This "not been tested"...

[Interpolic]

Yeah, we haven't won at Old Trafford since 1972.

[broonalegeordie]

Where did the 44% come from? Bit random?!

[ohmelads]

To be honest I'd rather they keep playing us down than hyped us up ridiculously as top 4 or title challengers. The players seem to have a point to prove and are enjoying playing in a tight-knit team that works for each other with no real stars or prima donnas. Would we really want the media going on about the likes of Cabaye, Tiote, Coloccini and Ba the way they have about Spurs players like Scott Parker? It would just put more pressure on us and increase the chances of these players moving on (though chances are Ashley will cash in next summer anyway).

 

The only thing that is annoying is you know they will revel in it if we lose away to Man City or Man Utd, and espescially if we lose heavily. As has been pointed out, Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs have all lost heavily this season, it doesn't mean they're not strong sides. I hope we will give these teams a game but our fans are being realistic that we must beat the teams outside of the top 6 or 7 places and if we keep doing that we can finish pretty high up the league. We have to keep doing what we're doing and if we take a beating in Manchester then so be it. The Everton game is just as big as either Manchester fixture, you don't get extra points for winning at Old Trafford.

 

Ultimately injuries and the African Cup of Nations will have the biggest say on our season.

[gazza ladra]

To be honest I'd rather they keep playing us down than hyped us up ridiculously as top 4 or title challengers. The players seem to have a point to prove and are enjoying playing in a tight-knit team that works for each other with no real stars or prima donnas. Would we really want the media going on about the likes of Cabaye, Tiote, Coloccini and Ba the way they have about Spurs players like Scott Parker? It would just put more pressure on us and increase the chances of these players moving on (though chances are Ashley will cash in next summer anyway).

 

No worries. Cabaye, Tiote, Coloccini, and Ba are not English. Scott Parker is.  (That said, nobody really went in for Scott Parker until after West Ham were already relegated.)

 

[Heron]

The longer we're seen as an underdog and laughed at the better. We seem to excel in this role, as opposed to that of the high flying, top of the table side who should beat the shite in the league like Sunderland.

[Christmas Tree]

Todays piece from Mark Douglas

 

History’s on Newcastle United's side for Euro hopes

 

WHISPER it quietly but Newcastle United – backed to go down by one of their own players during a catastrophic close season – are on track to make the Champions League.

 

Incredible though that might sound, it is backed up by The Journal’s research that shows no top-four finisher since 2005 has been so handily placed as Newcastle United are right now.

 

Indeed, not since David Moyes’ Everton side broke into the elite six years ago had any fourth placed finisher smashed the 20-point barrier at this stage of the season – and even then they were sitting pretty on 22 points, level with United’s current tally.

 

This, more than anything, should signal a realignment of black-and-white aspirations for the campaign after a simply stunning start to the Premier League season.

 

For, while Alan Pardew quite rightly strains to keep collective feet on the ground in public, behind closed doors he must be sensing that this their terrific 10-game unbeaten run has handed United a once-in-a-decade chance to return the club to Continental competition.

 

Don’t think it is not being mentioned by a manager noted for his meticulous planning. In Pardew’s office at the club’s Benton training base there is a white board with each fixture inked on it in thick black marker pen.

 

Just as Pardew did at West Ham, each winnable game is noted and colour coded and strict targets are set by a coaching team, who have impressed even the senior campaigners at St James’ Park with their attention to detail.

 

Before the season started, the United boss met with Mike Ashley in London and was told a top-10 finish was the minimum requirement given the summer recruitment that was planned.

 

Changes were afoot, for sure, but a quiet revolution that was to claim the scalps of Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan was to alter the DNA of the football club. Pardew, a naturally confident character, remained convinced a top-half finish was attainable despite a summer of discontent, but it was still a leap into the unknown for a mostly young team with little experience at the thick end of Premier League battle.

 

Given those considerations it is safe to say even the most optimistic pre-season planning wouldn’t have pegged them at 22 points at this stage, and a conscious decision has been taken not to be drawn on talk of Europe.

 

Every player is sticking to that edict so far, with queries about tilting for the Europa League or even – heaven forbid – the Champions League brushed away. The only stated aim so far this season is to rack up the 18 points required to sustain Premier League football on Tyneside.

 

But this is a fiercely ambitious management team firing a young side that is yet to taste failure, and in the privacy of the dressing room there is a burgeoning belief that they can be the Premier League’s surprise package this season.

