TRon

yes and no. he maybe should be given a chance because what we have isn't working,more so than the stats. Well the stats equally show that Butt isn't working. not if he played in the games where geremi won aswell. keefaz point is valid about those teams we played with butt and without geremi and it's almost like the rest of the team didn't matter. tho Butt didn't play as defensive midfielder when he was alongside Geremi, more often than not Geremi sat back and gave Butt licence to go forward and not have to track back and run about as much. Since Butt has moved back to DM he's looked terrible. he's done his own thing of winning the ball but is now left having to find 40yd passes as no-one wants to take resposiblity creativly.......like when he first came. i don't think he's that much better than geremi when it comes to winning the ball, what sets them apart is that on the ball butt is s**** and geremi is comfortable. he can spot runs and pick a pass more easily which starts off attacking moves. i think there is some of the"great when he's out" creeping in here. definitely not, i was saying this earlier in the season. So was I. So was James with all his stats in hand back then FWIW.

The difference two mobile central midfielders would make can't be under-estimated. Duff hasn't been great but he's been isolated too many times when he's on the ball IMO.

you've said that so it must be true.

I concur. Not saying the defence can't be improved but it's not the real problem.

Surrounded? They were 10 yards away. What do you expect in midfield, all the Man U players should retreat to their own penalty area while Barton collects and composes himself? He'd still probably miss the fucking pass.

We should drop Beye. Not even as good as Nicky Butt. For someone who's slagging the statsmeister, quite ironic you have that newcastlestats link in your sig

He looked quite sharp when he returned but his end product has been zero. He also looks like one of those players you can count on least when it gets tough.

It's not as if he's the finished article, or without flaws, we can see that. But he's the only one of our current squad who would command a decent fee, that tells you a lot. How many good left wingers are there around if we needed a replacement in the summer?

Seriously, I don't know what that's based on. Not saying we're overflowing with creative players (everyone knows we're not) but he's so ordinary I can't believe what I'm reading from some people. He struggled to make an impact in a decent side here, couldn't wait to get away - claiming he couldn't settle in the region, then he said he was off to Greece and reckoned the pace would suit him there as English football doesn't suit players like him (or words to that effect) and now he wants to come back? He probably wouldn't even get a game with our current squad if everyone was available. It was more based on my opinion of our players, as apposed to Lua Lua. However, looking at Lua Luas attributes, he's a player that likes a trick or to beat someone or have a snap shot. None of our players are doing that atm. Thats why i'd like Oba back, he will shoot from anywhere. I don't think we need dribblers as such, just midfielders who will pass and move

Hopefully with Geremi back around the place, his mood will have lightened as well. He does tend to get stroppy when his French-speaking mates aren't in the side.

I would hope that we are looking at far better strikers than him in the summer.

If Martins and Owen don't show some spark on Saturday (assuming they start) I'd seriously consider bringing Geremi into a 5 man midfield. Butt would still be left out though.

We need another striker as well, the most expensive position of the lot.

how dare you go destroying stats like that. don't you know all some people have for comfort is numbers ? Didn't Butt play most of those piss easy games as well?

He's a poor man's Martins if that's possible.

Geremi would help in that regard too.

Come on man, what do you expect him to say? This lot are all shite and I'm buying a new team in the summer? He needs the current shambles of a squad to avoid relegation so he's trying to keep them onside. Next season you can bet there'll be at least 5 or 6 new players.

i think he just looks like that cos he looks heavy. he's certainly no speedster but not as slow as a lot would make out. He's quick enough from what I've seen. Doesn't look it, but seems able to shift up a gear when necesary. I think he's not playing for other reasons, maybe Keegan doesn't like his distribution or he's not happy here.

It does look as if Keegan is picking players on reputation, but I assume he knows what he's doing. If things don't turn round in the next couple of matches though some changes are going to be inevitable.

There might be some truth in what you say, but tbf even when everyone was moaning how crap he was I didn't see it that way so this isn't in hidsight. I specifically mentioned that unlike many of our players he holds the ball well under pressure and passes well IMO. He's not the quickest but I think he's far better technically than Butt and would make us a bit more fluent in midfield. He did ok at RB in the limited time he had on the pitch.

Well I din't simply want to tell him to fuck off. I also pointed out that he'd been answered many times before on those specific points.

Absolute bollocks of the highest degree. Barton was given the ball with acres of space but still managed to give it away. Watch it again, or more likely, don't reply. Zog was one of our best playesrs 2nd half when he pushed further forward.

A debate requires people willing to discuss both sides of the view, not avoid questions you can't answer then keep advertising your own. That's fair enough, but there's no need for the insults. It's just petty and doesn't paint you in a good light. Anyway, each to their own. If you want to get into a slagging match though, please do it via PM rather than on the forum. I don't want to get inot a slanging match which is why I said fuck off. If saying that is wrong in the context it was said, then you should maybe re-consider your signature.

A debate requires people willing to discuss both sides of the view, not avoid questions you can't answer then keep advertising your own.

Yes he lost that game all by himself I recall!