Keefaz

Thought Colin Kazim did canny well, tbh. Got penalised for being a bit overly physical, but didn't look outclassed at all and showed confidence in posession.

Tuncay turned in one of the worst performances I've seen for a while.

I'm not knocking the lad, but some folk seem to be getting excited just because he isn't Luque.

Predicatably non-classic match. No one's looked exceptional, tbh. And Tuncay's been shite.

Good for him.

Think he's worse than Shorey, tbh. Might improve and hope he does. I haven't written him off or anything, but some of the praise he's got on here has been OTT, imo.

You dont rate him? Personally, i think he's superb defensively, his attacking attributes arent upto scratch - yet, but i think that can be instilled into him. Its already been mentioned but swapping our only LB (who in my opinion is good and im sure will get better) for a 4th (not counting Sm*th) doesnt make sense. If the board have the criteria that we think they do, i cant see them sanctioning this transfer if Keegan genuinely does have riise on his mind as replacement. Don't think he's been brilliant. Certainly no better than the likes of Nicky Shorey etc.

Bit of a kick in the knackers for die Schweiz. Had a good go after halftime, but the quality of the final ball from both teams was woeful.

Shame about Frei. Looked one of the few Swiss with some class and nous.

Is Enrique decent? I'm not sure he's a better LB than Zigic is a forward.

Not sure it is that good a price, tbh, could very well be £7m spent on a player who brings very little to the team.

Can't wait for Portugal vs Turkey tomorrow evening. Should be lots of skill and ability on show. Aye, me too. Quite looking forward to Spain v Russia, tbh.

canny points there James. We got into the Champions League with a back four that included O'Brien, Hughes and Bramble. If nothing else it shows that its quality up front that you need to have the most dramatic effect. Shearer, Bellamy, Robert and Solano shot us into the Champions League. Dyer to a lesser degree, as when he wasn't injured, was inconsistent due to his injuries. He had potential when he joined and did well in the first few years, but went downhill and in the end had to go. Shearer was simply the best, albeit on the way down after the turn of the millenium, but still a big force. Bellamy turned bad balls into good ones, he forced situations through his sheer will to win and his pace. There are very few players I've seen at Newcastle with an attitude and desire to match what he had. Shows that for all the techically skilled players, without the desire to make it count then it doesn't count for much. Bellamy performed for Newcastle over his time here far more than most. When he was injured against the mackems, we had crept into 2nd place with only 7 games or so left, there was a real chance we could have nicked that title if he hadn't been hurt. He had a massive impact on our game. The 3-0 win against Villa in the November or December of that season was one of the best performances I've ever seen by a front partnership. Shearer and Bellamy were just awesome that day, they ran all over the Villa central defenders, just murdered them. I always thought Bellamy was a good player at Coventry but that day made me realise that we had a real top quality partnership up front and a team that was going to finish very high in the league, and those 2 were the driving force. He could still come back and to be honest, if he is still the player he was, I'd snap him up. There aren't too many Shearers around, we might not see the likes of him again for many years, but all we can do is replace him with another quality player, and Owen was the man who was signed to do that, being one of the few players able to fill the void as best as possible. Agree 100%.

Really looking forward to this now, and not just cos' I've got my chart on the wall. What matches are people anticipating to be good?

You think Emre was one of our best players?

Glad you admit that you are judging by your perception of personalities. You'll grow out of it, but hopefully it won't take you 10 years of showing little or no ambition before the penny drops. I am, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. The fact is that Mort comes across as the kind of modest, self-deprecating bloke who could do something like that in a spirit of gentle ribbing, whereas Shepherd... doesn't. Maybe I've got it all wrong, as I admit I know neither of them personally. Maybe Freddy actually had a very sophisticated sense of humour that he just was never able to get across in spite of countless interviews, appearances, etc.

Tbh, it would have been cringeworthy if Shepherd had done it. Fact is, they're different people. I'm sure it was in jest and delivered with irony.

that is brilliant its bloody stupid Oh, fuck off. Sorry, I can't think of any other way to respond to your comment. fuck off yourself. If that had been Shepherd you'd have said how embarrassed you were. Fact is, its stupid. And nowt to do with how the team performs either, which is what we are all supposed to be most bothered about. Fuck off. It's hilarious.

Exactly.

You know.

that is brilliant its bloody stupid Oh, fuck off. Sorry, I can't think of any other way to respond to your comment.

Tbh, this is the only decent thread we ever have during the close season.

No offence, mate, but that took your three days to think up? Not to your usual standard.

God, that was good. Never really came back much after that, tbh.

This. Could honestly not give a fuck.