madras

Arsenal are not 'naturally' from North London, they are from Woolwich, South London. WHU's bitterest rivals are Leyton Orient Yeah, like we're not really Newcastle United but Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End. So that makes us Newcastle ....United.... Arsenal are from a different part of London, there is nothing in north London to connect them there, and no team from north London merged with them. how long have arsenal been in north london then ? how long? I couldn't give a s***. I know a few yiddo's who do though. is it possible they've been there long enough to be classed as north london (i don't know how long arsenal have been in north london but their first game at highbury was in 1913.....i think they can class themselves as north london by now.)

Gotta be going some to beat that time we demolished Everton 3-1 at Goodison. Thats still my fave KK away perfomance. Should have been six or seven. and their 1 (limpar) was about 5yds offside(no exaggeration)

I'm here We'll see in summer if it was a mistake or not though. Whatever happens, Keegan made a decision which has given him 4 more months to take a look at the players that he has at his disposal and 4 more months for him to extensively scout the players that he might end up buying. He's been vindicated in his decision to stick with the squad and see the season through By not getting relegated? Thats all we cared about on Jan 15th? Ok One performance doesnt make a season but if this is backed up by wins against Reading and Portsmouth, i'll agree with you. As it stands, in reality, we are just another side to have knocked 4 past Spurs this season. We were always going to end up as a mid-table team with or without Allardyce because we hadn't accumulated enough points in the easy part of our season so yea, I'd say yea, not getting relegated was the only major goal after Allardyce got sacked. We could have gotten an extra couple of mill from prize money but that would have meant Keegan needing to spend money on players he hadn't scouted and on positions he might have been unsure about (eg. leftback). European football wasn't on the table anyway considering the teams ahead of us at that time, and the fact that now there's only one automatic UEFA Cup place surely vindicates his decision not to spend any money even more. I don't see how his decision not to sign anyone can be construed as a negative one, especially now with the benefit of hindsight and seeing that the short-term benefits weren't much (the aforementioned couple of mill of prize money) but there was a definitely a long-term risk (paying over-the-top fees and wages for average players) there. He gambled on us surviving and it's worked (barring a crazy collapse), and now he'll be way surer of the positions that need strengthening, the players that will stay/go and of course he's had lots of extra time to eye up prospective players as well. i think we may well have gone down had allardyce stayed.

you shouldn't have said "anyone". you know what'll happen

nice to see the before game assumptions then watch how the game pans out from another perspective. http://www.glory-glory.co.uk/forums/thread/339097.aspx

even when you look at their team on paper,take away the forward line and it looks weak.

i wonder if keegan will look at positioning like that ? ie defensive midfielders etc. under keegan nicky butt has got forward a fair bit and geremi and barton both make the edge of the box regularly. keegan is more likely to want rob lee/gary speed style players who do both and read the game well rather than an out-and-out defensive midfielder.

with some clouds

Arsenal are not 'naturally' from North London, they are from Woolwich, South London. WHU's bitterest rivals are Leyton Orient Yeah, like we're not really Newcastle United but Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End. So that makes us Newcastle ....United.... Arsenal are from a different part of London, there is nothing in north London to connect them there, and no team from north London merged with them. how long have arsenal been in north london then ?

nice line in that independent piece with keegan urging martins to "run at him,attack him"

teasy...how can i put this ? are you a simple minded mong ?.....no that would be wrong. i'm sorry! ,i'll put it this way. ashley wont get his £129mill back unless he has backed the shares some more cos he bcaked them at a bookies...he didn't buy the shares as such. Do you understand spread betting?! There is very little chance he would have closed down his position in the wake of those losses. The problem with associating the word 'bet' with this is that people think it's a bet with a fixed date that ends when a certain event occurs. The type of bet Ashley had on meant that every time the HBOS price moved one way or the other he won / lost an agreed amount. He has had this open since last year (who is to know how long before that as well) and these losses are an accumulation of the losses throughout that period. As stated, these will have narrowed somewhat, in fact at least 20% following on from last week's HBOS recovery. He would not have needed to place another bet, just keep the same one open as he has for a good few months. Balances will probably be paid on a daily, weekly or monthly basis so he will have lost the amount stated / gained but it will still only appear like a paper loss until the bet is closed and the final figure is realised. I think you should have maybe done a little research before the simple minded mong comment, rather backfired. in reply no. 80 on march 26 i say

it does make sense but wouldn't it also make sense to have 2 forwards who done that and gave us an extra midfielder. as yet it's a work in progress. keegans making the best of what he's got but i'm sure the las couple of weeks have gave him some new ideas.

