How far was yesterday away from....

[adios 717]

[Renton 21638]

Ban this sick filth now!

 

No to ovine porn!

[Happy Face 29]

"There are no standards anymore in the media"

Bill O'Reilly, The O'Reilly Factor

53531[/snapback]

 

[adios 717]

Ban this sick filth now!

 

No to ovine porn!

53535[/snapback]

 

Down with this sort of thing!

 

Careful Now!

[Bombadil 0]

Bollocks. I don't hate Souness, to the contrary I actually do like him. I just don't rate him as a manager. I'll have no problem with him when he was starting to be succesful. But for me that doesn't mean just winning games, but to restore confidence I'd like Newcastle to look superior to teams that are fighting against relegation. It also means that they have to get good results against the better teams on a constant basis. I'm happy about every game we are winning and that takes us up in the table, even if it means that those results will keep an average manager in charge of a good team. Because I share Alex's feelings that we have a better squad than last season. But I also want those players to show it.

53381[/snapback]

 

What he said. We had a first-choice, full-strength midfield and attack on the pitch on Saturday and we never created any chances - and surely that's not just down to Birmingham playing defensively. So yes, we're all very happy with the result, but that's not the point. What people are saying in addition to that is that we won't pick up many more points if performances don't improve soon, and there's nothing wrong with that. To ignore this would be sticking your head in the sand.

[Isegrim 9800]

To ignore this would be sticking your head in the sand.

53559[/snapback]

 

Or sticking sand in your head, like a famous Jorman footballer once said.

[Bombadil 0]

Comedy genius.

[Shearergol 0]

Bollocks. I don't hate Souness, to the contrary I actually do like him. I just don't rate him as a manager. I'll have no problem with him when he was starting to be succesful. But for me that doesn't mean just winning games, but to restore confidence I'd like Newcastle to look superior to teams that are fighting against relegation. It also means that they have to get good results against the better teams on a constant basis. I'm happy about every game we are winning and that takes us up in the table, even if it means that those results will keep an average manager in charge of a good team. Because I share Alex's feelings that we have a better squad than last season. But I also want those players to show it.

53381[/snapback]

 

What he said. We had a first-choice, full-strength midfield and attack on the pitch on Saturday and we never created any chances - and surely that's not just down to Birmingham playing defensively. So yes, we're all very happy with the result, but that's not the point. What people are saying in addition to that is that we won't pick up many more points if performances don't improve soon, and there's nothing wrong with that. To ignore this would be sticking your head in the sand.

53559[/snapback]

 

To be fair, were either of you actually at the game?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Baa)

[adios 717]

Or sticking sand in your head, like a famous Jorman footballer once said.

53563[/snapback]

 

For some reason I had memories of the child as a beach when I read that.

 

"There are no standards anymore in the media"

Bill O'Reilly, The O'Reilly Factor

53531[/snapback]

 

53540[/snapback]

 

I'm glad someone's finally appreciated that.

[Isegrim 9800]

 

Comedy genius.

53582[/snapback]

 

Nope.

 

 

Comedy and penalty genius.

[DanTheMan 0]

All this optimism is boiling my piss.

 

People say we're winning and that's what counts, but who are we beating?  The Mackems, West Brom, Birmingham, Grimsby.  The only team above us that we've beaten is Man City (and they're going to drop like lead balloons).

 

It's the same as last season when we went on a mid season 'run' but the quality of opposition was poor.  The cup run(s) kept Souness in his job and we never beat anyone of quality in those.

 

Get a grip people, don't cling to the scraps being thrown at you, with the players we have it should be a joy to watch the Toon shitting on the majority of teams, but Souness is incapable of organising it.

 

It goes without saying it would be daft to sack him now, but I pray that Freddie the Hutt is looking at his options for next year.

53365[/snapback]

 

Excellent post, I totally agree.

[Howaythelads 0]

There is never a bad time to sack a shite manager if the right replacement is lined up.

 

Example. People slagged FS for sacking Robson just after the start of a season, yet the same man sacked Gullit at a similar time. Why wasn't FS slagged both times?

[Optimistic Nut 154]

All this optimism is boiling my piss.

 

People say we're winning and that's what counts, but who are we beating?  The Mackems, West Brom, Birmingham, Grimsby.  The only team above us that we've beaten is Man City (and they're going to drop like lead balloons).

 

It's the same as last season when we went on a mid season 'run' but the quality of opposition was poor.  The cup run(s) kept Souness in his job and we never beat anyone of quality in those.

 

Get a grip people, don't cling to the scraps being thrown at you, with the players we have it should be a joy to watch the Toon shitting on the majority of teams, but Souness is incapable of organising it.

 

It goes without saying it would be daft to sack him now, but I pray that Freddie the Hutt is looking at his options for next year.

