KaKa

I've seen a good few Rangers games this season and he's been impressive, albeit in the SPL. But in the CL and UEFA Cup he's more than held his own. He is pretty good technically, rarely misjudges headers and lets not forget, he's been covering a 37 year old David Weir all season too so he's doing quite a bit! Could play sweeper but iyam, not what we need at Newcastle! Play him at centre back.

What I meant was does he have the ability to distribute the ball to midfileders fficiently from the back and is he composed and neat and tidyin posession of the ball.

Wasn't advocating that we play him as a sweeper per se!

I just think we need to add a centre back with a bit of quality this summer.

So you've seen a bit of him then?

Is he good technically and can he also play a sweeper type role. I think we could really do with a defender of this type, which we currently lack.

I actually have been very surprised at how dependable he has been for Man U at right back this season, as it isn't at all his natural position.

I think a whole season of playing at right back will make him an even more composed and confident centre back. I think he is well worth it next season on a free. I believe he would be excellent value for mney, especially paired with a more physical and dominant partner like Dunne or Faye.

I really think we ought to go for Brown. He would also have added value as an emergency right back in emergency situations.

Again, for those saying "it's only 2 games" etc., this isn't about the performances or points haul recently, although very welcome they have been, nor is it about this team which is s**** in my opinion, no it's more about Kevin Keegan and the club under him and Ashley (& Mort) that I have faith in, which means I have faith in the club per se as they are the club along with us lot. I just don't see a piss poor future with KK here, he's too positive, too influential, too good. Especially if Ashley backs him with good cold hard cash and lots of it. I'm also full of positivity from the fact that fans will get right behind KK and seem to trust him (too f****** rights as well). Despite a good portion being happy with Big Sam's appointment, fans never got behind him. When he was appointed it was a case of "he's OK, now lets see what he can do", with KK it's different, we know what he can do, he doesn't have to convince us and we love him so we will simply get right behind him and together that can be a force as it once was.

 

I guess it all boils down to my confidence in KK and how much I trust him that makes me feel this way and it's f****** great people, just being able to not worry about all the little details, to be able to sit back and relax and soak it all in while the man running things works his magic which I know he'll do, it was always a case of when and not if or even how. It's took a few games to work a bit of it of course but never in a million years would I have put that team with those players down as 4-1 winners away to Spurs in the manner in which we did which makes a mockery of our season, those players' performances for the majority of it and our league position in the table.

 

Again he's too good a Toon manager to not do well here, I don't know but I really do think we are made for each other, that it is KK or no-one (until another KK comes along) and before people write about talking sentimental bollocks or living in the past, Liverpool are still searching for another Shankley or Paisley, Spurs another Nicholson, Everton another Kendal, and Man Utd will be searching for another Fergie one day, Arsenal another Wenger too. NUFC needs a KK and KK needs a NUFC to be successful. Well he's back and I will nail my colors to the mast here and now and say he will do very well here once again.

 

See Tron's post about doing well...

 

For me we'll take off again and get back to the levels we were at under Sir Bobby with only KK's imagination and the 100% backing and support of everyone at the club for KK an obstacle to just how much we can really achieve.

 

Won't happen over night of course, but it will.

 

If it doesn't it won't be for a want of trying because KK will want to take us back to where he did first time around and will want to eclipse it even make no mistakes about that and I don't know about you but that's a very exciting prospect. KK is no ordinary bloke, read his autobiography, he's an overachiever and does things in a remarkable way, as we all should know.

 

Anyway I am going to believe, in KK and this club and if that turns out to be folly, more fool me.

I don't know why it's difficult for people to see this.

I personally have been blown away by Keegans approach and demeanour towards not just the players, but the fans and especially the press, who have been harsh leading up to recent better results. Still he remained calm and was never flustered.

Keegan has been so sure of himself and his players to the point I was beginning to wonder if he had taken a turn for the worse upstairs, but his calm confident manner jsut had me feeling that he was well in control.

I'm happy things have started to take a turn for the better and it sure looks like the only way is up right now.

An accomplice of mine attended the proceedings.

 

Van Der Vaart nailed on allegedly ...

 

 

yeah right.

 

any serious one's?

Nah sorry. Haven't heard anything.

I was just being obnoxious 

Home game.

Everyone fit and happy.

All our strikers playing and scoring.

We are no longer scared of conceding goals to the opposition and so we are playing more freely as a team.

I just can't see us playing badly or not performing well this weekend.

I'm just hoping everyone remains fit, and if so we will do very well.

How exactly does a team game plan to contain us right now? Our three strikers are all so different and dangerous in their own way. It must be a headache to contain at the moment.

I'm actually really looking forward to seeing this setup against the likes of Portsmouth and Chelsea later in the season. Can't believe I'm actually looking forward to those games.

An accomplice of mine attended the proceedings.

Van Der Vaart nailed on allegedly ...

i'd rather we don't play Chimbonda

We haven't even bought him yet.

Great minds

 

EDIT - oh it's Kaka.

 

Charming 

 

 

 

 

Thanks KaKa, I'd missed that.

Aaaaaaaaaaah sharrrrrrap why don't you.

Yeah, Dunne would be great for his leadership and presence. His commitment, effort and desire would be very valuable for us at the back. The guy is a no holds barred no nonsense defender and Taylor could certainly learn a thing or two from him.

 

As mentioned above Dunne isn't necessarily a top quality player or anything but he does have some attributes that would do us a lot of good. I like him as a player.

