Punk77

He didn't with bramble sadly, I still remember him dropping clangers when Woodgate played. Liverpool (h) 2003 reminds me of this. I can remember Bramble looking twice the player the vast majority of the time he played alongside Woody. Same goes for O'Brien. Agreed. I still remember his debut. I could not believe what I saw: NUFC playing well in defense. £9 million was an absolute steal. He's better than Ferdinand, and the latter cost £30 mill. If you compare skills with money paid, Woodagte was probably the best bargain in Castles history, together with Tiote and HBA.

I think you mixed those two traits. It's the other way around, as I've pointed out before. He's a good footballer: He's fast, good in the air, finishes with both feet and got a decent technique. His problem is his mental attitude. He's not focused enough, and he got a body language that is very negative if he doesn't get the right balls or doesn't do well himself. In other words, he lacks concentration and probably is plagued with a negative mindset, which is the main reason for why he hasn't delivered after the hype he got as a teenager. Pards has also picked up on this, and told in the post match interview yesterday that the lad is working on his concentration, which is very good news! http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,26691,16497_6755047,00.html

Totally disagree with Chelsea, Ginola14. They're entertaining when they meet the inferior physical teams that are not able to cope with brutes like Drogba. But look at their midfield, they have no one with pace or able to hit that magical pass. When they up against teams that match their defensive and physical qualities, you see the real Chelsea: no movement at all, everybody is standing a couple of feet from each other not interested in taking a run at all.. The two games against L.Pool and Fulham are good examples of this, and that's why they''re not getting the results.

Got to agree with OM: "onwards and upwards." Pards has done more than a decent job if you consider how difficult our christmas program was and all the injuries we've been plagued with. And Tiote missing three games. We've now got some really important results in the victory against Bham, WH and Wigan and a strong awaypoint against Burn. And the majority of those games have been convincing. Tbh, I do not believe that CH would have managed the same results. Pardew got more experience, and has showed some tactical smartness. Eg. keeping the ball on the ground against physical teams, rather than hurling it against the attackers. Burn and 2nd half yesterday was good example of this. In the 1st half we were back to old sins, but Pardew obviously had a little chat with the boys during the break. And that's why we've got decent result from those bonebreakers. Ch on the other hand did not see this. I remember him yelling at Williamson(home against stoke or was it agasinst blackburn) because he tried to keep the ball on the ground, rather than hitting long balls. "Airball" is exactly the kind of football Burn and Stoke like, and as a result we lost those two games.

Woodgate is probably the best english defender in modern times, with King just behind. Too bad both are crippled. Both would have kept Ferdinand and Terry out of the England team. It say something about Woody's class when leeds actually thought selling Ferdinand was a good deal because Woody had just begun playing for them, and they thought he was better. Woody was only 23 when he played for us, and already then he was a complete stopper. He had everything: pace, technique, an incredible air prowess and a coolness with and without the ball. . Especially the latter ability separates him from Ferdinand. And King is still class when he plays, and that's exceptional considering that he's injured most of the season. Imagine how good he could have been if he were able to play regular football. When Woody played, he took the other defenders to another level too. O'Brien and Bramble looked good when they were paired with him. Because of that, I would have taken Woody back in a heartbeat, if he was offered to us, as long as he's willing to take a pay as you play contract.

Luckily Tiote is not suspended against Bolton, and that factor can be very decisive for the game. Against Everton we'll have more players back, so a yellow card on Tiote will not hurt us that much..I think..

He got 4 years left of his contract. So we're not forced to sell him. IMO he's the best dm in the league. So he won't be sold unless money is hurled at us. Because the regulations will be enforced after the closing if the coming transfer window, we will see some panic buys from the likes of chelsea and city. So he will cost at least £30 mill.

