merlin

I take it all back, he's impressed me more than anyone of late. I was very wrong to call him average, he has the potential to be very good indeed. It takes a big man to admit when he has been wrong - well done ; I agree with what you say.

In many ways a typical derby game - hurried passing and hustle, but Owen's terrific movement and finish for the first goal put us in the driving seat and them on the back foot for most of the first half when we played the better football. Two incidents were pivotal in the result - Owen's penalty was not a good one(too close to the keeper), but fortunately it had enough power to squirm into the net, which gave them a mountain to climb just before half-time. Then, when they had a spell on top in the second half(largely the result of NUFC giving away possession too easily - Barton and Geremi the biggest culprits), Harper made an excellent save to deny Jones' header bringing them back into it. We could have won more easily after that, and after comments made about both Owen and Harper by some on here earlier in the season, those who made them should be feeling rather foolish... Both players have been instrumental in our recovery and KK knows that AND says so, even if their detractors on here won't admit they were wrong.. I am still not certain that Owen will stay, and if not, many fans will have engineered his exit by their hostility to him when he was injured and struggling for form... Safety is now assured and the close season will be interesting - to say the least...!

I don't agree Morts comments are sensible. I think they smack of total naivety, If the club needs players for the present time, they need them, which we do, and the better the quality, so much the better. This is where I came in and all I said in fact. Disagree - he is quite correct not to want signings just to appease supporters ; we used to do that even in Joe Harvey's time.. The signings have to be those that make us a BETTER SIDE - nothing more, nothing less ; if they turn out to be headline-making signings. all well and good, but Robert Lee was hardly that at the time he signed for us, yet became one of our most invaluable signings. If you put this point to KK, I'm willing to bet he will agree, and that is the most important thing...I think we can all be fairly sure that the Manager will be the one to finally decide who he wants..

The trouble with too many Newcastle supporters is that they live in the past - those who were around when we won the Cup 3 times in the 50's always hark back to that ; those like me who were young when we won the Fairs Cup in 69 remember that(as well as the KK first era as manager), and many younger fans think SBRs time was great - the truth is that we have to STOP living in the past. Shepherd's era has gone and gone for ever - if you think he was a good Chairman, that is your perogative, just as it is the right of those who disagree to post their view, but NONE of this stuff is going to change the club. Only the current Board, Manager and backroom staff can do that, so I find these arguments pointless - every few weeks this same topic re-emerges and goes on..and ON...amd ON..... Neither side is going to agree with the other, so its completely pointless ; we have an unexpected chance(which no-one on this board envisaged a year ago)now to regain our self-respect in the Prem and to progress as a club, hopefully to where we all want to be - lets get behind the current set-up and FORGET ABOUT THE PAST ; its gone, won't come back and the indisputable proof of its actions is the fact that we almost got relegated. We didn't even win anything in the 'good' times... This thread started off talking about Mort's comments re signings, i.e., the club WON'T just make them to appease fans. In my view, that is an eminently sensible policy - would Man U, Arsenal or Liverpool do that? I don't think so...half of Wenger's signings were probably unknown to the majority of Arsenal fans, and I wouldn't care if the same thing happened at NUFC - PROVIDED that the result was a successful side... Its nice to speculate on who should be signed - all fans do it - but give the management and board a chance ; look to the future - Shepherd, SJH, Souness, SBR etc etc have all GONE and won't be coming back. Lets hope that one day , we can look back on the next few years as 'Good' times, and with justification this time, not just making numbers up in the CL or beating Man U 5-0 and then spending the next 11 years seeing them treat us mainly as cannon fodder..!!

There is NO loyalty in Football - ask KK how Shankly got rid of long-serving players at Liverpool when he thought they were finished - and quite right too. I would be looking for a replacement for Given now, he is not the keeper he was and Harper deserves to be No 1 ; should never have been dropped by Allardyce.

A good result against a team who have not lost at home to the 'big 4', and on possession and chances ww should have won - 53% of possession away to a top 6 side is a good performance. The team are now playing for each other, and there is far more movement off the ball than there was under Allardyce, which is creating space for constructive passing at speed - this has improved 100%. The aim should now be to pass the 43 points which was the lowest PL total the club has achieved and to make the club as attractive as possible to the signings which are still needed in summer. Very happy with the progress being made - it looks promising for next season - both full backs once again impressed me as away matches are more testing for defenders.

Yes, this was also a classic - anyone remember Supermac's goal against Leicester in the first home game of 75-76? A great move involving Bruce, Nattrass and Mickey Burns jumping over the ball as Macdonald hit it, just inside the Leicester half after we had broken out from their corner kick.. He hit it, on the run, with his famous left foot and it screamed past their keeper into the top corner - he was still diving when it was in the back of the net.. Unfortunately, no TV coverage that day - it would have been one of the goals of all time and certainly goal of the season. I've never seen a shot hit so hard, even Shearer's goal against Everton wasn't as fast.

Yes - absolutely sublime skill and done in an instant - also agree about Pele's dummy against Uruguay, and there was also his shot from inside his own half, also in the 70 WC, against the Czechs when he spotted the keeper off his line...

This is true - a much better player than Ronaldo will ever be ; I would snap their hands off for 100m pounds..his main strength is in his dribbling/stepovers etc. A good defender can neutralize him far more easily than they could Pele because Pele had more talent in his locker..the only way they stopped Pele was by illegal means(Portugal in the 66 WC), and there is no way those cynical fouls would be allowed bt today's referees. Think how Enrique made Ronaldo switch wings against us at OT - and Enrique is still finding his feet in the Prem. There are some on here advocating that we sell Owen, yet would keep Ronaldo - incredible ! Man U would far more easily replace Ronaldo(with 1 or 2 class players)than would NUFC replace Owen - that is the size of the gap now facing KK and Co if we want to ever compete in the Top 4 again.

