eaststar

We don't disregard the backline though. We don't protect it. I can't remember the last time we had a really good central midfield, and I think that's where the problem lies. Agree entirely, Shearergol. If we had some quality attacking midfielders - well, just a new brand new couple of centre-mids on the whole - it'd help the defense no end. I'm of the opinion that the defense needs no new signings, i think we've potentially got a very good defense. Beye, Faye and Enrique are all quick and strong and, personally, i each think they each have attributes that are real quality. They should be the crux of the backline. Whoever partners Faye should be the only thing that might change from game to game. All our squad (urgently) needs is two centre-mids imo. Hypothetically, Arshavin and Diarra. They're just examples though, i'm just highlighting my point. We've got three good-to-very good wingers and an excellent selection of strikers. <b>I don't care what people say, i've put yesterday to the back of my mind, nowt's changed sice 5:15pm - our squad is on the brink of being a very strong, top 6 one.</b> That's exactly right - we need to forget that game and move on. I agree our squad is much stronger and we just need to find the right manager to harness their qualities.

Great interview - but I won't pass judgement until he appoints a manager. If it's someone like McLaren or Redknapp...well we're back to square one in my opinon.

a mentality shared by many newcastle fans. keep doing that, its worked great so far (assuming you were being sarcastic....) So how's saying nothing and supporting the manager working out for ya then...... goin' great is it? the last time the board/the fans supported a manager for any decent length of time we did really well. champions league, actually. then the vultures appeared for no real reason and it was goodbye bobby, hello mediocrity. so you are saying we would have done well if we had supported souness or roeder for a decent length of time? no, the world and its dog knew they were not good enough. I dunno about the world but the dog knew

a mentality shared by many newcastle fans. keep doing that, its worked great so far (assuming you were being sarcastic....) So how's saying nothing and supporting the manager working out for ya then...... goin' great is it? the last time the board/the fans supported a manager for any decent length of time we did really well. champions league, actually. then the vultures appeared for no real reason and it was goodbye bobby, hello mediocrity. so you are saying we would have done well if we had supported souness or roeder for a decent length of time?

Nah if it's Redknapp I won't back him. I didn't back Souness and I didn't back Roeder. I didn't want Allardyce but backed backed him once appointed. I supported the club throughout however.

Superb post. Maybe this is what happens when your chairman stands with the fans, the mentality seeps through to boardroom decision making. Second that

Jamie Redknapp IN

exactly

Weird...was so shocked. This was the first manager since Robson I backed. I didn't want him appointed but once he was he seemed to make the right noises. I'm sure Ashley hasn't made a rash decision so for me, although disappointed, I do feel quite excited as to what he has up his sleeve. Please please Jose, Sollied or Hitzfeld...

Are you guys suggesting people run away from me for reasons other than having a square head and bolts in my neck???

Not that I like to watch defensive football - but isn't that where we need to improve first up? Get it right in defence first and then think about attacking? or am I just too conservative? You need to be taken out back and a high calibre gun taken to your head and be put out of your misery. blueyes.gif Spot on. We had it right in defense, Allardyce has dragged our defense downhill. Under Roeder? or Souness?

Not that I like to watch defensive football - but isn't that where we need to improve first up? Get it right in defence first and then think about attacking? or am I just too conservative?

You guys don't know anything about football. You obviously haven't watched him play in the Champions League - he was a beast. But hey, it's cool to call him s***

The reason the clubs that do well are usually the ones that keep there manager for a while is f****** obvious Nicky, because they're doing well! Why sack a manager who's doing well?.. Managers that show signs of improving things at a club get kept and they're the ones that tend to do well. Managers who are stuborn idiots who seem to be sabotaging there own team get the sack, before they f*** things up even more. The fat man has until the end of the season at most IMO. Not really. Ferguson didn't do that well for both Aberdeen and Man U...and look at Moyes who wasn't sacked after a cr*p 2nd season. Give him until the end of the season AT LEAST

Yes I agree NZogbia is not a left back - and I don't think I suggested he was. I think he has played well in that position - definitely(infinitely) much better than babayaro or ramage. would like to see Enrique there first choice however, sometime in the near future. Zoggers is a great attacking player and once he's given that freedom it'll be very exciting. In regards to your statement:"we do not have the luxury of buying 6m players and 'grooming' them for the future at this time." I don't think it's up to you to make such assumption - that's really Sam and the club's call.

