merlin

Have been away for a couple of days enjoying the delights of Oz's SW(no, NOT THOSE delights..!), but watched the recording before we left on Tues a.m.(game was on at 3 a.m. our time) Reckon it was the best performance to date - we were never in serious trouble and I was glad to be proved wrong after forecasting a 2-2 ; thought Spurs were extremely poor considering the cost of their squad, and even though we outplayed them, it is obvious that something is seriously wrong at WHL - Jol is bound to be gone soon. Having said that, we would have beaten many good sides on that performance ; Faye & Cacapa were superb at the back(has there EVER been a better value for money double signing than that?), and I was not surprised to see Cacapa get a goal - I reckon he will get at least 5 over the season, a really class defender who reads the game superbly.. Owen & Martins caused them problems, more so than I thought, because Owen is proving to be a really good footballer who can also lead the line as well as score goals and Martins' pace worried Dawson. The midfield played some of the best passing game we've seen from them since the season started and I suppose the influence of Emre(and, to a lesser extent, Barton when he came on), made a difference to our possession play which was better than all season ; once we can sort out a bit better movement off the ball, we shall really start to look a side to be reckoned with. Let's hope this is not a false dawn, and that we start to win away, beginning with Reading - a few good away results will have the top sides looking over their shoulders .... All in all, every reason to be satisfied with the result and improving performance - we may yet have a good bit to say in how this season finishes.....

Reckon this match will be either a 2-2 draw, or 2-1 to Spurs - unfortunately.

No because we are in the UK where the currency is pounds sterling. Besides which the dollars value is dropping like a tarts knickers these days so all those estimates of wealth are undoubtedly wrong. 'We are in the UK where the currency is the pound sterling'....well, I hope you enjoy it while it lasts, pal, because after last Friday's stitch-up by your Govt, your currency will soon be the Euro - you, know, the one that the Frech & Germans are complaining about because its now 'too strong' against the dollar, so they can't sell the Yanks their cars, cheese, wine, perfume etc etc.... Maybe the assets should have been quoted in Euros...!!

As an add-on to the above, I cannot see Allardyce being allowed to manage both NUFC & England, and I can't see Ashley going for that either, so its one or the other.

If he goes, he goes - as long a its at the end of the season(or provided the likes of Mourinho, Hiddink etc are available), we are now in a MUCH better position to attract another TOP manager than when Shepherd was in charge. I cannot see anything happening until England's demise is definite, and even then, the FA would probably wait until the end of the Season so they didn't have to cough up compensation - something they know Ashley is in a very strong position to enforce legally....

Agreed. No-one's going to bid anything like that money. I think he's probably worth slightly less than what we paid. He's done okay, he's got some good goals and he's also missed a few. A good assessment...

When the ball's at your feet, you trip up, You run like your feet are stuck in muck, SHOOOOOLA, SHA SHA SHA SHOOOOLA. s***, but what do you expect in 1 minute of thought? Not bad - its got promise...!! How about a first verse of; 'Saw him at the ground on old Tyneside Where they drink Brown Ale and its NOT like Cherry Cola Co Co Co Co Cola... He walked up to Sam and asked him to play Sam asked him his name and he said 'I'm the STAR- SHOLA - Sho Sho Sho Sho SHOLA...' This is also crap, but again,made up in a couple of mins.. Any advance on this..!!

Has no-one ever thought of making up a song about Shola ? As I remember it(I heard the original, so that tells you how old I am !), the Kinks did a good'un titled 'LOLA'....!! Come on guys - I bet someone could come up with a cracker to that tune....!

I've told you before that Murdoch's crowd have it in for NUFC and have done since 96 when we scared the pants off them by nearly beating Manure to the title - they thought the had seen us off for good once Shepherd was in charge, but its all starting up again because we now have big money behind us and someone who is not a cretin as manager. Whilst I think there is substance in Owen being unsettled, I believe its our own fans who have made the situation worse ; the Sun are just capitalising on our bent for committing collective suicide. All this will only end by either our winning a trophy or Owen leaving, but even then, it will start up again if we show the remotest hint of long-term success.