The difference is that the 'Big 4' don't NEED him - they can all sign top strikers from elsewhere - NUFC CAN'T. Its time for people to get a reality check about the club's position and standing in the game - we have improved but we are still a bottom-half club and that is how top young players will see us - esp ones from abroad.

Exactly - NUFC will be WAY down the list of potential clubs for any top young striker ; in our current state, we would have even struggled to get into the race for Shearer had he been in his prime at Blackburn now, never mind compete with Man U for him.. Strikers are the most sought-after players in World football - if we are to replace the likes of Owen, it will have to be either from within(which is a long process), or snap up a youngster from another club(either abroad or from the lower leagues)who shows potential. The only other way is to sign several players who can contribute a reasonable number of goals each - such as replacing Viduka with Ashton etc., but to replace Owen's scoring ability with a top-rated striker is not an available option for the club at this time. IF he can be kept fit, I would re-sign him like a shot, and only Specialist medical experts can tell you that.. Then again, knowing what many fans think of him, he may not WANT to stay - its all speculation.

A VERY good point - applies to N'Zogbia as well..

or they provide what they think society wants hence why the tabloids outsell the broadsheets and why the broadsheets have been dumbing down for years. want to know why we have a s*** press/media ?.........take a look at the society it is catering for. Totally agree, but this is because the Politically inspired dumbing-down of the Education system has created this society....

The media as an entity are absolutely crap - they just don't do their jobs and write anything that their Media Baron owners want them to write ; they are the scum of the earth and more seriously, pawns of the State..

The Coach IS important - Fazackerly got much praise from KK when he was manager in his first spell and Kk also took him to Man C(he is still there, I believe), so it is possible that Hughton has made a difference. It is probably a combination of several things - KK's preferred pass/move game, players being fit for longer, new attitude from coaching staff, and at this time, the pressure of getting a win being removed.

I used to agree with that sentiment. Thought the sacking was premature. However, since leaving he can't keep his gob shut so f*** him. Oh aye, don't get me wrong, he's been dissing us a lot since he left, and i dont like that. However, he is bitter, and i dont blame him. If i had been sacked and treated the way he had at Newcastle, i'd be bitter too. I still think he has a lot to offer as a manager, as a person he seems a bit of a c***, but as a manager, very good. Nonsense, frankly - the guy was a victim of a takeover situation and eventually, the new bosses didn't fancy him as boss ; this happens to many ordinary people when companies get taken over, but most just have to get on with finding a new job - and they don't have the benefit of a multi-million pound pay-off either..!!!

I'm just hoping that, with a new coaching and back-room set up, KK can do this time what he should have been able to do last time - finally put our trophy curse to flight and finish the job he so ably did from 92-97. The signs look good, and crucially, we look better defensively than during periods of his previous spell in charge - if we can sign a couple of really good Central defenders and a midfield general, we could be heading for good times again, but there is still much to be done ; we also will need to beef up the squad generally to cope with injuries, and Viduka will need replacing as target man very soon, so the re-building job will not be cheap. As long as we see progress next season - and for a club like NUFC that means achieving European Football - we'll all be happy

Said when I first saw him that he reminded me of Irving Nattrass, who I thought was our best RB in years - Yesterday's performance was indeed reminiscent of Nattrass, and its a pity Beye wasn't 5 years' younger or, as has been said, we WOULD have the best full-back pairing in years, and one of the best in the league. If he keeps fit, he will be a great asset next season.

This is spot-on.

An excellent way to put relegation fears to bed - one of the best home performances of the season, although it took a while to get going . Once the first one went in, there was little doubt about the result.. All 3 goals were well taken, and the second & third really well constructed. Edgar looked shaky at first, but gradually improved - a superb display from Beye, his best since signing, and Enrique continues to find his feet in the Prem - this boy is going to be some player by the time he is 25.. Congrats due to KK for deploying Owen in a withdrawn role(this suits his loss of some pace since his injuries, and shows he is still a potent force inside the box), and for getting Viduka something like fit. All 3 forwards played well, and I am pleased to see that KK has obviously had the coaches working on his vision and technique - this is improving now. Finally, a word of praise for Chris Hughton - its no coincidence that performances have improved since his arrival...!

I said as much in my post after the Spurs game - the lad really has got talent.

This is a question which hardly needs to be asked - remember that famous thread - 'Given beaten easily again from long Range'..!?? It was discussed ad infinitum then, but it has been obvious that the defence has looked far more confident with Harper behind them(I doubt that Given would have made the save Harper did early in the Spurs game, and he had no chance at all with Bent's header). At present, Harper should be between the sticks - maybe in time KK will buy another keeper, but Harper is doing nothing that deserves to cost him his place, and in my view, should NOT have been dropped by Allardyce when Given became fit again.

Reckon he's a 'possible' signing, but no better than that - maybe convinced if KK manages to make a couple of really eye-catching signings early in the Close Season, but otherwise, he is likely to go elsewhere or stay at Blackburn

This looks a cert right now, although I hope I'm wrong and we do them ; think they will score first too....

Smith's assessment of Ronaldo is spot-on - if defenders learnt how to time tackles properly, and stay on their feet longer, he wouldn't look half so effective ; I thought Enrique dealt with him very well at OT - he had to change wings to get any joy....