Cronky

Allardyce did say a few weeks ago that he would pick the formation to suit the players at his disposal, indicating that he may be a bit more flexible about 4-4-2 than his past record might show. One characteristic i noticed of Allardyce's Bolton was a ruthless determination to win. He would set out whatever tactics were best likely to produce a result against particular opposition. If that meant kicking lumps out of opponents or launching the ball into the penalty area at every possible opportunity, then that's what they'd do. It didn't matter to Allardyce how it looked, or what other people thought. To balance things up, if Allardyce felt that their best chance was to keep it on the ground and pass their way through, then they had that option as well. Lots of times, Bolton played some decent stuff, but it was when it suited them to.

He's more than good enough for us. I can see him turning out at left back, which is currently our weakest position.

I may be reading too much into this, but I find it interesting that the quotes have come from the Chairman, rather than the manager. He seems to be in the papers far more often than Curbishley, and I wonder whether West Ham have got a case of Shepherditis - the curse of the over-involved Chairman.

I agree, and likewise Martins. Neither are suited to that position, and would have difficulty adapting. Milner, Duff, Dyer and at a pinch Emre would be able to do well in those wide positions. And Viduka and Ameobi are each well suited to the central position. The way I see it, a very tricky situation could develop. Allardyce has to either change to a 4-4-2, or not use Owen or Martins as first choice.

I'm very confident that Allardyce will turn things round. He seems very confident about what he's doing, and he seems to be able to attract players to the club, based on his reputation. I don't think the gap between 5th and 13th is all that great, and Allardyce should be able to bridge that. Breaking into the top four, or turning the top four into a top five, is a different proposition. Allardyce himself has said that would take about 5 years, and I think that's probably right. But yeah, given time, I think he'll achieve it.

Maybe it was a preliminary talk about coming to Newcastle at the end of the season, when his contract has expired, and presumably he's fit again. I absolutely cannot believe that in our situation we're trying to sign him up now though. He's a 30 year old who's still recovering from a knee injury. There's no certainty about recovery times, and in any case, he may not come back the same player.

I'd agree that we do need at least one quick striker in the squad, and if both Owen and Martins go that has to be put right. Apart from anything else, a quick striker forces the opposition back four to defend that bit deeper and free up a bit more space. Defoe, Bellamy or even Vassell would be good choices.

I can't believe that we're going to sign a player who's going to be out injured with a knee problem for the next 5 months. That makes no sense at all.

On the 'Edmilson' thread, Kaka seemed very, very sure, in an ITK type way, that we were going for Motta. You heard it here second.

Ain't seen that anywhere. I can confirm. He dismissed it as 'agent talk'.

I think he'll want to go. He threw a strop at the end of last season when he got dropped, and I don't think he's going to want to compete for his place next season, which he'd almost certainly have to do.

Why? If Sunderland were based in Newcastle there's no way i'd want them in the same ground. Newcastle and Sunderland are different cities. The other clubs are within less than a mile of one another, in the same city. There'd have been a bit of grumbling from both sets of supporters, but after a few months everyone would be used to the idea. Does it affect the Milan clubs in a bad way?

It's absolutely stupid that Liverpool and Everton didn't get together to build a joint stadium. Likewise Arsenal and Spurs.

Man U v Arsenal - FA cup semi-final replay, 1999. 2-1 to Man U, with Giggs scoring that amazing goal in extra time. Two great teams, very evenly matched, giving it all they'd got from first minute to last. It was the game that really made me realise how far English club football had developed since the Premiership.

Thinking about it, it did look from Allardyce's buying of Viduka, and his comments afterwards, that he saw Shola and Viduka competing for one place, and Owen and Martins competing for the other. In that situation, I can well see at least one of Owen and Martins going.

I wouldn't have thought that Martins was suited to Arsenal, so I'm surprised at all this. Martins is strong and fast, but his touch on the ball is really poor. The 17 goals statistic is a bit deceptive. 6 of them came in the UEFA cup against mostly weak opposition. He can be dangerous all right, but I don't think he's going to improve much above the level that he is now.

I seem to remember seeing Geremi playing more on the left than the right. But whatever, this is definitely a signing that would get us moving forward. We have to face the fact that, at this stage of the game, we're not going to sign players that are wanted by the big four or other Champions League teams.

Fuck Off :'(

You wouldn't call him a trophy signing, but for a player who can create havoc in the gap between midfield and striker AND who might be available........... Craig Bellamy.

With Ashley now taking the club into private ownership, does he actually need a Board or a Chairman? Surely he can just appoint people to undertake whatever role he wants. I don't know that titles like 'Chairman' or 'Deputy Chairman' will mean very much now. Any expert on Business law, please correct as necessary.

Apparently Alf Ramsey used to try and introduce an interesting variation to training by having multi-event athletics contests for the squad. He had to abandon the idea because no matter what the event - sprinting, long-distance running, high jumping, throwing whatever - Bobby Charlton would always win. He was a great athlete. I saw the second half of his career rather than the first half. Unfortunately, he was one of those players that carried on too long. For his last two seasons, he was poor and my view of him is a bit tainted by that.

I seriously doubt we'll play that formation. I wonder whether Sam is thinking of also using him as an anchor man in midfield. Am I right in thinking he used Hierro in that way? Course that would mean he'd need to bring in another centre back.

I don't know the lad, but I'd be feeling a bit more confident if we weren't the only Premiership club chasing him. It adds a bit of credence to the idea that he's not so great at defending in the air. Still, Big Sam is an ex-centre back, and he usually knows what he's doing.

I can't see how it'll work if Shepherd remains Chairman, but surrounded by Ashley's appointees. He won't have any real authority or credibility. If Ashley wants to retain his services, he needs to be given another role.

I go back to 1966, and I'd say Gazza. He had the capacity to lift the performance of the whole side. But a short while from now, I'll probably be saying Rooney. He hasn't really turned it on in an England shirt yet, but he's an immense all-round talent. He has it in him to be one of the best two or three players in the world.