TherealnorthernTOON

Wouldn't want a backup striker. I think we're very well with what we have atm. Best, Ba, HBA, little ameobi, Vuckic. The two latter ones should also be given a chance at times aswell. If we were to sign a forward. He should be a big name one. Wich I really doubt we'll get in a january window. However. hopefully we are still monitoring the progress of both Cissokho and pieters. Wouldn't mind getting ridgewell and onouha in either as I think both really would be just what we would need in the defence to get the depth and strenght/pace we need back there.

Doubt he really is on even that, considering he possibly was on pittance in manchester.

I don't think we're exactly overachiving at this point. It's more we have met quite winnable fixtures in the start of the season. Come november and I can see us drop down a few places in the league. But still I do believe we can get quite a respectable finish to the season.

Just loved how he turned Samba away in the end there. Just showed what Bestie is all about tbf. He does that kind of thing alot during games, and usually he's lethal in that kind of position. Hopefully Ba will score as regular as Best and both will end up around the 15 goals mark by the end of the season. Can see HBA nick a few aswell as Cabaye who got a really nice shot on him. Think we can see a quite nice season comming up.

Don't really know what to get from his cameo last night. Looked unfit. Terribly needs games. Looks like Pardew maybe restricted him from dribbling too much because of his fitness and frustrated blackburn players ready to hack anyone down?

Just loved the team work between him and Bestie last night where they took turns in dropping deep to get the ball. Looked like a very good understanding.

People are discussing team selections at times like it has to be that way every game. It doesn't at all. In some games we'll definitely need Jonas work rate. Against the likes of city, tottenham etc. In other games where we totally boss the game and run the show all night like against 'burn. We can you the more creative force in Marveaux. It's nice and all that people can't decide who to use. But whats even nicer is quality in depth and such different type of players to come in and change the whole picture at times.

Best is really getting on with his career in the black and white jersery. Never thought he would be a good build up play striker. But he proves me wrong time and time again. His best position on the pitch is definetly up there in the box. But last game he proved wonders in build up play aswell compared to my expectations. Hope he continues to develope in the premier and by the time he hits his prime he bags the 15-20 goals every season we need.

He kind of reminds me of a poor mans Adebayor tbh. Adebayor was immense last night for spurs mind. Hope when ba gets more time on the pitch and gets his form running he can be a focal point for attack. His work rate has to improve more aswell imo. Could work very well in a front trio of best - ba - HBA.

Struggles with his concentration alot. Think he will suffer badly from it long term in EPL. But over time as he's still young could become a really good player.

First mistake, start Shola instead of Ba. Second mistake, hesitating on bringing on another midfielder. In such a thight pitch another midfielder is literally another striker. Marveaux in the hole would've made the world of difference in that game from the off. He helps out alot defensively and he's really good with the ball at his feet. We so much missed that interlink between attack and defence throughout the game. Even when Ba came in it was better. He dropped down to take on the headers, get controll of the ball. For me Ba all day long instead of Shola. Much more mobility and can take down the ball at pace.

his passing wasn't all that greate last night, but runs tirelessly in midfield. Long time since we had 2 midfielders able to run. Hope this midfield comes to frution, and Ben Arfa and Cabaye get a good linking partnership. We should be able to pass the ball more around in a bigger pitch. But once I saw there was 3, literally 4 in their midfield area I knew it would be a struggle. Especially with the thight pitch they are operating with down there.

His forward passes last night was pretty good. Bad movement from the front 2 is a hindereance for him. He likes the cutting inside kind of act. Small pitch and 3 midfielders made it tough on him getting inside aswell. But what frustrates me the most is his unwillingness to go down the line with the ball. His speed is insane to look at. Should use it far more often. But looking at him play it seems like he wants a kind of playmaker role spreading passes instead of running with the ball.

Hope he gets back on form, and quick aswell. Tiote is one hell of a player to be up against looking at last season. Right now he's still better then Smith. But his passing and forward runs was abysmal last night. However tactics last night was more of 2 midfielders sitting deep in a thight pitch. Our wings aren't doing forward runs enough either and that needs sorting out. Our wingplay should be much better. At this point I really just want a traditional wing play to get things started. Run upfield with the ball and get the cross in.

Oh no! Someone had a different opinion to you on an internet forum. They must be getting paid. If anyone on Ashley's payroll would like to contact me about disagreeing with HawK, or any other user, I'd be willing to listen to offers. The Carroll deal seemed to work well for everyone involved. We got a s*** load of cash, Carroll got a massive wage rise, Liverpool got a young, English striker and his agent made a fortune. As it has turned out, the money we received hasn't obviously been reinvested in the squad and we've not replaced him in the team and Carroll hasn't settled yet at Liverpool and hadn't come close to finding the same form for Liverpool that got him the transfer in the first place. I couldn't care less if it was 500m, he was a brilliant player for us, he wanted to stay. If a player wants to stay then no club should force them out, unless not doing so could cause serious financial difficulties. Our owner is a BILLIONAIRE, there is no excuse. Did he want to stay? Maybe he wasn't looking to leave at first but I'll bet the thought of moving to Liverpool really turned his head. We'll probably never know the real story. I'll point you again to this post : http://www.newcastle-online.org/nufcforum/index.php/topic,58769.msg3202678.html#msg3202678 He said he wanted to stay, what more do you want? He also pointed to that fact that he had just signed a contract in October as a reason why he wanted to stay. Why then did he want to renegotiate again? I also wouldn't expect him to say that he couldn't wait to leave. Didn't he say he was happy to be with Liverpool? If he was gutted to leave, he got over it quick enough. I'm sorry, I just don't think the answer is cut and dried. It's not as simple as stay or go. I'm not defending the club. I'm not defending Andy Carroll either. If you were offered a job at a competitor for more money than what you are on, would you not first speak to your current employer to get them to match it? This is how the business world works. It doesn't have anything to do with him wanting to leave. And if they would refuse and tell you, you just had a payrise 3 months ago, and we tripled your wage. There will be no further raise at this moment of time. Would you end your job and go to the new company? Football is alot about money for players, regardless how much we'd like to differ. It's their job aswell. Trippling his wage twice in a year is insane for any employer.

