Papa Lazaru

As people have said, Big Sam inherited a fucking nightmare and he is turning it round as quickly as he can. Firstly building from the back, making us hard tobeat, competetive and organised and taking it from there. But to be fair its not like the football has been awful, there's been patches of good passing and we've just needed to create more out and out chances in games like the Villa one. Against Wigan Owen alone had 3 or 4 very good chances (and to be fair scored two of them!) so that wasn't bad, poor as Wigan were. Barton will be a big help as people mentioned when he returns and also time, as the players get used to what he's doing and get ever more confident. Also 4-4-2 at home against organised, defensive sides will help compared to the 4-3-3 vs Villa.

Its good that they're doing this, but what a shock its a little club like Wigan they've picked on, whilst ignoring the fact CHelski do it on a weekly basis and the likes of manu and arse have had long spells where their teams made a point of harrassing refs every game.

Its unlicky for Harper who i think has played really well this season, makign a few stops that saved us points, but Given is comfortably better and when fit has to return for me. Its different with keepers, the top keepers always tend to go straight back in the team ahead of their understudy and they always will. It was good for Big Sam not to rush him like previous managers would ahev, he gave him the Barnsley match, then rested him, but after the international break he'll be ready and i expect will play. As for Given he is a world class shot stopper, as good as anyone really, but his command of his area, dealing with crosses and distribution stop him being world class all round i'd say.

He was indeed like Given, virtually ever present until hitting that cursed run of injuries thats eemed to have ended, and then he gets a freak inury like this in training. Big blow for England as they're already missing far too many players to injury before they even arrived in France without losing their most important player.

There was also a very good interview with Rozehal in the chronicle, he comes across well and sounds like an intelligent footballer/person who also it turns out spent alot of last season playing midfield and he was a striker as a kid, hence why he looks very composed at the back.

He's probably looking at playing a few of the world cup winning team, including Bobby Moore!

Fancy a bet, with the loser say getting an IP ban! Seriously though, i think he'll take pleasure in telling them to shove it if they came calling, i think people underestimate how much he was sick at their decision and won't forgive them. Also i think he really is happy a the chance he has here to really show what he can do at club level as he was always frustrated at Bolton never being able to match his ambitions.

I'd back Shola to score 5 for England in 44 games or whatever it was Heskey "achieved" doesn't mean he should be in the team like! Heskey showed time and again he was nowhere near international class, so how years down the line when he's worse he gets a reacall is beyond me, until you remember its Mclaren making the call! Unles i've missed Heskey single handedly destroying prem defences up and down the country the last 3 years.

End of the debate, clubs should always have the final say on any of their players. They pay millions for them, pay them millions in wages and insurance and treatment for injuries and its the clubs (and their fans) who suffer when England send them back fucked.

.....and to think Rodent nearly pushed him out of the club. If Roeder were still here then Zog and martins would both have walked and i bet Owen would have been right behidn them if anybody matched the release clause in his contract. And then of course to solve the defensive problems Roeder wouyld have bought a winger and a striker!

He'd tell them to piss off to be fair, IMO. Firstly because he's just starting a big job here at the toon and secondly because he was really pissed off with them at the time for ignoring him and choosing others ahead of him when he felt he was the best candidate.

He deserves it on his start to this season, he's now looking like the player i remember from 2 years ago before several factors (Roeder, death of his father and perhaps his own attitude to an extent) made him look shot to pieces. He will be a very important player for us this season because he has pace and control and can run past defenders and that turns games, all defenders hate facing that kind of player. Also could chip in with soem vital goals as well.

The way Big Sam has ripped the squad up and completely rebuilt it on relatively nothing by todays standards is worthy of alot of credit. I think come January he should be rewarded with the cash to make a couple of real quality signings to push us forward to the end of the season. When you think even the mackems have spent nearly £40m, and Spurs appear to have spent a record ammount to get worse than they were before!

Agree it'll be good to see what difference Barton makes to the attacking drive of the team whenhe makes his return from injury, also the option of Zog playing in midfield once Enrique is match fit and playing at LB. And whilst its early days, i've never been this impressed with the potential of a toon defence with Beye and Enrique to come!

I thought the atmosphere was much improved on what its been for...well years basically! Not saying it was great or anything, but definitely better than i was expecting.

