Kanj

When i heard this injury, i was confused as to why it would take so long for him to come back when he could wear the mask Rick Hamilton wears from the Detroit Pistons in the NBA. Glad to see we are going that route. Hamilton is fine now btw, he just wears that mask b/c hes now used to playing with it...Donno how that would affect a man heading the ball though.

Wasn't Martins just unstoppable in the home leg? I remmeber that 1 run he had where he nearly beat the whole defense on his own.

Wish he would have quoted some Drake lyrics, would have been mint. He's not bad, not great either - but hes scored 4 goals. 3 of which contribued to 3 pts and 1 which contributed to 1 pt. I'm not complaining. He is actually a pretty good finisher with his feet, pretty woeful in the air. Those finishes in his hat trick were class though, and that is something that can't be overlooked.

All Dogleesh had to do was buy a proper defense, he toyed with the attacking side far too much. Get a grip people - we had John Barnes and Ian Rush in attack at 1 pt. That alone is a new level of rock bottom.

Time for the leaders of the dressing room to stand-up and be counted. Looking at Barton, Nolan, Smudge (even if hes sidelined), yes, even Shola, and Stevie Harper to keep everyone focused and going. If the 2-3 hes saying are of real quality, then I will be happy with that. Whats truly crazy to me is that if we continue to play with will and intent and passion on the pitch even with all the absolute crap that the players have gone through in the past year, then it just continues to make me smile that this is the club I love and support. Very hard to see any thing positive from this at the moment, but Pardew sounded quality in that interview and I just hope the squad will leave it all on the pitch. Howay the Lads.

I believe him. Now Ashley has to back his man, the manager he chose specifically with the cash he's been promised. If everything that is being said is true, which sadly, all we can do is blv what is there to be read or seen right now...then I am finally OK with this deal. But never will I hold onto the romantic side of the game anymore - this club/AC have all but taken that from me. Reinvest the 30-40M on a true young striker that we can build this team around and bolster this squad and then this is business well-done.

15M

Def not a red card. Just saw it...

It'd be a dynamic formation. But tactics and discipline it should work no? Someone posted a solid formation with Tiote, Nolan, Barton, Larson, and HBA playing together which would be a great one. Barton Tiote Nolan Larsson Ben Arfa Carroll It might work. Simply Larsson, Barton, Simpson and Tiote can pass the ball around until one can whip it in from the right with Carroll and Nolan getting in the area, and Ben Arfa lurking outside the area to deal with any clearances. If necessary we can switch the ball to the left and let Hatem and Jose do the damage. My thoughts exactly. With Nolan sort of lurking all over the space keeping play going and getting onto the 2nd bounce/knock downs from Carroll.

It'd be a dynamic formation. But tactics and discipline it should work no? Someone posted a solid formation with Tiote, Nolan, Barton, Larson, and HBA playing together which would be a great one.

jesus man. haha.

been telling everyone I know how much they look a-like too haha.

I knew you'd put down no.5, before even reading it - haha. hilarious.

I can't wait for full confirmation and the day he makes his return...great stuff.

I'd say that is quite positive Yep - and anyone with a brain will know how talented HBA is and AP has said it himself he'd like to build an attacking squad around Barton, HBA and Carroll - now as long as the board lets him do that, amazing. Looking forward to his first interviews coming back, the first training photos of him and of course his first appearance since the injury.

Agreed. The U. Is just starting on ESPN America. The ones that stand out for me: "The Best that Never Was": Story of the recruitment of Marcus Dupree to the Univ. of Oklahoma and how injuries and idiots looking after him ruined his career - he had every tool to be one of the greatest of all time. "Pony Excess": Best one of the bunch, in the 80's, the major MAJOR recruiting violations from the boosters and administration of Southern Methodist University in Texas in which they were given an athletic "death penalty" by the NCAA, which basically ended the school's football program for 1 full year - crippled the program and they haven't had a winning season from about 1987 until roughly 2008. The magnitude of this "death penalty" for an athletic program is unreal. 1 year of 0 recruiting, scholarships cancelled, no practice, no home games the following year etc. Some say they will never do this to a school again, b/c the magnitude is just something that a school/athletic program can be recover from. Whats so painful is that these recruiting violations/paying kids and their families is still quietly going on and its only a matter of time before a major scandal hits again. Pony Excess is amazing, 2 hours long - anyone who interested in sports/american football/our sports culture over here should check it out. Unreal, I will be buying the entire series on DVD.

Whatever. That just means he doesn't have the same dedication to the cause that ol' Smithy has. Haha! Very true, waht was I thinking.

I think what I really enjoy most about Tiote is that he rarely goes to ground for a challenge, he's generally beating the opposition to balls, reading the game and making a challenge, or simply standing his man up and out-muscling him.

If you all get time, seriously watch the 30 for 30 series from ESPN. There are some wonderful stories there and you get a better perspective on our american sports culture.

Phew...on to Saturday now.

MON for Blackburn?

What TV is that? Urm, sorry - was watching on FSC in the States and the shot on the camera feed was Shola's head dead-center looking back. *cut to something* then next shot hes sitting on the ground.

Ameobi makes me laugh, if he didn't - I'd put him in that category sometimes. Buy you a right, when Shola is 100% and in form, he has this unreal ability to be nearly unplayable with his lanky runs, great shot, and near-perfect penalty taking ability. The match vs Liverpool summed it up for me...one moment he gets the ball, trips over it and loses it and then its out for a throw-in. The next he gets a nice header from AC and lays it back to him for a decent effort on goal. Later one mintue hes looking at the bench (only see his head on the TV) they cut to something, then back to him and hes sitting on the pitch waiting for a sub. Hilarious, hair-pulling stuff sometimes - but I dont know why I love Shola sometimes.

Interesting to hear that - what are your personal thoughts on that HTT? As you've been pretty adamant on your stance against AP's association with the club. If thats true, great, I hope he said that and I hope they get on board. I feel like with Kevin Nolan as our captain, the players will respond to him and he will have told them to get on with the job and play football for their own pride, the fans, the club itself, and do what the gaffer says. I'm sure that is what Chris would have told them too, and I think the players in the dressing room know that. They've been through this before (some of them)...and they know how hard they've worked to get back in the Premiership, they don't want to be a laughing stock again. Its about pride, commitment, and trust in the man standing next to you on the pitch. Do that, and our magnificent supporters will be by their side willing them on.

I think its awfully clear how important he is to this club after watching him play today. Goals, assists, sometimes drifting in and out of the match aside - his leadership and presence is exactly what this club needs. He's vocal, hes a joker, he's a true club captain and I'm proud to have him as our captain. I'd love to see him jump into management/coaching after he hangs up his boots. I think he has a future in it.