Montey

We do.

Why the FUCK does Duff keep taking the corners? So far I don't think he's got a single corner past the first Spurs player.

NUFC are just not pressing the Spurs players at all. Spurs are being given so much space that just about every forward movement by Spurs becomes a set-play situation.

This formation is simply not working. Our back 3 are getting completely owned, causing Duff & Taylor to have to play as wing-backs, meaning we have no forward movement at all. Poor old Jonas is running his socks off and when he gets the ball heading forward there's no one there to support him. This is a training exercise for Spurs. We have to go back to a 4-4-2 (The way we're playing now, I'm just watching to see how much we lose by.)

I think this is now a very close thing. I have been doing some fiddling with the BBC predictor and have come to these scenarios/conclusions: - If we win against either Tottenham or Portsmouth, we will stay up if the other is a draw, we lose to Liverpool and Fulham, win against Middlesbrough and draw with Aston Villa. - If we draw against both Tottenham and Portsmouth, we then need to win against Aston Villa or Fulham along with Middlesbrough to allow us to lose to Liverpool and stay up. - If we lose to either Tottenham or Portsmouth, drawing the other, we then need to start winning games we probably can't expect to do better than a draw in. So, in summary, if we loose either of the Tottenham or Portsmough games things are going to be looking very, very bleak. My predictor indicates that 37 points will probably be enough to stay up, so we need to average better than a point per game for the next 6 games. This means we -must- get at least 1 win in the next 6 games to stay up, and for every loss beyond the Liverpool game, we need an equivalent win to offset it. Any more than 2 losses we're screwed, 3 losses with no wins means we're going down. Anyway... there's 5 minutes of analysis. It's probably full of holes, but meh!

Yes. The beauty and the style of play is a luxury only teams well out of relegation contention can afford.

It's fine and good criticising long throws (and I agree the delay is ridiculous), but its clear what they are attempting to do is make the most of their set-plays. When a club's on-field capabilities are as limited as Stokes are they have accepted that they are not going to get many goals from a period of flowing game play. So they have identified set-pieces (throw-ins, corner kicks, free kicks) as their best opportunity to score, especially since they are guaranteed to get at least a dozen of those per game. I think they have done this very successfully. It doesn't produce pretty and exciting football, but it does keep them further up the table. I think its one of the strategies NUFC should have adopted back at Christmas, realising we are simply not getting the required goals from running play, so we need to concentrate more on set-plays.

Phew... we got away with that one.

We should concentrate more on our set-pieces. If you look at all of the teams who were originally thought to be going to do poorly this season, but are doing quite well, they have good set-pieces. You are guaranteed to get some set-pieces (freekicks, corners, throw-ins) every game. If you can't score from the run of play, then you have to have good quality set pieces to take advantage of the opportunities. Look at stoke, they don't have a huge number of threatening runs from standard play, but every time they get a set piece in the Newcastle half they are a genuine threat of a goal.

At this stage, given the way the game was shaping up, I'll take the draw.

I suspect part of our selection problem is the likelihood that Owen has a "must start" clause in his contract that requires him to start the games whenever he is fit, regardless of performance. Hence we're hamstrung right from the start of the selection process. Carroll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What have the FA done before to teams who's supporters have thrown objects at players? What's the precedent? I know a while back there were some incidents of coin throwing at opposition players, were the teams punished for their fan's behaviour in any way?

... and Butt ... and Nolan ... and Owen ... etc ...

You're sounding like an anal retard Got any more scintillating contributions? Pot. Kettle. Black. always a good one Oh that was a good one.... if only it made any sense? Your comment implies some level of hypocrisy or contradiction on my behalf, I assume regarding my comment about rules not being upheld by referees. Yet, that comment was only my 2nd (maybe 3rd) post to this whole thread. So... WTF are you on about you feckless understudy of a contributor.

You're sounding like an anal retard Got any more scintillating contributions?

Beattie has just been allowed back on with blood still on his shirt (there's a small smudge on the collar... but blood is blood). Nice to see there is another rule not being upheld by the referees.

Commentator has just said it is a groin injury. He was probably too busy getting drunk and tossing off to Internet porn last night. Should stick him in the reserves to rot for a few weeks.

This is a fucking disgrace! 1. A can is thrown at one of our players. Stoke should be disqualified from this game, losing any gained points, because of crowed behaviour like that. 2. There have been two mis-called corners. One that should have been a corner to NUFC but was called as a goal kick, and then a goal kick for NUFC that was given as a corner to Stoke instead. 3. Then, after surviving the fans throwing missiles at the team, the referees making appalling decisions, we go and butt-fuck ourselves with shit defending against a corner! Fuck the fucking fuckers, the fucking fuckers are fucked!!!!!!!!

My version of the "all-for-one-and-one-for-all" formation would be: 1111 1 o 1 1111 1 Note, the 'o' is the ball. If we just have a huddle around the ball as soon as we get possession and just sit on it for 90 minutes (i.e. the ball doesn't move an inch), it might be a boring game to watch but at least we're guaranteed to get 7 points from the last 7 games.

He's not the Messiah, he's just a very naughty boy! (Sorry it had to be said.)

I have to confess, that despite my cynicism, despite the fact that I think we'll still take the drop (which I won't be blaming Alan for), I am starting to by in to the hype. He has ignited a small spark of optimism in me that I may later regret as it slowly warms a sense of hope. I only fear that my initial cynicism may prove founded and once again my hope will be smashed in to a thousand shards against the concrete of St James' Park stadium.

You're right... after everything that has happened to the club over the past 10 years, what cause is there to be negative? We should be far more positive, why shouldn't we plan to win the league next year??? *sarcasm off (for now)* The club had a whole new lease of life after Keegan (re)started, things improved a little bit but the club quickly started sliding in to familiar patterns. I think it will be very difficult to be ambitious about the clubs fortunes until we are consistently in the top half of the league table for a few years in a row. Mike Ashley is rapidly looking like the George W. Bush of the EPL, and confidence in the club reflects this.

Your second point kinda contradicts your first point. Sorry, I thought I was being clear. My second point was allowing for the currently hypothetical situation where it does turn out to be true. So I wasn't intending to contradict myself, just pointing out that I won't believe it until I see it on the official website, but should it turn out that it is true...etc...

Firstly, I won't even consider believing this until I see something on the official website. Secondly, now I know we're screwed. We're in the bottom 3, facing a run of likely losses, and very likely to go down. Many, including myself, have said we'd not consider Shearer until he'd got some lower league management experience. Well, I guess this may just be how he plans to get his lower league management experience.

If I win the ticket to the game, will they fly me from Australia?