merlin

Yes, I watched this game(and enjoyed it)with a great deal of interest - not just because Arsenal had a chance to get back into the title race and blew it, but mainly to see how we would look against sides we need to beat to stay up...i.e.. Wigan. I was not encouraged by what I saw...although you cannot really judge on one game, Wigan looked a definite class ahead of the current NUFC side ; they were committed, more mobile, had speed in the areas that mattered(i.e. mainly up front where we are slow) and generally had Arsenal on the ropes even though the Gunners got into a 2 goal lead(which NEVER looked safe). Yes, Wigan had a stroke of luck with the equalizer after Almunia made a mess of what should have been a simple take, but they deserved at least a draw for their possession and attacking play - N'Zogbia was his usual mixture of brilliance & frustration, but he caused them endless problems with his pace and directness. He really should have had more than 1 goal, but what a beauty it was, deserving if winning any match.... Unless we get at least 2 players with pace & skill, one in midfield and another up front, we are going to look pedestrian in the top flight against all but about 3 sides. It was Fabianski on goal today, Almunia doesn't have the exclusive on goalkeeping awfulness at Arsenal. Yep - my apologies...so used to Almunia being their horror custodian, i named him and as you say, i should have named Fabianski. No wonder there is some talk of Krul going there....

When I lived in the UK I DID cancel Sky subs because they had taken shares in both Man U(our main rivals at the time)and the Mackems. I think the Murdochs have far too much power in the world because of their media holdings and if I had an alternative , I would cancel here in Oz too, but its the only way to see NUFC now.

Moses reminds me a bit of Martins - much rushing about but little end product. With his one good cross he did lay on a goal for Wigan yesterday though, and that got them back into the match in a real way. He has pace but it needs to be combined with thought.

Certainly agree about the last bit - the club committed suicide after a great start at OT where we deservedly got a point. The ridiculous obsession with Wise & Co, the double-dealing over the Milner affair which caused KK's walk-out and the subsequent fiasco would have caused many clubs to implode. The whole episode has set the club back for years and we face a tough struggle to establish the club back in the PL, let alone challenge for European places..

Yes, I watched this game(and enjoyed it)with a great deal of interest - not just because Arsenal had a chance to get back into the title race and blew it, but mainly to see how we would look against sides we need to beat to stay up...i.e.. Wigan. I was not encouraged by what I saw...although you cannot really judge on one game, Wigan looked a definite class ahead of the current NUFC side ; they were committed, more mobile, had speed in the areas that mattered(i.e. mainly up front where we are slow) and generally had Arsenal on the ropes even though the Gunners got into a 2 goal lead(which NEVER looked safe). Yes, Wigan had a stroke of luck with the equalizer after Almunia made a mess of what should have been a simple take, but they deserved at least a draw for their possession and attacking play - N'Zogbia was his usual mixture of brilliance & frustration, but he caused them endless problems with his pace and directness. He really should have had more than 1 goal, but what a beauty it was, deserving if winning any match.... Unless we get at least 2 players with pace & skill, one in midfield and another up front, we are going to look pedestrian in the top flight against all but about 3 sides.

Hammers at SJP will do - we need early results...

Milner was treated like s*** by the club and its employees at times, I don't blame him for moving and he should have done it years earlier when Souness was a t*** to him. Spot on Mick - he could have been a mainstay of our midfield for 10 years, just as Scholes was for Man U.. Whether some on here like it or not, NUFC has a track record of not getting the best out of players who go on to be a success elsewhere...Tomasson is another young player who failed at SJP yet was a success for AC Milan. IF Ferguson is interested in Milner, it certainly won't be because he thinks he is worse than Lampard etc... I am willing to bet that if he signs for Man U, he will become an England regular.

You also know better than SAF eh ? If you think Man U's midfield has no legs, wait until you see Nolan and Co in the Prem....you have a good user name, and there are plenty of villages in the UK who have a vacancy if you need a job.....

There speaks the voice of a sensible NUFC fan.....NOT. No wonder we are figures of fun in the media world........!

There are strong rumours from the midlands that Milner is a target for Man U, poss in a P/Ex deal for Carrick or Owen or both....if this happens, will those on here that have constantly rubbished him finally admit that their judgment is just SLIGHTLY less accurate than that of SAF....!

Their buyers will be from Mid east or Asia....where the REAL money now is.

