TRon

I wouldn't want to rely on us winning all of our home games because the way we play that is unlikely. All the more reason every point away from home might prove crucial.

I think this policy has been a long time coming after the money we have squandered on very ordinary players past their peak. I think we will miss out on some real talent though unless we are a bit more flexible. The chance to sign Moses for a low-ish fee was missed because we refused to budge, and only time will tell if signing Best will prove better value in the long term. I'd be surprised.

Ditto, on both counts. and seconded. Always thought Ambrose had a decent strike and would make a half decent central midfielder for someone.

can't remember us doing much counter attacking yesterday. we hit long passes up to carroll and that's basically the only tactic we had. if we'd wanted to counter attack ranger would've been a better option up top, i also would've probably put van aanholt on the wing or too while a conscious decision to play the ball on the ground would've helped. In order to counter attack effectively you need players who can bring the ball out of tight situations and thread a pass. Solano was brilliant at this. Guthrie and Nolan tried to do it yesterday and were constantly robbed in possession as they took an age to control the ball and then release it. That's down to the individual player rather than any poor tactics or coaching. i don't think so. there's worse players than them doing that at other championship clubs. put guthrie in the west brom or swansea side and he'd be able to play first time passes with his eyes closed. likewise, put their players like cotteril or jerome thomas in our side and they'd look just as inept as our lot and you'd have people like HTT saying that they are shit and can't do that even if they tried. there is an issue with lack of mobility and fitness and you can only improve that so much through coaching, though we dont seem to have done so as guthrie looks overweight. but in terms of clever movement, understanding between team mates and confidence, that has to emanate from the manager. put keegan in charge of these players and there wouldn't be an issue. remember how everyone said the likes of Butt, Geremi, Barton, Owen, Martins etc couldn't do all these basic footballing jobs, yet within 8 or 9 games of keegan taking over they looked like they looked like a very good side. indeed, a player like Guthrie as he played vs Man Utd, full of threaded passes, clever touches, confidence and intuitive understanding with team-mates would piss on this league. it is testament to mismanagement how far he has fallen since he joined the club. Keegan struggled with those players and in the end he had to drop Owen into midfield to make it work. It was a smart move no doubt, and maybe Hughton has options to make a similar change. Until he tries it we won't know, but while we are sitting top of the table he'll continue as he is I suspect.

can't remember us doing much counter attacking yesterday. we hit long passes up to carroll and that's basically the only tactic we had. if we'd wanted to counter attack ranger would've been a better option up top, i also would've probably put van aanholt on the wing or too while a conscious decision to play the ball on the ground would've helped. In order to counter attack effectively you need players who can bring the ball out of tight situations and thread a pass. Solano was brilliant at this. Guthrie and Nolan tried to do it yesterday and were constantly robbed in possession as they took an age to control the ball and then release it. That's down to the individual player rather than any poor tactics or coaching.

More to the point, if he doesn't need a rest every so often, why does anyone else? It pulls the rug from the whole principle if it's applied selectively.

You poor bugger. Living in that horrible hot sunshine while we are lapping up the weather in Costa del Newcastle

It's not about technique, for all his faults, Nolan is actually quite an accomplished footballer in that respect. Our fault seems to lie in the movement and fitness, whether that's down to the coaching or just some players having 40 yr old legs is the issue. When Mourinho sold Geremi for that reason was it his fault he couldn't get him to run harder or faster?

I don't blame him for going, I just think the hero worship should have ended the day he put in a transfer request. He always played up to the adulation he got as well which makes it even more cringeworthy. He wasn't a local hero he was Newcastle player who got well paid for his services and has now fucked off chasing the arab £ notes.

I wonder why Nolan is getting "rested" during such a hectic period, seeing as just about every other squad member has been? Does Hughton genuinely think he's so crucial to our chances of getting a result?

The idea of us paying Gus Hiddink's wages is so daft it's not even funny.

What pressing of the ball? I never saw any! I saw us standing off, defending deep and letting them have the ball. Probably down to the manager's instructions. For us to press them we would need Guthrie, Smith, Routledge and Nolan to be chasing down their players across the length of the pitch for 90 minutes. Do you really think that any of that lot bar Routledge looked physically capable of doing that today? They were capable of it as soon as we conceded. Routledge clearly is, the other lot can do it to they just dont bother. Its mental more than Physical. When its 0-0 they dont even contest balls that are dropping down to the opposition...they just stand and wait. When we're losing they get stuck in and we get more possession, its just the basics they stop doing due to arrogance i think. I know they are capable of it, just not for 90 mins. Even when we start games well we usually run out of steam after 15 mins. When I was watching us sit back for the first half I actually wondered whether the likes of Nolan, Smith and Guthrie were preserving their lungs so they'd be able to get through the 2nd 45 mins.

