Glenn Roeder

[NUFC06]

Where did I say we shpuldn't be signing forwards or are you making stuff up again to try and suit your argument NE5?

 

Attacking players (like Duff) and forwards are two different things to me and a lot of other people. So are you saying we don't need another attacker to go with Owen, Martins and Shola? I can't work this out, you say we need cover for Zog but we don't need cover up front? Even though we already have makeshift forwards player there? Is that right?

 

I think the priority is a quality forward/striker, by a million miles. Then an attacking midfield player, particularly if Emre goes, who isn't good enough anyway.

 

Then a left back. I think that Taylor at centre back is more than good enough. I also think that to a degree defences can be "made" through players that have committment, courage, organisation and communication. I like what I see in Edgar. We are now talking 4 new players though, if you want a 2nd defender, and on a priority basis have to accept that bringing in quality costs money, possibly more than we can afford to find. And you have to find players who want to move north and play for Newcastle too. A half hearted defender is no good to anybody, we have seen enough of those in the last years to know this.

 

 

 

Sir Alex Ferguson said it long time ago:Good defenders wins you titles and trophies

 

How many points did we drop because we conceded stupid,late goals and how many points we drop after we had the lead?

And as a ex-footballer i must tell you that the fullbacks are one of the most important positions in football because with them you can organise attacks and create chances better than any other position in the team.Thats why they are so important.Thats why Nobby is so important to us.This season our left flang is not functioning at all...

[NE5]

Well I could do a poll to see how many people think part of a modern full backs job is to attack and assist in keeping possesion in the oppositions half but I wouldn't want to make you feel an idiot.

 

 

to be honest Jon, I'm not really bothered if a few dozen people on a message board disagree with me....although you fail to understand the point I'm making anyway. Nobody is doubting the tactical value of full backs, I'm just looking at the main weakness of the current NUFC team as I see it.

 

A defenders main priority is to defend. You take any back four, anywhere, and you will find - probably - a centre back and a full back who are mainly happy to defend. Like anything, its about finding a balance. A lot of teams have one full back who likes to attack and one who prefers to defend, although they can rotate to vary their game and keep opponents guessing.

 

Better defenders are better at playing the ball out, but they must still be good defenders.

 

Having lost Shearer, Owen and Bellamy in recent years - currently - I fail to see how, due to Martins being our only striker of quality, how anyone can say we don't need one more as a matter of urgency. And an attacking midfield player too, especially if Emre goes. I fail to see how you and others can knock the signing of Duff for the fee he cost and looking at our other players on the books and the impending departure of Luque.

 

Its a matter of availability. There is no point in spending money on a full back if the manager doesn't want one who is available. This is the road to nowhere, and is often the road we have taken in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NE5]

Where did I say we shpuldn't be signing forwards or are you making stuff up again to try and suit your argument NE5?

 

Attacking players (like Duff) and forwards are two different things to me and a lot of other people. So are you saying we don't need another attacker to go with Owen, Martins and Shola? I can't work this out, you say we need cover for Zog but we don't need cover up front? Even though we already have makeshift forwards player there? Is that right?

 

I think the priority is a quality forward/striker, by a million miles. Then an attacking midfield player, particularly if Emre goes, who isn't good enough anyway.

 

Then a left back. I think that Taylor at centre back is more than good enough. I also think that to a degree defences can be "made" through players that have committment, courage, organisation and communication. I like what I see in Edgar. We are now talking 4 new players though, if you want a 2nd defender, and on a priority basis have to accept that bringing in quality costs money, possibly more than we can afford to find. And you have to find players who want to move north and play for Newcastle too. A half hearted defender is no good to anybody, we have seen enough of those in the last years to know this.

 

 

Sir Alex Ferguson said it long time ago:Good defenders wins you titles and trophies

 

How many points did we drop because we conceded stupid,late goals and how many points we drop after we had the lead?

And as a ex-footballer i must tell you that the fullbacks are one of the most important positions in football because with them you can organise attacks and create chances better than any other position in the team.Thats why they are so important.Thats why Nobby is so important to us.This season our left flang is not functioning at all...

 

See my last post. If you refer to the 1996 season, we also scored the killer goal on many occasions, by remaining positive, or continuing to play to our strenghts and in the manner of which put us in the winning position anyway.  I believe we lost that lead that season because ultimately, we were the 2nd best team. We were not the best for many reasons, one being that the pressure situation was new to us, as it was to Manu themselves under Ferguson until he cracked it. Another is that he lost, or sold, Venison, the captain, inspiration and the one defensive player who had been there before, unlike Beresford, the ATTACKING full back. Also, by accomodating Arsprilla, he totally disturbed the winning pattern of the team. Ferdinand, Beardsley and Gillespie all suffered through it, when he played. Ginola also hit a bad patch. If you look through the results, you will see that we lost 2 big games near the end of the season which were given huge publicity live on sky. This tends to distort the picture of the whole season. And - manu had a fantastic run in, which it pains me to say, but they did brilliantly.

The ONE BIG game we lost however, was the home defeat to them, and not those at Liverpool and Blackburn.

 

As for your first comment, this is what I was thinking when I said a defenders first responsibility is to defend.

 

 

[NUFC06]

Where did I say we shpuldn't be signing forwards or are you making stuff up again to try and suit your argument NE5?

 

Attacking players (like Duff) and forwards are two different things to me and a lot of other people. So are you saying we don't need another attacker to go with Owen, Martins and Shola? I can't work this out, you say we need cover for Zog but we don't need cover up front? Even though we already have makeshift forwards player there? Is that right?

