PaddockLad

I didnt say fuck all about him when he arrived because I didnt have a clue who he was but am willing to bet I've now seen him play a lot more than you have. He's never looked a better player to me than Enrique. Thats how I'm judging him, the player he replaced.And he's had time to learn the game in this country now, same as Enrique. He played left back in Italy and am I right in saying actually for Italy? so its safe to say he's a left back. Theres loads of right footed left backs, Lamm being the best examaple, Stuart Pearce as well. If he's trying to make a career out of it perhaps you're right, its better he moves across,because at the moment he's nowhere near good enough to pull off what must be a very difficult task, but as I've tried to show here, he's a left back. True, he's not the only one who's playing poorly. But If you're not as good as the player you replaced you may well be one of the reasons why the whole team is going backwards.

See, you give with one hand and take with another We need 2 "purple" (for want of a better phrase) strikers, a young lad and a "Lovenkrands" type iyam. Just to be sure. But "just to be sure" isnt Ashley's style....his style is "aah fuck it maaate we'll get by wiv Shola...."

Whats CT said wrong now? For me Santon looks a good footballer but a poor defender...on the evidence provided so far he's nowhere near as good a defender as the Enrique that left us was, and its debateable if he's as good going forward. He does play better when Ben Arfa is in front of him though tbf.

Why are Swansea letting him go?....perhaps because he's like the Leon Best its ok to like as he's a Geordie?....27, bit old too...it's a no from me, and Mike probably...

Is it fair to say the side he was captain of in 2009 was on paper the most talented squad ever to be relegated since Sky invented football in 1992?...What a coloassall fuckin strap on that man is.

Newcastle: Krul; Perch, Williamson, Coloccini ©, Santon; Tiote, Anita; Cisse, Marveaux, Obertan; Shola Ameobi. Subs: Elliot, Ferguson, Tavernier, Abeid, Bigirimana, Sammy Ameobi, Ranger. Everton: Howard, Baines, Heitinga, Distin, Jagielka, Pienaar, Osman, Neville, Fellaini, Naismith, Jelavic. Subs: Mucha, Oviedo, Hitzlsperger, Anichebe, Gueye, Vellios, Duffy.

Shola starts!

Has he failed a medical by any chance?....or have his henchmen asked for an extra "sweetner" to help the deal across the line?

over to you CT.... we do need two strikers this window, but theres more chance of Lord Lucan riding Shergar to the moon and back than Ashley getting us what we need. But at least we'll be "wiping our own mouth"

No, but we've lost 4(?) strikers since the summer and not signed one. That sort of does suggest that the squad is being neglected, to say the least.

Aye, bit difficult when its a 15mill player you've got tio replcae with only 5mill profit "wiping our own mouth"

As we speak; senior strikers in the NUFC squad: Papiss Demba Cisse and Shola Ameobi "it'll give Adam Campbell good experiance, being involved in a relegation scrap"....

Its difficult, but the likes of Lyon stayed at the top table of European football for a decade on a budget dwarfed by the likes of Chelsea by making sure that when they let a player go they'd already had his replacement at the club for a good six months or so....its called planning

Would a deal to keep one player for 5 months really have sunk Ashley?... I doubt it.

Thats not to say that all players dont have a price. Thats just a fact of modern day football at virtually every club So its ok for Chelsea but not ok for the club who had a higher average gate than they did when we were in the championship? We're not allowed to try to keep our best talent? We're not allowed to try to control a dressing room full of egos? Sounds like you're happy with us not giving it a go. This is where Stevie's favourite subject "lack of ambition" comes in. Its why KK left in the huff. I don't know, I can see both sides,and appreciate our financial situation is somewhat different from Chelsea's, but am far from happy about it looking at where we are in the league.

We could have paid him and his agents off till the end of the season, say half a million, and then let him join anyone he likes...the player and his agents get more that way, and we stand a better chance of staying up. Looked at the league table lately? 5th bottom last time I looked...speculate to accumaulate they used to call it...

So the club seem have fought really hard to keep the second top scorer in the league In saying that, anyone couldve offered the 7.5million to get to speak to him... who pays the henchmen?...us, Chelsea,Demba?....

Me. I'm fuckin well saying it. Problem? Theres cunts in the media getting paid for this shit. I thought I'd give it a go

Aye, they dont have manager, they have coach, who picks the players he's provided with by his bosses. A lot of clubs do this now. Including ourselves. So theres a school of thought that Ba is being used as bait in a move for Falcao?...oh dear Is there anythng concrete about PSG's interest?...

HBA and Ronaldo arent given rigid and restrcitive roles for their clubs. They can play it as they see it most of the time. HBA has more defensive responsibilties at his club though so mainly stays wide. All this talk of a "no 10" is fairly irrelevent. If a team is sent out with one central striker playing in behind the other one you'll find that a lot of the width tends to come from fullback, and we know how good ours are at that. Say what you want about Santon, he's been fuckin awful lately, defensively poor and offensively fairly ineffective. Simpson is Simpson. Shite.

Dont we play 433?

To be fair, you havent. Youve got both Marveux and HBA in a sort of 3 "inside forward" line along with Demba Ba, the club's leading scorer and the second top scorer in England Then you have what appears to be a two man midfield...it would appear to be an approximation of.....well,as far as I can make out and funnily enough it looks to me like Terry Vanables's much-vaunted "Christmas Tree" formation which hasnt been played in the premier league by anyone....well anyone since TV himself employed it at Boro. For a couple of games. Southgate said the other players couldnt understand it , which is a bit ironic when you think about it....

Thats the decision Prdew has been bottling all season...he's been trying to keep his top strikers happy, which meant for a long time 442. As a result results have suffered. He's been hampered all season with injuries which in a way made it easy for him to persist with picking two "purples" when only is required for the one role in the team, assuming that it goes without saying that the best formation is 433. Marveux in front of HBA? Again, CT on the wind up.

Yes. Thank you for the Deano-esque diagram Feel free to pick the bones out of it if you wish....thats obviously if Ba leaves, if Ba stays, he starts every time.

play Obertan and HBA either side of Cisse when attacking they then make a 5 in the centre of the park when the opposistion are attacking either side of Tiote,Perch and Cabaye Perch sits at the base, protects the back 4 We play better with Perch in midfield this season, we keep posseison a lot more. And theres then pace either side of Cisse. Guti and Marveux to change the game from the bench.