TRon

I actually think it would do Carroll a lot of good to be kept out of the squad for another match or two, rather than rushing him back at the first opportunity. There are noises in the chronicle that he'll be back in the squad for Barnsley but I don't see the hurry, we have more than enough strikers in form. Not only will it do the lad himself a favour but it will send out a strong message to the likes of Nile and other younger players that it's not worth risking your career for the sake of a good night out.

Easy tiger. When he was linked most heavily with us in the summer of 2006 he did not have a terrible history of injuries. I think he first came on peoples radar when he battered Sunderland while at Crewe. There was a thread about buying him in 2008, I was talking about that http://www.newcastle-online.org/nufcforum/index.php/topic,53078.msg1349029.html#msg1349029

I was always against us signing him because of his terrible history of injuries, but it didn't stop many fans from wanting him here. We made the right decision in staying well away from that one. Shame as he was looking a promising target man when he was actually on the pitch.

Amazing considering he always had the option of passing it to the free running Nicky Butt by his side.

He's the one I miss least. The hero worship was all one way, he seems very happy at Moneybags City and I'm very pleased to have Harper and Krul here so it worked out nicely.

I would agree. He still has to earn an extension to his deal but he's a different type of player to the rest in our squad. Still handy to have around for me.

Seven straight wins...opposition must be fairly shitting themselves when they see our fixture is next up.

Good to see all our strikers are starting to hit the target. Genuine competition for places is healthy and it'll help keep tits like Carroll in line if there's a chance someone else will grap his spot if he slacks off.

How do you make out hes shit?Who many times have you seen him play?? Followed PSG for donkeys years, watch as many of their games as I can get access to... What is it about his game you don't like?

That's staggering tbh.

We are rock hard.

The other promotion contenders must be suicidal by now.

Thought I heard some Hughton Wonderland chants there?

I'm starting to take these wins for granted now. 7 straight wins. Fucking hell.

Butt launches a long ball and gives the ball away again..

Don't think it was that easy a chance, supposedly a tight angle.

We have plenty of players who can hit on the break here, we just need to get the ball down and play.

Seems like a very open game. Wonder if the two winger idea isn't being a bit generous to Coventry?

massive gap for guthrie to come into but he rarely impresses when there. bartons performances haven't been the answer so we are looking at vuckic or an incomer. If we go up we will need to bring in a midfielder in my view as Vukic looks like he only plays going forwards and the rest including Barton seem to sit too deep.

If Butt plays then Smith shouldn't and vice versa. Quite simply there's just no way the two together is an effective partnership in the centre of midfield. We seem to have managed well enough this season without Butt btw.

I don't disagree with that but a bit of balance doesn't do any harm. If we are going to throw brickbats when things are going wrong, a bit of credit when things are going right is probably fair. Some posters only pipe up during the bad times and it's strange. I agree that hughton needs credit, he's done better than i imagined. though the degree of credit he deserves im not sure about. we've never played that well, though we seem to a bit more cohesive recently, and i suspect we're top of the league due to the players at our disposal not because of his managerial ability. Overstating the credit he deserves could imo be problematic because we'll inevitably need to be ruthless about bringing in a better manager at some stage. I don't think we need to overdo the praise for Hughton specifically, just pointing out that some posters only want to concentrate on the negative aspects without enjoying any of the good times on here.

I don't disagree with that but a bit of balance doesn't do any harm. If we are going to throw brickbats when things are going wrong, a bit of credit when things are going right is probably fair. Some posters only pipe up during the bad times and it's strange.

http://www.newcastle-online.org/nufcforum/index.php?action=post;quote=1862905;topic=61053.3420;num_replies=3801;sesc=64d0d112345f381d2ad15cd8cdda9490

Has he named him in the side tonight then? He will do no doubt. If he does maybe he knows better than us because for me Smith and Butt is a terrible combination. The reason we are playing in this division is because we haven't had a decent central midfielder for three years.

As long as we can still proclaim players a success after half an hour's playing time though. Well done to Ashley for allowing us to splash out on an out of contract player for half a season though. The fact Pancrate scored a goal sure proved me wrong in my opinion of how much he's going to back the team. In the half an hr he's played he's been successful. If you want to proclaim him for a success for the season you'll have to wait until May, but best just to diss him now to be on the safe side. I'd say it was best not to judge at all until a player's had a good few games, but to base your expectations on his previous history. Maybe that's just me though. But no one has judged other than bowlingcrofty who has declared him shit. Everyone else has been happy with what they've seen so far and what's wrong with that? I don't recall anyone claiming he was going to be a long term success for certain...and he has only been given a contract 'til the end of the season.