Cronky

This is like bloody Nostradamus.

The appointment of Maradona just had to be the biggest case of heart-ruling-the-head in football history.

GK - James, Green, Foster FB - Johnson, Richards, Cole, Bridge CB – Terry, Ferdinand, Lescott, Woodgate M – SWP, Lennon, Barry, Lampard, Carrick, Gerrard, J Cole, Young F – Rooney, Crouch, Heskey, Defoe I'd always take SWP. He can be infuriating, but at the same time he has the ability to do the unorthodox and open up the best defences. I don't rate Young that highly, but he can also fill in as another forward. There's scope still for a young talent to steal up on the rails. Gibbs or Wilshere from Arsenal maybe.

I did get irritated by one aspect of the game, which I've noticed quite often in international matches. We seem wary of challenging opposition players and end up giving them a lot of space, because we know that they'll go down after the slightest physical contact. Capello has obviously got them playing with a lot of discipline, because I don't think we gave away any free kicks in dangerous positions. At the other end of the pitch, we see Heskey getting hacked and pulled but still struggling to stay on his feet and therefore getting nothing. I'm not saying you should go down if you're not being fouled, but ffs if you are being fouled, go down. I don't think we're as canny as we should be. In games like tonight, it feels like we're playing to a different set of rules.

Agreed. What the fuck are they talking about? He had to make a challenge and risk the pen.

?? We could/should be 6-0 up, not sure we can complain about a lack of positivity. Theyre just passing it until holes are created, its good football. I just feel there's been a lot of passing the ball around in our own half - that is, passing designed not to lose the ball rather than threaten the opposition. Perhaps that's the sensible, professional thing to do. But their back four is playing like it's the first time they've met, as is shown every time we get the ball in the final third of the pitch. I'd like to see us play with a bit more confidence and get at them more. If only for entertainment value.

When we get at their back four, it's easy. There are gaps between their defenders that you could drive an oil tanker through. Since the second goal, we've not been that positive. It's like they're a bit afraid of giving the ball away now that we're almost there.

It certainly is.

I'll stick my neck out and say 4-0 to us. Judging by Bilic's manner, they're beaten before they start.

Caulkin is one of the better scribes, but he doesn't seem to have any insider knowledge or original opinions. It's just the same old soap-opera-that-is-Newcastle-Ashley-is-crap stuff. Moat doesn't seem able or willing to invest much of his own money, if any. He seems to be raising it from elsewhere. I don't want to end up with Son of Freddie.

Even allowing for the fact that a lot of those remarks are probably twisted or taken out of context, you shouldn't be publicly evaluating a team mate's abilities like that. Either he's stupid or he thought the comments were off the record.

Barton's been the poorest of our central midfielders so far this season imo. Well I noticed that he did misplace a few passes against Leicester, but I do think he's a very important member of the side. He's very confident, and that can spread to other players. Plus he's the only one who can really find those killer passes that take defenders out of the game. IMO we look a better side when he's playing. If he'd not got himself sent off against Liverpool, I'm pretty sure we'd have stayed up. That's why Shearer was so mad at him.

Yeah, I agree with that. Looking at some teams, even a few of the top end teams rely on a target man to win things in the air. There aren't many "crafty" forwards in this league (someone with a similar style to Viduka, but obviously not as good), the likes of Derby, Preston, Sheff United, Leicester, Palace and a few of the other top half teams all rely upon big target men as their Plan A. That's the biggest difference I've noticed as well. The teams can't hurt you in the final third like most Premiership sides. Hence only one goal conceded in five games, and that to an ex-Premiership team.

It's very hard to tell. Last year the team was operating without much leadership on or off the field, and there was a lot of tension around. This season, the team look more united and positive. So I feel that the midfield would have done a lot better last year if there weren't all the other problems around. Barton being fit and out of jail helps a lot. Likewise the absence of Butt and Owen. Having said that, the midfield wouldn't be anywhere near the current top six. There's still the problem of an overall lack of pace.

My view of Les was that he was a classic English centre forward of the traditional type. Strong, fast and good in the air, but not that skilful. The sort that would be effective in the League but fall a bit short of international class. I don't remember him missing many chances, but it wouldn't surprise me. I guess we were creating so many at that time that it didn't matter.

I don't think I've seen an England side where so many players look comfortable on the ball. If we can keep Rooney and Gerrard fit, we've got a chance of winning the thing. I wish Rooney would cut out these spiteful lunges though. He did it a couple of times. Admittedly he was being fouled, but in a big tournament where the refs are dishing out cards right left and centre, he might get caught again.

I agree. It all depends on how quickly Ranger develops in leading the line. But both are fast as cats and together would cause defences at this level no end of problems.

