TRon

Don't think we should send Ranger out on loan tbh, he's generally looked dangerous for us when he's come on as sub.

Funnily enough they have never looked very good together before last Friday, neither of them seems to have two games in a row. FYP Personally I think its more to do with having a more balanced team that made the difference I would agree, I wish Hughton starts the same team just to see if an aggressive formation will work away from home. I don't see why not but we'll have to be clinical if we do go there with an attack minded team as the game will probably become quite open and the team that finishes best will win.

The players who are most senior or influential usually have the most say, it's got nowt to do with their football ability. Nicky Butt for example has been a big voice in the dressing room long before Hughton arrived here.

Hughes is the only decent option I've heard mentioned so far, and I have my doubts about him as well. Curbishley was the other one but the money he wasted on the likes of Dyer and Lljundberg was scandalous. West ham could end up in deep shit because of his reckless signings. That's why I'd rather sit tight and see what Hughton does next season before making any appointment.

Funnily enough they have never looked very good together before last Friday, neither of them seems to have two good games in a row. Maybe it was because we played better a a team, or maybe they just need some competition to keep them on their toes. Either way should be interesting to see if they have the same impact tonight.

I doubt Lua Lua will amount to much, he seems to be a bit thick tbh. Plays just like his brother running into blind alleys and probably really difficult to play with for team mates. He should have been pushing for first team action this season but he hasn't made his case very well on the odd occasion he's been given an opportunity.

That's just it, there is a further test to come for Hughton in the premier, but no one really knows how he will handle it until we get there, yet there is a general consensus that he will fail or that a replacement is going to do a better job. On the sort of contract that Ashley will offer I'd be surprised if there are many candidates, and even if there were they would need decent funds. Which as we have seen with Steve Bruce, doesn't guarantee results in any case.

I'd rather stick with Hughton than get Jewell as a manager, I don't know what it is about him but he just comes across as an old school mouthy git like Kinnear. Maybe I'm doing him a disservice but he hasn't ever struck me as a good manager.

phew...that's a relief then. Cheers.

Probably right. Not sure we have the personnel though. Routledge and Gutierrez have some pace but Lovenkrands isn't as sharp as he once was. Nor do we have the intelligence in midfield or at fullback to do it (although perhaps we could have on the left with Enrique/van Aanholt). Ranger's quite quick although he's not getting a look in. The goal he scored against Palace was on the break and he showed a fair turn I thought.

I remember one about Sven being interested in Shola. LOL.

Was it Vetere who recommended Xisco to sign? because if he's so highly rated he sure fucked up on that one.

Carroll just needs to get some consistency in his game. He looked very lively on Friday but there are times when he seems to spend most of the 90 mins falling over. For such a big lad he doesn't hold the ball up as well as he could. He does attack the ball well on crosses though.

I agree with this. At first Hughton's nothing interviews used to seriously piss me off but He's definitely grown into the role and for me he's handling them very well now, far more assured and he looks like an intelligent bloke. It's easy to win cheap points with soundbites like Kinnear but it doesn't generally work out long term. I think Shearer was guilty of this as well and it showed in that performance against Villa where we went down spinelessly.

Sad twat.

Where is all this patronising shit coming from? I've sat in all four stands (although it was standing in the Gallowgate at the time) and while it was great to have a good view in the East and West stands, the atmosphere in the Gallowgate and Leazes is what it's all about. So what if they sing "your support is fucking shite"? This is Newcastle not fucking Wimbledon.

I think that highlights the crux of the problem though - it's easy enough to get rid of managers who aren't up to it, it's another thing to actually get an improvement. Steve Bruce has been a very expensive replacement for Sbragia so far and they are still fighting relegation. I still think genuinely talented managers are few and far between and it's very easy to chuck good money in hope without any real idea if it is going to work.

I think last season's failures were more down to the players not being good enough to compete at that level and the turmoil off the pitch didn't help. Don't really think it was fair to judge either Hughton or Shearer on their short spells in charge, they were both working with problems created by other people.

Shola is never fit for any sustained length of time so I wouldn't put too much money on him being top scorer. I don't know if Carroll can keep getting goals regularly either so I'd probably go with Loven even though he's not going to get picked regularly.

Nicked for me phone and audio is now my text & email alert and also my wake up alarm Still prefer the Blaydon Races tbh. Far less elitist ironically.

Those two looked pretty awful together last time they started. Who would hold the ball up because when I've watched Carroll he seems particularly shit at it.

I just don't think because we thumped Cardiff at home we should take anything for granted. We aren't going to be three goals up inside 15 minutes in every game.

!00% agree with this. We tore Cardiff a new one with this team and its arguably the best we've played all season Having Routledge and Jonas down the flanks with Guthrie CM makes us much more balanced, dangerous, less predictable and creative. A force to be reckoned with in this league. If he drops Guthrie and plays two or all of the old cloggers Smith Butt and Nolan instead i will be hopping mad This could cost us dearly as they haven't got the legs. It's an away game at a ground that's not the easiest to get results though as Forest found out just last week. What worked at home against Cardiff isn't necessarily going to work away, although I agree we should definitely give it a go.

Definitely. The arrival of Best seems to have got Carroll and Lovenkrands fired up, if Best now has to sit out for a couple of games maybe he'll be hungry for goals as a result.

I used to sit in the West Stand until three years ago but I don't get to many games these days. The last game I watched live was in Level 7 and I thought it was great, a throwback to the days before all seating was brought in. Even though the view wasn't as good the atmosphere was much better. Love it.