merlin

Winter is NOT anti-NUFC as a matter of course - he was very pro-us in the 90s and I have no doubt that he made the comments about the new off-field set-up because they were his genuine thoughts on the matter. I actually share some of his reservations although I think its too soon to say it will end in tears - nevertheless, the potential for that is there as most people can see.....

We never performed on the day - the players were overwhelmed by the whole scene and Liverpool , who had been & done it before , handled the whole thing much better. One thing which I am certain would have altered the match considerably would have been the availability of Tony Green ; he had been injured(cruciate) the previous year and had that not happened, I reckon he would have got the side going as well as causing problems for Liverpool. People also forget that we beat them 4-1 at SJP the following November, when Tommy Craig tore them apart with his left-peg passing.. A sad day, though, after so much excitement on the run-up to Wembley.

I hope its a case of Keegan telling them who or what he wants, his record is second to none at our club. This is the crucial point - I am all in favour of greater professionalism at the club, as opposed to the Mickey-Mouse way of running recruitment under the previous regime, but the essential thing is to ha ve everyone pulling in the same direction ; remember the old saying 'A House divided among itself cannot stand'...... If any major differences among the parties begin to emerge, there would undoubtedly be fireworks.

Season is not a write off until we are safe from relegation My worry as well, we will just scrape it imo, but only just! You two belong together, tbh. why because we are being realistic and admitting what is possible Because you're both pessimistic whingers of the highest calibre. This is the type of comment that allows the Southern Press/other teams' fans to laugh at NUFC - whistling in the wind of the highest quality...

After watching the game, the over-riding impression is that;- 1.We lack a GOOD CF/Target man 2.We faded badly in the second half ; as another thread states, fitness levels look suspect 3.N'Zogbia doesn't look the part in CM and gave possession away numerous times 4.Duff was excellent in first half, but faded badly later(he does this in most games) 5.Their midfield overran us in second half and exposed the lack of creativity in the side 6.Enrique continues to improve and needs persevering with 7.Butt is reaching the end now - very poor passing as game went on 8.Our first-half performance was decent - had we scored when we had good possession it might have made the result more acceptable, but we would probably still have lost... Conclusion - MASSES of work to be done and lots of class players required, but where we get them is anyone's guess - certainly until the summer...we cannot afford to waste possession against teams we need to beat in order to stay in a respectable position and in some ways its a blessing we went out ; getting points is the most important thing now.

I agree - whilst we did well in the first half at the Emirates, the ball just would not 'stick' when it came into the area because there is no-one there with the physique and holding skill to worry their defenders - Owen will get goals alongside such a player but as you say, Viduka is now a fading force and we need someone like Ashton who would harry defenders and take the weight off Owen, who is as much out of place as a target man as was Jon Dahl Tomasson. Until we get such a player, we will continue to struggle to score goals.

I said this last week - Mort should have named and banned the culprits at KK's introduction meeting - we don't need them at SJP at all and it would be interesting to see their whining response.

Woodgate is the best CB I've seen playing for the Toon in 40 years - and that includes Moncur, Burton etc. The only drawback is his fitness - if he stays fit he is a real asset, if not he is not worth a big fee. There are some question marks over his lifestyle, but a great defender when fit ; no doubt about it.

Totally agree - just hope its the usual Sun crap.

You have not exactly picked the right teams to compare us with, have you ..!?? Reading, Derby, Wigan have all beaten us ; Bolton easily got a point last week at SJP(almost 3..) ; Boro not playing badly(witness Arsenal defeat at Riverside) and won't lie down at SJP, Mackems almost beat us at SOL and will try like hell at SJP..Brum away is always a difficult fixture ; only Fulham look like a team on the down, so don't be too sure they are all worse than us - unless we get some decent players in it will be a nervy end to the season.

You shouldn't be ashamed of bringing this up - I have mentioned this in the past few weeks and there are far too many who are just not able to acknowledge just how tough the run-in is ; they think we are better than any of the teams below us, despite our poor showing against these sides.. We have dropped 2 points against Bolton, and came close to losing in the end - it will NOT be a cakewalk until the end of the season and I guess KK knows it but cannot acknowledge the fact because he needs to create confidence in the players.

