In a scintillating first half display, Newcastle played their best football since the Arsenal game, but after a lot of the play the score is still 0-0 at half time. Stoke City are still right in this game.
The game has been played at a fast pace by Newcastle and the team has looked good and has played some good flowing football at times.
But we haven’t converted our superiority into any goals although Shay Given hasn’t really had a shot to save in the first half.
Duff on the right and N’Zogbia on the left are causing plenty of trouble for the Stoke defense, and Jose Enrique looks what he is at left back – a strong committed player. We need to see a lot more of this boy starting games.
On this performance there isn’t much wrong with this Newcastle side, who have taken it to Stoke from the first whistle. Michael Owen had a great chance to open the scoring after 26 minutes when he was clean through but his lob was just stopped by goalkeeper Simonsen.
Simonsen also saved Stoke on a couple of other occasions from from Charles N’Zogbia with some of his left-foot power shots. Charles is looking very dangerous on the left wing.
Newcastle have kept the game at a very fast pace, but they have to keep up the pressure in the second half and a single goal could be enough to see Newcastle through to the next round.
They have certainly been the better side in the first half of an excellent game.
Stoke City: Steve Simonsen, Andy Wilkinson, Ryan Shawcross, Leon Cort, Carl Dickinson, Liam Lawrence, John Eustace (c), Danny Pugh, Richard Cresswell, Mamady Sidibe, Ricardo Fuller
Subs: Russell Hoult, Gabriel Zakuani, Anthony Pulis, Jon Parkin, Vincent Pericard
Newcastle United: Shay Given, David Rozehnal, Jose Enrique, Abdoulaye Faye, Steven Taylor, Alan Smith (c), Nicky Butt, Charles N’Zogbia, Damien Duff, Mark Viduka, Michael Owen
Subs: Steve Harper, Claudio Cacapa, David Edgar, Andy Carroll, Kazenga LuaLua
Loading ...
104 responses so far ↓
1 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:02
Defence looking really good….Faye brilliant….Zog and Enrique looking very good down the left….Roz looking a little confused in RB position.
Duff and Zog looking good on wings going forward but need more crosses into the box for Owen and Vid as the CMs are very poor and providing no shots at goal or through balls to run on to.
Viduka looking OK, but not at 100% for some reason. Owen picked up as the game went on and should be good in 2nd half.
Sub suggestions - definitely get Smith or Butt (preferably Smith) off at half time and get either Lua Lua or Edgar on. Carroll for Viduka at perhaps 60 or 70 mins. Perhaps Cacapa on for Roz with Taylor switching to RB.
Man Of The First Half - no doubt that Faye gets it…he’s looked very strong and seems to pick up all the runs. Enrique a close second.
Just started though and no subs at half time. Smithy needs to pick his game up…and quick!!
2 Steve_48 // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:09
Come on man Ed, just typed something in and getting : This Account Has Exceeded Its CPU Quota
Happening more often, thing you need to tinker with the site’s mechanics a little…
3 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:10
Ed - I wouldnt really say it was scintillating….we had the upper hand but they held themselves well.
Second half should be better though as they’;; be looking to sneak in on the break and we will hopefully counter.
4 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:12
lualua
5 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:13
OWEN WDF, SUPERBOY LUALUA WOULD HAVE SCORED THAT!
6 ObaFan2 // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:13
omg no luck……..
7 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:13
How the hell did we not just score!!!!!!!!!!!???????????? Taylor and Owen needed the smallest of touches and it would have went in!!
8 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:14
alan smith fk off, lualua, lualua
so good they kind of named him twice.
9 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:15
Smithy and Butt getting worse and worse! Oh dear….Sam, please replace one of them!!!
10 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:17
Duff and Zog swapping wings now….should be interesting…hmmmm!!
Cancel that, BBC speaking tosh!
11 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:17
.
12 Steve_48 // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:18
Need “something extra” in midfield, something creative….
