Segun Oluwaniyi

To be frank with you, it is not possible for me to care less about England and it's hope of a World Cup. Its citizens have direct access to the most watched and followed league in the world for nine months of every single year. People will live without it. Undoubtedly, it would be an exciting event, probably akin to Germany 2006 in terms of being very well run while also being very familiar. Brazil is the most successful nation in the history of the sport, and will have waited 64 years to host once more. No one has done it more than twice. If I was in control of everything, I would alternate the tournament between the fully industrialised football hotbeds and nations that either are mad for the game, but developing economically or economically developed, but not known for football. I do agree that a run of four World Cups that counts Brazil as the most stable location is quite ridiculous.

For what it is worth, I don't think the actual World Cup in Qatar will be much trouble at all. It is a small, compact, and organised country with an incredible fortune at its disposal. I'm sure they will do everything possible to make the tournament hospitable to foreign travelers and to ease transportation and housing concerns. I actually think it will be quite a show. The real one people should be worrying about is Russia. I believe this has to the potential to go very badly.

I see no problem whatsoever with a winter World Cup. It is something that should clearly have been discussed and decided before awarding it, and he seeming FIFA policy of making decisions before considering their ramifications is worrying, but given eight years of notice, there is no issue in adjusting the football calendar for one year.

I'm not sure about Doumbia. I watch the CSKA highlights most weeks to keep tabs on Musa, who as established himself in the national team, and it seems as though every match Doumbia/Musa are just violating the other team with their pace. Granted, both of them have exceptional pace, but it has led me to speculate that defenders in Russia may just be very slow and unaccustomed to such athleticism. It also makes me suspicious that he doesn't break the CIV team very often, so I haven't seen too much of him there either to compare. He might be a paper champion.

I would agree with all except Eriksen and Oscar. Neither of those two have proven anything yet and I think Oscar will actually spend most of his career playing further back as a pure central midfielder, though a top quality one, once he gains some kilos of muscle. Cazorla is about even, imo. I think Ozil, Mata, and Hazard are just better footballers. Ozil and Mata have vision and passing range beyond Ben Arfa and provide more for their team game to game. Hazard is a few months older than Shane Ferguson and either the best or second player on one of the best teams in England. I rate the guy extremely highly, and he is also a great athlete who works extremely hard in every game I've ever seen him play. Walcott is a very different type of player, and definitely less aesthetically pleasing, but he has been incredibly productive for Arsenal since about the turn of the decade. The boy has matured into a verifiable Lethal Weapon. Ben Arfa is one of the most naturally gifted players on the planet with the ball at his feet and his best matches any player other than the two pillars in La Liga, but he has never played at his best for an extended period of time (a full season) at any point in his career and I am not sure he ever will. Twenty-six year old wide players generally are who they will be at the end of things. It is my opinion that he will remain inconsistent and frustrating in terms of comparison with the world's best for the rest of his career, but at the same time will be someone who is a fantastic entertainer who can win matches on his own, while also being the best player at this football club for years to come. From the perspective of a fullback, though, Ben Arfa is the one I would least want to face. The others will beat you. Hatem will embarrass you and shatter your confidence as a man on his day.

Wasn't it Ivory Coast v Senegal last year anarl? Howay the Ivorians. It was. you might remember Senegal losing and their supporters lighting the stadium on fire in response.

Go Ivory Coast! What is your quarrel with Cisse? Also, Ghana v. Egypt Tunisia v. Cameroon Burkina Faso v. Algeria The Ghana-Egypt matches will be hot. It says so much about my physche that I am terrified of Ethiopia. We should really finish them easily, but things always end up difficult. It is a shame that either Tunisia or Cameroon will go to the World Cup. Cameroon is a shambles and Tunisia should have lost their spot to Cape Verde.

True, but still both goals are very poor examples of individual defending. Both Risse and Luna are meant to be showing him right., but are too busy backing into the eighteen yard box to have any real effect. He doesn't even have to beat the full back in either case. I suppose it is generally what happens when a poor standard of defender encounters a player of such a high level, they panic and back off.

He's good on both sides (because he is an amazing talent), but continually letting him cut inside and shoot at your keeper is just suicidal football and Villa let it happen repeatedly. He needs to be doubled or shown down the right. Luna/Villa as team did neither of these things. How many warnings did they need between the current match and the goal against Fulham to stop letting him cut in left?

Acceleration is quite related to height. Top speed has little to do with it. Acceleration is also more important than top speed in football. You don't often get to top speed as there isn't enough space. Even Usain Bolt is quite slow off the start compared to most sprinters. There are many footballers out here that I don't think would dominate actual races with their counterparts, but are very fast on the pitch because of their acceleration over short distances. People like Valbuena, Messi, and Ben Arfa come to mind. Even most speedsters such as Walcott, Oba, and Owen are under six foot. It is not surprising that Sissoko's greatest shows of pace are long 40-60 year runs through the middle on counters and chasedowns. he can't pass very well at all, but makes up for this in many other facets.

