The Prophet

Aye, the thing is we usually give the UEFA cup lot a run for their money, its the teams currently along side us that we struggle against. We're more than capable of beating them, full strength team or not and a point is the minimum we should be leaving with. Having said that they're brimming with confidence and have seen off several teams at home recently. Like I said it's a textbook game in which Newcastle United notoriously get out-worked. So yeah we SHOULD win and I'd be all the more confident should we get some fresh faces in and couple off the treatment table, but at this moment in time I'd take a draw.

The type of game we usually lose due to lack of work ethic, grit and determination, even when we are playing well. West Brom will be well up this and we need to be at the races to take anything from this game, if we play well we're more than capable of taking all three points. Hate to say it but right now I'd take a draw.

As a pose to Taylor who had his banana boots on.

He was poor today and his performances are in decline but I think it's far, far too early to be writing the lad off. On his day he's a class act and he's probably had more good days than bad. This is his first season in the Premier League after all. If I were Joe I'd be telling him to stick some muscle on in the summer because for me his major problem is his lack of any real strength. Add that to a bit of confidence and I think he'll be back to his best.

Ah Colo where did it all go wrong? A man seriously in need of some confidence. Got battered today, Cisse and Jones ran him ragged. He lacked strength, pace and continued to make silly little errors. We were lucky Bassong had a stormer and the opposition attack was off the mark because he could have been punished by more than the one goal today.

That's my reading of Coloccini today tbh, plus costing us a goal obviously. Aye Colo looked like a nervous wreck today, no confidence at all. Taylor was just as suspect but looked very assured going forward.

More of the same today. Great work ethic, running up and down the wing providing cover for his full back. His problem is the inconsistency of his end product, it's worth noting sometimes that isn’t his fault. I couldn't praise Jonas any more for the effort he put in today. Ran tirelessly up and down the wing, was brilliant in the challenge and beat the full back time and time again. He and Enrique seemed to have a real understanding down the left flank. The problem is his final ball. The key aim of being a wide man is to provide service to the forwards and unless you’re a particular type of forward sometimes his final ball is poor. I wouldn't like to think I was a big target man with him on the wing, he rarely plays the high ball, and it really can be infuriating at times. However if your a short nippy striker his intelligent through ball and low near post crosses are an advantage. The lad has been brought up in Argentina and learned his trade in Spain. He's been grown up to provide the latter form of service, however if he wants to provide a real threat in this league he needs to learn to get some height on those crosses.

Was very good going forward but still looked incredibly dodgy at the back. Could of given away a penalty, fell over a couple of times and mis-cued a couple of clearances. No major mistakes but he came close on a couple of occasions.

Harper 6 - Looked solid, commanded his area well. Can feel slightly aggrieved at the lack of any form of luck for Cisse's opener. Taylor 6 - Looked good going forward, very positive indeed. However defensively he still looked suspect on occasion having a couple of heart-in-mouth moments. Coloccini 4 -Solid during spells but he looked like a man on edge. Some very nervous moments, let Jones power past him on a number of occasions, miss-cued on the odd clearance, not to mention his school boy defending for the opener. Bassong 8 - Truly immense, looked like he was defending on his own sometimes. His pace, and in particular his reading of the game are outstanding. Made sevral key interceptions, well played lad. Enrique 8 - His short range distribution was sloppy at times but overall he was brilliant. Had Edward in his pocket all game and still managed to find time to bustle forward. Linked up with Jonas well too. Duff 5 - Disturbingly bad first half but nearly made up for it with a fairly strong second half. Needs to be educated on the fist time cross. Infuriating at times. Butt 6 - Not Butt's biggest fan but this was one of his better games for me. Didn't do anything amazing but stuck a foot in and generally sprayed the ball about well. Nolan 5 - Solid, made an important clearance off the line but went missing a bit too much for my liking. Jonas 7 - Ran his arse off. Strong in the tackle and linked up brilliantly with Enrique at times. The only gripe for me was his lack of end product. Stuck the odd good ball in but definitely something to work on. Ameobi 5 - Similar to Duff a simply awful first half redeemed a little by an improvement in the second. Took his penalty well but overall not good enough. Carroll 7 - Looked impressive for me. Won almost everything in the air and without playing amazingly he looked streets ahead of Ameobi. Unlucky not to score with the looping header. Kinnear 6 - With Lovenkrands lack of match practice he probably made the right call with the starting line up. It's also worth mentioning we drastically improved after his half time team talk, having said that we should have started better in the first place. His major fault is his hesitancy to bring on substitutes. Lovenkrands had a tidy little stint when he came on but I can't help feel he came on ten minutes too late.

