Fitness Front: Gaffer Hoping For Triple Boost

[khay 8]

SAM Allardyce is hoping to be handed a triple defensive boost ahead of this weekend's game with bottom-of-the-table Derby County at St.James' Park.

 

The Toon gaffer was without Abdoulaye Faye (calf), Steven Taylor (hamstring) and Stephen Carr (hamstring) during Saturday's 1-0 win over Fulham.

 

But Big Sam is confident that the trio will be ready by the time Paul Jewell's Rams visit Tyneside on Sunday.

 

"Certainly, we'd hope to have Steven Taylor, and possibly Abdoulaye Faye and Stephen Carr, back," said Allardyce.

 

"We'll try to get them into training as quickly as we can, because the games are coming thick and fast. We've got four games in a 10-da y period, that we've got to cope with.

 

"That'll be a big push for those games, and with everybody fit, it'll help us get more points on the board. We need to get those players back into the selection process, and hopefully keep this run going."

 

Geordie centre-back Taylor was only ruled out of the Fulham game at the eleventh hour with Claudio Cacapa coming in after six weeks on the sidelines.

 

And the United boss was delighted with the performance of the Brazilian defender.

 

"Claudio had only played 45 minutes against Hartlepool in our friendly on Thursday," he added.

 

"We found out about Steven Taylor's hamstring that day, and that's why he only played 45 minutes.

 

"We only did that as a precaution, because we thought Steven would be alright.

 

"He got through 90 minutes with his experience and quality of defending, and I'm glad to say he's made it look pretty easy.

 

"I hope he continues on from here. He's a been a big miss."

 

.co.uk

[Dr Gloom 20000]

stephen carr? whoop-de-fucking-do.

 

i thoguht duff might be close to a return. a fit and on form duff is someone we could really do with having back in the squad, especially given that he hasn't been either in his two seasons at the club.

[khay 8]

stephen carr? whoop-de-fucking-do.

 

i thoguht duff might be close to a return. a fit and on form duff is someone we could really do with having back in the squad, especially given that he hasn't been either in his two seasons at the club.

 

 

Woop-de-fucking-do we are losing Beye/Faye/Geremi in about two weeks who can all play right back.

[Jusoda Kid 1]

Would rather see Taylor at right back than Carr who imo is reckless and has the positional sense of a runaway barrel

[Guest alex]

Would rather see Taylor at right back than Carr who imo is reckless and has the positional sense of a runaway barrel

Just like Taylor at RB then.

[Jusoda Kid 1]

I know Taylor can be reckless but at least he's mobile enough to sometimes recover his mistakes and can actually pass a ball, all attributes Carr no longer possesses in his locker

[Guest alex]

I was being a bit facetious but we're in trouble if either of them have to play many games there. Plus I think Taylor will be needed if the middle with Faye being away too.

[Jusoda Kid 1]

TBH I'm not Taylor's biggest fan at RB or CD, it doesn't bode well.

 

In fact I might as well just come out and say it, I think our whole team is made up of shite other than the Zog. Him and Given I suppose are about our only above average players at the moment

 

Or should I rephrase this as about the only player in our squad that can excite me on the pitch?

Edited December 17, 2007 by Wacky Jnr

[Guest alex]

I don't rate Taylor either. He'd be struggling to make the bench imo if everyone was fit and available.

[toontoasey 0]

Its good that most of our players are fit again considering the track record we have with injuries.

[Tooj 17]

I know Taylor can be reckless but at least he's mobile enough to sometimes recover his mistakes and can actually pass a ball, all attributes Carr no longer possesses in his locker

Can he pass a ball though? His distribution is woeful IMO, all he does is punt it long as he doesn't actually have the technical ability to play it out from the back.

[Jusoda Kid 1]

I know Taylor can be reckless but at least he's mobile enough to sometimes recover his mistakes and can actually pass a ball, all attributes Carr no longer possesses in his locker

Can he pass a ball though? His distribution is woeful IMO, all he does is punt it long as he doesn't actually have the technical ability to play it out from the back.

 

 

Even that assessment still makes him a better passer than Carr.

 

 

Jesus Wept we really are a load of shite, I've got to stop thinking about it.

[Dr Gloom 20000]

TBH I'm not Taylor's biggest fan at RB or CD, it doesn't bode well.

 

In fact I might as well just come out and say it, I think our whole team is made up of shite other than the Zog. Him and Given I suppose are about our only above average players at the moment

 

Or should I rephrase this as about the only player in our squad that can excite me on the pitch?

 

 

as always, we look half decent on paper but ultimately we underachieve. it's been like this since sir bobby and imo reflects the quality of manager we've had since he was sacked.

 

look at our squad now (on paper) and you'd expect us to be doing far better than we actually are. sadly it seems that players seem to lose either their talent or their motivation when thet

[Guest alex]

I fail to see how we should be doing much better than we are. The squad isn't very good. We're about par for the players we have; in terms of league position anyway, if not performances.

[trophyshy 6441]

I fail to see how we should be doing much better than we are. The squad isn't very good. We're about par for the players we have; in terms of league position anyway, if not performances.

 

over 25000 posts man. Is this your job?

[Guest alex]

Effectively

[Dr Gloom 20000]

I fail to see how we should be doing much better than we are. The squad isn't very good. We're about par for the players we have; in terms of league position anyway, if not performances.

