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You still have to go to Madrid, which will be very difficult. It is not inconceivable that Barcelona go to the last match day needing a home victory for the title. I think you know what happened in this situation last time. Yeah, we won. 2009-2010 I am talking about last season when Atletico held Barca 1-1 to confirm the title.

You still have to go to Madrid, which will be very difficult. It is not inconceivable that Barcelona go to the last match day needing a home victory for the title. I think you know what happened in this situation last time.

Colback keeps getting the ball in the same position, and there is no one available to pass to at all. The movement is so poor.

The last version of UEFA Cup started in June with the Intertoto (coincidentally won by NUFC in its final year). The current Europa League format is almost identical to the UEFA Cup, except with a less nonsensical group stage. It is a massive competition in scale, the number of teams means the qualifying must start fairly early.

Something was physically wrong with Messi last season and during the World Cup, imo. There is a stark difference in his movement, stamina, and explosiveness since the turn of 2015.

Ramos has more ability on the ball. He's played there a fair few times. Scored a good amount of goals in that position towards the end of last season too. Ramos is horrible in the middle. For the same reason Luiz is, neither of them have no idea where they are supposed to be. Out of position all the time. Luiz is fine as long as you pair him with a real DM who will sit responsibly and let him run around wildly for 90 minutes. Better than Ramos, imo, anyway. Fine result for Madrid. They've gone into a charged atmosphere against a top side and emerged with a situation where a simple 1-0 victory sends them to a final.

Well, he has common sense. It would be foolish for McClaren to come here and take this position at this time. What tactical imprint will he really leave over three weeks? At this point of the season, he is nothing more than a warm body that would hopefully put a bounce into the step of NUFC's downtrodden players. If a new manager was to be appointed, it should have happened two months ago when the situation was tenable. It is not a particularly unique decision for a club on pace for a middling season to allow some lame duck assistant to handle the rest of the campaign, when the manager unexpectedly leaves, so they can wait until close season when there will be more available managers for less money. It could only be at this version of Newcastle, where this assistant ends up with maybe the worst record of any manager in the history of the league and throws everything asunder. No one with other options will come in this position. Also, if we are to be relegated, Derby are frankly a much more stable option for any manager. Everyone knows Derby's goals for next season, they have a core group of players that will likely remain in 2015-2016 and are familiar with the league. No one knows how this club would handle relegation, there is due to be a large turnover of players regardless, the supporters have protested against the last two managers, and it is unknown what investment strategy Ashley would pursue with lowered revenue (though this is somewhat mitigated by parachute payments). This being said, the alarmist talk of how any decent manager will not be willing to come (during close season) is false, imo. Well-paid managerial jobs (the NUFC position will be well paid in relative terms across relevant positions) are scarce, managers are not. If the clubs hires a dunce, it will be because of foolish decisions and little else.

Why are the last 13 matches the only indication of his managerial capabilities? He won 2 of the last 13, but also won 8 of the previous 13 before that and 7 of the first 13 matches of the season. It is not as though, he is actualy on the pitch, anyway, he only has so much control. Generally, McClaren has a history of being a competent manager. The last time NUFC hired a manager with that description was Keegan more than seven years ago. He played a whole season and came 8th in the Championship, the season wasn't 13 games. Derby last season outplayed QPR at Wembley and were unlucky to go up after finishing third, and then underachieved somewhat this season. Nothing about this infers incompetence. I don't understand this statement. No one is happy with the current conditions at the club, but they are directly tied to the type of candidates that the club can attract and will pursue. Without acceptance of this, it hard to have a rational discussion about any potential managers.

Why are the last 13 matches the only indication of his managerial capabilities? He won 2 of the last 13, but also won 8 of the previous 13 before that and 7 of the first 13 matches of the season. It is not as though, he is actualy on the pitch, anyway, he only has so much control. Generally, McClaren has a history of being a competent manager. The last time NUFC hired a manager with that description was Keegan more than seven years ago. Baba, the last 13 matches determined an 8th place finish in a pretty hopeless league with one of the best squads in it. I'd take him over Carver in an eyeblink but let's not pretend he should even be on the shortlist. Pellegrini recorded one away victory in the period from 1 January to 1 May 2015, in a patch of form that saw the 3rd or 4th most expensive sides in the world fall out of contention in all competitions. I still believe he is a great manager. I believe that McClaren is perfectly acceptable and will do well at this level given decent players, and I have formed this opinion of him after seeing his career unfold for a large proportion of my young life. His appointment would not excite me as OM's appointment of Bielsa did, but for the level NUFC currently sits at, he is fine.