 

I think the priority is a quality forward/striker, by a million miles. Then an attacking midfield player, particularly if Emre goes, who isn't good enough anyway.

 

Then a left back. I think that Taylor at centre back is more than good enough. I also think that to a degree defences can be "made" through players that have committment, courage, organisation and communication. I like what I see in Edgar. We are now talking 4 new players though, if you want a 2nd defender, and on a priority basis have to accept that bringing in quality costs money, possibly more than we can afford to find. And you have to find players who want to move north and play for Newcastle too. A half hearted defender is no good to anybody, we have seen enough of those in the last years to know this.

 

 

Sir Alex Ferguson said it long time ago:Good defenders wins you titles and trophies

 

How many points did we drop because we conceded stupid,late goals and how many points we drop after we had the lead?

And as a ex-footballer i must tell you that the fullbacks are one of the most important positions in football because with them you can organise attacks and create chances better than any other position in the team.Thats why they are so important.Thats why Nobby is so important to us.This season our left flang is not functioning at all...

 

See my last post. If you refer to the 1996 season, we also scored the killer goal on many occasions, by remaining positive, or continuing to play to our strenghts and in the manner of which put us in the winning position anyway.  I believe we lost that lead that season because ultimately, we were the 2nd best team. We were not the best for many reasons, one being that the pressure situation was new to us, as it was to Manu themselves under Ferguson until he cracked it. Another is that he lost, or sold, Venison, the captain, inspiration and the one defensive player who had been there before, unlike Beresford, the ATTACKING full back. Also, by accomodating Arsprilla, he totally disturbed the winning pattern of the team. Ferdinand, Beardsley and Gillespie all suffered through it, when he played. Ginola also hit a bad patch. If you look through the results, you will see that we lost 2 big games near the end of the season which were given huge publicity live on sky. This tends to distort the picture of the whole season. And - manu had a fantastic run in, which it pains me to say, but they did brilliantly.

The ONE BIG game we lost however, was the home defeat to them, and not those at Liverpool and Blackburn.

 

As for your first comment, this is what I was thinking when I said a defenders first responsibility is to defend.

 

 

 

When i said good defenders wins you think i was talking in general although i really think that 96 season if we had someone like Given as a goalkeeper maybe we could have had the chance  of wining the title

My point is that yes defenders first priority is to defend but when you are talking about fullbacks their functions are not only to defend but to support the atack too.I dont think Duff is bad signing i just think that the LB position cause us the biggest problem we have to deal with this season.

I suppose you will agree with me that we need quality LB in the summer?

[NE5]

Where did I say we shpuldn't be signing forwards or are you making stuff up again to try and suit your argument NE5?

 

Attacking players (like Duff) and forwards are two different things to me and a lot of other people. So are you saying we don't need another attacker to go with Owen, Martins and Shola? I can't work this out, you say we need cover for Zog but we don't need cover up front? Even though we already have makeshift forwards player there? Is that right?

 

I think the priority is a quality forward/striker, by a million miles. Then an attacking midfield player, particularly if Emre goes, who isn't good enough anyway.

 

Then a left back. I think that Taylor at centre back is more than good enough. I also think that to a degree defences can be "made" through players that have committment, courage, organisation and communication. I like what I see in Edgar. We are now talking 4 new players though, if you want a 2nd defender, and on a priority basis have to accept that bringing in quality costs money, possibly more than we can afford to find. And you have to find players who want to move north and play for Newcastle too. A half hearted defender is no good to anybody, we have seen enough of those in the last years to know this.

 

 

Sir Alex Ferguson said it long time ago:Good defenders wins you titles and trophies

 

How many points did we drop because we conceded stupid,late goals and how many points we drop after we had the lead?

And as a ex-footballer i must tell you that the fullbacks are one of the most important positions in football because with them you can organise attacks and create chances better than any other position in the team.Thats why they are so important.Thats why Nobby is so important to us.This season our left flang is not functioning at all...

 

See my last post. If you refer to the 1996 season, we also scored the killer goal on many occasions, by remaining positive, or continuing to play to our strenghts and in the manner of which put us in the winning position anyway.  I believe we lost that lead that season because ultimately, we were the 2nd best team. We were not the best for many reasons, one being that the pressure situation was new to us, as it was to Manu themselves under Ferguson until he cracked it. Another is that he lost, or sold, Venison, the captain, inspiration and the one defensive player who had been there before, unlike Beresford, the ATTACKING full back. Also, by accomodating Arsprilla, he totally disturbed the winning pattern of the team. Ferdinand, Beardsley and Gillespie all suffered through it, when he played. Ginola also hit a bad patch. If you look through the results, you will see that we lost 2 big games near the end of the season which were given huge publicity live on sky. This tends to distort the picture of the whole season. And - manu had a fantastic run in, which it pains me to say, but they did brilliantly.

The ONE BIG game we lost however, was the home defeat to them, and not those at Liverpool and Blackburn.

 

As for your first comment, this is what I was thinking when I said a defenders first responsibility is to defend.

 

 

 

When i said good defenders wins you think i was talking in general although i really think that 96 season if we had someone like Given as a goalkeeper maybe we could have had the chance  of wining the title

My point is that yes defenders first priority is to defend but when you are talking about fullbacks their functions are not only to defend but to support the atack too.I dont think Duff is bad signing i just think that the LB position cause us the biggest problem we have to deal with this season.

I suppose you will agree with me that we need quality LB in the summer?

