themanupstairs

Got to love the blame culture on this board.

at least we have more culture than say a Stoke City board 

Baptista has gone to Roma. At some point this might become common knowledge...

 

Worrying comments from KK, better be a smokescreen.

what in the spurs itk's round-table in heaven does that mean?

Smokescreen

of course

spurs, spurs fans, and the london media are at fault for over hyping him and turning his time in the premiership into an all-white jizzfest. serves them right. no way is he worth 30 million odd quid. i hope this ends really badly for spurs. i really do.

as for berbatov himself....he's a quality footballer with a very questionable temperament. if he can't be professional enough to play for the team he's contracted to, then we should steer well clear imo. he would be the sort of signing we would have made under Shepherd.

f*** him, f*** fergie, and most importantly f*** spurs

the media, every news paper, every television station, radio station, every reporter, every sports editor, every presenter, commentator, pundit, analyst, ex-defensive coach and louise taylor can collectively all together suck on my big fat cock. if i could, i would take a giant shit on the face of every fucker involved in spinning every single press story, true or false.

scum of the earth. the lot of them. allegedly 

this match showed we need to sign a target man.

 

This match also re-affirmed that this forum is full of mongs. (not directed at you)

what's Nacho Novo up to these days? don't rate him personally, but i have a sneaky feeling that.....

oh, and on topic....

dare I say it? seb bassong reminds me of a very young marcel desailly 

talk about going OTT!!!

tbh it looks as though he has adapted well to the team, looks like he knows what defending means, and looks good in the newcastle shirt (metaphorically). let's hope he's one for a very bright future here. excellent debut. well done

We might have only brought 4 players in so far but I've got to applaud our new scouting network, they've done a cracking job.  We need more players in but I can’t fault the job they’ve done to date, Bassong looks to be a real bargain although it's still early.

 

Quality control is what it is, really impressive. No risks are being taken on anyone with suspect character, fitness or application.

 

Still be idiots in the media saying Newcastle have 'struggled in the transfer market'.

 

A few more like them please guys...

nail on the head! the most spot on post i've read on transfers in a while. all 4 signings look happy to be where they are. the thing about character is very important as well. obviously we dont know for sure, but none of the 4 new lads look like they have it in them to get the club's name in the broadsheets for off-field incident etc...

a bit ridiculous to call him out on being a bit off his line as the shot came out of nowhere to begin with. you would expect a 4 man defence to deal with that fumble outside the area and clear the ball. instead it fell to the feet of morrisson who hit it perfectly into the top corner.

shay has been outstanding since coming back, and has had a hand in all 3 of our results so far. people might want to start looking at his positives a bit instead of boring us with negative whinging

Am I the only person that doesn't rate SWP?  He's got tons of pace but no end product - the same thing a lot of people on here knock Milner for.

erm...pardon me?

Milner? pace?

Ian Wright on talksport saying SWP is in Liverpool talking terms, wouldn't confirm whether it was Liverpool or Everton he is talking to.

 

Disgusted if this is true!

 

There is absolutely no reason for us not to be in for SWP, he's a world class winger with good prem experience and if he moves will have a major point to prove!

 

Anybody who claims they dont rate mustn't have a very good memory, the lad was winning games on his own for city under KK!

 

If SWP goes to everton for 9mil and we keep Milner after turning down a 7mil bid, I really will give up on football!

 

 

No you won't.

 

Besides, who's to say we're not in for him? Who's to say that he would prefer a move to the NE rather than Merseyside?

 

Or that he is speaking to Everton and us and Everton was on his way up here?

precisely

Ian Wright on talksport saying SWP is in Liverpool talking terms, wouldn't confirm whether it was Liverpool or Everton he is talking to.

 

Disgusted if this is true!

 

There is absolutely no reason for us not to be in for SWP, he's a world class winger with good prem experience and if he moves will have a major point to prove!

 

Anybody who claims they dont rate mustn't have a very good memory, the lad was winning games on his own for city under KK!

 

If SWP goes to everton for 9mil and we keep Milner after turning down a 7mil bid, I really will give up on football!

 

No you won't.

Besides, who's to say we're not in for him? Who's to say that he would prefer a move to the NE rather than Merseyside?

agree with most of the above. Malouda's a bit of a nothing footballer. quality technique and all, but mostly just meh 

NEVER EVER GOING TO HAPPEN!!

today 

think he's both, a shit player and an asshole in one

18 pages on Senderos??? and more surprisingly Taylor?

can;t be arsed to trawl through them

so what's the verdict? who kicks who's ass?

Was he buying two pairs of trousers in the club shop? In case he got a... ahem..... hole in one?

 

I'll get my coat.....

is it green?

No problem, I'll send you a link

 

Me 3

 

Me 4

 

me also

dont bother with me. seen it

Steven Gerrard should be the best midfielder in the world, he's all the talent for it hes just never been taught how to play properly.  In theory he could have been better than Keane, and thats what he should be, a proper all round midfielder.  Imagine if England had a player like that, who could also score a truckload of goals.  I blame Houllier and Benetiz for indulging his love of being the hero.  I mean really, a lot of people (with good reason) say his best position is on the wing...how the hell did it come to that?

