OTF

I honestly don't think Taylor will want to leave. As it is he'll be confident about us getting back into the Premier League next season. If he was to go to a top half of the premiership team he'd struggle to get a start. If he was to go to a bottom half side there's every chance he could be relegated again, so he'd much rather ride this season out with us and then face the prospect of relegation with us the following year (Not that I think we'll be relegated IF we are promoted - the power of positive thinking). Coloccini has been playing well this season and has his confidence back. At the start of last season for us he was quite decent, fell off horribly late in the season when his confidence was shot. Though confidence has nothing to do with his complete lack of pace..

USA aren't a bad side (evidenced by their results in the recent confederation cup in South Africa where they were 2-0 up over Brazil in the final, having beaten Spain in the semi). Also, from Pot 2 Australia would LOVE to draw England as their Pot 1 team. From pot 3 both Ghana and the Ivory Coast would be very tough opponents.

I'm surprised at the amount of support afforded to Harewood in this thread. He has for th emost part been pathetic for us, and has on several occassions prevented the likes of Nile Ranger (who is actually a Newcastle player) getting more valuable experience. [Larry David]Having said that, we have him already so we might as well hold onto him for the remainder of the season. With Ameobi being injury prone he may provide good cover late on in the season.[/Larry David]

Much more to it that just goals. You can't just look at the stats and say, hasn;t scored goals then he must be average. You have to actually see them play. So many other factors to consider. Sure, they should be capable of scoring goals, but it't not necessarily the be all end all. There will always be big strikers out there who's primary role is to break up and commit the defense in order to open up space for their teammates. These sort of strikers will rarely score more than 10 goals, as they're often playing back to goal and sometimes on their own.

Normally, based on a mixture of current seedings and recent Euros and WCs isn't it? Don't think the Euro form will figure in it (how could it really - because how could you compare a European side with say Argentina). This is how it was calculated for 2006: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_FIFA_World_Cup_seeding Speculation is that more or less the same formula will be used this time around. So it will be a combination of the rankings across the 3 years preceeding the World Cup (07, 08, 09) as well as the rank from the last two World Cups. If this was the case I'd say England will fall inside the first pot.

The biggest thing lacking from our side at the moment is pace. Watching some of the top half sides (Tottenham and Villa) they have players with natural pace (even on the ball). The players who are physically pacey are mentally quick and work well together. I also watched some of the mid to lower sides (Blackburn vs fulham) and there's not a huge difference between us and them. Sure there is some investment required, but I've said it before - any team coming coming up would be happy to have our squad as a basis to work from. The same naysayers who predicted we would be midtable in the championship think we will be cert's for delegation if we go up. Sure there is a huge gulf in quality between the championship and the majority of the premier league, but there's half a dozen sides that we'd be better than with just the smallest amount of investment. Whether or not we see that investment remains to be seen. We still would be a considerable draw card over many of the other sides in the premier league, so getting some decent players in should not be that hard a task.

Whilst Colocini was constantly found out the same is not true for Enrique. He took a little while to settle, however even during that period he was defensively quite good. Thereafter he grew defensively. He did occassionally turn the ball over playing long balls, but I'd argue that a large part of that was down to not having any options to pass to. So Enrique is definitely PL quality. Nolan is as well. He was for several years before falling off the wagon at Bolton. Danny Simpson would be fine in the premier league, but it remains to be seen whether he will be signed permanently. Smith could be ok in the premier league with someone creative alongside him, certainly better than Butt was for us last season. Carroll s developing nicely, but I wouldn't say that he's pl quality yet.

The 5M is bullshot. The rest is possibly true. He can leave for nothing in the summer, so they may try to sell him off now for a million. If they think they're going to get a million out of Ashley when he's already got the 'best defense' in the league they're having a joke. We'll no doubt try to sign in the summer, or get him here on loan now (if Sheffiedl don't want to keep paying the wages of a player who will be leaving) and then sign him permanently then.

We're a worse side than the one that was relegated, however I maintain that the same squad that was relegated in another season would have earnt enough points to finish comfortably mid-table. The relegation was down to several factors not the least of which was the management turmoil. In addition there was typically horrible injury problems (AKA injury prone players) and massive supporter unrest. I can confidently say* If the team we were relegated with was playing this season in the Championship they would be no chance to be relegated again if there was stable management. * - partly because there's no way to disprove it

Guthrie got a goal, but not an assist in the league cup (against Huddersfield).

Good on them.

