Shak

Question answers itself, surely?

Eamon Dunphy.

Yeah, that'd be bangin' like.

There's not a single British manager I can think of that I wouldn't be horribly depressed with. I'd rather give it to Shearer than a Redknapp or Hughes, sideways step with any of the British candidates. At least there's a visible thought process with appointing Shearer, even if it is a very fucking risky one. Shitting a brick tbh. Allardyce didn't have it in him to get it done long-term in my opinion anyway though, so it's not like I'm disappointed to see him go. Reserving judgement until the new man emerges.

Diarra is a ready made replacement for Emre?.. in which alternate reality? The same one where Smith is a ready made replacement for Dyer... Anyway, not really similiar players at all but Diarra would give us more and is clearly more of an Allardyce player than Emre, who he clearly just doesn't fancy. I rate Emre, but Diarra will be a much more effective player for us than Emre ever has been IMO.

I can see the arguement for it tbh. Two week break after the FA Cup third round wouldn't exactly be unbearable for fans would it? Given how many games the players have played over Christmas, it's only fair they get a bit of a break. I'd just abolish the Carling Cup and play more league games early in the season as Happy Face alluded to though.

Obvious Sam doesn't fancy him, no surprise if he goes.

How about no, Scott? OK?

Hope he goes tbh. While I've criticised him for not showing up in the big games in the past, I think as time has gone on he's getting progressively better at impacting them. Regardless, he's still one of the most effective players going. Would be a massive loss for Man U.

Someone's in a mood.

Can easily see us finishing 15th or so, we'll just avoid a relegation battle tbh. I expect a really crap finish to the season, maybe 2 or 3 points from our last 6 games to seal Sam's fate. Regards, Shak

Does tonight count as steady progress so?

Dude come on ... It's because our players are awful. You can't let them off the hook so easily. It's Martins and Duff who are the only two players who might scare another teams defence at the moment. After that we have nothing. Todays premiership won't allow for a lack of athleticism and pace in attack like we have right now. Name one team who is having some success in the premiership right now who has players as slow and unathletic as we do! NONE! Our attacking players stink and thats a fact. No manager can work with this crap. No one. Even Readings Doyle and Kitson are better than Viduka and Owen. It's bloody embarrassing. Who would you rather have Reading's Hunt or Milner? If you say Milner you're kidding yourself. I disagree with you almost entirely. Not at all arsed getting into it, though. Doyle and Kitson being better than Owen and Viduka is a ludicrous concept though.

We have absolutely no Plan B. The game plan is always to go out, get stuck in and keep it tight defensively and nick a goal at some point. Once that inevitably fails, we have no ability whatsoever to chase a game. Even if Sam eventually gets the defense right (which I reckon he will) , can you ever see a man who looks so one-dimensional ever leading us where we want to be? No chance, IMO.

Crowd reaction will be very, very telling.

Are City actually trying to stop us passing it about though, cos if they're content to let us just play it about then it's not all that great an achievement tbh I'm not watching btw, genuine question.

Obvious this would happen. Our team is utterly incapable of chasing a game, taking it to our opponents. Have been all season. We may get a goal from nothing, always a chance I suppose, but once a team decides to get defensive and invite us on to them, we're an absolute joke.

Actually, since a ban won't effect me in the slightest. Wullie and 2J are absolute wankers, Dave too. And Gejon.

Roeder started it... Anyway, sadly I've picked a bad time to start a debate. Going away on holiday for a week or so right now so I'll just wish everyone a Happy New Year's and be on my way.

He has done what you're asking from left-back though, as has Milner at times so you're overexagerating a little I feel. I mean most of our good play comes down the left which is pretty strong in an attacking sense with N'Zogbia and Milner down there. You simply can't underestimate the education he's getting in terms of development, this is one of the reasons why England fails at international level because our players are brought up in fixed positions instead of learning to play a number of them to improve their all-round game. Still reckon he'd be better served getting a game or two in a position he has a furute in personally, but fair enough. All I care about is the team, if N'Zogbia stays at left-back and Duff plays on the left-wing ahead of N'Zogbia I couldn't care less so long as we're getting joy out of it. This clamour to have him in on the left-wing is actually amusing, given that the player himself would prefer to play in the middle. The team is my main concern as well, which is obvious. I just feel, very strongly, that the team would benefit with what I BELIEVE to be our most exciting young player being used to his full potential. I may be wrong and he may turn out shit, and fair enough. But is it so much to ask he gets a chance there? Great season? He did OK in an exceptionally poor side. He has since never quite excelled on the left-flank as a winger, for me anyway. Our stand out player at age 19, I'd say that's fairly good, personally. And he's not excelled there since, which goes back to my point about his treatment. I don't hold a grudge against Duff personally for it (anymore ), but once Duff was bought it was clear N'Zogbia was playing second fiddle in that spot. Has he shined there in his few opportunities? No, but I really think he was poorly treated, particularly by Roeder who clearly didn't want him at the club at all. Perhaps now we can see how many of our players get too big for their boots or why NUFC has had a problem with players thinking they are bigger than the club, because fans care more for the individual than the team or rather have a twisted way of looking at things through a player's perspective rather than the team or indeed the manager's. "Poor Charlie, stranded at left-back" "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" IMO anyway. PS I'm not saying you're stamping your feet or care more about the individual than the team btw. Again, I'll go back to my point about wasting what I personally believe to be potentially our most dangerous player and ask how exactly this helps the team, which has been absolutely inept going forward, on the whole?

My biggest gripe is the fact that all season we've had absolutely nobody capable of beating his man in the final third and doing something a bit different while N'Zogbia, though not the finished article, is certainly capable of doing that and has been stranded at left-back where he's not only wasted in an attacking sense, but also a weak link defensively. All this "playing him at left back will improve him in the long run" talk is guff as far as I'm concerned as well. I'd have thought actually playing him in the position that he's going to spend his career would improve him much more long term personally. As has been said, he's still got to work on his ability to consistently effect the game in the attacking third. Hard to see him doing that at left-back. But it may improve him slightly in a defensive sense in the long-run, so whoop di-do!! With Duff back now there's even more competition for the left side spot and if I'm being honest I've absolutely no faith in Allardyce to ever give him a run of games in that position to even try and make it his own. Two years ago he was our most promising young player, coming off the back of a great season on the left where, while not the finished article by any means, he looked to be a potential star in the making. Since then I doubt he's ever gotten two starts in a row on the left side. If that's not an absolutely dreadful display of attempting to nourish your best young talent, then I don't know what is. And it pisses me off, quite frankly.

Love how the thread has descended into guesses...

RIP