Taylor Swift

Tbf oldtype, how many strong Asian leagues are there? I reckon the Japanese one is the strongest, and then you have the middle-eastern leagues (Al-ahli etc.) and the Korean league. What other leagues are there? The Chinese league is wank and most of the leagues in South-east Asia are of the same low quality. Trust me, there are many knowledgable football folk in and around Asia who will receive the clubs with open arms. And with regards to the Australian league, it's really not a priority seeing as Rubgy and Aussie Rules are more popular. But, we all have a different perspective anyway. For someone like me who's gonna be heading back after university/couple yrs of work, then I like this idea because it'll give me a bigger chance of getting to see us play competitively without having to visit England/Europe. So as a fan, I welcome this idea.

So how are Chelsea going to line up? Cech Belletti Carvalho Alex Cole Makelele SWP Ballack Lampard Cole Anelka ??

Fantastic result for City. Get in!

How many minutes to go?

If City hold on and Chelsea win, that'll make my fucking day. And then hopefully Arsenal will make sure the lead is 5 points by the end of tomorrow

Yeah but up front isnt his correct position...... This reminds me of the argument about Luque.

The Villa support was really good. Out of the 6 away games I've been, they've been the best so far Our away support was also really good, as usual.

I thought the ref was very inconsistent today as well. Could have dished out a few yellows to them but instead gave one to Smith (I think). The penalty was also rubbish because we had a similar appeal earlier on. No consistency at all. Having seen the bench, I have to say Keegan fucked this one up. Faye should have been in there for Cacapa, who just couldn't keep up with Carew. And Carr, jesus christ, I have no idea why he was playing today.

Just got back from the match as well. I agree with his assessment. First half we were really decent, not really threatening but controlling the game, had some decent passing moves and defended well. The less said about the second half the better. You just knew that after the first one went in, we'd lose another one quickly. Went to sleep and never woke up I fully blame Carr for this one. The first goal he gave the ball away, and for the second goal they got a corner from a launch upfield from Carson because Carr couldn't control the ball. Utterly woeful. Plus points - - Owen. Looked good today and got involved. Another nice goal. - Milner. His dribbling and control of the ball was much better than it's been recently and I was impressed with his workrate. - Duff. A bright game from him. Always looking to run at their defense and drifted in at opportune times. - Butt. A really good first half I thought. Disappeared in the second half when we HAD to create things - as usual - but I don't blame him for not being creative. One last point - Alan Smith Jesus christ man, he's got no attacking instinct AT ALL. I don't care how much 'holding up' of the ball he does but he offers NOTHING up front. We might as well stick Ameobi up there because he's bigger and will challenge their defenders more. And even on the rare occasions that Smith is able to hold up the ball, he passes it back right away instead of turning into space (which he could have done a ton of occasions today). I don't see how Martins doesn't start the next game now. Smith offers literally fuck all whilst Martins/Viduka will definitely offer something more, and different.

It is money motivated but could you see any sane (i.e. greedy) owner rejecting this plan? It'll be something similar to the NFL and how they do it. The only harm is to the local fans of the club and do you think the owners/PL actually care about them? They've demonstrated on many occasions that £ is their bottom line so I expect this to happen very soon.

Dejan's a legend man.

That's a big assumption you're making there, isn't it? I know it's a popular opinion (esp. among certain season ticket holders, funnily enough) that "being there and seeing it all" equates to amazing football expertise but, let's face it, that's bollocks. I'm only a season ticket holder, but when the away games are on tv, I'm going to get pissed and watch it from far away, at a weird angle. And get someone to stand my way every so often. Naturally I'll spend most of the time singing and jumping about rather than watch the game, but I'm sure following these instructions will give me the insight that uberfans have. I've actually missed a goal (scored against us - of course) at an away game because I was singing and jumping like a total tit I've only been to one home game but there are definite advantages to seeing it in the stadium, but of course you don't get the benefit of replays and such. But for away games, because you have such a shit view of the pitch and you're tipsy (for the most part), you'd be better off watching on tv if your main priority is watching football. The away games are good not because of the fooball (it's recently been very shit) but because of the drinking, singing and general banter.

Did Nilis come to play for Villa at the end of his career? Man that was way back. I remember when there was a mini invasion of Dutch footballers in the Premiership. I remember Wim Jonk playing for Sheffield Wednesday! What a name!

