Yorkie

Getting beaten 2-0 away from home by a better team and manager isn't exactly unimaginable. Infact, I'd have AZ as slight favourites. Fuck's sake. OK, i apologise. Basically, what i mean was that i can't bare to imagine it. It's just rotten to think of. AZ favourites though? You're giving them too much credit... Have faith.

i love the passion! i would love it if we won the cup... It's true. I've just grown a massive appetite for this competition - simply because we've looked capable of winning it each time. We just have to. Like i say, nothing hurt me more than the Sporting debarcle - i'm only 15 so didn't properly understand the 12-point-lead thing, so Lisbon was just heartbreaking. Then you look at what Boro did and i was just immensely bitter. I want this so much!

Thing is, and especially if we overcome Alkmaar, i feel that we deserve to win this competition. Or atleast get to the final. You look at the fucking shit that Boro played. Litex. Xanthi. Stuttgart. Basel. Steaua in the fucking semi-final. It's sickening really isn't it. And then you look at the teams that we've played, and beaten. Fenerbahce - best side in Turkey. Palermo - top of Serie A at the time. Celta Vigo - not great but a famous Spanish side. Then AZ Alkmaar - the top scorers of the whole of Europe. We've done remarkably well this year, when you look at our squad and our injury situation. We deserve this. GOD i hope we knock them out. I want this competition more than any other.

Hopefully that's all it will have been...

I can't face us getting knocked out now. It really, really will break my heart. From this position - it's unimaginable. But Alkmaar are a fantastic side on their home patch, without a doubt. Argh. I can't face even thinking about it. There's not an awful lot that hurt me more than when Sporting knocked us out, i can't bare to see it happen again. If we get past Alkmaar i'll be insanely confident.

Surprised by the Sevilla result. Didn't expect Benfica to lose either, but i'm confident they'll turn it around comfortably in Lisbon.

Shay Given - 8. Virtually flawless performance from Seamus, even a penalty save. It really must have been a special night. Kicking was decent aswell - he actually found our men. Some great saves aswell. Nolberto Solano - 8. Great performance from Nobby. His link up play with Dyer was constantly productive. He was everywhere in that first half; absoltely pinnacle point of our creativity then was always back to defend. Sloppy for the penalty but a superb performance. Titus Bramble - 9. Practically perfect performance from Bramble. He was an absolute rock. His sliding tackles, his headers, his marking, everything - was fantastic. Thought he was a bit wayward for their first goal but other than that, he was just fantastic. Steven Taylor - 7. Taylor had a good game aswell i thought. I can understand why it was given, but i still feel that he was desperately unlucky for the penalty. It was sod's law that it had to hit him there - he had his arms tucked right in. Stephen Carr - 7. Yep, a seven. Above average. I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon and have a go just because it's Carr, because he didn't have a particularly bad game at all. Lost his man for the first goal but was very tidy defensively. Kieron Dyer - 7. A constant menace in the first half, however faded in the second. The finish was inch perfect and his pressure play, combining with Nobby down the right, was very productive. Scott Parker - 7. A really decent performance from Parker. Cosntantly diving in with sliding tackles, though this time - winning the majority. Still slow on the build up, but i really feel as if he prevented goals tonight. Major tackle for one of ours aswell. Nicky Butt - 9. Outstanding. Cosntant battling - winning the ball and passing it. The good old English game at its best. He was a typical defensive midfielder tonight. He didn't miss a thing. Damien Duff - 6. Duff started well, obviously, with a fantastic touch for the first goal. But he really wasn't in it and was unsurprisingly withdrawn, for me. He huffed and puffed a lot, as usual, with little end product. Atleast he was beating his man, though. Can't think of a cross mind you. Sibierski - 6. Sibierski was fine for the first half. He got the ball and mixed it up. His grabbing of the ball, turning, and passing was very good at times and his touch for the Dyer goal was top class. However, slow and generally immobile and unreliable in the second period, as we've come to expect from Sibi. No problems with that, though. Obafemi Martins - 9. Awesome. The marks, on the whole, may seem a little high. But i don't think they warranted their second goal.

So gutted he didn't put that one away. Immense performance tonight, though.

Don't be so hard on the lads... no other team in Europe has scored more goals this season than Alkmaar. They were always going to come out and give it some in the second half. And the penalty was unfortunate in every respect.

