We don't need Diop, do we?

[Guest teepee]

i'd also have diop ahead of faye - big, tall and strong.

 

neither is a dreamsigning though...

[bodson]

I used to say that we desperately needed a defensive midfielder but I have changed my mind. We have Geremi that is excellent in the position. good cover in Butt. And also Barton, Smith and Zoggy can do a job there in an emergency. I think we should focus on a right back a centre back and maybe a creatie midfielder for now.

 

In the longer perspective we should be looking for someone thats definately better than what we already have. Christian Poulsen for next summer...

[Guest teepee]

i'd like to see poulsen at nufc - good player (and danish )

[Guest Toon83]

If we get Abdoulaye Faye then we dont need Diop

[Cajun]

Would much rather Faye, more versatile and hasn't fallen away of late.

[Guest Knightrider]

I'd peddle Butt and sign Diop AND Faye. I'd see if Fulham want to do a swap deal for Butt.

[Wullie]

I'd peddle Butt and sign Diop AND Faye. I'd see if Fulham want to do a swap deal for Butt.

 

We'd be fucked in January.

[Dokko]

I'd peddle Butt and sign Diop AND Faye. I'd see if Fulham want to do a swap deal for Butt.

 

Butt & Carr + £1m for Diop.

 

[Cajun]

I'd peddle Butt and sign Diop AND Faye. I'd see if Fulham want to do a swap deal for Butt.

 

Butt & Carr + £1m for Diop and Rosenior.

 

 

FYP, wasnt that Rosenior quite highly rated at one point?

[Guest Knightrider]

I'd peddle Butt and sign Diop AND Faye. I'd see if Fulham want to do a swap deal for Butt.

 

We'd be fucked in January.

 

On the contrary my dear Wullie.

 

EDMILSON

 

 

/Oliver-Fowler

[Kev]

I'd peddle Butt and sign Diop AND Faye. I'd see if Fulham want to do a swap deal for Butt.

 

Butt & Carr + £1m for Diop.

 

 

butt is a top player for us and carr fills in a space and does an OK job sometimes

Diop? who would he replace? Geremi, Butt, Barton, Emre are 4top players to start with and diop would struggle to fit into the starting 11

[McCormick]

 

I don't know why butt's averageness is lauded while smith, who gets ripped to shreds here, is the kind of player butt is except more versatile, harder in the challenge and can shoot.

 

still undecided about faye or diop...

[Baggio]

 

I don't know why butt's averageness is lauded while smith, who gets ripped to shreds here, is the kind of player butt is except more versatile, harder in the challenge and can shoot.

 

still undecided about faye or diop...

 

Because Butt can read the game better, break up play without lunging tackles and doesn't give numerous freekicks away every game, Butt also didn't cost £6 million and wasn't a replacement for a player with pace who stretches games.

 

Butt is a DM and does his job well, Smith is a striker/midfielder and does neither job particularly well, to say both players are similar is ridiculous.

[Guest midget]

diop is one of the worst footballers ive ever seen. shocking control and awful passer. its because he's built like a tank he gets away with it. shocking player.

[Offshore]

diop is one of the worst footballers ive ever seen. shocking control and awful passer. its because he's built like a tank he gets away with it. shocking player.

 

Dunno if he's fallen that far but his purple patch was about 2 or 3 seasons ago, I think us and Arsenal were linked with him but the price was high, 8+m? Think he'd scored a couple of screamers in consequetive Sky games or something and Fulham  were doing well at the time (I think).

 

He seems to have been a bit quiet for the last season or so, news-wise, maybe a change of club will do him the world of good but i'd not be upset if he went somewhere else than us.

 

[TRC]

 

I don't know why butt's averageness is lauded while smith, who gets ripped to shreds here, is the kind of player butt is except more versatile, harder in the challenge and can shoot.

 

still undecided about faye or diop...

 

Because Butt can read the game better, break up play without lunging tackles and doesn't give numerous freekicks away every game, Butt also didn't cost £6 million and wasn't a replacement for a player with pace who stretches games.

 

Butt is a DM and does his job well, Smith is a striker/midfielder and does neither job particularly well, to say both players are similar is ridiculous.

 

Nicely done.

[Guest justin99.]

It seems most of Butts tackles are on players he has just turned the ball over to

[Rich]

 

I don't know why butt's averageness is lauded while smith, who gets ripped to shreds here, is the kind of player butt is except more versatile, harder in the challenge and can shoot.

 

still undecided about faye or diop...

