Missed Sticks

We were concentrating on signing the likes of Rossi and Sibierski for nothing, while we also could have brought in Campbell, Woodgate and Bridge for nothing as well. Why that didnt cross Roeder's mind is beyond me, and thats what Im saying he should have done. I doubt that anyone disagrees with that and none of us know the answer as to why either.

If you replaced Emre with Butt, you'd certainly notice the difference but I doubt it would be a good one. Well Emre and Parker isn't working, and of the two Parker is far more effective, so there's only one that should be dropped. Who you bring in is up for discussion but I don't think Emre does enough. I thought Emre was MoM against West Ham and he was decent today. We didn't get enough from Milner, Zog, Sibs and Martins tbh. This idea that we should have a CM who makes runs beyond the forwards would be a disaster for NUFC due to the fact that, aside from Moore, we have clowns for defenders.

I think Everton were a threat because of their system and Newcastle were a threat because of individual ability. The CB pairing was good, most of our attacks seem to break down on the edge of their box, also Everton can change it up, go long for aerial threat, play it through the midfield or over the top for Johnson. We seem limited by comparison. I don't understand Martins complete reluctance to run into the channels and pick up the ball, lay it off and start attacks. That should be easy for our players but watching the game, i just couldn't see any real pattern or intelligence to our play. That worries me. But then again, when i look at the 1st team coaches...

Gotta agree with Jimbo, like. Bramble is an oaf and he ain't getting any smarter. Fundamentally can't read the game so pointless at centre-half.

Not sure how likely it is that Bernard will suddenly put 2 yrs worth of less than mediocre performances behind and become the player we all thought he used to be tbh.

Like those who can't tell the difference of good 'ol valves compared to this digial modelling rubbish

Wouldn't have been possible to imagine someone that good but too have actually seen him play......Whoaaa! Such incredible balance and the speed at which he changed direction... Always thought George Weah was a helluva a player though, very good in the air too.

Incidentally, i wonder who we will be Roeder's new assistant

I'm certain Roeder's not involved, not sure how he could have been as he was academy coach, thinking again, maybe he was one of NUFC's people trying to sign that Boro academy kid! Anyway, program was a bit of a disappoinment tbh, was expecting serious revelations. Yawn...

Given - 7 Some shocking kicks but some good throws Baba - 8 Was great in the air and at covering the CB's when they were pulled right to cover Carr. Handled Tevez well. Carr - 7 Some good interceptions, couple of good runs, was helped by the fact that Etherington was shite. Not so great with the ball though. Moore - 8 Good positionally, had to foul when he had to foul. Ramage - 7 Pleasantly surprised, made good decisions mostly, again helped by questionable West Ham forward play. Milner - 7 Worked so hard, always trying to produce, some great covering for Carr, more end product and he'll be good. Duff - 7 Scored but otherwise wasn't so threatening, didn't fancy taking Mears on that often, intellingent play though and helped out Baba. Parker - 8 Covered a lot of ground, closed everyone down, tried to be always available for a pass, always looking to nick the ball. Emre - 9 Worked incredibly hard and passed the ball well. Made a good partnership with Parker, always close by each other to help out with tackling or receive a pass. Ameobi - 6 Tried to win some balls in the air otherwise wasn't much of a threat. Martins - 7 Got better after we scored, as the game wore on and it opened up a bit he got more space and looked more dangerous. Truly an amazing leap on that little guy! Sibierski - 5 Harper - Don't know Butt - Too late for impact. In the 1st half WH strikers used the channels well and i could see we just didn't do that which is odd. Both Martins and Shola should work the channels well with their abilities and both Duff and Milner should be able to cut in and fill in the striker roles. We won this game because Parker and especially Emre ran the midfield making Reo-Coker anonymous and making Machereno look a shadow of his FM2006 namesake

I hope we still have this decision to make next season.

The main problem with the club as i see it is our choice of managers, apart from 2 (in Prem years) they've not done well, FACT. If the Board are struggling to attract or maybe choose and appoint the right manager then i think they should find someone to make that choice for them. They need someone on the board with real football knowledge and connections, this is a pre-requisite for any successful board .

Agree with some of what Leazes says there, hav an issue or two with some of it though. The only way to build a successful team is from the back and there were defenders available who would improved the 1st team let alone the squad and they would have cost £000,000.00 in transfer fee, the fact that anyone fails to see this is quite bemusing. If the club felt that letting all those good defenders sign for other clubs because they had someone(s) better lined up, i could see the logic. To make a last ditch attempt to buy Huth proves 2 things, 1) We had the money so that arguement is defunct, 2) We planned his purchase poorly. I fail to see any explanation.

