alpal78

I like the way how he seems to be genuinely interested in the club as a whole whilst also focusing on improving his game.

Didn't see Ameobi hold the ball up for Barton to cross for the winner then? Shola had a good game IMO. Shola's only positive contribution that game was a half-decent late run which was ended in a blocked shot (iirc), and running down the line onto Barton's very good pass to then pass it back to him (something very basic that he was forced into doing due to his reluctance to cross into the box). The rest of the time he: - was very slow at reacting to passes and Carroll's knockdowns. - was very casual in running onto balls over the top. - lost the ball cheaply a number of times. - was barely in the game in an attacking sense. The last part imo was down to the lack of effort he was making to get into the box - I counted 3 times where the ball was out on the wings and Ameobi was walking around 20 yards off the pace. One of those times was when Carroll was out on the wing supporting Jonas and we had noone forward at all, so with Ameobi walking around near the centre circle Joey Barton decided to venture a bit forward. Maybe I'm being harsh/wrong, but a few neutral friends thought he was gash too. Came away thinking we had effectively won the game playing with ten men almost. I thought he had a 'decenish' game, some good control and managed to reasonably hold up the ball on more than one occasion, but there were also quite a few 'Ameobi' moments. My favourites were when he looked to blame the pitch for failing to control Barton's through ball towards the end and that look up into the sky when his deflected shot went wide. Most players use that look when they had a fantastic shot saved, not when the ball heading nowhere missed the goal only after a massive deflection! ameobi had a better all round game than carroll. Yep

Didn't see Ameobi hold the ball up for Barton to cross for the winner then? Shola had a good game IMO. Shola's only positive contribution that game was a half-decent late run which was ended in a blocked shot (iirc), and running down the line onto Barton's very good pass to then pass it back to him (something very basic that he was forced into doing due to his reluctance to cross into the box). The rest of the time he: - was very slow at reacting to passes and Carroll's knockdowns. - was very casual in running onto balls over the top. - lost the ball cheaply a number of times. - was barely in the game in an attacking sense. The last part imo was down to the lack of effort he was making to get into the box - I counted 3 times where the ball was out on the wings and Ameobi was walking around 20 yards off the pace. One of those times was when Carroll was out on the wing supporting Jonas and we had noone forward at all, so with Ameobi walking around near the centre circle Joey Barton decided to venture a bit forward. Maybe I'm being harsh/wrong, but a few neutral friends thought he was gash too. Came away thinking we had effectively won the game playing with ten men almost. I thought he had a 'decenish' game, some good control and managed to reasonably hold up the ball on more than one occasion, but there were also quite a few 'Ameobi' moments. My favourites were when he looked to blame the pitch for failing to control Barton's through ball towards the end and that look up into the sky when his deflected shot went wide. Most players use that look when they had a fantastic shot heading towards the corner fantastically saved, not when the ball heading nowhere almost went in only after a massive deflection!

My brother broke his leg twice and had one operated on and one not, the recovery time for the break that was operated on was a lot shorter because of the reasons mentioned earlier. You can also read up on it here http://www.physioroom.com/injuries/calf_and_shin/tibia_fibula_fracture_full.php. Mick, after reading that I feel like giving you a big man hug!

Still would even after yesterday unless we can rectify our home form we will be in the mix come end of the season and that's a risk I'm not willing to take. Last time we went down, players like Enrique, Jonas, Colo for some reason decided to stick around which was what prevented a spiral or a prolonged stint in the championship. I'm less certain they would stick around should we go down again and we'll probably lose them on the cheap too coz we wont be able to afford their wages. Also IMO most people who say that they want to wait a bit more before deciding are missing the point of the question. The whole idea is would you take safety early on in exchange for the unpredictability (which could see us relegated or getting much higher than 17th). If we were to wait till we are in the bottom 3 or upper mid table with 5 games to go, then question won't be relevant anymore.

All 11 players were contributing at the end of the game, changing the team around could have caused more problems than it solved as it often takes players time to get up to pace. I thought that he was spot on leaving the starting 11 alone for the full game. You're possibly right Mick, all I'm saying is that I have yet to see him (this season at least) influencing a game through substitutions and I think that is a weakness that he has to improve on.