You may well be seriously pissed about it, but there is EVERY chance that Liverpool will be bought - AND quickly for a much larger amount than NUFC would fetch. Had this all been happening in 1996 or even 2001, the situation may have been different but since then, Liverpool have re-assumed their place in the upper regions of the Prem and NUFC have only just got back into that league after several years of self-inflicted failure and a season in the CCC. NUFC have not won anything worth mentioning since 1969, whereas Liverpool have won just about every trophy you can mention during that period ; NUFC last won the title in 1927...Liverpool have been a dominant force in English football since the 60s, with only a short period of(for them(relative failure or lack of success. Add the two factors together and you have the reason why any rich investor who wants a football club would take them...we have a nice stadium but we don't even own the land its built on ; they have a nationwide and worldwide large following of fans, whereas most of Newcastle's are now in the NE. This was changing in the 90s, but all that has gone now, and we are seen as just another second or third ranking Prem club. Another point that people on here often forget is that Liverpool are STILL one of the top 16 power-brokers of European Football along with Barca, Real, Man U, Bayern etc. That gives them far more clout than NUFC, or even the likes of Everton and is another reason overseas investors will be interested. I know its painful, but the very fact that survival is the prime target for a club with almost 50,000 potential ST holders(there USED to be 20,000 on the WAITING LIST !), tells you how far behind them we are seen to be.

wonder how much Spurs would want for him.....he`s cost £75 million in transfer fees during his career so far. As for Kuranyi....I don`t think it`s realistic with clubs like Juve sniffing about for him. He`s also been hinting at staying there, especially if Schalke manage to win the title (finally) and play in the Champions League. Schalke apparently don't have the money to keep him. Can only repeat what I've said before, would never want to have him here. Not a player who seems to care too much about football and his attitude is s*** sometimes. For a player who doesn't care about football, his goals AND appearances record are way better than some we have had who professed to 'LOVE' the club - Shola for one, Dyer for another....check Kuranyi's stats out.

The Schalke 04 striker Kuranyi looks to be an interesting possibility because apparently his contract is almost up. His goals record in the Bundesliga is excellent and he is quite a big lad too. Unfortunately, there are other clubs sniffing around including, reputedly, the Mackems so we may not be in a position to compete on wages. A pity, because I reckon players who, like him, have played in German football are more likely to settle in the NE than French, Spanish(yes, I know Jose is an exception)or many S.Americans. Even Hamman liked the area, he just didn't like Gullit or the board.

As has been said, there are other positions in the side that need strengthening if we are to stay up in any comfort at all, so the budget needs to be spent on those. If Harper has a poor season in the Prem(which doesn't cost us our place)then we should look to replace him in the next close season.

Remember watching that on telly and thinking something bad was going to happen. An unforgettable quote from Brian Clough about this ; was being interviewed by a journalist after the book he wrote about Hillsborough didn't sell well in Merseyside because Clough had blamed Liverpool fans for rushing the turnstile/gates. He was asked why he thought this was, and Clough replied;- 'Well, young man, half of 'em can't read, and the other half are too busy pinching hub-caps..!" Classic.

Carrick is NOT a CD - Central defenders' first job is to match the opponents forwards physically and stop them using their greater skills. If they can't do that(legally)they are no use in central defence. If they were more skillful, they would either be midfielders or forwards, and that requires a different approach to the game.

You've summed it up perfectly afar. Sir John wasn't everyone's cup of tea and he upset lots of people in his time - all successful people do this, even the likes of Branson and as for O'Leary at Ryanair.... Nevertheless, he loved the NE and even when he did things others didn't like, he tried to do it for the area if he could. He took on McKeag & Co when nobody else would and gambled by investing in the team and stadium when we were a shambles - within a year of his taking control we had appointed KK full time and were promoted. He was Chairman between 1992 and 1997 and to date, those have been our most successful Prem seasons because we finished 2nd twice and 3rd once - he was also instrumental on our appointing SBR when Shepherd & Co were hesitating. We should be glad he did at least make us respected again and grateful for the good times we experienced during those years, and I wish him well in his fight with this disease - something most of us fear deep down because in many cases it involves much suffering. Good Luck, Sir John.

