Noelie

He's been putting in some good shifts and I hope he keeps on doing it. I wasn't too happy with him in the beginning as I thought he was a Pardew pet signing. If he keeps on improving Krul might find it difficult to get his spot back, and McClaren might be reluctant to drop him.

What started out like it was going to be a cake-walk turned out to be a bit of a nail-biter in the 2nd half. Wijnaldum is top of the class. Mitrovic is at the bottom. Shelvey was brill in the first half but faded a bit in the second. Colo was a jewel on the Tyne again. Well earned 3 points and if we continue to play like that we'll get enough to stay up and more. Wot the fuck does McClaren see in Gouffran??

Wot does it mean Mr. Fish,, some sort of angle?

Elliot Janmaat Mbemba Colo Mbabu(if he's fit otherwise Dummett) Saivet Shelvey Sissoko Gini DeJong Mitrovic This is what I would like to see start.

Can't fault or question Brolly-boy's starting line-up but I sure can question his putting Gouffran and Toney ahead of DeJong. Putting DeJong on for 2 minutes of stoppage time was definitely a master stroke!! The lads played well today and I give credit to Colo who played his heart out(stand up and cheer you Colo slaggers) Sissoko was his usual self, caused them problems and gave up the ball too many times. Certainly looked like a team today who should at least be mid-table, not in the bottom three.

Watching those highlights, we should have won easily but we can't put the chances away time after time.

Brolly-boy relentlessly keeps playing almost the same team every week win or lose, and we mostly lose. He doesn't seem to have any imagination on how to put his best players out there in their best positions. Only new face today was Mbabu, and again wasting the talent of DeJong by keeping him as a bench warmer for too long. McClaren has been given enough time to produce a team of value out of some obviously talented individual players but he just doesn't seem up to the task. I think he needs to be replaced now before he takes us to a lower tier.

Hoy Trooper, isn't Billy Elliot the tu-tu wearer?

I'm more than disappointed, I thought that with all the 'behind the scenes' so-called activity, as soon as the window opened a new player would walk through the door with the stroke of a pen.

This is what I would like to see start. Darlow (he needs a confidence boost after his faux pas) Janmaat Mbemba Colo Mbabu (he needs the opportunity to show he's better than Dummett) Tiote Sissoko Wijnaldum Thauvin (he needs to be given a chance after his impressive cameo appearances) DeJong (he will get better if given playing time instead of bench time) Mitrovic (he needs the experience) I think Sissoko is being played out of position but he seems to have a good passing relationship with Janmaat down that right side. I think Perez needs to be jolted a bit, he has a habit of becoming anonymous during games sparked with flashes of brilliance.

It was there to be won, heartbreaking loss. The winning chances were there to be taken but alas they weren't. Thauvin was impressive while he was on and certainly didn't look lightweight. Mitrovic not doing his job as a goal scorer unfortunately. It was a surprising performance, I thought we would get hammered.

Good idea Ant, no sense in ploughing money into something that will eventually end up in the tip. More better to donate to a charity Pav supported.

Sir nCzech. R.I.P. bonnie lad, once a Geordie always a Geordie.

Full marks to McClaren for inserting Thauvin into the fray with 5 minutes left of 90, just like he did on Saturday. Full marks to Darlow for letting in a stoppable shot. Full marks to ME for optimistic dreaming, and suffering for it. Full marks to Jesus who's not weeping, his tear ducts have dried up from continuous use..

Well at least there's one change to a losing team FFS.

Me, I would try with this starting line-up: Elliott Janmaat Mbemba Colo Mbutu Sissoko Colback Gini Thauvin DeJong Perez Or perhaps Tiote instead of Colback. Dummett Anita Mitrovic Darlow

He probably wasn't but I might have been.

Two things niggling me are the paired performances of Dummett and McClaren. (1) Dummett in my eyes is looking more and more like Wilson(alright Simpson). While he is jockeying players he's too far away from them to put in a tackle, giving them time and space to maneuver, and he's always backing-up just like Simpson did, allowing them to move closer in. He's just not a good enough full-back. He doesn't offer enough quality or purpose in a defending role, and does little in an attacking mode. (2) It should be obvious to McClaren that Dummett is a weak link yet he persists in playing him and not giving Mbutu a shot at the left-back position. We've seen what Mbutu can do and had it not been for an injury we would have probably seen more of him after his display against Chelsea. With the absence of Cisse I can't understand the reasoning as to why McClaren would drop DeJong who was beginning to improve and show us something.

Back into the bottom 3 where we belong if we keep putting in woeful performances. Master stroke by McClaren, putting Thauvin in with 4 minutes left of 90 was absolutely brilliant strategy. Why McClaren didn't put some fresh legs in I'll never know. We never looked like winning but we could have if we had netted the chances we had. Bad marks for Mitrovic. Elliott was brilliant until his last attempt to keep them out. I believed we had the 1 point in the bag which kept us out of the basement. People have been crying out for Perez & Mitrovic to start ........ it didn't work did it..... DeJong should have started or played some part. I have serious questions about Brolly-boy's ability as a coach and team selector.

Jesus fucking wept!

Get DeJong and Tiote on there McClaren. Perez isn't doing much. Get Mbubu on for Dumbett brolly-boy.

I hope not, but I can see us losing this one. I can see us back in the bottom 3 if Swansea pulls off a win and we do lose. I hope McClaren exhibits some smarts and puts the right players out there. I'd be inclined to put Tiote out there instead of Anita, stay with DeJong, and start either Perez or Mitrovic. Elliott Janmaat Mbemba Colo Mbutu Tiote Colback Sissoko DeJong Gini Mitrovic

On thinking about it, in the second half Villa were most dangerous down Dummett's side of the field. They had practically free rein down that side and the crosses were plentiful and causing lots of problems. Dummett was caught out of position too many times and had no answer for their forays. In retrospect, perhaps Brolly-boy should have perhaps yanked Dummett and put in fresh legs in the shape of Mbabu who could have perhaps closed that wing down. Sissoko has been getting plaudits for his recent performance, but today he gets none from me. The passing partnership of him and Janmaat was just not working, too many giveaways.

Thank fuck that is over! Thank fuck we got a point!! Thank fuck we didn't lose!!! Minutes into the second half I reconciled myself to the fact we were gonna lose. Villa took possession of the game and coped with the ground conditions better than we did. It was obvious they wanted the points more than we did. We were like a bunch of wet blankets.

Talk about a birthday present........I can't fucking believe we won!! When they scored I thought it was all over.......if it hadn't been for Elliott it would have been. Did you see Ashley all exited, hugging his puppet. Wasn't he a Spurs supporter?