making is also better than Rosicky. I'd say he does fit in with the Arsenal style of play. I'd also assume Bentley has scored more Premiership goals than Rosicky within the same time span. Rosicky isn't clearly a level above Bentley imo, i'd probably give Bentley the edge. With Bergkamp, Pires & Ljungberg getting old and succumbing to several injuries Wenger didn't have much faith in his ability to give him a decent crack at the whip which is why he left. I guess I don't rate Bentley as highly as some do, but the important point is the one jonnypd has just made that these players have not suffered by starting out at Arsenal. All are playing in the Premier League. If Wenger was signing up young talent and letting it go to waste then he could be accused of acting against the interests of the game, but from what I can see he does nothing of the sort.

I don't think any of them were good enough for Arsenal or right for his system. No point flogging a dead horse, he moved them on and they haven't suffered for going to Arsenal. They were given a good footballing education and are playing in the Premier League now. Sidwell is another example. Can you imagine the day when our academy rejects are players like these? I assume Newcastle are the type of club Platini goes for, buying average players for top prices while being seen as a graveyard for talent (Hugo Viana, anyone?). Not true. Upson was directly replaced by Pascal Cygan, a simply terrible defender. Who has been the better player for the last 16 months, Rosicky or Bentley? Neither were given the chance or it seems shown that they were valuable players. I don't think any of them were good enough for Arsenal and I'm sure their fans would agree. I'd also say Rosicky is a better player than Bentley and certainly more suited to Arsenal's style of play. Cygan was a mistake, but that doesn't make Upson a champions league quality defender.

"Meanwhile, United were today linked with a £6m move for Benfica’s Paraguayan striker Oscar Cardozo, but this is way wide of the mark. However, it would not surprise me if Big Sam had alerted his scouts to look for a new striker, with Oba Martins away on African Cup duty at the turn of the year and a lot of talk in football that Manchester City boss Sven- Goran Eriksson intends to make an offer for Michael Owen in the January transfer window." He's on form today!

I don't think any of them were good enough for Arsenal or right for his system. No point flogging a dead horse, he moved them on and they haven't suffered for going to Arsenal. They were given a good footballing education and are playing in the Premier League now. Sidwell is another example. Can you imagine the day when our academy rejects are players like these? I assume Newcastle are the type of club Platini goes for, buying average players for top prices while being seen as a graveyard for talent (Hugo Viana, anyone?).

I think it's very unfair to accuse Wenger of being against the good of the game when he's a manager who, perhaps more than anybody, strives to play the game in the most entertaining way possible. Young players want to go to Arsenal because Wenger is a manager who will give them a chance, and those who don't make it or don't suit his system can move on and pursue a career elsewhere (such as Bentley, Pennant, Upson). He has built up the reputation of that academy as one of the best in the world, there are richer clubs than Arsenal who are jealous of that. If anything Wenger has shown how a big club can take on those more powerful clubs and compete at the highest level without the same financial resources. Is that not good for the game? If anything Wenger is an example to follow for any decent sized club. He makes out that Wenger is stealing the best players from tiny, poor clubs, yet some of his most influential signings have been from the top clubs in Europe. Vieira came from Milan, Bergkamp from Inter, Henry from Juventus, Fabregas from Barcelona. Wenger has recognised the talent of these players more than their own clubs, and certainly got the best out of them. Is that not good for the game? Can you imagine if Henry had been left at Juventus, stuck on the left wing in the most defensive league in Europe? Can you imagine if Vieira had stayed at Milan, rotting in the reserves? I think Wenger is excellent for the game.

Aye, I gave the question a few moments thought and decided I couldn't answer it.

