TRon

I think we need to see Guthrie stand up and be counted away from home when our backs are to the wall before he can command first choice central mid position. For home games he should be given a decent run to build on the last couple of performances.

Forest and WBA are still very real threats IMO. We are in the driving seat though, if we can find a way to get a couple of wins away from home we should be ok.

Good point. I hope he's dogshit next match. Ashley would probably be short sighted and see this as a quick profit maker and that we can just go and splash another £1.5m and find another Guthrie with ease. I wouldn't get too worked up at that prospect just yet.

That's a shot across the bows to our promotion rivals. Suck on that you bastards!

We deserved that like.

I still think that the best central midfield combo is Guthrie and Barton, however shit he's been. After all he's been played wide regularly just like Guthrie, who's to say that in a side with ball players alongside him he won't look 100% better as well?

Tell you what, I'm happy with the tempo we've played at today. Nice to see us pin the opposition in their own half for the majority of the game for a change

:celb: :celb: Get in!!!

Who's going to take it? This could seal a vital 3 points.

Didn't Keegan say that was his best position when he signed? I would agree with that tbh. I think he'd have more time on the ball to do his stuff and he can definitely set up the play from there. Not sure he'll be able to stand up to a battering away from home though.

It does seem like he's more suited to the anchor role if he's enjoying that role tonight.

It'll be criminal if we don't win this one.

At least he drops one of them. Not bad. We'll still need to see both Guthrie and Nolan step up their work rate to dominate the centre but it should improve things. Wonder if the rumours about Smith having a bust up with Hughton over tactics are true then?

When's his contract up? No way in hell should he be offered another one after yet another season on the sidelines. another 2 years, thanks to We'll just have to run his contract down then, he's not going to be shifted that much is clear. This was probably the only season he could have made a contribution but he's another perma-crock bleeding the club dry.

When's his contract up? No way in hell should he be offered another one after yet another season on the sidelines.

I think this is what separates genuine managers from those who are just pretenders. No one should get picked on what they were producing months ago, or on reputation. It might well be that Hughton sees something that we don't however. Maybe Nolan's goal threat or defensive work at set pieces out-weighs his general lethargy in open play in Hughton's eyes.

The bottom line is that as long as we are heading for promotion Hughton can justify his selection policy by pointing to the table. Personally I think Nolan is the worst example of a football professional and I don't agree with him being picked automatically for every game - makes the whole idea of resting other footballers a joke. With a bigger squad available it is going to be a test of Hughton's mettle whether he can keep everyone firing and the results favourable. There are signs that this new found team spirit is fading in some of the last few games.

That was the other point which needed to be picked up on: it's no use running X amount of yards in a game if you are so slow you aren't getting near the opposition.

I took it to mean the end of the season. I don't understand how Barton could possibly be out for the whole season with whatever injury it was he had. Why not? I can't recall the last time he played more matches than he missed in any one season as a Newcastle player.

he looks out of shape yet is our most mobile central midfielder...go fugure ? More mobile than who? Smith and Butt are usually playing the anchor role so they are hardly going to cover as much ground - although i doubt they are far off - so that leaves Guthrie who has played a couple of games there. Tbf, if Guthrie was starting regularly and turning in similar performances he'd be getting slated as well.

How old is he? Turned 18 just before Christmas. Scored a cracker against West Ham in the Youth Cup the other week. If you have seen him is he physically strong enough to step up for first team duty yet?

How old is he?

On that subject, you have to wonder why we don't have any young central midfielders already on the books who are at least capable of getting on the bench. Other than Vukic who is really more of a striker, who plays in the middle for reserve games?

Funny, I was just saying on Saturday that I generally think Colo would cope better in midfield than any of Nolan, Butt or Smith. Obviously it's never gonna happen because it's vital we have him at CB. I've thought it all season. He is the best passer of the ball in our team, without a doubt. When Taylor is back and playing alongside Williamson, I'd love to see what Colo could do at DM. He has played at DM a considerable amount of times for Depor, Milan saw him as the long-term replacement for Costacurta (a DM). Sure, it's a sign of desperate times that I'm suggesting we use our best defender this season as a playmaker, but I think an effective passer of the ball is exactly what we need in the centre of the park, whilst still providing defensive cover. Just imagine next season, it could be Colo vs Felleni in the middle of the park I doubt they could get within 5 yards of each other now you mention it

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/14/premier-league-play-off-champions-league stupid idea tbh after 38 games, the team that finishes fourth deserves to be there I agree. To this day it still rankles that the mackem bastards benefited at our expense through the play offs which reduces a whole season to a lottery.