AyeDubbleYoo

At least he is looking to be patient and play it short in the rare instances he has been involved. However he is getting no help whatsoever from the two supposedly senior players alongside him. Actually feel bad for him in a way. Does look slightly out of his depth but I do empathise. I think he can develop into a very good player but he needs to first and foremost find his actual role. CM, DM, RM? He could do with leaving Sunderland if he is to develop, though. Aye, he should sign for Chelsea or Man City where he can rot in the reserves and ruin his career.

Oh.

Maybe not 3-1, but we'd give a much more respectable account of ourselves second half. True, just thought I'd give a random prediction. In all seriousness though, Capello's team selections are more confusing than his interviews at times.

Put Walcott up top with Carroll, put Milner inside, bring on Downing and Johnson wide. Kapow, 3-1 to England.

Almost as overrated as James Milner.

It was the Shola special stepover.

Some of our passing has been absolutely rank.

Yes, he has that setting.

I bet the average French pass is about half the distance of England's. We just don't know how to play football properly.

Presumably a fitness test assesses whether he's fit, so if he passes it he's OK.

Play all three, problem solved.

It hardly reflects badly on us that we don't want him to play, teams do this all the time.

Who for?

Slightly dodgy source on NUFC wanting him not to play... no quotes, no club statement, nothing in public.

I don't mean it in the strictest sense, more like, if you have your 'defender' and he's on the only one back and standing on the sideline looking at the trees. Ah right, I admit that is necessary!

Yeah, but do they need positional sense when they're 7? I know if you're going to have competitive games then you need a semblance of a formation, but it can't be a good way to develop players - how can you know if a player is a defender or forward at that age?

Should be some interesting players in the French side as well. Never heard of any of them, but still.

The funniest thing is I've got no idea what he's really trying to do.

On the other hand, he did leave his shoulder in, in order to provoke Barton, then went down like a bag of hammers after a minor incident. I'm not excusing Barton, but Pederson's hardly a noble hero.

Dum dum dum! The game is tomorrow mind.

I would hope that wouldn't happen, there would be no real reason for it.

The 'joystick' coaches thing is a brilliant point, and I also don't believe we should be bringing kids up playing on full size pitches.

Same here. Especially because it's a fucking friendly. Really angry at the thought of this. Nailed on to come off injured. I'll be annoyed if he gets injured obviously, but I don't think it's a reason to wish he hadn't been called up. It's just part and parcel of football.

Never heard about that... if it's sold out I'm surprised they don't just open another section. Seems stupid to stop people going. Ah well, ITV it is.

To a certain extent I can understand how the frustration and cynicism has crept into our support. The fans have had a lot to deal with in recent seasons, and most of us are young enough to think that Keegan-era success is normal for NUFC.