Dr Venkman

Spectacularly late with this post, but did anyone else notice him going to ground against Fenerbache in a very uncharacteristic way? He did it about two or three times, It was really weird.

That'll go down well. And there it is, the breakdown begins.

Think it would be worth bringing him in, Saylor can't stay fit and Colo can't play every game next season.

They can definitely finish 8th like, I'm certain of that.

Sense amongst the madness. Imo he's simply not worth 15m quid.

I'm not massively against us signing him but I'll be quite relieved if he goes elsewhere. I just think there's a really small chance of us getting value for money.

You've just got to keep last seasons card. Wrong. New ST cards I believe. They have Northern Rock on them. Aye. Was trying to scare him. They got sent out about a week into August last season. What's scary about keeping last seasons card?

Returned from a very long lay off at the start of last season, so probably needs a bit more rest.

I definitely think he's concentrating on moving it quickly and efficiently out of defence via small passes, which is great if we can keep it up in competitive games.

But can you afford the £50?

Composed, passes with both feet, plays it quick and simple and most importantly plays with his head up. Sign me up to the fan club.

Wide in a traditional winger sense doesn't really suit him though, which is how I imagine it'd be in a 4-2-3-1. The freeish role in a fluid front free is where he was at his best, coming inside when he wanted, straying out wide when he wanted. If we played him wide with Ba in the hole I'm worried he'd be too restricted to really do what he does best. I don't really see wide in a 3 as a traditional winger. He played in that position in all of his best performances last season. It's far from perfect, Cabaye isn't utilised fully for a start, but if Ba HAS to play in the middle then it's what we'll see I think. I know that Pardew's fond of 4-4-2 but I'm not sure if he'd ditch our best formation, after all he did prove last season that he's a good manager.

HBA needs to be wide, Cisse is absolutely brilliant as a focal point and Ba naturally plays a more withdrawn role. The solution is very, very simple.

Said many times last season that he can play as the middle of the three in a 4-2-3-1, which we played many times. No problem. I do agree the he should play where's picked though. Pardew's earned some trust so I'm happy to let him get on with it and not fret too much.

If we rejected it because we knew they weren't gonna stop there, it makes perfect sense.

It's frustrating because it's the signing that would improve us the most. That said I still say that the really maddening transfers are the outgoing ones.

This place is so pissy in the Summer

Nothing weird in those quotes imo, Pardew's been really supportive of Carroll and praising him for ages, think he always knew there was a chance he'd come back. Plus as others have said its totally normal for deals to be done above the managers head, it's the way it works.

I'm scared of this. It's why I think we're going after AC, hence why I'm so vehemently against it. In that case the problem's Pardew though surely? Not Carroll.

Well that would definitely put me in the 'no' camp. If we could swindle him away on a loan first then I'm open-minded about it. Yep, agree with Dave

Why aren't we trying to build a balanced squad?

Miami Steve Van Zandt. Legend.

Hmmm, I'm not sure to be honest. I don't think we NEED him but I can see how he'd come in handy with how many games we've got next season. After the dive I thought I'd never take him back under any circumstances but if we could get him on loan I might fancy it actually. It's all about the squad, if we're improving it without spending a fortune I'm happy.

it's one of those myths that folk believe Bollocks. it is. i've heard people slag him off for backing oiff when he hasn't. the worst occasion was when many on here blamed him for it even as we were watching on MotD and saw that he didn't. I didn't intend this to be rude, I was posting at work and had to be quick! I accept that folk may have blamed him incorrectly on occasion, and I accept that they may have slagged him for backing off when he hasn't, but imo it's plain to see that it's a major weakness in his game. To suggest its a myth is just daft imo, it might be overstated sometimes, but it's not a myth. I've watched every single game he's played for Newcastle and I've seen him back off far too much. Backing off is part of a full backs game, but it's a default for Simpson, which makes him pretty impotent as a defender. The Loch Ness monster, Godzilla and The Lambton worm are myths, not Simpson backing off, I've seen it with my own eyes, loads. it's a defensive issue as much down to simpson receiving so little support over there (even barton was positionally clueless). simpson does back off but not nearly as much as people make out. the myth bit was the extent to which he backs off. Either he does it too much or he doesn't though? If you're trying to make a point that certain parts of players games are exaggerated by fans, you're right, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a major weakness in his game. Surely you must agree that he does it too much?

I love this man