Theregulars

Emre's sending off against Coventry, purely for the fact that the Telegraph described his action as that of a "flying plump pigeon".

Has to play, simple as. His inconsistency is worrying but I'd rather sometimes good sometimes bad than constantly bad (Smith)/mainly injured/uninterested (Viduka). At least things happen with Martins.

A mass clearout is pointless- for years we have suffered from having a small squad, most of the players we have now are good enough to at least make that. Get rid of Smith, Butt, Barton and Rozehnal as they're shit/knackered, maybe Ameobi because it's pointless him rotting away here if he's not going to play, and then build from there. Once we've established a bigger squad and improved first team, people can leave if they're unhappy.

Agree with Yorkie-Geordie - I think it's a key problem that we don't have any dependable player or a few of them who we know will perform week-in, week-out. I guess Milner is one that usually plays pretty well on a regular basis, and maybe Beye, but there aren't really any stand-out candidates, are there? Hopefully Owen could become one and go on a little scoring run, and I'd like Emre to be one but don't think he has the consistency. I think it's key in any team that you have at least one striker, midfielder and defender who you know will perform well week in, week out and that any mistake or bad performance is a blip.

It's been said many times but it can't be avoided: the football Keegan wants isn't feesible with this current crop of grafting, talentless manure than Allardyce bought in. He focused only on the fact we had a reputation of being fragile defensively and thus bought in a lot of crunchers largely short on creative talent - thankful for Beye and possibly Enrique, Viduka in theory if he can ever play a few games on the trot - but the people Keegan puts out can't do what he wants them to. The only way for him to see that Smith etc. are shit is to see them in action, although it worries me he still seems to rate them. When he took over before we were in a much worse position financially, lower down the leagues and on the brink of chaos and he still revolutionised the team and created one in the exact way he wanted. I know it's different now with lots of other teams able to match/better our financial clout, but surely Keegan is such a huge name in football/a persuasive man he'll be able to get some talent in to back his way of playing in the Summer. You can see by what the players have been saying about him what a legend he is etc. that as a manager he's an attractive proposition for a footballer. Don't think we'll buy any superstars but think we'll get some good players. He knows what we need and he's not going to go public slating our current crop as it just won't help. If we can all see how shit Smith, Butt and Barton are I'm sure he can too, he's not an idiot.

Blackburn have a lot of quality players, but more importantly, they are all consistent, seem to stay fit and all play well as a team. As you mentioned, Bentley and McCarthy, left out Santa Cruz, but what about Pedersen, Dunn, Tugay etc.? I agree on paper ours look just as good but if you look at the premiership records of those players and our equivalents, all have played a lot more games, contributed a lot more and fit better into a team ethic. Right now we're a team of individuals who don't play together, which perhaps hints that our siging policy isn't as stringent as it could be. How many unknown players has Mark Hughes plucked out and have become Premiership regulars? N'Zogbia aside, when was the last time we bought someone unheard of/not rated by others who turned out to be a real good deal?

The frustrating thing is that there isn't really much of a way for us to get it through to the management etc. what we think of the likes of Smith, Butt and Barton. Reading recent pieces Keegan seems to think Emre and Viduka are the solution, which is good to hear and why I was dumbstruck to see Smith and Barton in the starting line up against Villa on Sat. If either of them make it into the same side against Man United I'll be pissed off but I'll still cheer the team. It's annoying as I always ring these phone-ins and want to make these points in the vane hope that somebody might hear, but they always allow morons to go and talk about how we should sign Ronaldinho and how Keegan is God. FRUSTRATING.

Given just doesn't look particularly happy to be here at the minute- not surprising with 11 years of playing pretty darn well but still having to experience underachievement every single year. He hasn't been his usual self this year. If he's out for the next few games and Harper performs think Keegan has a tough decision to make.

There's nothing worth standing up for the way we're playing right now.

