BigWalrus

That's a better selection of players to compare him with, as it's a bit more current than Roy Keane etc. As I said earlier, I would expect him to have quite a high number of yellows, as there are one or two that he picks up from reputation alone. We'd obviously love him to get booked less (particularly the odd one where you wonder why he even went in for the tackle in the first place), but part of that comes with commitment to to the cause. He is much better than he was when he first came here - the problem is that he now has a reputation and referees are quite happy to book him early on. Your last comment about Sissoko, Mbiwa or Anita being better bets is confusing. Are you suggesting that any of those three could play the defensive midfielder role better than Tiote? Sissoko could do a good job there, but I feel we'd be wasting his obvious skill on the ball by playing him so deep. Mbiwa looks a tidy player, but he's a centre back and has been bought to play there. Anita is one where I'm hoping he'll come good, but right now he's too powderpuff and lightweight to play the holding role. He also has a tendency to go missing if the game isn't going well.

You've chosen players from over 10 years ago, when you could get away with far more on a football pitch. We need like for like years, otherwise I don't think it's a fair comparison. I'm expecting Tiote to be high up on the list as he does pick up a few more yellows than he should, but I don't see it as enough to want to ditch him. As for ACN, it's not every year - we've just seen two in a row because they wanted to stagger them either side of the World Cup (they'll now be played only on odd years). So the next one will be 2015.

Show me another player who plays the defensive midfield role that doesn't pick up a load of yellows. If they're not getting at least 7 yellows a season then they're either incredibly lucky or not doing their job properly.

Yep, exactly. However, don't let facts get in the way of an illogical argument.

Gouffran? He would have been from being sat in the Milburn posh seats.

Useless fact - I had John Salako as a wild card entry in a celebrity death pool sweepstake last year.

He's a driven, aggressive player, but I don't agree that his fouls are driven by rage. I think you're reading too much into his internet based stereotype. If you have a player like that in your side, the opposition know that they can't get away with dwelling on the ball and it forces them into so many more errors.

Cabaye commits some even more silly fouls than Tiote. His tackle on Dembele was worthy of a red, and his flailing arm last night wasn't a red in my eyes, but it was deliberate and could have seen him walk with a picky ref. However, Cabaye gets away with it because he's a more forward thinking player who creates goals and scores the odd goal. Tiote gets it in the neck because he does the dirty work and the mopping up.

He's not an arsehole - he's the sort of player you'd hate to play against as he chases every ball, works tirelessly and gets in your face as soon as you're in possession. There are enough dickheads in the crowd who are sitting on the edge of their seat waiting for a misplaced pass or a mistake, so they can scream, "see, I told you, he's woeful". Tiote's overall contribution last night was solid. He was always available for the two centre backs to release the ball to. Part of the issue last night was that Tiote + Cabaye + Sissoko still needs a bit of work - it was their first game together after all. There were times when Cabaye's deeper role meant he and Tiote were getting under the feet of each other. Give it time - they're three quality players and have the makings of one of the best midfields we've ever had. I make no apologies for being frank, but anyone who wants actively wants Tiote to leave is clearly an idiot.

I bloody love smoked paprika. Brought back a big tin from a Spanish supermarket. Goes lovely on a roast chicken with some garlic and onion powder.

Shola came on and laid a chance on a plate as soon as he came on. He is fine as a sub late in the game. Some horrible bastards in the crowd last night. A couple of horrifically fat cnuts sat behind me who spent the entire game talking to each other. Their main topic was bitching about one of their friends, who often hit his wife but was a canny lad as he shared his coke with them. They paused their conversation only to shout "fuck off man" or "he's fuckin' shite" whenever Jonas got the ball. I moved about 5 rows further down in the second half but could hear louder shouting when Shola was on the ball. Clueless, ignorant football observers with a wholly negative view of the players. Why do they even bother turning up?

He's a mint player, I love him to bits.

The bacteria in the yoghurt penetrates the meat, so it doesn't matter whether you make slits or not. You only need the slits if you're marinating it for a short period of time. Overnight is plenty of time for the flavour to get in there. Skin is optional.

Oh yeah, the Bale vs Obertan comparison should probably stop at pace. Ironic really, given that he's the NUFC player educated to the highest level. He could learn a lot from Gouffran, who even after 2 games appears to have a much better understanding of his team mates than Gabby has ever had.

Obertan is faster than Bale. I remember the game against Spurs last season during one of their counter attacks, when he gave Bale a 5 yard head start, caught him up and then tackled him.

If that's how he looks when he's smiling, I'd hate to see his sex face.

It has to be one of Bono / Joe Kinnear.

It's the age-old question though, whether to shut up shop or try for more. In reality, the vast majority of teams will focus more on defence but try to keep an outlet free for a counter attack. This is exactly what Spurs did once they went 2-1 up on Saturday. Their whole side dropped deep, but they left Bale alone on the half way line, which was enough to stop us from attacking with too many numbers. When we have Ben Arfa in the side (or even Obertan, late in the game) we can deploy a similar tactic. It's very rare that a team will continue with wave after wave of full on attack, unless the opposition is simply shit and there for the taking.

Aye, definitely. I just think, for instance, that the comparisons with Ronaldo are silly.

I agree - the Bale wankfest is getting a little bit silly. An admittedly brilliant free kick, with an unbelievable amount of top spin on it, was followed by a largely stagnant game. Only the combination of Taylor and Coloccini messing up a bouncing ball allowed him a run through on goal. The chances after that were more down to our chasing of a late equaliser than any real individual brilliance. I'm not denying he was good, mind, I just think some of the press he's getting is a little bit over the top.