CaliMag

Was like. Keeper pulled his ankle after his inexplicable fumble. You'd be livid if it wasn't given at OT. More likley a Klingon Warship would land on the pitch during halftime than a penalty like that given to us at OT. Memories of Tim Howard pulling down SHearer after missing the ball. We go onto to draw 0-0

I'd rather Loven or Carroll took those thank you very much. That was woeful. I assume it was Colo's call to have Barton take that?

Its the mustache. IT MUST GO NOW!

I hope we play twice as nasty as this for our first game TBH.

... also not playing for Arkan in Serbia during the 90s was worse.

Quick get Dave... Their should of been a easier way to of written that.

Most of the Journos covering NUFC have been on here one time or another and Shola actually has referenced coming onto Newcastle boards in the past (unclear if he's ever been here though).

... after the season ends. I have heard that he is off to Everton (for free) in January. I can't see him going to City. He is adverse to change and I know he wants to "get it right" in Europe (after the Leverkusen debacle) and Everton worked well for him... in fact Everton played their best stuff last year when he was in their team. Terrorised ManU in that 3-0 win.

Weren't we linked with Kenny Miller back in January?

I would love that Wigan kit for us in B&W if it had no sponsor. And racing stripes would probably cause a general "boycoutt" and riot.

Why shouldn't he? Never said he shouldn't! I just think at the moment our best chance will be with three in midfield, and I think it might be too much responsibility to ask Carroll to play upfront alone. Ideally we sign a good striker to partner him, as well as a really good dynamic central midfielder that would improve us in a 4-4-2. The odds of these signings though? Not so sure. Very low odds. Any more signings will probably be more defenders and/or CMs. I am thinking we'll only get two to three more players in.

Erm...I'm going to go with yes. Well I hope we find him a really good partner who can take some pressure of him then. I hope we don't end up going 4-5-1 and putting him under too much pressure to score all the goals. However not sure we have any combination of two central midfielders that would work in a 4-4-2. Worrying situation really. Considering where we are and what we hope to achieve (not being relegated) the pressure will be there for everyone not just Carroll.

32 goals in just short of 200 appearances in the Premier League suggests he won't like. As I said, none of the 3 will manage double figures. We need to look at who contributes most to open play. Lovenkrands is by far the lesser of the 3 in that respect. No. Lovenkrands has more pace and movement than Shola and offers more to open play when paired with either of them. Offers more in what respect? He creates nowt, can't hold up the ball, gets bullied far too often and gets slower by the day. His goal tally is his strength and it's pretty average even in a Championship context. If we need a goal in the last 15 minutes there's a case for him to be on the pitch. If not, it's like having 10 men on the pitch. I'd say similar about Shola. Offers nothing by the fact that he doesn't move, can't anticipate his teammates and is knackered after 30 minutes of being on the pitch. "...it's like having 10 men on the pitch." Only worse because he behaves like the lone target man and gets in Carroll's way. Lovenkrands has pace and fitness over Shola and creates more space than him (especially while Carroll is on the pitch) because he is more effective at moving around and linking up with the midfield.

I am thinking CH will go soemthing like 4-3-3 with Jonas Carroll Routledge up front and three of Smith Barton Guthrie Nolan (depending on who's not injured/imprisoned).

32 goals in just short of 200 appearances in the Premier League suggests he won't like. As I said, none of the 3 will manage double figures. We need to look at who contributes most to open play. Lovenkrands is by far the lesser of the 3 in that respect. No. Lovenkrands has more pace and movement than Shola and offers more to open play when paired with either of them.

Yes. This is exactly what happens.

Still a better pairing with Carroll than Shola.

I disagree. I think pairing thsoe two regularly would be a disaster. Shola when under pressure turns into a statue. In the Premiership we'd have two target men standing around offering no movement and no pressure to opposition defenders.

Dyer was at least equal the player. Made of glass but his running off the ball and touch were better. Cole takes far too long to get a ball under control and moving. As for pace and versatility? No contest really is there? Cole is a show pony who rarely got a run in the team under 4 different Chelsea managers. Prior to that he was decidely average. Dyer played a significant number of games and linked very well with those around him. Gary Speed certainly appreciated the legs next him and the front two had a field day because he dropped deep, took the ball off the centre halves (and he was probably the last central midfielder we had who was capable and confident doing that) and could move it off swifly. His pace made him a problem and the likes of Shearer and Bellamy had the wit to utilise that. Pretty sure his off field antics didnt help but thats the kind of player who comes here. Its also the reason Craig Bellamy is off to his 9th club. Both got a little too far up their own arses up here. We arent Man Utd are we? If we had been then both would have been shifted a lot earlier. Gary Speed got a lot of stick when paired up with Dyer because he had to do it all in the CM and often got overrun. Dyer created space because he often drifted out wide (usually on the right overlapping with Solano). I am not sure how much Speed appreciated it at the time.

Calling Harper sh!t shows how absolutely spoiled many of our supporters have been for over a decade now. He's a very good keeper. We are even more spoiled in that we have two good young prospects on our books.

Perch is not Steven Carr so I am very pleased. Splodgely:Forest are my bet for going up as champions next year. A young team that was only let down by experience in the end. Next year you won't have those problems irregardless of Perch. Let's hope you can hold onto your team.

By the time the US win the WC (20 to 50 years in the future), they will no longer be the largest economy, largest military or the most culturally relevant so that will probably make it less irksome to the world. [/Parky] I'd love to see Mexico win it but they have many larger societal problems holding them back which affects the football (la mordida).

Yes most of us would do the same however imagine how you would feel toward Suarez if he'd done this in a final against Newcastle? This is the way a significant portion of Africa feels. I'd be sh!t scared personally.

Great team, great support and great history. An excellent choice. I am biased though. My uncle played for them and still lives in Paisley.

The League Cup? Even the smoggies have been able to win that... pfff. NUFC Premiership Title>NUFC CL Title>NUFC Europa/UEFA Cup>NUFC FA Cup>Scotland World Cup>US World Cup>NUFC CL Group Stages>NUFC Charity Shield>NUFC League Cup>England World Cup Probably something like that if I had to prioritise. Don't think I could handle it if all those things came true (obviously the Scotland WC is the biggest long shot)... hell, if half those came true I would probably die of happiness.