 

I think if the club is going to spend money, serious money, it should target a top quality striker to play alongside Owen or Martins. I have doubts that they could play together, but I hope they can. If Owen goes, for instance, then we would need to replace him with part of his fee as well as a new player anyway, so that would make 2.

 

The current situation in midfield, is that we lack a player to support the front men, quickly. We have Dyer, but in view of his injury record who can rely on his fitness ? So, assuming Emre goes, the need for another player in this area is also very important.

 

Yes I know we need a left back. We really need 3 players for all these areas, minimum. But every team needs forwards and defenders mate !!!!!! Depending on the money the club has, and the availability, if they don't have the money to spend on all 3 positions I would concentrate on the 2 forward positions, because defenders are generally cheaper and would hope to pick up a decent left back for a small fee. We have to accept funds are limited. It may also be possible to pick up a forward for a small fee and pay a bit more for the defender ? We simply don't know, and it is nothing to do with "planning" as some people say, it is simply availability and desire to move on the part of the players concerned. Roeder - like everyone else - will know players he would like and those he would not want, for his own reasons, and act accordingly.

 

 

[toptoon]

After a terrible start Roeder is starting to turn things round, so it depends where we finish at the end of the season. In 9th we are still bellow par (so thats what i've voted for). Anything short of a UEFA spot and he's gone backwards. We need a strong finish to this season which i'm being optimistic about.

 

I can't stand it when he picks Bramble and Car over the young lads. Losing against Sheffield United and Fulham at home was a huge low.  But Martins after a slow start looks great now, Gooch has everthing to prove but looks like he and Taylor could potentially be a hit.   

 

He's not had a good time with injuries its true, but we should still make UEFA with our squad. The Emre situation is a big blow imo as he's a very talented and effective player, this means we are short in midfield. Dyer i like playing up top with Martins not in center midfield.

 

[NUFC06]

Where did I say we shpuldn't be signing forwards or are you making stuff up again to try and suit your argument NE5?

 

Attacking players (like Duff) and forwards are two different things to me and a lot of other people. So are you saying we don't need another attacker to go with Owen, Martins and Shola? I can't work this out, you say we need cover for Zog but we don't need cover up front? Even though we already have makeshift forwards player there? Is that right?

 

I think the priority is a quality forward/striker, by a million miles. Then an attacking midfield player, particularly if Emre goes, who isn't good enough anyway.

 

Then a left back. I think that Taylor at centre back is more than good enough. I also think that to a degree defences can be "made" through players that have committment, courage, organisation and communication. I like what I see in Edgar. We are now talking 4 new players though, if you want a 2nd defender, and on a priority basis have to accept that bringing in quality costs money, possibly more than we can afford to find. And you have to find players who want to move north and play for Newcastle too. A half hearted defender is no good to anybody, we have seen enough of those in the last years to know this.

 

 

Sir Alex Ferguson said it long time ago:Good defenders wins you titles and trophies

 

How many points did we drop because we conceded stupid,late goals and how many points we drop after we had the lead?

And as a ex-footballer i must tell you that the fullbacks are one of the most important positions in football because with them you can organise attacks and create chances better than any other position in the team.Thats why they are so important.Thats why Nobby is so important to us.This season our left flang is not functioning at all...

 

See my last post. If you refer to the 1996 season, we also scored the killer goal on many occasions, by remaining positive, or continuing to play to our strenghts and in the manner of which put us in the winning position anyway.  I believe we lost that lead that season because ultimately, we were the 2nd best team. We were not the best for many reasons, one being that the pressure situation was new to us, as it was to Manu themselves under Ferguson until he cracked it. Another is that he lost, or sold, Venison, the captain, inspiration and the one defensive player who had been there before, unlike Beresford, the ATTACKING full back. Also, by accomodating Arsprilla, he totally disturbed the winning pattern of the team. Ferdinand, Beardsley and Gillespie all suffered through it, when he played. Ginola also hit a bad patch. If you look through the results, you will see that we lost 2 big games near the end of the season which were given huge publicity live on sky. This tends to distort the picture of the whole season. And - manu had a fantastic run in, which it pains me to say, but they did brilliantly.

The ONE BIG game we lost however, was the home defeat to them, and not those at Liverpool and Blackburn.

 

As for your first comment, this is what I was thinking when I said a defenders first responsibility is to defend.

 

 

 

When i said good defenders wins you think i was talking in general although i really think that 96 season if we had someone like Given as a goalkeeper maybe we could have had the chance  of wining the title

My point is that yes defenders first priority is to defend but when you are talking about fullbacks their functions are not only to defend but to support the atack too.I dont think Duff is bad signing i just think that the LB position cause us the biggest problem we have to deal with this season.

I suppose you will agree with me that we need quality LB in the summer?

 

I think if the club is going to spend money, serious money, it should target a top quality striker to play alongside Owen or Martins. I have doubts that they could play together, but I hope they can. If Owen goes, for instance, then we would need to replace him with part of his fee as well as a new player anyway, so that would make 2.

 

The current situation in midfield, is that we lack a player to support the front men, quickly. We have Dyer, but in view of his injury record who can rely on his fitness ? So, assuming Emre goes, the need for another player in this area is also very important.