Going to enjoy today's game against Sam's Blackburn, one of those games that I would be happy to see either team lose, only wish they could both lose at the same time, one for being shite and the other for having a shite manager

What is your objective though? I prefer allowing a club that pays in excess of its turnover to just go bankrupt Spending more than you earn is not sustainable for a country not for a club, let market forces dictate team's behavior.

Deserve a lot of credit today especially for sticking with 2 upfront and inspiring the players during half time. But I still have concerns on his ability to use subs effectively. It was telling that in the last few minutes all he did was ask Carrol to help the defense to preserve the lead. This time it worked but would have preferred him to take out one striker and beef up the midfield with Guthrie or just sub in Lovenkrads for Ameobi just to waste time or at the very least ask the players to take the ball into the corner (we continued to attack till the very last moment which could have easily backfired) In other words he is a very non interventionist (or minimal interventionist) sort of manager who prefers players to work things out instead of trying to actively influence the game whilst it is going on. I agree that there is no way anyone can say what would have happened had he made the subs, but without the ability to use sub effectively, that is one less weapon in his armory as a manager. So this is one area he has got to improve but Chris is still good enough for us, better than some of the names bandied around by the press and hopefully will keep us up

Stopped reading there. The rest of it is quite funny tbf. Hhm... ok, I'll read it.

so is this true or not?

He isn't an unknown quantity With this injury he is. It would be a ludicrous risk to sign him right now, as Yorkie said. Agree - this kind of injury affects players differently. Much of the subsequent problem can be in their head. Some get over it but look at Shearer ; mentally very strong and played for a futher 9 years but was never as dangerous as before because he lost some speed. With Shearer we knew what we had whereas with HBA we really don't ; is it the player who scored a cracking goal at Everton or is it the one who was ineffective against Stoke ? Then there are the off-field issues he had with previous clubs..... NUFC hasn't the money to risk so unless the trial can be extended, I wouldn't take the risk. Ineffective against Stoke? care to elaborate? Would you care to outline any incidents in which he created problems for them..?? What's the point you're even making? Yes it was the same player who scored against Everton. No matter how good a player you are you won't play well every game. It was his second start in English football for god's sake. If we do buy him he will have more good games than bad. Every player is a risk to an extent. If you can find a player for less than £6m who is guaranteed to be good for us on a consistent basis then give Chris a call. You have no proof that he would be as good as you say - you are basing your evidence on a good goal at Everton ' if ypu look at my post I clearly say that we don't know if we are getting a player who represents the goal at Everton or the nondescript performance v Stoke...in other words, we have no proof if he is worth a large fee ; 2 previous managers of major French clubs clearly didn't believe he was necessary to their sides. You state he will have more good games than bad yet you haven't an OUNCE of evidence to back up that statement. Every player is NOT as big a risk as one we know little about and has a somewhat chequered history with his previous clubs - we need the trial extending because as you may remember, NUFC has wasted millions on players who turned out to be less than great...Martins and Luque for 2, only we were lucky enough to get most of the money back from Martins...look where HE is now.... If you can't see the point I am making you are deliberately avoiding it. Name me a player who would cost under £6m who wouldn't be a risk. And once you've named him (which you won't be able to do because as I say, no player is risk-free) I'll say this: "You have no proof that he would be as good as you say" I can't guarantee Ben Arfa will have more good games than bad but I do have evidence...title wins in France, caps for national team, highly rated by Wenger and other players and managers. You're just being negative for the sake of it, I wonder why. 'Highly rated by Wenger'..... yes, so highly rated that he didn't even bother to try to get the guy on the same sort of try before you buy agreement that NUFC did...don't you think you've shot yourself well and truly in the foot there ? Wenger is no fool - if he rated HBA as much as you say, NUFC would have had NO chance of getting the player. And as for your claim about 6m players, if HBA is a s good as you say, there is no way he would have been sold by OM for less than 10m. And as for the International claim you made, he was never even selected in the French WC side...and anyone knows that they were a disaster..! There will be LOTS of players under 6m who are not a risk...Tiote cost 3.5 and so far, he has been a real asset in his DM position..I am not paid to be the club's scout but if I were I WOULD take up your challenge. You must be able to spend a great deal of time watching potential signings if you feel confident enough to make those sorts of claims...in fact, judging by NUFC's past record in wasting money, there may even be a vacancy for you ! Are you on a wind up?...the way you derive your conclusions are laughable, I don't know where to start

Therefore?

