Cronky

A month in jail might do him a bit of good. So far, he doesn't really seem to have paid any kind of price for his actions.

I just wonder whether Parker or his wife just haven't settled in the area. It used to happen a lot with London players. He's looked tense and uncomfortable with his game over the last season, and I'm not sorry to see him go. Barton is a gamble, but Allardyce obviously feels it's one worth taking. In terms of all round ability, he'd be the best midfield player at the club. He has the potential to be an England regular, I'm sure.

I'm sure we'll improve, but the Premiership has become more unpredictable. We used to be reasonably sure that we'd be able to outmuscle any club outside the top four in the transfer market. We've now got Spurs, West Ham and Villa looking to spend big, and so the competition for the available players will be fierce.

Again, not a very convincing rumour. Dein is out of a job, he lives near Ashley, Ashley needs a Chief Exec, therefore....... I think the guy has got a fair bit of ability, but Dein at Newcastle somehow feels like a square peg in a round hole. There was talk of someone who already had a connection with Newcastle, and I wonder if it might be Freddie Fletcher. Can we start an official rumour on him?

Dyer playing up front for England would show what a sorry state English footy is in. I mean, come on, there MUST be, there IS better strikers than him around, who will actually have a chance of scoring! Exactly how many chances has Dyer had to score anyway? He rarely gets a game for England and if he does it's rarely up front. Deserves a chance. If he cant do it at domestic level, what makes you think he can do it at international? Honest question. All I'm saying is that, in the current situation, the best option might be to play Dyer in that position linking striker and midfield. In the absence of Rooney and Lennon, we don't have much pace or movement, and Dyer at least will give you a bit of that. A completely different option would be to play Crouch, but the team as it now stands is already a bit slow, and Crouch won't help that.

We look a very different side without Rooney. He's the one that produces the ideas that open up defences. We looked very predictable last night and it would have been an embarrassment if we'd won. I'd agree that Dyer did well, though, and should definitely be in ahead of Smith.

I normally think of the term 'playmaker' as being a central midfielder chosen for his passing - someone on the lines of Carrick. And I'd agree with College Dropout that this particular specialist role is one that is fading in importance these days. At the top level, central midfielders need to be all rounders, like Scholes or Gerrard. What we could really do with is someone in the role that HTT was suggesting, in that Beardsley / Bellamy position in between striker and midfield. A bit of a free role, linking the two. It doesn't need to be a player who's fantastically skilful on the ball - just one with the pace or energy or imagination to make something happen. Rooney's the best example at the moment of what I'm thinking of. I don't know of any top level player in that role who might be available. I wonder though whether Defoe could be converted to it. I've often thought he doesn't quite have the physical strength to play as the advanced striker, and may be better off further back. Failing that, I'd take a punt on Vassell, who wouldn't be too expensive. England's forgotten man is someone I've always wanted to see performing in a better side.

Barton's the best player - a potential England regular in his position. Very tempting, but the sheer violence of his temper is a worry. If he gets a move to an even bigger club now, he'll get the message that he can behave badly and it won't hamper his career. It'll be very difficult for Allardyce or anyone else to deal with the problem in that situation. He probably needs to drop down a bit and have to work his way back up, in order for him to learn his lesson. Right player, wrong time, in other words.

It's one of the only things I remember, that and the Chelsea fans trying to get on the tube at Fulham Broadway only to see a few of our fans try to get off and the Chelsea fans legged it. And the scrap yard in the corner of the shed, am I right in thinking that the two sets of fans in our end were separated by a corrugated iron fence? I wasn't in the Newcastle end that day. But I do remember that going to Chelsea was a hazardous operation in those days. In order to get to the away end, you had to walk through a passage right at the top of a block of Chelsea fans, who'd all be turning in your direction. When you were going out, they used to keep you penned in this section by the gate, where you were an easy target for pieces of brickwork etc. Then there was the walk to the station. Bit like the old Millwall ground - there was only one way in or out. The whole configuration of the grounds seemed to invite trouble.