13 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:21
lualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualualua
14 JoshI // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:22
yer smith gotta go off.
15 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:22
ahaha their sub looks like a bear.
16 JoshI // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:22
bloody hell parkin looks like a caveman!
17 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:22
Feckin’ hell….who’s the fat chuff that Stoke are bringing on! He looks like a right yeti!!
18 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:23
wdf
19 JoshI // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:23
shittin hell!!!!
20 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:24
Holy shite! The caveman just nearly scored!! Taylor just saved our skins!!
21 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:24
maybe horses are the way forward, bring lualua on
22 Steve_48 // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:25
FFS
23 Hadrian // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:25
i see an upset comming , and i hope it ends with sam;s job .
24 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:25
LUA LUA ON NOW!!!! They are starting to over run us big style! Smith off….Sam, dont ruin your decent squad selection by being to stubborn to take your captain off!
25 JoshI // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:26
Smith is shit, why is he playing, Butts miles better.
26 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:30
yes lualua is coming on!
27 Gallacher_the_Horse // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:30
LuaLua on! Too cool!
28 JoshI // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:31
LUALUA!!!
29 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:32
Lua Lua coming on….hopefully for Smith.
Sam - this isnt time to be stubborn! The last thing you need now with people away at ACN is a replay especially after whinging about fixture congestion over Xmas!!!
Aaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh…….DUFF off for Lua Lua!!! What the hell is Sam thinking!?!?!?!
30 JoshI // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:32
shite… we are fecking lucky!
31 Gallacher_the_Horse // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:32
Who says SA isn’t positive! It’s as if us fans have had an effect!
32 Callum // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:32
lol Duff off for LuaLua.. joke
33 Hadrian // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:33
big sam out
34 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:33
I swear down Sam - if we lose this because you were too stubborn to replace your crappy captain I will never forgive you….EVER!!!
35 Gallacher_the_Horse // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:34
Hey, Smith is Mike Ashley’s captain - whose shirt does MA wear!?
36 matthewjai // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:35
why the hell is viduka still on the pitch!
37 Gallacher_the_Horse // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:35
Blimey, what a cup tie!
38 Steve_48 // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:35
It was a spare one in the club shop’s bargain bin
39 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:36
Our CM is completely ineffective! As soon as they break we have no-one who is willing to challenge them! Also, when we get the ball it has to go up the wings or we get nowt!
40 Gallacher_the_Horse // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:36
I’m going to be bidding for a seat at the replay if there is one! Anyone want to sell their ticket?!
41 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:37
Gallacher - he’s still shit!
42 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:38
lualua to win it - bicycle kick from the halfway line.
43 JoshI // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:39
Yer Smith is awful in midfield.
44 Gallacher_the_Horse // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:39
Hey, Steve_48, MA sent his £50 down for the shirt, so Smith must have kudos! We are soaking all Stoke can give and we are the underdogs!
45 Hadrian // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:39
replay at sjp on the way . we fielded a full strength squad tonight , not like the other prem teams that got caught out .
46 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:39
Well we’ve seen some good individual performances and the game has looked better than previous attempts, but this still isnt good enough. If this was Man Utd, I hate to say it, but we’d have been annihalated.
We havent been able to push that extra 10% in this second half to get anything!
Another game (so far) where we havent scored….needs much more work from the CMs.
47 Gallacher_the_Horse // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:41
D’y'know what we’ve hit every expecation! We are the better team! Shout for the lads you buggers!!!!
48 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:42
pass to lualua ffs him n zog are the only ones wh have goodtouches in the midfield.
49 ToonUSA // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:42
Where is the lil MO
50 Hadrian // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:43
better team my arse , what game u watching? if anything stoke should be leading with th chances they missed .