He rocks my world. The pundits are so terrible though, the lot of them, except Kamara for pure entertainment factor. Especially Merson, he's so appallingly thick it's untrue. I hate it when they put Paul Walsh on our matches. There must be some footballers out there they could use who have half a brain - Le Tissier is alright but boring, Thompson only ever concentrates on LIVERPEEWWWEEELLLLL, Charlie Nicholas needs to calm it down a notch and Merson... bah. Salako is worse. I also hate that 12 year old they go to for League 2 crap, "Johnny Phillips". Has anyone else noticed how Warren Barton is getting more and more exposure as a Spanish football expert and a Football First commentator/pundit? He's crap as well. Mentions the word experience every 8 seconds. Whenver someone scores, "used his experience there". Tried to say dilligence in the Valencia-Betis game at the weekend and came up with "dimmerance". Also always called Le Sib "Simierski" which I found infuriating. Send them all to tackling practice with Alan Smith. Apart from Lawrenson, the BBC are much better. Lee Dixon is mint, Alan Hansen is good, Shearer... obviously. And comedy is available in abundance with Garth Crooks and Ian Wright.

Agree with the post about Reo-Coker. Total wanker with a very stupid name. How could you make Reo-Coker sound even worse? Combine it with Nigel. Was willing Butt to dropkick him in the shins.

Smith is by far and away not the man you want in a relegation battle AS HE DOESN'T CONTRIBUTE ANYTHING USEFUL TO THE FUCKING TEAM. In a relegation battle you want someone who will create chances, score, defend properly, not just graft for grafting's sake. He's crap. Crap crap crap. Until everybody on this forum realises this I will not rest. Maybe the reason Keegan is so desperate to bring Shearer back as a coach is to teach Smith how to not be useless/to persuade Big Al to come back and play - cannot be worse than Smith. Babayaro had more good games in Toon shirt than this trogladite.

What Big TRon said is spot on - his off the field problems don't really concern me, it's that he's also a complete waste of space on the park which makes him even more of a disgrace. Woodgate still played well when he had baggage, even Dyer did. Barton just doesn't seem to offer anything and seems inadequate in every department. How any sane man, let alone the manager in charge of our shambles of a team, can pick him ahead of Emre is madness.

Ummmmmmmmm....... Owen remembers where the goal is Better football than under Fat Sam (still not leading to much of a goal threat, it must be said) All the Africans have returned Smith isn't too far away from his next suspension Keegan seems to rate Emre slightly

He eats Alan Smith and we never have to see him again.

Seems alarmingly reluctant to admit that what we have is not good enough. Also, although playing a different formation to the dross offered up by Fat Sam, the players seem to be adapting just as badly. How he cannot see that Smith, Butt and Barton are total wank is beyond me, I think he's in complete denial. Now all the Africans are back and ready he has no excuse to stick with them. Seems to have an annoying preference for crap English players with Premiership experience. I hate that, "experience" doesn't mean that you're any good. Bramble has experience, he's still crap. The same can be said for so many players in the league. So many players come in from abroad and look good straight away/improve by their second year. Keegan seems to think English players who have experienced being crap elsewhere are the best way forward. Very worrying. Hopefully Smith, Butt and Barton will have a fait in training and all get jailed/injured/suspended or something. The worrying thing about Smith especially is that everyone in a position of power seems to rate him - Allardyce, Keegan, Ashley.... even Ferguson at Manyoo did. Maddening.

Honestly if I spent as much time working as I did slating Alan Smith I could seriously go on to great things.

Totally agree with your first post - all this criticism our defence gets is unfair. It's not entirely undeserved, considering the antics of one Stephen Carr on Saturday, but it's out defending as a team that is shocking. We can never keep the ball long enough or launch a meaningful attack meaning our defenders have to do 5 times as much defending as most other back lines in the league, which means more exposure which means more space for errors/constant pressure. I've said before that the key to good, modern DM is one that can make a crunching, accurate tackle and then do something useful with the ball - Carrick, Mascherano, Flamini, Makelele, Hamann etc. all fit the bill. Butt can tackle someone but then kicks it to the other team/off the park/loses it immediately. An attacking midfielder is one who can pick up the ball and make something happen - run at players, pick a killer pass, have a go from distance. Barton offers none of these and plenty more problems in abundance. Central midfield is probably the key area on the pitch as they both have to contribute to attack and defence, and ours is hideously inadequate. I've been saying forever that Emre has to be a starter, just because at least he can make something happen. I would then partner him with Faye or Geremi - tackling wise Faye is better, but for the pass afterwards/creative side Geremi could be a better option. Butt is knackered and completely past it, Barton is just a waste of time and doesn't offer anything right now, shadow of the player he was at Man City (where I never thought he was that good to be honest, just a fairly decent player in a woefully average side). I also can't finish a post without reiterating that Alan Smith is shit.

