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Having a player like Fabregas to break down the smaller teams could be what wins Chelsea the title this season. They already have the best back 6 in England with depth everywhere except centreback. I think it will be them first than Arsenal second.

Chelsea have two of the top three keepers in the Premiership, IMO.

In fairness, two of the goals ASM conceded were the result of horrific officiating. Yes rubbish for the fourth. OM have looked rubbish under Bielsa thus far as we'll.

Frankly, I think he would have been at a bigger club than Newcastle last season if not for his trouble with the rape allegation. I'm sure he enjoyed his stay here, but probably does not see NUFC as a final destination

Without doing so you don't score goals and that's what wins games. Many of the best (missed) goal scoring chances are shots off target. Obviously, a shot on target is required to win with the exception of a own goal, but the statistic does not really tell you about the amount of threat a team carried in a match.

If he creates as many chances for us as Oba did in his first two seasons, it will be a great acquisition for a decent price. Forward players who can cause havoc with pace, power, skill, and aggressiveness are so useful. The key is to have other players who can make up for whatever deficiencies they may have.

I don't understand the fascination with "on target". A good bit of play meant Sissoko should have scored, and Ayoze's shot looked headed towards the corner if not for heroics from Fernando. Would you rather they lobbed a few at Hart from 30 yards just to improve statistics? Generally, they competed well physically and tested City in the second period.

No mention of him whatsoever in Pardew's post match interview when he was listing through players. Apart from when he mentioned Caballa's threat around the box and that we had not seen the like of it since Cabaye left. Thought that was another sly dig at Ben Arfa. Ben Arfa has started 3-4 matches since Cabaye was sold.

He is just not a good football player, but was reliable enough today. No glaring errors, which is big against a side like Man City where he will obviously be tested quite a bit.

As a team today, NUFC seemed to have quite a bit of endeavour, athleticism, and willingness without too much intelligence is movement or passing or anything in the final third. Moussa exemplified this. Still, I thought he was quite useful today and along with Colback contributed well in midfield.

He is getting caught up field without contributing anything going forward.

I like Joel Ward. We should sign Joel Ward.

Sanogo's game is reminiscent of my own. He just seems so clumsy and laboured despite his physical gifts. Having said this, he is already a hassle for defenders to deal with and shows flashes of obvious ability. Really, he needs to be on loan, because I think he will be good, but is nowhere near ready.

What is the point of prison if you want people to be unemployable after they are released? I don't think Evans or Ranger are threats to society as a whole, Evans especially served his time after a very contentious trial. They should be allowed to continue using their talents. Ranger, however, has proven to be a fairly terrible employee who consistently defies authority and fails to show up for engagements. I'm stunned he is getting a chance at that high a level after his antics last season.

Abi you never join FF game? Abeg, make you do this ting quick quick bifor you vex me o!

I have said this before, but the FIFA rankings (not random the new one was released today), especially in Africa though it is a world problem, are a monstrosity and need to be addressed by someone if they will be used to determine seedings, pots, etc. I understand the simple calculation, but they need to be more representative of what has happened over the past four years.

His 10 Premiership goals in fifty starts and innumerable substitute appearances over the past two seasons speak to this. 1 in 5 strikers with no other attributes do not generally last very long.

Senegal have a tough group with Tunisia, Egypt, and a Botswana team that has looked decent at times. There is no guarantee he goes. I like Cisse, but his form over the last two seasons has just been too poor for me to conceive a dream where he is back to "his best". Several of the players under Pardew have regressed and play with no confidence, but Cisse is at the same point as Shola and Gutierrez where he just looks completely finished as a player at this level.

I doubt it, I think Pellegrino will stick with his favoured 2 strikers. Instead of Fernandinho I think he means. Like the Argentine lot don't think he's hardly trained. I know there is no way around it, but players definitely do not get enough to rest and recover when there are big international tournaments in the summer. I feel bad for the Europeans having to do it every other year. How much rest time would someone like Xavi have had during the 2008-2014 period. Maybe it is not surprising his time at the top level ended so abruptly.

http://www.newcastle-online.org/nufcforum/index.php/topic,60160 There is precedent for this. For the smoke to have risen twice, you wonder if there is a fire raging somewhere deep inside of the place.

He is the only one of the three I have ever seen perform at a level befitting of a quality Premiership player (unfortunately not enough since the second half of 2012-13 when his confidence seemed to evaporate, culminating in some inexcusable matches last year). Haidara to me is just average. He has the athleticism to cover some of his faults, but he doesn't bring much to the team going forward or defending. Dummett is inadequate, unfortunately. He has no exceptional traits at this level. Santon should get one more chance to show himself here, tbh, and if he can't should be moved on for the good of the club (LB has become a problem position) and a player that like so many here is talented, but has regressed.

I think Steven Taylor might be the worst player that regularly gets matches for NUFC at the moment, maybe aside from Dummett and Elliot (who will likely not play much this season without injury), and out of form Cisse. He is noticeably worse than the three other options at his position.

What is the situation with Santon? I presume he is injured, but haven't heard much about him. I'd much prefer him to the other two options, especially if he can regain his form/confidence. Tiote's presence will be a massive miss with Toure and the other creative players they have in the middle.

He was your best player against Iran mate I know there was little competition for the award in that particular match, but this is blatantly untrue. Shola came on in his second half and his main contribution was losing aerial battles against Iran's tiny centrebacks when there were potential chances afoot. He played the exact way he for NUFC since about 2006.

The sanctification of Ben Arfa on here can be tiresome at times. To me, he is a supreme talent who has proven to be unreliable, petulant, and somewhat troublesome throughout his career, who is managed by a self-interested charlatan with little actual ability. It is a volatile mix that has finally began to burn. Ben Arfa has acted foolishly one too many times and Pardew has used this as an excuse to shun the player and make him a scapegoat because he is always trying to protect himself. There have been signs of this throughout his career here. Ben Arfa has only really performed in electric spurts of good performances, and whenhe isn't performing the manager uses his lackadaisical nature and attitude as a reason to drop him so the attention is shifted.