 

compare the likes of:

 

owen

martins

duff

viduka

emre

milner

n'zogbia,

butt

given

 

and others, plus the number of coveted players we've had at the club in recent yearsd who've now moved on, to the squads of most of the teams that have finished above us in recent years and i think you'll find we've under-achieved.

 

we consistently beat teams like pompey, everton, blackburn etc to the signatures of big players in the transfer windows and most of their fans covet a lot of our players....until they sign for us when they seem to turn shit overnight. whether that's because of poor management, poor fitness coaching or whther we are signing players who only turn up for their wages, i don't know. but something's up.

 

we are underachieving and have been since sbr left

[Guest alex]

I fail to see how we should be doing much better than we are. The squad isn't very good. We're about par for the players we have; in terms of league position anyway, if not performances.

 

compare the likes of:

 

owen

martins

duff

viduka

emre

milner

n'zogbia,

butt

given

 

and others, plus the number of coveted players we've had at the club in recent yearsd who've now moved on, to the squads of most of the teams that have finished above us in recent years and i think you'll find we've under-achieved.

 

we consistently beat teams like pompey, everton, blackburn etc to the signatures of big players in the transfer windows and most of their fans covet a lot of our players....until they sign for us when they seem to turn shit overnight. whether that's because of poor management, poor fitness coaching or whther we are signing players who only turn up for their wages, i don't know. but something's up.

 

we are underachieving and have been since sbr left

You're the one who constantly moans about (along with everything else) there being no creativity in midfield and yet you're saying at the same time we should be doing much better than we are. You're that obsessed with complaining about everything that you don't even realise the contradiction.

[Dr Gloom 20000]

I fail to see how we should be doing much better than we are. The squad isn't very good. We're about par for the players we have; in terms of league position anyway, if not performances.

 

compare the likes of:

 

owen

martins

duff

viduka

emre

milner

n'zogbia,

butt

given

 

and others, plus the number of coveted players we've had at the club in recent yearsd who've now moved on, to the squads of most of the teams that have finished above us in recent years and i think you'll find we've under-achieved.

 

we consistently beat teams like pompey, everton, blackburn etc to the signatures of big players in the transfer windows and most of their fans covet a lot of our players....until they sign for us when they seem to turn shit overnight. whether that's because of poor management, poor fitness coaching or whther we are signing players who only turn up for their wages, i don't know. but something's up.

 

we are underachieving and have been since sbr left

You're the one who constantly moans about (along with everything else) there being no creativity in midfield and yet you're saying at the same time we should be doing much better than we are. You're that obsessed with complaining about everything that you don't even realise the contradiction.

 

honestly, what are you talking about? our 'creative' players haven't performed in a toon shirt. that's my point. don't you get it? the likes of duff, emre etc (who all looked decent creative players for their former clubs), have failed to reproduce that form while at nufc. that's not me moaning for the sake of it. it's an undeniable fact.

 

it seems that you have taken to disagreeing with me at every opportunity recently which is slightly strange given that i'm always right about everything.

[Guest alex]

No just thought you were talking shite. We're in jsut about the right position for our squad imo. You reckon we should be doing 'far better' which I finsd strange given the teams above us seem to have better squads and first XIs in general. If Duff and Emre are underperforming they've been doing it for about 5 seasons so it should come as little surprise.

[tinofbeans 87]

Fact, every single player we have playing for us is inconsistent at best.

for my money we need better players in every single position on the park if we are to get in the champions league in my opinion.

 

also every single one needs better motivation, because a lot of performances this season have been by unmotivated players.

 

i will say the zog has been the player i rate highest so far this season, alongside milner (who never gives up).... the rest need a rocket...

[nufc4ever 0]

You're the one who constantly moans about (along with everything else) there being no creativity in midfield and yet you're saying at the same time we should be doing much better than we are. You're that obsessed with complaining about everything that you don't even realise the contradiction.

 

See Monkey, N.

[Dr Gloom 20000]

No just thought you were talking shite. We're in jsut about the right position for our squad imo. You reckon we should be doing 'far better' which I finsd strange given the teams above us seem to have better squads and first XIs in general. If Duff and Emre are underperforming they've been doing it for about 5 seasons so it should come as little surprise.

 

i would say personally that the duff of 3 seasons ago when he was flying with chelsea was a a far better player than he has been for us so far. ditto for emre when he was a highly rated creative midfielder for inter. both have been massive letdowns for us.

 

the list is endless tbh. who could argue that most of our big signings of the last few years have arrived with big reputations but have underachieved with us compared with their previous clubs? we're talking about players that we've beaten a lot of our rivals to sign here.

 

i remember when we signed players like duff, owen, parker, emre and many more, fans of spurs, everton etc being pretty gutted that they missed out on them to us. but maybe they're all right and these players only come to us for the money, hence the perennial underachivement of highly rated players.

[Baggio 0]

Emre has never been a creative player, his role has always been a similar role to what Geremi plays in midfield for us in that he sits in midfield and helps shift the ball about, why he doesn't start in front of Geremi I'll never know as he's a far better player.

[Guest alex]

You're arguing about something different now although I don't agree with your assessment of Emre in particular. I'll quote you to maje it easier:

"look at our squad now (on paper) and you'd expect us to be doing far better than we actually are."

I disagree with that completely. What makes you think we're that good 'on paper.' Now, I mean. Since you were also talking about now and that's the bit I took issue with.