The only good points to him are his workrate - which every player should give anyway - and this apparent ability to harass defenders. I haven't noticed defenders seeming particularly harassed by him. He's not even a particularly nice guy, I don't know where this comes from - he's an angry, fouling, moaning bastard. I've said so many times since the day we signed him that he's utter shit and will never be good enough. I could excuse him if he even got near to scoring a goal but whenever there's an attack he's usually nowhere to be seen or kicking somebody. Can't pass, shoot, tackle, dribble - all he can do is bring the ball down sometimes and pass it backwards. Every other forward we have is better than him, every other midfielder we have is better than him, ergo there is no need for him to be in the team. It frustrates me SO SO SO MUCH to see him named in the starting 11 week in, week out for nothing relating to his performances. Had really hoped KK would realise he is bollocks but apparently not. Maybe he's a real whizz in training or something. Next game go with Oba and Owen, Emre and perhaps Geremi in midfield, and see if we can actually pass the ball around. The one shining light of relegation would be that Smith would go.

Do you wonder if Owen might start to perform a lot better for us now he is no longer certain of an England place? We all suspect England to be his priority, especially as we can't give him top-class European football or mount a title challenge. When he thought his place was automatic (as it was under McLaren) he thought he may have thought he had nothing to try for, but now he really does have something to prove we could see an improved effort.

I like that you assume part of any criminal mindset is a lack of concentration, must make computer fraud and the likes a real bitch for those ADHD-laden delinquents... Sorry if that was unclear, I meant he must have a lot on his mind and thus might not have a clear head to concentrate fully on playing. I know when I've got something weighing me down I find it hard to concentrate on a task in hand.

I'm celebrating 100 posts by asking something I've been wondering a while. Is it just me, or do many great players come here to see their careers just flush down the toilet? What is it about NUFC which makes players not play well for us but go on to great things with other clubs before/after playing for us? A lot of the time it's bad luck with injuries, maybe it's crowd pressure, bad coaching set up, managers lacking any tactical nouse/motivational skills since the Robson era. But just look at some of the following: Duff- sublime at Blackburn, one of Chelsea's better players until dropped for Joe Cole. Has largely not doe a great deal for us. Owen- regular scorer at Liverpool/Real. Know he's been unlucky with injuries but look how Shearer came back. Jenas- clearly one of Tottenham's best players, but after a great start became crap for us. Parker- amazing at Charlton, untested at Chelsea, now looks good for West Ham - why did he not develop when he was with us? Barton- difficult as he's a criminal and must be lacking concentration as a result, but for Man City, despite being in trouble, he still looked really good. There's probably more examples but I'm at work so should cut it short. My guess is the general impatience of a lot of our fans who get on peoples' backs way too easily, and it's not a comfortable environment for them to play in/they fear cocking up. But there has to be more to it than that. So many talented/promising players and ones who performed well for other teams have just flopped here/not gone on to reach what they should have. Any thoughts?

I think he's clearly a strong tackler and reads the game well, but he's just far too slow. H ecan't keep up with younger/more skillful players and thus gives away too many fouls. Part of being a class DM is what you do with the ball after you've won it - look at Hamann, Mascherano, Hargreaves, Flamini etc. A DM can't rely on just tackling ability, the game is more dynamic now than it used to be and you need more. Much like strikers/wingers now have to defend a lot better/more than they used to, DMs/CBs I think need to show a bit more class/touch/skill etc. I think Butt just hasn't really adapted his game to modern demands, either that or his game just doesn't suit modern demands. Everyone is right, his passing is dross... now Emre is back maybe he'll get helped out in that department. Still don't think we should just get rid as he's obviously useful/experienced, and he's certainly not just plain shit. Just has limitations that perhaps KK could work on, let's not forget the quality of coaching Butt's had since he joined us: Souness, Bruce, Roeder, Allardyce. What chance did he have to adapt to better, passing football. David Batty wasn't a gifted creative talent but was a key ingredient under Keegan before. I think Butt could improve/work out, but it's certainly worrying how crap he is doing anything attack-wise.

I do hope we dont start hyping his brother as much as we hyped him.....

Managers? Sammy Lee, he looks like a proper gerbil. Surprised footballer wise Le Tissier and the Neville brothers haven't been mentioned before. And what of Toon legend Clarence Acuna? He looked like the Predator ffs!