Kanj

He played alright, that run down the left and the snap shot was a treat to watch and something I'm sure we will see more often when he's firing on all cylinders. Should be noted that everytime he has the ball or is winding up for a shot, theres generally 2-4 men around him trying to block it. As the sharpness and understanding kicks in, he'll be laying those off to players in better position. I like what I saw from 45 mins from him - he's no where near ready to start in the PL yet - League Cup 90 mins, and anorther 30-45 min cameo vs Stoke and i think he'll be nearing sharpness and be in a better position to start.

LETS HAVE IT TOON!

Sure I'd take him back, for prob anything less than 18M. But for me, he is not an automatic starter - Ba/Best are in much better form than he currently is. I'd take anyone who would improve our squad tbh.

To those of you get to attend the matches and bring things like this out of a young man who played in the San Siro. I'd be there every match if I lived in the Toon. Just thought I'd mention how amazing it is to support this club when reading something said by such a promising talent in such a short spell here about our atmosphere and such.

Santon should be replacing Simmo honestly.

HBA looked lively and its very exciting what he will do for us with the added dimension of his skill soon, when he gets a few matches under his belt and he returns to match sharpness. Few standout moments for me: 1) Like was said before, when he's on the ball, there are nearly 2-4 opposition players around him trying to close him down, in time he'll get rid of the ball quicker or not be in the position as he'll have already whipped by his marker 2) He made a brilliant run on the counter attack with just a slightly mishit ball to Jonas on the wing, my word his pace and acceleration were top-notch Looking fwd to seeing him get more time, will be a little harsh on Besty, but Ba is undroppable at the moment.

He threw in a "f*cking brilliant" in there which had me in stiches.

Roof woulda came down, my word that was some finish to that match.

Simmo is going to find himself on the bench soon - his play in the back is OK, but my word every possesion nearly stalls whenever he gets the ball.

What a brilliant end to the match. This group of lads have some fight and heart in them, my word. So proud of our Toon. MOTM Jonas Colo a close 2nd. Shola was abs. briliant today - justified why hes in the squad.

Cheers that.

Look at Ma If you were trying to tactically prepare the team to handle the pace of Bale bombing down our right hand side, surely you would put someone like Santon there in place of Simmo to handle Bale's pace and Assou Ekotto's overlapping too? On the left Ryan Taylor, may not be the best defender but he has enough pace to him to keep up to Modric with help from Jonas? Or could you realistically say, okay lets neutralize Bale and Assou Ekoto by putting Ben Arfa/Obertan wide-right and Santon at right-back. On the left side you have Walker/Corluka and Modric - so Jonas/Ryan Taylor could work on that side. Jonas providing much needed balance and hard-work cover to help with Modric's creativity? I say Ben Arfa wide right as my thinking is he will force Assou Ekoto and to an extent, Bale to playing a tad-bit more defensively. Bringing on Obertan/Marveux in the 2nd half to provide a change of pace and more direct running. AP has stated he doesn't believe HBA can play out wide for us, but surely he CAN do it, esp with playing a strong Spurs side. Just my thoughts, wondering what others think...

Man is abs off his rocker, hes mental - and its actually extremly amuzing. Including his digs at Kelvin Henry - he cracks me up.

Love that french kit, don't know what it is about it - reminds me of the attention to detail that Umbro put into the England kit.

Brilliant, hope this one comes off, best defender we've had.

What an terrible thing for Trap to say about Best's work ethic. Fine from an NUFC standpoint, keep him at home.

Posted this in the wrong thread earlier, so reposting here... Honestly, this is a massive 2 week layoff for us and an even bigger one for our manager. We are on an absolutely brilliant run this season and with the lay-off, the momentum has all but been hauled. For AP, its one where he and the staff can reflect and analyze the bright spots and places to improve, as well as ensuring the team continues to stay fit and focused. Also, he has 2 weeks to pick apart the Spurs and get his team selection correct. I think everyone here will agree that this home match vs. the Spurs is an absolute massive one where we can really prove where we are going to be this season. In my opinion, I'd keep the team selection the same minus starting Santon at LB and getting HBA in for Obertan. Personally, I'd start Ryan Taylor over Simmo, but I think Simmo will keep his place. I think Obertan would be a brilliant sub off the bench - but AP has got to realize that the end-product of HBA and his ability on the ball will no doubt be a much greater option for us than Obertan, who, has done extremely well in the past few matches, but needs to be on the bench for this one. I know AP has said he doesn't feel HBA can play on the wings for us, but I'd like to see him do that for this match. Best and Ba are MUST starts for this one, and either could score a brace on their day. 2 weeks away, already chomping at the bit for this one - fixing to be a brilliant fixture and I don't have any doubts that St James' will be rocking that day.

He's thinking...I have Marv, HBA, Santon and Sammy..... F**k it, Peter get out there. then.... F**K it, Danny get out there.

Guthrie and Loven, my word abs. terrible subs Pardew. But its over with, 3 pts and 2 weeks off. Get in.

I'm glad The Journal made it clear it was Tiote he was on about, and not one of our other Cheicks.

People banging on about Marv and HBA, but quite simply - Jonas, Obertan and Ba/Best are playing very well and deserve to start until Marv or HBA displace them from the team, imo. Over here in the states, started my day out with a Toon Victory, going to be a glorious day.

Colo overlapping with at 70 yard run had me laughing

I think if he gets on the bench tomorrow, we'll see him play some part (i hope), with him nearly in line for a start the following weekend. Pardew is simply playing the man-management game here, saying he's got to earn his spot like everyone without taking away from HBA in saying his talent and creativitity is game-changing and can lift our entire club and team up. In other words, lighting a little fire under HBA - not like there isn't already one under the lad b/c he just wants to get back to playing. Not worried at all, he'll be starting soon enough.

Cheers mate. Not available for us outside UK, somebody with download manager and time on their hands ?