The only position I can see him making his own is as a holding midfielder where he can be excused walking about like a spectator most of the match. In this division he could probably set up our play better than Smith or Butt from there. The only worry would be whether he would be bullied and knocked about because he's quite feeble on the ball.

Why not? He's young English and fairly cheap by their standards. If he is lucky he might even get on the Chelsea bench once in a while to watch Chelsea's foreign stars in action.

At least Shearer tried to change things in the short time that he was here. Well he talked publicly about all the changes but it wasn't really evident where it mattered, on the pitch.

I think you'll find that most clubs will be operating along these lines in future unless they have a massively rich owner willing to spend millions of their own money selflessly.

I agree that he comes inside, that just makes putting him on either wing even more stupid. It doesn't help him that he comes in to the middle and nobody is moving for him, we had nobody creating space today but Swansea players had no problem finding plenty. The Swansea players were working harder all over the pitch. That's my main beef with Guthrie, I didn't see him busting a gut on or off the ball. The only one I saw running hard for 90 mins was Routledge - and he's the winger who's by definition supposed to be lazy!

Jonas is a left winger, Guthrie isn't. On the many occasions I've seen him lose the ball he's usually been in a fairly central position. He doesn't really stay wide, he comes inside and ends up clogging the centre. I don't blame him for that, but once he's there you would expect him to hold possession better.

Its pointless because Ashley isnt in it for the long term, as long as Ashley's we're not going to get someone better than Hughton. You cant say Mark Hughes is the best man out there, because no-one is going to achieve anything long term if the fat man's here. If new ownership came in then the likes of Hughes, Curbishley, Sven etc would be possibilites. I know some people wont agree, and some might think its narrow minded, but imo Keegan is the best man for this job. Its actually narrow minded, imo, dismiss him just because its KK. All this quit stuff is giving Ashley far too much credit as a owner, and I question whether a lot of Newcastle fans have read the tribunal. People we're demanding his return when he was forced out, they wernt crazy people then, 52,000 were saying the same thing... the only thing thats changed now is its been proved he was forced out, which is why my feelings are still the same. The team was heading in the rigth direction if we had made some good signings that summer, he's a top manager despite the cliche'd rubbish that goes around. The sentimental part is the incredibly brilliant bonus. While I agree Keegan would be a great choice as manager, I just don't think he'd realistically be able to work under the sort of budget Hughton is working with. The reality is that in future most managers are going to have to work under tight financial constraints the way football is going.

What pressing of the ball? I never saw any! I saw us standing off, defending deep and letting them have the ball. Probably down to the manager's instructions. For us to press them we would need Guthrie, Smith, Routledge and Nolan to be chasing down their players across the length of the pitch for 90 minutes. Do you really think that any of that lot bar Routledge looked physically capable of doing that today?

A lot of people are using this as a defence: "he was still the 2nd best midfielder out there today" How does that excuse his performance? Jonas has played with the same lumbering statues but he still usually manages to hold defenders off and move it forward. Guthrie has a real problem holding the ball under pressure and for a central midfielder that's a worry.

Is he overweight? Nolan’s a big bloke, could it be slow to standstill is as fast as he’ll ever manage. TBF to Nolan he does his best (most the time) and his passing and movement are actually quite good, he’s probably the most intelligent footballer we have at the club. It’s just unfortunate it all happens in slow motion. That said he looked sharper at the start of the season, perhaps he needs a rest. overweight, the guy make's me look thin and i'm fat compare him last season to this season and he look's 1-2 stone overweight He looks exactly the same to me. He was overweight and unfit when arrived and nothing's changed since then.

The interesting thing about that is, the senior players who were credited with giving 110% and creating a great team atmosphere are the ones who don't seem to be putting the running in during the recent rut. Smith has lost some of his bite, and as for Nolan, I can clearly recall before he came here he was out of the Bolton side on account of being a fat, unfit waste of space. Whether that was due to coming back from injury I have no idea. Maybe that's still his excuse for looking like a forty year old who's just staggered out the pub a few hours earlier.

All the more disappointing that result at Derby then considering we had a much more balanced side out. No matter how shit we played today we got a point against a much better team. 3-0 man.

One thing which worries me about our defensive line ups away from home: I don't have any objection to sitting back and keeping a strong shape, but we don't seem to have any effective counter attack strategy. I don't know if this is down to lack of preparation or just poor execution by the players. Personally I just don't think the players are good enough. The ball bounces back off Carroll and Lovenkrands, and the midfield is generally run ragged by the fitter, faster opposition. I think Hughton could think a bit more out of the box for a solution. I think it was David28 who mentioned Keegan's use of Owen being a good example.