The only question mark for me over this lad has been his temperament, and I felt that was answered on Monday. He grew in stature by the minute. I expect him to be our first choice striker before the end of this season. (Assuming we don't sign Torres in January, like)

Useful addition who gives his all, but with Lovenkrands re-signing and Ranger's performance in the second half against Leicester, striker isn't the problem position.

I think a major difficulty is it's hard to put a value on our club at the moment. If we'd reached rock bottom and the only way was up, or if we were in a healthy, stable position in the Premiership, it'd be easier to set a price. As it is, no-one can be sure if there's not further decline ahead which will prove a financial drain on a new owner. Particularly in the current financial climate, caution is the byword. Obviously if we do get promoted, £100 million will be a ridiculous bargain for a debt-free Premiership club with the third largest ground in the country.

The alternative thought process is that the players are willing at the moment because they're still expecting (or hoping for) Shearer to come in and/or things to change one way or another. They're trying to impress. Will they still be responding to Hughton in a couple of months? As long as we keep winning and sit at the top of the league or there abouts, I imagine they will. If times get tough, then I'm not so sure. I think this is the main reservation about Hughton. He seems a softly spoken character and not a natural at firing people up or kicking ass in times of trouble. I imagine it's why he's chosen to be a coach rather than a manager. He seems to be growing in confidence, but I have my doubts about whether he's going to be a good long term bet. One problem with a coach becoming a manager is the relationship that they have with the players. A coach is not as distant as a manager, and at first that extra bit of palliness can be a help in drawing everyone together. That's what happened with McFaul and Roeder at first, and now Hughton. The trouble then comes when the manager has to bring new players in, and drop his old mates. They then feel they've been let down by someone who they put into the job. It's a tricky decision, but on balance I'd now go for Hughton providing he really wants the job and is prepared to adjust to the new role. I don't think Shearer did himself any favours a few weeks ago before the WBA game, when he talked publicly about the limitations of certain players. lol... what did he say? anyone got a linky? "That Butt's fuckin' shite like, thinks he's Maradona..." The detail I recall was that Butt, Barton and Nolan lacked pace and weren't going to get us goals from midfield. A fair enough comment if you're a TV pundit but not the right thing to say in public if you're about to become the manager of those players. He also said that all the players on the list that he handed to Ashley had already been snapped up by other clubs. Again, not a very inspiring message. He wasn't in an easy situation because he was in the position of a TV pundit, but he could have handled it better.

The alternative thought process is that the players are willing at the moment because they're still expecting (or hoping for) Shearer to come in and/or things to change one way or another. They're trying to impress. Will they still be responding to Hughton in a couple of months? As long as we keep winning and sit at the top of the league or there abouts, I imagine they will. If times get tough, then I'm not so sure. I think this is the main reservation about Hughton. He seems a softly spoken character and not a natural at firing people up or kicking ass in times of trouble. I imagine it's why he's chosen to be a coach rather than a manager. He seems to be growing in confidence, but I have my doubts about whether he's going to be a good long term bet. One problem with a coach becoming a manager is the relationship that they have with the players. A coach is not as distant as a manager, and at first that extra bit of palliness can be a help in drawing everyone together. That's what happened with McFaul and Roeder at first, and now Hughton. The trouble then comes when the manager has to bring new players in, and drop his old mates. They then feel they've been let down by someone who they put into the job. It's a tricky decision, but on balance I'd now go for Hughton providing he really wants the job and is prepared to adjust to the new role. I don't think Shearer did himself any favours a few weeks ago before the WBA game, when he talked publicly about the limitations of certain players.

He's got good potential as a manager and - as Burnip says - he's one of only two people that would be given time by a large number of fans. But I wonder now whether he's missed the boat. In life, you have to take your opportunities while they're there, and his attitude seemed to be that he would only take the job permanently if his masterplan was agreed. The players have responded to Houghton and we're doing well, so it won't be straightforward now for him to walk back into the job and run things his way. The players who have stayed behind and weathered the crisis might not welcome him with open arms like before. Shearer should have just said that he was interested in the permanent job, and left it at that.

Of those that have gone, the only ones that have left a real gap IMO are Bassong and to a lesser extent Beye. It would have been good to have kept Edgar as well, as cover for the back four, but barring bad luck with injuries, this squad looks well good enough to secure promotion.

We've needed a quick player who can play in the area between striker and midfield, so Lovenkrands is a very good addition. It's a bit disappointing that we haven't signed another centre back, but anyone who is good enough to sign for a Premiership club is going to do so. The likes of Man U are only going to release young players if they're going to get first team experience (eg Simpson). There's no point in them loaning players out who are going to act as 'cover'. I think those two factors have made it difficult for us. The glass-half-full element is the players we've managed to keep eg Smith, Jonas, Barton.