STM

Confirmed i think.

Cardiff surely.

Sorry mate, but if Gazza wasn't a "world class player" then I'm still waiting to see one. He was a great player but never made the last step up in my opinion. Never joined the Zidane's, Pele's etc.

Aye and that was my first game, that's how to hook someone.

The same thing that's stopping him from getting over his addiction, is the same thing that stopped him from being a truly world class footballer.

From Birth. First game was at home to Villa, we beat them 5-1 under Keegan. "are you watching big fat ron". 27th of April 1994- I remember sitting on the bollards they used to have, when we scored i fell off and the bloke behind caught me (i was only a bairn). Ah the memories.

Once Barton has 2-3 games under his belt we will be twice the side. I hope Barton has as much influence as Nolan and Smith do on Hughton. I'd love it if he came back and pushed one of them out of the side.

He is a real nice guy - maybe too nice - and a very vulnerable person. A living tragedy in some ways. Was the best English player I'd ever seen but Rooney has surpassed him now. Wonder how it may have turned out if he'd gone to ManU instead of Spurs all them years ago ? So Rooney's a better player than Shearer? Or did you just not see him play?

Capello will have his eyes on hundreds of players. It's good to see us getting good press though.

I agree with this. At first Hughton's nothing interviews used to seriously piss me off but He's definitely grown into the role and for me he's handling them very well now, far more assured and he looks like an intelligent bloke. It's easy to win cheap points with soundbites like Kinnear but it doesn't generally work out long term. I think Shearer was guilty of this as well and it showed in that performance against Villa where we went down spinelessly. I think he is deliberately boring TBH. He tries to keep everything low key and un-dramatic. You could argue that he is just a boring guy but i noticed him on the touchline screaming at his strikers to close down the ball despite being 5-1 up. This doesn't suggest he is the weak man some might think. I also agree with Yorkies point that his transfers in the summer would have a huge baring on his time here.

Aye i can see him going with this. Still think it might be enough, if Routledge and Jonas get on the ball.

Stop recycling old jokes man.

Senseless waste. Ok we get it, the jokes bin done already I refuse to believe that. Those jokes are garbage.

The nuts & bolts of the scouting was meant to be looked after by Jeff Vetre. Thanks for correcting me, i had forgotten all about him. Regardless, that "team" needed replacing.

On a serious note, i was wondering when we would replace Wise. Far better off having a cheif scout than a director of football. Hopefully Carr will have a greater knowledge of European football, as Hughton doesn't seem too bad with domestic affairs. This means that we will automatically have extra players to target in the summer, as most scouts will have a backlog of players whom they have scouted.

I went for Carroll based on the fact i think hughton will pick him over all the others. Doesn't mean i think he will score many either. Maybe 14 or so.

This is what Allardyce does to you. Seriously though

I take back what i said. After seeing him last night, he was class.

He couldn't have gone with slower players who want to hoof it, they were injured. The only option he had to change our starting line up that would have been negative was Ryan Taylor for Routledge or Simpson and that choice would have been stupid, even for him. We'll see his true managerial ability once Butt and Smith are free from injury, it will also be interesting to see what he does with Lovenkrands after last night, he should start instead of Best. I was talking about signing player with pace and attacking threat. However my biggest worry is the Smith/Nolan thing. He needs to start Guthrie, i will forgive him one of the other two alongside him.

Was delighted to see Hughton asking the players to work hard even though we were 5-1 up. Some good touchline motivation there Chris.

You have a fair point but there's nothing wrong with loosening up. It might work in our favour to have a bit of pace up front (example).

I thought his all round game was good (and to be fair I was in the Gallowgate, so I only saw the fourth and fifth goals up close) but I didn't really see him actually trying to beat the fullback for pace until about 55 minutes in. He looks promising though, certainly Simpson looked better for having a natural right winger in front of him as you say. The ball for Loven's first was exquisite too. Aye fair do's. In the first half he cut in field alot but that's part of his game and an important part of being a winger. Look at how many times Giggs and Ronaldo cut in (disclaimer, not a comparison). However as you say, he showed he can do both.

He's only gone and everything I was whining about. Well done CH. Early days, but the signings look to be decent as well. His signings could be key. So far his signings have suggested that he wants to play a more attacking formation, routledge and van legend are good examples. He could have gone with slower players who want to hoof it but he went with pace.

PILKO- Can't agree on Routledge. His all round game was superb last night. The first corner (which led to the goal) came from his running, the second was because of his through ball, the third was from Simpson (who looked better because of Routledge) and the fourth was his assist. Added to that he was constantly either coming in field and get involved or trying to beat his man for pace. He showed a masterclass on how to give your opposite number a hard time, he also could have got a goal himself.

Having two wingers is a start. He might come in to his own now. IMO he more than anyone should benefit most from the new balanced team. I've said for ages that if we are going to play big strikers up front we need to either play angled balls or play with width. Our team is begging for decent crossers.