51 Steve_48 // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:43
Steeley I think you made the comment earlier about running outa steam in final 3rd of the play, defence has been good, apart from the howler earlier, good midfield and wing play, but attackers have been let down. we look knackered but then it has been p*ssing down for 86 minutes now which is bound to take it outa their legs. Still it’s not like it’s a killer game next …
52 Gallacher_the_Horse // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:43
Never mind MO, I wish I was there! I’d have more effect!
53 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:43
lualua, not bad, should play centre attacking mid
54 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:44
fk off this little c**t is coming on
55 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:45
Carroll on far too late
56 Callum // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:46
I thought Enrique was nicknamed ‘The Bull’ because of his hard tackling? I havent seen one tackle from him so far and a few 50-50 balls, hes pulled out of them.
57 Drago // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:46
terrible performance again
58 Gallacher_the_Horse // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:47
Hey, Hadrian, I’m the sort of ‘rose coloured spectacles’ supporter that follow the toon for the last 45 years. Maybe I can’t see the truth now!
59 Callum // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:48
Rozenhal is just pure shite
60 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:48
only plus point of this gme is getting lualua on and him having a few good touches.
its clear the main thing we need is creativity from the centre.
61 matthewjai // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:49
why the hell is butt always trying to hit the plane with the ball?
62 Callum // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:50
lua lua should have shot instead of butt
carroll was just a bit slow reacting to that shot
63 matthewjai // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:50
carroll and lualua is just the bright point of this game
64 Callum // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:51
Oh right - We coem alive in the 89th minute - Just 89 minutes to late
65 thelongshanks // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:51
butt is crap!!!!!!
66 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:51
Hadrian, I agree. From really good chances today it would have been 2-1 to Stoke had it not been for either teams great defending.
To sum, I think we have finally seen a bloody good defensive showing today….typical that bloody Faye is heading off to ACN now
Wings looked good with Duff and Zog, but hopefully the rst will do Milner some good and h will return on right.
Team spirit has looked better today, but I think we have been let down by our CM, no doubt about it. They have played defensively again, when all we needed was someone in CM who would push forward when needed to stop it going stagnant in the middle.
Strikers have been OK, but both looked rusty and I think Owen should sharpen up soon. Good to see LuaLua and Carroll (who just missed a chance to put us through to 4th round!).
Best player today has no doubt at all been Faye….amazing performance. Another positive has been Enrique who played rally well and will surely start all or future matches at LB.
Better, but still not good enough Sam…especially against Stoke. More positive play needed, and we will be tested by non other than Man Utd next….hmmmm..
67 Gallacher_the_Horse // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:51
Crap pitch, crap opposItion, crap chances to win. If we don’t stuff them at the replay (oooh, it’s their cup final) I’ll eat my horse’s crap, with pictures!
68 Hadrian // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:54
birmingham 5 newcastle 1
69 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:54
I think what hurts the most is that its been another blank scoresheet for us….is the FA Cup not meant to bring out some brilliant entertaining games? So many boring games from this round so far!
70 Steeley // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:57
Could Garth Crooks have been any more desperate for Stoke to have won that match?? Chump!
71 Greg P // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:57
No central midfield and to be fair Roz isn’t a RB, he’s rubbish there. Also Carrol isn’t even a championship player. Good to see young Lua, looked a good player.
Fair result and some promise, but we need a central midfielder and Owen needs to adjust his game otherwise he’ll never get the ball with the way Sam plays
72 geordie_jordan // Jan 6, 2008 at 19:58
butt is not the problem. he is doing his job. it’s just having sam play 2 dm, smith and butt, made our mf looks like poo. plus, smith=crap. what does he do???????? lua lua looked nice! and young carroll played decently in limited minutes. also looked like he had some fire!
73 ToonUSA // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:02
I hear your points on the CM there were a few times when Smith lost the ball and put the defense in precarious position. however i think the bigger problem is the forwards, they didn’t do shit, didn’t hold the ball and always got beat by the Stoke defenders. How are they supposed to beat Prem defenders if this all they can do against a Championship defense. Oh and one more thing MO needs to hit the weight room or something cause he might as well wear a skirt out there.