 

Yes I know we need a left back. We really need 3 players for all these areas, minimum. But every team needs forwards and defenders mate !!!!!! Depending on the money the club has, and the availability, if they don't have the money to spend on all 3 positions I would concentrate on the 2 forward positions, because defenders are generally cheaper and would hope to pick up a decent left back for a small fee. We have to accept funds are limited. It may also be possible to pick up a forward for a small fee and pay a bit more for the defender ? We simply don't know, and it is nothing to do with "planning" as some people say, it is simply availability and desire to move on the part of the players concerned. Roeder - like everyone else - will know players he would like and those he would not want, for his own reasons, and act accordingly.

 

 

 

When you look at our strikers for next season we have:

Owen

Martins

Ameobi

Sib

Dyer

 

Roeder is planing to extend Sib contract so i doubt it that he'll spend alot of money for a striker

If we sell Emre i think we'll need at leat 2 CM

and in the defence hopefully we'll have Gooch so i think we need to focus on the LB position(especially if we release Bernard like it was mentioned)

 

But its very early to talk about the summer and everything is very relative

[Mick]

 

I think if the club is going to spend money, serious money, it should target a top quality striker to play alongside Owen or Martins. I have doubts that they could play together, but I hope they can. If Owen goes, for instance, then we would need to replace him with part of his fee as well as a new player anyway, so that would make 2.

 

The current situation in midfield, is that we lack a player to support the front men, quickly. We have Dyer, but in view of his injury record who can rely on his fitness ? So, assuming Emre goes, the need for another player in this area is also very important.

 

Yes I know we need a left back. We really need 3 players for all these areas, minimum. But every team needs forwards and defenders mate !!!!!! Depending on the money the club has, and the availability, if they don't have the money to spend on all 3 positions I would concentrate on the 2 forward positions, because defenders are generally cheaper and would hope to pick up a decent left back for a small fee. We have to accept funds are limited. It may also be possible to pick up a forward for a small fee and pay a bit more for the defender ? We simply don't know, and it is nothing to do with "planning" as some people say, it is simply availability and desire to move on the part of the players concerned. Roeder - like everyone else - will know players he would like and those he would not want, for his own reasons, and act accordingly.

 

 

 

You think that if the club should spend "serious money" it should be on a new striker because you think that Martins and Owen might not work together. I guess Roeder will be rushing out now and buying one if he knows that you think they might not work together.  Have another for your efforts, well done.

 

If Owen goes then yes, we'll need to replace him, nobody has any reason to think he's going though so why replace him while he's still here and not expected to go anywhere?  He might be here for the rest of his career for all anybody knows.  He's almost certain to be back next season, so is Shola, a player who can fill in for injuries, he's done it and scored goals when playing.  Sibierski has been offered another contract so we have 4 players for 2 positions which should be more than enough considering the lack of funds we seem to be working with, we certainly don't need 2 more forwards like you seem to think.

 

You seem hell bent on getting a new forward in at all costs, in fact you now want two of them, no matter what happens in other areas.  We need a balanced team, not one which is top heavy in certain areas while others are as weak as piss.

 

We've got more than enough midfielders so if we spend on that area then it should be self financed, one in one out.  If we have new money then it should go on the defence, other areas should be strengthened as a lesser priority.

[Cajun]

Well I could do a poll to see how many people think part of a modern full backs job is to attack and assist in keeping possesion in the oppositions half but I wouldn't want to make you feel an idiot.

 

 

to be honest Jon, I'm not really bothered if a few dozen people on a message board disagree with me....although you fail to understand the point I'm making anyway. Nobody is doubting the tactical value of full backs, I'm just looking at the main weakness of the current NUFC team as I see it.

 

A defenders main priority is to defend. You take any back four, anywhere, and you will find - probably - a centre back and a full back who are mainly happy to defend. Like anything, its about finding a balance. A lot of teams have one full back who likes to attack and one who prefers to defend, although they can rotate to vary their game and keep opponents guessing.

 

Better defenders are better at playing the ball out, but they must still be good defenders.

 

Having lost Shearer, Owen and Bellamy in recent years - currently - I fail to see how, due to Martins being our only striker of quality, how anyone can say we don't need one more as a matter of urgency. And an attacking midfield player too, especially if Emre goes. I fail to see how you and others can knock the signing of Duff for the fee he cost and looking at our other players on the books and the impending departure of Luque.

 

Its a matter of availability. There is no point in spending money on a full back if the manager doesn't want one who is available. This is the road to nowhere, and is often the road we have taken in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Show me where I said we don't need strikers and I will agree that you have a point, if not just sit there typing away telling me I said things I didn't and making a fool of yourself. No bother to me really if you wish to waste your time doing such things but its not going to help you get your point across and for people to give it any credit if you are constantly seen making things up. Duff is NOT a striker by the way.

 

 

[NE5]

Well I could do a poll to see how many people think part of a modern full backs job is to attack and assist in keeping possesion in the oppositions half but I wouldn't want to make you feel an idiot.

 

 

to be honest Jon, I'm not really bothered if a few dozen people on a message board disagree with me....although you fail to understand the point I'm making anyway. Nobody is doubting the tactical value of full backs, I'm just looking at the main weakness of the current NUFC team as I see it.

 

A defenders main priority is to defend. You take any back four, anywhere, and you will find - probably - a centre back and a full back who are mainly happy to defend. Like anything, its about finding a balance. A lot of teams have one full back who likes to attack and one who prefers to defend, although they can rotate to vary their game and keep opponents guessing.

 

Better defenders are better at playing the ball out, but they must still be good defenders.

 

Having lost Shearer, Owen and Bellamy in recent years - currently - I fail to see how, due to Martins being our only striker of quality, how anyone can say we don't need one more as a matter of urgency. And an attacking midfield player too, especially if Emre goes. I fail to see how you and others can knock the signing of Duff for the fee he cost and looking at our other players on the books and the impending departure of Luque.