Ridiculous to even give ONE page to talking about what the Mackems think - I don't care what they think and frankly, the only time I bother about them is when we play them. As I said about Fulham, they are CURRENTLY more successful than us because they are in the Prem but ir doesn't make them a bigger or better club because our record over the last 16 years is much better than theirs. Whether they are a BETTER-RUN club than us will be seen over the next year or so because if we struggle in the Prem and they don't it shows that they have backed their manager in the market. If NUFC give Hughton the right financial support, we have every chance of equalling or bettering their performance. End of story - more concerned with catching the likes of Villa & Everton frankly.

Have you been to Fulham, great little club, fantastic stadium but you are never going to achieve much. Dangle the prospect of managing in front of 52,000 fans and saying he has full control over the football side would tempt him. Any manager with ambition would know that if he had full control of the football side of things at the club and did well that the possibilites are endless. If not him there would be others, Im sure of that! As things stand, Fulham are a bigger club than us. He wouldn't leave for anyone, let alone Newcastle. Wrong - as things stand, Fulham are CURRENTLY a more successful club ; they haven't won as many trophies, haven't got anything LIKE the stadium of fanbase, haven't been in European football as often...this is a worse statement than if someone had tried to claim that NUFC were a bigger club than Liverpool back in 1993 simply because we had a better team spirit at the time. Fulham will NEVER be a bigger club than Newcastle United - just as we will never be a bigger club than Man U. The issue about Hodgson is really nothing to do with the relative size of the clubs - he is not a young man and is unlikely to want to have the task of taking over a club like NUFC, although I very much doubt he will be given the chance. Newcastle = Newly promoted side, big expectations, alot of deadwood still remains in the team. Fulham = Established top half side, playing European football, decent playing side. That's how a manager sees it. They don't go "ooo that's a big ground'" or "Well they've won more trophies than that team in the last 100 years". Whether Hodgson is 18 or 80, he won't touch 'the poisoned chalice' when he's doing so well at Fulham. Why else have our last few managers included Graeme Souness, Glenn Roeder, Sam Allardyce and Joe Kinnear? ...so why did Shankly leave a comfy post to join a run-down Liverpool ? Simply because he could see that the potential was much better than where he was and that is EXACTLY why a decent manager would join NUFC. The reason why we have had all the names you mentioned as manager is because Shepherd had made such a mess of everything and our name was mud after the way he treated SBR ; in the case of Kinnear,you only need to be able to recall events with Ashley/Wise etc 18 months ago to see why we got HIM. We would not attract a top manager right now because there is too much uncertainty surrounding Ashley's ownership and running of the club - if we were taken over by a major concern run by the likes of Makhtoum there are very few managers in the game who would turn the job down. Sorry, but they DO look at things like the stadium, support base and financial standing when deciding to join a club and in the circumstances I have described, we would be looking at bigger names that Hodgson. As things stand, the club has little choice but to persist with Hughton AND give him the proper support in the market ; if the club struggles after that, they will have to look at replacing him because relegation once more would be a disaster.

Taking Nolan out of the team would probably do as much damage in that respect, still has to be done. yeah, cos 15 goals from a midfielder in a season is s****! Which will mean precisely what in the premiership? hear man your just a WUM If Nolan plays regularly next season we will get relegated. Simple as that. What a stupid statement............ You really think he's good enough? He won't score anywhere near 15 goals next year in the PL, so what does he offer? If he plays as a CM we will get overrun and our defense will be under constant pressure. We saw the result of that last year. If we opt for a 4-5-1, at least away, and he plays behind the lone striker then we won't create/score nearly enough. We could (and need to) find a significant upgrade at either position for next season. I appreciate what he did this season and I think his attitude, especially early on, went a long way for the club, but he's simply not good enough anymore. Agree once again, timeEd - he is now CCC standard.

A laudable policy in the main - but we also need proven players at the top level in certain positions. Being too pedantic about 'Yoof' and sell-on value will not keep us in the Prem and in any case, if they are any good we don't WANT to sell-on until they are getting towards the end...

Pompey(Prem games) 35 apps, 16 goals Boro 73 apps 25 goals Everton 63 apps 23 goals Av of just better than 1 in 3 - OK but not spectacular, certainly not up with the Rooneys, Drogbas etc which was my point. He is in, at best, the second tier of Prem strikers and plays for a side from which we need to get points - certainly at SJP.

I hope Boumsong is 'willing' to join Darlo - that is, if they're willing to have him....!

He's head & shoulders above the rest - an easy choice.