In Shepherds era of Chairmanship i think the club aas been pretty healthy, we haven't become the global merchandising competitor of Manure but then we've won f**k all for 50+ yrs. Success is the single most effective marketing tool, FACT. Despite our lack of it we've managed to provide our managers (lthe Prem yrs) with more than adequate transfer funds, no one i feel, can really complain about that. I can only think of one summer (when we only signed Bowyer on a free) that we have been quiet during on the transfer period, that only became a mistake because the players f**ked up in the CL qualifiers, they were good enough and should have won. The Boards main problem has been the choice of managers, or rather the effect they've had. SJH chose Keegan, and let's be honest, got very lucky indeed. Freddie chose Dalgleish who seemed like the right man on paper, however, i think they should have been more thorough in discovering his intentions for the squad he inherited because, quite frankly he became 'The Asset Stripper', i think if they knew in advance what he wanted to do they may have thought twice. If they believed in him though they should have given him more time. Gullit is an example of poor research and blind faith. Robson was luck that he was available but he was great for the club. Souness, illogical. Roeder, FS had a chance to 'Try before you Buy' so i can see why he thought about giving him a go. Bottom line is, SJH was lucky, and SBR aside, FS has been anything but. I think it's time someone else was brought in to make a more informed decisions regarding Managerial/Coaching appoinments. Someone with a more global knowledge of football, a Kenyon type. Not to replace FS but to work along side him. The rest of the club will operate more fully to its potential with the right man in charge, and more importantly imo, a Kenyon type might ensure that we have a succession of good managers. IMAGINE THAT, more than one!!!

With club shop prices not fucking long... T_Keith. Completely off topic, i'm guessing you're a fan of Keef Richards? Mate of mine has an office next to a guy who does guitar/amp repairs and servicing, he sometimes does the Stones gear. My mate is a big Keef fan so this guy told him to come round and try an amp he had in (belongs to Keef), it was a Watkins 30w. I think it was a class a amp. Rock your boat at all? Yeh a bit but thats talking more money than i have Don't know what a Watkins amp will cost tbh. Anyway, if you spent less on replica shirts you'd be loaded i reckon

With club shop prices not fucking long... T_Keith. Completely off topic, i'm guessing you're a fan of Keef Richards? Mate of mine has an office next to a guy who does guitar/amp repairs and servicing, he sometimes does the Stones gear. My mate is a big Keef fan so this guy told him to come round and try an amp he had in (belongs to Keef), it was a Watkins 30w. I think it was a class a amp. Rock your boat at all?

Maybe Sir Alex (as i'm sure Glen calls him) doesn't want Rossi to be left on his own in the cold, dark North East....

I know, and i was joking

Why is Rossi going if he's ineligible?

I guess he'll need extended compassionate leave now to get over Bullard's latest setback...

Without any pictures of the goat i can't give an opinion...

I'm completely mystified by our failure to sign any real defenders during the transfer window. Campbell - available on a free Woodie - available on loan Even Glen Johnson would have been worth loaning imo. He's not great but he has recovery pace and is OK on the ball, that puts him ahead of Carr already. GR would have familiar with him from his days at West Ham too. If we missed out on Bridge due to the timing, fair enough, no excuse for the other 3 though. It can't be said it was due to a lack of funds because we out bid Boro for Huth on the last day only for him to turn us down. Why didn't we sign him before if GR was so keen on him? I can only think it was intervention from the Board, thinking they could get him cheaper by waiting it out then panicking and having to offer more! What a shambles. Chickens coming home to roost now it seems. Really strange goings on actually, just no coherent policy or plan for who needed and who we targeted. We only got Duff because Chelsea offered him to us directly. No team can expect to progress in the league if they have no confidence in the defence. Basic stuff.

I guess it's comforting to know that other clubs have crap scouts too

The whole match was shit man. We looked pretty much clueless all game. The positivity in the face of all evidence to the contrary thing isn't working. 196085[/snapback] If the match had finished after 80 minutes, we'd have been praising the contributions of the midfield, saying that the defence had done pretty well, and preaching patience over the front two. As it is, the defence blotted their copybook big-time in the last 10 minutes, and the overall feeling is entirely one of disappointment. I disagree that we looked clueless all game, there were a few very promising moves that hopefully bode well for the future once everyone has settled in. Bollocks, if the match had finished after 80 minutes a lot would have said that we squeezed a lucky win, because the match had written 0-0 all over it. The contribution from the midfield by creating chances was very little, the defence looked very shaky the whole time and the front two looked totally lost. Well, don't worry, we'll soon have Canny Kieron back. It'll be like like a new sigining and will lift the whole squad, unquote blah blah blah..........

He has never really played somewhere else, so the difference is marginally tbh 195822[/snapback] Nonsense. Look at the way the bloke is built. Without wanting to over-generalise, the majority of African footballers are ox-strong. I can count the exceptions on one hand. There have to be very small oxes where you are from. I really start to worry. The only really pacey thing he showed yesterday was how quick he can fall to the floor when being physically challenged. I have to agree with Isegrim like. He does not look like the powerful player I thought he was supposed to be. As I keep saying, it's still very early days, but in physical battles so far to date I don't think I've seen him come off best once. Possibly a confidence issue. As a side note, we wouldn't expect Owen to win many either and i suspect they're similar types of player. I don't know what confidence has to do with the ability to stay on your feet. But I agree it is still early days and that it didn't help the bloke that he got in with no pre-season and the pressure on him that he has to perfom immidately because of the lack of alternatives. I think you need confidence for any kind of physical confrontation. It might be that he's used to getting free kicks in Italy for similar situations and he's yet to learn that he won't do here. As a club, our complete misunderstanding of the importance of pre-season with your new team is one of our biggest and oft repeated mistakes imo. It's like learning to fight in the ring rather learning some moves with the trainer first, it's very hard to learn how your team plays under match day pressure.