He is immense. His passing skills is unbelievable, especially when you consider that he's a defensive midfielder. Because he's able to execute pinpoint passing even under severe pressure, that enables us to keep the ball to a greater degree. Because Tiote win the war in the central midfield, the opponents players are constantly running between us. Before we had to substitute Loven and Best, I think we had the ball 67% of the time in 2nd half. The match against Blackburn was even a better example of this..They weren't allowed into the game because of him.

It's not fair to compare Tiote and Scholes. First of all, the former is God whilst the latter is a f***** cretin who would have been banned from any kind of reproduction activities if it wasn't for the fact that he's a footballer. Second Tiote plays for a weaker team, and he has Nolan as his partner. That requires much more from Tiote, because Nolan (unlike most other offensive midfielders) is not a participating to a large degree in the build up play. Manure's wingers is also more in motion and most team sit deep against them, making it easier for Scholes to find alternatives. Conclusion, if you've put Scholes in our team, he would collapse like a card house.

If Tiote is God, what is Ben Arfa then? His Son? Looks like we have to rewrite the whole freakin bible. I will have to fight keeping my tears back when he comes on the pitch to a standing ovation.

I hope they save him for a home game against a lesser physical opponent than Bolton and Everton. And it would have been fantastic if they on forehand announce that he will be on the bench. I guess that will fill the stadium...

Yeah, without doubt. Best was pretty bleak sometimes, and unfocused. A very good example of this was the cross Enrique delivered in the first half. Loven was totally unmarked at the second post, and the ball was heading towards him. Best should have noticed that, but he didn't. Instead he backed off and headed the ball over from an difficult angle. Correct behavior in this situation would have been him taking the run at the FIRST post. There he could have made a tap in if the keeper had to make a safe without keeping the ball, or b) maybe Loven would have passed the ball to him. a Also Best had a terrible body language when he didn't get the passes he desired. But again, you see that he's fast, have good technique, finishing skills and is dominant in the air. A rather complete attacker in other words. All he needs is FOCUS!

He's been rock solid the last three games. Very impressive. Is also taking more runs forward now. Kept Bentley quiet all night. As Eldiablo mentioned, he have had a tendency backing of too much, but tbf to Simpson, that double chance with Zigic and Phillips would not have occurred if it wasn't for Nolan missing the ball.

The man was on fire yesterday. Worked hard, and had many solid runs without being used. Let us all pray that he's not seriously injured. He's now played some games in a row, and that's paying of. He's looking more fresh for each game. Good against Burn also, all he missed was the goals. The goal against Bham was a classical Loven goal: At the right place at the right time. He's very football intelligent, so all he needs is the correct kind of passes.

Not bad ratings, but I think Colo and Enrique's ratings are too high: 6.5 should do it. Together they had four serious errors that could have cost us the game, as you've already mentioned. And Best, why did he deserve a 8? The man was practically invisible for most part of the game. The body language was horrible and he didn't pay attention. He's able to do some pretty things sometimes, but he's lack of focus irritates me. Without that goal I'm pretty sure you would have slated him. I give him 6.5 too. The other ratings are spot on though

Enrique dropped two bollocks in the first half. He got caught dwelling on the ball. It could have cost us dearly. Why don't people praise the likes of Williamson, Simpson and the strikers? Exactly! Enrique almost cost us the game with his sloppyness. Williamson was very important today. It's vital to have an areal cb against opponents as bham.

And we've now met Burn away, which we've lost against 5 games in a row. A match we fully deserved to win. And Bham with only 4 losses at home this year, and we have a shitload of injuries. Pardew's result is beyond argument, anybody claiming something else is an idiot.

No, we were better against Burn. How we managed to get only one point from that match is beyond my belief. Epic victory though. The most important of the year.

Loven has been good. Has been almost through a couple of times without getting the ball. All the game time is now paying off. I predicted to goals from him today..Only one to go,suckers...

Difficult game due to a bad pitch and a physical opponent. But Best got to put more soul into the game. His body language is utterly pathetic. Work harder man! Williamson has been outstanding against Zigic though. Also Enrique got to concentrate. He created two big chances for them.

