KaKa

This is sickening ... where has this bad performance come from?

Pathetic.

Not looking good according to Mick Lowes. Heavy legged and playing like we've got lead in our boots. Wigan have definitely started better.

We looked leggy against Fulham too!

What the hell?! We didn't even play midweek as we are out of the Carling Cup.

This would be a humiliating loss considering all the players missing for Wigan.

How are we looking though?

Cacapa has cost us the game plain and simple.

Why play him when he has been inactive all season?

Put Bassong in there and we win this easily.

Secondly, Kinnear has way too much faith in Duff, who runs around but does absolutely nothing if any note.

Duff should have gone off not Guttierez.

Lastly, when your mantra is being a clinical finisher and not contributing much of anything else, you cannot afford to miss easy chances. Michael Owen's miss was a huge one. On the whole, we were much worse once he came on for Jonas.

Dissapointing.

This is just stunning ... the media in this country make me sick.

The restaurateur, of Beaconsfield, Bucks, said: “You can see Barton saying something and it looks like he’s saying ‘big lips’. If this is true I think he should be out of the game for good.”

That is one of the most fucking embarrassing statements I have ever seen in my entire life.

As has already been said they are the ones that are the bloody racists for making the racist assumption in the first place. What an absolutely sickening article.

It's Paul Allen.

Paul Allen?

Has done very well to turn things around for the Portland Trailblazers recently. Very young, exciting up and coming team.

Very rich and also a good guy.

I would be happy.

Hoping it's Mark Cuban.

So the owner is still looking to spend money on players?

I am so confused by the current situation ...

I just hope everyone stays focused and this doesn't unsettle the team all over again in the new year.

Joe is obviously very popular with the players, so if they do decide to change managers again, they had better have someone who everyone would back form the outset in mind.

I'd like to see him learn a thing or two from the Michael Owen of old. Hanging on the last defender and timing his runs perfectly.

 

It's not an easy thing to do or teach though.

I'd like to see Owen learn a thing or two from Martins. Being able to shoot with both feet and actually shooting from outside the box once in a while.

They are both different players. It's something we have to accept.

don't twist it, HTT.. you were wrong again

 

If Martins plays like this every week or just consistently I won't mind being wrong again to be honest and I hope he does. I actually like the lad, one of only a handful of our players I actually like as people and that's because he genuinly wants to do well whenever he plays or thats how it seems anyway, i.e. he cares about his own performances which I always like in a player and regard as a good character trait in a person. Pride, self respect?

So, so true ...

Once again after the goal his performance level went up another notch and he felt and even looked unstoppable at times.

The day it finally clicks and he can just go out there from the start with 100% confidence and self belief ... look out.

Would really suck if a big deal was made out of this.

I am actually very grateful to Agbonlahor for not going down and being an idiot about it.

Kinnear is very familiar with the likes of Fashanu and Ekoku who are quite similar to Shola in a lot of ways and I think this has allowed him to get through to Shola. It's been great to see. Could be a solid backup target man if he is happy with such a role going into the future.

 

I actually think the comparison with Fashanu is a bit misleading. Yes, they're both target men, but Fashanu was just a thug who wouldn't have survived in the Premiership of today. Refs are a lot stricter and Fash the Bash was pretty useless with the ball on the deck.

 

Shola will conjure up one or two situations every game that you don't really expect from a tall, gangly striker. He'll go past someone or produce a really imaginative pass. That's what separates him from Fashanu.

Not so much the skill set but more the body type. I do think Kinnear has got Shola doing a bettr job of competing for aerial balls without fouling the defender everytime and also of just holding the ball up by shielding it with his body. Shola has been doing a much better job of these two things recently than ever before, and these are the things we have always needed him to do a much better job of.

Kinnear is very familiar with the likes of Fashanu and Ekoku who are quite similar to Shola in a lot of ways and I think this has allowed him to get through to Shola. It's been great to see. Could be a solid backup target man if he is happy with such a role going into the future.

That's what I love about him. He doesn't tend to continually make the same mistakes, but continually adjusts to what is infront of him. Has a ton of courage and desire too. Love him.

Roeder was always a pushover, and I think it is pretty much accepted that Roeder's initial success was more down to Shearer's influence.

I think Kinnear is a lot more of a stronger personality, so that comparison is a harsh one imo.

It's so typical isn't it. I could see Kinnear doing alright with the support of the dreaded system, as it has got us some decent players, albeit not enough of them, but I could see Kinnear working within it especially as he gets on with Wise etc. however, Jimenez has already legged it and the situation is just such a mess now.

You have to wonder though ...

One thing that stands out to me is the improvement in Shola and Taylor.

I think Taylor is at least making an effort to be more assertive and agressive under Kinnear. Tonight was his best performance in a while and for the first time I didn't see him backing off players anymore! Now if he would just put those darned hands of his down!

Shola has been a revelation. I just can't believe he's the same player. He is making everyone's job easier by doing all the dirty work upfront  like Heskey has been for England recently.

Oddly enough Joes history with Wimbledon and the type ofplayers he worked with back then, has been very good for Shola, Taylor and even Coloccini, as he has managed to get them playing with more aggression, effort and assertiveness, which is something we desperately needed from our centre backs and target man.

God bless JK to be honest. Took the gig when everyone else was pretty much shitting on us, and I hope he is rewarded greatly for it with future success wherever he ends up.

Don't mess with the Weapon of Mass Destruction!

A volatile mixture of brilliance and frustration, but ultimately I would have him out there 100% of the time. He is not fun to defend and he will score goals. Simple as that.

Absolutely shocking player. Said it all along.

