Tsunami

Talksport has this afternoon been inviting fans to ring in to say if they want KK to go. The 2 I heard said that everyone wanted him to go & that he was an embarrassment - Talksport loved it. Shit stirring again by the media.

It is a disgrace that the PFA or someone has not helped the lad. He was the best footballer of a generation, exploited & badly let down by cleverer people whoused then abandoned him. That plastic parrot has a higher IQ than him, not his fault, all his brilliance was with a football & now he's too old for it. I'd love to se NUFC provide some support to him and perhaps allow him to come and go as he wished into training etc. He needs help, he's one of us, so let's not scoff at him, let's help him. NB yes he's done some terrible things & yes he left the Toon but he is in desperate need of a focus in his life & he will not get it anywhere else.

Colin Milburn

Looks like we agree that KK has problems come summertime. I don't rate Brown or Huddlestone - certainly not for our team as it stands. We are going to need a target man & at least 1 quality central midfield player as bare minimum. The revolution is going to take time & we need to start accepting this and stop naming players that we simply will not attract.

I would find that acceptable.

This may be a bit previous & I'm assuming we stay up; but never too early to start looking (Wisey are you looking?). Anyway, I'll include the following realistic targets, for positions that need looking at based on the speed, guile, height, attitude, strength, leadership, vision that we currently do not have & given our present crop that possible list includes most other PL players. I'll leave out FM rated players: Bridge, Papa Diop, Nolan, Barnes, SWP, K Jones, Gudjonsen, Crouch, Bentley (realistic?). Not many readily spring to mind, we need a top class central defender & I can't think of one that we would realistically attract. We could go with Faye but I'm not sure that is the answer. We also need a top class target man, who is mobile, can bring others into play & who can score. Not easy & the mackems may just have one.

Can those who have picked Owen & Martins as a pairing explain to me how they are going to work it between them & how we are going to create chances for them? Bear this in mind; defenders will sit deep so there will not be any space in behind the defence & we will therefore need to rely on their aerial dominance or our massively creative & powerful midfield two bullying the midfield before picking holes in the little space available.......... While I'm at it why didn't we make a greater effort to sign Barnes & why Barton & not Nolan?

The 2 games I saw Geremi play in he hit the bar from 40 yards with a free kick in one of them but in both games in his RB position he simply booted the ball as far up field as he could...............

With the midfield we have how can we play both Owen & Martins? They both ideally play off the last defender either from threaded balls through the middle or early from wide areas. Both would benefit from a front man to play off. Play them together & teams sit deep, we lump the ball in and lose it. Owen IS a luxory at the moment; yes he has scored but unless we are continually creating chances for him I'd rather have Martins as his all round play is better (if unpredicable) for the team in the present circumstances. Give Martins a go. I don't understand how anyone can pick Smith; giving 100% is the very least you should expect. He can't play midfield & can't score or play the link man up front.

Many posters are picking who they think are the best 11 individual players. This isn't working on the pitch. We need to be able to change things, we need to be resilient & we need to be threat. Owen/ Martins do not work as a pair. If you play both Martins must be played out of position on the RW. Duff doesn't have an end product & the midfield is neither an effective unit to stop the opposition or threaten/ create at the other end. The defence is leaderless. We need to get 1 or 2 key players in the right positions & make most of our play through this. IMO we need Faye in the heart of defence (although I'd like another of him in midfield). We should play Zog LW, ask Emre to be playmaker & Barton to be box to box running beyond our front 2 at times. Up top we need a big un & a little un. My preference based purely on the lack of product from the other 2 would be Martins & Shola. MO still has much to prove & is a luxury we can't afford just now. KK needs to shake things up, he has to drop under-performing players otherwise we will end up in trouble.

KK inherited BS's squad, couldn't get his Jan transfer targets & had players missing at the cup of nations. Let's say they are all back & fit, who should he pick? This may not be the most talented but what we've seen so far the side lacks passion, motivation, creativity, height or speed. I'd go for Given, Beye, Taylor, Faye, Enrique, Milner, Barton, Emre, N'Zogbia, Martins, Shola (yes Shola) as my starting 11. Butt, Duff, Owen, Carr, Viduka just haven't done it. Zog is more of a danger than Duff, Martins has more in his locker than Owen & we need some height up top & unfortunately I can not see Viduka lasting 60 minutes. Bring him on with 30 to go. I should also say that I don't think this starting 11 is anywhere near good enough...............

Given wasn't at fault, his kicking is however becoming a real problem. Harper remains a good keeper; we are fortunate to have them both.

This run of form has been coming for a long time. Think of the lucky points we picked up against Fulham, Derby & Birmingham (& Wigan further back). BS completely f***** up pre-season. We have no height, no creativity, no organisation, no leader on the pitch, no threat. KK has a hell of a job on his plate next pre-season. We are playing against decent teams & we need more than a rousing man management to make up for our defeciencies. Pick our best 11 & have a good luck at it; we are easy to contain & easy to get at.

FB picked on form & Owen's hasn't been good. Perhaps we will benefit.

Eh fuck it, there's nowt happening on the transfer front so here's the Nou Camp. We turned up in a taxi to find that the game had been called off so went back the next day and took the tour. I wasn't that impressed with the ground - it sinks into the ground rather than rises up from out (probably contributed to the fucking pitch being under water) http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/5696/noucampbu2.jpg

I could post another but the camera was completely wasted.................

San Siro; have you ever seen a mackem in Milan? Shite photo but I was pissed.........& I don't know how to display photo's! http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/7086/sansiro110303014gn0.jpg

He didn't appear strong or quick enough for the PL but without anyone coming in it is a strange move. We do not have have a big squad.........................

I think it is fair to say that unless we improve as a team McKay will engineer a move for Zog.

I haven't read all the comments but Given has been on the wrong end of some blinding long shots this season. The common denominator for me isn't Given, it is the lack of pressure on the ball allowing the opposition that extra second to set themself for the shot; it makes a hell of a difference. What I will say about Given is that since his WH injury he does not command his 6 yard box (if he ever did) & his ball skills have gone seriously backward. Still a great shot stopper.

He had a blinder up here. I'm not sure where he'd fit though.

If I remember we also lost the pre match Its a Knockout but Big Bren won a race. I cried when Alex Lindsey scored in the 1st half & that disallowed goal made the 2nd half stuffing more acceptable; I had been prepared for what was to happen. Super Mac always says we stopped playing once we'd reached the final & he couldn't keep his gob shut in the week leading up to the final. My grandad died in the week leading to the final wearing a polystyrene hat given out with the Chron. He'd have been pleased to have missed it. We were awful.

George O'Reilly

No point in getting in 2nd rate players on longish contracts/ good money that we would need to get rid of in the summer at a loss and no benefit to league position. Barnes is a good player however, but where would we play him?

We should draw a line under the last 2 games. KK's reign starts proper for me on Sunday. We need to win & put a performance in. Get some beer down your neck, take your scarf & let's stuff the smoggies. We need to stop this doom & gloom & you can guarantee that the southern press will be piling the pressure on.