 

Not sure both Dunne and Faye would work though, he would need someone a bit more mobile alongside him. Wes Brown perhaps?

 

Beye is pretty mobile. Chimbonda, Beye, Dunne, and Enrique. Not bad.

Now that would really be interesting, but I'm just not sure if our coaches are aware of Beyes abilities as a centre back.

Even playing Chimbonda, Beye, Faye and Enrique would be very good too.

Great minds

 

EDIT - oh it's Kaka.

Charming 

Yeah, Dunne would be great for his leadership and presence. His commitment, effort and desire would be very valuable for us at the back. The guy is a no holds barred no nonsense defender and Taylor could certainly learn a thing or two from him.

As mentioned above Dunne isn't necessarily a top quality player or anything but he does have some attributes that would do us a lot of good. I like him as a player.

Not sure both Dunne and Faye would work though, he would need someone a bit more mobile alongside him. Wes Brown perhaps?

Obagoal!

Roma 2 Man U O

Schalke 0 Barcelona 2

If you want free money go and make these bets now. I'm not even charging for it. I'm feeling generous this week, you can thank King Kev for that.

It really is criminal though. Got so much of the ability we could really use in our team. ould have saved us a hell of a lot of money this summer.

You just have to wonder if he is excited about what he has seen going on around him lately and whether he will make more of an effort to get back into the team and sort out his fitness.

The big thing in all this is that we have a very enthusiastic new owner who smeems like a top guy and who was actually responsible for bringing him back and who, it seems, will be backing him fully.

We could be frighteningly good under these conditions.

So coach ... a word for my boy Martins? Coming along just fine under king kev eh? 

With all the recent improvements and optimsm, I couldn't help but begin to wonder how Emre would fit into all of this. If only this wretched fellow could just maintain some semblance of fitness!

I think he would really work a treat in our current formation. I think with the three quality forwards we have upfront at the moment and with the style of play and the confidence Keegan would instill in him, Emre would really thrive.

I love what Geremi has been doing lately, but imagine a fit and firing Emre in the midfield three with Butt and Barton? Emre could play on the left of the three and Barton on the right. I think it could be superb.

He's probably blown his chance though as i can't see him getting into the team now and the season is almost up. It really is a shame he hasn't been able to stay fit since Keegan has been here. He's still young enough and talented enough to have become a good player for us.

Man United are out this round.

Sidwell is the kind of player I would have said no to after his stint at Chelsea, but with what Keegan has done with our lot, anything is possible.

I think Sidwell is young enough to overcome this setback and return to the form he showed at Reading.

Keegan could help mould him into a replacement for Nicky Butt. He has got a good engine and at Reading showed a very good range of passing.

Well done to him. One of the huge bonus' of Keegan's appointment was th fact that he was already very familiar with Joey. I think this had been a huge help for the guy.

Keegan had some comments a few games back saying how he had asked Joey to keep it simple and not try to do too much, and since then he has been playing much better and not losing the ball as much. Think he was just trying too hard earlier in the season and moreso after the mess he got himself in.

I wish him all the best.

Another important point to all this is that Keegan keeps on saying we only need a couple of top players to add to this small squad over the summer.

I presume therefore that the majority of the players we currently have will still be here next season, certainly the strikers who have done so well for him.

Therefore, if next season we still have all these strikers here it is probably likely that we will be setup pretty much the same way.

A lot of people are asking if it will work against better teams, but I wonder how much better it would be with a younger more athletic version of Viduka and younger better players in for Geremi and Butt.

Certainly, some important decisions need to be made this summer.

We won't play 433 long term.

What do you think Keegan will opt for then?

Martins and Owen are performing so well in this setup. Owen is now our captian and his attitude and his demeanour show a newfound level of committment from him that is exciting. He is going nowhere.

Ironically Owen is actually more of a goal threat in this setup as he has had so many more chances per game in his new position while being more of a complete player.

Martins is also getting better every game under Keegan and I don't think it will be possible to let him go as he is proving to be a very valuable commodity indeed.

I think we will still see a lot of this 4-3-3 again next season but we will also play a standard 4-4-2 I expect.

Great to hear that Keegan is encouraging Oba to run at people more. I've watched him for years for Nigeria and he does so much more running at pople for the national team.

It's almost as though he's been trying a bit too hard to fit in at Newcastle and not been himself completely on the pitch.

There's more to come from that fella I tell thee!

Keegan is turning out to be a God send for our players. His impact on so many of these guys has been quite astounding.

Just a quick word about Martins ... I always thought he would be at his best in the role we currently use him in.

With both Viduka and Owen on the pitch with him now, he is no longer relied upon as much to be our key finisher and so a lot of that burden has been lifted. He has been give a lot of freedom as far as his movement is concerned and can therefore just be his random and unpredictable self, and this gets the most out of him I believe.

I am so happy Keegan stuck with the formation against Spurs. I'm sure the media were hoping we would get beat, so they could critisize Keegan's decision and claim he was tactically naive to play with three strikers against Spurs at home.

However, it was the perfect decision and there is absolutely no reason to change anything, even if we are playing Man U. Our teams greatest strength is in our strikers right now, so put them out there. We sat back at the start of the season and tried to be tacticlly solid and tight and we were getting beat by the likes of Derby anyway!

Brilliant stuff by Keegan and the boys. I can't stop smiling.

I think I know why I'm such a fan of Martins too. It's because he dislikes Tottenham as much as I do. How many goals against them is it now?