It is a very good result, absolutely no two ways about it. We've scored four goals; we don't do that very often and to do it at this stage, against this team, is brilliant. I was so pleased by that first half - we were absolutely scintillating - no exaggeration. It's disappointing that they got another. I don't think they really deserved it tbh. They weren't good going forward and they were shit defensively. Them scoring that second goal didn't do justice to an all-round decent performance from the defense. Even Carr put in a good shift. And as bad as the penalty was, there was nothing we could do about the follow-up. I'm usually the first to lay into Bramble, but he had about half a second to stop the ball from going in there. It was unfortunate. Thought the penalty was a little bit harsh tbh. His hands were well tucked in and it would have hit his stomach. But anyway, if someone had offered me 4-2 beforehand, i'd have bitten their hand off. One goal i feel over there should secure it. *Remembers what he said before the Lisbon game*

I thought Ambrose might have turned out as a damned good player. He definitely had the ability, and he was versatile. Bobby treated him right i think, he used him fairly sparingly and he progressed quite nicely for a while. Souness killed him and Milner. In that season though, where we finished 14th, Ambrose had a period where he played a few games and was class. I wasn't surprised to see him go, but i think we missed out there really. The likes of him and Milner would have progressed nicely under Bobby. That's why he brought them in - he knew they'd be good players. Too late for Ambrose now, though. Wouldn't take him back. Oh and... West Ham: Lucas Neill, Yossi Benayoun, Nigel Reo-Coker*, Dean Ashton, Carlos Tevez Charlton: Darren Bent Watford: No ta *One of those who i think could develop under the right coach. I think Roeder knows how to get the best out of players and NRC is still young. Just needs a new start imo. Would never pay over £5m for him though and i'd certainly prefer others over him first.

Shearer came back because he was a Geordie coming back to his roots. If he was a neutral, he would have gone to Man Utd. Like Hargreaves. There's no comparison whatsoever.

That's what i'm saying. The corks are flying and they're jumping about in absolute delight... over a certificate. It's a mini qualification campaign against a couple of shitty clubs, to get you into the Waffa, cos you're too shit to get there in the first place. It's not a trophy and it simply isn't silverware altogether. Definitely nice to get an accolade, but would rather it was just done behind the scenes, considering the thing itself isn't even remotely a trophy.

£10m on defense. £2m on decent attacker. £0 on a centre-mid... Sidwell.

The Marseille players just look sad tbh.

He's probably worth £12.5m. Would absolutely love him here. Tbh, he'd work really, really well WITH Emre. But... mackems.gif mackems.gif Yeah right.

Aye. Still... i wouldn't be complaining if i was the guy that they pulled out of the hat from the crowd. Think that's a really nice touch, tbh.

I think very few people actually consider it a proper trophy though. Very much tongue in cheek. Exactly, and not just by us. When it's been mentioned on the likes of Football Focus, it's been said with a cheeky, sarcastic smile by the respective presenters. Like i say, definitely nice to get an accolade, but it's taking the mick a little bit. That's what i don't like about it.

I wish people would just shut up about it. I thought there was actually a trophy anyway? OK, it's nice to get given an accolade - but it just ain't a trophy, i wish there was no such thing. It isn't silverware.

PSV my dark horses tbh...

Great to see him back but effectively pointless if he plays in the centre with Parker.

Deep456 in talking utter bollocks bullshit shocker.

Certainly sounds promising. Missed a few chances but hardly seems as if he was blazing them miles wide. And considering he's scored 20+ goals for his team already this season, you have to render Newcastle Fan's judgement as typical nonsense.

Not if we continue to play our usual long balls and crosses that reach no-one because they're all too short etc etc I've not made a good post here have I Would be exaclty the same if we spent £10m on Ashton or Huntelaar. It's all relative.

Bramble is Bramble. Do people honestly feel that these last four games are the turning point in his shitty Newcastle career? Anyhow, Ferdinand. Absolutely no chance. No no no. Ben Haim/Distin both available on frees. Will be a bit disappointed if we don't get either of them; because us, with our defensive situation, should be carefully looking at all available centre-backs. Both of these defenders fit the bill for me. Organisers, leaders, and generally good players both youngish yet with Premiership experience.