James

There is one thing I haven't considered, if Spurs get a win, a good Chelsea win would see them get the automatic CL spot. So Chelsea need to run out of the blocks, and Hiddink might actually be secretly targetting this one for a goalfest. Get a few early goals, and pressure is on Liverpool.

Edgar right back, Lovenkrands left wing, otherwise unchanged.

:s

Ther left back de Laet, spent two years at Stoke, but never played. He was bought to Man Utd to flesh out their reserves, presumably because he had befriended players from his Royal Antwerp days. He plays with players in a lower age group than him.

I'm worried though. 50-50 chance, Chelsea striker has to burst a gut to get there, I'd think you could count on Sinclair more than Drogba or Anelka

They had better beat fucking Sunderland man. Lampard aside that's a ridiculously strong side for the last day of the season. Scared its too strong. A few players with a bad attitude could help Sunderland.

Odd decision unless its been decided that we want to keep Beye regardless of division. Said that there was a good chance he'd rupture something and they 'couldn't do it to the lad'. Ah ok, that makes more sense.

Odd decision unless its been decided that we want to keep Beye regardless of division.

this de Laet guy sounds like turboshit. A 20 year old unable to get into the Stoke team.

Their left back: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritchie_De_Laet

Craig Gardener isn't great, nor are the full backs of Villa.

So Milner is at right back?

Main BBC Sport headline: D-Day for Newcastle Looks like the other three clubs don't matter. We are Newcastle United, and we will remain long after Hull, Sunderland, and Middlesbrough have ceased to exist.

Anyone seen the interview of Phil Brown practically begging Fergie to play a weakened team?

From what I gather, Krul will fight Harper if we stay up, but if we go down, its him or Harper.

If it eases any fears, Krul has recently bought a very expensive house in Newcastle. I've also heard that the board vetoed a move to a big club in January.

tinted. Sorry, been a long day.

I was leaving Alton Towers, and there was a group of Bentleys, Porsches and suchlike, with tainted windows. Occupants were pretty young but didn't see any faces. Looks like one Premier League squad is a bit relaxed ahead of the weekends games. Hopefully it'll be Villa, and not Manchester United.

He's not THAT good to be honest. Our best player this season, but wouldn't get past Titus Bramble in my opinion, and I thought Faye was better last season also.

If Dyer was limited, then the players that we currently have could only be described using very politically incorrect words. Name me his skills and talents then, he was fast could short pass and on occasion put a decent through ball. He was no world beater by any stretch, he could have been far better if he wasn't a complete dick head, you look at him now and he looks total s****. He was the quickest dribbler on the ball I have seen at this club. He knew when to keep hold of the ball and let it go, and his short passes found players who had the better delivery. He would run further on the pitch than anyone else. He would harry the opposing midfielder all game, which helped Speed sweep it all up in midfield He could deliver an excellent low cross if he got to the byline Now can you say that about any of our current bunch. The reality is that Dyer was starting to look limited for a top club with genuine trophy ambitions. That is still a million light years from where we are now. Would he run further? He had good physicality and seemed naturally fit, but his work rate was iffy. I can't remember him being a brilliant hassler either. His low cross was good, but I think the thing about short passing is like saying Duff's good because he passes short a lot, he rarely drove at people unless it was on the counter like at Southampton in the Cup. He did lack concentrarion in the defensive third, but the stats if i remember right usually backed up that claim, and I dont think the hassling was as blatant because he couldn't tackle, but he could close space down really well, which would allow Speed to tuck in and nick the ball.

