Not sure why people are in shock. (We must stick with SA).

[Teasy]

Aye, that's why he gave N'Zogbia a new contract. And everyone hates Milner anyway.

 

 

...and a 5 year one at that.

 

He would give him a new contract wether he wants to keep him or not..  The longer the contract the better the sale price.

[Thespence]

One thing I find funny is how so many are saying that Taylor should've started ahead of Cacapa because of strength and pace, but looking in the pre match thread, I only saw one who said that he should be in the XI.

 

Haway man Towlie it is a Internet message board most of us operate in hindsight.

[Guest Pie]

Aye, that's why he gave N'Zogbia a new contract. And everyone hates Milner anyway.

Hope neither leave, hope neither are called for regularly. Zog might make it though.

[Cronky]

Smith has not been the greatest signing but is already better value than Boumsoung and Luque.

 

Not sure how you can say Smith's start here has been better than Boumsong's but there you go.

 

The main resemblance between Smith and Boumsong's starts is that most people seemed to be judging them on their previous opinions and expectations rather than on their actual performances. Boumsong was shaky from the start but there were such high hopes of him that most people chose to deny the evidence for a long while. Smith has done a decent enough  job, but because a lot of people didn't want him he's getting a hammering.

[Baggio]

Smith has not been the greatest signing but is already better value than Boumsoung and Luque.

 

Not sure how you can say Smith's start here has been better than Boumsong's but there you go.

 

The main resemblance between Smith and Boumsong's starts is that most people seemed to be judging them on their previous opinions and expectations rather than on their actual performances. Boumsong was shaky from the start but there were such high hopes of him that most people chose to deny the evidence for a long while. Smith has done a decent enough  job, but because a lot of people didn't want him he's getting a hammering.

 

Wrong and wrong.

[NE5]

One thing I find funny is how so many are saying that Taylor should've started ahead of Cacapa because of strength and pace, but looking in the pre match thread, I only saw one who said that he should be in the XI.

 

Haway man Towlie it is a Internet message board most of us operate in hindsight.

 

I would have said Taylor should have played at centre back if I'd posted in that thread 

[Incognito]

I haven't read all of this thread, and maybe this post is in the wrong place (although tbh, there are about 10 threads it could go in at the moment), it is just a general comment about some of the talk about SA.

 

Get shot after, what, 11 games? I genuinely mean this is the nicest way, but some of you are absolutely frigging bonkers.

 

17 points from 11 games is hardly dreadful. At that rate, you'd have 59 at the end of the season. 60 points was enough to get Tottenham 5th last year, so that'd put you between them and Everton, in 6th. Would sixth not be a bad return from his first season?

 

I remember in 1989-90 we played Man United over Christmas and tonked them 3 nil. They were absolutely shit. They'd been shit all season so far. Fergie had bought some shit players, they weren't delivering, and his job was in the balance. That day, the entire Holte End was singing "sacked in the morning" and "Fergie on the dole". The papers the next day were full of stories about how United were going to sack him. They didn't though, and look how that turned out.

 

I know that the fact it worked out there doesn't guarantee the same will happen for you, but the general point is valid. We're (and I'm including many of our lot here, too, we're just as bad) losing our minds if we think there's a quick fix, instant return route to competing for clubs which have been fucked to the core like Newcastle and Villa.

 

You've got the best appointment you've made in years now. He's going to fuck things up from time to time, he's going to baffle you, you're going to get shit results like yesterday and Derby, but he's your best bet to fix things.

 

Give him a chance, FFS. Getting shot now, or soon, would just be repeating the worst mistakes you've made in the past.

 

Hear,hear.it seems you have to be ,to coin a phrase,be away from the goldfish bowl ,to read things clearly.We need stability now more than ever,this goes with team selection also.1 bad game for Rozy and Taylor shouldn't have given them the boot,and Sam should see that they are the best central defensive pairing we have.I believe the national press though are on a Newcastle destroy mission and are very anti Ashley.Don't believe all what you read  guys.It will turn out  fine as George Formby almost once said.

[Baggio]

Can someone tell me what attributes Taylor has to make him a better centre back than Faye?

[Incognito]

Taylor needs an experienced defender next to him,whether it be Faye or Rozy.He will come good,only hope its for us and not the sniffers who would take him like a shot,ie Liverpool Man United etc.

[Guest Coin]

 

whatsmatter Baggio, you having a sulk because you're one of the few people who still think Dyer is worthwhile and the club sold him on ?

 

I'm not sulking. I'm glad to see the back of Dyer, I would rather have Smith anyday, and I stick by it, but I look at away games performances as well as home games.

 

 

 

 

 

I'd start a fit Dyer before the Smith we're seeing, he's done nothing.

 

I think first you have to FIND me a fit Dyer. Haven't seen one in years....

[ChezGiven]

Can someone tell me what attributes Taylor has to make him a better centre back than Faye?

 

He's a geordie.