74 Hadrian // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:03
well , ive nothing good to say about us . i still want the manager sacked a proper appointment made for a change ,
ive cross ed the line , you got to ask yourself when does sacking the manager seem more appealing than sticking with him .
he was never the right appointment from the start , brought in to handle injurys and wheel and deal to hide the debt , the manager should have changed when out situation did .
75 JJ // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:05
Wow our central midfield is pathetic, completely outplayed by Stoke. We have gotta have the worst CM pairing in the league in Smith and Butt.
Faye and Taylor definately our best CD pairing.
Beye will be missed at RB and Enrique can grow at LB with time, maybe even Rozenhal (left footer).
Duff, Milner and Zog look good on the wings. But upfront and in CM we have a real problem.
Sell Owen, sell Smith, sell Ameobi and sell Emre.
Buy Arshavin and Gilberto. And get Dean Ashton up front.
———————–Given—————————-
Beye——–Taylor————Faye——–Rozenhal
Duff——–Gilberto———-Arshavin—-N’Zogbia
—————-Ashton———Martins—————–
Subs: Harper, Casapa, Milner, Viduka, Barton.
Then I’ll be happy.
76 Mac // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:05
Alot of good prem sides went out to championship opposition yesterday,liverpool were very lucky to get a draw and so were we. This is the FA cup folks we’re still in the draw tomorrow. Good points Faye and Taylor at the back,Enrique looked very good, both wings looked better and more balanced even though Charles didn’t have a particularly good game the kids coming on and Owen and Viduka getting a game under there belts. Rozental looked awful and i mean awful i think he could be Sams worst buy,Get rid of him i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again we need creativity in the middle of the park. Come on Cashley back your manager and lets get someone in SOON
77 steve // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:05
first half we were ok, but that was due to them sitting back and defending which gave our defenders & midfield a lot of time on ball, as soon as they started attacking us in second half we looked ropey to say the least.
Faye , Taylor looked good, Enrique ok, Butt and Smith in the middle just does not work and Sam needs to sort this out asap, unfortunately it looks like Smith will never get dropped or subbed despite playing like a non league player!
Please don’t do a brum in the replay
78 Hadrian // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:06
mac , all other good prem sides fielded reserves and squad players , we put our best team out tonight
79 ToonKing // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:07
bloody hell…….i’m in shock……someone pls shoot Butt, i don’t think he gave one good pass today. CM was inexistent.
Enrique was good at defending but he can’t pass, after seeing this i can completely agree with Sam as to playing Zog at LB.
We were lucky today. We need midfielders and fast. Owen was screaming for the ball at the feet while Smithy and Butt were spraying long balls all over except to the target. Even Zog and Duff were decent at best today and Viduka was tits.
If it wasn’t for Taylor and Faye we would have lost today, great performances by both of them especially Faye.
Lua Lua looked good though.
This replay is just what we needed…..
, i’m terribly disappointed.
80 Mac // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:09
Hadrian Liverpool couldn’t have played a stronger team Everton don’t have a reserve team and Blackburn only had 1 or 2 first team players missing and none of them played a team as strong as we did
81 Bosck // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:10
i’ve been a supporter of smith but him and butt in midfield were shambolic today as was rozenhal on the right. butt lost possession countless times on the edge of their area taking stupid shots that went nowhere near the goal, should have brought the ball down and played a pass, and smith almost set up stokes winner by handing over the ball on halfway and not challenging the runner when he actually got back.
all we needed to do today was what stoke did. pick u the ball in the centre and run at the defence down the centre.
I know a lot of people dont like the idea of nolan signing but that is exactly what he will do, drive straight at the opposition defence putting them under pressure.
