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Sounds like one of the best in the world, get him signed. A tall composed Oba sounds like one of the best players of all time. Gomis isn't that but is very talented. He reminds me of Adebayor if anyone. He can be very clumsy and will miss ALOT of chances, but he is so physically strong and has a ability to play outside of the box whixh makes him very useful, and will still usually score a bit. He'd be a good acquisition for us anyway. edit:Matuidi would be a fantastic signing. I'd prefer him to Gomis, but Etienne want the big money for him. Also, St. Etienne are really really s*** this year, but this seems to happen every year in Ligue 1. Toulouse were third in 2006/7 and 17th in 2007/2008. Etienne were 5th I think last year and are now hovering above relegation.

But he's rubbish though. His brother is too.

I believe the whole point ia that Oba actually moves, while Viduka for the most part just stands in place. If Duke is fit than I don't mind him starting at all. Problem is, it's terrible to watch when he isn't.

you're joking. MON loves NRC to inexplicable levels, he really does. The number of games I've seen where everyone was practically begging him to take Reo-Coker off, then he goes and takes a right back off, sticks NRC there, then sticks someone else in midfield ... I don't really get NRC. He's a great tackler and an awkward player to have in your face, but he gives the ball away far too much. I much prefer Sidwell. I think O'Neill is always scared to take Agbonlahor/Carew off when they are playing, or to put another striker on. Saw it when you played us, his idea of an attacking change is taking Luke Young off, putting a midfielder on and throwing NRC back there. When the likes of Harewood, Salifou, and Routledge (All his own purchases) sit on the bench. Villa only have two strikers he trusts, due to some poor buys, and it leaves him with very few options when down. Holding Villa back really. Also, while Nigel showed promise a few years back, imo he really has not turned into a good player and has no place in a side with lofty aspirations like Villa.

That wouldn't be "adventurous", "attacking" Harrys 4-5-1 away from home is it? We do create quite a few chances with that formation tbf (works much better then 4-4-2). Modric is the key here. If Butt stays with him the whole game, you'll probably win. In a recent away game, i remember a team marking him throught (sometimes even double marking him), and it did the job. Huddlestone and Bent have a very good understanding so you should watch out for through balls every now and again. Our weak link is usually Ekotto, but he's been very impressive recently. His positional sense is sometimes very dodgy so Jonas may get some luck down that side (ekotto can definately keep up with him pace wise though. Any chance Taylor starting? coz i'd fancy Bent to tear him apart if on form. Colllocini is a rock but he is vulnerable to the odd mistake here and there, and a player like Bent thrives on that. Ohhhh yeahhhhhh and then there's Aaron Lennon who's been far and away our best player this season (corluka a close second). You haven't been watching us much these last two seasons if you think Butt can keep up with Modric. If you look at the teams that will be put out, they are very equal except for your midfield which is stronger, but only because of Modric. If your team is correct, then Huddlestone/Zokora are not very impressive at all.

He (Bentley) wasn't good againt United at all btw. Spurs biggest threats are definitely Modric and Lennon of late. Their striker situation is interesting. Both Bent and Pavlyuchenko are good players who struggle to play upfront alone and haven't looked very good together. Neither of them seems to fit in when I watch Spurs play.

But Geremi can deliver the ball much better than Zog. Why doesn't he get in the side?

The thing is Bayern have really been sputtering this year. Unless Munchen get there act together, the likes of Hoffenheim will push it to the end.

Definitely. Two very scary players.

Pompey really do look bad. Some of the mistakes they made were ridiculous. I mean the last two seasons, they've been one of the strongest teams in the league and were very hard to break down. I don't know what's changed. Totally different team than the one that came to SJP last year.

See....now why the hell can't we always be like this. Really really enjoyed this performance. Great response from the players. Credit to Joe Kinnear too.

Good movement for once. Oba's run pulled away Campbell and Owen went right into that space. Very good to see. Was terrible from the Portsmouth defendr who gave it away though.

Gomes is looking realy good again. Confident too. So, how does he explain being so ridiculously s*** at first?

Ronaldo really is an idiot. Why did he have to kick out at Dawson there?

