Mort Expects Arrivals

[Luc]

Where is he? Newcastle Airport?

[Parky]

So do the people urging the club to give Allardyce money have faith in him to turn the club around?

 

Not a huge amount but am going off the principle that if Ashley can afford to pay off debt (that is perfectly acceptable for Arse/Man U/Liverpool/Chelsea to carry in far bigger proportions) then he can afford £20m to give Allardyce a couple of decent attacking players.

 

Do you think Sven would be doing better with our current lot? Or Moyes? I think the squad is a bit shit and most teams above us have one or two key players that make them tick that we dont.

 

Long term its hard to say about Allardyce but i think people have poor judgement about our players if they think we have a Muntari, an Elano or an Arteta. We dont and these players are the ones sticking the points on the board for those teams.

 

Anyone who thinks our players are good enough to challenge the top 6 needs their head looked at. These are same lads who think Milner is decent btw.

 

So you think an under performing manager who's shown no sign of improvement since he's been here and the money he has spent has mostly been wasted should be given £20 million on the basis that the new owner is rich?

 

For me Allardyce isn't good enough and we've seen over the first few months that he isn't up to the job, giving him large amounts of money under these circumstances would be crazy (unless of course you have faith in him to turn it around) and we would be better off saving it for the next manager, whoever he'll be.

 

Why do we need to save money? I thought we were rich? Why not take a gamble, you know you should only gamble if you can afford it and i reckon Ashley can? We're 11th with a shit team.

 

Does that mean you think our squad is better than Pompey's? Or Everton's? Who are these lush players in our sqaud that means Allardyce is under-performing?

 

We're stuck with Allardyce mate, nowt we can do about it now, if we get rid we will put the club back years. Not sure he is the one to take us north of 6th place but i think given time and money he will get us there or thereabouts.

 

People need to accept that we still have a thin rickety squad albeit with a more shored up defence. Defence always takes longer to show it's working than an attack in football lore.

 

The players won't be wasted if SA gets the push, quality players remain quality regardless of manager.

 

Do you trust him to sign quality players though?

 

In all honesty I'm not sure anymore. Beye and Faye are one thing but when looking for thoroughbreds a different eye is needed. And another thing we have too many lumpen defenders as coaches at the club.

 

I seem to remember me and you sharing the same concerns in the Summer about the lack of pace and creativity in the team, for me it was blindingly obvious that we would struggle to create things even if people on here were trying to make out we didn't have a problem because we had 10 shots on target against whoever.

 

Did Allardyce really think Barton, Geremi, Smith and Viduka would be the answer to our creative problems?

 

I have no faith at all in him getting what we need, or him turning this club around, for that reason I'd rather he didn't get anything.

 

Yeah we passed the parcel on creativity and pace around toward the end of the summer window and frankly there wasn't much uptake...Barton seemed to be the get out clause for many at the time.

 

Then iirc soon after the Wigan (SJP) where we had real problems creating proper chances (although we won in the end) I started to become fearful and started pushing that big thread about a 'creativo centrocampista'.... Which grew quite long as people began to realise what the heck I was bleating about.

 

The midfield whether it be right midfield or an attacking CM doesn't have enough tricks and we're dropping points because of this especially against the weaker sides who sit deep qv all the bottom of the table muppets we've lost points to.

[Parky]

So do the people urging the club to give Allardyce money have faith in him to turn the club around?

 

Not a huge amount but am going off the principle that if Ashley can afford to pay off debt (that is perfectly acceptable for Arse/Man U/Liverpool/Chelsea to carry in far bigger proportions) then he can afford £20m to give Allardyce a couple of decent attacking players.

 

Do you think Sven would be doing better with our current lot? Or Moyes? I think the squad is a bit s*** and most teams above us have one or two key players that make them tick that we dont.

 

Long term its hard to say about Allardyce but i think people have poor judgement about our players if they think we have a Muntari, an Elano or an Arteta. We dont and these players are the ones sticking the points on the board for those teams.

