Montey

Your right Sheargol.... Viduka isn't doing shite! </sarcasm>

Are you even watching the game? Sheesh!!!

It wasn't off-side. I don't think it was Taylor's fault. Yes he kept him onside, but he was covering his guy on the other side of the pitch. If he had of played the offside his own man would have been free to make a run. Bassong shouldn't have been so far forward leaving the run down the right wing so open.

I think he's worth keeping around. As an alternate winger he's a good option for those games when Jonas is not performing (i.e. as Shearer used him against Boro). I don't see him as an option up forward, but he seems to have decent pace, movement and creativity down the wings to be effective there.

You need to run the BBC predictor to figure that out? Hey, I started watching this game at 5am in the morning... after staying up all night to watch it. Yeah, I need someone else to do the calculations.

I just ran the BBC predictor. If we get 0 points, but Hull get 1 against Bolton (which they might yet do), we're down. But... If Hull loose their remaining games (Bolton & ManU) or if we can get 1 point against either Fulham or Aston Villa then we're safe. This is still a bit of a 50/50 toss up. I can very easily see Bolton being held to a draw against Hull, and I can easily see us doing something stupid and loosing both games to Fulham and Villa. I was saying a 10, but I am now backing off that to a 7. We may have some momentum, but we still have many ways to cock this up.

Bassong has been awful in the centre of defence. He's been so slow to get moving at times he's just being left high-and-dry on the counter attack by Boro. Jonas has been almost anonymous for the last 20 minutes of that half. He's just dawdling around the midfield and not showing any real desire to get after the ball. Viduka has been immense. He's been at the heart of almost every opportunity we created during the first half, but I too worry about his endurance. I don't agree that Butt has been that great, he's getting involved, but he's not really creating any forward momentum. Guthrie has been doing a great job down that right wing. Duff has been doing a decent job at left back, considering he's out of position, but oh how I wish someone would teach him how to place a pass or cross.

There is no way to predict the players reactions. They may be upset because Shearer layed in to Barton, but they may be happy because they agree that Joey is a twat (especially when Joey allegedly claims, in the dressing room, that he's the best player in the squad). We also can't know their reaction to the new rules, because the source saying its going over the top may well be Joey, who has a massive axe to grind. So the whole thing is just more of the media shovelling up the shite using dodgy sources to stir up trouble for the Toon. Until a player puts his name to the quotes they don't mean dick!

Because there is no movement off the ball. The player in possession looks up for a pass, can't find anyone within 30 yards so he attempts keep hold of the ball until someone makes space for him. No-one is forthcoming so the player in possession has to boot it long up the pitch. Our ball retention must be the worst in the league. It's absolutely pitiful. Too true, and it is the biggest truism in football that you can't create anything if you don't keep hold of the ball. Our players need to think to themselves 'if I play this ball what are the chances my team mate will receive it?'. If the answer is 'unlikely', then don't fucking try it! Too many speculative balls over the top totally wasted. I think the only thought that goes through most of our team's heads ,when in possession is, "shit, I got the ball. Shit... where can I offload it so I can't get tackled... Shit... just kick it!"

Yes.... relegation can never be a good thing. But we don't have the luxury of thinking we can have good outcomes at the moment. The best we can do is try and engineer the least-bad outcome which I am starting to think relegation may not be (the least-bad that is). I believe that if we do stay up this season, little will be achieved during the transfer window (as history would suggest), which means we'll be fighting relegation again next season. So what has been achieved. I think the choices we face are perpetual relegation fight until we fall anyway, or we go down now and get on with the inevitable.

So that's... 1 (CM).... 2(DM).... 3(RW).... 4 & 5(LB & RB).... 6, 7, & 8 (Strikers too replace Owen, Martins, and Viduka). So, if we take your 8 players and add the 2 or 3 I said we keep and guess what... you get a whole team (8+3=11). But... you haven't said anything about improving the depth, so add some decent squad players (as opposed to the complete dross we have now) and you get a whole squad, less 2 or 3 players, that needs replacing. Glad you agree with the need to replace the squad... now how do we afford to do this in the PL given if we're in a relegation fight no-one of PL quality will come to us?

We need a clearout regardless... it will be much easier to attract good players if we're still in the Premiership and have the finances that come with it. This "drop down a division to get the s*** out" argument is nonsense because we'll only be able to attract s*** to replace them! Sure.... it would be much easier to achieve a full team clear-out if we stayed in the PL... but this relies on one thing... having the financial clout to buy the players (ala Chelsea). Now... in light of the fact that we don't have that clout there is no way we can buy our way out of this problem, which means the best we could hope for is the standard 3 players out, 2 players in we have done for the last few transfer windows. Since this hasn't been working all that well so far I was thinking maybe it was time to try something else. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result..... This is Insane! Eh? Why do yo assume that we wwould need Chelsea style spending to build a new team/clear out. SBR done it over a few seasons for us. SBR was starting with a much better squad than Shearer has right now. SBR had to replace a handful of players, not the whole god-damned squad (minus 2 or 3). Replacing 2 or 3 while enlarging the squad we have now, in addition to giving the team a game plan, and we'll finish mid-table next season. I don't think replacing 2 or 3 would keep us out of the relegation battle next season... We need new defenders for just about all of the back-line positions. Even if the current player has been OK during the year we have no depth, it only takes a couple of injuries in our backline at the moment and we don't have enough depth to fill the holes (we have to bring in mid-fielders to plug the holes, like Duff). We need new midfielders for just about all of the midfield positions. Jonas is OK, Butt can sometimes put in a good game, but the rest of the midfield are slow as fuck, can pass to save themselves and have almost no ability to create anything. Again, we are also prone to injury issues here. As soon as we get 1 or 2 injuries in the midfield we have no depth to the squad. So again we are lacking quality and depth. Our forwards are all either crocked or too damned old and past it. The only possible exception to this is Carroll, but he's no genius. Its just that Carroll is prepared to work hard that has him doing well. So basically, I don't believe bringing in 2 or 3 players will solve anything.... of course your theory also relies on us planning on spending some money, rather than making a profit during the transfer season.