Big, big game against a team who will test us physically as well as mentally.

 

The players I trust to stand up and be counted tonight:

 

Beye

Given

Barton

Jonas

 

Possible heroes:

 

Coloccini

Enrique

Martins

 

anyone else will be a pleasant surprise.

 

I'd put Coloccini in the 'trusted' camp. I think this is his type of game, playing against nippier, ball-playing attackers is what he'll be used to. If he plays Taylor, he'll get the job of trying to block Carew.

 

 

You'd think that's how it would pan out wouldn't you? Except somehow Colo always seems to be the one attacking the headers while Taylor is usually running backwards towards the goal line.

 

Colo definitely takes on a lot more responsibility for our defence. I hardly ever notice taking charge of situations, and I'm not just saying it to disparage the guy, it's honestly how I feel.

 

 

 

The poor sod can't even speak English yet. Give him until he can shout his arse off at Taylor properly before you judge him.

Forgot to insert Taylors name between notice and taking.

Taylor is the one who doesn't take enough responsibility back there basically.

Milner will be cheered all night because he'll do what he always does.

Woefully underhit or overhit every cross.

Have every shot blocked.

Fall over his own feet trying to do a step over.

Go past his man then check back for no reason but to get his cross blocked.

Hit the first man on every corner.

Play his passes too quickly.

Delay his passes for too long.

Hit his passes too long.

Hit his passes too short.

Get caught on the ball.

Get caught napping by the fullback.

etc etc etc.

Milner will likely be one of the reasons we get a result tonight.

Big, big game against a team who will test us physically as well as mentally.

 

The players I trust to stand up and be counted tonight:

 

Beye

Given

Barton

Jonas

 

Possible heroes:

 

Coloccini

Enrique

Martins

 

anyone else will be a pleasant surprise.

 

I'd put Coloccini in the 'trusted' camp. I think this is his type of game, playing against nippier, ball-playing attackers is what he'll be used to. If he plays Taylor, he'll get the job of trying to block Carew.

 

 

You'd think that's how it would pan out wouldn't you? Except somehow Colo always seems to be the one attacking the headers while Taylor is usually running backwards towards the goal line.

Colo definitely takes on a lot more responsibility for our defence. I hardly ever notice TAYLOR!!! taking charge of situations, and I'm not just saying it to disparage the guy, it's honestly how I feel.

We will need a good amount of luck. Carew's power and Agbonlahor's pace do not matchup well with our defence at all. Taylor will definitely struggle with both, and Coloccini, who I like, might struggle a fair bit against Carew.

I have a bad feeling Taylor will have a huge stinker tonight. I hope I'm wrong though. A result tonight would  be massive.

I'd like to see him get as much criticism as every other player and for this absurd love affair people have for him to end. It's like listening to a parent at an under 10's match talking about their kids team, as soon as the topic comes around to their kid the barriers come up and they can do no wrong. Open your f***ing eyes and stop using everything and anything to protect him and be as ready to pick out his faults as you are for every other player. 

El Diablo he will never be critisized in the same way because of the way he approaches the games.

For example the absurd cross he hit the other night, yes it was terrible, but you still had to appreciate the burst of energy and pace he used to get into that position in the first place. Also, after he mishit the ball, he looked devastated.

The thing is, no one can question his effort and desire out on the pitch and his performance clearly matters to him. Also, no one can question the fact that he is, for the most part, very exciting to watch. Therefore even when he makes mistakes it's all a lot more bearable than most others on our team, who tend to look like their going through the motions when they aren't having the best of times out there.

I have never(nor will)changed my mind about Martins ; in my opinion, he is NOT a top class striker, and wherever he plays, will struggle to get more than 10-15 goals a season.

 

Has pace, but very little tactical awareness of how to use it ; not big enough to hold the ball up front as a target man, and distribution is erratic ; has excellent athletic qualities, but not the footballing intelligence about how to use those qualities. Generally, he is not a player who has much awareness of his colleagues'

movements and this does not create opportunities for others to score goals rather than just him.

 

He WILL score some spectacular goals, but not enough tap-ins/opportunist efforts .

 

When Supermac joined NUFC in 1971, he was 21 years old ; many said he only had a good left peg, and a powerful shot ; also that he was unproven in the top division, reputedly the reason why Man U were slow to move for him....

By the time he was Martins' age, he was probably the most feared striker in the First division and had scored 30 goals in his first season, helping Newcastle to avoid relegation.

Yes , he had Hibbitt and Tony Green to give him ammunition, and Tudor(a willing workhorse) to draw defenders off him, but he still improved ALL aspects of his game, from heading to using his right foot.

Much of this also applies to Owen, who was an established Prem striker by the age of 19.

 

Martins has NOT shown anything like that improvement in his time at Newcastle and in my opinion, won't.

In fact, if I was given the choice of a 26 year old David Kelly, or Martins, I would take Kelly - he would offer far more to the team all round.

 

However, I DO accept that he is the best we are likely to get for some time, and until a better player is prepared to join NUFC, they have to make the best use of him, and his comittment to the club seems good.

 

Love the way you write half a page listing all of Martins faults but at the end grudgingly admit we still need him

 

Love the way you ignore the fact that beggars can't be choosers - that is what I was saying, and NUFC ARE beggars in today's Prem ; IF Martins scores 20 goals and saves us from relegation, THEN I may agree he is a top Prem striker...Do you see this happening ? Right now, we even need Ameobi , but only because we have nobody else..get the picture..!??

 

I don't think anyone is arguing he is a top prem striker as he has a ways to go before we can say that.

However, to claim, as some have done, that he is no good is just silly. He is certainly one of our most useful players.