toptoon

I'd give Edgar a go at CB and then stick Faye in at CM. Martins up top (if fit) with Duff in behind in a free role. Owen and Barton could take the places of Martins and Emre if needs be. Given Beye Taylor Edgar Enrique Faye Milner Emre Zoggy Duff Martins Subs Harper, Geremi, Barton, Owen, Ameobi/Carroll If Keegan plays Car, Cacapa, Butt or Viduka we are doomed.

Picking the correct team it would seem at the moment.

Emre and Barton have the rest of this season to show us they deserve a place in our team next season alongside Faye in CM. Starting from the back, Faye wants to play DM so we need a top CB to partner Taylor. We need to get rid of Car, Smith, Viduka and possibly Cacapa too ASAP Definately keep: Goalkeepers, Beye, Geremi, Taylor, Enrique, Edgar, Faye, Zoggy, Milner, Martins The rest are expendable if they don't improve alot, as long as we can get better replacements. Even so i don't expect there will be wholesale changes. But we need two CB's (one top draw experienced pro) and a top 'big man' type striker at the very least. Berbatov would be great if not Ashton, K. Jones or to a lesser extent Crouch. We should maybe use some players as makeweights i.e. Keane may want Duff and Smith (optomistically Car& or Viduka) + cash for K. Jones. If Zoggy wants off to Spurs then we should try to get Lennon or even better Berbatov. Owen may still be attractive to many i.e. Citeh. If we can get get a top player in exchange or the cash to buy one then that would be great. Bare minimum changes next season: Given/ Harper/ Krul Beye/Geremi Taylor/Edgar New CB/New CB Enrique/Edgar Milner/? Faye/Geremi Barton/Emre/Lua Lua Zoggy/Duff Martins/Owen ???/Ameobi/Carroll Team Given Beye Taylor New CB Enrique Milner Faye Barton Zoggy New CF Martins Harper, New CB/Geremi, Emre, Duff, Owen/??? I think our team has potential but not with Car playing LB, Cacapa playing CB, Butt, Smith and Viduka playing anywhere. Faye is a rock and has to play. Enrique needs to play LB. We need Creativity from Zoggy, Milner, Duff, Emre, Barton, Beye, Enrique.

Faye is an imense player, we need another player just like him. Then play one CB with Taylor and the other in CM. Faye apparently wants to play CM and i think he could be awesome there, so i think our first prority purchase should be a CB so we can keep Faye happy and play him CM.

At the moment, i'd play the team in my sig. We need another Faye type player for CB and then possibly an attacking CM player if Emre and Barton are not up to the Job by the end of this season. Faye apparently wans to play CM so i think we should be on the look out for a top CB to partner Taylor then maybe we can afford push Faye up to CM to break up the oppositions play/help us dominate the midfield. We can then add wingers/strikers if the current crop aren't up to it from there. Definately Keep Given, Harper, Krul, Beye, Taylor, Faye, Enrique, Geremi, Edgar, Milner, Zoggy, Martins Definately Out: Car Smith Viduka Roze Everyone else is expendable IF we can find better replacements, maybe see if we can use some as makeweights in future sgnings. Obviously keep some as squad players. I view Owen and Viduka as luxuary players. Good if we are creating lots of chances for them as they can both finish, but if we are not creating they are unlikely to be able to drop deep and pick up the ball and create something for themselves, they just hang around up top doing next to nothing. In the modern game you need to be able to do both, look at Rooney Ronaldo and Tevez. Three creative players who can also finish. If a good offer came in for either/both i'd take it as long as we had a more creative type player lined up as a replacement. We may start creating more and say Owen might come into form again but with his injury record and wages anything around £10m i'd take. Viduka seems too slow on the deck and is surprisingly weak challenging in the air for a big guy. I'd like to see Berbatov, Ashton or the mackems K. Jones etc (maybe Crouch to a lesser extent) up top for us.

Bobby Charton then Shearer for me.

Faye is badly needed in Midfield AND as a CB. Cacapa can be easilly beaten in the air and with speed, although its a tough 50/50 ish choice i'd opt for Faye at CB for now and give Barton and Emre another shot. Given Beye Taylor Faye Enrique Milner Barton Emre Zoggy Duff Martins Subs: Harper, Edgar, Geremi, Owen, Ameobi

I'm starting to act like a parrot now. Keegan was forced to pick Carr for a few weeks, Carr didn't do too bad in those games so it looks like a player coming back from injury was protected by using a player who hadn't done too bad while playing for the manager who picked him. You can hardly blame Keegan if those around him are giving him bad advice, he'll learn but will have to accept advice until he gains his own knowledge of those at his disposal, even then, hes still only got the players at the club. What so Keegan isn't to blame for picking Car?... and for not picking Faye? Who's is it then... Terry Mac's? Completely not his fault?... Away with you man..... I suspect a few people must have advised against it, Pearson's leaving ?

Having read the original post, you probably do. What? ......Just state whate you disagree with man?

Wind up, right? What do you disagree with?

I take it that means you agree?

f*** your generous with Barton, was he on the field today? Yes your right and i'm wrong i'll downgrade to a 5

Why not he picked Car instead of Enrique or even Edgar and not picking Faye or even bringing him on as sub to mark Carew which was so obvious to every Toon fan was pathetic. I know he's not been watching us but surely the people around him should advise and he should listen.

Spot on mate we would have done better picking the bloody team today! Not calling for Keegans head because obviously ridiculously premature, but needs to get his fecking act together in selecting the right players!!