What are you on about man? Wes Brown?!! FFS!

I agree with what you said about Portillo. But for every Portillo there are many other Rooneys, Messis. No, it's the other way around. Honestly. There's only one Rooney and one Messi, but there are a fuck load more of Portillos/Chopras in the footballing world. I'm stunned that you believe that there are more wonderkids who become world class players than youngsters with potential who fail to make the step-up.

Just curious, how is he suppose to agree/disagree with something they've written if he hasn't read it?

Pato scored again for Milan.

What's up with Enrique anyway? What's the extent of his injury?

http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/index.php?topic=42481.0 That thread surely is HOF material.

Has he? He must have been absolutely fucking awful before Keegan came in because he's still a liability now. Forget about the Arsenal games. They make EVERYONE look like shit. Even a decent Citeh team got dominated by them.

That's true Yorkie, I was just seeing thinking out loud. But, this having a DM in the middle hasn't worked well for us if the DM isn't able to pass because the other MC is just marked all the time. I don't know if Faye can do that but I really hate players out of position because it'll cost us. If Faye isn't at the back then it's either Cacapa (who is still a bit dodgy) or playing Baye in the center and thus having Carr at RB. That is why we just need players who can pass the ball. We'll be alright if we can keep possession for an extended period of time because you can't really lose a goal if you have the ball. A good comparison for this philosophy would be Arsenal (Flamini and Fabregas). Their center midfielders aren't either all-out attacking or defensive, they're able to do both (hustle and pass) and that's why it's really hard for teams to control the game against them because Arsenal always control the ball! It's a different way of winning games but with the personnel available, it also might be the best.

I thought we played alright in the second half. The first half was unbearable and it was classic Allardyce stuff with the long balls up to Smith. I thought Keegan was suppose to be changing all this? Of course it doesn't help that arguably three of our best players are away at the ANC but we really should be better than this. When they do come back, this is my suggestion for a starting eleven. It's one that hasn't been tried before and all I'm doing is putting footballers onto the pitch, none of this grafting/running around a lot and not doing much. We need players who can control and pass the ball and we need a spark up front. Given Beye Taylor Faye Enrique Duff Barton Emre Zoggy Owen Martins It clearly is an attacking team and it's the type of team that will cause the opposition trouble. For far too long we've always been concerned about what players the opposition has and how they should be stopped, but we've never said 'fuck it, make them stop us'. I reckon a central midfield of Barton and Emre can be quite successful. Some might say at first it's very similar to the Parker and Emre one but Barton clearly is a different kind of player than Parker is; for starters, he can actually pass the ball forward. And with the way the rest of the team is shaped up, the onus will NOT be on either of them to make the telling pass. Because of the options that exist in this team, we'll not be dependent on a single player to create chances for us. Obviously Zoggy needs to be on the left wing. Most of his better crosses today was when he was further up the pitch and that needs to be the case ALL THE TIME. That's been the case all season and it IS really his best position no matter what he says. With Milner being out of form, Duff is the choice out wide right as he's got a decent left foot, can now cut in and shoot and he has PACE, something sorely lacking in the team atm. And if Duff's out wide right, it'll give a chance for Beye to come up as well when Duff cuts in = more attacking options for us. I also reckon Martins and Owen will provide the necessary relief for our defense. The fact that we have some pace up front will mean the opposition's defence will be playing deeper than normal -> more space in midfield for our players -> more time on the ball for our players (and they clearly need it). I know some might say we need a big man/little man combo but honestly, how many flick ons has Owen gotten to this season? 1? 2? Not a lot more is my guess. How many times does a flick on from Viduka/Smith actually go into space anyway? Not much is my guess as well. Owen will get the goals if the team can create chances and this team will. Martins will also movement, something that I feel is sorely lacking from Smith/Viduka and even though the movement might be erratic, it'll cause trouble for big slow defenders (think Spurs at home this season). And with regards to our defence, Taylor's really improved over the past 5 or so games and with the other 3, it's just a matter of them having time together on the pitch - they're all good enough individually. Sorry for the long post!

The referee is such a cunt.

That should have been flagged offside.

Nicky Butt's passing is atrocious. We've not been able to keep the ball since Emre was taken off at all!