Memphis

Carroll seems OK although it was scary-looking.

There will be at least two more goals scored...this is wide open and defensively suspect all around.

Great assist from Stuart Holden there, too - LOL

CARROLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elmander. Fuck. They are tearing us apart.

Bolton's urgency in attack is catching our defenders out. All of them are exceptionally nonchalant today and it's leading to far more pressure than we need - and they're seemingly intimidated by the physicality of Davies, particularly (Colo's backing off noticeably).

I watched it, and we were the better side up until the penalty. They barely had a touch. Think you're letting hindsight cloud your opinion there tbh. I went back and watched the first part of the match and we had a nice spell for a few minutes, but it never led to much. Basically from the 10th minute on, we've been very much on the back foot. By the time the match got to the 30 minute mark, the possession to that point was listed as 65/35 Bolton.

I'm watching the match and I don't know where the idea that we started well has come from. We certainly didn't. Nolan's handball wasn't blatant, but I'd have wanted it given if it was against us - he certainly used his forearm to move the ball away from Lee's head. It was stupid and pointless, but for me, a penalty. The second goal was VERY marginally offside, maybe by the length of Lee's foot, but the totally ridiculous defending was to blame. Absolutely stupid. Dawdled on the ball for ages, Colo just standing there, Simpson hoofing it off the Bolton man into the direction of Lee. Embarrassing. We had a couple of decent chances throughout the half - Carroll's chance from a nice bit of Guthrie play was good, as was Carroll's opportunity off an Alan Smith flick-on (and Guthrie had a half-chance, too), but we look way off the pace set by Bolton. They are working so hard, and we're not responding. Jonas has been notably poor, Nolan not effective, even Enrique hasn't been as good as normal. And Williamson's appeared to headbutt Elmander early in the half - the referee didn't see it, but video replays looked awfully bad. Wouldn't be surprised if the FA get involved. Don't see much of a way back. We are deservedly 2 goals down. Very frustrating to watch.

Fine him? Dock his wages? Kick him in the balls? Yes. No. Nah.

He's been stupid, but the response is all you can ask. Apology, acceptance, moving on. It's unfortunate for everyone. Oh well.

Regardless of the reaction to the punch, there was absolutely no reason whatsoever for Barton to do it. None. it was not part of the action on the pitch, it was not an accidental clash, there is no reason for it. Coming from a guy who knows he's going to be under scrutiny, a guy who claims to have been a changed man after his scrapes of the past, it's even more phenomenally stupid. He will have deprived his side of a key midfielder for 3 games for no reason at all. That is inexcusable. It should anger Hughton to no end - knowing how much he's tried to defend Joey to the press, Joey's still gone out and done something violent, unnecessary, and brainless.

Looked very tired. Midfield was exhausted against the rabble..and Willicini just kind of faded at the end against Roberts. Not surprising but disappointing.

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/11/08/newcastle-arsenal-tactics/ Really enjoy Zonal Marking because of articles like this. Good analysis of what we did to neutralise Arsenal's threat.

Glad to hear that - I haven't seen much televised punditry, just read a few reports, none of which have given more than a cursory mention of Tiote.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/QicVQ5Z4s32Em1236u3R Today's masterclass. 44/45 passes. 6/7 tackles. Completely took Fabregas out of his game, frustrated him, and made him look poor in the process. No one seems to be able to put 2 and 2 together in the national media and in the discussion of this game - they write about how poor Fabregas was and how Arsenal's passing was poor, but don't take it the next step to give Tiote and the rest of our midfield credit for the job they did. It may well be best to keep Tiote under wraps as much as possible but his contributions to the success this season are enormous and should be more widely appreciated.

The media's exaggerations and nonsense aside, the Warren Barton explanation makes perfect sense. Ashley will have been reluctant to commit long-term (with a pay rise) to Hughton without feeling quite assured he's the right man for the job. There have been enough bobbles in results here and there to make him at least a little bit nervous, I'd expect. And since Ashley is tighter than ever, the amount of the pay rise will have always been a source of conflict. From Hughton's perspective, he's done more than enough to have earned that and more. And given his good relationship with the dressing room and confidence in the players, he's more than willing to gamble on his results being enough to shame Ashley into giving him the significant rise and longer-term deal he wants. It's not as sexy as "Geordie manager madness" but it makes sense. And if Hughton's got us in solid position come January, he will no doubt get a new contract, more money, and more security.

