TRon

I don't think we have that much more quality than the opposition, we've won a lot of very close matches. We looked good in our half of the pitch, at the business end our end product was very much second rate like most teams in this division. Nolan's finish was class but it was the one flash of quality we showed all night. We were well organised and worked hard defensively though.

Sunderland are buying the right type of players like Darren Bent who would have come here if we hadn't got relegated. You can't compete in the premier without pace and athleticism, and that's why we'll need to invest next season. I know Nolan has done well this season, but when Ashley signed this type of player we were basically buying players for the Championship.

What were Carroll's contributions tonight? Was Hughton wrong to sub him instead of Marlon?

And what do you propose to do about that? Lets see if Lennon, Young, Arteta, Malouda etc want to have a go with us. Just because we can't get Lennon or Young means I should be happy with Jonas? Name a replacement you would be happy with. I can't name one off the top of my head. But my point stands, it doesn't mean that I should b happy with him. This. It is an absolutely ridiculous view to take. You can't call a player shite because there is no viable alternative Jonas is an awful footballer. Me saying this does not mean I believe we should go out and buy Aaron Lennon because I know that isn't possible. My opinion of one player is not altered because there isn't somebody better immediately available. I understand the team is stuck with him but you can fuck off if you think i'm going to pretend he's something he patently is not. If you are an NUST member and this is your level of thinking I am seriously worried. I'll take that as a complement coming from one of the members of the N-O intelligentsia Well the members of the NUST intelligentsia could be heard loud and clear with their "You fat Cockney bastard get out of our club" renditon nationwide. All I will say is just do it. Provide answers instead of complaints. It's not my job to provide answers. I will however point out that a certain player is fucking shite when it's obvious he is. Exactly my point. Unconstructive criticism is fairly useless beyond a certain point. I'm not the one going on the training ground and trying to teach this lad how to wrap his club foot around a fucking football ergo my criticism doesn't need to be constructive, just honest. This is just a two-bit football messageboard and at the end of the day what I post on here is always going to be useless. It's just another string of words floating off into the dark bowels of the interweb, all of which will be forgotten in a few weeks time. I'm not writing this to be of use to anyone, i'm writing all this because I clearly like banging my head against a brick wall. Yet you object to other opinions unless they are season ticket holders IIRC. Make your fucking mind up man. Why don't you fuck off to Skunkers and collect the necessary money from them rather than the "N-O intelligentsia"?

And what do you propose to do about that? Lets see if Lennon, Young, Arteta, Malouda etc want to have a go with us. Just because we can't get Lennon or Young means I should be happy with Jonas? Name a replacement you would be happy with. I can't name one off the top of my head. But my point stands, it doesn't mean that I should b happy with him. This. It is an absolutely ridiculous view to take. You can't call a player shite because there is no viable alternative Jonas is an awful footballer. Me saying this does not mean I believe we should go out and buy Aaron Lennon because I know that isn't possible. My opinion of one player is not altered because there isn't somebody better immediately available. I understand the team is stuck with him but you can fuck off if you think i'm going to pretend he's something he patently is not. If you are an NUST member and this is your level of thinking I am seriously worried. I'll take that as a complement coming from one of the members of the N-O intelligentsia Well the members of the NUST intelligentsia could be heard loud and clear with their "You fat Cockney bastard get out of our club" renditon nationwide. All I will say is just do it. Provide answers instead of complaints. It's not my job to provide answers. I will however point out that a certain player is fucking shite when it's obvious he is. Exactly my point. Unconstructive criticism is fairly useless beyond a certain point.

And what do you propose to do about that? Lets see if Lennon, Young, Arteta, Malouda etc want to have a go with us. Just because we can't get Lennon or Young means I should be happy with Jonas? Name a replacement you would be happy with. I can't name one off the top of my head. But my point stands, it doesn't mean that I should b happy with him. This. It is an absolutely ridiculous view to take. You can't call a player shite because there is no viable alternative Jonas is an awful footballer. Me saying this does not mean I believe we should go out and buy Aaron Lennon because I know that isn't possible. My opinion of one player is not altered because there isn't somebody better immediately available. I understand the team is stuck with him but you can fuck off if you think i'm going to pretend he's something he patently is not. If you are an NUST member and this is your level of thinking I am seriously worried. I'll take that as a complement coming from one of the members of the N-O intelligentsia Well the members of the NUST intelligentsia could be heard loud and clear with their "You fat Cockney bastard get out of our club" renditon nationwide. All I will say is just do it. Provide answers instead of complaints.