 

Its a matter of availability. There is no point in spending money on a full back if the manager doesn't want one who is available. This is the road to nowhere, and is often the road we have taken in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Show me where I said we don't need strikers and I will agree that you have a point, if not just sit there typing away telling me I said things I didn't and making a fool of yourself. No bother to me really if you wish to waste your time doing such things but its not going to help you get your point across and for people to give it any credit if you are constantly seen making things up. Duff is NOT a striker by the way.

 

 

Like I said Jon, theres no need to swear just because I disagree with you. I think the area to improve with this team is in ball retention and dictating the attacking pace of the game. Therefore I think an out and out forward is the main priority. For reasons explained I think the next most important area is an attacking midfield player. If this team can hold the ball as an attackign unit, then the full backs and defenders will push out and support them better than now.

 

I have not said Duff is a striker, and have never considered him to be as such, although he has played for the ROI as a striker.

 

You think - or appear to think - that a defender will improve our possession rate and take pressure off the defenders, which at the moment seems to be a pattern of our performances, in the premiership against the half decent teams, who are all dominating possession against us and pushing us back. My answer is this is because we play the ball out and it comes back too easily.

 

BTW, I have been saying this since the start of the season, before Martins started scoring. I also said that if he started scoring ie like Andy Cole did, it would take a lot of pressure off Roeder and people would stop whinging about him. For the most part, this has now been proved correct. Just thought I would point this out - I'm not sure if there was a poll though 

 

And - again - I am more than happy if the manager sees fit to bring a quality player into the club for a good fee, that he considers has his best years ahead of him, and does it because he is looking ahead at one of his senior players getting older, younger players, and one he wants out of the club jostling for these positions. I am also happy with the fact that his chairman backs him, and I am very happy with the fact that the player in question chose us before Liverpool. All of which is quite a change from when our 2 best players and local lads and NUFC fans to boot pissed off to play for Liverpool, and Spurs, when we had a shit board.

 

 

[NE5]

Where did I say we shpuldn't be signing forwards or are you making stuff up again to try and suit your argument NE5?

 

Attacking players (like Duff) and forwards are two different things to me and a lot of other people. So are you saying we don't need another attacker to go with Owen, Martins and Shola? I can't work this out, you say we need cover for Zog but we don't need cover up front? Even though we already have makeshift forwards player there? Is that right?

 

I think the priority is a quality forward/striker, by a million miles. Then an attacking midfield player, particularly if Emre goes, who isn't good enough anyway.

 

Then a left back. I think that Taylor at centre back is more than good enough. I also think that to a degree defences can be "made" through players that have committment, courage, organisation and communication. I like what I see in Edgar. We are now talking 4 new players though, if you want a 2nd defender, and on a priority basis have to accept that bringing in quality costs money, possibly more than we can afford to find. And you have to find players who want to move north and play for Newcastle too. A half hearted defender is no good to anybody, we have seen enough of those in the last years to know this.

 

 

Sir Alex Ferguson said it long time ago:Good defenders wins you titles and trophies

 

How many points did we drop because we conceded stupid,late goals and how many points we drop after we had the lead?

And as a ex-footballer i must tell you that the fullbacks are one of the most important positions in football because with them you can organise attacks and create chances better than any other position in the team.Thats why they are so important.Thats why Nobby is so important to us.This season our left flang is not functioning at all...

 

See my last post. If you refer to the 1996 season, we also scored the killer goal on many occasions, by remaining positive, or continuing to play to our strenghts and in the manner of which put us in the winning position anyway.  I believe we lost that lead that season because ultimately, we were the 2nd best team. We were not the best for many reasons, one being that the pressure situation was new to us, as it was to Manu themselves under Ferguson until he cracked it. Another is that he lost, or sold, Venison, the captain, inspiration and the one defensive player who had been there before, unlike Beresford, the ATTACKING full back. Also, by accomodating Arsprilla, he totally disturbed the winning pattern of the team. Ferdinand, Beardsley and Gillespie all suffered through it, when he played. Ginola also hit a bad patch. If you look through the results, you will see that we lost 2 big games near the end of the season which were given huge publicity live on sky. This tends to distort the picture of the whole season. And - manu had a fantastic run in, which it pains me to say, but they did brilliantly.

The ONE BIG game we lost however, was the home defeat to them, and not those at Liverpool and Blackburn.

 

As for your first comment, this is what I was thinking when I said a defenders first responsibility is to defend.

 

 

 

When i said good defenders wins you think i was talking in general although i really think that 96 season if we had someone like Given as a goalkeeper maybe we could have had the chance  of wining the title

My point is that yes defenders first priority is to defend but when you are talking about fullbacks their functions are not only to defend but to support the atack too.I dont think Duff is bad signing i just think that the LB position cause us the biggest problem we have to deal with this season.

I suppose you will agree with me that we need quality LB in the summer?

 

I think if the club is going to spend money, serious money, it should target a top quality striker to play alongside Owen or Martins. I have doubts that they could play together, but I hope they can. If Owen goes, for instance, then we would need to replace him with part of his fee as well as a new player anyway, so that would make 2.

 

The current situation in midfield, is that we lack a player to support the front men, quickly. We have Dyer, but in view of his injury record who can rely on his fitness ? So, assuming Emre goes, the need for another player in this area is also very important.

