merlin

If Ashley REALLY wants to get a 'WOW' signing, what would be better than an out-of-the-blue swoop for Diego, the Brazilian who plays for Werder Bremen in Germany..!!?? He is contracted until 2010 after signing in 2006 and his record there has been superb ; the Bundesliga is not too far removed from the Prem, and he has obviously adapted to the N.European climate, so I reckon he would be a big success at NUFC, esp with 2 other S.Americans in the side. The fee would be a big one, but not out of the club's reach - he cost 6m Euros when he joined Bremen in 2006, so I reckon the 12m supposedly being bandied about for Malouda would possibly do it - maybe 20 at a push, but an excellent investment at 23 years of age.. Just scored in Brazil's final Olympic game against Belgium - looks a fine player, and would fill the 'Beardsley' type role for us. Any comments?

I think you're a racist tbh I hope this remark was made as a wind-up ; if not, it shows a failure to make your view stick on the basic football facts, hence resorting to the last-chance saloon of all Ultra-Liberal/Left wing people by attempting to smear the opposing view as 'Racist' - this is also an attempt to shut down debate on sensitive issues which SHOULD be aired.. For your info, although I wasn't the target of this remark, I can inform you that my all-time football hero was Pele, so colour doesn't come into it - its ABILITY that counts, and regardless of his colour, Martins doesn't have as much of it as Owen - LIVE WITH IT, or argue the point with FACTS not accusations.

What makes your not being there any different to everyone else. Havent you read the papers man. People are skint. I agree - saying 'good riddance' about other supporters, esp when you don't know their personal circumstances, is a crass and immature reaction ; the Economic problems facing the UK are more serious than most people realise, mainly because the Politicians and media are keeping it from them ; the Olympics has been a godsend for both Govt and media because it allows them to take the focus off the serious problems to come, and they WILL be serious. Jobs are starting to go, and this will get much much worse before things improve ; there is every likelihood that the country is ALREADY in recession, but no-one wants to admit it ; add that to the fact that Debt now exceeds the country's TOTAL GDP and Lenders are clamping hard on repayments and imposing high interest rates, and its no surprise that some fans have had to reign in spending on things like Season tickets. I DO think people will either try to attend on a game-by-game basis if results/signings/performances come up to expectations(or exceed them), but no-one should underestimate how tough life is going to get... Its batten-down-hatches time...

Once again, Owen rammed the words of closet chip-on-shoulder merchants who compare him unfavourably with Martins right back down their throats ; once again, he proved that given 2 chances, he will almost certainly put 1 away, even when not match-fit or up with the pace of the game... For all Martins' qualities(speed off the mark, heart etc) he will NEVER be anywhere near as good a finisher as Michael Owen, and today, some of Martins' passing and retention of the ball was very poor. As for those who comment that Owen would not be at NUFC if he was the best striker in Europe, I don't recall anyone saying he WAS the best in Europe, but on a chance conversion/games played ratio, he can't be far off that - in any case, if Martins was as good as some fans here think, HE wouldn't be a NUFC player because he would still be at Inter Milan ; the Italians very rarely let a genuinely top player leave their best clubs unless they think he is past it. Owen proved today what many of us(esp older fans who have seen absolute dross over the years, but also have seen some top players)knew already - if he leaves we will have a terrible job trying to get a player who guarantees as many goals when fit, and that this type of player makes the difference between success & failure, or, in NUFC's case last season, between staying in the Prem and losing MILLIONS by being relegated... The club should not only be trying everything to keep him, but ALREADY be looking for a replacement because that will be a long and difficult task ; Owen has proved himself to be as critical to NUFC's short-term future as Shearer did when he was here.

If they both play the same number of games, there is NO way that Keane will out-score Michael Owen. Keane is a good striker, one I wanted NUFC to buy when he was up for sale at Inter Milan, but it never happened and of the two, Owen is far more important to us than Keane is to Liverpool. Owen's only question mark is his fitness ; his ability is beyond doubt and talk of loyalty in this day & age is naive to say the least...we would NEVER have been in the ball-park to sign Alan Shearer if he was 25 and up for grabs today for all that he is a Geordie ; Shearer signed for NUFC not only out of club loyalty, but because we were then realistic Title challengers. Players want to do the best for themselves, and just because Owen plays for England seems to invoke some kind of 'Chip on the shoulder' response from some fans at Newcastle who are still fighting class wars from the past and see England as 'Cockneys'.. Whether people like it or not, we are NOT going to be able to sign a top player with Owen's striking ability if he goes ; the best we can do is try to get a young player who shows promise before other clubs get him, OR win a few things which would enable us to compete for top players...to do the latter means we need players like Owen who can help us win matches..!

I thought Enrique did well in his first Prem season ; OK, he is not eye-catching when going forward, but he does support the attack, is a good passer of the ball and can DEFEND, which is his prime job... At the age of 22, he will become a good LB if given time, but dropping him for a new signing would not help too much.. Either KK knows something about him we don't, or the lad is just not fit, because some of his displays last season were very good. Perhaps KK wants him to speak English properly before he picks him on a regular basis - poor communication is a problem in a defence. I will be genuinely surprised if we sell him quickly, as he does have ability.

