Johny1982

It is over the course of 130 games, so a yellow card every other game/other two games - which is no different to someone like Matic. For a striker? How many goals did he get in that time? 70. Not bad for a 20 year old. In s**** leagues, but that's not the point, the point is he's almost as likely to get booked as he is to score and since refs in this country have him marked and the quality of the league is higher, then that ratio will catch up at some point. Its ridiculous. Why ask how many goals if you've already decided their worthless. You thought it was going to be less than cards didn't you? I wasn't sure and why i asked, however before it being pointed out i'd have thought a 20 year old striker would be on around 20 cards in total, not 47 yellows already. Even more stunned no one seems arsed. Cnt really judge on that surely given that most 20 year olds, especially in our leagues would played a handful of games! I'd be more worried if he was getting bullied out of games like cisse does away from home. You can control aggression, but you can't teach desire! Give the lad a chance!!

Could that not be because how the team is set up? I don't see any players in the team looking comfortably positionally and one misplaced pass and the opposition is running at our defence whereas we have to grind teams down (doesn't happen) I think colback is a decent player and looking at performances one of our least problems with our biggest problems being a slow, positionally piss poor cb's (again pardew because they have such a high line for no pace), wingers that don't create, some players who don't care (sissoko) and strikers who look frustrated. The biggest problem is colback is trying to actually get on the ball but doesn't have the ability of cabaye so does a lot of simple stuff because he can't drive the team forward. Hardly worst player ever, just not world class

Amazing typo

Bruce is massively better in fat he can set a balanced team up, doesn't play half the team of of position to shoe-horn in his favourites, and isn't an arrogant, obnoxious prick. He does look like a emotional dinner lady though.

You can't fake how poor he was towards the end

This is really starting to wind me up. Gosling turned out to be s*** so we are accepting players who just aren't s*** now? Should we sign Nicky Butt back because he is better than Alan Smith? Gosling never needed replacing. He did need replacing, he wasn't good enough to be in our starting line-up at all. Colback is better, but shouldn't be ahead of what we have, just squad cover. How/why did he need replacing? He needed replacing because being a squad player isn't about playing 3 cup games a season, it's about pushing players in the first team to perform to their levels. Tiote has went through spells of shite because a 50% tiote is still better than a gosling. Think jonas is a good example of a player with no pressure on you, performances dip over so long and can never get back

I was far more depressed under souness but then again he could be sacked and there was hope. Ashley isn't going anywhere so though its not as bad, we're not even in the tunnel let alone seeing the light at the end of it

Really? Seems pretty obvious to me. We've clearly offered too little for him, both in terms of fee and wages. Am I getting this wrong but I got the impression he means he doesn't want the pressure of succeeding cabaye? Surely a fee is between two clubs and shouldn't affect a players ego! Might be wrong but I got feeling he bottled it. Mind club should've known all about this before Christmas let alone cabaye bid coming in.

I think the club over the last few years have made me care less, and ultimately as you get older players just come and go. Cabaye as great as he's been this year will ge replaced. Maybe nt with an individual as good but the team will move on and fairly quickly. Carroll replaced viduka, martins and Owen fairly easily, ba replaced Carroll and now remy ba. Difficult to say who's best of the last 3 because the team plays a different way each time and the point is either some1 will come and step up or we'll change our style. In terms of cabaye what more can you do? The fans loved him, manager loved him and give him a free role in the team, he was the heartbeat of the team in the best league in the world and he's traded up for a team who sign him because he's French and seems canny. Yeh they're ambitious but hope he doesn't watch a great team from the sidelines like Ba did.

Seen a tackle like that a million times when you take a yellow card to stop a counter attack - unfortunately nasri twisted his knee. If you get locked up for that then de Jong would still be doing lumpy porridge now for his 'tackle' on Ben arfa years ago

Anichebe isn't likely to start. Long is nothing special and I fail to see how Willo would deal with him better than Colo. Colo suddenly seems to be one of the worst CB's in the league according to N-O. It isn't about how good or bad Colo is its about horses for courses as I said. MYM would deal better with Long and Williamson would deal better with Anichebe. If Anichebe doesn't start that changes things as I trust MYM with Long. I just don't fancy the thought of Long, Sessegnon and Amalfitano running against Willo on the counter. He's done extremely well but IMO he should still be a backup and I see this game as a real possibility for his form to drop. I would also like to try and keep possession as much as possible on Saturday and obviously Colo would be a big boost in that. West Brom are also pretty handy in the air at set pieces with olsson and McCauley so Williamson is important there.

2001 he made his debut, didn't he? TWELVE years we've been starting Shola and, barring some physical 'enhancements' and the odd hint of form, he's never changed. I think he has charged a lot. He's ten times worse than the raw teenage we seen.

You're wrong on so many levels, I can't even be bothered to get into it! (Unless you're trolling) I don't understand all the hysteria either. Look at the squad- we've got an excellent goalkeeper, in colo the best cb since woodgate or arguably ever in modern times, 4 senior cb's, 2 international attacking fullbacks, 2 young fb's, 4 international central midfielders, one being linked to the best/richest clubs in Europe, Ben arfa who'd pretty much get in most teams in the prem and champions league and cisse who is a pure goal scorer. Remy has good very good at qpr in this league and hopefully continues for us. We'r one striker and some decent tactics away from having the best group of players we've had in years! Yeh pardew has a lot to prove, along with tiote etc but its a new season, all get a clean slate and see what happens

With or without Shola, there's a problem with the lack of creativity in the midfield. Too often, we seem to be trying to open up a defence with one pass. Other teams seem to be developing a style where the midfield and striker(s) are combining to open up defences with a series of short passes. It feels like we're getting left behind. Yeh but other teams have movement upfront creating space. We have midfielders in cabaye and sissoko, marveaux, Ben arfa who can pick a pass but we are far too condensed in midfield and have poor movement upfront, apart from cisse. Those are creative players, signing another one wont make a difference if we play the same way and have limited movement up top

Although the creativity in midfield wasn't great V braga, there were times through balls were played and because of Shola's lack of pace he gave up. If that was a remy then he'd have reached it. Because of the limitations of someone like shola and his lack of movement, xavi would struggle to create in that team, the way they're set up. Prob why he wants bent, though totally not the type of striker we need, at least his movement is good