KaKa

The most pathetic event of the afternoon had to be Roeder giving in to pressure from the crowd and bringing on Milner because the crowd told him to...only to bring him on for the wrong person and then get booed for it! How embarrassing...

If it doesn't happen, can we get a promise you won't start any more threads? If it does, will you promise likewise? Yeah what he said.

Nailed on! The boy just needed a bit of a break as the games were coming thick and fast for a moment there. I think the whole squad needed one to be fair. Anyway watch him explode this weekend! You heard it here first. Oba is going to go on to be what Drogba has been for Chelsea. Productive in his early seasons but seemingly lacking in technique, but as he gets more comfortbale i.e. not being the new guy, and he gets a regular partner he will become what Drogba has been this season and maybe even better. Watch him go this weekend...

Another reason why we have to allow Roeder to see out his contract. He really does have the clubs best interests at heart and will do the right things for our long term success. Unfortunately, it means short term we have not looked great, but we have to give him time i.e. nexts eason at least. Well done Glenn. I've still got some faith in you.

Well Moutinho, who was 17 years old at the time, was great against us when we went out to Sporting Lisbon and he was also great against Borough, so it looks like he can do the business against premiership opposition.

No surprises why we have struggled to make decent signings then... Scouting network needs rebuildingMar 25 2007 By The Sunday Sun Glenn Roeder last night vowed to rebuild a Newcastle scouting network he claims is all but non-existent . . . In order to identify transfer targets worthy of his quest for success at St James's Park. While Roeder describes his summer player search as his biggest challenge as United boss, his first - and biggest - signing of the summer may perform off the pitch. "We haven't got the recruitment personnel - ie the scouting network - we need, and we're working on that," Roeder revealed. "We've got one full-time scout. Frank Arnesen, at Academy level at Chelsea, has got more than 20 full-time scouts all around the world looking for young talent under 21. Story continues ADVERTISEMENT "The chairman is trying to help me and we've highlighted someone we want to employ. "We are trying to persuade him to leave his current club to come to Newcastle, and he would help me greatly. "We would be employing his address book. He has got contacts, and we haven't."

Agree.

Would be great if we knew we would have new players in by then. However if we are thinking of sending the current squad there it could be very embarrassing...

I think it is almost certain that Roeder was watching Jao Moutinho at the Portugal game. If we had to pick a midfielder to come in and replace Emre he would be a hell of an option. Exciting young attacking midfield talent (not prospect!) who is also as hard as nails despite his smallish stature. Vision and passing is out of this world...

Agree with most of that, but I'm still not at all convinced by the arguement for him to become our DOF. I have to say, like KaKa I really like his talk about the future of Newcastle, of building a team, not just the odd star player, but so far it is all just that, talk. Surely that role of DOF is all about having the right contacts, the experience of top setups, and enough respect to keep the manager happy and the chairman on his toes. Im not entirely sure Roeder fits that bill. At the moment it is just all talk I agree...but he has at least admitted that he didn't succeed in the last window and has said why. He recognizes also that if he fails in this window he will have no excuses and he will be judged on the state of the squad at the start of next season. I just like where he is coming from and this is why I think he just about deserves this summer to get it sorted and if he doesn't then at least we will all know for certain that he has to go. At the moment though I feel it is to early to get rid of him as there is still a good chance he could get it right or at the very least get in the kind of players we need and build the kind of squad we ought to have.

One thing I appreciate about Roeder is the fact that he does recognise certain things about the club that other managers wouldn't admit in the past. i.e. the trophy signing problem where we have bought name players instead of building the squad. I am very happy to see that ahead of the window he is conscious of not repeating this mistake.

Does the name Damien Duff not ring any bells with Roeder? He blames everybody but himself. who exactly is he on about here btw? No one immediately comes to mind. Most of our flops are the opposite - failed prospects not worn out has beens doesn't even micheal owen fit that criteria? I would say he is on about the likes of Bowyer, Babayaro, Stephen Carr, Patrick Kluivert maybe? I'm sure there are a few more too...

