buzza

I don't think the dispute is about Anita or Chieck, according to Ron chieck is a "crap" footballer in all aspects. The rest of us like to point out that there should be a balance between defensive and offensive facets to their play i.e. Anita's offensive play outweighs his defensive and vice versa with Chieck. I don't think Norwich will be such a pushover TBH, hope the players don't have our nonchalant, "we'll win" attitude. Banana skin suitably placed...

Starting to dread Norwich now, whenever we start summizing on how we are going to beat our rivals it goes pear shaped.... Can we buck the trend??? Yikes!

Agree completely with second paragraph. We have to realize that different teams need different approaches, hope Pardew does aswell and it's not a case of his pragmatic approach rather than the soundbites he gave us earlier on in the season i.e. possession attacking football..

Good, because I wholeheartedly believe that you're wrong and will look forward to you possibly admitting it. LOL, I like that!

Good, because I wholeheartedly believe that you're wrong and will look forward to you possibly admitting it. LOL, I like that!

Ronaldo, you shouldn't let your ego cloud your judgement, we all make mistakes and bigger the man who is prepared to admit to one when evidence points completely to the contrary of what they are preaching...

Quite agree, textbook case of form is temporary class is permanent. He has looked great in the last few games and he has kept it relatively simple in the middle. More of the same pls...

I wouldn't call them an accident waiting to hsappen but they are too easily bossed against big "up an at em'" strikers. if elmander plays I would stick with williamson, adds a bit of "muscle" to the centre back pairing. He also shouldn't be dropped on current form, we always moan about managers playing their (or our) favourites, clear cut case of Willo and mapo playing well as a central pairing (not based upond individual skills).

Elmander against colo, hmmm not too sure???

You can see the difference in pressure that we put on opponents when HBA is out of the team. Also shola holding the ball up and winning headers and flick ons has helped us more than we give him credit for. Still like to see the 433 function properly and for Hatem to actually do a bit more graft and "earn" his place rather than be there "just in case" he turns it on

I would go for the following (as we're at home): -------------------------Timmy------------------------ Mapou-------Willo-----------Colo--------------Santon --------Cabaye--------Anita--------Sissoko---------- HBA----------------Gouffran------------Remy----

It's not like he's sailing there, those airplanes are decent I heard. 10+ hour flight vs. a few hour flight? I don't know if you travel a ton but 10 hour flight vs. a few hours make a hell of a difference man. Lying down on a very comfortable seat in 1st class... not likley to mind is he! Where would you rather be? With your wife and bairns (maybe not wife) or at work?

Eye patches for all! Ooh me heartys...

Nicked from a wine page I read (was referring to brand wines and estate wines, read here: http://www.wineanorak.com/twocultures_7.htm ) , not sure if completely relevant... A generation back, most decent sized towns had their own football league club, and many larger cities had a couple or more. It was only under exceptional circumstances that you didn’t support one of your local sides. The football world was a more equal one back then. Yes, some clubs did consistently better than others – Liverpool started a long run of dominance of the English game in the late 1970s, for example – but things were much more equal. It was possible, for instance, for clubs like Nottingham Forest and Ipswich, to come from nowhere and enjoy a period of great success: the driving force behind these clubs was not a huge pot of cash, but instead exceptional management combined with a good crop of young players coming through. It was also possible for West Ham, a club then playing second-flight football, to win the FA cup. Today this would be hard to envisage. Football is very different now. Because of the increased flow of money into the game, primarily from global television deals, a winner-takes-all scenario has developed. Youngsters who support their local club and have local heroes are rare. Distressingly (for a Man City fan, at least), across the country youngsters are seen wearing Manchester United football shirts, and most commonly with the name ‘Beckham’ on the back. No more local heroes, just global ones. A recent report suggested that just half of the UK’s professional football clubs are likely to survive over the next few years. *Should we have to adapt to change? Is the red bull situation just the beginning of an inevitable change throughout the game? Personally I think the team colours would have to stay the same, I would also like to keep Newcastle United. I could accept our away and eauropean kits in Red-Bullish themed strips...

I think we really only need to cover those two central midfield positions well to be able to field a good team. The front four look pretty good together and can play counter attacking football, the back four with forward minded full backs seems to suit our new 4231 formation. The big worry for me is who partners gerrard in the middle for that holding, more defensive role? Carrick doesn't do it on a defensive level for me and Gerrard needs better cover for when he spurts forward a lot of the time. gareth barry is looking good for Everton at this role but he isn't exactly the best fluid ball mover... Wiltshire is again of too similar an illk to Gerrard (who i'd like to see him displace). if only we had a Xavi Alonso, Khedira or Yaya to play in that position for us... Any offers?

With a makeshift defense lacking in fitness and/or confidence we are going to ship goals. Can only see us losing this one by a few. Would love to eat humble pie, specially if we take it to them and hammer them through attacking prowess...

