Mick

I might get slaughtered but I'd have him here and I think he'd do a good job.

You shouldn't have read that post from Jay Jay Sea.

The defence has been quite good without "Local Lad" when the other three have been together. "Local Lad" was probably the difference between getting 1 point and 3 today because without the daft push we had a goal and I'm sure he was the only defender who didn't step out for the 2nd West Ham goal. Geremi is rightly getting stick but I don’t think he was as bad as Taylor, he wasn’t as costly.

I wouldn't argue too much with those ratings other than to give Taylor 4 and I thought Owen was better than Carroll.

His passing is getting beyond a joke now, he's making Nicky Butt's passing look good.

It looked as if all but one stepped out and only one played him on.

The booing seemed to be as much for N'Zogbia as it was for Geremi to me.

Who played West Ham onside for the 2nd?

The apparent motivation for both is to get away and Given also has previous.

N'Zogbia's reception was a disgrace, some people need to have a word with themselves after that.

Of course, I haven't photographed a football match before so I wouldn't mind seeing how the photo's turn out. The biggest problem I'll have is possibly poor light but we'll see.

You might need a 15 minute rest at your age.

You can forget about that.

The thing that gets me about this is that everybody knew Tevez was playing for West Ham, they didn't just sneak him into the team. Surely the FA knew about the transfer long before the shit hit the fan, I think they are as guilty as West Ham.

I heard Mark Hughes on 5 Live within the last hour say that he hadn't bid for Given.

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/4025803.Martins____agent_lays_into_Magpies_medics/ Martins’ agent lays into Magpies medics OBAFEMI Martins’ agent has branded Newcastle’s medical staff “woeful”, and claimed the striker’s hernia problem was only spotted after he travelled to Italy to see a specialist. After missing the last threeand- a-half weeks with an injury sustained during last month’s 3-0 victory at Portsmouth, Martins will be examined again tomorrow to see if he is fit enough to resume full training. If he is, he could make the substitutes’ bench for Saturday’s home game with West Ham, but if he isn’t, he will be booked in for surgery at the end of the week. An operation would sideline him for around a fortnight, and leave Magpies manager Joe Kinnear with just two fit strikers for this month’s crucial relegation battles with West Ham and Blackburn. Andy Carroll, who spent most of last season on loan at Preston, played alongside Michael Owen in last weekend’s FA Cup tie at Hull, with Kinnear unable to name a recognised centre-forward on the bench. Martins’ return would guarantee a much-needed alternative, but the striker’s agent, Dapo Kujore, has claimed his client would be fit already if Newcastle’s medical staff had identified his hernia injury earlier. “The Newcastle medical staff are woeful,” said Kujore. “Oba has been having this problem on and off and they failed to spot it. “It was only when he went to Italy that the correct diagnosis was made, and he will have the operation this week. “Look at the entire team. (Mark) Viduka is injured, Alan Smith is injured, Nicky Butt is injured, and so many players. Even when (Alan) Shearer was playing, how many times did he end up on the treatment table?” Newcastle’s medical staff are hopeful Martins will be able to avoid the need for an operation, as a similar course of rest and recuperation will enable Joey Barton to return to full training on Monday. It was initially feared Barton would require surgery when he crumpled under the challenge of Wigan midfielder Lee Cattermole on November 15, but the England international will return to training at the start of next week and could even be involved in the trip to Blackburn on January 17. The same is true of fellow long-term absentee Alan Smith, who has not made a single senior appearance this season because of a longstanding Achilles injury. Smith will also train at the start of next week, although a first-team return is likely to remain some way off as his fitness levels will have dropped significantly following the latest lay-off. Ironically, Smith is one of the players who could be offloaded this month as Kinnear attempts to raise funds during the current window. But the Magpies manager’s plans have been hit by confirmation that he is unable to sell Spanish misfit Xisco because of FIFA regulations. FIFA rules prevent any player from playing for three different clubs during the course of a single season. The £5.8m signing from Deportivo la Coruna is almost certain to remain on Tyneside for the second half of the season, and Kinnear remains committed to ensuring Shay Given stays with him despite the goalkeeper’s much-publicised unease. Kinnear is hoping Given will still be a Newcastle player on February 2, but Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc has emerged as a possible replacement for the Irishman.

And it was 2-0 to Hull within minutes of the banner being paraded, not that I think it was to blame for that goal.

Let's hope they send him to the same doctor as Shearer and Owen. http://www.treatmentabroad.net/medical-tourism/news/october-2007/michael-owens-hernia-recovery-237/ Medical tourist, Michael Owen, makes swift recovery after double hernia operation in private German clinic With England facing Estonia at Wembley on October 13th, followed by a return match against Russia four days later in Moscow in the European Championship qualifying matches, top football striker Michael Owen's hernia problem has been attracting much media attention. Newcastle had feared the 27 year old striker's injury had turned into a double hernia raising a question mark about whether he would be able to help secure England's place at Euro 2008. The 3cm tear in his abductor muscle - an injury which was set to rule him out for most of the month - highlighted the urgency for surgery. Over the weekend of Friday 28th and Saturday 29th September Owen joined the rising number of UK medical tourists and visited the Newcastle team's surgeon of choice - Munich-based Dr Ulrike Muschaweck - who is such an expert in the field of lower abdominal operations that her clinic is dubbed "Hernienzentrum" (Hernia Centre). The clinic has successfully repaired over 12,000 hernias over the past 12 years. Dr Ulrike Muschaweck performed surgery on Owen which involved two operations, one on each side, to fix the Newcastle striker's groin and hernia problems. The operation went perfectly and was so successful that Dr Muschaweck believes he could be playing again in less than two weeks. She said: "Owen had a 'sportsman groin' so he was given what we call the 'Minimal Repair' Technique. The tear happened some time before the operation but it was not the reason for surgery. Recovery will be within eight to 13 days depending on whether there is still some pain or not. After 14 days I anticipate he will be back to full activity" she adds. However, club boss Sam Allardyce says it will be up to Newcastle United's medical staff to decide when Michael Owen is fit to play the international games post-operation. Owen isn't the first footballer Muschaweck has treated. Alan Shearer was sent by the club to Muschaweck's űber modern clinic near Munich airport in November 2005 for a hernia operation and enjoyed an extraordinary recovery time - returning to field in just 10 days. Owen is reported to be keen to play in the international double-header of matches but not if it compromises his long-term fitness for his club.

Every cloud, look at the bottom. Shearer came back very soon after a double hernia, I think it was a double.

I shouldn't quote myself but. http://www.premiershiplatest.com/news/portsmouths-pedro-mendes-badly-injured-i-551096.html

Actually, didn't Barton do him in the next game?

I'll not forget when Ben Thatcher laid Mendes out with an elbow to the face.

They, not him, actually claimed that they were trying to contact Ashley but he didn't bother returning the calls.

OK, how about season 1999-2000 when they again shared a season and Harper played 29 games and let in 31 goals which works out at -1.07 goals per game when rounded up. Given played 17 and let in 23 goals per game which works out at -1.35 goals per game when rounded down. Harper has played over 100 games and has an average of -1.22 goals per game, Given has played over 450 games and has an average of -1.27 goals per game. I would say that the career average for Harper would have been better if he wasn’t always in and out of the team through no fault of his own. Harper doesn't make as many reflex saves as Given but he uses his box better and cuts out more than he would if he was glued to his line.