 

Of course, there remain doubters and legitimate questions that are yet to be answered. Snipers might point to United’s opposition as mitigation and it is a point that deserves closer scrutiny.

 

Granted, Newcastle’s six wins so far this season have all come against opposition bouncing about in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

 

Manchester’s twin terrors await in a fearsome North West double header later this month, while Chelsea, inconsistent but still potent on their day, will provide the sternest St James’ Park test so far this season in early December.

 

Dig a bit deeper, though, and there are reasons why United cannot be written off as flat-track bullies. Monday night’s evisceration of Stoke City, for a start, when United thoroughly worked over a Stoke City side simply not used to being roughed up like that on their own turf.

 

The 3-1 win revealed the character of the team Pardew has moulded, and anyone writing off Stoke as a flaccid imitation of the side that bested United last year might care to inform Manchester United and Chelsea. After all, neither of those title challengers were able to claim three points in the Potteries.

 

Similarly, consider the fact that Newcastle are the only side not to succumb to Spurs in the last seven matches.

 

That 2-2 draw at St James’ Park, snatched by Shola Ameobi’s superlative late strike last month, was the result of another fine collective effort.

 

So far, United have coped well with the injuries that have arrived at their door.

 

But the squad is much smaller than any that has qualified for Europe over the past five years, and further depletion of their ranks could be seriously damaging.

 

Cover is desperately required at centre-back in January for, while James Perch was a willing competitor at the Britannia on Monday, there still remain doubts about his ability to cope at the highest level. Still, United’s able deputies have stepped up to the mark when asked this season. Emergency left-back Ryan Taylor has gone from liability to Mr Dependable in a 10-game spell where he’s hardly put a boot wrong, while Danny Guthrie ensured the loss of Cheick Tioté was not too keenly felt on Monday.

 

It is inevitable that United’s smooth season will encounter turbulence at some stage but, even if form slips, there is no doubting the foundations have been laid for a crack at the top five. Pardew will be warmed by the fact history is on his side in the battle for Europe.

 

Tales of the tape at ten-game mark

 

INCREDIBLY, Newcastle’s flying start is better than ANY team that have finished fourth in the last six seasons.

 

Everton had also racked up 22 points at the ten-game mark in 2004-05 and eventually finished fourth – qualifying for the Champions League in the process.

 

Here are the ten-game tallies of teams that qualified for Europe automatically through league placings over the last five years:

 

2006-07 SEASON

 

4th – Arsenal 18pts (Finishing total – 68, Champions League)

 

5th – Tottenham 12pts (Finishing total – 60, UEFA Cup)

 

2007-08 SEASON

 

4th – Liverpool 20pts (Finishing total – 76, Champions League)

 

5th – Everton 13pts (Finishing total – 65, UEFA Cup)

 

2008-09 SEASON

 

4th – Arsenal 20pts (Finishing total – 72, Champions League)

 

5th – Everton 12pts (Finishing total – 63, UEFA Cup)

 

2009-10 SEASON

 

4th – Tottenham 19pts (Finishing total – 70, Champions League)

 

5th – Manchester City 19pts (Finishing total – 67, Europa League)

 

2010-11 SEASON

 

4th – Arsenal 20pts (Finishing total – 68, Champions League)

 

5th – Tottenham 15pts (Finishing total – 62, Europa League)

 

l Note of caution, in the 2008-09 season Hull City had 20 points after their first 10 games. They eventually finished 17th, maintaining their Premier League status on the last day.

 

 

[leffe186]

Seems to me that the gap between the so called top 4 and the rest maybe narrowing.

 

I have not been particularly impressed with Man Utd in recent weeks and thought if Everton had a capable forward like Ba on the park last weekend, they would have won that game.

 

As well as Arsenal played at Chelsea, I think they are a club in change at present and dont expect performances like that each week. Chelsea are an ageing team putting round players in square holes, if you get my drift. I dont see them winning anythng this year.

 

Spurs are coming good but like us, a couple of injuries to key players could really knock them back whilst Liverpool are very much up and down.

 

Man City are the ob vious standouts at present but will recent ego trips like Tevez and Adam Johnson may well be the start of the implosion of their club.

 

We've had several injuries to key players throughout the whole season and dealt with them. Right now we have our smallest amount of injured players all season, and that's still Corluka, Kranjcar, Gallas, Dawson, Rose and Huddlestone. Luckily they're all back-ups. For example, in the first match of the season we played Livermore and Kranjcar in the middle. They are currently our fourth and fifth choice CMs. Who are your fourth and fifth choice CMs?

