Mick

We looked more like scoring once Routledge went off because Nolan was no longer in the middle.

I thought that he was the best player in black & white until the prick took him off.

Garbage again today.

I hope that Chris Foy has a good game today, I'm sick of talking about ref's.

We're going to win. Josenufc3 José Enrique Sánchez Good morning to everyone one. Ready for beat manchester city!!! 10 minutes ago

I can't see anyway that the match will be off, not a chance.

John Carver is being mentioned in the Mail as Pardews choice as his assistant. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1341601/Alan-Pardew-targets-John-Carver-Newcastle-No-2.html

Don't, I've been drinking.

We're not struggling and I'd rather our own players got games than a player who could come here and go back to his club fitter and more confident. We brought players in last season and they were given games at the expense of players who are still here and less experienced for missing those games.

I agree with that, if we're going to play a winger I'd rather it was Routledge who seems to have everything but confidence.

@Josenufc3 José Enrique Sánchez Good morning to everyone and merry christmas too. Oh my god i need sleep more!!!

Jose has been out again with his camera, Coloccinis kid. http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5994/x23e3b99f.jpg http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/6396/x23e3bb24.jpg

Merry Christmas to everybody who posts on here, including fans from other clubs. I hope everybody got everything that they had wished for.

The bastards couldn't even tell him on his own, that is crap. They had no right to sack him in front of Barron as it should have been done on a 1-1 basis as everybody reacts in different ways. I've seen people burst out crying when they've been told that they no longer have a job.

Play Smith and we give Man city 1/2 to 2/3 of the pitch to pass us out of the game because we'll only have Carroll to get in the way.

I'll be gutted if that is right.

The main person who would lose out if Ranger was starting is Ameobi and he's had more than enough chances to make a place in the team his own. Regarding the bit in bold and Ranger being lined up to start against Birmingham. He was only getting that start because of an injury to Shola, it wasn't a start because of his performance when he came on against Liverpool or at least it doesn't appear to have been. Ranger needs to stick in during training but training isn't as important as how he plays on a Saturday or Sunday. Some people do things because they want to, some do it because they have to. It's the old carrot and stick, some people need an arm around them while others need a kick up the arse or both.

Sometimes you've got to do things differently with different players, give them a taste of what they could be doing and then tell them to go out and keep a place in the team. It's all about motivation and sometimes you need to think that what you do during the week is going to pay off on a weekend. It's possible that he thinks he'll not start a game no matter what he does. Bobby was good at treating players differently and getting the best out of them, maybe Pardew needs to adapt. Ranger has had very little game time this season but when he has replaced somebody, he's always looked better than the player he's replaced.

Quotes from Pardew in today's Northern Echo, which speculates that we'll be back to Nolan playing off Carroll against City. I was fairly sure Ranger would start on Sunday as well, but this would suggest otherwise. Not the first time we've heard of this sort of attitude/application from the lad either, is it? http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/newcastle/8757432.United_boss_believes_Ranger_not_quite_ready_to_lead_United_line/ (Same article is in the Journal as well, more or less: http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2010/12/24/nile-ranger-needs-to-change-attitude-61634-27879854/) If Pardew picks his team based on what he has seen in training over what he has seen in a game then he's an idiot. We'll get no points for a player training well, we could get points if a player plays well during a game.

I'm sure he'll start against Man City and I'm really looking forward to seeing him. He's a better all round player than Carroll was just over a year ago even if he hasn't had as much experience. He doesn't need to be used as an impact sub as he's got enough going for him to be given a run of games. His problem so far is that he hasn't had a few starts in which to gain any momentum. I think it’s time to unleash the Ranger and see how he gets on at least until Ben Arfa is fit. Lovenkrands and Ameobi are not going to get and better, Ranger probably is and he offers us a bit of edge up front rather than the predictability of the other 2. He’s my tip to be the player to watch for us in 2011 if he can keep his head and put as much effort in as he has done so far when played. His potential is massive, it’s up to him to go out and grab his place in the team and prove that he’s got it in him to be the player he should be capable of becoming. I’ve seen players at the club who have shown promise and haven’t developed after an initial show of promise. We’ll have to see if he’s one of those, he doesn’t look as if he will be so far. I can see no reason why he can't go on to become Carrolls strike partner for years to come.

You're concerned about something that hasn't and probably will not happen, he doesn't need a break. We've got players who can cover him and we've got positions which need more cover than left back because other positions are not as strong as his. Ferguson and Kadar both need games if they are going to progress. I can't ever remember seeing a game where I've thought that we need to drop Enrique and that's what you're suggesting will happen.

Which of his performances have been below par? He's as good in his position as any other player on our books and better than most, I don't think we need to worry about him as we only need cover for injuries and his record on that score isn't bad either.

You're always on holiday.

I don't think he should get a number that's in use by a current player unless the current player wants to change anyway. He should just either keep the number that he has or take a number which isn't in use until his favoured number becomes available.

The chances of him not being as good as before the break are very small. He's broken a couple of bones which will repair and be as good as before the break. He hasn't damaged anything else so his only problem once the bones have healed will be him having confidence that he's back to fitness and over the breaks. Breaks around joints are worse than what Ben Arfa has had because you end up with more bone growing back and that can get in the way of a joint. He will have been out for a while so could tweak a muscle or two once he’s playing again, that can happen and he’ll get over it.