We need a clearout regardless... it will be much easier to attract good players if we're still in the Premiership and have the finances that come with it. This "drop down a division to get the s*** out" argument is nonsense because we'll only be able to attract s*** to replace them! Sure.... it would be much easier to achieve a full team clear-out if we stayed in the PL... but this relies on one thing... having the financial clout to buy the players (ala Chelsea). Now... in light of the fact that we don't have that clout there is no way we can buy our way out of this problem, which means the best we could hope for is the standard 3 players out, 2 players in we have done for the last few transfer windows. Since this hasn't been working all that well so far I was thinking maybe it was time to try something else. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result..... This is Insane! Eh? Why do yo assume that we wwould need Chelsea style spending to build a new team/clear out. SBR done it over a few seasons for us. SBR was starting with a much better squad than Shearer has right now. SBR had to replace a handful of players, not the whole god-damned squad (minus 2 or 3).

It can be done in the prem man, the last thing you want is a relegation. Which team has previously done a complete squad clear-out & replacement whilst staying in the PL (without the need for a mad billionaire to bankroll everything)? what happens after the clearout? we suddenly have better players? all that will happen is the best players leave, we're left with the shit we can't sell and we fill the rest of the squad with crap championship players. rather than a 'clear out' you should call it 'replacing the players we have now with worse players'. No, we probably have worse players after the clear-out... but, we're also playing in a lower league who also have comparatively worse players too. But, as a gain, we have players who are going to bust a gut for the team and because our wage bill has dropped significantly we can probably deepen the squad, getting in 3 players for every 2 disposed of. This will mean our new young, up and coming, players will have to compete for their spots. When looking at such a plan you need to take everything in to consideration. We go down a league, we get less money, we spend much less tho' because our wage bill drops massively, we get in young players who are less technically experienced but can and will run all day and they play against other teams with Championship standard players. Our team then jells together, and when we get back in to the EPL we come up with a squad that is playing well, that works as a team and that other players want to join.

We need a clearout regardless... it will be much easier to attract good players if we're still in the Premiership and have the finances that come with it. This "drop down a division to get the shit out" argument is nonsense because we'll only be able to attract shit to replace them! Sure.... it would be much easier to achieve a full team clear-out if we stayed in the PL... but this relies on one thing... having the financial clout to buy the players (ala Chelsea). Now... in light of the fact that we don't have that clout there is no way we can buy our way out of this problem, which means the best we could hope for is the standard 3 players out, 2 players in we have done for the last few transfer windows. Since this hasn't been working all that well so far I was thinking maybe it was time to try something else. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result..... This is Insane!

It can be done in the prem man, the last thing you want is a relegation. Which team has previously done a complete squad clear-out & replacement whilst staying in the PL (without the need for a mad billionaire to bankroll everything)?

It will be devastating financially and for the stature of the club. For a player clean-out, it would be a positive. Yes, it will be a financial horror story, but the finances aren't exactly in good shape when we're playing Owen 120K per week for the performance's he's putting in. If we got rid of the wages of Owen, Martins, Viduka, Colo, etc... the difference wouldn't be as significant.

I know I am going to get flamed to death for this, but I am starting to think that being relegated may not be the worst thing (in the grand scheme of things) to happen to this club. We have a squad of total shite that are way to old and don't give a flying-fuck about our club. We need an opportunity to completely clear out the ranks and bring in a new squad of up-and-comers. Releasing our high priced current squad will mean we can get in new players that are cheaper, which means we can have more squad depth, and we can bring in players that are willing to bust a gut to play in the PL. We need a complete top-to-bottom clean-out of the club and that just can't happen in the PL.

Duff's work-rate can be excellent at times, but he can't place a pass for shit!

Visiting fans are doing a great job.

Nice to see the ref's have decided to improve over the break.... NOT!!!

Have we switched back to a 4-4-2 with Jonas coming on?

Good change. I still think Carroll would have been a better swap, but I agree Jonas for Lovenkrands is still a sensible option.

Colo has been complete and utter crap again. That 2nd goal he was literally hiding at the near post behind a Liverpool player while Butt covered the Liverpool player (Butt was between the Liverpool player and the ball, whilst Colo was in the 1ft of space between the Liverpool player and the near post.) This left Kuyt competely unmarked in the middle of the box. It was Beye who left Kuyt unmarked. Not saying Coloccini is playing well, he is not, but that goal wasnt his fault. Beye, Coloccini and Bassong have been laughable. Just as Smith and Butt in front of them. I would have agreed, except that Colo was literally hiding behind Butt and doing nothing whilst Liverpool were up a man in the middle of the box.

Shearer's half-time talk: "Fuck you fucking fuckers, you fucking fuckers are fucked!"