53365[/snapback]

 

It reminds me exactly of last year, so much so I'm getting deja vu. There is no evidence we can beat anyone half decent. I expect a pitiful performance against Chelsea.

53366[/snapback]

 

Massive difference. The current side is 10x better than last seasons.

 

I'd say this season reminds me more of the 2002-3 season (sh*t start after 6 games, started getting results without playing well up until December, before kicking-on)

[Isegrim 9800]

I'd say this season reminds me more of the 2002-3 season (sh*t start after 6 games, started getting results without playing well up until December, before kicking-on)

53616[/snapback]

 

I think it was more Jekyll&Hyde performances we saw then. But I admit you do have a point.

 

Anyway, flicking through .com's waffles I stumbled along this piece of fortune telling (from the match against Leeds) ...

 

LuaLua wasn't in a fit state to play according to the manager, and with Bellamy short of match fitness and Cort not ready for the Premiership, then Shola was the only choice apart from some Robert/Viana jiggery pokery.

 

Fair enough, but it was once again evident that Shearer and Shola do not a lethal combination make. Whether it's because Ameobi doesn't play on the shoulder of defenders or link up well with his captain is unclear, but certainly there are question marks about the positional sense of the youngster - at times in this game his colleagues would have needed orienteering skills to find him with a pass.

 

Whether he'll learn that in time is open to question - other people writing in "proper" media channels can dance around the subject and come up with mealy-mouthed answers, but we're unencumbered by such conventions.

 

To be brutally honest, he's not good enough - skilful yes, but not tenacious enough for the very top line. Goals in the reserves are one thing, but in front of 52,000 when the chips are down are a slightly different matter.

 

He's got more to him than many previous toon strikers, but at the very highest level that we're aiming for he's lacking. Someone has to score the goals that we've come to rely on Shearer for, and it ain't him.

 

If you think this is unjust, sorry.

 

Nowt personal against the lad, just gut feeling from someone who has seen every game at first team and reserve level he's played for the club, not to mention academy matches when he used to be deployed as a central defender!

 

His time in the England U21 side is close to ending, and he looks like joining club mate Cort in not making the transition to the senior set up. Whether Shola will be able to make his mark at a lower level is also open to question - football history is littered with talented forwards who couldn't find the time and space to exhibit their skills against Neolithic defenders.

 

So three years on, does anyone really believe he is becoming a 20 goals striker suddenly?

[Renton 21638]

All this optimism is boiling my piss.

 

People say we're winning and that's what counts, but who are we beating?  The Mackems, West Brom, Birmingham, Grimsby.  The only team above us that we've beaten is Man City (and they're going to drop like lead balloons).

 

It's the same as last season when we went on a mid season 'run' but the quality of opposition was poor.  The cup run(s) kept Souness in his job and we never beat anyone of quality in those.

 

Get a grip people, don't cling to the scraps being thrown at you, with the players we have it should be a joy to watch the Toon shitting on the majority of teams, but Souness is incapable of organising it.

 

It goes without saying it would be daft to sack him now, but I pray that Freddie the Hutt is looking at his options for next year.

53365[/snapback]

 

It reminds me exactly of last year, so much so I'm getting deja vu. There is no evidence we can beat anyone half decent. I expect a pitiful performance against Chelsea.

53366[/snapback]

 

Massive difference. The current side is 10x better than last seasons.

 

I'd say this season reminds me more of the 2002-3 season (sh*t start after 6 games, started getting results without playing well up until December, before kicking-on)

53616[/snapback]

 

I don't agree, we struggled to beat Birmingham and have not looked good at all so far this year. On paper we may have better players, but to coin a cliche, football isn't played on paper.

 

In the 2002/2003 season we played very well at the beginning but were very unlucky. This year we have just been shit full stop. We'll find out soon enough if you're right though, according to you we'll finish third.

 

Optimistic nut by name, Optimistic nut by nature.

[Optimistic Nut 154]

I can remember us being crap at Man City (newly promoted), crap at home to Leeds (who finished bottom 6), and around about the same time that year as this year, we were scraping 2-1s & 1-0s against the likes of Charlton, Southampton & WBA, as well as getting trounced 5-2 at Blackburn, 6-3 at Old Trafford and 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.

[Renton 21638]

I can remember us being crap at Man City (newly promoted), crap at home to Leeds (who finished bottom 6), and around about the same time that year as this year, we were scraping 2-1s & 1-0s against the likes of Charlton, Southampton & WBA, as well as getting trounced 5-2 at Blackburn, 6-3 at Old Trafford and 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.

53626[/snapback]

 

 

The year we cam third we played better than we do now. I really think its hard to deny that fact.

 

When was the last time we have played really well in the league? Seriously? I don't think we've done it once under Souness.

[Howaythelads 0]

The difference when we played crap under Robson was that we had previously played well, we knew we would start playing better again. This only changed nearer the end of Robsons time as manager as it became clear he'd lost the dressing room.