Why are the last 13 matches the only indication of his managerial capabilities? He won 2 of the last 13, but also won 8 of the previous 13 before that and 7 of the first 13 matches of the season. It is not as though, he is actualy on the pitch, anyway, he only has so much control. Generally, McClaren has a history of being a competent manager. The last time NUFC hired a manager with that description was Keegan more than seven years ago.

Are the locals supporting Boro to go up? The league looks very, very Southern with the new additions. I don't know Boro's finances, though, they may struggle if Chelsea can only send them one top prospect on loan, rather than several.

Messi is absolutely miles better than Ronaldo. Tell me one way in which Ronaldo is a better player. Messi is better at almost everything by a mile. I posted this article during the world cup but it is worth putting up again. Please read this Froggy http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/lionel-messi-is-impossible/ Every single physical attribute?

I don't know, maybe I was somewhat harsh in the previous post, as Branislav is the best attacking defender in England by a large, large distance and clearly a good player, but I just don't think he is particularly good at any aspect of actual defensive play these days, especially given the solidity have through the first XI and the entire squad. He seems the weak link always.

It is incredible how effective and direct Ronaldo has become given the player he was as a young man. His physical dominance is incredible, like a top NBA player.

It is difficult for me to put Ivanovic in any best 11, it seems he is directly responsible for a shockingly high percentage of goals that Chelsea concede, and is constantly out of position defensively, even when he hasn't bombed forward.

Abeid and Colback look like a decent combination in midfield, tbh. Both working hard and are good enough on the ball. (tonight at least) One of the few positives along with the activity and creativity of Perez.

With any semblance of a back four, this is a match NUFC could steal a draw from or even win with alot of hard running from the likes Colback and Sissoko and a moment of magic from one of the small boys with bad hair. Liverpool are typically disorganised. With Ryan Taylor and co. back there this will likely be a heavy defeat.

Losses for QPR and Burnley in these next two matches make it very difficult to envisage a path to relegation for Newcastle.

We are the worst team in any top league. It's somewhat understandable if these were fluke wins in scrappy matches, but Sunderland actually dominate NUFC every time they encounter each other. A club that is routinely the worst team to survive the drop in the Premiership and Newcastle's players are scared of the fixture. A team that the likes of Aston Villa and Crystal Palace dominate with ease.

Yakubu should be on the list. Consistently scored goals and did so at a time when the Premier League was actually the best in the world.

I still cannot believe that football's governing bodies have essentially forced a footballer to be inactive for half of a season. It is a ridiculous decision. He has essentially been given a 7 month ban from the sport because Pardew and Bruce did not fancy him as a player!

It is also very specific to this incident. Not only is it a complete misunderstanding of the rules with no grey area; it is also the last kick of the match that is being discussed, so it can be easily replayed without the integrity of the match being threatened. Also, it has happened during a tournament that is formatted in such a way that all of the matches will happen in the same stadium, so there is no effect on any travel plans or training schedules. It is hard to see it being applied elsewhere. Once again, you are incorrect.

To be honest, I am somewhat sympathetic towards Carver. I genuinely believe he loves the club, but he has the same faults as most other men. He is ambitious, self-interested, and remarkably unremarkable. He is also woefully incompetent and deep inside himself I think he knows this. Everyone at the club knows it too. I believe the people above him at the club will essentially use him as a sacrificial lamb for their own inadequacies and lack of interest in this season for anything other than simply surviving at the least cost.

French footballers are remarkably forthcoming when compared to their English counterparts. Ligue 1 players at fairly big clubs talk about moving on, bigger clubs, etc. constantly without much in the way of backlash. They love to talk.

I understand the reaction because people are hurt at another surrender against another poor Sunderland team, but there really is nothing here. Maybe you chastise someone for lack of aggression or competitive nature on the actual pitch (Not me), but this was walking to the changing room at halftime. Hand on the back, simple pleasantries in the vein of "good hit" or something similar, spend the the next fifteen minutes ruminating on what lacked in the first half and can be changed in the second. The players are not blood warriors, just professionals in a small fraternity of people that have made it to the top. It annoys me when things like this pick up media exposure, especially when there are real issues at hand after this shambles. How many seasons out of the last eight or so have ended in a malaise? I would say every single on except for the 5th place finish and the dominant run in the CCC.