[PCW1983]

http://www.skysports.com/video/0,20285,12606_2849254,00.html

 

 

Excellent video, some very good points not the one about villa finishing above us though

[Guest Brazilianbob]

I haven't read all of this thread, and maybe this post is in the wrong place (although tbh, there are about 10 threads it could go in at the moment), it is just a general comment about some of the talk about SA.

 

Get shot after, what, 11 games? I genuinely mean this is the nicest way, but some of you are absolutely frigging bonkers.

 

17 points from 11 games is hardly dreadful. At that rate, you'd have 59 at the end of the season. 60 points was enough to get Tottenham 5th last year, so that'd put you between them and Everton, in 6th. Would sixth not be a bad return from his first season?

 

I remember in 1989-90 we played Man United over Christmas and tonked them 3 nil. They were absolutely s***. They'd been s*** all season so far. Fergie had bought some s*** players, they weren't delivering, and his job was in the balance. That day, the entire Holte End was singing "sacked in the morning" and "Fergie on the dole". The papers the next day were full of stories about how United were going to sack him. They didn't though, and look how that turned out.

 

I know that the fact it worked out there doesn't guarantee the same will happen for you, but the general point is valid. We're (and I'm including many of our lot here, too, we're just as bad) losing our minds if we think there's a quick fix, instant return route to competing for clubs which have been f***** to the core like Newcastle and Villa.

 

You've got the best appointment you've made in years now. He's going to f*** things up from time to time, he's going to baffle you, you're going to get s*** results like yesterday and Derby, but he's your best bet to fix things.

 

Give him a chance, FFS. Getting shot now, or soon, would just be repeating the worst mistakes you've made in the past.

 

You're right, he needs at least a season, maybe two, before we can properly judge him. I think a lot of people were against his appointment because of certain fears about how he would adapt to handling a bigger club, whether indeed he would adapt or whether he would try and 'do a Bolton' all over again. If he is going down the Bolton route, which I believe he is, then what does it mean for some of our best players? Will he got shot of them and if he does, what does that mean if he doesn't make the grade? After what Souness did here I think there is a real fear of someone overhauling the squad and taking us too far down the wrong path, only to get the boot and leave us back to square one. There is a real danger of that happening and if we are on the wrong path, I think the mentality of some is that they don't want us treading too far, if you get my drift. It is probably too early to tell, but at the same time Allardyce is a very known quantity, you know what you're getting from him in terms of his blueprint for the club and his preferred style of football.

 

I don't particularly want to see us go down the Bolton route, I hated Sam and hated Bolton when he was there. However, I'm willing to accept us becoming that type of outfit if it means we get back up where we want to be in the league. I want Sam to succeed even if I hate his brand of football, but I'm beginning to worry he won't ever get the time here for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he wasn't the new owner's appointment and that makes it easy to get shot of him and bring their own man in, even moreso if they detect that it's what the fans (the loudest fans rather than the majority of fans) want. Secondly, I'm not sure Allardyce is willing or capable of changing his setup to the extent that we can play to the strengths of players like Owen, Martins et al. We need these players in the game as much as possible, they are our matchwinners and if he gets them playing he will buy himself the time to overhaul the squad next summer. I don't see any evidence that he can or will do that though and that's worrying.

 

You talk about Allardyce going down the Bolton route, and thats all well and good if he produces a side that finishes in the top 7or 8 of the EPL, but to my mind he was employed to produce a side that will consistently beat teams like the one he produced at Bolton, so I do not accept him taking us down that route is the right way to go.

[Parky]

http://www.skysports.com/video/0,20285,12606_2849254,00.html

 

 

Excellent video, some very good points not the one about villa finishing above us though

 

I wonder about Patrick Barclay sometimes...."O'Neill is a better manager than Allardyce".

 

There was also a worrying assumption by these hacks that Ashley is clueless and might be bad for the club. Nonsense.

[ohmelads]

You talk about Allardyce going down the Bolton route, and thats all well and good if he produces a side that finishes in the top 7or 8 of the EPL, but to my mind he was employed to produce a side that will consistently beat teams like the one he produced at Bolton, so I do not accept him taking us down that route is the right way to go.

 

When Allardyce came I wasn't too happy but I tried to be philosophical about it. My hope was that he was a great manager who had been stifled by a limited budget all these years, and only played that type of football because he had to. That was certainly an argument his supporters stuck to, and I hoped they were right. My hope was that at a bigger club he could change to fit a new challenge, but from what I can see he is trying to go down the Bolton route all over again. To make matters worse we are playing a system which stifles our best players. All hope is not lost, we are only a handful of games into his first season. But he'll have to change his football in the meantime otherwise we'll continue to see players like Owen being totally misused and he as a manager will find himself under pressure.

[brummie]

I wonder about Patrick Barclay sometimes...."O'Neill is a better manager than Allardyce".

 

Whether you agree with him or not, and I'll keep my opinions to myself on that one, it is hardly a controversial suggestion is it?

 

Patrick Barclay is a twat, though

[80]

I wonder about Patrick Barclay sometimes...."O'Neill is a better manager than Allardyce".