It seems to me that KK has added an extra dimension to his managerial capabilities since he returned to the game - that of pragmatism.. The side DID play attacking football at OT, but it was based on hard work from back to front ; the display was more like a Liverpool away performance under Shankly - everything kept tight, strong at the back, but taking the game to Man U whenever possible. Most of you will not have seen how Liverpool used to play in that era - they absolutely steamrollered teams at Anfield, but had a far more controlled approach away from home... I thought that Jonas was far more like Peter Thompson or Ian Callaghan(wingers in that side)than Ginola EVER was, because he tracked back & helped the defence ; he is better at that than Zog, and he has played in the Prem for years. Whether we look like Liverpool used to at Anfield when KK was there, will only be shown on Saturday..!! Here's hoping..

Too soon to tell.

We DO need more physical players in the side, and height is important for Central defenders, but provided we KEEP THE BALL any where near as well as last Sunday, we should cause them trouble at the other end of the field...timing the jump when heading clearances away etc, is more important than just height(look at Ameobi..!!), but a forward with good upper body strength as well as height, is a handful for defenders..Wyn Davies was never the best footballing CF, but terrified international defenders with his leaping ability. Although there will be very few fans left alive who saw Hughie Gallacher,he was a real handful for centre-halves in the air, even though he was only 5'5", but there aren't many like that ; in general, a good big 'un beats a good little 'un... Nevertheless, I thought Coloccini and Taylor handled high balls well last Sunday, although Bolton will present a different kind of threat. I WOULD be worried if Cacapa was playing....

That is true originally, but I believe he has taken Nationality of the Planet Zog... The suspicious, sour look he often had on his face sums up his personality, and his comments after leaving have confirmed that - contrast that with Dalglish saying that NUFC was a great job when we were looking to replace Allardyce....

Yes, expect this to happen - we desperately need an early goal, and if that happens, I reckon its going to be a 3-1 win...if we fail to score by 10 mins into the second half, we will be up against it ; Megson had them organised last time, but Guttierez could be the key - attacking them at pace down the flanks could undo their discipline but it won't be easy. I hope Owen is match-fit, because his opportunism could be vital. We are back to square one if we lose this game, as we have Arsenal away after it...

Ameobi is basically an average, Championship striker - no better than that. He was given a ridiculous amount of chances by every manager since SBR, and has rarely, if ever, looked Prem material....Slow, ponderous and over-rated by both his managers and himself. Can only remember 2 games where he looked a decent prospect - Barca away, and S/Land at SJP... Has looked poor for most of the rest and 2.5m is about right these days. Hopefully, a decent replacement is lined up - a player like Ashton would be my choice, fairly physical and able to play Viduka's role when he is injured(and for the future). Saviola is a good player, but too much like Owen or Martins - not as efficient a striker as Owen either. Nevertheless, many times the player that Ameobi was.....

The best performance I have seen from a Newcastle side at OT for years ; the whole display can be summed up in 2 words - TEAM PERFORMANCE, which has been sadly lacking from Newcastle sides over the past 4 years. There was no fear in the side, and everyone worked for each other, which is vital if you want to take anything from Man Ure - they are a hard-working side as well as a skilful one, so you HAVE to compete...too many Newcastle teams have gone there expecting to lose over the years, and this was totally different. After a slightly shaky start, the passing improved to a degree where the side were even making Man U chase for the ball on their own pitch, and the running OFF the ball was FAR better than anything we saw last season, except towards the end ; long, aimless punts were thankfully very few, unlike when Allardyce was in charge. The new guys all did well - Gutierrez was a revelation, and showed great capacity to track back as well as attack,,which he did with purpose and skill ; Coloccini looked a class defender, comfortable on the ball and read the game very well - should be a good acquistion when he has more time to train with the rest of the side, and Guthrie worked his socks off... Milner looks far happier in a more central role, and his ability to turn and hold the ball was vital, but everyone ran & worked for each other. All in all, a great and deserved result - we are still thin on the ground and WILL start to struggle if we get many injuries, but if the squad can be strengthened before 31st, we look as if we could have a surprisingly-good season.. Early days, but well-worth watching and the best comment on the side's performance was the way the Prawn Sandwich Brigade(as Keane calls his ex-fans!)started the game by singing the inevitable 'Cheer Up KK' song, and were totally silent by midway through the second half....!!! MAGIC STUFF !!

The proof of the relationship between KK and Ashley will be what happens during the season..... If it goes pear-shaped on the pitch, it will go pear-shaped off it...

Agree with most of this, except that I don't think we'll win the FA Cup - LC is best chance of a trophy and as the squad stands right now, very little chance of even that ; a few injuries and we are jiggered. If Owen is going to leave, we will have a MASSIVE job trying to replace his goals - that also applies if he is injured for any length of time....

We should NEVER have signed this player - he has been a liability, and a waste of money as well as bringing MORE unwelcome Press attention to NUFC. Another 5m down the drain, along with Marcelino and Maric.