Blatantly obvioous Bramble is gone! Fighting for his life??? That doesn't sound good at all!!! Also on sky tonight said the whole squad isn't good enough and has to be revamped.

When we're mired in the bottom half of the table in March 2008, I'll remind you of this. Well sit tight buddy cuz it's gonna be one long, bumpy, uncomfortable ride for you. Never doubt the Roedmaestro! This thread will be bumped and you will feel really silly.

When we have a complete squad next season and we are challenging for fourth spot under Roeder I will remind you all of your lack of faith... The only thing he has to do is get in enough new players of the sufficient quality and we will be fine. If he does this we will be flying but if he doesn't then we will struggle. We just have to let this season be. Look forward to a summer with a manager who wants to bring in young exciting talent that can go on to become big players for us, and not just players who have been around for a bit and who seek to take advantage of our wealth.

His only mistake has not been signing the players we need. He has said this was due to the fact his position wasn't as stable last summer and also the fact that he was not happy with the options available in January and he felt what we had was good enough to see us through to this summer where he would be in a better position to address the squad. I know it has become quite trendy to say we only play long ball footie with him but I disagree. We have played some decent football under him at times. I believe with better players in we will improve further. His signing of Obafemi Martins is evidence to suggest that he has an eye for talent and will provide us with players that increase in value. He rescued us from relegation when he came in and so he deserves a chance to see out his contract and have at least one summer, which he feels he is prepared for, to try and build our squad. If he isn't succesful in doing that this summer, and as long as we are not heading for relegation, then at the end of the season his contract will be up and we can get someone else. This is the sensible way in which we should operate that will prevent the club from getting even more negative publicity. Thank you.

we will be much better next season if Roeder is given some backing in the transfer window. I reckon he would have learnt a lot this season. He's still fairly inexperienced but seems like he could grow into the job. I'm all for letting him complete his contract at least.

Precisely...

It's amazing how everyone gets so angry when we are linked to a tall striker and assumes that we will therefore be playing long ball! The long ball game in my opinion has nothing to do witht he striker but more to do with the composure and quality of your centre backs who are most responsible for lumping the ball forward. We already have two smaller quicker strikers and so it makes sense for us to go for someone who is a bit bigger and more of a presence. There is also nothing wrong with occassionally playing the ball long if the short pass isn't available. Good football is all about variation, and making the right choice in the right circumstances. Roeder has said a million times himself that he wants to play the ball along the ground so why not just trust him. Obviously we are not doing it at the moment because the players we currently have (particularly the defenders, yes titus I'm talking to you) are not being patient enough or composed enough. I know sometimes the midfielders might not show to collect the ball, but it is up to the defenders to call for them and not just lump the ball forward.

What a moron that man is...

That is kinda weird not to mention random. Do you think they signed him right after the game just to prove a point? Van Gaal is a bit twisted afterall...

Excellent point... Couldn't agrre more. That run towards the end of last season definitely contributed to our lacklustre efforts in the summer transfer window. We were happy to sit on the squad and imagined super Roeder would have us flying despite the fact we had such a poor squad.

Everyones fed up... This is one of the biggest summers in this clubs history. Might be a good thing this is all happening now. The club really has to take this summer seriously. Not only do we need new plyers and maybe even a new manager, but we need them all in before we start our ore-season so everyone can gel together and be prepared to move forward together. A part of me is hoping we don't qualify for the Intertoto cup as it might prove to be an unnecessary distraction this time around...

Bramble is done here no doubt. But like the above poster says there is a very good chance he will end up emerging at another club under a different manager. Not because of anything we haven't done for him while he has been here, but more because he has just been here too long and has become a joke over here and he needs a new start. Going to a new club will take the weight of his shoulders and I think he will be a lot better, especially if he is at a smaller club where expectations are not as great. I think he is one who gets intimidated by playing infront of 55,000 passionate fans whose groans can be heard loud and clear. Would be more comfortable at the likes of Wigan, Manchester City, Reading etc.

Dyer...