HawK

45 strikes me as a lot, I haven't done any research but the last prolific front three I can think of was Chelsea with Duff, Robben and Drogba.

Regardless of the zero-spend, in Carr he's fluked onto a real ace of a person who has supplied us with a fantastic starting 11. Just need a manager..

Maybe Ashley's gonna be hands-on now ^_^

Just preparing my mind for the worst of all possibilities. As far as I'm concerned, literally anything is possible now, having seen what's gone on with this Kinnear hiring.

Gonna be another constructive dismissal payoff if Kinnear is right in what he's saying he will be doing. Why didn't Ashley just sack him.

Shearer that Mike Ashley doesn't like? Neh. Well the appointment of Kinnear has just made throw all common sense out of the window tbh. This is the only way to try and think like this club does now.

Would it be arrogant to suggest that I think I'd be a better DoF than Kinnear? I've walked every season with NUFC to the title every season on CM/FM since 1995, and that's been good enough for a 21 year old to become a manager in Latvia lol.

Also, Mike wants to get rid of Pardew.....can't do it via sacking him cause it shows he's wrong - masterstroke, hire JFK to buy his direct boss and make him dictate to Pardew how the team should play. He'll walk before the sack race has even started.

I can see Kinnear getting Shearer in. Hyperthical but would be interesting to see him with a more disciplined, foreign squad than the lads of before.

So um, yeah. Gonna support Wakefield FC now.

Edit: Stupid copywright youtube embedding shiz.

Yup and he barely featured. My favourite NUFC player.

'No sponsorship' eh? http://i42.tinypic.com/15x7sqr.jpg

So from an Islamic point of view, can someone tell me what the difference between Virgin Money and Wonga is please.

But according to his religion he shouldn't. Wait a minute..

That's all good and well (and I would deny he hasn't been afforded the kind of opportunities last season as the one before, see my earlier post, he has just missed many more chances relative to 2011-2012), but with the players out our disposal (i.e. considering Ben Arfa has been injured for large parts of the season, and we have no left winger to speak off), how would you have set us up to play to his strengths? Another issue I have with Cisse being the lone forward, and again I am going over covered ground, is he doesn't relish a physical challenge at all, so unless he finds himself unmarked (and onside), having him just sit in the D as you suggested will not see him magically getting more chances by itself. Many of our problems are indeed tactical, but to deny the effects of injuries, an imbalanced squad and Cisse's own limitations is oversimplifying why Cisse hasn't been as effective this season as he should have been considering his obvious talent. Bold -> Oh come on lol Talking post-January, I wouldn't have lined up with a faux 4-4-2 with Sissoko as the second striker, pushing Cisse up top. I'm saying second striker as without the ball, Sissoko was in line with Cisse when pressing in all the games I managed to see. If it HAS to be 4-4-2 I would have put Gouffran alongside him, dropped Tiote and played Sissoko next to Cabaye. We've had Marveaux for the left and Ben Arfa/-shudder- Obertan on the right. Although I still think a 4-3-3 suits us much better with current personal and we'd be much stronger. Keep the ball on the deck and the team almost picks itself and allows Cisse to drop back with the wider players pushing up.

Not disagreeing, but remember there's more to it than just numbers... a lot of chances he had when he first came over (and was relatively unknown) were in a team that created space for him to thrive and he a had more time to compose himself per chance than now.. perhaps a bit of 2nd season syndrome but we can't deny he hasn't been afforded the kind of opportunities last season as the one before. His link-up play was fine when he had players ahead of him in 2011/2012 also, so we were not really down a player - he just doesn't play the role of 1 up front well enough, he needs a striker more advanced than him I think. Pardew tried it with Ba with Cisse, but neither striker can play as effective target-men or be able to hold the ball well enough when pumped long. Along the deck and allowing the wings to push on could have seen a whole different 'partnership' - so much of it comes down to tactics. I still shudder at the old Plan A - hoof to Ba/Cisse and don't contest the second ball.

Perhaps the thousands are being a bit naïve. Playing to Cisse’s strengths isn’t that simple a matter. The way I see it, at the top level, there’s a real problem with integrating a specialist finisher whose hold up and linking play isn’t that good. You can – a) Play him with more of a target man, but then you have two players who are both looking for the same advanced, central position, albeit for different reasons. b) Try a), but then ask one or the other to move into a secondary, withdrawn or wider role, but then you’re asking one of them to do something they’re not good at. That was the whole Ba / Cisse issue. c) Ask the finisher to play as an all-round striker, which is what we seem to be doing at the moment, but that isn’t working well. d) Don’t ask the finisher to do anything other than play on the shoulders of the CBs, and get the rest of the team to create chances for him. Trouble is, your system lacks the interchanging of positions that can help to open up a defence, and you can look a bit static. It can also feel like you’re playing with 10 men, particularly if you’re up against good opposition. Apart from all that, to make plan d) worthwhile, your finisher has to put away a high percentage of the chances that come his way, and personally I don’t think Cisse’s conversion rate is good enough for that. I think perhaps you're over-thinking it a little. I would say we need people capable of creating space and committing defenders. Ba used to do this for him, and Best did it for Ba pre-Cisse. We have Ben Arfa and Gouffran who can do that. Play Gouffran up ahead of Cisse or have Cisse flanked by both, and he will keep getting the ball around the D where he does what he does best.

Pretty much all the player threads revolve around players not being played to their strengths. How can a PL manager not realize what thousands can.

What do you honestly think Pardew says behind the scenes? He just accepts absolutely everything without any input of his own? Absolutely, why else appoint a League 1 manager? He might 'say' things, but authority on anything other than first training/picking the team? No way. Maybe I'm easily led by conspiracies; appointed on a minimal basic and gambling debts to his boss. When he got his 8-year, that sorted his debts and he hasn't given 2 shits since. Not withstanding he's probably the worst manager in the league. Win-win for Ashley on original appointment, if he sucks not much payoff, if he's great then the club will earn more money. Then he decides to print of Graham Carr's contract and just change the name at the top and again the club is shown up for not having a football-club brain near the top.

Probably already been said, but this team is such a pale shadow of what Brazil normally have on show. I can't think of a weaker first 11 I've ever seen from them :/

/Flippant I'd have got depressed if I went from a mainstay in a team that got to the Champions League to a team that you were promised would be playing on-the-deck football in a foreign country and it turns out you were lied to.

Last season we were unbeaten until November with a 442 with Obertan on the right wing and Ryan Taylor at left back, Leon Best up front. We still heavily miss Leon Best. No-one could have forseen the injury after he was sold but we should never have sold him. He would have been the foil for Cisse that he was for Ba. Great workhorse with good feet in the box and can make space for others.

Just for the simple fact that our best 11 is almost entirely not of these isles I'd love for us to grab him and (pipe dream) Will Hughes off Derby. Would be great to have some genuine English potential coming through and pushing the legion for places.