 

Anyone who thinks our players are good enough to challenge the top 6 needs their head looked at. These are same lads who think Milner is decent btw.

 

Spot on!

 

We could easily see the team as a whole gel together with a couple of cracking signings!

 

I don't think our defence is half as bad as the media make out!  It's the midfield giving the ball away with sloppy passes then falling on there arses trying to gain back possession, and this just heaps more pressure on the back line!

 

Aye, same as last season and which was pointed out by some last season before loads of new defenders were signed...with no improvement.

 

You might need to go through your taking the pressure of the def mantra again HTL.

[ChezGiven]

 

I think the quality of the players is the key issue. You said yourself that given the enormity of the task facing Allardyce last summer that bolstering the squad was about all he could achieve given the time he had.

 

But he spent 6 million on Smith, add a million or two to that and he could have gone for the likes of Elano or Muntari.  Players who would not only have improved the squad but would also have improved the first team dramatically.

 

He also set the team out to win against Derby at home and still the players werent good enough (taking into account their honeymoon period obviously )

 

He went with the same formula he always does.  Two defensive midfielders and one not defensive but hardly attacking midfielder.  One up front, five in midfield with two breaking from midfield to back up the lone striker.

 

Well apparently he did go for Elano and missed out due to the financial upheaval.

 

 

[Baggio]

 

I think the quality of the players is the key issue. You said yourself that given the enormity of the task facing Allardyce last summer that bolstering the squad was about all he could achieve given the time he had.

 

But he spent 6 million on Smith, add a million or two to that and he could have gone for the likes of Elano or Muntari.  Players who would not only have improved the squad but would also have improved the first team dramatically.

 

He also set the team out to win against Derby at home and still the players werent good enough (taking into account their honeymoon period obviously )

 

He went with the same formula he always does.  Two defensive midfielders and one not defensive but hardly attacking midfielder.  One up front, five in midfield with two breaking from midfield to back up the lone striker.

 

Well apparently he did go for Elano and missed out due to the financial upheaval.

 

 

 

Yet signed Alan Smith the day after...

[Baggio]

So do the people urging the club to give Allardyce money have faith in him to turn the club around?

 

Not a huge amount but am going off the principle that if Ashley can afford to pay off debt (that is perfectly acceptable for Arse/Man U/Liverpool/Chelsea to carry in far bigger proportions) then he can afford £20m to give Allardyce a couple of decent attacking players.

 

Do you think Sven would be doing better with our current lot? Or Moyes? I think the squad is a bit s*** and most teams above us have one or two key players that make them tick that we dont.

 

Long term its hard to say about Allardyce but i think people have poor judgement about our players if they think we have a Muntari, an Elano or an Arteta. We dont and these players are the ones sticking the points on the board for those teams.

 

Anyone who thinks our players are good enough to challenge the top 6 needs their head looked at. These are same lads who think Milner is decent btw.

 

Spot on!

 

We could easily see the team as a whole gel together with a couple of cracking signings!

 

I don't think our defence is half as bad as the media make out!  It's the midfield giving the ball away with sloppy passes then falling on there arses trying to gain back possession, and this just heaps more pressure on the back line!

 

Aye, same as last season and which was pointed out by some last season before loads of new defenders were signed...with no improvement.

 

You might need to go through your taking the pressure of the def mantra again HTL.

 

The reason the defenders are under pressure is because the manager has them playing a style of football which basically has us lumping it long and hoping that someone can get on the end of a flick on, that is the managers fault.

 

If you want to take the pressure off defenders you need to play a game based around ball retention and none of this long ball rubbish.

[Guest Knightrider]

There is never really a bad time to buy quality players if they are available.

 

Only if you have the money.

[Dave]

So do the people urging the club to give Allardyce money have faith in him to turn the club around?