 

Hargreaves and Barry lack the talent of Gerrard, but they're far better midfielders.  One of them should partner Carrick, who still lacks a certain...oomph (Man Utd fans debate this endlessly, I think hes just got a Ferdinand-esque approach, he never really seems to look like he's trying) but hes a ridiculously good player in the right system.

good to read some sense on here

IMO Carrick is the best passer of the ball England have (since Scholes retired), and should make every single starting line-up

That picture would have been miles better if you'd cut-out Beye and pasted him into a kung fu scene.

let's see if SSR will bite

fking cult hero

and i believe...in this context.....Habib Beye will kick your ASS is far more powerful than ARSE

just my two penneth

3 points for a win. That's what I blame it all on.

 

England act like a team of ex-tournament winners – an example would be Italy after the World Cup win (Euro 2008 anyone) – where the team 'picks itself' based on the reputation of the players. The sad part is that England have won balls-all in that time. Absolutely nothing. It defies credibility that we have these sacred cows even though they have provided absolutely no milk.

 

Anyway, three points. The way a league like the Premier League is set up is fundamentally out of goose. If a game is a draw, two pints are awarded; if a game is a win, three points are awarded (in toto, between the teams). Say you are manager x, of team x. Your team is as good as team y. But if you accept that they are equal, and the quite a probable outcome would be a draw*, this means you will gain 1 point. If you can take the draw out of the equation and say that you would win or lose the game, 50-50 chance, your average reward in terms of points is 1.5. It is obviously better for a club team to take risks rather than to minimise them** and play for a close result, which could easily be the disadvantageous draw.

 

Hence we have Lampard and Gerrard, two players who's whole game is about risk. In the case of Gerrard it is the risk he imposes in possession, essentially: showboating, spraying it around with Hollywood passes, and trying stupid long range shots. With Lampard it is rather what he fails to contribute. For sure, he can kick a penalty into a net and arrive late into a box – to good effect – but he offers nothing special in terms of play though the midfield, so it is essentially a gamble that a game will have a situation where he can get involved. As I said, for a club team this is a great deal, because it it better to deviate away from a draw; even if you only have a 50-50 of winning / losing it is far better than a 33 – 33 – 33 of win / lose / draw. Lampard and Gerrard have their uses in a club competition, but in international football points are not the key, winning outright is.

 

The England team is overburdened with these risk players - who have more safety nets at club level than at international - all jammed in a mob in midfield. The ultimate misfortune is that in such a situation, each one is terrified of choking and being the weak link, so they even stop taking risks (their strength) and just sit there like the players in their club squads who's job it is to protect the spaces they leave. It's beyond square pegs in round holes, its like sending three guys with machine guns onto an aeroplane to rescue the hostages, when anyone who's seen Airforce One knows that such a thing is an insane gamble of overkill-type in a pressurised cabin.

 

In a kind of parallel, but absolutely ignoring all of the above – but going on the Olympic semi final yesterday - the best international teams are made of players playing in their own position like Argentina, not those playing on reputation like Brazil. Hell, why do Germany do so well year after year with such god-awful players.

 

 

*I know that this is taking a liberty with the notion of probability, but cut me some slack.

 

** Again, I lack statistical thoroughness here.

some serious thought provoking stuff there! cheers for that

If I may interject...

 

Brown isn't good enough for Newcastle, never mind England.

 

Good enough to start for the european champions though.  The stick Brown gets never ceases to amaze me.  Same with Rooney, both are great players for the best team around, yet apparently are s*** for England...think there might be a reason for that.

 

Then again, paradoxically I think Gerrard and Terry never really perform for England cause they're actually no way near as good as people think.  Biased I know, but I still think their comparitive club form backs me up.

 

A final word on England's best players being crap.  People whinge and whinge and whinge about Lampard and Gerrard together in a midfield.  How is it always Lampard's fault?  Why is it he, who is clearly not a centre mid and doesnt pretened to be, who should suffer to accomodate the most headless of all chickens?  If England want to make any progress Saint Steven should be dropped until he learns how to actually play in midfield, which will be never I'd guess.  Lampard should be allowed to play in his inimitable Lampardy way, with a pair of midfielders behind him who know how to defend.

 

I've noticed this place brings out the rants in me, I'm not sure why.

Sorry like....but that's spot the fuck on!!

IMO Lampard is the better of the two at what they do best. Gerard never looks interested

Have a look and then say what you mean,not before,top class midfielder

 

http://www.tv2sporten.no/fotball/tippeligaen/article2120170.ece

 

are you just gonna keep posting that? it's in Norweigen

 

Haha, Alanzinho? I don't think so, Harry. (jeg er norsk forresten, og Stabæk fan). If we are to sign anyone from Stabæk it would def. be Annan. Other than that Skjelbred @ Rosenborg is a good prospect. However, he recently sign a new deal with Rosenborg.

 

NEXT!

 

Something his agent has said would not put off interest from the interested clubs. 

 

As much as I'd like to see him in black and white though, I seriously doubt we're in for him anymore, if we ever were.

 

That's true. A new deal for him has pushed his asking price up further. That being said, he's has some aweful injuries, that has put him out for long periods. He showes glimpse of his talents, followed by inconsistency. He's far from as inconsistent as Braathen (prev. Bolton) though.

 

If Newcastle look to Norway, Tarik Elyounoussi would be great. However, he's moved to a French(?) side during the summer.

 

I'd still say Annan at Stabæk, and just keep an eye at Skjeldbred. But I feel we should look at better players at the moment.

dude!!! what's up with that sig like?