TRon

Yeah I always rated Shola's footwork despite the criticism elsewhere but I was really impressed with Carroll on the deck today. He was running at the filth and had them terrified by the end of the first 15 mins.

I don't want to go over the top here but as a pair they look our best partnership by a mile. Said it before the game as well so it's no fluke.

I think the key has been him dropping back into midfield. While he's no Gerrard he's worked hard and crucially he's worked brilliantly off Shola and Carroll.

The only result which will cause waves is a loss. A draw, while not what we want, would probably be grudgingly accepted. Sunderland might not be scoring many but they aren't losing many either.

From the Telegraph. If the lads are truly behind Hughton, and I am 100% certain they are, they'll prove it on the pitch today.

The only possible reason for doing that would be to combat Sunderland's 5 man midfield, but that system suits Sunderland as Bent is an ideal striker to play on his own, whereas Carroll works best with someone alongside IMO. Plus, like I said, I am not sure Sunderland will be able to cope with both Carroll and Shola battering their defence.

I am starting to feel quietly confident about this now. The midfield four of Barton, Nolan, Tiote and Jonas are players you would want in a match like this, and if Hughton goes with Carroll and Shola up front, the prospect of those two battering the Sunderland defence will have their camp secretly terrified, and I include their bastard fans from RTG in that. 4-4-2 attack all the way.

Dalglish was as inspiring as a plate full of boiled sprouts. Even his own players looked sick of their life by the time he was mercifully moved on.

Post of the week.

sorry man, I was almost taking you seriously for a moment.

Can't see why anyone would support the team that came from that shithole - unless of course the devil had farted in your face and you were unfortunate enough to come from that shithole. If that were the case you might, just might, have an excuse.....But honestly, on reflection, even then why would you? Not much in the sides tbh - Bent is way better than what we've got but we might just shade it on the rest of the pitch. It will be all about referee decisions, who gets the "momentum" etc etc etc..... Even Bent was lined up to be a Newcastle player but relegation meant he had to accept going to Sunderland in reluctant fashion. Like Bramble and eventually N'Zogbia once Bruce finishes cleaning up the scraps from our table.

How about a swap deal then?

I know Perch has his critics here but a derby match is the last place someone like Guthrie should be getting a starting role. He's the laziest, most un-motivated player I've seen at Newcastle for a long time. Say what you like about Nolan and Smith but no one could accuse them of not caring.

or which order they'll attack jonas. he was kicked up a height last time by their entire midfield in a manner that was obvious it was a plan with one player kicking him till he got booked, then someone else takes over. it's a tactic they've used before against dyer. Plus Bruce will have seen his little cameo against Arsenal where he looked head and shoulders our most dangerous player so I would imagine Jonas will come in for "special" attention.

It's amazing how this story has snowballed with no basis in reality whatsoever. They don't seem to be talking about anything else on Talksport for the past 48 hrs as far as I can tell there's absolutely no reason to think it's anything more than some daft rumour which has been plucked out of thin air.

I can't see him getting much joy up front so it will have to be midfield for me. Then it's just a case of who wins the battle between him and Lee Twattermole.

I think some people haven't got a clue...or maybe they have but they just want to slag certain players off regardless.

or just better than the shite he was playing alongside.

This. He was one of the few players who wasn't overwhelmed by Arsenal's movement and pace. In fact he gave them an impressively hard time considering the lack of service due to the over-whelmed midfield.

I thought our best players were: Ranger Vukic Perch Williamson Krul Barton Jonas Carroll The worst were: Taylor Guthrie Smith Kadar had some shaky moments but that was more about what was going on around him than anything else.

None any more. I used to be a season ticket holder.

Funnily enough I thought Vucik showed exactly what we have been missing in our midfield area, strong running, pace and ability to link with the forwards. Our first chance in the early minutes when he raced from midfield to latch onto Ranger's superb hold up play was a prime example. Unfortunately their enthusiasm wasn't matched by Lovenkrands and Guthrie, and Smith despite his best efforts just isn't capable of keeping up with top level midfielders.

Ryan Taylor might have a decent delivery but as a defender he's a disaster waiting to happen. He waited for his chance and the disaster happened.

I think for this match I'd be tempted to since their best bet of scoring is to sit back and hit us on the break. They do have some pace up front so if we push too far up the pitch I'm not sure we've got the players to deal with the ball over the top.