 

Not a huge amount but am going off the principle that if Ashley can afford to pay off debt (that is perfectly acceptable for Arse/Man U/Liverpool/Chelsea to carry in far bigger proportions) then he can afford £20m to give Allardyce a couple of decent attacking players.

 

Do you think Sven would be doing better with our current lot? Or Moyes? I think the squad is a bit s*** and most teams above us have one or two key players that make them tick that we dont.

 

Long term its hard to say about Allardyce but i think people have poor judgement about our players if they think we have a Muntari, an Elano or an Arteta. We dont and these players are the ones sticking the points on the board for those teams.

 

Anyone who thinks our players are good enough to challenge the top 6 needs their head looked at. These are same lads who think Milner is decent btw.

 

Spot on!

 

We could easily see the team as a whole gel together with a couple of cracking signings!

 

I don't think our defence is half as bad as the media make out!  It's the midfield giving the ball away with sloppy passes then falling on there arses trying to gain back possession, and this just heaps more pressure on the back line!

 

Aye, same as last season and which was pointed out by some last season before loads of new defenders were signed...with no improvement.

 

You might need to go through your taking the pressure of the def mantra again HTL.

 

Do you think we didn't need to improve the quality of the playing staff at the back?

 

I think we needed (and made) significant upgrades in defensive individuals. The team is not functioning as a whole and a better midfield would certainly help, but that doesn't mean we should have relied on the players we had then.

[Teasy]

 

Well apparently he did go for Elano and missed out due to the financial upheaval.

 

 

 

Really?, I've never heard that before.

[Parky]

So do the people urging the club to give Allardyce money have faith in him to turn the club around?

 

Not a huge amount but am going off the principle that if Ashley can afford to pay off debt (that is perfectly acceptable for Arse/Man U/Liverpool/Chelsea to carry in far bigger proportions) then he can afford £20m to give Allardyce a couple of decent attacking players.

 

Do you think Sven would be doing better with our current lot? Or Moyes? I think the squad is a bit s*** and most teams above us have one or two key players that make them tick that we dont.

 

Long term its hard to say about Allardyce but i think people have poor judgement about our players if they think we have a Muntari, an Elano or an Arteta. We dont and these players are the ones sticking the points on the board for those teams.

 

Anyone who thinks our players are good enough to challenge the top 6 needs their head looked at. These are same lads who think Milner is decent btw.

 

Spot on!

 

We could easily see the team as a whole gel together with a couple of cracking signings!

 

I don't think our defence is half as bad as the media make out!  It's the midfield giving the ball away with sloppy passes then falling on there arses trying to gain back possession, and this just heaps more pressure on the back line!

 

Aye, same as last season and which was pointed out by some last season before loads of new defenders were signed...with no improvement.

 

You might need to go through your taking the pressure of the def mantra again HTL.

 

Do you think we didn't need to improve the quality of the playing staff at the back?

 

I think we needed (and made) significant upgrades in defensive individuals. The team is not functioning as a whole and a better midfield would certainly help, but that doesn't mean we should have relied on the players we had then.

 

I agree.

 

I meant I don't want to see endless def coming in.....(I'll take Wes Brown if he comes).

 

[Dave]

So do the people urging the club to give Allardyce money have faith in him to turn the club around?

 

Not a huge amount but am going off the principle that if Ashley can afford to pay off debt (that is perfectly acceptable for Arse/Man U/Liverpool/Chelsea to carry in far bigger proportions) then he can afford £20m to give Allardyce a couple of decent attacking players.

 

Do you think Sven would be doing better with our current lot? Or Moyes? I think the squad is a bit s*** and most teams above us have one or two key players that make them tick that we dont.

 

Long term its hard to say about Allardyce but i think people have poor judgement about our players if they think we have a Muntari, an Elano or an Arteta. We dont and these players are the ones sticking the points on the board for those teams.

 

Anyone who thinks our players are good enough to challenge the top 6 needs their head looked at. These are same lads who think Milner is decent btw.

 

Spot on!