He's just not a very good player. I like the boy and he can still be useful for us as cover, imo (not that I am overly enamoured with Anita, either, but he will do for now), but he lacks what is necessary to be a great player in his position. He isn't responsible defensively and doesn't under or hold his position well. He tries to imitate the higher level defensive midfielders by using his strength and technical ability to hold ball in tight spaces but he just isn't technically good enough for this. He also is too erratic with his passing. People can and will take the ball off of him and he will lose of his own volition too often. Still, his sheer aggression and physicality can be a huge asset to the team in certain matches and situations. He should take a cue from Obi Mikel and stop shooting from outside the box at any time, though. It is just wasting position and endangering children.

Yep his comments about not being able to put out an attacking side since Ba left (like we played well first half of that season lol) really reveal his problem, he's too scared of losing that the only way he'll take the handbrake off our team is if literally everyone is fit. Admitably with some injuries we are blunt but he doesn't even consider that setting us up more attacking gives us opportunities, to Pardew if his players aren't on the pitch it's all hands in defence better hope for a point. It's nice to see even so after all this time that Pardew can even take the handbrake off and let us play, and the players remember how. Hopefully it won't be kneejerked back on anytime soon. Can we cease the psycho analysis of the man's mindset based on some throwaway quotes from the manager? He is a liar (most managers are) who uses the media to placate the fans, bask in glory when things go well, and make excuses when they do not. This is typical nonsense from him. Judge the man by his actions, not his words.

Why do you think so highly of Everton? If you are basing this off today's performance, it was much more a case of Chelsea misfiring than anything special from Everton. Their goal was a gift and none the opposing attacking players did anything to test them. I think they will struggle for incisiveness upfront, Baines will leave in January, and they also lack depth in defence along with having players and a keeper who are prone to shipping cheap goal. They are a team with talent, but several flaws, just as Newcastle. Where do you think they will finish? I would guess somewhere between 8th and 12th.

We shouldn't be close to relegation. I don't think either 2011/12 or 2012/13 were normal seasons that reflected the true quality of our players. We have several good quality players in the first XI and acceptable quality in reserve when injuries don't accumulate too much. I don't see much difference between our side and the like of Villa, Everton, and Swansea. Somewhere between 8th and 12th.

I never thought we were going down. I kept thinking we were going to pull away and end up midtable until probably after the Sunderland match. I honestly thought the players were too good for it, but I was wrong about this admittedly. It was sometime around when Arsenal almost spelled Newcastle and the loss to Adam Le Fondre that I was nervous about it for the first time.

Now they don't come at all. Stop it.

Someone like Cabaye came from a title team to a recently promoted midtable side because he would be paid more. If you offer an attractive destination and good payment people should come. The French League is competitive and well-covered. They will live in attractive cities, and compete for a major league title and the Champions League/Europa league most every season. I do not see the issue.

We never looked "certs" to go down. We never even entered the relegation zone. The situation was quite frightening, especially after the Reading, Liverpool, and Sunderland matches, but this is an exaggeration. In fact, I would say our worst moments came after the purchases.

Some of my Arsenal people are contacting me seething about this Fabregas rumour. Rambling about how nine year old children have never seen Arsenal take the league. I'd hate to see him move to that despicable club, though. He fixes many of their long standing issues. I think all "top players" should play in the Premiership or for Barcelona and Real Madrid.

better than (Nigerian) Shola. I don't understand the relevance of this comment. Shola is Geordie to the core, and if we are taking strikers only on the basis of being an improvement on Shola, we will end up with Jermaine Easter.

I didn't rate Leon Best at all. I think he is thoroughly average. He was also injured a lot during his time here and spent most of last season the same way.

English people laughing at you for having ambition. I dey laugh. I respect America because we are similar. Why should we not win the cup? It will be exciting in 2014 when England stumbles its way to the knockout stages, people will falling over themselves to support the team, then falling over themselves to distance themselves from it when they lose.

Ashley has NOT succeeded in creating low expectations and apathy among all fans - I am certainly not satisfied with either his running of the club apart from keeping the club debt free by his loan, or his selection of staff to run the playing side. I suspect that the majority of younger fans have fallen for his plan because they have not seen much better from the club and they are the ones prepared to turn a blind eye to what is happening because they are blindly loyal to the club. Ashley will reap the whirlwind of what he has sown if the club have another bad season ; you will see ST sales drop dramatically next summer if this happens again because those middle-aged and older fans will lose patience and only go to selected matches. Don't think it couldn't happen - ST sales were down to 20,000 before SJH and KK took over..... We've been in the bottom half or the Championship 7 of the last 9 seasons since SBR was sacked from his position. Newcastle as a lower tier club is nothing new to anyone. Season ticket sales will drop if the team is poor, but can you really see people leaving en masse if the team is still in the Premiership? A few seasons in the lower divisions would probably half it though.

Agreed. I've met one Sunderland supporter in my entire life, and she was a woman in her fifties that had complete control over the marks for one of my courses. We were hardly going to have an antagonistic relationship. Most of the people I know who follow football in Nigeria and US could not pick out Sunderland from Stoke. Boring useless team who play rubbish football, who cares. Even in London, most people I talked to couldn't name a single player on their team. It has been the same in Italy. Sunderland are just completely and utterly irrelevant. I've gained hatred over the years because of how they act about the derby match, and the vitriol from all parties during that match every season, but it will never rival the deep feelings of disgust every time I see Manchester United play. England seems to have the most local-fan sensible kickoff times of any big league. I understand that isn't the case with prices, but that was inevitable as the game grew.

I'm sure Cuba would smash Tahiti, Americans.