Shak

Ah shut your face, you.

Don't really see what was different about him, judging by today's game for West Ham anyway.

I'd prefer him to a Moyes, Redknapp, Hughes, which would just be a pointless sidestep IMO. Obviously we get no gaurantees with Shearer, but I don't see where people get the idea that he would be a certain failure.

It's laughable really.

Do you think we'll finish 9th if we continue with such a deplorable quality of football? Please keep in mind we've had by far and away the easiest part of our fixture list so far this year and it face away games to almost all the top teams in the remaining part of the season. im a 10th/11th man myself, but in the context of this thread, where would you see us finishing if we had the either of the last 2 managers in charge now? we wouldnt be 9th. That's very arguable tbh, even if SA is a better manager than our previous two. What exactly about us this season has been so impressive that our previous managers couldn't have replicated it?

So we had one good game, stemming from our ability to disrupt teams who actually try and play proper football with our ugly style. Oh joy. As for the questions... I think we have progressed in some ways, but not really enough to make up for how resounding a no you have to answer the other questions with. He may get it right in time, but I'm becoming less and less convinced. So we get rid - who would you like to see come in, and how long does the next manager get? I mean, Sam is just about to complete his 7th month at the club, and 4th of the season. How long does the next managre have to get us higher than 9th? And which is more important to most supporters - playing good but maybe not getting results and being lower half of the table, or playing bad and getting resutls here and there, but being in the top half of the table? I'd not sack him now btw, give him until the end of the season at least. But we're not making steady progress at all, which is all I expected. The players look as confused now as they did at the season's start, I'm not seeing any indication that anything Sam is doing is even beginning to click. Is this not justifiable cause for concern? And we won't eep getting results playing bad for long, surely you can see this?

Do you think we'll finish 9th if we continue with such a deplorable quality of football? Please keep in mind we've had by far and away the easiest part of our fixture list so far this year and it face away games to almost all the top teams in the remaining part of the season.

So we had one good game, stemming from our ability to disrupt teams who actually try and play proper football with our ugly style. Oh joy. As for the questions... I think we have progressed in some ways, but not really enough to make up for how resounding a no you have to answer the other questions with. He may get it right in time, but I'm becoming less and less convinced.

About 5000 I think. Let's get a result for them lads. Dave's there... It's not gonna happen.

C'mon, three points needed!!

Just think, if you'd have got rid of MON after the first 18 games or so, you could be going to Chelsea and hammering them. It's no laughing matter, to let a lead slip away to the former Champions who haven't been beaten at home in over 50 games, is scandalous. If I were Brummie, I'd be down Villa Park now protesting. Get a grip mate. Irony? HTT's done nowt wrong tbh. Basically patronising everyone who has dared to point out that Sam has been making some absolutely horrible decisions. Suppose he's entitled to do so if he wants, though, you're right.

Just think, if you'd have got rid of MON after the first 18 games or so, you could be going to Chelsea and hammering them. It's no laughing matter, to let a lead slip away to the former Champions who haven't been beaten at home in over 50 games, is scandalous. If I were Brummie, I'd be down Villa Park now protesting. Get a grip mate.

We could go 4-4-2 with Smith and Viduka up top I guess.

No, 4-3-3!!

Don't really like that team tbh. Nice to see Emre get a start but Smith playing in midfield should negate any good that will do.

I don't think he looks like a particularly good footballer tbh, not the last while anyway. He's graceful, looks very assured on the ball but is he really? Put under any sort of pressure he tends to panic horribly and his distribution is very poor. Bit of a poser, iyam.

It's a traditional thing. All Toon players become better players after spells of absence. If we keep Emre out for a few more weeks, he'll be as good as Elano by the end of Jan. Nobody is saying this, I said myself that long term he's probably not the answer. But can you give me one good reason that Emre doesn't at least deserve a chance to start a few games and see what he can do given how absolutely dreadful our central midfield has been this season?

You're content with our current central midfield then?

In a 4-3-3 you can have one of your midfield trio in a sort of free role, as there are two others in there to do the bulk of the ball-winning. Remember in Roeder's early time as manager he played Emre just off the striker in a sort of 4-4-1-1, the whole show went through him and we played some terrific ball retention football, we just couldn't score because it was Shola up front on his own. We had Bowyer playing as the box-to-box midfielder with someone (can't remember who, Butt presumably?) playing the holding role, and Zoggy and Solano down the flanks. We have the players now to play pretty much the same system, Barton is basically a better version of Bowyer while Viduka is a vast upgrade on Shola. The reason we're absolute shit to watch is because we have nobody in our center midfield with the vision and playmaking abilities to make us anything but an ugly, direct football team.

Ridiculous that he's not been given more games quite frankly. He's not really suited to a 4-4-2 but if we're going 4-3-3 then he's ideal for that system. Why do Smith and Geremi get countless chances to start games in the middle despite playing very poorly for the most part, while Emre gets one start every so often and is then written off as not good enough to start because he doesn't play great? As you say he's inconsistent so he may not be the solution long-term, but right now he's by far our best option if we actually want to have someone who can play it about in the middle of the park. Whether we actually want that is another question though. If he is a confidence player as you say then I'm sure it would do his confidence the world of good to actually get a few starts rather than sit on the bench while Alan Smith flounders about in midfield.

mackems.gif mackems.gif mackems.gif Much as I'm not liking Baggio's new gimmick, I've got to agree with him here. Shocking comment tbh, and I was never that big of a Robert fan.

The point is that if you continue to paper over the cracks then it will lead to the whole lot falling down eventually.

I dropped your present off earlier Dave, no one was in so I put it behind the back gate. Yeah, I dropped your present off earlier too, Dave. You weren't in so I shagged your bird. Ah, I wondered what that dripping was. Nah, that's me. I'm lurking in your attic.

Merry Christmas to one and all.

Rozenhal needs to be dropped. And quickly. And by someone who knows how. He and Cacapa together are a shambles, both need a partner who'll do the bulk of the physical work. Cacapa has been generally the better of the two so I'd start him alongside Talyor or Faye. Be great to see Emre get a start, but can't imagine it'll happen.