And what do you propose to do about that? Lets see if Lennon, Young, Arteta, Malouda etc want to have a go with us. Just because we can't get Lennon or Young means I should be happy with Jonas? You weren't happy when he tracked back and won the ball in his own half, then ran the length of the pitch to take the ball up the other end? Yes, but he's a winger. What matters is essentially what he does going forward. And you didn't finish your sentence, when he ran into a man or chased the ball into nowhere. In that case you should prefer Lovenkrands as he'd undoubtedly provide more threat in the final third. Is that what you are suggesting? Not essentially. But if all Jonas is good for is chasing back and winning the ball, what's the point of him being on the pitch as a winger? That's a defensive midfielder's job. You want a defensive midfielder to offer cover to left wingers and right wingers as well as in the centre?

And what do you propose to do about that? Lets see if Lennon, Young, Arteta, Malouda etc want to have a go with us. Just because we can't get Lennon or Young means I should be happy with Jonas? Name a replacement you would be happy with. I can't name one off the top of my head. But my point stands, it doesn't mean that I should b happy with him. This. It is an absolutely ridiculous view to take. You can't call a player shite because there is no viable alternative Jonas is an awful footballer. Me saying this does not mean I believe we should go out and buy Aaron Lennon because I know that isn't possible. My opinion of one player is not altered because there isn't somebody better immediately available. I understand the team is stuck with him but you can fuck off if you think i'm going to pretend he's something he patently is not. If you are an NUST member and this is your level of thinking I am seriously worried.

And what do you propose to do about that? Lets see if Lennon, Young, Arteta, Malouda etc want to have a go with us. Just because we can't get Lennon or Young means I should be happy with Jonas? You weren't happy when he tracked back and won the ball in his own half, then ran the length of the pitch to take the ball up the other end? Yes, but he's a winger. What matters is essentially what he does going forward. And you didn't finish your sentence, when he ran into a man or chased the ball into nowhere. In that case you should prefer Lovenkrands as he'd undoubtedly provide more threat in the final third. Is that what you are suggesting?

And what do you propose to do about that? Lets see if Lennon, Young, Arteta, Malouda etc want to have a go with us. Just because we can't get Lennon or Young means I should be happy with Jonas? You weren't happy when he tracked back and won the ball in his own half, then ran the length of the pitch to take the ball up the other end?

He's never going to be a brilliant player, he's obviously got no end product. He's the diametric opposite of Nolan, who watches most of the game pass him by but can produce real quality if the ball actually lands anywhere near him. These are all players who don't have the quality to play in the top division but that's why they are here. At least they have took us to the top of this one so let's show some appreciation for that.

What's wrong with that viewpoint?

That's only half an analysis as well. If he's running back and winning tackles in his own half of the pitch rather than standing with his hands on his hips then that's productive in it's own way. It helps produce 1-0 wins for a start.

I was happy with that performance tbh. We were crap in the final third like most teams in this division but we defended well and controlled the game pretty well in the second half. Especially pleased that we didn't resort to lumping the ball out of defence tonight and passed the ball around nicely in our half of the pitch, even under pressure. Sure we got caught a couple of times like Guthrie did, but he was trying to do the right thing and retain posession rather than lump it long. Very good win for me.

sums him up sometimes tbh. I'd still rather have him in the side than someone like Lovenkrands who isn't interested in playing on the wing. He worked hard and defensively was very important.

Thought he looked pretty decent alongside Ranger in the last 30 mins or so with the ball at his feet. He doesn't have much of a strikers instinct in the box though. That's not the first time a cross has beat the defender and he's been caught flat-footed in surprise when he could have had an easy goal.

Harsh on Guthrie imo, otherwise more or less bang on. He was woeful at times man. He gave the ball away far too much. And then set up the winner. Made mistakes tonight, but hes one of our better midfielders. I know he set up the winner but he made too many mistakes. I'm not going to ignore it just because he's one of our better players. If you're not going to ignore that then are you also not going to ignore the fact that he was playing out of position? He wasn't all that good, but he was far from woeful. Guthrie went missing in the first half but in the second he showed, held the ball well and ran forwards with it. Nowhere near as bad as people are making out.