If you think we've even got a hope of signing Huntelaar when Chelsea have already made it clear he is one of their targets, its time for a reality check - if we lose Owen - highly likely in my opinion - we are going to have a hell of a job getting anyone who will score 20 goals per season ; City are already doing well without him and even if he misses half their games, he will do enough to get them into the Top 5 - probably at our expense...

This is quite likely to happen now - Anelka is a good player and I would have him in preference to Ameobi or even Martins; but NOT Owen if he stays fit and look what happened with Woodgate - hardly played whilst with us , but hasn't missed many for Boro... If Owen moves to City, he will come back and stuff the boos right back down the ignorant throats of the plebs who made them but the only trouble is that even decent fans have to be on the end of the same humiliation.

Gary Speed was an exemplary pro whilst a player and would be a great asset to us in my opinion - he might also be a candidate for manager in a few years as he & Shearer shared many opinions about the game and the lack of professionalism among the younger players at NUFC.. As someone has already stated, though - what about Terry Mac..!!! Oh wait - there's a Bookies' Runner needed down the road...

Nail absolutely on head - I honestly believe, Scousertommy, that the damage is already done - you could tell by Owen's reaction/facial expression when he came on as sub last Sunday, that he is really p-----ed off by the childish, small-minded booing which, despite protestations to the contrary by those responsible,are definitely aimed at him because he happened to take 'poor' Oba's place..if it wasn't so mindlessly stupid, it would be laughable ! People come on this site slagging off Owen & bigging up Martins - they say 'Oba's only young' and 'give him a chance, he's still learning' ; What Bulls---t ! Just remind these pea-brains how old Owen was when he scored one of the best World Cup goals of all time against the Argies, and how old he was when he scored a brilliant Hat-trick against NUFC at SJP on the day we had 'Sexy Football' Gullit making his managerial debut..!! All you have said, Scouser, is right on the nail and those of us who still remember when NUFC fans were amongst the most knowledgeable in the game despair at how poor some modern-day fans have become in both recognizing talent and realising where we stand in the game at this point in time. Still, who knows ? Maybe Rafa will be away in Summer and perhaps Owen will be back in your colours - I for one wouldn't blame him, but the saddest thing is that some of our so-called 'supporters' would use it as an excuse to call him a traitor ; it would be a good way for them to avoid any responsibility for driving him out..

Spot-on, Gemmill - I am getting to believe that because Owen IS a top striker, undoubtedly England's best bet for a goal, many NUFC fans have a big Chip-on-shoulder syndrome about him ; they know, deep down, that the club hasn't been the successful environment which a player like Owen normally wants, and that because he asked for an escape clause in his Contract(and who wouldn't when joining a club who had so much turmoil & lack of success as NUFC), they fear he may leave and by so doing, confirm that the Club is NOT among the winners of the Prem. People have conveniently forgotten how Shearer was unfortunate enough to have many months out with injury during his first couple of years with the club,but no-one was accusing him of not being interested in playing for us, simply because he's a Geordie....also, Les Ferdinand was a far better striker than Martins will ever be, yet no-one thought that Shearer was taking his place, despite being given the No 9 shirt... We were DESPERATE for someone of Owen's calibre to join the club because Shearer was finishing, AND getting past it, so even though Owen HAS had long periods out, we were still lucky to get him. Where would we be now without his goals this season ?? As you rightly say, Martins is not and will NOT be the answer, but because he doesn't play for England(and is therefore not a favourite of the Cockney Press!), some fans see him as more a 'Newcastle' player ; i.e, inconsistent, like the Club, and not one of the 'Establishment' which Owen represents - a bit of reverse-snobbery, if you like... Unfortunately, the type of reaction we are seeing to Owen, both on this site and by the booing of Martins being replaced by him/singing of Martins' name when Owen comes on, is likely to grant fans their wishes ; I believe that Owen HAS been affected by it all, and will definitely leave if we fail to qualify for Europe this season - those fans responsible will only have themselves to blame, and the rest of us have to live with the consequences of it..just who are we going to replace him with - Huntelaar? He is probably the best option, but out of our reach, and Chelsea have targeted him already. All this could put Sam's rebuilding job back by a couple of years - all footballers are mercenaries, and to land Owen with all the blame for being one is ludicrous.

Especially if he had taken Martins' place in the side before scoring the Hat-trick, or, even worse, if he came on as sub for Martins and THEN scored the winner...!!

