Crumpy Gunt Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 We could drop to 5th bottom. Most of the teams below us now have superior goal difference. We REALLY could go down. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovejoy Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 next saturday is one of the biggest games we've had in years. if there was ever a must win, its next saturday imo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BooBoo Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Got 1-1 draw written all over it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisJbarnes Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 well have martins back, theres a + Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NG32 Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 The Blackburn game is now our battle of thermopylae. We must draw a line in the sand here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinmk Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 We could really do with Martins in a bit of form right now, he is maybe the only player we have capable of turning a game from a moment of brilliance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BooBoo Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Please dont be fooled into think Obafemi Martins will be the saviour of NUFC otherwise you will set yourself up for a big fall. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Please dont be fooled into think Obafemi Martins will be the saviour of NUFC otherwise you will set yourself up for a big fall. he can score goals, Smith cannot, Owen spends 99% of the game looking like George Weah's legendary cousin Martins' return is a massive boost Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Please dont be fooled into think Obafemi Martins will be the saviour of NUFC otherwise you will set yourself up for a big fall. People are desperate for a hero and Martins is the last hope now that Faye/Beye returned and made little to no difference at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 People are desperate for a hero and Martins is the last hope now that Faye/Beye returned and made little to no difference at all. I think the team is desperate for a hero, we've got no pace and are struggling for goals, Martins can bring both of those if he's given enough chances during a game. He's the only forward we've got who might be able to get behind a defender and cause problems for the opposition keeper. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 People are desperate for a hero and Martins is the last hope now that Faye/Beye returned and made little to no difference at all. I think the team is desperate for a hero, we've got no pace and are struggling for goals, Martins can bring both of those if he's given enough chances during a game. He's the only forward we've got who might be able to get behind a defender and cause problems for the opposition keeper. I agree with BooBoo on this, but I hope we're wrong and you're right. Aside from Martins' ability, it's the worry of him getting any service if he is played alongside Owen. They could both just play the "invisible man" role for 90 minutes, meaning we win nowt in the air against defenders and our defence has constant pressure on it. I'd prefer to see Carroll start against Blackburn than Martins or Smith, personally. Chuck Martins on in the second-half, all being well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I agree with BooBoo on this, but I hope we're wrong and you're right. Aside from Martins' ability, it's the worry of him getting any service if he is played alongside Owen. They could both just play the "invisible man" role for 90 minutes, meaning we win nowt in the air against defenders and our defence has constant pressure on it. I'd prefer to see Carroll start against Blackburn than Martins or Smith, personally. Chuck Martins on in the second-half, all being well. Carroll is ineffective most of the time because even when he wins the ball with a header it goes nowhere because we rarely win the second ball. He's a god prospect but have we got the players who can help him and bring him through to realise his potential? At least Keegan is trying to get the team to play the ball on the ground which should benefit Martins and Owen more than Owen and a tallish player. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I agree with BooBoo on this, but I hope we're wrong and you're right. Aside from Martins' ability, it's the worry of him getting any service if he is played alongside Owen. They could both just play the "invisible man" role for 90 minutes, meaning we win nowt in the air against defenders and our defence has constant pressure on it. I'd prefer to see Carroll start against Blackburn than Martins or Smith, personally. Chuck Martins on in the second-half, all being well. Carroll is ineffective most of the time because even when he wins the ball with a header it goes nowhere because we rarely win the second ball. He's a god prospect but have we got the players who can help him and bring him through to realise his potential? At least Keegan is trying to get the team to play the ball on the ground which should benefit Martins and Owen more than Owen and a tallish player. I haven't seen too much evidence of us playing "on the ground" since the first half against Bolton, which Keegan himself admitted wasn't working - probably because our defenders aren't good enough on the ball to start attacks. He went on to say he'd have to change the style - which has appeared to mean back to a direct gameplan. Since then, every goalkick is pumped long, we're seeing a lot of lofted balls from the defence up to Smith and he's not winning too many of them, because he gives about 3 inches up to most PL centre halves. Carroll has a square head, aye, but he's an unknown quantity and has the ability to unsettle people. He was instrumental