 

I think you're right in that Newcastle are in the mix, and that if you continue playing the way you have I can see you getting results against Man U, Man City and/or Chelsea, but your squad is still a bit of a worry. Who's going to the African Nations Cup? I think Pardew has to bolster the squad in January - if you are still there or thereabouts he should get the opportunity to do so.

 

Edit: Forgot about Huddlestone. Livermore and Kranjcar are our 5th and 6th choice CMs.

[Interpolic]

You've a far stronger squad than us in terms of numbers and quality but there are a lot of injury prone players in there.  Used to annoy me when Redknapp used to moan that King, Woodgate and Gallas weren't fit given their fitness records.

 

(Touch wood that I've not just caused a plague amongst our squad - we've been fortunate on that score so far).

[Keefaz]

"Just as Pardew did at West Ham, each winnable game is noted and colour coded"

 

What?

[Ash]

Seems to me that the gap between the so called top 4 and the rest maybe narrowing.

 

I have not been particularly impressed with Man Utd in recent weeks and thought if Everton had a capable forward like Ba on the park last weekend, they would have won that game.

 

As well as Arsenal played at Chelsea, I think they are a club in change at present and dont expect performances like that each week. Chelsea are an ageing team putting round players in square holes, if you get my drift. I dont see them winning anythng this year.

 

Spurs are coming good but like us, a couple of injuries to key players could really knock them back whilst Liverpool are very much up and down.

 

Man City are the ob vious standouts at present but will recent ego trips like Tevez and Adam Johnson may well be the start of the implosion of their club.

 

We've had several injuries to key players throughout the whole season and dealt with them.

 

How many games have Modric, Adebayor and VdV missed between them? Genuine question btw, as they're the three I'd class as your key players.

[Dave]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/lee-dixon-its-there-in-black-and-white-newcastle-show-value-of-a-clean-sheet-in-gungho-season-6257505.html

So far, it's the usual suspects – and Tottenham and Liverpool will be there in the Champions League race as well – but the biggest surprise has been Alan Pardew and Newcastle. After Everton at home today they face successive trips to City and United and then host Chelsea. These games will severely test exactly how good they are and if they can take points from them then they can justifiably look to claim a European place come the end of the season.

 

There has been a suggestion they are in a false position because of the opposition they have faced but I don't agree. Ten games unbeaten can't be knocked and their result at Stoke on Monday was fantastic. Pardew deserves enormous credit for what he has achieved in what is a tough place to manage. He has built a solid side, they are tight at the back, have Cheick Tioté and Yohan Cabaye excelling in the centre of midfield and have a striker in form in Demba Ba. But it is what has happened at the back that is the key – Newcastle have conceded seven goals in their 10 games, one fewer than City and half as many as Tottenham. A large part of the reason for that solidity is consistency of selection.

 

Pardew has settled on a regular back four in front of a sound keeper in Tim Krul. You can get away with things if you aren't chopping and changing. The back four I was part of at Arsenal may not have been the four best individual players. There were more dynamic left-backs than Nigel Winterburn and more flamboyant right-backs than myself but when you play together week after week in matches and on the training ground you develop a complete understanding. It can actually reduce the amount of running you have to do on the pitch by a third because you know exactly where your team-mates will be and where you need to be.

 

Pardew lost a huge amount of talent over the last few months; Jose Enrique was his best defender, Kevin Nolan his best attacking midfielder and Andy Carroll his best attacker. But he has rebuilt remarkably well and I can't stress how impressive they were at Stoke.

 

PS: yes, I'm on Newsnow.

[Sifu]

Lee Dixon talks some sense there.

[madras]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/lee-dixon-its-there-in-black-and-white-newcastle-show-value-of-a-clean-sheet-in-gungho-season-6257505.html

So far, it's the usual suspects – and Tottenham and Liverpool will be there in the Champions League race as well – but the biggest surprise has been Alan Pardew and Newcastle. After Everton at home today they face successive trips to City and United and then host Chelsea. These games will severely test exactly how good they are and if they can take points from them then they can justifiably look to claim a European place come the end of the season.