If Arsenal had wanted Martins, they would have bought him - they didn't. I don't care one bit if Owen DOES keep Martins out of the team ; it would mean he was fit, and a fit Owen is 3 times the player that Martins is, or will ever be ; he's 22(or is it 23 or even 28.!)and if he hasn't got decent first touch now, he never will have. I would be interested to hear your decision if asked to select from EITHER a fit Owen or Martins to play in our last 3 games if we needed , say, 7 points to avoid relegation OR qualify for Europe.....

that's funny, cos Martins' movement, control, passing and link up play was just as good as Smith's was. there were two or three slack moments through the entire game but every player has these, Smith included who misjudged a few passes out wide and put in a poor pull-back into the box when Martins was in space, in the move that led up to the goal. Smith's best contribution to the match was a great through-ball to Martins, but Martins timing, anticipation and run were impeccable on that occasion. then again Martins played a lovely first-touch layoff, with his back to goal holding off an everton player, to Smith about 5 mins before the goal went in, that Smith had deflected wide. maybe you forgot that. weird that some people always feel a need to slag Martins off, even when he has a decent match. his problem yesterday was missing a great chance and fading badly in the 2nd half (along with smith and most of our side!) and i think your just mindlessly rejurgitating generic complaints rather than looking at this specific game. i'm not a smith fan at all and have slagged him off mercilessly before, but i'll not pretend he didn't have a good game just cos i don't rate him overall. i didn't hear much booing but it seemed aimed at bringing Martins off and not at bringing owen on, who received a rapturous applause when he ran onto the pitch. nothing disgraceful about that. I don't 'mindlessly regurgitate' anyone's comments ; you are entitled to your opinion, and I, along with many other fans on this site who don't rate Martins as a top player, are entitled to ours. In my opinion, he is NOT top-quality - end of... His general control, over a full game , is woeful for a player who cost 10m, and he plays purely by instinct. As for your comments about Smith, he also is NOT a top striker, but he WILL contribute more effort to a game than Martins will. If you thought Martins had a good game, I would hate to see him in a bad one ; I KNOW he can score some eye-catching goals, but he misses far more than he gets - any comparison should be between him and Owen, rather than him and Smith,and in that case, he is definitely second-best; no doubt about it.

This game brought home some harsh truths to many NUFC fans - those who have put Martins & Given on a pedestal(i.e can do no wrong)have had a huge wake-up call today. Martins' control is little short of abysmal - if he had a first touch, he might be worth 10m quid - as it is, I wouldn't pay anything like that sort of money for him ; Allardyce had it spot-on when he said he was a scorer of great goals rather than a goal-scorer... I hope that the booing which occurred when Martins was subbed wasn't aimed at his being replaced by Owen, but I suspect some of it was, and that is a disgrace. What is more, Owen seemed to think so, because he put his hand up to his ear after scoring... Whatever Owen's thoughts about NUFC are, you cannot say he doesn't do the job when fit - he caused problems for their defence as soon as he came on, and to put Martins in the same class as Owen, both as a goalscorer, AND a footballer is just high-lighting ones lack of knowledge about the game.... I have made my points about Given on a different thread, so will not go over it here. Positives - Smith much better as a front-man, and his link-up play with the others was very good, but you can see why he will never score many goals - too unselfish in the area. Enrique, for me, is a better fullback than any at the club already, and that includes Beye ; I don't think he made a bad pass all day, never conceded many fouls, and supported Zog & Milner well - it was a first class full debut.Maybe we should not judge until he has a good winger against him... Faye is a decent contact defender, but will always concede free-kicks ; Butt was in & out - great goal, unquestioned effort, but some sloppy passing. Milner looks in need of a break, and we could do with another good right-sided flank player. Emre made an immediate contribution, both with his passing & the goal, but I wonder how effective he will be away from SJP - if he COULD do that, he will make a big difference to midfield. Capaca was excellent - his reading of the game is better than any other defender at the club, and I still reckon he should have been skipper ; he sets an example to rest of team, and we missed him badly last week. My main gripe is STILL the sloppy surrendering of possession - we put ourselves under far too much pressure by this, and it needs to be corrected ; the best spell of possession in the whole game was when Zog took the ball to their corner near the end. Whilst we have Owen in the side(and Viduka when fit) we will always be able to snatch a goal, but there is as yet no pattern of play emerging ; it WILL happen in time, but whether we have all the players necessary yo do this is a matter for debate. Just glad we managed to grab the 3 points which looked unlikely after they equalised.