The person who made this claim is talking total tosh - Van Basten was a far better striker than Berbatov and would have been even more of a legend had he not had to retire at a very early age...Berbatov has excellent close control, but he doesn't have the cold clinical finishing skills that Van Basten had...remember him turning England's defence inside out for the third Dutch goal in Euro 88 ? OR that fantastic volley in the Final against Russia?? Berbatov is too moody ever to be compared with Van Basten - a real master.

Disagree, while not a massive loss, we can ill afford to be letting experienced centre halves go without a replacement. We have no idea how Colo will fit into a new league (from posts on that Depo forum, he took a while there), Capaca is old, fragile and very shaky against physical teams and Taylor is both inconsistent and prone to the odd injury. This is on the nail - we need a replacement, Cacapa was poor last season, and is a year older now(AND slower...)

We would almost certainly have been relegated had he not taken over in 1999 - he did a great job in steadying a rocking ship and getting us into the CL ; should certainly have been made a Director in 2003, and asked to choose his successor. Has had a great life, wish him a peaceful end with dignity.

Yes, in his striker's role, AND as our most valuable asset, there is no doubt that Owen is currently the club's best player - Martins is nowhere near as important to us..we would have gone down if Owen hadn't been in the side last season and Martins would NOT have kept us up on his own.

I have no time for the FA, but in this case, they are correct - had they brought a case against Barton BEFORE his trials, they could have been labelled as 'influencing' any Legal decision ; this way, they are taking action AFTER the Legal proceedings have taken place. Sorry, but Barton has asked for all he has received, and I DON'T think he has been badly-treated by the Courts - if anything, he has got off lightly...

Yes, I can also help you there - we WERE terrific against a side who had humbled us at Wembley only 6 months earlier ; Tommy Craig's left-foot passing absolutely opened them like a sardine can, and we had them thrashed long before the game had finished... I would willingly have swapped the two games around, as the World would then have been able to see just what we WERE capable of on our day, but of course, Craig wasn't with us when we played them at Wembley in the FA Cup Final, and strangely enough, I think Terry Mac had left to join them by the November game. Must also say that the game against Leicester when we had been presented with the 1st Div trophy on May 9, 1993 was unbelieveable - a wonderful fairytale way to finish a great season and a fitting farewell to David Kelly, who kept the Match-Ball after his hat-trick in the first half...fabulous stuff.

We were mugged, raped, cut up into little pieces, half eaten, burnt to ashes and then pissed on with that injury. If that injury had not happened, I think the minimum we would have finished in the Premiership in between 1997 and 2004 would have been 4th. We were robbed of one of the best strikers in the world after one season, someone who we clearly meant to build the team around. The resulting player was still a consistently good forward, but that extra bit of pace and mobility that meant he frequently got ahead of whoever was marking him had gone. Its also annoying to think what might have been without that injury with respect to John Dahl Tomasson too. That injury effectively ended Tomasson's career with us, as he was neither ready nor suited to playing as our main striker that season. I think alot of our fans dont appreciate just how good a player he went on to be, granted he never set the world alight but he turned out to be a good playmaker, a very intelligent forward all round, and a real goal threat from deep at the top levels. Would have been an excellent foil for a Shearer in his prime, and although that combination might not have been as spectacular or gifted as for example Bergkamp/Henry, it would probably have been more effective in the Premiership imo. Both players would have been like slippery soap off the ball and lethal once on it. But thats why its a squad game now. None of the top teams today are built around one player solely to the extent that if that player is out injured or suffers a permanent dip in form/class/etc then they wont turn into crap overnight. We should never have let the situation get to that, but for whatever reason, we did, and the fall has been painful to say the least. This is a great post, and absolutely on the mark - Shearer was never as good as he had been after being injured at Everton, and as you say, the resulting loss of a CF ruined Tomasson's career with us ; if people think back to his performances alongside Shearer in the pre-season games, he looked a very good player, and went on to prove it both with AC Milan & Denmark over 10 years.. Shearer's injury was the REAL beginning of NUFC's decline as a major force in the Prem - I am sure we would have gone on to be successful had this not happened ; I do not lay the blame totally at Dalglish' feet for the club's performances after he took over - we finished 2nd after being 7th when he took over, then beat Barcelona in the CL ; he also signed some good players, Nobby, Given, Tomasson and Hamman just to name 4 ; he fell out with Fletcher, and that was the end for him but had Shearer NOT sustained that injury, I reckon KD would have been manager for at least 5 years AND we would have won something. Some will not agree, but that is my view.

I think he's given an honest opinion as an outsider. Yes, I agree with that, Mick - Les has every right to give his views from what he knows, but if anything, I suspect even he has been rather circumspect about what is REALLY happening at NUFC ; I suspect that he could probably tell us more about the whole managerial set-up, such as how successful the tripartite of Wise, Veterre & Jiminez is proving, and whether KK is totally happy with it, but for various reasons, Sir Les is not going to do that - not the least of which is that he has genuine affection for the club & fans and doesn't want to put a completely negative spin on it all.... Time will tell whether he has been misinformed or not.......

Such as...?? And for how much??