TRon

He has the same problem as Nolan in that he's too slow/physically incapable to be a be a box to box player so ends up just hovering round a small area of the pitch leaving all the movement to other players.

I always got the impression Jol would be happy to come here, the reason he won't is firstly Ajax wouldn't let him leave in a hurry and more importantly he's not a low brand bargain basement manager which is the first requirement on the CV when it comes to Ashley.

If you go beyond the win = good game, loss = bad game then there's a bit more to it than that. Like the rest of our central midfielders apart from Tiote, Barton doesn't sprint, he casually strolls along then stops after passing the ball. It's why he never gets beyond the forwards to get into the penalty area. He's got goods ability on the ball but in the premier the opposition won't allow you to play at half tempo and that's what Barton does. Believe it or not, I wasn't actually analysing Barton's performances simply on whether we won or not... Yeah I realise you were analysing the comments as you didn't really say anything about Barton's performance. But that was my analysis of Barton and it's been pretty consistent whatever the result.

If you go beyond the win = good game, loss = bad game then there's a bit more to it than that. Like the rest of our central midfielders apart from Tiote, Barton doesn't sprint, he casually strolls along then stops after passing the ball. It's why he never gets beyond the forwards to get into the penalty area. He's got goods ability on the ball but in the premier the opposition won't allow you to play at half tempo and that's what Barton does.

While I get frustrated with his team make up most weeks - Guthrie has rarely looked interested in playing wide, and he hasn't got the pace to do it anyway - Hughton still seems like a fairly intelligent bloke and I reckon will go on to be one of the better managers in English football. We just need to get through this season.

I don't expect everyone to understand it to be fair.

in which alternate universe would this happen? Probably in the veterans league is my guess. Is he just the latest scapegoat after Nolan? Or are they both too slow/lazy to get in the penalty box from a central midfield position?

At least we showed some character. Not easy coming back from 2-0 down. Might turn out to be one of the most important points of the season, if we'd lost three at home on the bounce it would not have looked good.

I think Hughton saw his pace and got sucked in by that. At Newcastle it's a quality we lack through the side, but the player has to have some ability as well. Taylor's better going forward but I still think Perch is a better defender. He needs to be rested though, then I wouldn't be surprised to see him come back looking a lot better. Ryan Taylor hits a nice cross but he's a shocking defender.

I would much rather see Shola or Ranger play instead. Lovenkrands had his chance and blew it.

Said this before the game. Guthrie hates playing on the wing and he's too slow anyway. Like I said in the pre-match thread, why not try playing midfielders in midfield, wingers on the wing, and forwards up front? Oh and if we must play 4-5-1, the attacking midfielder shouldn't be a fat bastard.

He's still shit.

Captain Colo-ssuss

or Ben Arfa. Eh? Eh? Aye, fucking exactly. I wasn't really having a go at Hughton FWIW, more the crap mamagement which refused to play Zog left wing despite it being obvious he was one of our better players. Yes he had a shit attitude but good attitude workhorses still get pissed on at this level.

Hughton's built a great team spirit here with a bunch of good honest lads. At least that's not being threatened by disruptive cunts like that N'Zogbia...

The only alternativ is Routledge who has been shite in the last matches. So what would you want Hughton to do? Routledge hasn't been great so I can understand why Hughton might have gone for Guthrie, but he's been shite on the wing as well previously. I think it's fair enough for this match, my comment was more about Hughton in general playing midfielders up front, or strikers on the wing (Ranger/Lovenkrands). It would be nice to see him just play wingers on the wing, midfielders in midfield and forwards up front once in a while.

Hughton seems to have a real problem picking a balanced side but hopefully Guthrie will just be glad to be back playing and put in a good shift on the right. Normally he looks like he'd rather be in Iraq than on the wing. He can deliver a decent cross now and then.

It really is. A bit like "it really is" has become a catchphrase for Shearer.

Me too....until I remember that we have Kevin Nolan up front in the premier right now.

WHoever buys them stll has shit loads of work to do, they aint suddenly going to be able to challenge again. They have a lot of shit in that squad, Carra is aging as well as Gerrard and a huffy injured Spaniard. And they need a new stadium. Anyone who bought them must realise that, and you can only assume that they have the money to be able to get them up there again or why bother?

Jammy bastards. Looks like it's only clubs like ours that have to pay the price of being run badly.

He should have been played on the wing last season when we were wasting Guthrie in that position. Her should have been played on the wing in the Carling Cup this season rather than Nile Ranger. Not really sure what all that's about.

I'm happy that Carroll has signed a new contract, he's a huge threat in the air and he has a good strike on him, that alone makes him worth a fair bit in this league. He's still very raw though, I think both Shola and Ranger are far better with the ball at their feet. Carroll never seems to gel with any of his partners and I think that's the main reason why.

I almost took the bait. I can see he's not the finished article, and might never be, but as a right winger with attributes which are in short supply at Newcastle I'm just surprised he has been shipped out, especially after a MOM performance in his last appearance.

It was another cracker aswell. Just goes to show what regular football does for players. ...and playing in a lower division. Aye, good on the lad, he's found his level. He's not 'committed' or 'hard' enough for the Premier clearly. Pace, skill and a good strike are so over-rated.