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Hehehe...I don't want

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=479998&in_page_id=1779

 

Given aiming for Allardyce showdown

Last updated at 00:39am on 5th September 2007

 

Newcastle's Shay Given will have showdown talks with Toon boss Sam Allardyce when he returns from international duty next week.

 

The Ireland goalkeeper, who will earn his 81st cap against Slovakia on Saturday, returned after groin injury in the Carling Cup on Wednesday but Steve Harper was recalled for Saturday's Premier League win over Wigan.

 

Given, 31, said: "I've gone away with Ireland so I haven't had time to chat with him but I'll have to do that when I get back after these games."

 

 

I don't want to say "I told you so..."

 

what a big pile of shite.

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Sounds like bollocks, but if he is unhappy it will be a good chance to see just how good Big Sam's man-management is, and how strong he can be.

 

I think Given is the better of the two, but it's Harper's shirt to lose and he hasn't done anything to warrant losing it.  Given has every right to be unhappy about not being in the side but if he demands to be in the side whenever he is fit then he is showing the wrong attitude, and disrespecting his teammates.

 

In this scenario, he would have to go, better keeper or not

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Sounds like bollocks, but if he is unhappy it will be a good chance to see just how good Big Sam's man-management is, and how strong he can be.

 

I think Given is the better of the two, but it's Harper's shirt to lose and he hasn't done anything to warrant losing it.  Given has every right to be unhappy about not being in the side but if he demands to be in the side whenever he is fit then he is showing the wrong attitude, and disrespecting his teammates.

 

In this scenario, he would have to go, better keeper or not

 

 

If true it also tells us something about Given who i have the greatest respect for

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There are direct quotes from Given to be fair. If Given is demanding to play then that is shocking. Especially considering how long Harper has waited for his chance and has played backup to Shay without complaint.

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There are direct quotes from Given to be fair. If Given is demanding to play then that is shocking. Especially considering how long Harper has waited for his chance and has played backup to Shay without complaint.

 

Quite. Every other manager has played Given in every game when fit. Would be a good sign of the changes here if Sam is to buck that trend.

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Guest optimistic nit

There are direct quotes from Given to be fair. If Given is demanding to play then that is shocking. Especially considering how long Harper has waited for his chance and has played backup to Shay without complaint.

 

"I've gone away with Ireland so I haven't had time to chat with him but I'll have to do that when I get back after these games."

 

where does that say that he's unhappy about anything? all players like to have a chat with their managers, this meaningless quote gets turned into "showdown talks" which then gets turned into "Given unhappy about being dropped" and before we know it it could be "Given hands in transfer request" or "Given demands first team place" just because of a meaningless off the cuff remark.

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Guest Ridzuan

I find it difficult to trust the story to be honest.I mean Shay is experienced enough to not complain about such things and I dont believe he will do such things.However,if it is indeed true,then I think he should not be so rash before jumping into such conclusions.Harper has been out for a long time while having to watch Given playing and he doesnt complain and I dont see why Given should be complaining after only two matches or something.Its ridiculous and thats why I find it hard to believe it.

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I think Harper communicates with his defence a bit more than Given. Otherwise Given has the advantage. However, by increasing Harper's chances, you'd hope that it would provide Given with an incentive to tone down some of his prima donna attributes.

 

Given has prima donna attributes? Surprises me..........have you got examples of this?

 

Given is no.1 for me but its Harpers turn at the moment, he's in the hotseat and its his place to lose. He's done nothing that warrants being dropped so it'd be pretty unfair on him, as he's been more than patient with Shay in the past.

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I can't believe there is much truth in the story as after all it is only the Wigan game that he has missed and he has just come back in after an injury.  By the Derby game, he will have played a couple of games for Ireland so it will be interesting to see who Sam plays then.

 

 

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I have thought for a while that the Mail in particular has it in for us, and has used every opportunity to stir rumours.

Nevertheless, if it turns out that Given IS creating waves because he's not an automatic choice, I stand by what I said earlier - if he doesn't accept that ALL the squad face competition for places in the new regime. I would list him immediately.