I think we'd be 12 points better off if Keegan had stayed, even with this squad, so he's got to take some of the blame for our current plight. An extra 12 points would have us fighting for a European place instead of our Premiership survival. I wouldn't expect Keegan to put up with dross like Butt and Duff and pretend they are what he wanted (and he would have to). Keegan on Butt... "He has been vitally important and is the one player who stitches it all together. He just gets on with it. "Michael Owen captains the side, but I see him as another captain out there. Keegan on Duff... ve absolutely no doubt that Damien is going to be in the best shape of his Newcastle career," he said. "The lad hasn't had a proper pre-season in three years, but now he's at the weight he was at 18. "I think we've got to draw a line under what's gone on before. We definitely want to keep him. He's a player who sets good standards in training." So either a) Keegan genuinely liked and rated them, or b), he's a liar as well? Actions speak louder than words. He binned them and got results. I couldn't really give a f*** about quotes if I'm happy with what I see on the pitch. He bigged Shola up too then tried to peddle him. He binned Duff, aye, although he brought him back in at the start of this season. Butt was still a regular in the team though. Butt looked decent last year with Barton and Geremi to take the burden off him. Butt's decent but he won't cut it a two man midfield. That's the main problem with him and Geremi, though they are both decent players. I actualy rate Geremi to be honest.

Aye, I can really see Mike Ashley sanctioning that one. :lol: modric :lol: Yeah because he was also trying to sell the club last January when he put up the money for that deal. and now the fans are pissed because he wont spend after they've basically driven him out? flawless logic. He wasn't spending anyway. That's why Nicky Butt is still a first teamer. Butt is still a first-teamer because £6m was spunked on Alan Smith with the Dyer money rather than an actual midfielder. Mmm nope. Butt needed replacing in the summer but Dennis knew better. Yeah, he signed Guthrie. Only a year after the board sanctioned a £5.8m transfer of Barton, as well as giving a big contract to Geremi. So managers have signed, in their time under Mike Ashley four midfielders (or midfielders in the manager's eyes) in Barton, Geremi, Guthrie & Smith...that's not including Nacho Gonzalez. That's not the board's fault that two managers have spent a fair bit on midfielders and yet Butt still plays. He couldn't sign £18m Modric so went for £2m Guthrie? The obvious choice. Modric was available. What other big money centre-mids were part of the transfer merry-go-round this summer? Deco? Oh aye... Chelsea or Newcastle, hmm. I don't really get what your arguing Wullie man. Are you saying he Ashley hasn't/wouldn't spend big on players? He has done - Coloccini is hard evidence of that. And again, tbh, i believed Mort when he said we bid for Modric and i still do. Fair enough, believe what you like. I believe he's a bare faced liar. £10m on one player alone is not "spending big" in my eyes. £6.3m on a left-back, club record. £10.6m on a centre-back, club record. £6m on Alan Smith. £5.6m on a Spanish U-21 striker. £5.8m on Joey Barton. £7m+ on Jonas Gutierrez. £7m+ on Jonas? How's that like? He's got nearly all the rest back man. Did we? I counted about 34.3 million on that list. Have we really recouped that much? In all seriousness by the way. Am I forgetting something?

Aye, I can really see Mike Ashley sanctioning that one. :lol: modric :lol: Yeah because he was also trying to sell the club last January when he put up the money for that deal. and now the fans are pissed because he wont spend after they've basically driven him out? flawless logic. He wasn't spending anyway. That's why Nicky Butt is still a first teamer. Butt is still a first-teamer because £6m was spunked on Alan Smith with the Dyer money rather than an actual midfielder. Mmm nope. Butt needed replacing in the summer but Dennis knew better. Yeah, he signed Guthrie. Only a year after the board sanctioned a £5.8m transfer of Barton, as well as giving a big contract to Geremi. So managers have signed, in their time under Mike Ashley four midfielders (or midfielders in the manager's eyes) in Barton, Geremi, Guthrie & Smith...that's not including Nacho Gonzalez. That's not the board's fault that two managers have spent a fair bit on midfielders and yet Butt still plays. He couldn't sign £18m Modric so went for £2m Guthrie? The obvious choice. Which two managers are you on about? Allardyce who signed the first three, and Keegan who signed Guthrie. Blame Keegan, always the easy get out card. Who the hell is blaming Keegan? Yeah, damn that Kegan for bringing in a decent young English midfielder. He's just saying that the midfield signings from our previous two managers have been unable to bring in any one to displace Butt. Every debate on here turns into a Keegan/Ashley vs. world at some point. Frankly, Keegan has very little to do with this as he was barely even here. *I can't really tell if your showing sarcasm or not