He isn't an unknown quantity With this injury he is. It would be a ludicrous risk to sign him right now, as Yorkie said. Agree - this kind of injury affects players differently. Much of the subsequent problem can be in their head. Some get over it but look at Shearer ; mentally very strong and played for a futher 9 years but was never as dangerous as before because he lost some speed. With Shearer we knew what we had whereas with HBA we really don't ; is it the player who scored a cracking goal at Everton or is it the one who was ineffective against Stoke ? Then there are the off-field issues he had with previous clubs..... NUFC hasn't the money to risk so unless the trial can be extended, I wouldn't take the risk. Ineffective against Stoke? care to elaborate? Would you care to outline any incidents in which he created problems for them..?? If you didn't see them then what's the point? He was our best player in the first half, his dribbling alone opened up plenty of space, but then you need movement from other players to benefit from it. Tbh even if he had a s*** game it's beside the point. If you can't see a good player there then you aren't much different to the West Ham fans who whinged about Mascherano and Tevez. He didn't score a super goal like he did against Everton so he must have had a quiet game!

He isn't an unknown quantity With this injury he is. It would be a ludicrous risk to sign him right now, as Yorkie said. Agree - this kind of injury affects players differently. Much of the subsequent problem can be in their head. Some get over it but look at Shearer ; mentally very strong and played for a futher 9 years but was never as dangerous as before because he lost some speed. With Shearer we knew what we had whereas with HBA we really don't ; is it the player who scored a cracking goal at Everton or is it the one who was ineffective against Stoke ? Then there are the off-field issues he had with previous clubs..... NUFC hasn't the money to risk so unless the trial can be extended, I wouldn't take the risk. Ineffective against Stoke? care to elaborate?

I really hope some fucker put VDV on crutches, then we'll see what Pluto has to say!

Am I the only one wondering why he is in Tunisia? Surely he should be spending time recovering with the best doctors/physiotherapist which I doubt would be in Tunisia?

This, I don't think there is much difference between the 3 and how you rank them is based on personal perception. I'd personally go for Xisco, Loven and Best in that order.

So assuming the same timeline for HBA, then we won't see him this season anymore? and next season would of course depend on whether we do another deal with Marseille or get him permanently.

Sorry to interrupt, but I don't think 'nuance' means what you think it means. Carry on. Nuance = A subtle or slight degree of difference, what did you think I was thinking of?

It's not a contradiction at all. Some people have the authority to question the referees (The FA, the referee's assessors) and some people don't (John Terry, Sir Alex Ferguson). There's no contradiction in that, it's about maintaining the referees authority. In theory, he should be above questioning from players and managers. As I said before though, we now have the problem that millions of people see and analyse every wrong decision. If the nuance is on who is questioning the referee, then fine why can't the FA or referee's assessors (who can question) have a look at serious incidents and then decide that the ref did not make the right call, demote the ref (which they already do) and in addition impose a suitable ban on the player who was not punished?

It's also a mystery to me why Hughton refuses to give him a decent chance, based on what I've seen, I'd rate him above Ranger and perhaps on his day even above Ameobi. Thought he played well against Villa when he did come on and offer some direct threat which we now lack after HBA ko

Crap just found out from the courier that they just delivered it to the security guard...what are the chances that the guard is going to pass on the gift to HBA? Looks like that is 20 quid down the drain! He'd have to be some sick twisted security guard not to pass them on to him, nice touch from you there mate! Thanks, it's the security guard of St James though not his personal bodyguard

Crap just found out from the courier that they just delivered it to the security guard...what are the chances that the guard is going to pass on the gift to HBA? Looks like that is 20 quid down the drain!

I would hate it if he does not play for us again, but I would hate it even more if this injury ended his career. At 23, he has so much to offer and to have to end your career because of a tackle from that scum De Jong would be quite sad. If that happens, I hope HBA sues De Jong bankrupt!