 

We could easily see the team as a whole gel together with a couple of cracking signings!

 

I don't think our defence is half as bad as the media make out!  It's the midfield giving the ball away with sloppy passes then falling on there arses trying to gain back possession, and this just heaps more pressure on the back line!

 

Aye, same as last season and which was pointed out by some last season before loads of new defenders were signed...with no improvement.

 

You might need to go through your taking the pressure of the def mantra again HTL.

 

Do you think we didn't need to improve the quality of the playing staff at the back?

 

I think we needed (and made) significant upgrades in defensive individuals. The team is not functioning as a whole and a better midfield would certainly help, but that doesn't mean we should have relied on the players we had then.

 

I agree.

 

I meant I don't want to see endless def coming in.....(I'll take Wes Brown if he comes).

 

 

Fair enough. Agree on Brown if he's not too expensive.

 

Apart from the pesky ACN and the bizarre Enrique situation I think we're more or less covered at the back now. I couldn't say that at the end of last season, which is what you and HTL seemed to be implying. The staff was shit/leaving anyway*, so I can forgive him concentrating on defenders. Unfortunately it's not made us any more solid, but at least the players are there to be used.

 

Allardyce now needs to spend some money on players who can make things happen.

 

 

*The list is pretty shocking tbh.

[Parky]

So do the people urging the club to give Allardyce money have faith in him to turn the club around?

 

Not a huge amount but am going off the principle that if Ashley can afford to pay off debt (that is perfectly acceptable for Arse/Man U/Liverpool/Chelsea to carry in far bigger proportions) then he can afford £20m to give Allardyce a couple of decent attacking players.

 

Do you think Sven would be doing better with our current lot? Or Moyes? I think the squad is a bit s*** and most teams above us have one or two key players that make them tick that we dont.

 

Long term its hard to say about Allardyce but i think people have poor judgement about our players if they think we have a Muntari, an Elano or an Arteta. We dont and these players are the ones sticking the points on the board for those teams.

 

Anyone who thinks our players are good enough to challenge the top 6 needs their head looked at. These are same lads who think Milner is decent btw.

 

Spot on!

 

We could easily see the team as a whole gel together with a couple of cracking signings!

 

I don't think our defence is half as bad as the media make out!  It's the midfield giving the ball away with sloppy passes then falling on there arses trying to gain back possession, and this just heaps more pressure on the back line!

 

Aye, same as last season and which was pointed out by some last season before loads of new defenders were signed...with no improvement.

 

You might need to go through your taking the pressure of the def mantra again HTL.

 

Do you think we didn't need to improve the quality of the playing staff at the back?

 

I think we needed (and made) significant upgrades in defensive individuals. The team is not functioning as a whole and a better midfield would certainly help, but that doesn't mean we should have relied on the players we had then.

 

I agree.

 

I meant I don't want to see endless def coming in.....(I'll take Wes Brown if he comes).

 

 

Fair enough. Agree on Brown if he's not too expensive.

 

Apart from the pesky ACN and the bizarre Enrique situation I think we're more or less covered at the back now. I couldn't say that at the end of last season, which is what you and HTL seemed to be implying. The staff was shit/leaving anyway*, so I can forgive him concentrating on defenders. Unfortunately it's not made us any more solid, but at least the players are there to be used.

 

Allardyce now needs to spend some money on players who can make things happen.

 

 

*The list is pretty shocking tbh.

 

 

Amen to that.

[Howaythelads]

We still needed better personnel back there; the manager is not making it work correctly.

 

It's a matter of priority. We needed more creativity in forward areas far more than we needed new players at the back in the quantity we've since seen arrive.

[sparta]

I would rather have one 10 mil flair player than 2, 5 million non entity's

 

then we buy 1, 10mil player that is a flop....

or we buy 4, 2,5 non entitys, there one is a complete success 2 is a flop, and one is above average?

 

ill always liked the buy many players on short contracts option

[Baggio]

We still needed better personnel back there; the manager is not making it work correctly.