82 Hadrian // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:11
saying liverpool could field a stronger team when gerrard and torres were out is crazy
83 Mac // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:14
Gerrard and Torres both have injuries,So liverpool could not field a stronger side
84 Srky // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:17
Butt was forced to shoot few times because, it seems to me, others are afraid to shoot a fking ball on the goal. Why!!!!??? We enter in the box and no one has balls to shoot. Stupid! It seems that boys doesn’t know that you can’t score if you don’t shoot!
85 Andreas // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:19
Mac, a creative midfielder would be sweet, however they problem is that SA wants Nolan and in addition he will not drop Smith/Butt so in reality it doesn’t matter what we want.
Non-existant signings of creative players is not a cash problem I reckon, it’s more a manager problem (i.e. Arshavin would be a excellent buy at 6-8 mil but instead we’re linked with bloody Nolan for 6 mil).
Well regarding the match, say no more - we could easily have lost this game (based on clear chances). I reckon the replay will be a dull draw ET PEN (at best).
NOTE: I don’t think Nolan is a crap player, but I don’t think he’s worth 6 mil and I do think e.g. Arshavin is quite superior player in comparison.
86 shearer 4 pm // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:20
who hates alan hanson???????????????????
yes or yes what a complete nonce,
he knoes nufin unless its about his beloved liverpool, same with lawrenson
get them off the box
whos with me????????????????????????????
87 Leo // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:20
was agony to watch. i almost left the room when we took duff off for lua lua, fair enough bring the young lad on but for butt or smith or owen…
bad decision making, also why does he smirk so much at the crowd, its almost like he is trying to undermine us all.
i think maybe he had a pie eating compo at half time with his team, because the motd team all had their ties undone after half time, you know squeeze just one more in lads before you go out, thats what we did at bolton
88 Ben // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:21
Is Alan SHearer actually a geordie…if he is stick up for the toon!Outplayed my arse!owen had two very good chances, carroll hit the post…viduka tested the goalie a few times and butt tried to shoot on more then one occasion!back 4 bar rozenhal who was out of position looked very good given the type of play stoke tried, lua lua looked very good on the ball and is definately one for the future!think emre has had his chances,nolan in would give us a more solid base and goals…arsharvin to replace barton if he gets sent down….lua lua and duff plus n’zogbia’s good displays puts the pressure on milner to perform…ENRIQUE looked good and showed hes not scared to have a go at the big internationals we have,owen, when theres nothing on in front of him!
89 carl // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:27
we were outplayed most of the time ,shit performance, smith was shit and butts passing was like a schoolboys.stoke had more determination,better movement than us.yes we could of grabbed it late on but stoke should of scored.mort and ashley need to get moving in the market
90 Davey G // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:28
Alan Smith is overrated Shite, always has been always will be!!!
Where are the Smith defenders now eh? They wont be able to justify that performance from their golden boy who “gives 110%” everygame….a la Robbie savage, and the rest of the clueless headless chickens in this league!!!
91 deano // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:29
butt and smith just not good enough
we need two class att mid to sort us out
menez swap emre+cashto go through next week
good player
92 Hammy // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:33
Faye and Taylor men of the match, Roz very nervy, Zog started well but faded, Duke Shite,
no service for MO, Duff busy, Enrique great long passing short passes not so hot, Butt and Smith utter shite…..Given O.K
LuaLua will never play for the Toon again running 50 yards with the ball at your feet and beating three players just isn’t on…..