We started singing we want 4, then 5 and 6, I can't remember singing we want 7, I think we bottled tempting fate at that stage. I'm on about Chelsea, not Everton. I don't remember that, but it was a very surreal occasion. We were so bad, it wasn't worth taking seriously. Incidentally, I think Chris Waddle made his debut as a substitute that day. In all probability, he never touched the ball.

Were you at that game? Yes, at both. The Everton game was the more depressing, because we went in there with high hopes for the season. Realisation came that we had a crap side.

There was a whole string of crap debuts in that Everton game. Thorn and Hendrie, as well as Beasant and Robertson. For me, the winner came a few seasons before, in a Second Division game at Chelsea which we lost 6-0. We had a young centre back named Halliday who was making his debut. I don't think I've ever seen such a nervous performance from a professional player.

There's a number of players who Roeder was linked with - Davies, Crouch, Viduka - who are now being linked with Big Sam. It just strikes me as lazy journalism.

We are a big club, not a successful one, but a big one. That does raise expectations and puts an extra bit of pressure on the players when the team is struggling. When we played Reading, who were about seven places above us, psychologically they still had the advantage of being underdogs. Either expectations need to be lowered or standards need to improve, and I know what I'd prefer.

I think he's a talented player who just needs a bit of straightening out. Maybe he got too much praise too soon in his career. A fresh challenge outside of Lahndon could do the trick. Better player than Oba anyway.

All seems a bit silly, to be spending hundreds of millions one moment, and then nothing the next. You can reach the top, but once the momentum of a club is downwards, it can be quite difficult to arrest the slide, as we and Blackburn Rovers could testify.

At least we'll be back on a level playing field.

I'm not convinced that Shearer has the drive. It's a 24/7 job with a lot of stress and sacrifice to be made, and he's opted for a more comfortable way of life as a TV pundit. The longer he leaves it, the more likely it is that he'll have to start from near the bottom, and it won't be easy for a multi-millionaire to motivate himself to manage the likes of Darlington on (by his standards) a paltry salary.

Two players stand out for me. Gazza and.................. ................................................................................ Tony Green

I think not even getting in touch with Shepherd was the worst thing about it. The Hall family and Shepherd (no matter what you think of them) have worked together at the Toon for years. Although, it is canny funny in a way as well. Sir John Hall bent over backwards to work together with Freddie on takeovers, but in the end he despaired of getting his co-operation, and realised that he had no choice but to go it alone. First of all, Shepherd claimed that the potential buyers were 'time wasters', and then he admitted that regardless of the offer,he wouldn't sell. He even had the nerve to claim that the Halls wouldn't sell either, which of course he wasn't entitled to do. The guy deserves no sympathy at all.

Let's bear in mind that two of the members of the current Board are Hall family members. They can be expected to put forward Ashley's views and interests, and if any communication is needed between Ashley and Allardyce, there is that avenue.

I can't see how 'suspend trading' would mean that we couldn't conduct transfers. That's just the normal business of the company. The equivelent would be an Oil company in the middle of a takeover having to shut down its petrol stations and not do any selling.

Rare decent point. You two are joking, aren't you? Ever since the takeover speculation started a few months ago, he's behaved a complete arse. He made it clear that he wasn't going to sell no matter what the offer, thereby putting his own wishes above the interests of the club. He wanted to obstruct a takeover, hoping that he'd then be able to get the Halls' shares on the cheap. He has shown no respect for Sir John Hall (who let's face it is the architect of the modern club), the fans or the club. And you're saying that SJH should have waited till he'd recovered from his cracked rib?

In fairness to Shearer, I seem to remember he was struggling for fitness in the Gullit era, and needed a groin operation after Robson took over to get more mobility back. That might explain the lack of work rate, although I suspect that Gullit put it down to his attitude. Robson moved things forward because he formed an alliance with Shearer as the main man, and built the team's strategy around him. This was successful, but things inevitably came unstuck when the time came round for Shearer to be replaced. He'd become more powerful than the manager.

Given that he'd been going on about what a fantastic partnership he was going to form with Owen, it must have been a big shock to the system when he got dropped. I just think he couldn't face his team mates after the way he'd been bigging himself up. Very surprised about Juve wanting him, but if we can reclaim our money, I'd definitely sell.