in our goal yesterday and we seemed to have a bit more of a threat when he came on. I do realise Man Utd took their foot off the pedal somewhat at 3-0 like! People hoping for us to play it attractive/on the deck this season are in for a disappointment, if you ask me. I think KK realises we just have to scrap and get a win here and there. Next season the football will hopefully improve along with it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbydazzla Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Last time I remember being this twitchy before a game was when he had Barnsley at home in 97/98. Same time of year, same danger of being firmly in the shite if we'd lost it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BooBoo Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Didnt we scrape that Barnsley game 2-1? Problem is Blackburn are a hard working team of bastards who will be in no mood to just roll over. Plus they've got a few players more than capable of opening us up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasy Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I haven't seen too much evidence of us playing "on the ground" since the first half against Bolton, which Keegan himself admitted wasn't working - probably because our defenders aren't good enough on the ball to start attacks. He went on to say he'd have to change the style - which has appeared to mean back to a direct gameplan. Since then, every goalkick is pumped long, we're seeing a lot of lofted balls from the defence up to Smith and he's not winning too many of them, because he gives about 3 inches up to most PL centre halves. Of course we're playing the ball on the ground more, that's obvious IMO. That doesn't mean we're starting every move from the back on the ground. But what we are doing is actually passing the ball on the ground when we have it in midfield. Look at the Villa game, absolutely s*** second half, but in the first we passed the ball very well at times. I remember games under Allardyce when I could have counted the amount of passes on the ground on one hand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbydazzla Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 3-1 against barnsley. I seem to recall it being nervy when they got one after half time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I haven't seen too much evidence of us playing "on the ground" since the first half against Bolton, which Keegan himself admitted wasn't working - probably because our defenders aren't good enough on the ball to start attacks. He went on to say he'd have to change the style - which has appeared to mean back to a direct gameplan. Since then, every goalkick is pumped long, we're seeing a lot of lofted balls from the defence up to Smith and he's not winning too many of them, because he gives about 3 inches up to most PL centre halves. Carroll has a square head, aye, but he's an unknown quantity and has the ability to unsettle people. He was instrumental in our goal yesterday and we seemed to have a bit more of a threat when he came on. I do realise Man Utd took their foot off the pedal somewhat at 3-0 like! People hoping for us to play it attractive/on the deck this season are in for a disappointment, if you ask me. I think KK realises we just have to scrap and get a win here and there. Next season the football will hopefully improve along with it. I think we're launching the ball forward aimlessly less that we were under Allardyce, we actually had more possession in midfield yesterday than Man U had although it came to nothing. 43% of our possession was in midfield against Man U who had just under 42%. It's far from attractive because of who we've got playing in the middle and that isn't going to change this season unless a kid comes in and does something that the cloggers aren't doing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPL Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Please dont be fooled into think Obafemi Martins will be the saviour of NUFC otherwise you will set yourself up for a big fall. He did it last season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Face Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 People are desperate for a hero and Martins is the last hope now Oba, don't be a hero. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Oba, don't be a hero. You're showing your age, I guess I am by knowing what you're getting at. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I think a draw would be a decent result tbh. Blackburn are well organised and effective, similar to Villa. They are very beatable but not by a team which will wave the white flag at the slightest sign of pressure. If we go in with the same players who have been rolling over the last few weeks we are staring at defeat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PM Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Didnt we scrape that Barnsley game 2-1? Problem is Blackburn are a hard working team of bastards who will be in no mood to just roll over. Plus they've got a few players more than capable of opening us up. We did, it was my 1st ever match. Late Shearer winner. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggio Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Whether people like Martins as a player or not I think the team make a noticeable improvement when he's in the team, just the threat of his pace makes opposition defenders sit deeper in their own area, something we are desperate for at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Things aren't getting much better without him, so the least he'll do is give us another option and some pace upfront. Hopefully it could lead to him being watched more than Owen, freeing Owen up more than he has been of late [/optimism] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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