 

There has been a suggestion they are in a false position because of the opposition they have faced but I don't agree. Ten games unbeaten can't be knocked and their result at Stoke on Monday was fantastic. Pardew deserves enormous credit for what he has achieved in what is a tough place to manage. He has built a solid side, they are tight at the back, have Cheick Tioté and Yohan Cabaye excelling in the centre of midfield and have a striker in form in Demba Ba. But it is what has happened at the back that is the key – Newcastle have conceded seven goals in their 10 games, one fewer than City and half as many as Tottenham. A large part of the reason for that solidity is consistency of selection.

 

Pardew has settled on a regular back four in front of a sound keeper in Tim Krul. You can get away with things if you aren't chopping and changing. The back four I was part of at Arsenal may not have been the four best individual players. There were more dynamic left-backs than Nigel Winterburn and more flamboyant right-backs than myself but when you play together week after week in matches and on the training ground you develop a complete understanding. It can actually reduce the amount of running you have to do on the pitch by a third because you know exactly where your team-mates will be and where you need to be.

 

Pardew lost a huge amount of talent over the last few months; Jose Enrique was his best defender, Kevin Nolan his best attacking midfielder and Andy Carroll his best attacker. But he has rebuilt remarkably well and I can't stress how impressive they were at Stoke.

 

PS: yes, I'm on Newsnow.

also like to pint out about how our defending has changed from last season, under both hughton and pardew, there was a lot of games last season where there was a lot of last ditch, desperate defending that looks good and spectacular but is poor from a tactical point of view. better this season and more defending as a team unit.

[leffe186]

Seems to me that the gap between the so called top 4 and the rest maybe narrowing.

 

I have not been particularly impressed with Man Utd in recent weeks and thought if Everton had a capable forward like Ba on the park last weekend, they would have won that game.

 

As well as Arsenal played at Chelsea, I think they are a club in change at present and dont expect performances like that each week. Chelsea are an ageing team putting round players in square holes, if you get my drift. I dont see them winning anythng this year.

 

Spurs are coming good but like us, a couple of injuries to key players could really knock them back whilst Liverpool are very much up and down.

 

Man City are the ob vious standouts at present but will recent ego trips like Tevez and Adam Johnson may well be the start of the implosion of their club.

 

We've had several injuries to key players throughout the whole season and dealt with them.

 

How many games have Modric, Adebayor and VdV missed between them? Genuine question btw, as they're the three I'd class as your key players.

 

Modric and VDV have each missed one, Adebayor two. Adebayor is the one we'd most miss though, as Pav is an utter waste of space.

[The Prophet]

I see this gem is still being trotted out. We have only played 11 of the 19 teams making up the self proclaimed BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD.

 

The thing is if City turn us over what are they going to say? 'I told you they weren't as good as Man City.'

[Beren]

http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,,18932_7290797,00.html

 

I don't think anyone really expects Newcastle to still be in those Champions League places come May and it is still too early to pass judgement, but I'll be honest and say I expected them to be more concerned with relegation.

 

If they should manage to stay in that top four, it will be a minor miracle. I don't think they will but if they did, it would be the equivalent of Arsenal or Tottenham winning the title.

 

Yet here they are, sat in third with a very winnable game against Everton coming up on Saturday. After that they go to Manchester City and Manchester United and face Chelsea at home. After those three games we will know more about what they are about.

 

But it is certainly a case of so far, so good. And what makes it more amazing is the fact that they have let some really big, high-profile players go for big money. Kevin Nolan, Andy Carroll and Joey Barton have all left St James Park and it's hardly as if Alan Pardewhas spent all the £35m they got for Carroll, is it?

 

Look at the players he has brought in; with all due respect, the likes of Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux, Demba Ba and Gabriel Obertan hardly had the big boys queuing up for their signatures did they? But they have all turned out to be pretty shrewd signings. I saw a bit of Cabaye at Lille and although he is clearly a good footballer, I did worry about the physical side of his game, moving from France to the Premier League.

 

But he has got a bit of bite in the tackle and he and Cheik Tiote have been outstanding in the middle of the park. I don't know whether it is Pardew or the club's scouting system that spots these players - it's probably a bit of both - but whoever is spotting them is doing a great job.

 

Confidence

 

In fact everyone at Newcastle is doing a great job. I watched them closely against Stoke on Monday night and what struck me about them is the confidence they have got in each other.

 

People always talk about organisation, but sometimes when you feel fit and sharp it is so much easier to close teams down and it has a knock-on effect on your team-mate. If you know someone is going to go and close down, you step across to cover them, knowing full well that the next guy will do the same for you.