 

Because Butt can read the game better, break up play without lunging tackles and doesn't give numerous freekicks away every game, Butt also didn't cost £6 million and wasn't a replacement for a player with pace who stretches games.

 

Butt is a DM and does his job well, Smith is a striker/midfielder and does neither job particularly well, to say both players are similar is ridiculous.

 

You must watch a different Nicky Butt to me, Baggio. Instead of just using my own opinion from what I've seen of him since he came, I went and did a bit of digging on stats so far this season because since Smith has arrived I'm not sure if what you said was entirely true:

 

Player      Tackles    Success    Interceptions

 

Alan Smith   7     100,0%       2

 

Nicky Butt     9       66,7%         1

 

Both of them have committed 5 fouls in our two league games so far, as well. Both have won 3, as well.

 

Not that I put much weight on pure statistics, ever, (especially after two games) but they are fairly useful at times like this.

 

*Strokes chin*

 

EDIT: Should really add that while Butt didn't cost £6M when he arrived he actually replaced a far better/more important player than Kieron Dyer, both on and off the field, and I'm not sure if we got Nicky Butt for £1M less than the bloke he was replacing - like we have done with Smith/Dyer. Something to mull over there, as well.

[Baggio]

 

I don't know why butt's averageness is lauded while smith, who gets ripped to shreds here, is the kind of player butt is except more versatile, harder in the challenge and can shoot.

 

still undecided about faye or diop...

 

Because Butt can read the game better, break up play without lunging tackles and doesn't give numerous freekicks away every game, Butt also didn't cost £6 million and wasn't a replacement for a player with pace who stretches games.

 

Butt is a DM and does his job well, Smith is a striker/midfielder and does neither job particularly well, to say both players are similar is ridiculous.

 

You must watch a different Nicky Butt to me, Baggio. Instead of just using my own opinion from what I've seen of him since he came, I went and did a bit of digging on stats so far this season because since Smith has arrived I'm not sure if what you said was entirely true:

 

Player       Tackles    Success    Interceptions

 

Alan Smith    7      100,0%       2

 

Nicky Butt     9        66,7%         1

 

Both of them have committed 5 fouls in our two league games so far, as well. Both have won 3, as well.

 

Not that I put much weight on pure statistics, ever, (especially after two games) but they are fairly useful at times like this.

 

*Strokes chin*

 

EDIT: Should really add that while Butt didn't cost £6M when he arrived he actually replaced a far better/more important player than Kieron Dyer, both on and off the field, and I'm not sure if we got Nicky Butt for £1M less than the bloke he was replacing - like we have done with Smith/Dyer. Something to mull over there, as well.

 

First of all as you say you can't put 2 players head to head after 2 games, I'm basing my opinion on what I've seen with my own 2 eyes rather than stats which don't always show the bigger picture, Butt was for me our player of the season last year and while I don't rate him as a top class DM I do think he's competent in his job and I have faith in him there, Smith on the other hand is on par with Scott Parker when it comes to midfielders, he doesn't defend particularly well and his positioning is poor, you say both have give the same amount of fouls away but for me Butt is someone who knows when to make a challenge and when not to, Smith on the other hand gave away 2 fouls near the edge of the box which were both reckless and the attacker wanted him to tackle so he could win a free kick, add to that Butt's positioning and reading of the game and I don't think you'll find many who would prefer Smith sat in front of the back four than Butt.

 

You also go on to say that Butt come in to replace a better player than Dyer although I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, the fact is Smith has come in to replace Dyer but he offers us none of the qualities we should be looking for in an attacking midfielder, that should be pretty obvious considering people are comparing him to our holding man, add to that that it looks like we're buying another DM in Faye and it really does look like we've pissed our money away.

 

I've read somewhere that you were at the Villa game, what did you think of our centre midfield that day in terms of creativity?

[Rich]

I should have written out a predicted reply, because after I made that post I knew exactly what you would come back with. Quite gutted that I didn't now, actually, because it would have read almost exactly the same as what you wrote yourself.

 

You're changing the debate because I've proven you wrong with what you said in your initial post, the bit in particular that I bolded, at least. If you don't think Nicky Butt dives into tackles on a regular basis then you clearly see a different player to me every week, because I'm basing this on what I see with my own two eyes AND what the statistics tell me. Nicky Butt gave away more fouls than anyone else last season, as well, but surely that's down to the nature of his position and nothing else, eh? I'm sure they were all the "right" sort of foul, as well, from what you saw - but my memory tells me differently.