 

Yes I know we need a left back. We really need 3 players for all these areas, minimum. But every team needs forwards and defenders mate !!!!!! Depending on the money the club has, and the availability, if they don't have the money to spend on all 3 positions I would concentrate on the 2 forward positions, because defenders are generally cheaper and would hope to pick up a decent left back for a small fee. We have to accept funds are limited. It may also be possible to pick up a forward for a small fee and pay a bit more for the defender ? We simply don't know, and it is nothing to do with "planning" as some people say, it is simply availability and desire to move on the part of the players concerned. Roeder - like everyone else - will know players he would like and those he would not want, for his own reasons, and act accordingly.

 

 

 

When you look at our strikers for next season we have:

Owen

Martins

Ameobi

Sib

Dyer

 

Roeder is planing to extend Sib contract so i doubt it that he'll spend alot of money for a striker

If we sell Emre i think we'll need at leat 2 CM

and in the defence hopefully we'll have Gooch so i think we need to focus on the LB position(especially if we release Bernard like it was mentioned)

 

But its very early to talk about the summer and everything is very relative

 

Dyer is a midfield player mate. Sib is playing above himself TBH can he repeat it again ? Ameobi isn't good enough. If Owens and Martins don't play together, it doesn't leave much does it ?

 

I do agree that defensively, a left back is the top priority, that is obvious. What if we can't get a left back that is judged to be good enough for us ? What would you do then ?

 

 

[Cajun]

Well I could do a poll to see how many people think part of a modern full backs job is to attack and assist in keeping possesion in the oppositions half but I wouldn't want to make you feel an idiot.

 

 

to be honest Jon, I'm not really bothered if a few dozen people on a message board disagree with me....although you fail to understand the point I'm making anyway. Nobody is doubting the tactical value of full backs, I'm just looking at the main weakness of the current NUFC team as I see it.

 

A defenders main priority is to defend. You take any back four, anywhere, and you will find - probably - a centre back and a full back who are mainly happy to defend. Like anything, its about finding a balance. A lot of teams have one full back who likes to attack and one who prefers to defend, although they can rotate to vary their game and keep opponents guessing.

 

Better defenders are better at playing the ball out, but they must still be good defenders.

 

Having lost Shearer, Owen and Bellamy in recent years - currently - I fail to see how, due to Martins being our only striker of quality, how anyone can say we don't need one more as a matter of urgency. And an attacking midfield player too, especially if Emre goes. I fail to see how you and others can knock the signing of Duff for the fee he cost and looking at our other players on the books and the impending departure of Luque.

 

Its a matter of availability. There is no point in spending money on a full back if the manager doesn't want one who is available. This is the road to nowhere, and is often the road we have taken in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Show me where I said we don't need strikers and I will agree that you have a point, if not just sit there typing away telling me I said things I didn't and making a fool of yourself. No bother to me really if you wish to waste your time doing such things but its not going to help you get your point across and for people to give it any credit if you are constantly seen making things up. Duff is NOT a striker by the way.

 

 

Like I said Jon, theres no need to swear just because I disagree with you. I think the area to improve with this team is in ball retention and dictating the attacking pace of the game. Therefore I think an out and out forward is the main priority. For reasons explained I think the next most important area is an attacking midfield player. If this team can hold the ball as an attackign unit, then the full backs and defenders will push out and support them better than now.

 

I have not said Duff is a striker, and have never considered him to be as such, although he has played for the ROI as a striker.

 

You think - or appear to think - that a defender will improve our possession rate and take pressure off the defenders, which at the moment seems to be a pattern of our performances, in the premiership against the half decent teams, who are all dominating possession against us and pushing us back. My answer is this is because we play the ball out and it comes back too easily.

 

BTW, I have been saying this since the start of the season, before Martins started scoring. I also said that if he started scoring ie like Andy Cole did, it would take a lot of pressure off Roeder and people would stop whinging about him. For the most part, this has now been proved correct. Just thought I would point this out - I'm not sure if there was a poll though 

 

And - again - I am more than happy if the manager sees fit to bring a quality player into the club for a good fee, that he considers has his best years ahead of him, and does it because he is looking ahead at one of his senior players getting older, younger players, and one he wants out of the club jostling for these positions. I am also happy with the fact that his chairman backs him, and I am very happy with the fact that the player in question chose us before Liverpool. All of which is quite a change from when our 2 best players and local lads and NUFC fans to boot pissed off to play for Liverpool, and Spurs, when we had a shit board.

 

 

 

Where did I swear?

 

Jesus your making stuff up gets worse

[Guest andynufc84]

I think we are a quality defence off having a top 6 side, definately defensive re-structuring should take number 1 priority when it

comes to summer transfer activity.

 

You look at the likes of Martins, Dyer, Milner, Duff, N'Zogbia, Owen - quality players when on form. I think we need another central midfield player also, someone with creativity who can dictate the pace of the game in midfield, and can supplement our wide and forward players.

 

If we can just bring in the quality defenders we need and get this team nitted together we can finish in the top 6, but until we do we'll always concede bags of goals, fail to keep clean sheets and lose points to piss poor bang average teams.

[STM]

I think one of the most suicidal mistakes a manager can do is make wholesale changes to his squad. Arsene Wenger and Fergy both are fantastic at pinpointing their problems and signing players to suit. So taking this in mind i wouldn't sign any more than 2 or 3 first teamers. We have to the into account the improvement of youngsters.

 

The priority, in my mind, has to be a left back. We have one left back and he's inconsistant and injury prone. My choice would be Bridge.

