thewellander

There was a similar veiled comment about players being unhappy in the Guardian yesterday as well. If it's true, it would seem that some of the players don't like being on such a short leash. There's something to be said about putting your best side out on the field, in a formation that suits their talents and just letting them play. I don't think Big Sam gets that.

I don't care who wins the tournament. I'll cheer for whatever team has Toon players out on the pitch at any given time. So I guess that leaves Turkey and Czech Republic.

I apologize if this is already been said (I don't have the time to read 30+ pages of this thread) but what particularly annoys me is that Steve made England play a meaningless friendly on Friday night and didn't learn a thing from it. On Friday, just like tonight and every other time that Crouch has scored for England, it has been because he's linked up with Beckham. 100% or not, if you're going to play Crouch alone up front and play the style of football he decided to play, Beckham should have been out there from the start. So, instead of learning from that friendly against Austria that the Beckham / Crouch link up gets goals, he drops Becks, and all he accomplished from that waste of time was to get his (and OUR) #1 striker injured.

I will be very disappointed if Owen claims a place in the starting 11 when he regains fitness. I would much rather we stick with Martins than Owen. Martins did very well in his first year in the Premiership, and I attribute his lack of goals towards the end of the season as a symptom of the general breakdown of the team. We should make every effort to sell Owen in January, and bring in another striker to work with Martins. There is no doubt about that in my mind. I loved the idea of Owen being with us, and held out hope longer than most that he would work out, but this is one too many injuries now.

I'd be happy just to get a clean sheat at this point, never mind delivering a hammering.

My wife was wearing my Milner jersey. I think it will be tradition now.

I agree that Martins came on far too late. I don't really understand that. A draw away from home would be good enough for me against any other team. Between the way we played, Baye possibly getting injured, and only a draw, I'm not happy.

Yeah, I think this injury is going to let Cacapa off the hook. He would have been dropped anyway.

This is what I expect as well. Would prefer to see Martins and Viduka, though.

It might be interesting to go in for him. Whether or not he wants to go to ManU, I'm not sure that Sir Alex would take him at this point. In the long run, I'm not sure that we can count on Owen and Martins being here, so if we could sign Berbatov to a long term contract, with no escape clause, it might be a good move.

It would be hard to fit it in without extending the end of the competition, which would mean there would be less time to prepare and recover for the World Cup and Euros. It's hard to argue with the players, though. They know better than we do whether or not they need breaks.

Given Beye Cacapa Faye Enrique Milner Barton N'Zogbia Smith Martins Owen Prediction: 2-2. Should be a good match.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=477187&cc=5901 Wow.

The cynic in me see this in a different light. The other day, Allardyce said that clubs shouldn't try to buy Owen from them because the price would be too high. http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/tm_headline=hands-off-you-can-8217-t-afford-him%26method=full%26objectid=20016637%26siteid=61634-name_page.html Now he's saying that Owen is not guaranteed to be offered a new contract. So, here's how I read this: He's saying that he doesn't necessarily see Owen in his long-term plans, and the club is willing to sell Owen, but only for a large sum of money. I think it's possible that he's sending a message out to the likes of Manchester City or Arsenal, who have money to spend, to make a ridiculous offer for him.

I didn't see the game and I don't want to slag SA too bad, but I think it was harsh to drop Zog from the starting lineup. IMO, Milner on the right and Zog on the left is the best formation we have at present for scoring goals. I think Geremi should have been dropped, rather than playing him out of position on the right side, if we're intent on playing both Emre and Barton.

I think it would be a terrible idea to play Premiership games in the US. Canada, however.....

I think Crouch is under-rated, but I don't think we need him here at the moment. Could see him going to Manchester City, maybe.

money money money, everything else is funny........ His contract is up at the end of the year and apparently he's out of sorts with the powers-that-be at Sevilla, as well. But, yeah, it's the money.

Perhaps, but I can't see Zog being dropped, if he's fit.

His position was undermined back in August though. Two games in and they were smashing the panic button with a mallet. Things may have sorted themselves out if they hadn't done that and made it clear he was on borrowed time from the start. I agree with that, except that he deserves to be sacked for his poor work in the transfer window this summer. Everyone knew that his defence needed to be sorted out, and he didn't do it. He spent too much money on the players he brought in, and - with the exception of Bale - he didn't really add anything worthwhile to the club.

The FIFA rankings are meaningless, but Scotland deserves credit for what they've accomplished. I can't wait for the Scotland v Italy match next month.

I'm very pleased to read that article about Martins. I think he's a real boost to this club. He's an exciting player and he's very capable of scoring goals. Very deserving of wearing #9, in my opinion, and I'm glad that he's happy with the club.

Damn, I'm happy with our back four. I couldn't imagine being able to say that last year. It would be nice to see a clean sheet, though. Considering how little EPL experience they have, it's not a surprise I suppose. Once they get settled, I think we're going to have one of the tougher defenses in the league. I agree with this lineup, except that I wouldn't have both Smith and Emre on the bench, over Viduka (if he's fit). Sam seems intent on playing Smith in midfield, so if Barton is indeed a guaranteed start from here on out, I can't see where Emre is going to fit in, unfortunately. I suppose it's nice to have options.

I think Owen/Viduka will be the better pairing going ahead, but I agree that it would be harsh to drop Martins at this point. I prefer having Milner on the right over Geremi. I think Reading are vulnerable defensively, and I'd like to see two attack-minded players on the flanks. I'd go with this: Given Beye Cacapa Faye Enrique Butt Emre Milner N'Zogbia Owen Martins Subs: Harper Rozehnal Geremi Barton Viduka

I'm mostly impressed that we've managed to have such a good start in spite of key injuries. Since the beginning of the season we've had Viduka, Owen, Duff, Emre, Barton, Ameobi, Cacapa (I believe), Ramage, Babayaro, and Carr all out with injuries for at least one game or more. But we've adapted well and pushed through some positive results.