The Prophet

Congratulations to both Spurs and Arsenal. They have both splashed the cash and are exactly where they were this time last season, played.

No, where do you people hear these things? Christ on a bike.

Agreed, nice to see for a change.

Why do people continue to believe these so called news stories. The media know about as much as us, fuck all, they are merely speculating.

Probably defines most Premier League players these days.

Ah Quaresma. The guy was brilliant in his earlier days at Porto. Unfortunately he seems settled for second best happy to play the game with little urgency or character. His laid back nature means he has struggled with the pace of Serie A so God knows how he'll cope over here. On his day he's a world beater, but the lad just doesn't seem interested anymore.

I don't think anyone is saying that in fairness. If anything Sunderland edged it going into the break with us only creating one chance of note. We got a point in the end because you tried to hold a one goal lead away from home. We were a lot better after the break and you tried to play us on the counter, it was a ridiculous decision but if you try and defend such a narrow lead on the road in this league then your asking for trouble. A harsh decision? Yes, a fair result? Yes.

So we'd of finished that high up the league second time around? Would you like to back that up with any form of fact or any kind of logic for that matter? How can you give facts, on an opinion you have or a belief you have that is based on experience? its my belief, If Keegan had been backed we would be doing significantly better than we are doing now,...just an opinion based on my experience,...i may be wrong,.. its possible, im brilliant, but not perfect. Can't really argue with that. I don't know about siginifcantly better but if it's of your opinion then yeah why the hell not.

So we'd of finished that high up the league second time around? Would you like to back that up with any form of fact or any kind of logic for that matter?

So, let me get this straight cp40. Our best footballing years since 1971 and most defiantly our best footballing years in the Premier League were during Keegan's tenure? OK I wouldn't argue with that. So can you please explain why because Keegan was successful in the 90's why he'd automatically be successful now... Yes we appreciate what he's done for this club us in the past, but does that mean he would be guaranteed success second time round? No. Does it justify him walking away the way he did? Well if he was undermined I'd have serious reservations about remaining in my job, however to walk out on us at the time he did and the way he did, I don't think so. The man deserves respect for the good times he brought to this football club, but that doesn't make him exempt from criticism for the role he played in the events that lead up to the current debacle.

Obsessed. Can't deny it would be hilarious though.

In terms of business it makes absolute sense to cash in on him now, he didn't want to be here and he's starting to get on a bit. It's the sentimental side of it that sucks, eleven years at the club and he's finally decided to chuck in the towel, just wish he'd held out for the big club he deserved

Was I watching a different game?

Aye I believe you, thousands wouldn't...

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.