Cronky

Keegan signed Bassong as a £1m unknown youngster IIRC and then put him in the first team and played him regularly to such good effect that when we sold him he was worth £8m. There weren't many players under Keegan's time in charge whose value didn't increase. On checking the stats, Bassong was 22,with nearly 80 first team appearances behind him. He's not really an example of the kind of problem we're talking about here. I can't recall Keegan being much of a developer of young talent tbh. He tended to buy proven quality. Howey, Watson, Clark, Elliott, Cole, Gillespie, Albert, Pav, Shaka. All young players who developed under KK, some of which actually helped build the foundations of the club's success in the 90s, as opposed to simply making token cup appearances. There's also the likes of Huckerby and Thompson who went on to have very decent careers after leaving our academy. He bought well, too. What we were talking about was the difficulty for managers in the top division, in bringing young players through the ranks into the first team. The first four players you've named were all given their chance by other managers when we were in the Second Division. The others were all bought from other clubs. Keegan certainly had his qualities, but was there any player who came through the ranks at the club, who he gave a first team debut to? Genuine question. I can't think of any.

Keegan signed Bassong as a £1m unknown youngster IIRC and then put him in the first team and played him regularly to such good effect that when we sold him he was worth £8m. There weren't many players under Keegan's time in charge whose value didn't increase. On checking the stats, Bassong was 22,with nearly 80 first team appearances behind him. He's not really an example of the kind of problem we're talking about here. I can't recall Keegan being much of a developer of young talent tbh. He tended to buy proven quality.

This problem of the 18-21 year old and their difficulties in progressing to the first team is a hot topic with Premiership clubs in general. I don't think Dyke and his feeder clubs is a viable proposition, so I think we're stuck with the loan system, despite it's faults. The standard required now is so high, and the penalties for failure are so great, that you can't really blame managers for buying experienced players from abroad who can fit into the first team much more quickly. Aarons should go on loan.

It looks like there have been offers, but not ones he's fancied ie Ukraine and Qatar.

No, I don't believe this one.

Henderson is a better athlete though and can cover ground much quicker I would imagine. They don't even play the same position though, I'm not really sure where the comparison comes from. Well the comparison arose on the hypothetical that they were competing for the anchor role in the England team. Neither are ideally suited, but neither was Gerrard. At the moment, Henderson seems to be the only candidate, but tbh, I'm really not sure what Henderson is. He strikes me as a player of modest natural talent who has added lots of bits to his game by dint of hard work. All credit to him for that, but now and then those bits look a bit shaky. He has a good all round game, but he hasn't really imposed himself in the England side. When a young player gets his chance, you really want to see him give everyone the message - this is where I belong. The naturally gifted players like Barkley, Wilshere and the Ox have exuded that confidence from the start, but I haven't seen that from Henderson. That anchor position carries a lot of responsibility, but does Henderson really want that? At Liverpool, he seems to have a much freer role. I've not seen Colback in the anchor role, but he can tackle, he reads the game well and he feeds the ball forward to his team-mates pretty well. What also impressed me on Sunday was his composure. It was a big game for him, with a lot of pressure on his shoulders as the defecting mackem. The opposition was very strong, but he seemed relaxed and just played his natural game. So I think if he had a chance at international level, he wouldn't freeze.

There are better midfield players than Colback in the England squad, but there's a situation vacant in the anchor role. Colback isn't a clear fit for that role, but neither is Henderson. It could happen. He's still got a long career ahead of him.

I don't think there's much to be gained by these debates about whether Colback is the replacement for Cabaye, Tiote, Anita or whoever. Colback offers his own package, and it's a matter of finding the best combination of players. But one opinion that I really hope has bitten the dust after Sunday was the idea that he's just a hard-working clogger who can't pass the ball.

It'll be Wor Jack soon. Be prepared.

Not yet a believer in our Jack, then. I'll be interested to see how Pardew fits De Jong into the side. Assuming he keeps the same shape, he could make it a straight swap with Gouffy, or put him in midfield and push Sissoko further forward. I haven't seen that much of De Jong, but I imagine he's better played centrally than out wide. In which case, he may be better off in midfield, assuming he can still get forward into shooting positions. Putting it another way, if he's played in an attacking role, he'd be better as a second striker in a 4-4-2, rather than a wide attacker in a 4-3-3.

I thought Colback-Anita-Sissoko looked a good combo which we should persist with. I've never been a fan of Anita, but I thought he seemed to have found his role on Sunday. I've never felt that he and Tiote looked right together.

What if he doesn't? It would be a first, wouldn't it?

Didn't look ready tbh. Sammy seems to be out of favour, but I'd rather stick with him.

Very pleased and relieved to see him do well on his debut. He's a good all rounder in midfield, but there seemed to be so much pre-conceived hostility towards him that I worried that a poor or indifferent show would soon have the crowd on his back. It sounds like he's made a few converts.

The most pleasing thing for me was the genuine commitment to keeping the ball on the deck. there was far less aimless hoofing.

Yup. For such an experienced player, he loses composure too often.

Our passing game gas improved, but losing that avoidable goal is probably crucial. Yes, Riviere is struggling on his own, but we do need to match them in midfield. We need a lucky break.

Gouffy doesn't look fit.

A very good game, I thought. Southampton were surprisingly good.

You would have picked Dummett? I don't think there's a lot to choose between Haidara and Dummett. Both are works in progress, but I've that bit more faith in Dummett's defending.

That's the team I'd have picked, but the opposition will have too much firepower for our defence.

A lot depends on how Riviere copes with what will be a very new challenge. If he's not able to get hold of the ball and link play, we're sunk.

Looks ok, but it's a worry that Wolfsburg seem to prefer Bendtner.

We've got an odd combination of an owner who never speaks to the media and a manager who speaks too much. Managers may want to speak their minds, but they are constrained by their position and responsibilities. Most managers manage to find some middle ground. Pardew seems to swing between the extremes and it doesn't work well. He does seem to think that he's good at the media game, but I don't think he is.

The trouble is, unless you play him as a striker or give him a free role behind a lone striker, situations will arise where he has to help defend. I think his best position is the free role, but that didn't prove too successful. It needs someone who is hard-working, with a good football brain. The shame is that HBA has the talent but not the right attitude to self improvement. He seems to reach a certain point, and then blow it.