Grinding out the 1-0 win seems to be in vogue at the moment and Sam is a big believer. He'll do things his way and won't change for anyone. The way I see it, he will be successful if given the time, but like any manager he needs to buy himself that time. He can not and should not expect blind faith from a set of supporters who are just getting to know him. He is trying to change the culture of the club and change the expectations of fans, but I think it's a little early for that. He needs to build up that trust, and make us believers in his system. There are many doubters. Nobody is bigger than the club, and it is the club we all follow, so if he is going to be given the reigns then he needs to show people he will lead them in the right direction. Some might glibly toss words like 'fickle' around, but this is true of every football club in the world. If you want the job, you've got to prove you're up to it. Like any manager would he has made some mistakes, what people want to see is that he is willing to learn from them and move on. He showed at Bolton his style of football works, if he is given the time to set his squad up the way he wants it. He has made a lot of signings in just one window, and every single one of them tick one or all of his usual boxes; height, strength, experience and workrate. I think there is little doubt that he is building us up the way he built Bolton, only the aim would be to do it with better quality players and eventually go that bit further than they did. The problem I can see is that for the forseeable future he still has to work with a large number of players from the old order, players made for a very different type of football to the stuff he got Bolton playing. Sam has to adapt his ways, otherwise these players will be wasted. If he's going to buy himself time to revamp the entire squad then he must work with the current squad to get the necessary results. As frustrating as it may be, he must work with the current system in order to change it. He will keep telling us to be patient, but we have every right to say the same to him. Sometimes he will have to bite his tongue and accept that there are players in the current squad who are not made for his type of football. He can't expect the team to perform like Bolton overnight, and must change things in order to get the best out of the current lot. If anyone is showing a lack of patience it is Sam, as evidenced by the way he dropped Rozehnal and Taylor. I see positive signs from Allardyce but I also see causes for concern, because when long balls are being launched to Obafemi Martins and Michael Owen, there is a clash of styles going on and a manager seemingly unwilling or unable to compromise. If only it was that easy to turn around a football club. His success here will depend on his flexibility and nous, because nobody is going to hand him a blank cheque. Time will tell whether he has what it takes.

Sometimes it takes someone looking from the outside in to state the obvious and you have hit the nail on the head. I think a lot of Newcastle fans who have defended some of Sam's mistakes simply haven't been able to see the wood for the trees. Sam is trying to change the culture of the club. But in reality it is Sam who must change. A lot of people worried about this scenario.

Couldn't agree more mate. Football is a clique industry espescially at management level, it's jobs for the old boys. Gary Megson gets the Bolton job and Roeder lands the manager's position at Norwich, who as you say are not a small club. The hope is always that they bring in their experience and "steady the ship", but these appointments more often than not end in tears. If you employ a manager with a chequered CV (for all the wrong reasons) which goes back over years then you can't complain when he struggles to raise the quality of your football. There is a reason why managers like Megson and Roeder drift from club to club, coaching one minute and managing the next. More often than not they don't pick up these jobs on merit, but that's the football industry for you.

Hard to see him being their saviour to be honest. He's not the sort of man you want with you in a relegation dogfight, he lacks authority, personality and decisiveness.

Another possibility is that they would move something like the Carling Cup Final over there, since it is always played in a neutral stadium anyway and it would be a big boost for the sponsors. Not advocating this by the way, but I could see pillocks like Magnusson pushing for it.

For me, the most important person for Spurs isn't Juande Ramos, it's Ledley King. If King doesn't come back fit, strong and healthy, and if he doesn't stay that way, then they are in trouble. If you're weak in defence, then the lack of confidence spreads throughout the team. From what everyone's saying, Ramos believes that attack is the best form of defence, but I don't think that's the medicine that Spurs need right now. The other reason why I've got doubts about Ramos being the right man is I think there are divisions within the squad. There were players that weren't giving their all, and some that were loyal to Jol. It'll be tough for someone whose English isn't very good to get to know everyone and assert himself. Presumably Poyet has been brought in to help out in that area, but he's not familiar with the players either. The way the papers are talking, you'd have thought that getting out of the drop zone was a formality, and Ramos's real task is building a Champions League side. Well, if he'd taken over four months ago, that might have been the case, but the situation's different now. I agree that they won't go anywhere unless they sort that defence out. But that doesn't mean they have to shift their whole style of play. Ramos will do well to play to the strengths of the current squad, while trying to shore up the defence with one or two signings in January. Much easier said than done, but only two Spanish clubs conceded fewer goals than Sevilla last season.