I agree with much of this, but we are in the position of beggars being unable to be choosers - he is a decent RB, but purely mercenary ; KK will find that there are very few Rob Lees about this time around..

Keegan had to be either a brilliant coach or a brain surgeon to do this. But he is neither. Anyway, are the people saying that Martins can learn to resolve his obvious deficits by good coaching the same who thought Bramble could overcome his concentration blackouts? This is absolutely true.

Not true - people DO go on about Brazilian tactics..Brazil have arguably the biggest pool of potential stars to pick from in World football with their population of around 170,000,000, most of whom are mad about the game, but they went 24 years without winning the WC, despite having teams in 1982 and 1986 who were streets ahead of others, man for man , AND played great attacking football.. It wasn't until 1994 when Carlos Alberto Perreira made them a tougher team to play against(and beat) that they won the trophy again.. he was constantly criticized in Brazil for his more considered approach, but it paid off - the same happened in 2002, so be under no illusion - even the masters have to compromise sometimes and i want us to do the same if it means bringing silverware..

People are going to have to be patient - it will not be as easy to get the players KK wants as it was when he was here before - there is far more competition now. Ashton WOULD be a good signing(always thought he would do well here)and so would Richards, but its looking highly unlikely now ; I rate Bentley, but the chances of him coming at this time are not great - hope I'm wrong.

Spot on Dave - we cannot play exactly the same way as before ; we NEED to be able to defend Free-kicks/corners etc., AND learn how best to profit from them when they are given to US.. Burridge is a bit of a strange lad, but decent with it, and what he says about the Maiden Castle training sessions is essentially true - I have heard to before from a person who was there regularly, involved with the players, and whose word I would trust implicitly.

I'm laughing at all this - amid all the hype about KK returning, I think you will find that Mr Shepherd has not heard the last from Newcastle United....just keep watching..!!!

In the late 60s/early 70s, Leeds were hated by the southern media - players like Bremner and Giles(who were really talented)were slated as dirty, cynical bast---s, and Leeds generally for their 'cynicism & time wasting' etc. etc..When Arsenal started to challenge them, they had a REALLY dirty swine(Peter Storey) in midfield, but there wasn't much said about THAT..!! I have already said that, had I been Mort, I would have named the sports journalists who had slated the club with snide remarks over the past few weeks at KK's Press conference, and BARRED them from SJP for the foreseeable future - I don't WANT us to be the country's 'second-favourite team' , I want them to hate us because we win first and entertain our OWN fans ... I don't care if we play like Leeds did away from home - STUFF them all, we do need a siege mentality both of the pitch and in the Dressing Room..

Agreed - good post KeithK..but his sale in 1997 was the start of our downfall - I reckon KD would have done OK if Sir Les had been available that season.

Not surprised at all - watched the recording, and they played as well as any team I've seen play Liverpool at Anfield ; very competitive, always after the second ball(one of our biggest failings) and very unlucky not to have won - are all the knockers ready to surrender about MON yet !?? STILL think Allardyce is better !!.....

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Fabulous winger who virtually invented the bending free-kick(it was called 'The Falling Leaf'). Felipao is right about him, but he died far too young..will always remember seeing his amazing dribbles on TV when I was a kid.

I'm really looking forward to seeing KK's judgment on this - whatever anyone else thinks, he is the man that counts...in my view, one of these guys will be doing the journey by the season's end ; if Owen stays fit and looks interested, Martins will be the one to go unless KK thinks he can get more out of him than we've seen already - in fact, BOTH of them could well end up leaving fairly soon.

I am waiting to see what responses people are going to make to the statement by KK that he rates Viduka very highly and would like to have played alongside him....after some of the comments about him in the past, are the critics now going to say KK is wrong, or that , as KK rates him, they have changed their minds.!!

If Keegan had of been here against those teams we'd have gone out to win and would have probably done so. There's no way you can guarantee that Mick - they might have played the Bolton way and still nicked the points; KK WILL improve things, but he can't put what's missing from many of teh squad, pace and skill. If we sign some players, things should improve but I am NOT going to be complacent about the problems - if others wish to be so that is their perogative.