thewellander

Was Solano in at RB for the cup match? Sam seemed to think that he was our only option at the moment.

Thought I would bring a little bit of that old negativity back to the forum and ask when you all think our first loss will be? I'm optimistically saying that we'll get results from our next three games: Wigan (H), Derby (A), West Ham (H). So, I think we'll out right lose our first game to Manchester City (A). I can't see us going much longer than that without a slip-up.

Unfortunately, yeah, Taylor is no longer a guaranteed start. He's worked hard for the team, though, and at 21, I rate him pretty high. But, as much as I love him, I'm happy the day seems to have arrived that we have enough quality in defence that we can talk about sitting out such a decent player.

The Spuds are going to regret not strengthening their defence more than they did over the summer. One of my best friends is a tottenham supporter, and he totally fits the mold of what you're all saying they're like in England. I hate talking footy with him. You can only go about five seconds into the conversation without him mentioning Berbatov.

Although I hate to mention the "R"-Word, so much for Roeder's insistence that we needed to be in Europe in order to draw good players. Barton, Viduka, Rozenhal, Geremi, Smith, Enrique, Faye & Beye. F*ck! Did I miss anyone? They're all pretty quality signings where I sit. Every one of them strengthens the squad.

Tres bien! Merci beacoup, Mr. Allardyce.

I had read somewhere that we weren't expected to get Duff back until January. Mid-November sounds a lot better to me. But we know from Allardyce's track record, that he's not going to rush anyone back in. So if it is mid-November, I don't reckon he'll start for us until mid-December. I do agree that there should be an injury list with expected return dates somewhere. Preferably on the official site.

I'm sorry, but what were the grounds for calling Mido a terrorist? Can't we taunt him for being a sh*te football player and leave it at that? At any rate, I can't wait to get Enrique in full time and move N'Zogbia back up to LM in a 4-4-2. It should work out a lot better.

This game is a great opportunity to give Cacapa a start and to finally debut Enrique. I hope he puts Smith out there at some point, though, as he needs more time to settle into his role, obviously. Hopefully we get a comfortable win with no injuries.

Is that true? Our travelling fans were chanting that? Well, I don't blame him either then.

They mentioned him being there a couple of times. They definately didn't notice him the first time they showed Big Sam, but by the next time, they zoomed right in on him. I was glad to see him there. I've felt uneasy by the new regime, but this was nice. Exactly what I like to see in an owner: a fan with lots of money, sitting two seats down from a brilliant coach who will tell him where to spend it.

Milner worked very hard for the whole game and created some good runs and some chances. He was one of the few that I was pleased with. Where was Smith the entire game? He seemed to disappear for large periods of time. I feel that it should have been him who came off, when Owen came on. If Allardyce is going to keep him in as a midfielder, I hope he improves. Other than that, yeah, Boro seemed the better team. I actually have to give them a bit of credit for their determination, coming back after two goals the way they did. Looking forward to a new RB in the next week.

Fletcher is a decent and dedicated player, but we don't need him. I would rate Butt and Emre as in the same league, and Barton, Smith, and Geremi as higher calibre. The focus should be on defenders at this point. Fletcher would be a waste of money and surplus to our midfield.

3rd kit is terrible. I definately like the photoshop efforts above better. I usually get all the shirts, because I'm a loser like that, but I won't be getting this one. Even the players look bad in it, so out-of-shape me would look like a clown.

Nice. He's going to be great, and I'm glad that Allardyce is taking his time to integrate him properly into the squad. He'll be a legend in short time, I reckon. Pure class.

I didn't realize that was why his wife and kids were in London. I was rather annoyed at the situation, because I didn't understand why his wife and kids moved down there in the first place if he was committed to Newcastle. Best of luck to him, then.

3-1 at Bolton and now we're going to finish in forth. It's so refreshing. Usually the knee-jerk reactions have us going the other way. Still, IF we stay fit, I think we'll do better than expected. Why not?

It will take a few games to build chemistry in the team, with all the new players, so I'm not going to panic if Viduka didn't shine on his debut. Smith should definately be in an attacking midfield role, and I believe he will be from now on, with Viduka and Oba up front together, until Owen gets fit.

He seems to be a hard worker and all business. Obviously it's a whole new ball game starting next weekend, but he's shown great promise.

Can anyone from Canada tell me what's going on with Setanta, as far as being available on providers other than DirectTV, like ExpressVu or Starchoice? I'm starting to worry about being able to see the beginning of the season and the BB isn't an option for me.

Agreed. And I'm surprised by that since le coq sportif haven't always delivered. the sheffield united shirts they designed never looked like they fit right. but the man city kits are top notch.

They have it at worldsoccershop.com as well, I noticed today.

Not the craziest, but last night in the U-20s, a Portuguese player named Mano was getting sent off for shoving down an opposing player, and one of his teammates, Zequinha, walked over and ripped the red card out of the referee's hand. So, the player that stole the red card gets sent off as well, and then starts crying his eyes out. I've never seen anything like that.

Villa kit is mint.

I think our squad is adequate so long as we get a couple more CBs and a LB. Also, I think we could seriously use a better LM, since Duff will be out a while, and had a poor season last.