 

I have no interest in discussing our central midfield against Villa or the selection of Alan Smith in the defensive midfield role, because it's not what this was originally about. Until I've seen Alan Smith play the same role as Nicky Butt does, for Newcastle, I'll reserve judgement and I don't see what the "creativity" of the central midfield against Villa has to do with anything here, other than it being an attempt to sway the debate from it's original path. I will say one thing, whenever people complain about a "lack of creativity" from the centre of the park in a certain game it's always a safe bet to assume that Nicky Butt has been playing there in that particular match. This agenda stuff is easy.

 

I agree that the original comparison was fairly "ridiculous", but if that was the case, then why comment on it like you did... by comparing Smith to Butt?

 

The Speed thing was relevant, by the way, well... at least as relevant about the stuff you wrote about Smith/Dyer in regards to the original point that McCormick made on the two players. I'm not sure if Nicky Butt has ever adequately replaced anything that Speedo offered us while he was here... and Gary Speed didn't want to leave, either, unlike Dyer.

 

Vendetta-tastic, man, just like it was at times against Parker last season from your sort. I'm praying to fuck that Smith proves you wrong and I have faith in him to do so.

[McCormick]

 

I don't know why butt's averageness is lauded while smith, who gets ripped to shreds here, is the kind of player butt is except more versatile, harder in the challenge and can shoot.

 

still undecided about faye or diop...

 

Because Butt can read the game better, break up play without lunging tackles and doesn't give numerous freekicks away every game, Butt also didn't cost £6 million and wasn't a replacement for a player with pace who stretches games.

 

Butt is a DM and does his job well, Smith is a striker/midfielder and does neither job particularly well, to say both players are similar is ridiculous.

 

are you talking about the same butt? I'm talking about nicky, you know, slow as hippo with ankle weights, can only dribble from his mouth and gives the ball away whenever he has it.

 

Both players are playing in the centre of midfield aren't they? so its not too ludicrously far-fetched to compare them- both are grafters, both get in. Smith's passing is better than butts and so's his shooting.. butt is a better tackler. Smith doubling as a striker is irelevent to what i've said.

[McCormick]

 

 

I don't know why butt's averageness is lauded while smith, who gets ripped to shreds here, is the kind of player butt is except more versatile, harder in the challenge and can shoot.

 

still undecided about faye or diop...

 

Because Butt can read the game better, break up play without lunging tackles and doesn't give numerous freekicks away every game, Butt also didn't cost £6 million and wasn't a replacement for a player with pace who stretches games.

 

Butt is a DM and does his job well, Smith is a striker/midfielder and does neither job particularly well, to say both players are similar is ridiculous.

 

are you talking about the same butt? I'm talking about nicky, you know, slow as hippo with ankle weights, can only dribble from his mouth and gives the ball away whenever he has it.

 

Both players are playing in the centre of midfield aren't they? so its not too ludicrously far-fetched to compare them- both are grafters, both get in. Smith's passing is better than butts and so's his shooting.. butt is a better tackler. Smith doubling as a striker is irelevent to what i've said.

 

 

 

 

 

Janitor is talking a lot of sense. 

[Baggio]

Vendetta-tastic, man, just like it was at times against Parker last season from your sort. I'm praying to fuck that Smith proves you wrong and I have faith in him to do so.

 

And my sort as you put it were right about Parker, and I will be again about Smith, I have no doubts whatsoever about that.

[Rich]

Vendetta-tastic, man, just like it was at times against Parker last season from your sort. I'm praying to fuck that Smith proves you wrong and I have faith in him to do so.

 

And my sort as you put it were right about Parker, and I will be again about Smith, I have no doubts whatsoever about that.

 

Not necessarily right about him, if you ask me. Would have deserved a Nicky Butt-esque second chance under Allardyce, I reckon. Not many played brilliantly last season. I'll remember Parker for his debut campaign more than anything.

 

I can live with that as long as you support Smith when he's on the park our colours, though. Which I'm sure you will do.

[Baggio]

Vendetta-tastic, man, just like it was at times against Parker last season from your sort. I'm praying to fuck that Smith proves you wrong and I have faith in him to do so.

 

And my sort as you put it were right about Parker, and I will be again about Smith, I have no doubts whatsoever about that.

 

Not necessarily right about him, if you ask me. Would have deserved a Nicky Butt-esque second chance under Allardyce, I reckon. Not many played brilliantly last season. I'll remember Parker for his debut campaign more than anything.

 

I can live with that as long as you support Smith when he's on the park our colours, though. Which I'm sure you will do.

 

What you're failing to mention Janitor is that Parker wanted to go...