Conjo

Yes.

If Dummett had the technique of Danny Simpson none would have an issue with him. In our current state and his current form, against some teams, he is an asset. In other games where we need to make something happen against perceived equal or worse opposition he is a liability.

Have to agree on this one. I think its absolutely shocking that any player in any starting line-up in the Premier League is allowed to have so poor control of the ball, but on his current form it's hard to justify leaving him out as he has been very solid defensively which is what we have needed more.

Confident of a win here. Away against a fairly poor opposition that will attack us. We can sit back and hit them on the counter or nick one on set pieces and grab a win. 0 - 1 Slimani

The whole conversation is about context. Though perhaps the world beaters below (chosen purely on appearances) are really ‘much better’ than what we have. Don’t see it, myself. 2015-16 (most appearances) Elliot 22 Janmaat 35 Mbemba 35 Coloccini 27 Dummett 24 Sissoko 37 Anita 29 Colback 29 Wijnaldum 40 Perez 37 Mitrovic 36 Subs: Darlow 10 Lascelles 21 Taylor 10 Tiote 22 Shelvey 13 Thauvin 16 De Jong 22 Cisse 21 To be fair, besides Janmaat, Sissoko and Wijnaldum, that starting 11 is so shite in hindsight it is no surprise we got relegated regardless of who the manager was. Mbemba - Was new to the league, is currently our 4th choice CB Coloccini - Was past it, no desire and wanted to be somewhere else Dummett - Still stinks the place up, treating the ball as burning lava Anita - Dwarf who currently struggles to get a game at Leeds Cack Jogback - Perez - Still bumbles around the pitch for us with the odd show of skill Mitrovic - Was new to the league, shows no sign of wanting to improve and has been shipped out on loan to a championship club I'd argue that our starting 11 now is stronger than it was purely because it is more balanced even though we had better individual quality in the one that got relegated. Edit: I still think its bs to suggest Rafa is doing poorly with the means he has to operate within as there are many other factors to consider in this shit discussion.

Copied from the poster below you: Sir Bobby Robson: “What is a club in any case? Not the buildings or the directors or the people who are paid to represent it. It’s not the television contracts, get-out clauses, marketing departments or executive boxes. It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city. It’s a small boy clambering up stadium steps for the very first time, gripping his father’s hand, gawping at that hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love.” They will still have their history, lets not make it into something its not. Plenty of stuff to laugh at as it is.

Ah yes, who can forget the time of Shola on the wing with a ruined hip? I nearly did until you mentioned this.

Heart says to go for it. Graft and don't give Man Utd any time on the ball and steal all three points with a jammy deflected header from corner goal by Slimani. Head says damage limitation, don't pay much attention to what is happening until this match is over and focus on the next game.

Barely anyone in our team is Premier league quality. It would probably go a long way to explaining why we can't string two passes together if you look at it objectively. Around the 75th minute I started counting how many Newcastle players touched the ball before they lost it, so not sure when it really kicked in after the penalty. However, it took 6 minutes before we managed to retain the ball between more than two players before fumbling it over to a Palace player. Got a bit bored after that so stopped counting.

Suarez, Van Persie, Van Nistlerooy, Kuyt and many more. I think it's just more of a lottery than normal really. I think if you watch them as players rather than their league, you'll probably get a better idea. I think the only player who looked brilliant before arriving and then wasn't, was probably Kezman. Oh, plenty more have (Alves, Ruiz, etc), but many more players than the ones you mentioned from Eredivisie have also looked brilliant in the PL (Robben, Hasselbaink, VdV, Bergkamp, etc.) It’s just a strange notion that transfers from Eredivisie clubs are somehow different from any other player transfer from one club to another. Plenty of players have moved clubs within England and even the PL and failed. It’s almost like getting a new player in is always a bit of a risk. Thing is, the players who have done well in the PL usually have had one or more stand out attributes like speed, physicality or exceptional technique. Players like Kezman, De Jong, Janssen etc, may have good movement and play intelligently which seems to be working great in the Dutch league, but they are neither strong, fast or have particularly good technique where you need something to stand out in England. Only exception I can think of is Kuyt which, as we here know all too well, will always be an enigma.

.....unless you have Mike Ashley as owner.

.....unless you have Mike Ashley as owner.

Not satisfied with a window that brought in £30m profit and the Championship title. What a parasite on this club that man is. TBF, a lot of our fans share the same view. Profit from the sale of players he didn't even bring in himself, that didn't want to stay. Brought in players that should have been able to perform in both leagues yet turned out not to be fit for the championship even, and players good enough to take us up, but not to keep us up. For all the good Benitez does, he really is hit and miss on transfers. That being said, it should for fucks sake not be an argument for not getting new players in like it is being implied by Douglas.

He'd just be another Tomasz Radzinski

Probably better to give him a crown Was thinking "leave him at home" = "keep him back on the field" but it does leave room for misinterpretation.

Another brick in Jamaal Good idea. Edit: We don't need no David Luiz We don't need no Otamendi No fancy dribbles near our box Rafa leave Jamal at home Hey! Rafa! Leave Jamal at home! All in all he is the best in front of our goal. (Although not entirely true as he is pretty decent in front of our opponents goal as well)

We need him right now, regardless of who we might possibly potentially get in January. At the moment him and Lascelles seems to be the top two influencial players in our squad that keeps the others on their toes and spurs on the never surrender attitude we've been lacking for years. Edit: I don't really rate him as a player either btw, but we can't risk losing the good squad mentality we have when in a relegation battle.

It depends on how we look in front of the defence. With the current team I prefer Clark. If we get better protection and better retention in front of the defence I would prefer Mbemba as he would compliment a more technical/passing game....I think.

What he can do with a football, Moke Williamson can do with an orange.

How i've missed the classic Dummett wind-up before his perfectly random hoof. It's a joke that someone as bad as him are allowed to play in the PL. I feel like it should be a mandatory requirement to be able to pass a ball without stopping, taking a few steps back just to launch a missile to nowhere.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Says everything about how dire November was.

It's a bit sad really, but have to say I had to giggle a bit that he got 7 "likes" on his post

We also need to start with defenders who can defend. The starting back four have been shit in the last few games so they aren't doing their jobs. We know we don't have anyone who can score goals reliably, so at least we should make sure we can keep clean sheets. Buffing the midfield should relieve some pressure on the defence. As an example, I don't think Watford scores their first goal if we had an anchor in front of the defence.