Agree also, some quality crosses from Simpson - balance of placement and power and didn't waste any of them. We so obviously lacked width on the right from the midfield, so Simpson advancing was invaluable. Hopefully him coming off was entirely precautionary if he felt a twinge or something. Don't know anything about Pancrate but if he's a natural right midfielder/winger than he'll hopefully be given a chance. Guthrie has no pace, and plays much better through the centre of the park. Ryan Taylor is also not quick, and although he can put in a good cross he can't take on a defender and consequently won't even get in behind them. It was good to see Lovenkrands get on the pitch. He's apparently got no heart, but I still think he could prove to be a valuable player for us particularly in home matches.

Yep that was Ranger. A complete lack of communication (though he had not been on the pitch long). It was Jonas' best play of the game - a strong run down the left and a well placed pass into the path of a quickly advancing Danny Guthrie. It was a better chance than the Nolan goal with Guthrie having shown that he can really hit a shot. If I was Ranger I'd claim that the normal product on the end of a Jonas run is that poor that he though the pass was directed at him (even though he had to poke out a leg just to get a touch on it). Jonas can have no complaints though because he wasted an even better chance in injury time after Lovenkrands played him in, and had earlier completely fluffed a great chance to cut it in to Nolan directly in front 6 yards out after being played in nicely by Enrique. At any lengths we can thankfully forget entirely about that game now that the 3 points are in the bank.

I'm going, but will only be seeing three groups stage games with the teams as yet undecided. Will find out of the 4th of December when the draw takes place. I'll be seeing 6 different teams so here's hoping I see a few good ones amongst that bunch.

I'm down for it... if foreigners are allowed

Barton is a long way off the best player in any position. He has been an unmitigated disaster for us, of the Luque magnitude. Has been crap just about every single time that has played for us. I know he hasn't had a decent run in the side due to injury but that hardly works in his favour. He was once a very good midfielder, but hasn't been that for a long time. Otherwise I think Taylor is one of the better defenders in the League as is Coloccini. Enrique is the best player at the club, as he is a relatively complete package for a fullback in terms of physical attributes and ability. Nolan would be one of the best in the league in a behind the strikers role, with his impressive goal tally proving that. I agree 100% with LeazesMag about Gutierrez. He cops an unfair amount of criticism on here, as people fail to see where his true values lie. He certainly could improve his application and many other aspects of his game, but the key is that he offers a dimension that we're otherwise lacking. Noone else in the side can beat opposing players on the dribble, where-as Jonas does it over and over again. Next year in the premiership Harper, S Taylor, Coloccini, Enrique, Simpson*, Smith, Nolan, Jonas, Guthrie, Ameobi and R Taylor are all players that will do ok and have a fair bit of experience playing at the top level. Barton should be on that list, but that will remain to be seen after he returns from yet another injury. On top of that lot Carroll is developing nicely as is Ranger, and it appears as though Kadar will provide handy cover in defense. Lovenkrands has been disappointing this time around, although he has not had a great deal of chances. Krul looks to be an excellent option as backup for Harper and should not be far off eclipsing him. Vuckic has showed a great deal of promise, and although very young he could prove to be handy in the close of this season into next season. Whatever way you look at it that's a solid core of players that any team coming up from the Championship would be more than happy to start with. It's then all about the extra players that are bought on top of that group in order to raise the level of play to one where we're competing and can realistically finish mid-table. A first rate striker and a first rate winger should be the first players to be bought. In addition further defensive cover would be needed. It shouldn't be that hard a task - however with Ashley in charge what should be a simple task becomes a shitfight. * - Not our player And lets not forget lads, we still have Xisco out on loan! Incidently he's injured yet again!

Not many people know this, but he's an Argentine international.

And how the hell is Harewood starting? He's been rubbish (I hope I have egg on my face after the match, but can't see that being the case).

And no doubt he will be 'paying' himself for the rights to advertise his company till the end of the season in the manner that works out best for him (tax write-off etc).

TBH I thought he threw himself at a ball that was just out of reach. He didn't miss it, but couldn;t get to it. I'd rather he at least attempt to get to it, rather than stand there and watch it go past. Seeing him flying through the air must be at least a little off-putting for the other team. I was impressed that he didn't shy away from the physical encounters in the match. Previously he's always seemed like a light weight (but I guess that's not the csae, as he also got involved in some pushy shovies in pre-season if I recall correctly - probably sick of people staring in awe and wondering how he played for Argentina).

Also the fact our defence and midfield was standing flat on our 18 yard box instead pushing up did't help. When we press, especially from the front, there isn't an opposition in this league that can cope but it's like we do it for 15 minutes at the start of the second half and then ease off. They're professional footballers for fuck sake, they should be ale to do it for a full game. Yep, I think part of this was the fact that Hughton had taken off Simpson and Jonas. So we had three strikers (whose idea of defending is probably clattering their bodies around in the box) Smith, Butt and Nolan patrolling the central areas and nobody covering the men out wide. That's precisely where they were sending ball after ball into our box from, and although it wasn't pretty they nearly scored as a result of one of them. Put that down to poor substitution decisions. Jonas is an easy sub for Hughton but IMO he should not have come off as he was still defending outwide till the very end and was putting in effort despite. I'm also not sure why Simpson came off (knock?). Getting Ranger on was a good idea, though it should not have been for Simpson.