I do hope these people realise that if we signed Bellamy, we'd have two strikers shorter than him. He'd be a giant among men. height doesn't matter too much....timing and execution does. think how many headres owen has scored,martins for that matter. ferdinand was,i believe under 6ft aswell. I'm sorry, but no. There are severe disadvantages to have three tiny strikers, and two fragile tiny strikers. It's not even about being under or above six foot. I definitely take some one who has 5' 10-11 and a bit robust. I think power and height are important attributes of strikers and always have been. martins is robust and on aoccasions has shown himself to be able to lead like that (unfortunatly as he keeps proving you never know which martins is turning up). agreed it's not ideal but think rooney-tevez........beardsley-cole....? There's a reason Manchester United bought Berbatov. And Cole is exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned a robust player of average height. Oba is robust and physical, and that's something I like about him, but his sheer lack of height and body size prevents him from fulfilling certain roles. man utd didn't take berbatov for his height/heading ability It's not just height/heading, because Tevez is alright in the air, but it's for holding the ball up and generally being able to compete with defenders physically. What do you think they signed him for?

I do hope these people realise that if we signed Bellamy, we'd have two strikers shorter than him. He'd be a giant among men. height doesn't matter too much....timing and execution does. think how many headres owen has scored,martins for that matter. ferdinand was,i believe under 6ft aswell. I'm sorry, but no. There are severe disadvantages to have three tiny strikers, and two fragile tiny strikers. It's not even about being under or above six foot. I definitely take some one who has 5' 10-11 and a bit robust. I think power and height are important attributes of strikers and always have been. martins is robust and on aoccasions has shown himself to be able to lead like that (unfortunatly as he keeps proving you never know which martins is turning up). agreed it's not ideal but think rooney-tevez........beardsley-cole....? There's a reason Manchester United bought Berbatov. And Cole is exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned a robust player of average height. Oba is robust and physical, and that's something I like about him, but his sheer lack of height and body size prevents him from fulfilling certain roles.

I do hope these people realise that if we signed Bellamy, we'd have two strikers shorter than him. He'd be a giant among men. height doesn't matter too much....timing and execution does. think how many headres owen has scored,martins for that matter. ferdinand was,i believe under 6ft aswell. I'm sorry, but no. There are severe disadvantages to have three tiny strikers, and two fragile tiny strikers. It's not even about being under or above six foot. I definitely take some one who has 5' 10-11 and a bit robust. I think power and height are important attributes of strikers and always have been.

I do hope these people realise that if we signed Bellamy, we'd have two strikers shorter than him. He'd be a giant among men.

Aye, I can really see Mike Ashley sanctioning that one. :lol: modric :lol: What, him that plays for Spurs? Thing is, even this summer, Newcastle was not a desirable destination at all. This problem has only been exacerbated.

Good, rightly they shouldn't. Butt has done f*** all to warrant an improved contract. done more than guthrie this season imo and with a thin squad maybe it makes sense to try and keep those with a saleable value. Personally don't agree with that but each to their own. I think Guthrie has become an important member of our first team and I'd sooner see him in the starting XI than Butt. I think that Guthrie, Barton, and another midfielder could definitely be a good foundation in midfield.

Man Utd have just given van der Sar a new contract...obviously their scouting team can't find a better first-choice 'keeper. I don't know why Manchester United feel the need to keep going on with Van Der Sar. He's been a liability this season and last. But yeah your original point about keeping older reliable players is something I agree with. That's not my point at all. I want to get rid of Butt. My point was it's not just us and our management/scouts/etc, who give silly contracts to sh*t, over-the-hill players. Well alright then But yeah, I wouldn't really want Butt playing next year either, but I don't really mind IF he's on the bench as experienced cover. I'm not going to use the offer of a new contract as some cheap crack at Wise though. Players that have actauly been transferred have been decent.

Man Utd have just given van der Sar a new contract...obviously their scouting team can't find a better first-choice 'keeper. I don't know why Manchester United feel the need to keep going on with Van Der Sar. He's been a liability this season and last. But yeah your original point about keeping older reliable players is something I agree with.