James

Last season, I identified Given's weaknesses as poor at dealing with balls in the box, having zero presence, no command of his area, and being a poor communicator. He certainly deserved a chance though at that stage based on the people in front of him, although I suggested that after our next defensive overhaul, if we were still having problems, Givens career at Newcastle should be put under scrutiny. Despite an extensive overhaul, bringing in players that are clearly better than the last lot, we have conceded more goals this season than we did in the same fixtures last season, and I haven't noticed an improved individual performance by Given, and he is the best of our two keepers. On that basis, I'd be happy to sell Given for a fair price if we could get someone like Jaaskelainen.

Its Adam Sadler, who theoretically could now be the manager of players who are older than him.

I knew this thread was going to be about Carr without knowing any details beforehand.

We've also conceded a lot more goals in the fixtures we've played than we did in the same fixtures last season.

The FA's reasoning completely baffles me to be honest. Have they not issued suspensions before based on video evidence? Perhaps we should sue UEFA for millions of lost earnings due to them suspending Shearer for that elbow against Inter.

You should be the last person to comment. Like I said, I know a few things about bad threads.

Funny thing is I can't remember Kasper saying anything like that, certainly Kasper can usually spell 'middle', but this guy seems to have made up a quote from him.

This is possibly the worst thread I have ever seen, and I know a few things about bad threads.

One way

Will it be better if I limit ball boys and mascots to top flight only?

1983?

For me, I've put all the ones I've done/seen in bold: So thats 14 in total for me.

Obviously some people have seen more football in the flesh than others, but I thought it would be interesting to see who has experienced the largest variation. So here is a checklist of possibilities for you to go through, it doesn't matter whether or not you were supporting a particular team, as long as you were in the stadium when it happenned: 1. A Premier League Match 2. A Championship Match 3. A League One Match 4. A League Two Match 5. A Conference Match 6. A FA Cup Match 7. A FA Cup Semi-Final 8. A FA Cup Final 9. A League Cup Match 10. A League Cup Final 11. A Scottish League Match 12. A League Match in another country. 13. Old Firm Derby 14. Milan Derby 15. A Derby involving Real Madrid 16. Istanbul Derby 17. An English Derby. 18. An International 19. A World Cup Match 20. A World Cup Final 21. A European Championship Match 22. A European Championship Final 23. A Copa America Match 24. An African Nations Match 24. An Asian Cup Match 25. A Champions League Match 26. A Champions League Final 27. A UEFA Cup Match 28. A UEFA Cup Final 29. A Cup Winners Cup Match 30. A Friendly 31. A team win the league 32. A team get promoted 33. A team get relegated 34. A team get relegated from the Football League 35. A Penalty Shootout 36. A saved penalty 37. Been a ball boy 38. Been a mascot. 39. Participated in a pitch invasion 40. Seen a playoff final 41. Watched a game at Old Wembley 42. Watched a game at New Wembley 43. Watched a game at the Millenium Stadium 44. Watched a game at the Nou Camp 45. Watched a game at the Bernebeu 46. Watched a game at the San Siro 47. Watched a game at the Maracana 48. Watched a game at the Stade Velodrome 49. Seen a top flight team beaten by a team at least two divisions below. 50. Travelled more than 400 miles specifically to watch a game.

Boothroyd only got the Watford job because Alex Inglethorpe turned them down.

So he leaves out Martins who's played in one of the biggest derbies in world football, Geremi who's played in El Clasico, and Beye who used to captain a side in a heated rivalry between Marseille & PSG. Yes, instead, he picks Owen who has played in Liverpool vs Everton, Smith and Barton who have played in United vs City, and Taylor, one of three players in our squad to have played in Newcastle vs Sunderland.

I dont know how Geremi can be considered ineffective when he has played a crucial role in many of our goals when he has been on the pitch, as well as being the only short pass option that is consistently available to the defence.

So what's the criteria for a FA review? Could a fan send in footage of the two-footer and get a review or does it have to be a complaint from within the game itself? I thought it had to be mentioned in the referee's report for the game? The referee saw that and gave nothing so nowt will happen. The referee can not spot it or take no action but then view it retrospectively after the game and mention it in his report that he believes action needs to be taken. PM knows more than you do about this one stozo.

As I see it there should be two focal players in our team right now, Geremi and Viduka, so if Geremi can't be captain, Viduka should be.

Geremi doesn't need pace for the role he fulfils.

Geremi, Viduka, N'Zogbia

Don't think the Irish could have cleared £100m of debt.

I believe that some of his selections yesterday were on the basis that he wanted players with derby experience on the pitch.

Much missed in my opinion since he hasn't been starting in his preferred central role. Yes, he doesn't get the goals and assists, and he doesn't look as good as he did preseason. But, he is the only midfielder that properly looks to provide a short passing option to the defence, and earlier in the season, the defenders have shown that they will use the short option if available. During the full 90 minutes, his passing isn't perfect, but I dont recall him ever getting dangerously caught in possession, and a few times during the game, I have seen him find space, look up and play a delightful pass to Viduka or one of the wingers. This may not be consistent over 90 minutes, but it is a lot more than I have seen from Smith, Butt, Barton and Emre. Defensively, he isn't as good as Butt, and he doesn't tackle as well as Smith or Barton, but he is still pretty good in this department, reads the game well, and makes many good interceptions, and wins a lot of second balls. Not meaning to sound patronising, but the analysis of goals that we score always seems very limited, ie all the praise goes to the goalscorer and whoever provided the assist. Lets take Milner's goal yesterday for example, all the praise and thanks is heaped onto Milner for the good run and cross. What about the good run into the box by Owen that made the cross dangerous, brought Gordon closer to the near post and stopping him coming out for the ball, making the space in the far corner of the goal? What about thew one-two that allowed Milner to beat his man? Or the pass out wide to Milner in the first place? Or the winning back of possession prior to that move? I still need to rewatch the goal to identify these players, but these are all key contributions, without which we would not have scored. When playing, Geremi has provided more key contributions than any other central midfielder. That is because he is the best player in the side at converting defence into attack. Scott Parker was often criticised for winning the ball back and then failing to do anything good with it. Often, the same can be said for Barton, Smith and Butt, while Emre rarely seems to find himself in a counter-attacking situation. Based on all I have said, Geremi should be one of the first names on the team sheet for most matches, and it should be up to the other players to fight for their place alongside him whether it be a 2 or 3 man central midfield.

Not match fit, and out of position, and to be honest we may have been better with someone in his place, but I see potential, ie he was the only one of midfielders to successfully pass the ball forwards all game. For a few brief spells in the second half, he did seem to get a little grip on the game when he drifted centrally.

It is hard to tell though with the shots they have for goal kicks etc whether there is a player in a good position to receive the ball.