 

It's a matter of priority. We needed more creativity in forward areas far more than we needed new players at the back in the quantity we've since seen arrive.

 

I thought the whole argument was we needed a striker to hold the ball up rather than new defenders?

 

Nothing to do with creativity.

[Howaythelads]

So do the people urging the club to give Allardyce money have faith in him to turn the club around?

 

Not a huge amount but am going off the principle that if Ashley can afford to pay off debt (that is perfectly acceptable for Arse/Man U/Liverpool/Chelsea to carry in far bigger proportions) then he can afford £20m to give Allardyce a couple of decent attacking players.

 

Do you think Sven would be doing better with our current lot? Or Moyes? I think the squad is a bit s*** and most teams above us have one or two key players that make them tick that we dont.

 

Long term its hard to say about Allardyce but i think people have poor judgement about our players if they think we have a Muntari, an Elano or an Arteta. We dont and these players are the ones sticking the points on the board for those teams.

 

Anyone who thinks our players are good enough to challenge the top 6 needs their head looked at. These are same lads who think Milner is decent btw.

 

Spot on!

 

We could easily see the team as a whole gel together with a couple of cracking signings!

 

I don't think our defence is half as bad as the media make out!  It's the midfield giving the ball away with sloppy passes then falling on there arses trying to gain back possession, and this just heaps more pressure on the back line!

 

Aye, same as last season and which was pointed out by some last season before loads of new defenders were signed...with no improvement.

 

You might need to go through your taking the pressure of the def mantra again HTL.

 

It's not just me though, is it mate? There are a half a dozen or so people who seem able to see outside the box, many others being sucked in by the latest bleat of who is the worst signing of the moment, even though it's less important as when I'll next scratch my bag.

[Guest BooBoo]

Please refrain from mentioning your bag.

[Dave]

We still needed better personnel back there; the manager is not making it work correctly.

 

It's a matter of priority. We needed more creativity in forward areas far more than we needed new players at the back in the quantity we've since seen arrive.

 

We ended the season with:

Bramble (contract expired)

Moore (contract expired)

Onyewu (loan expired)

Bernard (health expired)

 

Leaving us with:

Ramage

Huntington

Babayaro

Edgar

Taylor

 

Are you seriously suggesting we didn't need to buy defenders in the Summer?

[Howaythelads]

Please refrain from mentioning your bag.

 

My bag is class, tbh.

[Guest BooBoo]

Please refrain from mentioning your bag.

 

My bag is class, tbh.

 

Clutch style or traditional strap?

[Howaythelads]

We still needed better personnel back there; the manager is not making it work correctly.

 

It's a matter of priority. We needed more creativity in forward areas far more than we needed new players at the back in the quantity we've since seen arrive.

 

We ended the season with:

Bramble (contract expired)

Moore (contract expired)

Onyewu (loan expired)

Bernard (health expired)

 

Leaving us with:

Ramage

Huntington

Babayaro

Edgar

Taylor

 

Are you seriously suggesting we didn't need to buy defenders in the Summer?

 

No. As I think you know.

 

What I'm on about is the notion by many that all of the problems in the team were at the back, when in fact for a long time now the main problem has been our lack of ability to control football matches, to use the ball properly and to get the opposition on the back foot. Our ability to hurt them in turn influences the opposition game plan from the start. If they know we're shit going forward they're going to throw a lot at us, this of course makes even good defenders look poor.

[Howaythelads]

Please refrain from mentioning your bag.

 

My bag is class, tbh.

 

Clutch style or traditional strap?

 

:parky:

[Dave]

We still needed better personnel back there; the manager is not making it work correctly.

 

It's a matter of priority. We needed more creativity in forward areas far more than we needed new players at the back in the quantity we've since seen arrive.