Agree, though i don't share your hatred of Martins I can't believe anyone thinks our best XI doesn't feature Owen, one of the best goal scorers in the business, who will get himself into goalscoring positions time and again and who is still going to be getting better as he gets more games under his belt. With everyone fit and in form i'm not completely sure who i'd go for as our best XI and think it'd change with the oppositon and situation sometimes but probably: -----------------------Given Beye--------Cacapa----------Rozenhal---------Enrique Milner-----------Barton---------Geremi/Butt/Faye (i'm not sure!)--------------Zogbia ------------------Viduka---------Owen

Not the draw i'd want but hopefully two things will help us. And that's Wenger playing a weakened side, and Big Sam keeping up his knack of really getting under their skin and bullying them out of games.

He certainly is, you look at his two fullbacks and they're both 6 footers, nobody will be pushing our defence around that's for sure! I also like the fact we have intelligent footballers at the back as well, against Wigan you had them passing the ball amongst themselves calmly and under control just waiting for the option to pick the right forward pass. Makes a big difference to the Roeder defence misshitting passes, failing to cotnrol it, get themselves under pressure and kick it out of play!!

I was trying to remember the last time it looked like a toon manager was building a solid, intelligent defence who dominate games and give us the platform to win games by 1 goal and are good footballers as well...then i remembered that's never happened before, ever! Obviously they've got some tests against the big teams to come, but with Beye and Enrique still to add in its looking really good. Excellent first half performance where 2 crap decisions, a good save, the crossbar and a couple of misses kept us from the goals we should have had which would have lead to Wigan getting a bit of a hammering. Second half got very tight as they put 10 men behind the ball but we got our reward in the end and Owen did what he does better than most despite somebody on here seemiing to think he's shit when he's one of the best finishers in the business and makes perfectly timed, intelligent runs off the ball time and again to create these openings. As for Wigan what a disgrace they were, a team of cloggers who also managed to be the biggest bunch of tarts i've seen in ages, every five mintues one of the bastards was on the ground feigning some sort of injury. What was good to see was after the first time we kicked the ball out for one of the cheating bastards (which we shouldn't have) the second time we just said fuck them and kept on attacking!

He's right, Fat Fred wasn't good enough and took us from title challengers to mid table mediocrity and made us a source of amusement for the rest of the country on many occasions. And as people have said in his time here, whilst he may have been limited he gave it everything and never let anyone down. Throw in the goal against the mackems and he's due a canny recpetion if he isn't out injured that is.

Yes, Big Sam has done a hell of a job sorting the shambles he inherited out, and for a relatively small amount of money as well. As people have said he's building from the back and making us hard to beat, something we haven't been for god knows how long and with that will come games where we maybe don't create as much as we'd like. It was only against Barnsley but i think Cacapa just looked pure class, in a different league to some players on the pitch and so calm and assured about everything he does. Also really liked the look of Enrique as well, both of them look like intelligent, talented footballers not something you would fit with our defenders in recent years! I would like a real flair player bought in midfield, but as it stands with hopefully Beye and Faye to come in then Big Sam has done some excellent business for the club and will probably do more in January.

I suppose since they're lacking strikers then for a year its not the worst signing they could make, not quite what their fans were expecting though! I didn't really pay much attention to what he did at Portsmouth (and then did he go on loan from them somewhere?) so he might be totally finished, or he may have a little bit left in him.

This is actually the best bit. Bluf and Janitor of NO got lost on the way out and ended up outside an office where a boss was working. He kicked them out and because they were so drunk and clueless, it raised his suspicions so he went to check the CCTV. Cue Papa Laz doing Singing in the Rain with his cock out soiling Network Rail literature in the downstaris corridor. Andrew had to go up to the office, watch the footage and take a bollocking off the bloke. He then calls me and describes the culprit as 'the slightly greying older one in the metaller t-shirt'. Howay man, that could have been anyone! He missed out being a shortarse, might as well put it all in there!

Partially correct! Don't think i'll drink before a game again as more than enough gets drunk after games without knocking it back beforehand as well, might as well start that from now! Bit late for therapy though i think!

Better in person i think, if he'll be there before the next home game (Wigan is it) as i'll be there before the match, and can also pass on any money required. Won't be there after the match as its a mates birthday so if i don't see him then i'll catch him at the next one.