:clap:

Thought id quote this cos maybe the only time i'll agree with NE5 , spot on and unarguable imo you should try it more often, as I'm usually right. Don't let this fact cloud your opinions though !!!!! i'll bet even f*** the press doesn't think you're "usually right"

with us being safish i'd guess carroll would come in or go 4-4-2 or as you suggest even smiff.

teasy...how can i put this ? are you a simple minded mong ?.....no that would be wrong. i'm sorry! ,i'll put it this way. ashley wont get his £129mill back unless he has backed the shares some more cos he bcaked them at a bookies...he didn't buy the shares as such.

submit ? as in "submit" posts or "give in" ?

If we could play Spurs every week we'd be champions!Roll on the next area we play in that ends in Ham.-Birmingham,Fulham and Tottenham,we're coming West Ham"!!!! what a spot that is!

it would be typical newcastle to get into europe this way

but with only 3 in midfield and maybe 4 against him and 2 full backs pushing on you need more than "good on the ball and works a bit"....does his stuff on the ball make him worth a place in a 3 man midfield ?...not in my opinion Perhaps not immediately, not with where his head is at and how Keegan is asking the lads in midfield to play (they've all picked up a good deal recently, too, although they couldn't have got much worse.) I do think he could become a real player in that sort of role and if he leaves I don't think he'll regret it, I think he'd probably prosper somewhere like Spurs. Suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree here. i'd like to think so. as i've said the lad has talent with the ball at his feet,maybe the work and positioning thing is down to huffiness and childish arrogance (lats call it "jenasness")and keegan can get him round. wasn't so long ago i was saying get n'zogbia in for barton for the midfiled 3....see how a few weeks can change things ?

Dont think he;d be as disciplined in geting back as barton or geremi would be to be honest. If we are to play with 3 exclusive forwards then our 18 yards box needs cprotecting without exception, he didntreally povide too much defensive protection when he has played in CM in the past. For me, Zog is exclusively a left winger. Who asked you!? (Only joking!) I just like N'Zogbia to be honest, I think he's a cut above more or less everything else in our squad and he's still got time on his side. I do think he's done his best work on the left-wing, as you've said, but I wouldn't write him off completely as being able to play more centrally. He wasn't as bad at left-back as I expected him to be and was still a standout player towards the start of the season (he's still the first choice LB for France U21's), I honestly think he gets a rough ride on here because he's a bit of a moody b******. People have been quick to forget just how important he has been at times here, for such a young player as well - same goes for Milner at times. i'm one who lauded him early on but haven't been impressed the last 2 years.

but with only 3 in midfield and maybe 4 against him and 2 full backs pushing on you need more than "good on the ball and works a bit"....does his stuff on the ball make him worth a place in a 3 man midfield ?...not in my opinion

tracking back can be taught ....doing it well can't. i dont think he'll get it or do it willingly.(unfortunatly)

right then bit by bit watch how much ronaldo makes moves into the middle,yes you'll not see him throgh the middle from a goal kick but is he on the right or left ? ronaldo will switch side to side and roony tevz switch forward/deep and both pull wide. of course ferguson sends them out with a formation (did i say he didn't ?) but thir fluidity (like ours as the entertainers) means the players are clever footballers,moving,dragging the oppos away,moving into space. the comparison i'm trying to draw is man utd (defensivly solid,scholes through the middel ,then flux)and most other teams who if you listen to the radio you know whos got the ball purely by where it is ie until recently "newcastle attack on the right" meant it was milner..now it's not (i know milners out but you know what i mean) The last paragraph is what I'd hope for too from us, that's what I was trying to say. But this formation is still fairly rigid at the moment, Geremi sticks to the right, Barton sticks towards the left and Butt sits behind them two. Martins is the only one all over the place and Owen is working right up the centre (as I think Dave said earlier), Viduka is the fulcrum - but even he's been moving around far more than he had been under Allardyce. All signs are positive really, and I apologise for the tangent, as we should all just be enjoying this tonight - think I was just after a bit of a joust really, for whatever reason. If we play anything like Man Utd next season, then it should be brilliant to watch. I think I'd actually prefer to see us give this whacky formation a proper crack ahead of a "4-4-2 with two wingers who can cross, etc." in the modern Premiership, the flexibility it potentially offers is brilliant. Of course it won't work all the time though. basically i should have said nufc circa the entertainers...movement and all that. thats what i want and i think it would work in todays (rigid) game.

of course you can teach it...but the best and the ones who make it do it instinctivly and out of desire. re owen....your right he was always thought of that way....by people who didnt watch him.he's always worked even at liverpool. does he go chasing about like david kelly/bellamy ....no! never has and it would be pointless for him to do so....does he read the game better and intercept more than those....i reckon he does. oh and if you think the defensive responsibility (for midfielders)is mainly harrying and pressurising the ball then we're f*****.