 

Against Stoke whenever Ryan Taylor looked like he was having trouble, there was Jonas Gutierrez, helping his mate out, doubling up and putting in that extra bit of work. Football is not rocket science; if you see your mate in trouble you go and help him, you don't leave him isolated to deal with it on his own. Newcastle are showing the simple benefits of working as a team.

 

They have also got some very good partnerships down the spine of the side. The midfield two are the stand-outs but Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor - neither of whom I have ever been entirely convinced by to be honest - are doing their bit in central defence and the pair up front have clicked.

 

Demba Ba is getting the goals and the headlines, but for me Leon Best has been the star. I was at Southampton with Besty when he was just a kid and when you think that is a club that produced Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and numerous other youngsters dotted around the league, believe me when I tell you he is just as good. He has taken some time to get going in the Premier League but his work rate has been non-stop. I am sure Ba has profited from that and I am sure he will be the first to tell you that.

 

Any successful team defends from the front and those two work their socks off. I remember when I was at Liverpool, we had Ian Rush and he would never stand still, if we weren't in possession he was always chasing down the centre-back or filling a hole in midfield. It's the same at Manchester United, the same with any good team and is another reason Newcastle have surprised us all.

 

Outstanding

Then there is their keeper Tim Krul, another player I was not really sure about. He has been outstanding and is a solid base to the spine of that team. Just looking back through the players I've listed, they are not exactly a bunch of waifs and strays, but you wouldn't necessarily have gone for any of them to be in a team sat third in the Premier League. Put them all together though and it works.

 

Alan Pardew has to take a lot of credit for that. I get the impression Alan is not the most-liked manager in football and I don't really know why because whenever I have met him, he has been very nice and very easy to talk to. I think maybe it is because he is so confident and people perceive that - wrongly - as arrogance.

 

And I do think he has been tainted by his time at West Ham. Don't forget he was only a Stevie Gerrard wonder goal away from winning the FA Cup and then I think he was just unfortunate to get caught up in the whole Carlos Tevez-Javier Mascherano farce. He was basically lumbered with two players he didn't want and didn't pick them because of that.

 

Of course, seeing where they both are now, people will think that was wrong. But back then Alan didn't ask for them, they weren't his signings, so what was he supposed to do. As it turns out Tevez came back into the team and helped keep them up that year, but Alan was the first to experience the problems that he can bring.

 

Management is all about fine lines and so too is success in the Premier League. The obvious way to sum up Newcastle right now is that a couple of injuries in key areas and they will start struggling and drop down the table. But the other way of looking at it is that they are just a couple of good signings away from having a really good squad.

 

As I say, I don't think they will get Champions League football and I am sure Alan won't be looking at that. I might be wrong, but I would imagine his aim is still to get to that 40-point mark and sharpish. There is no way they are going to go down, barring a complete and utter disaster, because they have too much quality to do a Hull or a Blackpool.

 

But I do think that if they can make a couple more signings in January and keep the side fit and settled, then the Europa League should be a realistic target. Everyone keeps expecting the bubble to burst, but why should it. I was speaking to Gary Neville this week and we were both laughing about how wrong we were in our predictions for the Stoke game on Monday night.

 

I am sure Newcastle will prove a lot more people wrong between now and the end of the season.

 

Another "expert".

[jdckelly]

they really don't want to give us credit do they,

[cp40]

I see this gem is still being trotted out. We have only played 11 of the 19 teams making up the self proclaimed BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD.

 

The thing is if City turn us over what are they going to say? 'I told you they weren't as good as Man City.'

 

 

i said it earlier- nobody else has to play the top teams at some point apparently.

[Beren]

And from Merson

 

Newcastle have been absolutely outstanding so far this season. I haven't seen any team go to the Britannia Stadium and make Stoke look as ordinary as they did on Monday night.

 

I've never seen their supporters so flat and that was all down to Newcastle's work rate and team ethic. Every one of those players knows their job and they play to a shape. Leon Best is a great example; he's not a top-class centre-forward, but he works his socks off and leads from the front.

 

I'm not saying they'll get into Europe, but they remind me of how Everton played in the year they finished fourth. They always seem to score the first goal, which is very important, and they make their opponents chase the game.

 

My only fear is that St James' Park will be packed full of fans thinking they'll win this game easily. The Newcastle supporters deserve to enjoy their team's form, but it's important they stay with them for the whole 90 minutes, even if they go behind.

 

You have to remember that Everton are a very good team, even though they've not been getting the results to prove it. They've had some tough fixtures lately, but I'm sure David Moyes will send them out full of confidence because player for player they're as good as their opponents.