Have to say today was all Kegans fault! I was always for Shearer to be manager but when KK was appointed i was shocked, but delighted and all for it. Playing Car instead of Enrique today and not playing Faye to mark Carew was nothing short criminal. I'm disgusted with Kegan today, not surprised Pearson walked out at all. I would have started Enqique Faye and Emre. Keegan 0 - Appalling. Given - 4 Bad slip cost us big time. Beye - 6 ok did ok against the very good Young. Taylor - 4.5 I'm a big fan normally but needed him to keep Carew under wraps and clearly coulden't in Faye's inexplicable absense. Cacapa - 5.5 ok ish Car - 2 Poor not premiership standard and clearly the worst player on the pitch despite his attempted hard work rate. Milner - 6 One of our better players. Butt - 5 ok ish Barton - 5 ok ish Duff 6- See Barton Smith - 3 Huffed and puffed but did nothing. Owen 5.5 Lurked with intent as usual, better service and could have had a few. Harper - 6 didn't do much wrong Emre - 6.5 Should have started game was effectively over when he came on.

this Agreed. Faye needed at CB to stop Carew otherwise i'd be tempted to play Cacapa and put faye CM. The rest pick themselves really.

I don't detest Big Sam, where as i did Souness. But very similar with their excuses. Nothings his fault! ??..... Bullshit!!! He should stand up be a man and admit he got things wrong. He tried to make us Bolton MK 2 and it didn't work! He can quite rightly point to the time and say he wasn't given long enough and while true, thank fuck he wasn't given much longer as the type of football he had us playing was soul destroying to watch. Not attacking the likes of Derby, Redding etc and hardly attacking at all isn't far off criminal.

Pretty much think you have that spot on. Faye is a difficult one though. Our next match against Villa you'd have to put Faye CB against Carew as he'd easily overpower Cacapa from what i've seen so far. Taylor could possibly stop Carew but i'd feel safer with Faye. Viduka i'm sorry i just dont rate + last time we played Villa he was in Laursens back pocket, i don't think i've seen a player so dominated, Shola looked more dangerous when he came on in the last 10 mins. Martins has to play imo its just who with and since Owen put the ball in the net twice on Sat i'd opt for Owen, Smith and Shola on the bench just in case. V Villa at the moment: Given Beye Taylor Faye Enrique? Milner Barton Emre Duff Martins Owen Subs Harper, Cacapa, Geremi?/Smith, Lua Lua, Ameobi p.s. Zoggy's suspended i think.

V Boro at the moment: Given Edgar Taylor Cacapa Enrique Milner Barton Emre Zoggy Duff Owen Subs Harper, Butt, Lua Lua, Viduka, Carroll/Smith/Ameobi Something different. Let's try and create. Keep it on the deck. Duff in creative (beardsley) free role. Owen lurking up top getting in good positions when we rip them open (optimistic i know). Carr no where near the team. Barton's a risk i know, judgement call from KK needed there, but Butt and Smith are poor.

Yes i'd definately sign him. Him and Oba up top could be awesome under Keegan.

Aye, Milner has been terrible. You've watched ONE game, haven't you. Jesus. Which of Milner's recent performances have impressed you? What do you think he brings to the team? Stoke the game before last. Not many of the players have impressed of late but they were following BS orders to defend and not attack at all costs and to cut insie every time (very predictable) yes that does include Milner too. Brifley i'd say his good points include: He's two footed, has a great attitude, takes people on, beats players with skill, very hard working, young, very non injury prone, always looking for the ball, making himself availiable, has a good eye for goal, likes to have a shot, gets back and defends well when needed and despite what some on here think his crosses have improved from his first spell and are now pretty good too.

The team does pretty much pick itself. However i preffer Edgar to Car.

Keegan had to be either a brilliant coach or a brain surgeon to do this. But he is neither. Anyway, are the people saying that Martins can learn to resolve his obvious deficits by good coaching the same who thought Bramble could overcome his concentration blackouts? The usual I-support-a-17Million£-super-goal-machine-which-is-always-injured-and-a-f******-mercenary comment. Bored with them... Your problem. I am not actually supporting Owen with my comment, but rather questioning where the belief that Martins can improve his game is coming from, because all this leg-humping is really boring me as well. Btw - It's the transfer window, shouldn't you make up fake transfer news for "entertainment"? I was as anti Bramble as they come and can't believe we stuck with him so long. Its completely different with Martins, he (after a slow start) hit some form and scored what 17 under Roeder as a striker. Sam comes in drops him for Owen at most oppourtunaties and makes him more a right winger in his 433 and then some cretins on here wonder why he's stopped scoring and looks a little short of confidence. I could compare it to Zoggy being shite under Roeder, we knew he wasn't a bad player but he was playing abysmaly, why, because he had done nothing wrong and had actually been playing well, roeder dopped him and bought Duff to play his position. Was zoggy suddenly shite? NO he was demorolised something Sam actually changed.

Sell Owen while we still can. He's not the player he was and while not terrible his injury record is shocking to say the very least. Martins is younger, fitter, quicker, more creative, has two good feet, capable of the unpredictable and is only lacking in one thing at the moment for me and that is confidence. King Kev will get him the confidence back given a little bit of time and we'll have a hell of a player on our hands. If we could partner him with an Ashton or even better a Berbatov by next season then even better. Hell i'd swap Owen for either, he's a crock, a very good finisher yes but doesn't create anything himself and is a luxuary player!

Yeah I agree.Faye can play very well in both position but I think it would suit us better if he is playing in centre of the midfield.Butt and Geremi is not good enough.So Cacapa should partner Taylor in the back. Faye and Taylor are the best two CB's, but got to agree with Sondre, Faye is also probably the best DM and we need him there more at the moment. We need another player like Faye for CB or get a better DM and put Faye CB.