3 points, 2 to Harper. Enrique MOTM in the outfield, though I wish he'd occassionally have a crack at goal. Carroll was also a stand-out depsite being constantly molested by the eventual match winner Morgan. Harper - 9 when called on to make a save he was there. Not perfect, but close enough. Simpson - 6.5 decent, didn't have a great deal to do. Often got the ball in poor positions a lot of the time it wasn't his fault. Coloccini - 7 Did well in what was a physical match. Made some key tackles, and even broke forward impressively to earn a corner. Kadar - 6.5 overall was decent, a few times didn't clear when he should have. Likes to be on the ball a little too much for a defender (even though he looked half decent on the ball a few times he should be looking to pass the ball out rather than run it) Enrique - 9.5 never beaten in defense, rarely stopped breaking forward. Earned a swag of corners for us. Raylor - 6.5 decent and versatile, copped an unfair yellow, but thankfully missed out on one when it was due later. Butt - 6 wasn't heavily involved, but still made some key tackles and interceptions. Smith - 6 see Butt. Jonas - 6 copped some overly critical appraisals on here. Have a decent game, and looked more committed than he has in the past (eg. screaming back to make a sliding tackle) Nolan - 6.5 a little lost moving between midfield and up front. A few times he had the ball in space, but clearly didn't have the pace or support to do much with it. Carroll - 8 Physical presence thoughout the match. Looked sharp in attack, kept good control of the ball but needed someone to work with. Subs: Ranger - 7 again looked very good at hold up play, not on for long but did well to pickup the pace of the game straight away. Should have been on earlier from mine. Harewood - 1 don't understand why he is being played. A great ball down the middle for him to run on to, and he wasted it hopelessly. .... What was dangerous was the amount of balls that we let get sent into the box. Very nearly cost us the match. Need to close down players out wide to at least apply pressure to their crosses. This was particarly evident when Ryan Taylor was called back into defense when Simpson went off, and when Jonas departed for Harewood. We lost two wide midfield option for central players. Ranger coming on made sense, but it should not have been Simpson coming off unless he had taken a knock. The Harewood substitution made absolutely no sense.

It's true. It allows me form ridiculously long disjointed sentences that are grammatically correct (at least I can convince myself that they are). Pretend it's like my inner monologue (or my way of making footnotes without the hassle). At any length you've gone and ruined it all by uncovering me as a bracket fancier!

As I see it (and there's every chance I could be wrong - I put my hand up and say that I've never been to Newcastle upon Tyne) the only way to effectively coordinate and execute a mass shunning of a game (or series of games) would be to have the local media involved in advance - To have them spread the word amongst the general public (including the match going supporters) about an upcoming boycott of the chosen match (or matches). This would involve the Newspapers as well as television and radio media (and of course the internet). This will ensure that the message gets out there to everyone that matters. Secondly, there needs to be a clearly succinct message regarding the boycott and what it aims to achieve - in more words than "get rid of Ashley". To this end there needs to be a passionate yet logical face/voice spearheading the campaign (this is where the NUST, NUFC.com, TrueFaith etc come into play). Current season ticket holders should be encouraged to attend the match and support the players, but to not purchase anything at the ground (and perhaps even not to wear replica shirts). It all needs to be intricately planned many weeks in advance. The media outlets should be contacted well in advance to ensure they understand the importance of the whole situation and also their integral roles in it. Perhaps some of the local media personalities who have spoken accurately about the situation (eg. George Caulkin) should be enlisted to add credence to the whole event. Maybe some sort of Carnival/Fair could be organised to coincide with the match, as an alternative. The whole idea/event should be promoted as being good natured and family friendly. It should not be billed as a protest or anything of that nature. The key is that people do not send any money Ashley's way, and not that there is a protest to let him know that he's not wanted. He surely must already know that he's not wanted. That obviously does not bother him. All he cares about is the financial side of things, so that is precisely where he must be hit.

Also it's priobably to be expected that Kadar would be a bit nervous. 19 year old making his full home debut in front of 44,000 playing with a bloke he has trained with for a couple of months at best, and playing at what would have been very short notice (given we were expecting Coloccini to return and didn't know that Simpson would also miss out). I expect we'll be seeig him again next match possibly teamed up with Coloccini.