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The result against Stoke will probably move everyone's numbers around +-2 points. I said 3. If we lose, I'll probably be up to a 5 at least.

To be fair to Ashley, (assuming that he's back for good) if we finish this season without being relegated, I'm 90% sure that Kinnear will get a declaration of "utmost gratitude" and "best wishes for the future," and be shown the door when his contract runs out with a better manager to come in. Sacking Kinnear right now would have been a colossally bad move imo. You don't sack managers mid-season unless they're failing abysmally. Kinnear has proven that he's just about adequate.

I'd warn you but you're probably already dead, so no point I suppose.

At the rate this thread is building up it's going to be one of the best atmosphere's in NUFC history when he makes his first-team debut at SJP.

I say we take the all of the above approach. Move the hoardings inward, try to give away corners instead of throws, have Oba jumping up and down in front of him as high as he can.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sunday-mirror/2008/11/30/ashley-back-in-toon-115875-20935873/ It's probably just Sunday gossip, but could he be getting ready to give it another go?

We have no attacking impetus through the center because Butt/Guthrie aren't really capable of pushing forward and being dangerous like Barton. Therefore, when our wing players have a bad game, our offense suffers. cf) Jonas and Zog today.

All I know is that Wise+Jimenez+Vertre gave us some of the best summer signings we've had in a long while. Let's hope it was good 'ol Jeff doing all the work then.

Bassong was the best player on the pitch today and it was plain for everyone to see. No way Taylor gets back in after this.

One positive to his "Fat Aussie" playing style is that he probably won't decline that much with age. As he was never very fast/fit to begin with, there isn't much speed/stamina for him to lose, and his skill set is tailor-made to his physical strengths and limitations. I think he'll be very important for us this year. let's sit back and wait a bit before we start talking about a new contract though.

Don't know about a North East XI, but I would be more than happy to have any of Downing, Digard and Tuncay in our first team.

All this means is that there won't be any magical takeover+new manager+megabucks to save us from relegation. We just have to do it the hard way now. Relegation is possible, yes but still not probable.

As far as I can tell something like half his players are middle-aged, yet they're running around like spring chickens. Could he make Nicky Butt do that too? EDIT: FUCKFUCKFUCK

come on inter, put your shit together.

If they do qualify, and probably even if they don't, I'd consider him one of the top candidates for the job here. Just looking at them their organization is extremely impressive, and they play with so much spirit and energy, he's obviously a very good motivator. Ketsbaia making the knockout stage with Anorthosis would be a bigger achievement than Mourinho winning it all with Porto.

Damn, Bremen get one back.

Holy shit... 2-0. At a loss for words now.

Ketsbaia's boys 1-0 up!!!!

Doing excellently against a very good Werder Bremen side. I think I'd have Ketsbaia here now, they look extremely well organized.

Do you think Ronaldo would be the same player he is now if Fergie had binned him and replaced him with Damien Duff after his first season (where he showed little more than Charlie did bursting onto the scene here)? Why do you think he didn't? Why hasn't Wenger replaced Fabregas with Nicky Butt? Ronaldo had competition for places from players a million times better than Damien Duff. Fergie didn't just let him waltz into the first team every weekend on account of his "potential." Are you implying that the Zog had his development stunted because he had to compete with one other recognized left winger in the squad? Dear me Fact is the Zog was given plenty of time in 2006/2007. If he had proven himself to have anywhere near Ronaldo or Fabregas' potential by delivering performances significantly better than those of Duff (which isn't even that hard,) he'd have gotten the place. Four managers, one of them Kevin Keegan, thought that he didn't. In response, instead of meeting the challenge head-on and bringing up his performance levels, He threw a fit and stagnated. Which is why his career is now going nowhere. If Ronaldo flipped and asked for a transfer when Park was picked ahead of him for a while in 2005/2006, where would he be now?

this club is infamous for kicking up a shitstorm exactly when the supporters start expecting some stability. Would be refreshing if we actually did some good business exactly when everyone's expecting a complete disaster.

The Zog is gone. Owen will see out his contract. I think he's an honorable man, or at least likes to think that he is one, and will want to do the "honorable" thing. We're never getting him to sign a new one though.

Can't be bothered to do the quote box thing. Zog was mediocre~shit every time he came on the pitch in 06/07, look through old match threads and see some of the comments. If I recall correctly, he got plenty of time in the first half of the season until he fell out with roeder and barely played again for the rest of it. Zog had exactly three good games in 07/08, the ones you mentioned: Bolton(H), Boro(A), and West Ham (H). I don't know what went on after that, whether he fell out with Allardyce, or went into "I don't want to be here anymore" mode, but he disappeared after that, going completely anonymous along with the rest of the useless fuckers. LB is his secondary position. He plays it for the French U21 team. He should at least be moderately competent there. Seriously, "Ronaldo in goal?" have a word. As incompetent as we may like to think Roeder/Allardyce/Kinnear are, they are professional football managers. They know far more about football than keyboard warriors like us ever will, and have access to training sessions, something we don't. I'm willing to concede that one manager may get something wrong that the forum gets right, but all three of them PLUS Kevin Keegan? Seriously?

still yes for me.

either one of you are free to tell me how any one bit of that is factually wrong.