ChrisMcQuillan

Why's Simpson been dropped?

That'll keep the confidence high...

Two comments from the match thread that seem to be following a trend this season. I honestly don't think he's been anywhere near as bad as some people claim he has been. Today, like I've already mentioned, he came up with some nice touches and generally looked dangerous. His positioning is 'poor' because he isn't a winger and if he didn't move inside, we'd have nothing being created through the middle due to the lack of movement from Nolan and Smith. What I don't understand is how those two always seem to get praised for their performances but Guthrie gets overlooked. If we didn't have Guthrie in the side, we'd have hardly any movement. He plays a big part in a lot of our attacks due to him being able to pick out a good ball and the way he gets himself into a position to be given the ball back. He can also play a ball into space and in front of who he's passing it to rather than straight to the man all of the time, which is an area we're fairly poor in although it does seem to have improved a little recently. If Guthrie was to start in the middle, rather than having to drift inside from this wing, I'm sure he'd have many more assists to his name. People knocking him for being poor on the wing need to remember he isn't a winger but for me, he still looks one of our better players when getting forward and if they really don't think he should play on the wing, then they need to decide which one of Nolan or Smith they drop from the side to accomodate Guthrie starting in the middle. I'm not saying Guthrie is a poor player. I love him in the middle. But on the wing, his performances are poor, simple as, hence my poor rating. I think if we want to play someone out there give Ryan Taylor the position - it's more his style. Or Pancrate, of course. A Simpson/Pancrate pairing with Enrique/Jonas on the other side could be

He couldn't miss You can always miss. See Shola for further details.

Harper - 8 - Some magnificent saves. Simpson - 7 - Reasonably solid. Taylor - 7.5 - Again solid. Coloccini - 7 - Got skinned once at the start that nearly cost us a goal, but otherwise solid. Enrique - 8.5 - <3 Guthrie - 5 - Poor passing, poor positioning. One promising forward run. Nolan - 6 - Looked committed before sending off. Smith - 7 - Solid industrial shift with some cracking tackles. Jonas - 8.5 - A magnificent outlet today, never afraid to run, and rarely gave the ball away when support was available to him. Harewood - 7 - Decent in the air, and fair play to him for chasing the keeper down. Lovenkrands - 7 - Scored his goal well, but quiet otherwise. Reasonably solid. Carroll - 6 - Contributed little, to be honest. Not helped by the ref. Butt - 7.5 - Momentum really shifted in our direction after his being brought on. Made a few superb passes to break the pressure building on us. Pleasantly surprised. Pancrate - 9 - Looked lively, didn't lose the ball, and my God what a strike.

Truly remarkable.

Harper Simpson Taylor Coloccini Enrique R Taylor Nolan Smith Jonas Harewood Lovenkrands A strike partnership gets three goals between them? Don't change it.

The truth is, very few defenders in the Premier League can deal with Defoe and Anelka, and Torres is top class. Coloccini should be a solid option for a Premier League defence, but no one's gonna argue he's a world beater.

Back in training. No need to rush him, clearly.

Can we ring in and speak to Nolan? He's coming across really well.

Team's not officially out yet on .co.uk

??

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/8370327.stm He should start explaining this stuff to his own defenders and then maybe his side wouldn't be second bottom of the Championship. Watch his Kinnear-style ranting at the phone ringing journalist.

cheers god Trust you to thank yourself.

If you're a professional goal-keeper, and you fracture your wrists at 36, I guess that might change your life.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8357262.stm

I actually thought it looked higher than that initially, but I think 43k looked about right as I took the time to look about.

Harper Simpson S Taylor Coloccini Enrique R Taylor Smith Jonas Nolan Carroll Ranger Subs: Krul, Kadar, Geremi, Butt, Lovenkrands, Harewood, Donaldson Prediction: 3-0 Newcastle. Release that on DVD, motherfuckers.

I'd take Hughton every day of the week.

Would love to see the Sir Bobby Robson Stadium, tbh, if it's gonna be anything.

I'm actually not that surprised by the ban in this case, I was just talking in general.

So thats why they accepted the appeal against Beye's red card last season? If they didn't, there would have been outcry. Top quality tackle from Beye, no possible justification for a red card. I think the Big 4 get their decisions in conditions of doubt, whereas we wouldn't.

Harper Simpson Kadar Coloccini Enrique R Taylor Smith Nolan Jonas Carroll Ranger Subs: Krul, Tozer, S Taylor (if fit for bench), Guthrie, Butt, Harewood, Lovenkrands

HUghton.

Cannot BELIEVE our backline at the end was Raylor Kadar Tozer Enrique