Oh no! Someone had a different opinion to you on an internet forum. They must be getting paid. If anyone on Ashley's payroll would like to contact me about disagreeing with HawK, or any other user, I'd be willing to listen to offers. The Carroll deal seemed to work well for everyone involved. We got a s*** load of cash, Carroll got a massive wage rise, Liverpool got a young, English striker and his agent made a fortune. As it has turned out, the money we received hasn't obviously been reinvested in the squad and we've not replaced him in the team and Carroll hasn't settled yet at Liverpool and hadn't come close to finding the same form for Liverpool that got him the transfer in the first place. I couldn't care less if it was 500m, he was a brilliant player for us, he wanted to stay. If a player wants to stay then no club should force them out, unless not doing so could cause serious financial difficulties. Our owner is a BILLIONAIRE, there is no excuse. Did he want to stay? Maybe he wasn't looking to leave at first but I'll bet the thought of moving to Liverpool really turned his head. We'll probably never know the real story. I'll point you again to this post : http://www.newcastle-online.org/nufcforum/index.php/topic,58769.msg3202678.html#msg3202678 He said he wanted to stay, what more do you want? Handing in a transfer request letting go of a massive sum tells me different. However not replacing him hurts more then selling him.

When is the answers to the questions due?

Danny Simpson is probably our by far weakest link in the team. he's been dreadfull in all the games he has been involved with so far. When we played with less risk last season, he was okay. But now when we risk abit more going forward pusing our backs up like wingbacks in attack. It's clear as day that Simpson is far more advanced up the pitch theese days then he was earlier. And it shows that it doesn't really suit him to play that way. Dodgy all the way, and his backtracking is shit too.

Gosh, how do other clubs do it? This is so f***ing hard, this premiership lark. Thanks for illuminating us, mate. So basicly: Oooh, nice goalrecord on that player! Lets get him in. Us: How much you want for x player? them: Uhm, 20mp? *bites lip* us: Okay here you go! No wouldn't want a player just for the sake of it. There was quality in the market like Long seems to be a good aquisition. But players have scored alot of goals in Wankership before and failed miserably in the prem. Despite this I would want him purely for his play style. That aggressive playstyle upfront is something we really lack and got none of. I think it's really important to retain posession theese days. However, it seems like the board originally wanted a little bit more seasoned forward who was a bit more exciting. This window have been pretty great in my eyes. If we had got Ridgewell in aswell we would have been pretty good for the upcomming season as I really believe both Ba and Best will get quite a good share of goals. However, the way they have been building up expectations around a worthy replacement for Carroll it's quite dissapointing they failed to bring someone in. But alas I will keep beeing excited about the squad, I think we've got some fresh blood in who are eager to show what they can do. The same with some of the old players. Taylor has been really uplifting in the start of the season. As has Colo. If we can get Tiote going I don't see why this can't be a great season to come.

For once we have the tactical manager we need at this club to make things atleast look better then shit. And I wouldn't by far want him to go. Actually quite satisfied with Pardew controlling the team, Carr finding the players. It has worked quite well in my opinion. Would like to test it for 2-3 more years. If the club then is stable economically and still standing at the same point with better/same crew. Then try something new. Not now, I don't dare think of whom he would hire to be his puppet next...

Think our season are going to focus alot on four players wich are very important in our squad right now both for defence and attacking wich are Colo, Taylor, Cabaye and Tiote. If theese get a good partnership we can achieve alot. If they don't get along playing wise it could spell disaster. But as seen earlier everything seems to just get better and better. We got more pace troughout the squad then last year wich could lead to more goals on counterattack. We now also can play balls down the right flank aswell instead of beeing dependant on jose/gutierrez partnership to get the ball into the box. Ba hopefully will hit his goalscoring form aswell and I really think Ba+Best could nick us around the same amount atleast as nolan and Carroll did last year. After that I think we are more a threat from direct freekicks, maybe not so much from crosses etc. into the box for obvious reasons but again we now got the speed to get around and get the more dangerous ball in instead of the deep cross.

Tbf if he did that he did it quite poorly, he hasn't got more then bad publicity during his time here. And his publicity hasn't really reached further then the borders of UK. He's a buisnessman wich I've understood. And I guess its kinda bad for buisness with bad publicity.

Would you be happy if Pardew decided to walk the next few days?

I'm totally gutted we didn't get a high class striker as we were promised. But I think most of the squad has been assessed. My hopes are still there that some of your youths will take a massive step up this season and even close one of the gaps in our squad. We got plenty of young promising players wich are worth looking at. Like Vuckic, Abeid, Ferguson, Tavernier etc. But I do believe they tried with the strikers they have been telling us they went for. And seemingly they have went through a long list aswell. Price haven't allways been the issue, as Gervinho chose Arsenal, Gameiro chose PSG, Erdinc chose to fight for his place at PSG, Maiga wasn't allowed to leave by Sochoux. I do believe they tried and had some nippy strikers with good finishing ability to get the goals we needed. And no I don't want the management to go for just any kind of striker. I wouldn't want another Viduka, or Martins or Owen at the club at this point.

Very much dependant on how Cabaye and Tiote will get on during the season for me. If Obertan can get his confidence up he will create some tap-ins for our forwards. My guess is a slight improvement on last year. Everything from 15th-7th dependant on injuries and how well the new guys gets on with it.