Agree. The ending of this season and which players that are brought in will be highly decisive, both for the mood amongst supporters and players. Finish mid table and bring in some very good prospects, and I really believe we will keep all our key players. And as already mentioned, we've fared quite well on the transfer market. If all these factors come true, and I will have very high hopes for the next season. And for those with the Mike pocketing all the money theory: He has no incentive what so ever to do that. If he sells his main assets (the best players), he will have some yes, but remember that the club's value will be reduced accordingly. He's not able to sell a club that is in debt and got only shitty players. Also, selling key players will affect his chances of stabilizing the club in PL, and may also has ramifications for the club's survival in the league. A relegation is much much worse case scenario for him. And that scenario is avoided by keeping the likes of Tiote etc. Consequently, MA will not sell Enrique, unless a)the lad refuses to sign a new contract or b)demands a ludicrous wage demand or c) he's offered an insane sum which counterweight the risk involved and enables him to sign proper replacements..

Disagree. Ranger is still a very much undeveloped player. He's all about work ethic, but offers the game not much more. But he' a diamond in the rough. Best is technically god, he needs to concentrate more. Loven is improving game by game, and should have sealed it agains Burn. But as Pardew has pointed out, we have to readjust our play because carroll has left. That means playing balls Loven like. And he's coming to more and more chances for each game, and that's important. If Loven was without opportunities during a whole game, I would have been more skeptical. I think he will seal the game today, in our advantage.

I do not think my above "plan" is a lack of ambition. One of the main problem with this club and its fans, has been the lack of patience and consistency. Both want success now, rather than later through building stone by stone. A consequence of this thinking has been the all in mentality regarding transfers: Believing that one or two very expensive players will save the day, ignoring the dangers that I mentioned in my previous post. As a result, the focus on talent development was non-existent because the club had not patience to wait for those young ones to develop. And that again led to us needing to buy almost every player. This mentality also led the club to fire managers like there was no day tomorrow: No instant success?Get out of here! Also, I think a inferiority complex existed inside the club and exist still amongst some fans. They think that there's a correlation between club size/ambition and how much money you spend on players. And this pressure has in particular come from fans, which earlier led the club to buying big names, in hoping that will silence the frenzy. IMO, that is wrongful thinking. That the club at last (in my opinion) has decided that it wants success, but only through continuity, talent development and a sound economical base does not mean that it is less ambitious that before. Quite the contrary. Now the club displays a sound strategy for how it's going to achieve it. Fat Fred had no strategy. He hurled money out the window and rewarded himself handsomely, despite the fact that he knew how terrible the economical state the club was in. That not ambition, that's jeopardizing the longevity of the club. MA has done some bad mistakes. But all this was put in motion by Fred Shepard. But I actually like the direction the club now is going. Thanks to the likes of Carr, we're now able to find talents cheaply without paying over the top, which we did before. I will accept another Carroll sale again, because this will put the club in a very good economical position, which again enables the club to bring more of its sound sports strategy into life. Thus there's a correlation between economical base and how you're able to achieve success on the fieldAnd this important since more and more clubs have ignored this fact, and now are in pretty bad shape. And unlike earlier days, the money received will be spent wisely on talent that only can increase in value. The main point is that MA tries to enable the club to stand on its own feet, without the support of a rich owner. That's not bad at all if you ask me. Chelsea and City are going in the reverse direction. And that is ruining the league imo. Conclusion: Some fans are bloody negative, stop that.

We wouldn't be able to afford him. NUFC was after him before he signed with Fulham. He was interviewed in the Norwegian media stating that it seemed like he was heading for NUFC. But then for no understandable reason, we pulled out, and Fulham signed him instead. On the other hand, he's developed his game quite much in Fulham, and Hodgson should have some credit for that. It's not certain that he would have progressed to the same level with us. We're not known for our defensive skills..

Hangeland is class. Why the heck did we not buy him. Him and Colo = a perfect fit.