David Icke - Son of God

I fucked off just after the fourth official put his board up. I was freezing cold and wanted to miss the post match scrum at the Metro station so I went. There was also the fact I didn't want to be there when the booing started otherwise I may have lamped someone.

Because the rags were full of stories about Enrique and Cacapa when we signed them

That makes no sense. First of all, as Baggio has said Chimbonda is a right back. Second of all, we're not a selling club especially not to our rivals. Third of all why would we let our only other left back go for free if we were planning on selling this one. Fourth and finally of all, I personally haven't seen anything on the pitch to make me think he's a poor buy, certainly no poorer than anyone else. Why would we get rid of him after less than six months to another Premiership club?

I never said he should play in the centre, stop putting words in my mouth. I was getting at how despite looking poor in numerous games Roz is never far from a recall to first team activities.. it seems like Jose had one bad game and hasn't seen the pitch since... I reckon Sam just doesn't rate him.... Rozehnal's not a player for the future though is he? The lad turns 22 in less than a month. (Enrique) Kaboul is of a similar age and he's played far more first team football than Jose. And people have been bashing Kaboul for his performances, so much so that Ramos left him out and played Chimbonda in the middle. If Allardyce doesn't feel he's ready then I don't blame him for not throwing him in, the way the crowd have been this season they will rip the poor lad to shreds after a few missed passes. Look at the way Wenger is treating Eduardo, he doesn't feel he's ready and won't be for 6 months so he prefers to drift him in for a taste of the action and bring him back out again, the difference between us and Arsenal is that they have other players to cover where as we don't, however if we didn't get turned down by Dragotinovic in the last week of the transfer window then perhaps the fans wouldn't be in such a panic to throw him in. Allardyce knows the situation better than anyone and I trust him to do whats right with the situation, even if I don't agree with decisions he's made on the pitch. That's why I thought he was dropped after the Liverpool game. His performance wasn't that bad but towards the end when he was making errors the fans began to get irritated and I don't care what nationality you are, booing and jeering is a universal language. It certainly can't help his confidence getting stick, especially when he's a young lad in a strange country. His head would go down and performance levels would drop rather than the other way around. Anyway, I got the feeling he was going to ease him back in after the Arsenal game but we managed to get a result so he stuck with almost the same side for the next few games. Now I think Allardyce is in a difficult position. Does he put Enrique back in when the fans are at their most venomous and could rip him apart or does he wait until results are going our way again?

Not only does he look decent at the back from my personal experience he seems more than able to accurately pass the ball more than 20 yards. I thought that would be BSA's type of player.

News archive footage - we were a top 7 side merely a year and a half ago, and the only players of significance missing from that squad when Allardyce took over were Bowyer & an ageing Shearer . Unless you think we only achieved that due to the management & tactical skills of Souness & Roeder? I think we achieved it due to a wave of optimism surrounding the club with the potential appointment of a 'world class manager', many of whom had applied for the job the second Souness was ejected from the SJP hot seat if Fat Fred was to be believed. This meant there was little or no pressure of Rodders or the team, as most fan had already written the season off. Anyway, Roeder seems to do that at every club he joins. I'm sure he dabbles in the dark arts. Quality. We got 7th with a s*** squad (in your opinion) on the promise of a potential appointment for half the season. We should just get some better players in and do that every year then. If we sack Allardyce now and hint that we're getting Mourinho in the Summer we might get in the Champions League. There was also the fact that the teams around us played very poorly and dropped a lot of points.

More importantly whos the lass in your avater? :parky: Jenny Lewis

We are just coming off the back of an awful run of injuries which has certainly hindered our progress. Our 'first choice' back four must have only played together once or twice in total this season. The midfield has performed poorly, due to a lack of creative players which is why i'm keeping my fingers crossed we'll get someone like Arshavin in. We've tinkered too much with the strike force to have any solid goalscoring partnership. As Rooney and Tevez proved earlier this season, strikers need games to get to know each other and to start scoring consistently. Personally, i'm not convinced any of our strikers are good enough to bag 20 goals a season in this league.

