STM

I wonder what the odds are on Barton sticking a nut on Pardew. I'd pay to see that bout.

You can add Sky sports to the title now too. Jesus it's going to take some effort to get behind this bloke like.

This would be like the return of the messiah, or in this case the fuhrer.

I'm not so concerned with managerial experiance but managerial talent. Is Pardew or Curbishley more talented than Hughton, no. Have they more experiance of managing a big club than Hughton, no. This decision is so vital for our future, if he we get one of these muppets we will get relegated and without a Hughton to bring us back up. The silver lining is that i truly don't think anyone knows what Ashley's next trick is. We heard rumours not so long ago that he was best mates with O'Leary, now Pardew, who knows? If he pulls out Jol then perhaps all is not lost.

Oh shit, don't say that.

If Alan Pardew becomes our permenant manager, then that will send us into new depths of stupidity, it's crazy even compared to the Kinnear fiasco. Pardew couldn't get a job in the championship. Fucking sick.

The backbone of our side; Colo, Tiote, Carroll. Apart from Barton and Enrique, it's the players around about that worry.

It's not, simply because one of our most vital players is missing. I don't get your point TBH, if you are talking about Barton or Tiote i agree though.

I don't see Taylor/Campbell being an improvement on Colo/Willamson, i'd like to be wrong though. I bet Perch fucking plays.

They've shipped 20 goals in 14 games this season? Williamson 3 more at Chelsea. Hardly a million miles from the teams around us though is it? Had we not shipped five against Bolton we would be almost identical with the likes of Bolton, Stoke, Spurs etc (goals conceded wise). Which in the context of where we were when those two were put together, is pretty decent. Don't get me wrong, i want us to improve but those two have been steady for us.

In the most part Willamson and Coloccini have been impeccable since they were put together last year and a major part of our promotion. This year i have yet to see either of them make a Bramble esq error, there have been a few minor slip-up's but nothing more than you would suspect from a mid-table side. They have also dealt with some good teams too. The Bolton game was a poor team performance all round and i suspect the lack of defensive cover and inability to keep the ball had alot to do with the result, even if Colo and Williamson had poor individual games. There are still huge question marks over whether Sol is fit enough to play in a premiership defence or whether Stevie Taylor is capable of stringing a few games (let alone decent ones) together. Therefore Coloccini and Williamson will be a huge miss. I reckon in three games time we will desperate for them to return.

Krul Simpson Campbell Taylor Enrique Tiote Guthrie Routledge Jonas Nolan Carroll

Oh aye, i know that man.

Wouldn't happen, he's one of the best young players in the league. Could see him going to Spurs before us.

I think he could be really good, if he's given some quality game time. However, i'm not sure we can afford to risk such a raw player this season.

But but he's a Geordie......

Thing is though, i don't see Carroll as the sort of player who misses many games (without having a serious injury). I suspect the next time we lose Carroll for a significant period of time will be if he has a serious injury or lands himself in jail.

The fact we have two or three out and our attack is now at it's limit tells it's own story. I believe we will stay up but only if we can keep our main front players fit that includes Shola, Carroll, Barton and Nolan. We need to add to this in january and we could do alot worse than the names being mentioned. If Jason Roberts is still out of favour at Blackburn i'd have him on loan (Realism).

I just have this feeling he will score too. Who will be his strike partner? Or will he have one?

What's the possession stats for this season? I'm pretty sure we've only had one game when we have seen less of the ball than the opposition and that was Man Utd on the first day. Anyone know if this is true?

Aye toook me a while to decide which way round i thought he would do it but you are probably correct. I can see Xisco on the left but i can see Ranger left out for another midfielder like Vuckic.

At a guess... Krul Perch Kadar Willamson Ferguson Smith Guthrie Raylor Ranger Xisco Lovenkrands Although, i'd personally like to see Routledge and Shola in for Loven and Raylor. Hughton also likes a big striker up front so i can see something different there. Hughton actually has plenty of options if he isn't going to play the first teamers.

Aye, because Guthrie on the wing worked really well on Saturday. Do you know there is a difference between home and away games? Probably not. Do you? You've named the same midfield as Saturday. I tell you what lets drop the whole team. So Guthrie was to blame for the performance on saturday? Fuck off man. He didn't say that did he? He just said it didn't work, and it didn't. Guthrie was off the pace and congested the central midfield, whilst leaving our worst player horribly exposed. Simpson might cope better but he'll be rusty too. He also didn't answer my question on the difference between home and away games or are we ignoring that the impetus at home is different that of away games. The same team could perform differently in one environment to another. You say yourself that Guthrie congested the midfield, this is why i would play him, even if we lose a little of attacking flair (in which Routledge hasn't offered so far). I agree Perch is shit, that's why i wouldn't play him.

Aye, because Guthrie on the wing worked really well on Saturday. Do you know there is a difference between home and away games? Probably not. Do you? You've named the same midfield as Saturday. I tell you what lets drop the whole team. So Guthrie was to blame for the performance on saturday? Fuck off man.