One issue I want to raise is this: weren't we all moaning about how crap our fullbacks were last year and how those positions were the most problematic (i.e. carr and babayaro first choice still makes me cringe). One thing Sam has done is dramatically improved those positions. Beye is proving to be very reliable (and versatile right back) and Zoggers has played very well as a left back. Sam's also brought in Enrique who I think will take some time to settle but will be a decent player sooner rather than later. You can also see he is trying to improve the Centre backs as well although he is probably finding that area more difficult at this stage. The point is, Sam seems to be addressing issues one by one. He doesn't seem too concerned about scoring goals ....YET. Rather he seems concerned about the defensive performances - and those performances seem to be much better than last year. Give Big Sam some time.

I always thought Albeda a good player in Spain but I don't think he's the sort of player that would do well in the Premier League. He always seemed a pretty slow player. decent with the ball and good positioning but not very fast. Considering the wages he would want being the past captain of Valencia, Spanish international and all if I was Sam I'd probably put my money elsewhere.

just read the whole article. Sam's comments are spot on and he provides the exact reasons why I'll stick by him.

Thats why you nothing about football. You never seen shola play in champs league..... he was a beast. But hey its cool to call him s*** Andy Cole was a beast when he played in the champs league too. I'm sorry if I don't know anything about football but I've seen both Shola and Cho play and I think Cho is better for the club overall.

I wanted Gullit out as soon as he announced "sexy football", Roeder out straightaway, Souness after about 10 games...but Sam I'm sticking with. This is a guy I reckon we should give some time to rebuild the club (i.e. at least 1 season, ideally 2). Yes his tactics are crap at the moment but at least he has tactics unlike Roeder. He's not barking for more and more funds like Souness and is trying to work with what he has. The most important thing is, I think he is working hard behind the scenes with Mort et al to improve the whole structure of the club. I think i've said all this in another thread but I just want to reiterate that we should stand behind Sam a while longer.

I rate him much higher than Lee at Boro and Ameobi. A disable pidgeon could play better than Ameobi. Cho could be a useful player on the bench and should provide the club exposure in Asia. On the other hand, Sam's past record with asian players isn't great (it isn't vast either) i.e. Nishizawa at Bolton. I don't know if he started a game there. He was decent in CM a few years back mind you.

But you could argue that Man City weren't in as big of a dogshit position as us. They needed a spark of quality management and Sven provided that. We needed more than a spark, we needed a revolution, and we got one ( and it is still happening ) so it can only take more time for us than Man City. that's it - what sold me was Big Sam's methods of changing the whole club and how it is run. tbh i would be worried if we were winning games but there was no change to the club because that would be merely papering over the cracks. THe prime example is Glen Roeder who did a great job when he took over as caretake manager but was just one of Sheperd's puppets. Roeder had no idea what he was doing except try to say the right things and make the fans feel good. I'm not an insider to the club, but my feeling is Sam is taking on problems at the club head on and trying to instil some sort of direction to the club. In this time of transition there are going to be problems and things are not going to be right from the start. Things need to improve gradually rather than suddenly (e.g. Man City) for there to be long term stability. From memory, Wenger's first season at Arsenal wasn't great and neither was Ferguson's. An exception is MOurinho... but he's the Special One. Despite some bad results/performances I'm willing to give Sam some time to get things right.

capaca hasn't been bad since the pompey game. sometimes shaky but he's regaining confidence. rozy is a different story. you can see he's low on confidence and doesn't want to make a mistake. I think he is a good player but at this stage faye is much better for various reasons. don't give your hopes up on rozy but it will take some time for him to become a good premier league player. Oh, and it is amazing we have an 'almost' 100% squad for a while - for me, ramage isn't first team.