News archive footage - we were a top 7 side merely a year and a half ago, and the only players of significance missing from that squad when Allardyce took over were Bowyer & an ageing Shearer . Unless you think we only achieved that due to the management & tactical skills of Souness & Roeder? I think we achieved it due to a wave of optimism surrounding the club with the potential appointment of a 'world class manager', many of whom had applied for the job the second Souness was ejected from the SJP hot seat if Fat Fred was to be believed. This meant there was little or no pressure of Rodders or the team, as most fan had already written the season off. Anyway, Roeder seems to do that at every club he joins. I'm sure he dabbles in the dark arts.

In May this year this club was a fucking shambles both on and off the pitch. Since then everything has changed but like most things time is needed before we can fully reap the rewards. In my opinion, the OTT nature of the fans discontent just doesn't correspond with our position in the league or our performances on the pitch. People have got ideas above their station and somehow think that a new manager, new owner and new batch of players will instantly lift us into the top 8. Newsflash - it wont. Why? Because we're not a top half side and haven't been for sometime. We need time to build and Allardyce proved at Bolton he's capable of building a club. Some of his selections have been baffling and his tactics certainly aren't easy on the eye but we haven't got the quality through out the squad to play this one touch brand of football. Good managers don't just become bad managers over night and some of the inroads we're making off the pitch (poaching good young talent from here and abroad, improved fitness levels, team bonding trips etc.) are all down to Allardyce. They were part of the package we were asking for when he came in. Patience is a virtue and it's one that is sorely needed here at the minute because if we do get rid of BSA at the end of the season we'll be sitting here moaning about the exact same thing at the exact same time of year when the next manager comes in. As Everton, Pompy, Villa, Man United, Blackburn and Bolton under Sam have proved, continuity is often one of the keys to success.

I meant by the Panto contingent, most of which I doubt come on here They're more TalkoftheTyne posters

He's more experienced in the Premiership. Whether it be at left back or left wing he has a better understanding of the game in this league than Enrique currently. It helps that he's the fans darling aswell. Our new Spanish left back has a poor game and he's the new Luque/Marcelino etc but N'Zogbia does seem to be one of the few players which could get away with murder and still be commended by the majority of our fans, Taylor being another one.

I had him down as an Elano type player.

N'Zogbia has been here much longer, he knows the English game better. Anyway, what's with all this 'out of position' bollocks. When we signed him he was touted as being able to play on the left wing and at left back. I'll reiterate the fact that I believe he's been kept out due to his confidence taking a severe knock against Liverpool. IMO Big Sam was right to leave him out against Blackburn and Arsenal, two very hard games which we were all but certain to ship a few goals. It wouldn't have helped him at all playing in a side which is at a very low ebb and getting trounced. I think we'll see him back in against Brum if Allardyce thinks that the team needs changing.

When he's fully fit and if a creative midfielder is not forthcoming in January i'd move N'Zogbia into the centre and play Duff on the left.

Spurs when Robert scored two crackers?

Where's the essay?

I wouldn't call any of them 'superb' or 'class' at the moment because they've all had their dodgey moments but you can tell they've got something about them we've been missing for a while. My first choice back four when all fit would be Beye, Cacapa, Faye and Enrique. I like Taylor but I don't think he's as good as either Faye or Cacapa when on form.

Scored a very similar one against Spurs, didn't he?

Enrique in, Move Zog onto the LW and give Geremi a rest.

I wouldn't say fantastic but he certainly lead from the front. Chased and challenged for every ball and should start against Brum.

I personally think Allardyce is trying to protect him. His confidence must be shot to shit after his performance and treatment during the Liverpool game so there was no point dropping him back in against a side like Arsenal where he may have another nightmare. I think we may see him back against Brum.

Alone? Nah me and a completely neutral mate. But i've given her an old black and white shirt so she's firmly an adopted Toon fan now. Woosh?

When the whole stadium jeered in tandem when the name Freddy Shepherd was mentioned at Shearer's Testimonial. That was great.

It's the fans fault for buying a ticket to the football when they really should've got one to the Pantomime instead.