TRon

He'll replace Dyer in midfield. Not rocket science really. we'll lose our speed on the counter but gain some aggression and commitment.

Don't expect an answer to this, as reason and logic are beyond the thicko/pack/charva mentality.

Martins has been one of our best players pre-season. All this crap about him having a poor first touch has looked pretty stupid as he has done very well playing the secondary striker role, just off the CF. Give the Roedent credit where it is due, he got a good 'un there.

Dyer's a better player but he's hated on Tyneside by too many. Smith, might have less ability, but just like Bowyer he'll be vocally appreciated. Looks like a straight swap is on the cards.

I'm just happy to see him in the team and looking up for it. He's starting to look the player he was, and when he's playing well, there aren't many better left-footers in the Prem. To answer the question though, left wing.

by Alan Oliver, Evening Chronicle Can't quite see how Mort's backing of Sam requires another statement of backing. Have the United hierarchy actually publicly said they want Keegers and Shearer here? If it turns out to be true then fair play to Oliver. But if it's a load of bollocks will Alan Oliver owe it to his readers to make a statement confirming it was bollocks?

Sounds good to me.

Carr has done ok last couple of games. I thought he was a write-off personally, but he looks fit and motivated. A surprise plus point of the pre-season so far.

Saw this coming tbh. Hence the thread 'Dyer's replacement'. Having seen Troisi and Caroll in action today though, there's no way I'd waste £6m on Smith.

Reading between the lines, I think we will still sign a left back, just won't be top notch. If he's seriously thinking of going with Babayaro and N'Zogbia, he may as well go abroad and get in someone who could challenge for a place. We need numbers as well as quality. At the moment we have neither.

It's not like this is the first time he has been booed, fact is he's a hated man in Newcastle, so why would he want to stay?

:clap: I agree 100% with this and these are the words of a REAL manager, one who isn't easily swept along by euphoria every time he sees a left back tearing up the line. I'm on record as saying I don't rate Stuart Pearce as a manager, but give me a left back like that every time ahead of Baines or Babayaro.

I agree that Shepherd always backed his managers which was good. Unfortunately he didn't possess either the intelligence or judgement to make good appointments which makes the former good quality redundant. Shepherd's appointments of Souness and Roeder spoke volumes of his lack of judgement. Let those who would defend him explain in detail how such important decisions were made or justified. [pasted from previous page as the silence is deafening]

They arent that good, anyone would have scored them tbh, mind his movement wasnt too bad so i'll grant him that i don't think thats true. the volleys required very good technique and timing imo. They weren't spectacular but he's right, to control the ball when it's coming down from a height and distance takes technique and judgement. Just remains to be seen whether Luque's obvious ability in front of goal is enough to make him a worthwhile member of the squad.

From a business point of view alone, it would be pointless buying a big club like Newcastle then invest as if it were Carlisle. To grow the 'brand' as it were will mean spending serious money on the squad. It might not be possible straight away due to the recent take over but at the moment I'd just rather take Mort at face value. Allardyce has been given the go ahead to pinpoint players and the board will try and acquire them.

Allardyce's quotes don't mention anything about having £10m to work with.

If that is true how was it possible to make a £7m bid for a top defender last week? The figures don'y add up.

Malbranque has better end product than Dyer I agree, but then so does Luque. Malbranque has never struck me as either strong or injury-free so I don't really see what he would provide in midfield that say, Solano wouldn't? Except that Solano doesn't want to stay in the South.

Good choice IMO. If Wenger needs a pliable yes-man to kiss his Arsenal, Roeder would fit the bill.

Excellent point. I find it funny when people say he scored his goal against Palermo because it was put on his head, or that he scored two against Celtic because they were excellent crosses. I've seen Van Nistelrooy (no I'm not comparing the two, calm down people) score loads like that and people spunk everywhere over his movement and anticipation to create an easy chance for himself. Those two goals against Celtic, if we were talking about someone like Ruud everyone would be going on about his movement, yet cos it's Luque they make out like Solano and Milner made him score. I've just seen both goals and they show very good movement, anticipation and composure, real poachers goals. I'd be surprised to see Ameobi or even Martins scoring those types of goals and it shows Luque does have something in his locker. He might have done nowt else for the 45 minutes, but he scored two goals in the first half against a decent team and people are trying to knock him for it. At the end of the day it's difficult to judge a player objectively when you really don't like him (eg Luque), just as it is when you love a player (eg Shearer when his legs were going). Luque deserves a fair bit of criticism but he also deserves credit where it's due. I also tend to think that somebody with his pedigree deserves a chance to show it with a run in the team. I think he's lost serious pace because of that injury and it's sad to see, but I remember him raping Cafu as they put Milan out of the Champions League and I think a player who had that ability is worth a bit of patience, espescially when noone is bashing down the door to sign him up. I'm glad Sam sees this because he's paid handsomely to get as much as he can out of every player in the squad and isn't looking to wash his hands of players who will require hard work. i think both were excelent finishes, very well times volleys, but at the same time you have to recognise that luque and V.N are very different types of players. its ok that V.N (or Owen) have limited skill on the ball, and can be absent for 89 mins of a game, because they are 25 a season strikers, there to score goals, and natural predators. Luque is none of these things, he scored 2 vs celtic, but won't score 20 in a season, even if he starts every game, because he's not a natural finisher. He took both his goals well, and very good movement for the second, but his skill on the ball was woeful, and if he plays with limited on the ball skill, and won't score 20 a season, then what does he offer? he needs more confidence on the ball. The best bit of him at the moment is funnily his end product. He has good crosses, and has shown good shooting technique. If the other parts improve to PL standard (off the ball and on the ball skills) then he will be a good player for us. I saw the first half today and what struck me was that Luque was played as the leading front man, with Martins playing behind. In that position I would say Luque's main obligation was goals, just as Owen's would have been. 2 in 45 mins is hard to knock by anyone's standards, and what a lot of people here have failed to mention is they were both predator goals worthy of any striker.

I agree that Shepherd always backed his managers which was good. Unfortunately he didn't possess either the intelligence or judgement to make good appointments which makes the former good quality redundant. Shepherd's appointments of Souness and Roeder spoke volumes of his lack of judgement. Let those who would defend him explain in detail how such important decisions were made or justified.

The talk of Zog playing next season as LB worries me. No doubt he will do a great job but there are two problems. He sees himself as a left midfielder. We'd lose a very good left midfielder.

If Butt doesn't play who will be given the holding role in mkidfield? Ideal opportunity to give Geremi a go there?

Sam has already ruled out buying a CB with no Prem experience so it won't be Hangeland. I can see us getting in Quedrue if the Silvestre deal isn't revived.