FWIW, just watching Warren Barton on TV here - he said he's spoken with Hughton and says the issue is simply one of compensation. The club offered Hughton a new deal (didn't say when this happened), but not a particularly lucrative one, and Hughton turned them down in expectation of earning a better deal. Transcript from Barton: "I'll tell you basically what it is. The point is - they've offered him a new contract and it's not what it should have beenbecause of what he's done. He's saying to me, er...he's saying to people and he's said to me - is that I'm going to wait for a better offer. And that's clearly - he's proved himself, he went there on a cheap budget; they got him cheap because he wanted the opportunity, he's done a magnificent job, pay him accordingly. But Ashley's trying to say, 'Well, you're lucky to be in this job, you've done well...', Chris Hughton has obviously said, 'I get on with the players, I'm getting on with the fans, I'm getting on with my job'."

It's important to remember that the predominant bias among journalists is towards the easiest possible story. Thus, once a prevailing train of thought - whether or not it's total bullshit is irrelevant - starts to emerge, the easiest story is to frame everything in that context. That's why you then see - 'Under-fire Hughton' and 'Hughton - under a cloud of doubt -' in almost every story. They've not done the hard work of verifying whether or not there's any truth to the rumours, just that they exist, and that's good enough. The club's inept communication skills and history of stupid decisions don't help defuse situations like this either.

Holloway's comparison of a club signing a human being to a contract and someone buying a car is truly laughable. The player is not property, as much as Holloway wishes he was, no matter how much his wages happen to be. If Rooney were to rip up his knee completely and be unable to continue his career at the same level, would Manchester United renew his contract? Of course not. It works both ways. Holloway is a character but he's coming across foolishly here.

I mentioned it in the match thread, but it seems appropriate here too: in the comments after today's match, apparently Hughton said Nolan was merely "rested" and it was his decision to leave Nolan out entirely.

In the postgame comments, apparently Hughton said Nolan was merely "rested" and it was his decision to leave him out entirely. Not injured.

No. Massive liability. On the performance this season, he would be out of his depth playing BSP football. Jack of no trades.

Thats what the lad needs. he'll get better imo. There is no evidence he will get better.

I don't agree. I don't think we have a fantastic strikeforce, but almost all of the balls I saw were overhit, underhit, or poorly placed. Movement up front could and should be better, but there was a significant lack of creativity from the middle.

Quick ratings: Krul - 6. Couldn't really be faulted for either goal. Still a bit tentative. Perch - 1. I'm not prone to exaggeration but his shitness is beyond description. At fault for both goals. Williamson - 5. At fault for N'Zogbia 2nd. Got better in the 2nd half but Sol might have been a better option. Coloccini - 7. MOTM. Couple of positional problems at times, but great on the ball, up for a fight, and scorer of a crucial goal. Enrique - 6. Good defensively as always, comfortable as fuck on the ball, not much of a threat going forward and we needed him to be. Guthrie - 3. Played out of position and a bit unfit. Always tried to get into the center as much as possible, destabilising our formation. Tiote - 5. Off his game a bit. Didn't tackle particularly well, gave the ball away a fair bit, still strong and an important cornerstone in the center. Barton - 4. Bad service, step slow, gave the ball away quite a bit. Never had control. Jonas - 6. Grading on a curve because he was our only real threat to unlock Wigan and was constantly under pressure due to our unbalanced formation. Good cross for 1st goal. Lovenkrands - 3. Anonymous. Not entirely his fault due to poor service but squandered a couple of half-chances. Carroll - 5. Still won a few headers and still looked the biggest threat. Not sure he can do it at this level but he worked hard despite horrible service. Subs: Shola (on for Loven): 7. Truly impactful. Good goal and held the ball up well. His strength caused Alcaraz problems. Routledge (on for Guthrie): 5. Never had much chance to do anything. Ranger (on for Perch): 50. Because he replaced Perch. Hughton: 4. Got it wrong from the outset. Subs too late. Should have put Shola/Routledge on much earlier.