 

We ended the season with:

Bramble (contract expired)

Moore (contract expired)

Onyewu (loan expired)

Bernard (health expired)

 

Leaving us with:

Ramage

Huntington

Babayaro

Edgar

Taylor

 

Are you seriously suggesting we didn't need to buy defenders in the Summer?

 

No. As I think you know.

 

What I'm on about is the notion by many that all of the problems in the team were at the back, when in fact for a long time now the main problem has been our lack of ability to control football matches, to use the ball properly and to get the opposition on the back foot. Our ability to hurt them in turn influences the opposition game plan from the start. If they know we're shit going forward they're going to throw a lot at us, this of course makes even good defenders look poor.

 

Agreed. I just baulk at the suggestion that only you and few select others know this, and everyone else is stupid. Read my posts earlier, I know full well that we are shite at holding onto the ball etc, and that we perhaps should have bought some better forward players in the Summer. Doesn't change the fact that we still needed defenders.

 

I know you're not keen on Allardyce but I hope if the board plan to stand by him that he targets some of the aforementioned ball-players this time.

[Dave]

FWIW we bought two strikers with lots of Premier League experience, a midfielder that likes a shot or two and another who looked the epitome of coolness in keeping possession pre-season to go with the four defenders and youngster.

 

As always, Allardyce's problem is that he's not making it work.

[Baggio]

We still needed better personnel back there; the manager is not making it work correctly.

 

It's a matter of priority. We needed more creativity in forward areas far more than we needed new players at the back in the quantity we've since seen arrive.

 

We ended the season with:

Bramble (contract expired)

Moore (contract expired)

Onyewu (loan expired)

Bernard (health expired)

 

Leaving us with:

Ramage

Huntington

Babayaro

Edgar

Taylor

 

Are you seriously suggesting we didn't need to buy defenders in the Summer?

 

No. As I think you know.

 

What I'm on about is the notion by many that all of the problems in the team were at the back, when in fact for a long time now the main problem has been our lack of ability to control football matches, to use the ball properly and to get the opposition on the back foot. Our ability to hurt them in turn influences the opposition game plan from the start. If they know we're shit going forward they're going to throw a lot at us, this of course makes even good defenders look poor.

 

Agreed. I just baulk at the suggestion that only you and few select others know this, and everyone else is stupid. Read my posts earlier, I know full well that we are shite at holding onto the ball etc, and that we perhaps should have bought some better forward players in the Summer. Doesn't change the fact that we still needed defenders.

 

I know you're not keen on Allardyce but I hope if the board plan to stand by him that he targets some of the aforementioned ball-players this time.

 

This is a post I made when Roeder was in charge.

 

 

As a team I think we defend quite well, the wingers get back and help the fullbacks, the CM's drop back to help the CB's and Martins, Dyer and Sib seem to do a lot of closing down, however I think Glen Roeder said it best when he said "Newcastle don't concede good goals" which was spot on, a lot of goals we concede are down to individual errors and it's the reason our back line is a laughing stock, most of the errors are down to players not being comfortable on the ball and panicking under pressure.

 

You look at the individuals I mentioned earlier and none of them look comfortable on the ball, if you look at how Wenger has Arsenal set up you'll see that nearly all of his players are comfortable passing the ball around and being in possession, even players I don't particularly rate like Flamini are good on the ball.

 

This for me is something we should aim for, it doesn't have to be expensive either, I think a CB who can bring the ball out from the back would be a huge boost to us retaining possession and would cut out the need for the aimless long balls we continue to play from the back, which continue to put us under more pressure.

 

 

The long ball football we play at the moment is crippling us, we just lose possession and the opposition bring it straight back at us, this is a problem with the manager more than the players IMO. Would he play a different style if he had an Arteta in midfield? More likely to leave him on the bench to play Butt and Faye in midfield to keep it tight tbh.

 

Look at what Sven has done at City, he's brought players that are comfortable in possession and because of this they can dictate play, I don't think they play great football but it's far better than the shite we watch, they're a few players away from having a really good team and that's down to the manager.