Is Mapou still alive? Has he been given residency in the Morpeth Looney Bin? Let's fling him into the defence for this one, there are no big powerhouses to contend with but more his type of pacey forward. Not sure if I want to see Willo turned inside out against Sturridge and Gnasher... I would go for the following (tin hat): ------------------------Krul-------------------------- Debuchy-----Tayls-------Mapou--------Santon -------Cabs--------Tiote--------Sissoko------ ---Hba-----------Goufff--------------Remy---- Started with HBA on right cos he can skin enrique. Don't want Cisse up front to begin with, would rather Gouff chased down balls and put effort into pressurising them from the off. Mapou instead of Willo as both their forwards are pacey and tricky... (Could actually finish the guy off, or redeem him...)

Diego Costa is a brazilian who has been plying his trade in Spain for the last 6 or 7 years (i think it's that long), last two or three years when he moved from getafe to atletico Madrid have seen a huge leap in performance. Spain are quite nonchalant about him being Brazilian and playing for Sapin, if he's good enough and can qualify then get him in the team... N.B. Spanish culture embraces "picardia" (being crafty/sly), which can be seen quite clearly in their interpretation of "fair play" (watch how theatrical fouls are) and current Government representatives etc...etc..etc..

When he was a soopafan out on the pish wi aarl the leds... First round of signings with allardish

Like any business in the world the buck stops at the CEO who in this case is Mike Ashley. he is the person who makes the strategic decisions and who is culpable for how the company works. From a financial perspective he is doing mighty well, although some could argue that there is potential for a lot more... But Mike works a particular model and we all know how that works. From our perspective i.e. the team's performance, it is very random and without consistency. I put that down mainly to the following: Average manager & coaching staff / Lack of consistent improvement in transfer windows I don't think Ashley will ever return to a "lifestyle investment" scenario with us and actually look for some egocentric enjoyment out of us, he tried that and got his fingers burn't. We are stuck with a very "low cost" FC model. I often think that he seems a bit of a gambler and "what if" we made it to top 5 again, would he go the extra mile and gamble 40 mil on us to reach the grassy green fields of the top four? You know the answer

Thanks for confirming it. Sometimes when I read this thread I wonder if I'm watching a different player to everyone else. Agree 100%, but not just with Cisse! If he was contributing a lot to the team but just not getting the goals then I'd be backing him a whole lot more. At the moment his touch and his attitude are awful, he's never been that great at holding up the ball so I'll not crease him too much on that one... Needs a rest and perhaps a boot up the rear i.e. Gouff up front for a while... Gouffran may just surprise us also (a la best) and start sticking them in...

I don't see anything hugely positive about a player doing really well only to be dropped when another player who hasn't been very good comes straight back into the team when he recovers from injury. One of them will think he’s not being rewarded for his displays so is wasting his time while the other thinks he doesn’t have to do much because he’ll play anyway. The problem is we all have different perceptions of how well Anita has done of late, his game against Everton was pathetic (my opinion) and he deserved to be dropped. Tiote's game against Cardif for 60-70 mins was excellent, he doesn't deserve to be dropped. Anita and Tiote train well before Liverpool game... good honest competition and neither player could complain if they are left out although it is quite likely that both will get minutes...

That doesn't, I take it, factor in the inherited value of their respective squads? Or, more relevantly, their current market value? Of course. We should expect to be above them because of that. But how many clubs above us have a less valuable squad? Just Hull and Southampton? Genuine question; in your view, is Graham Carr a help or a hindrance to Alan Pardew? I think Graeme Carr's brilliance has been over-hyped. A few of his signings have grown in value, but none more than the likes of Michu or Benteke. Have any of his signings been consistent enough? Have any other clubs come in with breathtaking offers for them? Cabaye attracted some interest to be a bench warmer at Arsenal. No doubt though, he has identified players good enough for this league at prices lower than other clubs have been going out and spending, which I think Pardew should be very grateful for. If only there was some senior figure, in charge of and accountable for the playing staff. Whose remit it would be to get the very best out of the players at his disposal in exchange for handsome remuneration. The players and manager will all be on bonuses for league placement I would imagine. Although any player who earns 2 or 3 million a year will probably not be bothered about a win bonus shared between 25 players...

Depends on your perspective; is Carr bringing in only value for money players, do these fit with Pardew's outlined needs ...insert argument about brit cloggers against technical frenchies etc..etc.. (do we know this is true? or are these are own suppositions) My own opinion is that Carr is in the middle, he brings in players that perhaps aren't exactly what Percy wants but that 110% definitely fit with ashley's business model. At the end of the day Ashley pays Carr's wages. we all know Ashley wants to bring Unknowns/end of contract/conflcitive geniuses to Newcastle that all have great potential sell on values. His end game isn't Percy's end game... I do feel a little for Pardew, he will probably ask for an exact player type and will receive something similar but not always what he was looking for. This could be harder than we think to make them gel/fit into his team or his philosophies (see Marveaux).

Could also replace ding dong ding with "Go on my son"