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Compare - starting XI 2008/2009 vs. current


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Guest BooBoo

Martins was/is a clown. Just the sort of character you don't want in a scrap.

 

Agree. He is such a talented footballer, but thick as pig shit on and off the field.

 

I suspect he hasnt improved or progressed at all as a player since the start of his career. When Shearer played in the Bobby charity game in the summer his runs and movement off the ball were still ten times anything Martins mustered up during his half hearted showings for us.

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Martins was one of the most frustrating footballers I've ever watched. He had all the attributes to be a top striker but didn't have a footballing brain to put them to any use. Provided us with as many regrettable moments as memorable.

 

Having said that I did feel sorry for him at times during the previous campaign.

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Martins was one of the most frustrating footballers I've ever watched. He had all the attributes to be a top striker but didn't have a footballing brain to put them to any use. Provided us with as many regrettable moments as memorable.

 

Having said that I did feel sorry for him at times during the previous campaign.

 

He was frustrating as hell, but couldn't half come up with a cracking goal when it was needed. He was definitely the scapegoat at times like.

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Guest BooBoo

For every great moment like the goal at Spurs, there was a moment like his penalty at Everton where you just wondered if we hadn't just nicked some kid off a Nigerian pub team.

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Martins is literraly the thickest player I've ever seen. Some moments of absolute brilliance but he'll never have the consistency that can be relied upon. Generally I'm more than happy to see the back of him.

 

Agree that he was pretty damn thick. He seemingly refused to use his electric pace. Still he is a far better player than Lovenkrands and could on occasions make something out of nothing. I liked him  :smitten:

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Would have gladly had Oba's babies, meself.

 

Re the question, there's only one answer really. 08/09 had the better individuals on paper, but this year's has an actual team.

 

Last season we had the personnel amongst the playing staff to finish in the Top 8. When you consider the run we went on at the back end of 07/08 - and then to improve it in the summer (though not as much as we should have done), there's no way we didn't have a squad of very, very talented footballers. And a quality manager to boot.

 

But obviously the wheels came off and there was nowhere else we were going but down. Man for man, there's hardly anyone in our current side that beats a player from last season. However, we're a team this season and i dare say - if we played a match against last season's mob right now - the current side would win.

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Would have gladly had Oba's babies, meself.

 

Re the question, there's only one answer really. 08/09 had the better individuals on paper, but this year's has an actual team.

 

Last season we had the personnel amongst the playing staff to finish in the Top 8. When you consider the run we went on at the back end of 07/08 - and then to improve it in the summer (though not as much as we should have done), there's no way we didn't have a squad of very, very talented footballers. And a quality manager to boot.

 

But obviously the wheels came off and there was nowhere else we were going but down. Man for man, there's hardly anyone in our current side that beats a player from last season. However, we're a team this season and i dare say - if we played a match against last season's mob right now - the current side would win.

 

This. Including the Oba babies bit.

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The 08/09 starting XI was better individual wise, however they require a decent manager and stability to get the best out of them. We failed massively on that front in 08/09 and on top had the Keegan and club up for sale fiasco.  If we had a decent manager and none of the off field bullshit we would have probably finished mid-table, maybe better.

 

As for our current squad, it is far more balanced and has much improved team spirit.  It's also better financially with less wages.  I think our current lot has less ability than the 08/09 XI however the team work and spirit of the current group would probably have beaten an 08/09 XI in a game purely because of the state the club was in etc.

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Guest firetotheworks

This whole 'they were better individuals, but not a better team' thing is rubbish tbh. Yes, that's true. But Keegan had them playing as a team, and in a higher league than this one. It was Ashley's fuck ups, and one of too many managers/the managers not getting the best out of them/a total breakdown in trust and commitment to the club.

 

 

Of course the 08/09 squad was better.

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This whole 'they were better individuals, but not a better team' thing is rubbish tbh. Yes, that's true. But Keegan had them playing as a team, and in a higher league than this one. It was Ashley's fuck ups, and one of too many managers/the managers not getting the best out of them/a total breakdown in trust and commitment to the club.

 

 

Of course the 08/09 squad was better.

Absolutely.

 

Also, Barton played in 9 games that season. N'Zogbia played in more.

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As already been said after the 3-2 win over Coventry i had high expectations and was falling in love with Newcastle again. Of course we know what happened, but the 08/09 team had a lot more quality. Although i use the term 'team' loosely!

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One thing really that stopped us being a better team last season:

 

Joe Kinnear

 

Pretty sure the points per game Kinnear earned would have kept us up (without checking). He had a far superior record to the other two managers we had after Keegan iirc.

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