Great talent. A bit frustrating at this stage of his career. There were a couple of times when he stood and watched instead of attacking the box. The comparison to Beardsley is a bit daft but the lad has got a superb presence up front. Fantastic feet, pace and clever hold up play. He always makes an impact when he's on the pitch.

Our approach play has been ok, we've passed it around quite well...much better style of football than we've played of late but we've looked distinctly 2nd rate in the final third of the pitch. Jonas and Harewood wasteful, Nolan, Guthrie and Carroll not involved enough for me. Smith's looked decent apart from his customary attempt at GBH.

some good approach play but crap end product so far

In the warm up? Yeah. Just happened about 30 seconds ago. wonder if that means we might switch to 4-4-2? It might work in our favour.

You could argue that we could start with two forwards for a better balance but it's still much better than lining up with two defensive midfielders so I'm reasonably happy.

They would not have handed him a contract if there were plans to sign a winger in January, would they? Right wing was the last remaining first team spot. Do you honestly believe they will invest money in signings without selling first? When was the last time we did that? We need players now, rejecting a player the manager wants (especially one on such a favourable contract) in order to wait until January would be a terrible idea, unless the player they were after was pretty special. I didn't say they'd invest any money in January by the way, I've always doubted we would. What I didn't expect is for us to bring in a player in a position we needed to fill as soon as possible, which is a very positive move IMO. That's my take on it as well. If Pancrate turns out to be a lemon then I would ask questions of Hughton rather than Ashley. We already know that this regime won't invest money in players, but unfortunately neither will anyone else so we are stuck with it. I am actually surprised that Ashley gave his approval to this one, say what you will but plenty of Championship clubs couldn't afford these sort of wages.

Which interviews are you referring to? His interviews have been as clear as mud and give absolutely nothing away at a time when the fans and perhaps most importantly the players want some idea of the club's direction. Communication is crucial in the club's current state. We've been in limbo for 18 months, the club was recently taken off the market with no real explanation. The stadium name has been changed with the excuse of 'showcasing the brand' while keeping the name, despite tagging 'stadium' the end. No explanation for this, nor any explanation as to where the increased revenue would go if we found a sponsor. We lost players in the summer who grew disillusioned and it's his job to come out and reassure people that short- and long-term plans are in place. At worst his interviews are outright lying and at best they fail to inform anyone of anything. For example he said he'd back Hughton if he wanted a player for a million and in the same breath said he'd prefer if Hughton came to him for loan signings, while saying he is looking at the list Hughton has given him already. It's unconvincing bollocks and if it carries on there'll be more players looking for the exits. Maybe the Fabrice Pancrate signing is an example of Ashley's financial backing of Hughton. I doubt many other 2nd tier clubs could afford him. I doubt we would have even considered scouting him never mind signing him a couple of seasons ago.It just goes to show how desperate we are to put some spin on a 2nd rate player. Well us being a 2nd rate club what else do you suggest?

Which interviews are you referring to? His interviews have been as clear as mud and give absolutely nothing away at a time when the fans and perhaps most importantly the players want some idea of the club's direction. Communication is crucial in the club's current state. We've been in limbo for 18 months, the club was recently taken off the market with no real explanation. The stadium name has been changed with the excuse of 'showcasing the brand' while keeping the name, despite tagging 'stadium' the end. No explanation for this, nor any explanation as to where the increased revenue would go if we found a sponsor. We lost players in the summer who grew disillusioned and it's his job to come out and reassure people that short- and long-term plans are in place. At worst his interviews are outright lying and at best they fail to inform anyone of anything. For example he said he'd back Hughton if he wanted a player for a million and in the same breath said he'd prefer if Hughton came to him for loan signings, while saying he is looking at the list Hughton has given him already. It's unconvincing bollocks and if it carries on there'll be more players looking for the exits. Maybe the Fabrice Pancrate signing is an example of Ashley's financial backing of Hughton. I doubt many other 2nd tier clubs could afford him.