 

After that i would look to target a centre half, whether or not Gooch is a success. I believe we need someone with a little bit of confidence/arrogance. When i've seen Ferdinand play he's been fantastic take into account he's already played with Taylor and is young, so he would be my choice.

 

Thirdly, i'm of the opinion that Emre will be off in the summer which will mean we should sign a replacement. 

[NE5]

Well I could do a poll to see how many people think part of a modern full backs job is to attack and assist in keeping possesion in the oppositions half but I wouldn't want to make you feel an idiot.

 

 

to be honest Jon, I'm not really bothered if a few dozen people on a message board disagree with me....although you fail to understand the point I'm making anyway. Nobody is doubting the tactical value of full backs, I'm just looking at the main weakness of the current NUFC team as I see it.

 

A defenders main priority is to defend. You take any back four, anywhere, and you will find - probably - a centre back and a full back who are mainly happy to defend. Like anything, its about finding a balance. A lot of teams have one full back who likes to attack and one who prefers to defend, although they can rotate to vary their game and keep opponents guessing.

 

Better defenders are better at playing the ball out, but they must still be good defenders.

 

Having lost Shearer, Owen and Bellamy in recent years - currently - I fail to see how, due to Martins being our only striker of quality, how anyone can say we don't need one more as a matter of urgency. And an attacking midfield player too, especially if Emre goes. I fail to see how you and others can knock the signing of Duff for the fee he cost and looking at our other players on the books and the impending departure of Luque.

 

Its a matter of availability. There is no point in spending money on a full back if the manager doesn't want one who is available. This is the road to nowhere, and is often the road we have taken in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Show me where I said we don't need strikers and I will agree that you have a point, if not just sit there typing away telling me I said things I didn't and making a fool of yourself. No bother to me really if you wish to waste your time doing such things but its not going to help you get your point across and for people to give it any credit if you are constantly seen making things up. Duff is NOT a striker by the way.

 

 

Like I said Jon, theres no need to swear just because I disagree with you. I think the area to improve with this team is in ball retention and dictating the attacking pace of the game. Therefore I think an out and out forward is the main priority. For reasons explained I think the next most important area is an attacking midfield player. If this team can hold the ball as an attackign unit, then the full backs and defenders will push out and support them better than now.

 

I have not said Duff is a striker, and have never considered him to be as such, although he has played for the ROI as a striker.

 

You think - or appear to think - that a defender will improve our possession rate and take pressure off the defenders, which at the moment seems to be a pattern of our performances, in the premiership against the half decent teams, who are all dominating possession against us and pushing us back. My answer is this is because we play the ball out and it comes back too easily.

 

BTW, I have been saying this since the start of the season, before Martins started scoring. I also said that if he started scoring ie like Andy Cole did, it would take a lot of pressure off Roeder and people would stop whinging about him. For the most part, this has now been proved correct. Just thought I would point this out - I'm not sure if there was a poll though 

 

And - again - I am more than happy if the manager sees fit to bring a quality player into the club for a good fee, that he considers has his best years ahead of him, and does it because he is looking ahead at one of his senior players getting older, younger players, and one he wants out of the club jostling for these positions. I am also happy with the fact that his chairman backs him, and I am very happy with the fact that the player in question chose us before Liverpool. All of which is quite a change from when our 2 best players and local lads and NUFC fans to boot pissed off to play for Liverpool, and Spurs, when we had a shit board.

 

 

Where did I swear?

 

Jesus your making stuff up gets worse

 

just testing  [you did earlier though] Perhaps I meant you harping on about making a fool etc etc blah blah, because as i said, I'm not really arsed if a few people in a poll disagree with me. Shame you seem to have given up on the debate mind  ^-^

 

 

[Cajun]

Ok Jackanory 

 

Not really much of a debate, I say something and you reply to something else you think I said. Not really fair 

[Guest andynufc84]

 

I think one of the most suicidal mistakes a manager can do is make wholesale changes to his squad. Arsene Wenger and Fergy both are fantastic at pinpointing their problems and signing players to suit. So taking this in mind i wouldn't sign any more than 2 or 3 first teamers. We have to the into account the improvement of youngsters.

 

The priority, in my mind, has to be a left back. We have one left back and he's inconsistant and injury prone. My choice would be Bridge.

 

After that i would look to target a centre half, whether or not Gooch is a success. I believe we need someone with a little bit of confidence/arrogance. When i've seen Ferdinand play he's been fantastic take into account he's already played with Taylor and is young, so he would be my choice.

 

Thirdly, i'm of the opinion that Emre will be off in the summer which will mean we should sign a replacement. 

 

 

 

The only Ferdinand I would have is Rio,but  that won't happen so signing Anton would be a huge mistake imo.

 

I reckon we need someone with experience, a leader, an inspiration and someone with proven quality. And if we have to break the bank to get him then thats what we should do. All this AFTER signing a left back of course.

[STM]

I'd have Richard Dunne!

 

*Tin hat fimly on*

[Guest Bellers]

NE5 you constantly refer to our shortage of strikers and yes, you are correct, we do have a shortage in that department. The point is at least we do have quality up front, yes if they're injured we're snookered, but at the minute the defence is the priority.

 

The fact of the matter is we have NO quality in defence what so ever. We leak goal after goal week in week out, and that's down to the quality of player we have in the particular department. We have no one in the treatment room, no one playing on a regular basis and no one on the bench who can currently solve this problem at present and that's why the issue is so urgent.