If Dyer was limited, then the players that we currently have could only be described using very politically incorrect words. Name me his skills and talents then, he was fast could short pass and on occasion put a decent through ball. He was no world beater by any stretch, he could have been far better if he wasn't a complete dick head, you look at him now and he looks total s****. He was the quickest dribbler on the ball I have seen at this club. He knew when to keep hold of the ball and let it go, and his short passes found players who had the better delivery. He would run further on the pitch than anyone else. He would harry the opposing midfielder all game, which helped Speed sweep it all up in midfield He could deliver an excellent low cross if he got to the byline Now can you say that about any of our current bunch. The reality is that Dyer was starting to look limited for a top club with genuine trophy ambitions. That is still a million light years from where we are now. Sounds more like a Keith Gillespie description to me. The Kieron Dyer I know was; - Unwilling to play wherever the manager asked him - A constant liability off the pitch - Could only pass a ball 10 yards never much further - Couldn't tackle - Couldn't shoot very well - Couldn't cross very well - Pacey - Could run around like a headless chicken - Could scare defences if his team mates played well. Those first two points of yours pretty much sum up what you think of Dyer the person, and I personally think that that kind of thing makes people ovely critical of him. Robson never cared much about player personalities if they delivered on the pitch, and the fact that Robson always picked Dyer is for me further evidence of Dyer's ability within the team in my opnion.. I'll end my side of the argument there though, as thats all I've got to say for now.

Those runs he made, would scatter opposing defenders. Players would be left for dead, and be drawn out positionally. Think of the number of times the ball would suddenly find its way out to Robert or Solano, in plenty of space in the final third from which there was plenty of time to give Shearer a nice delivery. This was often thanks to Dyer's industry.

If Dyer was limited, then the players that we currently have could only be described using very politically incorrect words. Name me his skills and talents then, he was fast could short pass and on occasion put a decent through ball. He was no world beater by any stretch, he could have been far better if he wasn't a complete dick head, you look at him now and he looks total shite. He was the quickest dribbler on the ball I have seen at this club. He knew when to keep hold of the ball and let it go, and his short passes found players who had the better delivery. He would run further on the pitch than anyone else. He would harry the opposing midfielder all game, which helped Speed sweep it all up in midfield He could deliver an excellent low cross if he got to the byline Now can you say that about any of our current bunch. The reality is that Dyer was starting to look limited for a top club with genuine trophy ambitions. That is still a million light years from where we are now.

If Dyer was limited, then the players that we currently have could only be described using very politically incorrect words.

That's because he doesn't have a clue what to do with it, and can't dribble worth a s****. Not sure how that has anything to do with his quickness though. Thats the point though, speed is only an asset if you can use it, but too many people quote it as one of his best assets when the reality is that there isn't any benefit from the fact that he can run fast. Kieron Dyer, now he was genuinely quick, and when fit would piss on Martins from the top of the Gallowgate. Kieron Dyer was a worse player than Oba though... No he wasn't, we just had really high expectations at the time and he was always injured. He was like, at least Oba can hold people off the ball on he can score from all over the place with all parts of his body. Martins has more strength, power, pace and ability than Dyer. Firstly, whereas I was comparing how Dyer and Martins used their pace, you are comparing them as strikers, and Dyer was a midfielder. Secondly, Martins might do the occasional thing that looks good and impressive, but the fact is we are playing with ten men with him most of the time, whereas Dyer was an extremely important contributor to a team that played in the Champions League. Oba Martins will never be good enough to be a regular starter for a top 6 side. Thirdly, is it a coincidence that Martins only good spell of form at the club (the winter months of his first season), he was playing alongside a fit Dyer? I just think the only reason Dyer looked useful was a) because of the players around him and b) because of his pace and the spaces made for him to run into. At present we have no-one looking to produce the killer pass, no-one who can physically produce the killer pass and a strike force who have rarely consistently played alongside one another - therefore lacking in understanding one anothers movement. Kieron Dyer had a number of intelligent players around him and pacey players too, their movement and creativity and the ability to produce the killer pass was what made him a good Midfielder. Imagine if we had Solano, Shearer, Bellamy, Woodgate, Speed, Robert in our current team, Martins would look far better. The one thing I would agree on however, is that Dyer has a better first touch. No it wasn't like that at all, it was Dyer and his running on the ball that created the space that Solano Robert and Shearer could exploit. In that team, Robson would have realised what a one-dimensional, selfish player he was, and shipped him out.