 

Giving way to his demands would send exactly the wrong message to the other players and we would be right back in the scenario we faced with SBR in his latter years - indiscipline in the Dressing Room a la' Dyer etc.

If we want to be a top Club, no player can be bigger than Newcastle United - that's why I thought that Shearer being in on the interview for Robson's replacement(according to what seems to have happened with Allardyce the first time) was so wrong.

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I have thought for a while that the Mail in particular has it in for us, and has used every opportunity to stir rumours.

Nevertheless, if it turns out that Given IS creating waves because he's not an automatic choice, I stand by what I said earlier - if he doesn't accept that ALL the squad face competition for places in the new regime. I would list him immediately.

 

 

all players accept their is competition, but they don't have to like it.

 

Seems to me like we are yet again going "we don't believe this, but if it IS true, yadda yadda". Christ.

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all players accept their is competition, but they don't have to like it.

 

Seems to me like we are yet again going "we don't believe this, but if it IS true, yadda yadda". Christ.

 

Pointless speculation, maybe. But isn't 90% of the content on this forum pointless speculation anyway?

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The "posession of the jersey" philisophy is all very noble and admirable but I still think the manager should pick his best players and Given is a better keeper imo.  All very well saying that Harper hasn't done anything to deserve losing his place but neither has Given - it's not his fault he got injured.

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Do you think Shay would be understanding as Harper was/is ? As much as I like Shay's athleticism, he is NOT a team player when it comes to competition for places...He spat the dummy when he lost his place to Harper in the FA Cup games during the early years of SBR time (can you believe it, he wanted to play even in the FA Cup games when Harper was content with only having FA Cup games for himself, but Shay wanted everything, the FA Cup, the league, everything, the lot) and I hated his selfish greedy personality since then...

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I just wonder whether that now we seem to have a reliable defence, Sam is looking at Harper being the more commanding of the two, whereas in the past when we've had a dodgy defence and managers know the opposition will be having lots of shots, the better shot-stopper has been the better option.

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Given certainly lacks a few attributes that make the difference between being a very good keeper and being a successful keeper.

 

Also, his approach on and of the pitch always seems to be about him the individual, rather than Newcastle the team.

 

He's certainly better than Harper, but this should be his make or break season.

 

Now that he is behind a good defence, he needs to work on his kicking, throwing, his communication, his presence, and needs to create an aura about himself. He also needs to keep his mouth shut when Harper gets games.

 

Fail, and he may as well bugger off. There are keepers in Europe who can offer at least as much as he does.

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Once again I would only compare Given's situation to that of Cech, Van Der Sar and Reina. Wouldn't they and their fans find it somewhat strange to find them out of the team after they come back from injury.

 

We are talking about a goalkeeper here who has twice been the PFA Goalkeeper of the Year, Won the North East Footballer Of The Year, and has been our player of the season for about five of the last seven seasons and has won 80 International Caps.

 

This situation goes to show what short term memories people have, and how fickle and knee jerk you are. Some people are even now claiming Given is nothing special or simply an average goalkeeper. Yet if he comes in and puts in a few good performances all of a sudden he will then be a world class goalkeeper again. The same thing has happened with Geremi, at the start of the season we have this classy quality player who should be captain, now people want him dropped.

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Once again I would only compare Given's situation to that of Cech, Van Der Sar and Reina. Wouldn't they and their fans find it somewhat strange to find them out of the team after they come back from injury.

 

We are talking about a goalkeeper here who has twice been the PFA Goalkeeper of the Year, Won the North East Footballer Of The Year, and has been our player of the season for about five of the last seven seasons and has won 80 International Caps.

 

This situation goes to show what short term memories people have, and how fickle and knee jerk you are. Some people are even now claiming Given is nothing special or simply an average goalkeeper. Yet if he comes in and puts in a few good performances all of a sudden he will then we a world class goalkeeper again. The same thing has happened with Geremi, at the start of the season we have this classy quality player who should be captain, now people want he dropped.

 

:thup:

 

It's ridiculous tbh.

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