 

You talk about the key being keeping the ball but surely the likes of the Bolton and Fulham games show this isn't the issue. In both games we kept the ball for a vast majority of the game but we were robbed of three points due to two careless mistakes at the back.

 

Aswell as this the job of the defence is to win the ball and distribute it into the midfield where it is knocked around. The current defence get the ball at their feet and smash it up field without a thought giving the opposing team the chance to launch another attack, this could be helped with some direction off the coaching staff, but some players you just can't teach.

 

Yes, we need attackers but surely you've got to recognise spending £5 million on another player to address that issue isn't going to be pointless if we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot up the other end. It's an age old problem that hasn't been solved due to chairman and managers who think similar to yourself. If we continue to ignore this problem we'll find ourselves going no where fast.

[STM]

Agree with every word bellers. Although i must say our defensive distribution has vastly improved since nobby has played at right back.

[Guest andynufc84]

NE5 you constantly refer to our shortage of strikers and yes, you are correct, we do have a shortage in that department. The point is at least we do have quality up front, yes if they're injured we're snookered, but at the minute the defence is the priority.

 

The fact of the matter is we have NO quality in defence what so ever. We leak goal after goal week in week out, and that's down to the quality of player we have in the particular department. We have no one in the treatment room, no one playing on a regular basis and no one on the bench who can currently solve this problem at present and that's why the issue is so urgent.

 

You talk about the key being keeping the ball but surely the likes of the Bolton and Fulham games show this isn't the issue. In both games we kept the ball for a vast majority of the game but we were robbed of three points due to two careless mistakes at the back.

 

Aswell as this the job of the defence is to win the ball and distribute it into the midfield where it is knocked around. The current defence get the ball at their feet and smash it up field without a thought giving the opposing team the chance to launch another attack, this could be helped with some direction off the coaching staff, but some players you just can't teach.

 

Yes, we need attackers but surely you've got to recognise spending £5 million on another player to address that issue isn't going to be pointless if we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot up the other end. It's an age old problem that hasn't been solved due to chairman and managers who think similar to yourself. If we continue to ignore this problem we'll find ourselves going no where fast.

 

Good post

 

I would like to think the club have learned from their previous mistakes and will know what we need to go forward, but i'm not so sure. You just have to look at our track record.

 

We need quality defenders, it is really quite simple.

 

[NUFC06]

 

I think one of the most suicidal mistakes a manager can do is make wholesale changes to his squad. Arsene Wenger and Fergy both are fantastic at pinpointing their problems and signing players to suit. So taking this in mind i wouldn't sign any more than 2 or 3 first teamers. We have to the into account the improvement of youngsters.

 

The priority, in my mind, has to be a left back. We have one left back and he's inconsistant and injury prone. My choice would be Bridge.

 

After that i would look to target a centre half, whether or not Gooch is a success. I believe we need someone with a little bit of confidence/arrogance. When i've seen Ferdinand play he's been fantastic take into account he's already played with Taylor and is young, so he would be my choice.

 

Thirdly, i'm of the opinion that Emre will be off in the summer which will mean we should sign a replacement. 

 

 

 

The only Ferdinand I would have is Rio,but  that won't happen so signing Anton would be a huge mistake imo.

 

I reckon we need someone with experience, a leader, an inspiration and someone with proven quality. And if we have to break the bank to get him then thats what we should do. All this AFTER signing a left back of course.

 

I think Roeder will go for Curtis Davies

I just hope that WBA stay in the Championship

That way it would be more easy to sign him

[Cajun]

NE5 you constantly refer to our shortage of strikers and yes, you are correct, we do have a shortage in that department. The point is at least we do have quality up front, yes if they're injured we're snookered, but at the minute the defence is the priority.

 

The fact of the matter is we have NO quality in defence what so ever. We leak goal after goal week in week out, and that's down to the quality of player we have in the particular department. We have no one in the treatment room, no one playing on a regular basis and no one on the bench who can currently solve this problem at present and that's why the issue is so urgent.

 

You talk about the key being keeping the ball but surely the likes of the Bolton and Fulham games show this isn't the issue. In both games we kept the ball for a vast majority of the game but we were robbed of three points due to two careless mistakes at the back.

 

Aswell as this the job of the defence is to win the ball and distribute it into the midfield where it is knocked around. The current defence get the ball at their feet and smash it up field without a thought giving the opposing team the chance to launch another attack, this could be helped with some direction off the coaching staff, but some players you just can't teach.

 

Yes, we need attackers but surely you've got to recognise spending £5 million on another player to address that issue isn't going to be pointless if we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot up the other end. It's an age old problem that hasn't been solved due to chairman and managers who think similar to yourself. If we continue to ignore this problem we'll find ourselves going no where fast.

 

Yep agree with this completely. Although we could do with more quality in midfield its a bit hard for them to keep possesion when the ball is punted over their head constantly.

[Baggio]

 

Dyer is a midfield player mate. Sib is playing above himself TBH can he repeat it again ? Ameobi isn't good enough. If Owens and Martins don't play together, it doesn't leave much does it ?

 

I do agree that defensively, a left back is the top priority, that is obvious. What if we can't get a left back that is judged to be good enough for us ? What would you do then ?

 

 

So we need a striker because Ameobi isn't good enough to be 3rd choice, do you think Babayaro, Bernard, Ramage, Bramble, Moore, and Carr are good enough to be possible 1st choice?!

 

 

[Guest geordieracer]

done better than i anticipated

 

i could only see relegation with roeder

 

so good job