93 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:33
all in all i am happy to still be in the cup, stoke played their hearts out and put us under pressure for periods but we held on and we’re not out yet which the main thing.
enrique looked good, duff seemed to add some spark at periods that we’ve been missing and also played with much more intelligence than zog. duff for me has to be the first choice on the left. i wonder whether a top quality right midfielder shouldnt be something to look at getting.
the main problem which most people have pointed out is our centre mids, neither had a particularly bad game its just they were both trying to do exactly the same job and basically followed each other around. more often than not they would both drop deep to get the ball from the defense and then there was no link up to the top two other than passing wide or hoofing it over the top. i would like to see a more attacking minded cm in there, hopefully one who has the eye for an incisive pass, but mostly one who will make the advanced runs and create a better link with the attackers as well as stretching the oppositions midfield. you could see with neither wanting to get too far forward it was easy for them to double up on zog and duff.
alot of people are asking for emre to get a game in the centre, but if you remember more often than not he drops deep as well to get the ball and almost never makes advanced runs. a barton or dare i say it nolan figure would work well i think.
for me motm for us has to be one of the centre backs, probably faye. but alot of positives to be taken. duff getting better, owen starting and finishing a game which can only help him get back to his deadly self, enrique looking solid, our centre backs having a very good game and NO INJURIES!
i dont post on here much but often read other peoples thoughts posted and im sorry this is a bit of a marathon post. i would like to say that i am definitely a supporter of sam even though yes we aren’t playing that well at the moment.
94 Leo // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:33
im not a smith supporter in the true sence, but i think its not fair playing him in midfield along side nicky butt, they were both going to the same balls and werent passing between eachother… they are too similar ffs
either play smith up front or play him along side emre in the middle…
95 Nick Dryden // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:35
Ed the ironic thing is that Sam wasn’t a million miles away today with some elements of that line up. But so very crucially holding us back is the continued presence of Smith in central midfield. Butt can not create anything and we can’t afford to carry 2 non playmaking CM’s. Maybe Lua Lua could be our new Dyer (hopefully without the injuries and being a total waster) in CM.
96 obafemimartins // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:35
the bbc broadcasted this match because it was meant to be a upset. surley us winning would have been the upset because most people expected stoke to win. only consolation is mackems losing. McShane for sunderland is always doing something wrong. watch motd because he always does something wrong when the mackems concede.
97 obafemimartins // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:38
Ed do you know if we have signed Wesly Ngo Baheng and Ben Tozer have signed yet. Why does everyone think Nolan is the mystery player when it hasnt actually been mentioned anywhere.
98 Tom Cairns // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:41
obafemimartins - i agree bout nolan, it is most prob just speculation from journalists who dont have an imagination to link sam with anyone other than his old players.
99 KevinHann // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:44
I noticed sir Bobby Robson was on the stands. Any known reason for his presence? I know, I know, it is a long shot, especially given his health issues, but yet?
100 obafemimartins // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:45
i think we could some decent players on loan to see if they actually perform on the pitch. enrique is the best example because he hasnt settled is another spaniard who cant play in the premier league
101 Leo // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:50
i thnk enrique has almost settled. he looks good. what did he do wrong?
102 Tom_Toon // Jan 6, 2008 at 20:56
nothing, just his passing was slightly off, quite solid defensively.
103 Jamie // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:02
Watched the whole game, we were looking good in places, and bad in others.
As has been said before - we cannot have smith and butt playing in central mid at the same time, it just doesn’t work. IMO Smith should be upfront with either Mark or Michael, not in mid. Michael wasn’t playing well, his touch and sharpness was missing for most of the match, Smith should have been pushed up front where he can ‘actually’ play well. But what really pleased me was the central defense and Enrique, all had very good games, espec the central pairing. We need more height in the side in the middle, so Nolan for me would be a decent signing, Martins when he returns should always play upfront, his pace is so much more useful than the hit or miss Viduka.
Anyone watch the Arsenal game? they were out played for long periods of the match but still won, why? because they defended excellent and had some creativity up front and was used to deadly affect twice for the Two goals.
We are not a million miles away like said, but a Gerrard esc midfield player is needing 110% as well as a settled pairing upfront - Id have liked to seen Fuller upfront for us today, bit of muscle Michael!!!
104 john // Jan 6, 2008 at 21:19
enrique had a good game are you taking the piss he was shit all ways out of position and doesnt get stuck in. they call him the bull that must stand for BULL SHIT
Leave a Comment