 

Their big problem is going forward. They haven't had the money to go out and buy a top 20-goal-a-season striker and that's been the case for a long time. You can't rely on someone like Tim Cahill to score 15 goals from midfield every year and with Louis Saha injured so often, they haven't got a gifted goalscorer. They don't make a lot of chances and they need someone who can put away one in three of those.

 

They'd love someone like Demba Ba in their team. Tony Pulis reckons his knee is like a time bomb waiting to explode, but I reckon he's already paid back his transfer fee at Newcastle.

 

However, I see a draw here. Both teams will work hard at blocking each other out and it should be fairly close.

 

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1

[TBG]

Just beat someone playing as Man City 7-3 on Fifa12.

 

Citeh shouldn't be a problem.

[JH]

I see this gem is still being trotted out. We have only played 11 of the 19 teams making up the self proclaimed BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD.

 

The thing is if City turn us over what are they going to say? 'I told you they weren't as good as Man City.'

 

SHOCK HORROR!

[The Prophet]

I see this gem is still being trotted out. We have only played 11 of the 19 teams making up the self proclaimed BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD.

 

The thing is if City turn us over what are they going to say? 'I told you they weren't as good as Man City.'

 

SHOCK HORROR!

 

Exactly, people keep coming out with this 'not being tested' shit but how many teams are actually going to come away from Eastlands/Old trafford with anything? Next to none, does it make us any worse if we don't? It's a desperate statement, we've played over half of the league for fucks sake.

[JH]

I see this gem is still being trotted out. We have only played 11 of the 19 teams making up the self proclaimed BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD.

 

The thing is if City turn us over what are they going to say? 'I told you they weren't as good as Man City.'

 

SHOCK HORROR!

 

Exactly, people keep coming out with this 'not being tested' s*** but how many teams are actually going to come away from Eastlands/Old trafford with anything? Next to none, does it make us any worse if we don't? It's a desperate statement, we've played over half of the league for f***s sake.

 

Exactly. Can only beat what's in front of you etc. etc.

 

I remember when we finished fourth one season without picking up many points against the 'big teams'. If we win/draw the 'easy' games this season, then I'll be fucking delighted.

 

Just because we can't win at the two toughest grounds in the league right now, doesn't mean we are a poor side or our start to the season is negated or anything - though the pundits won't see it this way.

 

Paul Merson will jizz over the desk on Soccer Saturday when City score their third in two weeks' time. The "I told you so" brigade will be out in force in the National press too.

[Troll]

And from Merson

 

Newcastle have been absolutely outstanding so far this season. I haven't seen any team go to the Britannia Stadium and make Stoke look as ordinary as they did on Monday night.

 

I've never seen their supporters so flat and that was all down to Newcastle's work rate and team ethic. Every one of those players knows their job and they play to a shape. Leon Best is a great example; he's not a top-class centre-forward, but he works his socks off and leads from the front.

 

I'm not saying they'll get into Europe, but they remind me of how Everton played in the year they finished fourth. They always seem to score the first goal, which is very important, and they make their opponents chase the game.

 

My only fear is that St James' Park will be packed full of fans thinking they'll win this game easily. The Newcastle supporters deserve to enjoy their team's form, but it's important they stay with them for the whole 90 minutes, even if they go behind.

 

You have to remember that Everton are a very good team, even though they've not been getting the results to prove it. They've had some tough fixtures lately, but I'm sure David Moyes will send them out full of confidence because player for player they're as good as their opponents.

 

Their big problem is going forward. They haven't had the money to go out and buy a top 20-goal-a-season striker and that's been the case for a long time. You can't rely on someone like Tim Cahill to score 15 goals from midfield every year and with Louis Saha injured so often, they haven't got a gifted goalscorer. They don't make a lot of chances and they need someone who can put away one in three of those.

 

They'd love someone like Demba Ba in their team. Tony Pulis reckons his knee is like a time bomb waiting to explode, but I reckon he's already paid back his transfer fee at Newcastle.

 

However, I see a draw here. Both teams will work hard at blocking each other out and it should be fairly close.

 

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1

 

Brilliant.

[AliGupter]

Lee Dixon talks some sense there.

 

Until he says "Jose Enrique was his best defender, Kevin Nolan his best attacking midfielder and Andy Carroll his best attacker."

 

Not even close, actually embarrassing that sentence. You'd think people would realise now.