ChrisMcQuillan

Shola, Ranger and Lovenkrands on. Butt off!

We'd have 13 players on the pitch, then.  Not sure they'll allow that.

It's a cracking partnership and I hope Keegan's prediction about them comes true.

 

Marriage?

Hughton's just doing it to annoy everyone know and make them feel stupid.

Why's Simpson been dropped?

Team mates had nicknamed him Nil Ranger for not scoring in the 20 games he has figured in this season, mainly from the bench.

That'll keep the confidence high...

Guthrie - 5 - Poor passing, poor positioning.  One promising forward run.

 

Guthrie - 5.5 - Didn't look in the game today

 

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 

Lovenkrands - 7 - Scored his goal well, but quiet otherwise.  Reasonably solid.

 

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.

My only concern for Colo is his pace. Coping with Chopra, Mackail-Smith and Fryatt is one thing, but playing Torres, Defoe and Anelka is completely different.

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.

Whats up with Shola btw? Thought he was back for this.

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

Kevin's on the show now.

 

Can we ring in and speak to Nolan?

He's coming across really well.

Who's on the bench?

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

wonder if these will be watching

 

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/4808/topgear.jpg

??

 

Roy Keane has no sympathy for Republic of Ireland exit 

 

Roy Keane has lambasted the Republic of Ireland's attempts to get their controversial World Cup play-off match against France replayed.

 

The Republic appealed to Fifa after their 2-1 aggregate defeat by France on the basis that the winning goal came after a blatant Thierry Henry handball.

 

But Ipswich boss Keane said: "They can complain all they want but France are going to the World Cup - get over it.

 

"France were there for the taking and Ireland didn't do it. Same old story."

 

The Irishman, who made 65 appearances for the Republic as a player, continued: "If I'd been there in the dressing room after the game, I wouldn't be talking about the handball. I'd focus on why the defenders didn't clear it. They should've cleared it.

 

"I'd be more annoyed with my defenders and my goalkeeper than Thierry Henry. How can you let the ball bounce in your six-yard box? How can you let Thierry Henry get goal-side of you? If the ball goes into the six-yard box, where the hell is my goalkeeper?

 

"These are skills and lessons you learn as a schoolboy.

 

"Ireland had their chances in the two games and they never took them. They had chances at Croke Park (in the first leg) and they had chances on Wednesday.

 

"They didn't take them, but it's the usual FAI (Football Association of Ireland) reaction - 'we've been robbed, the honesty of the game...' It's rubbish."

 

And Keane pointed out that controversial decisions went Ireland's way in the qualifying campaign, not least a harsh penalty award against Georgia which helped them to clinch a 2-1 qualifying win in February.

 

"There was one match against Georgia where Ireland got a penalty and it was one of the worst decisions I've ever seen which changed the whole course of the game.

 

"I don't remember the FAI after the game saying we should give them a replay."

 

Keane's antipathy towards the FAI stems back to the Pacific island of Saipan in 2002 when he left the team's pre-World Cup training camp, complaining that the facilities were sub-standard.

 

Keane has never forgiven Delaney for failing to contact him during the incident and misleading the media as to his whereabouts after his controversial exit from the tournament after the row with boss Mick McCarthy over facilities.

 

"People seem to forget what was going on in that World Cup, and that man (FAI chief executive John Delaney) is on about honesty? I wouldn't take notice of anything that man says.

 

"I was one of the players at that World Cup and he didn't have the courtesy to ring me. I'd been involved with Ireland since I was 15 years of age and that man didn't have the decency to make a phone call. He could have phoned me, of course he could have."

 

 

 

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.

s****, I need Brazil to win in order to make money.

 

cheers god 

 

Trust you to thank yourself.

I don't think I've ever heard of injuries described as 'potentially life changing'.

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

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini has suffered "potentially life-changing injuries" in a motorbike accident in east London, police said.

 

He was taken to hospital after his BMW bike was involved in a collision with a car in Walthamstow at about 1030 GMT.

 

He has fractured his wrists and injured his pelvis but a spokesman for the north London club said they were still waiting for hospital test results.

 

The Italian, 36, signed from London rivals Chelsea in January this year.

 

The female driver and a child passenger walked away from the Ford Fiesta Cudicini was in collision with and did not need hospital treatment.

 

No arrests

 

The accident happened on Forest Road.

 

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "A 36-year-old male suffered injuries described by the London Ambulance Service as possibly life-changing and was taken to an east London hospital for further assessment and treatment.

 

"No arrests have been made."

 

A statement on Tottenham's website said: "Carlo Cudicini has fractured his wrists and injured his pelvis after being involved in a road accident this morning.

 

Free transfer

 

"The 36-year-old Italian goalkeeper has been admitted to hospital and undergone scans under the supervision of club medical staff.

 

"The club will update supporters on Carlo as soon as there is any further information."

 

Cudicini was signed by manager Harry Redknapp on a free transfer and has made eight appearances standing in for the injured Heurelho Gomes.

 

He spent almost 10 years at the west London club after spells at AC Milan and Lazio.

 

His father Fabio was AC Milan's goalkeeper in the 1960s.

Funny, there were some in here who thought it was more than 43k.

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.

Better than Hughton.

 

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.

Bollocks man. He had his hands around the player's throat.

 

If that's not worthy of a red card and a ban, I don't know what is

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

since we're not one of the sky 4 (whom if any of their players got a straight red would have had the fa giving grovelling apologies for daring to ban one of their players) naturally it was rejected, colo or saylor better be ready for monday

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.