 

Whether you agree with him or not, and I'll keep my opinions to myself on that one, it is hardly a controversial suggestion is it?

 

Patrick Barclay is a twat, though

 

I'd say the certainty with which it was said, particularly by Matt Dickinson, is controversial, at least.

[Parky]

I wonder about Patrick Barclay sometimes...."O'Neill is a better manager than Allardyce".

 

Whether you agree with him or not, and I'll keep my opinions to myself on that one, it is hardly a controversial suggestion is it?

 

Patrick Barclay is a twat, though

 

I'd say the certainty with which it was said, particularly by Matt Dickinson, is controversial, at least.

 

Then 'they' got into a discussion about which team had more points....Muppets.

[merlin]

http://www.skysports.com/video/0,20285,12606_2849254,00.html

 

 

Excellent video, some very good points not the one about villa finishing above us though

 

I wonder about Patrick Barclay sometimes...."O'Neill is a better manager than Allardyce".

 

There was also a worrying assumption by these hacks that Ashley is clueless and might be bad for the club. Nonsense.

 

O'Neill IS a better manager than Allardyce - his trophy record proves it, as does his getting Celtic to a European Final ; Allardyce has won NOWT...

[Mr. Snrub]

I'd have MON over Allardyce, like.

[madras]

http://www.skysports.com/video/0,20285,12606_2849254,00.html

 

 

Excellent video, some very good points not the one about villa finishing above us though

 

I wonder about Patrick Barclay sometimes...."O'Neill is a better manager than Allardyce".

 

There was also a worrying assumption by these hacks that Ashley is clueless and might be bad for the club. Nonsense.

 

O'Neill IS a better manager than Allardyce - his trophy record proves it, as does his getting Celtic to a European Final ; Allardyce has won NOWT...

that means souness was better than keegan ?

[merlin]

http://www.skysports.com/video/0,20285,12606_2849254,00.html

 

 

Excellent video, some very good points not the one about villa finishing above us though

 

I wonder about Patrick Barclay sometimes...."O'Neill is a better manager than Allardyce".

 

There was also a worrying assumption by these hacks that Ashley is clueless and might be bad for the club. Nonsense.

 

O'Neill IS a better manager than Allardyce - his trophy record proves it, as does his getting Celtic to a European Final ; Allardyce has won NOWT...

that means souness was better than keegan ?

 

So you think Allardyce's football, at both Bolton & NUFC, is better than MONs at Celtic or Villa ??

[merlin]

http://www.skysports.com/video/0,20285,12606_2849254,00.html

 

 

Excellent video, some very good points not the one about villa finishing above us though

 

I wonder about Patrick Barclay sometimes...."O'Neill is a better manager than Allardyce".

 

There was also a worrying assumption by these hacks that Ashley is clueless and might be bad for the club. Nonsense.

 

O'Neill IS a better manager than Allardyce - his trophy record proves it, as does his getting Celtic to a European Final ; Allardyce has won NOWT...

that means souness was better than keegan ?

 

Lets put it another way - as you brought KK into it, who would you choose if both KK and MON were in for the NUFC job at the end of this season? Sorry, but for me, its MON...proven winner and interested in ALL aspects of a club, not just buying players.

[80]

http://www.skysports.com/video/0,20285,12606_2849254,00.html

 

 

Excellent video, some very good points not the one about villa finishing above us though

 

I wonder about Patrick Barclay sometimes...."O'Neill is a better manager than Allardyce".

 

There was also a worrying assumption by these hacks that Ashley is clueless and might be bad for the club. Nonsense.

 

O'Neill IS a better manager than Allardyce - his trophy record proves it, as does his getting Celtic to a European Final ; Allardyce has won NOWT...

that means souness was better than keegan ?

 

Lets put it another way - as you brought KK into it, who would you choose if both KK and MON were in for the NUFC job at the end of this season? Sorry, but for me, its MON...proven winner and interested in ALL aspects of a club, not just buying players.

 

Proven against Scots.

 

To put it yet another way, who would you have had back in 1992?

[merlin]

http://www.skysports.com/video/0,20285,12606_2849254,00.html

 

 

Excellent video, some very good points not the one about villa finishing above us though

 

I wonder about Patrick Barclay sometimes...."O'Neill is a better manager than Allardyce".

 

There was also a worrying assumption by these hacks that Ashley is clueless and might be bad for the club. Nonsense.

 

O'Neill IS a better manager than Allardyce - his trophy record proves it, as does his getting Celtic to a European Final ; Allardyce has won NOWT...

that means souness was better than keegan ?

 

Lets put it another way - as you brought KK into it, who would you choose if both KK and MON were in for the NUFC job at the end of this season? Sorry, but for me, its MON...proven winner and interested in ALL aspects of a club, not just buying players.

 

Proven against Scots.

 

To put it yet another way, who would you have had back in 1992?

 

We are not back in 1992 - I asked who would you choose if both were in for the NUFC job at the end of THIS season - so - who would YOU choose???

And as for your comment about the Scots, did Celtic only play Scots when reaching the UEFA Final against Porto..!!?