A strange sort of result. It does nothing for us really. It doesn't push us any closer to danger but at the same time it doesn't give us any form of breathing space. From the neutral perspective it was quite an exciting game. The football was poor at times but it was typical blood and thunder derby, a midfield battle with plenty of tackles flying in. However from a Newcastle fans perspective it was torture, the main problem being we looked so fragile. I feared the worst ten minutes gone, pinned back in our own half, Sunderland dominating without creating any real chances. Then we finally got off the bus and started to get forward a little, if only for short periods. However the constant threat and general nervousness culminated when Coloccini tried to work the offside trap but ended up hopelessly playing Cisse onside and although he mis-cued the first time he got a somewhat lucky second bite of the cherry. The rest of the first half was end to end stuff, Jonas and Enrique linking up well but without creating too many chances. Sunderland went in marginally looking the better side. My fears were eased ever so slightly when we came out second half looking to push forward. We were positive, Sunderland were playing on the counter. Despite our possession and positivity Sunderland still looked threatening. Eventually the pressure paid off when Taylor burst into the box and with no where to go hurled himself to the ground in Gerrard-esque fashion. To everyone’s shock Webb took the bait. Then more nerves Shola steps up to take the kick, surprisingly he empathically stuck it away. We piled forward for a majority of the remaining game with Sunderland still looking threatening on the break. Bassong looking assured, Coloccini like a nervous wreck. Overall a fair result and a positive second half performance. Bassong, Enrique and Jonas all worth a mention for man of the match, but the nerves have returned in the back line. Coloccini in particular looking suspect on sevral occasions. So we avoided a potentially massive defeat but missed out on two vital points. It isn't the end of the world as tomorrow could be as equally defining in terms of our survival.

Meh shame I couldn't get down the bookies in time really fancied Stoke's muscle to out do City. Instead I went for another outside bet: Bolton to beat Spurs West Brom to beat Hull Derby to beat Coventry Swansea to beat Southampton 34/1 Also threw Bolton, Derby and Swansea in with Rangers, Oldham and Birimingham on a sections list at 77/1.

Aye quality in the box I've heard.

It would be quite good if he was just a wum, the pathetic thing is I honestly think he does want these endless arguments again and again. Maybe doesn't get the attention he really wants at home so has to comfort himself online. Should entertain himself with some cyber sex: "Want a man who can persist for four hours with two trophy brides and is three times the length of your current bloke."

It's amazing how NE5 has established himself in such a position that he only needs to type a couple of words and the forum jumps on his back. Irritating but equally entertaining stuff.

Yes, his agent told him of our interest at which point he broke out in uncontrollable laughter. After wiping the tears from his eyes he was patched through to the offices at St. James' Park. The place suddenly came to life Kinnear woke up from his afternoon nap, Wise put the power ball away and Llambias emerged from his "learning to communicate with others" course. However after ten minutes of intense negotiation Veloso claimed to be "approaching a tunnel" after being called "Barlodo" on more than one occasion. They haven't heard from him since.

In fairness "transfer window gently slides into a state of closure" hardly gets the pulse going.

Arsenal taking a leaf out of Spurs book. Wenger's thought process: "The mid-field is light weight, seems to get bullied an awful lot and the defence keep making silly mistakes. What we need is another play maker." Puzzling to say the very least.

The thread was meant to be a bit tongue in cheek but OK. It's not like the title said "ZOMG!11!!!!1 best partnership ever" is it? Lovenkrands is average but he can run with the ball and finish, that in itself will cause problems. Combined with Carroll's height and ability to win the ball in the air will provide service of sorts. Wasn't his best season the season he played up front for part of it?

It was only a suggestion Nixon, nothing to wet yourself over.

I've always been a massive fan of little and large partnerships, they aren't necessary but I think they work well in any system. With Viduka always crocked, Owen doing his best to keep up and without wanting to rush Martins back I think Carroll and Lovenkrands could do a handy job. I'll be honest I never though Carroll would make at this level but he's put in a couple of decent shifts recently. He isn't a world beater but he wins a lot in the air has chipped in with a couple of goals. Lovenkrands has always been a good player the problem for me was has he lost his pace after some niggly long term injuries over in Germany. A brief stint the other night was more than enough to confirm he still has a bit of nip. Pace always scares defenders it's one of the reasons we miss Martins so much. If these two can work together, Lovenkrands providing a bit of service for Carroll and Carroll providing the odd knock down for Lovenkrands they could be in business. With the current injury plight we don't have a lot of choice but if we can keep these lads fit I think they might be a handful.

Get rid, simple as that.

Think I'd go with: ---------------------------------------------Harper--------------------------------------------- Taylor--------------------Bassong--------------------Coloccini--------------------Enrique Jonas-------------------------Butt------------------------Nolan-------------------------Duff --------------------------Carroll-----------------------------Lovenkrands-------------------- It's all about balance I'm not a massive fan of Taylor at right back but we really have no other option unless we bring a new body in on time. Providing Nolan plays himself and Butt are both combative. They have the potential to strike a nice balance with Butt's defensive attributes and Nolan's attacking attributes working in tandem. Unfortunately they both have the potential to have absolute shockers, let’s hope they have a good day. Again not a fan of Jonas on the right but we need balance and he's the only one who's fit an knows the position. The only thing I can think of is to switch him and Duff during the game. Not only will this give the full backs something to think about but Duff used to play a little on the right wing at Chelsea. I think Carroll will be up for this one. He's surprised me the last couple of games and long may it continues. I think Lovenkrands could be absolutely key up front. He's quick and hopefully will play off Carroll. If both played up front they both cause completely different threats and could be quite a handful.

Edwin Van der Sar Gael Clichy Stuart Downing Gabriel Agbonlahor

At this moment in time: Zat Knight Phil Jagielka Robert Koren Carlton Cole