Agree entirely with these comments - said last week that Harper should never have been dropped. The palming of Arteta's cross, albeit deflected, into his own net was completely unnecessary by Given ; the camera I was watching the game from was in line with the flight of the ball, and even if he had left it, it would have drifted behind, just wide of the post - even a solid punch over would have been a better option. Apart from today's performance, I have had chance to re-run Elano's goal at City last week, and I believe that he should at least have got a hand to it - he was not the slightest bit unsighted when Elano hit the ball, and he could see exactly what was happening, whereas the goal that Van Persie scored yesterday against the Mackems(very similar position) was struck even harder than Elano's and with Gordon having less sight of it.... There is no doubt that Allardyce has created a difficult situation for himself by the decision to re-instate Given - Harper now has little confidence that he will keep the spot, even if he plays well, and had Owen, much abused by some members of this site, not scored a third goal, we would have dropped 2 points.

I hope those on this site who spent their time knocking O'Neill last year are now ready to eat the same sized slice of Humble Pie that the Head of Aussie Rugby, John O'Neill, is devouring this morning ! Although he has a year start on Big Sam, can you honestly see us being able to go to Spurs next season, and get into a 4-4 draw after being 4-1 ahead, let alone turn over Chelsea by 2 goals? Young has been a great signing for Villa, and they already have young players like Agbonlahor too - they have far more pace in their side than we do, and those who claimed O'Neill played boring football should have the biggest slice of humble pie; they've been quite attack-minded in all their games and definitely have a pattern of play which we currently don't. Well - who is going to be first to the table..!??

so why has Given been hailed as one of the best keepers in the league for years and linked with the biggests clubs in the league while Harper has sat on the bench for 10 years? You might ask WHO made these claims about Given, and in any case, there has been a shortage of really good keepers for a while - esp British ones(yes I know he's Irish). Given is certainly not in the class of Shilton or Banks. As for Harper on the bench, this has been a combination of managerial preference and Harper's own loyalty and patience.Maybe he prefers living in the Nprth East, and he is not badly-paid. All our past managers rated Ameobi, but he has failed to live up to their rating AND failed to convince supporters that he deserves it, so does that mean they were automatically right about Given over Harper ? All of them had to face the fact that they would struggle to get a decent replacement if Given left, but none of them put right the defence in front of either keeper - James has a good point about the defence being crucial to making a keeper look good(or bad)...

Bobby was a really good defender in his prime - he and Ollie Burton/John McNamee were the cornerstone of our Fairs Cup success in 1968/69 and he went on to Captain Scotland. Will never forget his crucial goals in the first leg of the Final at SJP, when we had done well against Ujpest Doza, a team who had beaten Leeds earlier ; Revie thought we had no chance before the final, but we did well against them but it looked as if we weren't going to score - then up popped Bob at a Corner, and stuck one in. He came forward again a few minutes later and managed to bang another one in. Jimmy Scott got a brave third ; I was in the Gallowgate end, and we were all swept forward like a tidal wave after each goal(60,000 in the ground); the Health & Safety guys would have a fit these days..!! He managed a goal in the return, too and just as well - they played really well, and we were 2-0 down at half-time but Bob pulled us back in it - they fell apart then, and Arentoft & Foggon put the icing on.. Bob was a huge influence on us winning a first European Trophy, and I wish him every success in his personal battle ; this is probably the toughest one he has faced and its ironical that another great Number 6, Bobby Moore, developed the same illness.

That is also what Allardyce has said, and he's spot-on.

I disagree, I don't see a lot between the two keepers now that Harper has had a good run of games and has had time to settle in. They both have strengths and weakness's which make them too close to call as far as I'm concerned. Harper has had poor treatment over his place going back to Given for no reason other than that Given is fit. do you mean "for no reason other than the manager thinks he is the better keeper" ? No, he means 'for no other reason than the manager doesn't want any aggro from Given until he has a replacement(Jaaskelainen?) in place' and although in one way he's acting practically, in another he's weakened his own position with the squad.

Where's your proof of that particular gem ?