oldtype

To be fair we were always going to struggle with that defense we've got out there.

Surely we just bring on Best at this point and go for it the best we can?

I'm guessing the Chris Hughton thread is going to be busy tonight...

It's funny to see my uncanny ability to have all my injuries concentrated on one position on FM carry on to real life, by the way.

Colo off [kneejerk]there goes our season?[/kneejerk]

Playing a decent side away so being on the kosh for a bit is expected. Hopefully we'll play better second half as we usually do. Great shifts as usual from Lovenkrands, Jonas, and Guthrie. A bit poor from the rest.

Guthrie's movement looks positively Gerrard-esque

Depends on how you look at it I suppose. I don't think taking us to eight points clear with a game in hand at the top of the table was particularly easy either considering the shambles we were in pre-season. Forgive me if I'm wrong but weren't you one of the people saying that we could be facing consecutive relegations? And I wasn't saying that Hughton was a better caretaker, just that both were so horrible that there's really no point in comparing.

Do I? Well yes, I think he's a better manager. You're having a laugh with the part in bold though aren't you? Why? What's wrong with it?

I'm really looking forward to seeing Barton play at all to be honest. Not sure if he'll ever be an important player for us again. His fitness record since joining us makes Michael Owen look like lazarus.

Ronaldo, you seem to rate Nigel Pearson a lot more than you rate Hughton, why is that the case considering that Pearson's record as NUFC caretaker is as bad as or perhaps even worse than Hughton's, not to mention the fact that Hughton has a far, far superior record in the CCC?

One striker and one central midfielder are non-negotiable, as I don't think any of our players playing those positions are going to be able to make the step up comfortably. Cost permitting, I'd love us to really go for broke and spend the majority of the transfer budget on the best striker we can get. (I actually wouldn't be surprised if Hughton's thinking the same thing... What with the vacant No. 9 shirt and all. We could probably use another right back and another winger to provide competition and add a bit of depth, but otherwise I'm willing to keep the nucleus of the current team. One 15-goal striker and one decent Premiership CM and we're sitting pretty at 11th~15th imo.

There's no appreciable difference between 8th and 17th place, and we certainly haven't got a popsicle's chance in hell of making 7th, so yes the goal is no more than to stay up. And I think we can do it

Apparently, with the passing of the late Keith Alexander, Hughton is now one of only two black managers in the football league. So.. umm... Black power!

I don't know if Hughton is good enough for the Premiership or not, but one thing that I can't disagree with is the idea that he's improving. How refreshing is it to see a manager who seems to learn from his mistakes instead of pig-headedly insisting on picking the same names in the same shape every match? A blinkered insistence on ideas that just don't work has been the downfall for many of our former managers, such as Souness and Allardyce. There's something to be said for having a new guy with a fresh outlook on things instead of some "proper manager" who'll stick to his guns until it all comes crashing down.

We should just rest him for as long as he needs to be 100% fit. Can't risk a long term injury, and the prospect of Kadar coming into the team for a couple games doesn't exactly fill me with dread. My God, this is such a wierd feeling... We have squad depth

This is classic N-O. We just won 6-1 but why be happy when you can start up another boring Ashley argument instead!

I am honestly starting to have doubts about whether I really want us to go back to the Prem or not.

:fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap::fwap: 4-0, even Jonas scored!

What's this song they're playing on BBC Newcastle right now?

Ah, sweet memories of 2002. I remember what it was like out on the streets after the matches against Italy and Spain. I live right next to a massive 8-lane road and it was completely filled with people in red going absolutely mental. Traffic was completely fucked over all across the city but nobody cared. A couple mates of mine were jumping up and down on a car and actually caved the roof in. The crazy thing was, the owner didn't mind! We just apologized, offered to pay for repairs, and everyone went right back to celebrating. Certainly hoping for some more of this this year.

Lee He's been one of my favorite players since he made his pro debut and I'm ridiculously happy that he's making it in the prem. We should definitely look to sign him if Bolton go down. I would for a full calendar year.

Gerrard. None of us want to admit that he's a great player but unfortunately he just is. I don't think any of he others on the list would be able to hold up an utter turboshit side to the extent Gerrard has been doing for years. The caveat being that my interest in English football started around 2004-ish so I haven't seen scholes or becks in their primes.

You should have posted that earlier. Have lost about 15€ just because of that game (had a single bet on Ivory Coast and two accumulators involving that game) Honestly wouldn't have backed us to win either mate, Drogba and co. Were in very poor form today

South Korea 2 - 0 ivory coast lee dong guk (the ex smoggies flop) scores a magnificent volley in the 3rd minute Our midfield basically rips them apart. Definitely the best Korean team ever.