AyeDubbleYoo

I would give him a four year deal no problem at all. If he holds out for five, give it to him to get him to sign.

Any centre half needs good protection though. Even Colo was exposed against Spurs.

classic, more worried about people having a go at anyone involved with the club than the result It just raises the stakes, that's all.

And we have Shola.

Steven Taylor?

Wasn't too long ago that people were talking about Willicini as our best defensive partnership. Weird that he's done so poorly recently.

I would say it's fair that the league table at this point in the season is a fair reflection of where a club should be. We've played nearly 2/3 of the games. Therefore we've earned our position on merit.

Well we could argue this for ever, in fact we have for nearly 200 pages. My opinion is he is a brilliant player and would show it regularly if he had confidence shown in him. Nothing much to add beyond that.

Unless it's the Venereal Disease Arena, it isn't going to be more embarrassing than Sports Direct - the least prestigious brand in the world.

Or can he continue our success without transforming us into such a team? Because if he can his job will be safe for a long time.

The logic doesn't follow though really. We know he's a great player, a mistake or two doesn't override that. When Messi miscontrols the ball we don't suddenly change our opinion on him. It's clear HBA is a class act, he just needs a chance to show it.

The over rating of Raylor has reached levels bordering on insanity at times. He's a very very poor player who can deliver a good set-piece or cross from time to time. That will never change, ideally he would be nowhere near our first team.

Good question. Should be Colo really, but I'm not sure he's that kind of character. Cabaye might be an option, but I'm not sure how good his English is at the moment. Saylor is a miss.

Will be ecstatic when he signs.

I'm mainly nervous because of the Pardew hate-a-thon that will break out on here if we get beat.

It's crazy.

Might be just what we need to get us fired up for 90 minutes. Might be a tough one though, not confident at all we'll win.

And the excuse for Coloccini, Santon and Jonas on the left? I don't know, there isn't one really.

A right side of Williamson, Simpson and Raylor is never going to encourage passing football. I'm not surprised Krul is reluctant to give the ball short to them, and I'm not surprised that they often have to channel the ball back to him.

You can fluke your way like that for 1 season, but eventually you need to backup results with performances or you get found out. This just sounds a bit silly - good defending and good finishing are essential parts of football. Don't see how defending well and finishing well are 'fluking' anything. Also sounding silly is completely ignoring are performances which for the last 3 months bar Manchester United have been very poor. I'm not ignoring anything, I admit we haven't always played well. But defending well and taking your chances is something to be proud of, not some sort of freak occurrence that somehow means your league position is unfair. It's not like the league is full of beautiful passing teams that outclass everyone on their way to the top 6.

You can fluke your way like that for 1 season, but eventually you need to backup results with performances or you get found out. This just sounds a bit silly - good defending and good finishing are essential parts of football. Don't see how defending well and finishing well are 'fluking' anything.

Oh no, rival fans don't think our football is attractive! That cuts deep. Well most of our own fans don't like the football we are playing as well. True, I don't like it myself. I just don't care when rival fans say stuff like "you may be 6th but...".

Good defending and good finishing are actually a valid part of football like, it's not like they don't count.

Oh no, rival fans don't think our football is attractive! That cuts deep.

If he's got a knock he should be allowed to go to the friendly though, surely?