 

Robson also has a track record that is worthy of the name.

 

To compare what Mr Souness is managing to get out of the current crop of players with what Robson managed from his is a hell of an insult to Robson imo.

 

If you take the view that Mr Souness has bombed out 'shite' players like Jenas, O'Brien, Hughes, Bellamy and Robert, and replaced them with far superior ones, I'd be keen for you to tell me why we can't create chances, why we don't look able to pass the ball and why we are generally being outplayed by teams that (on paper) have inferior players.

 

You can then go on to tell me how Robson got us to 4th, 3rd and 5th, and the second phase of the CL with these inferior players and go on to expand on why we shouldn't expect better from these superior players we have now.

Edited November 7, 2005 by Howaythelads

[NJS 4389]

Starting to get results is a start - it breeds confidence which is a huge factor in football. I'd rather we were winning a few games (admittedly against poorer teams) then being like the Mackems and playing "well" like against us and Man U and getting nowt.

 

I have no problem with people saying "lets get some better performances now" - I share that view - but I think we could do with slightless less "enthusiastic negativity".

[NJS 4389]

I'd also add tht the comparisons with the past are based on 2, 3 or 4 seasons. Now that Souness has "his team" I think he should at least get more than 3 or 4 games to be judged. Last season imo should be written off and the slate wiped clean.

[Howaythelads 0]

Starting to get results is a start - it breeds confidence which is a huge factor in football. I'd rather we were winning a few games (admittedly against poorer teams) then being like the Mackems and playing "well" like against us and Man U and getting nowt.

 

I have no problem with people saying "lets get some better performances now" - I share that view - but I think we could do with slightless less "enthusiastic negativity".

53632[/snapback]

I'd agree with most of that, although not the bit about 'enthusiastic negativity'.

 

What I'm trying to point out in this thread is that we are putting out almost a full strength team now but are still being outplayed by teams that we know ( or believe ) have inferior players. A few weeks ago, the excuse being rolled out was that players were missing, before that the excuses for Mr Souness were based on him having to get his own players into the club. He's done that to the tune of £50m from a bloody good starting point, and without appearing to expect instant results ( because I know that doesn't happen ) I do expect to see some improvement in the general play. It's just not happening.

 

If we carry on with this level of performance we will struggle over the 38 games and there is simply no sign of it getting better. As Renton intimated earlier, and something for which I've been slated from time to time is the mention of relegation. I don't think we'll go down now, that's because Owen is going to be the get out of jail card for Mr Souness and it cost a bloody lot of money for the card. Even with Owen it is still risky because if he doesn't play enough matches we will be in trouble.

 

If anyone disputes this I have to wonder what game people are watching. There is nothing impressive about our performances at all and over the 38 games that will matter, good run right now or not. There is a difference between grinding out results when in a bad run, and playing badly all the time.

[Howaythelads 0]

I'd also add tht the comparisons with the past are based on 2, 3 or 4 seasons. Now that Souness has "his team" I think he should at least get more than 3 or 4 games to be judged. Last season imo should be written off and the slate wiped clean.

53633[/snapback]

Eh? 3 or 4 games? Is that a typo, or what?

[NJS 4389]

I still think you're being too quick to stick the knife in. Nobby has said he's shattered implying an obvious lack of match fitness. Emre talks about "more to come". Theres still the "gel" factor which I think takes time.

 

The thing that gives me hope was the last half an hour against West Brom - that was a sign of a team with a few footballers in it who know how to pass and retain possession. Once again I accept its "only WBA" but its a sign of things to come I feel. I think people are ignoring this as it was a bit short - fair enough - but as I said it gave me hope.

[NJS 4389]

I'd also add tht the comparisons with the past are based on 2, 3 or 4 seasons. Now that Souness has "his team" I think he should at least get more than 3 or 4 games to be judged. Last season imo should be written off and the slate wiped clean.

53633[/snapback]

Eh? 3 or 4 games? Is that a typo, or what?

53639[/snapback]

 

3 or 4 games in the context of "his full team" as you emphasised in this thread.

[Howaythelads 0]

I still think you're being too quick to stick the knife in. Nobby has said he's shattered implying an obvious lack of match fitness. Emre talks about "more to come". Theres still the "gel" factor which I think takes time.

 

The thing that gives me hope was the last half an hour against West Brom - that was a sign of a team with a few footballers in it who know how to pass and retain possession. Once again I accept its "only WBA" but its a sign of things to come I feel. I think people are ignoring this as it was a bit short - fair enough - but as I said it gave me hope.

53641[/snapback]

I think they outplayed us from our first goal right through to the second. When we got the second, they gave up.

 

I actually don't go for the "it's only WBA" stuff, wins have to be earned imo and you will sometimes be on the ropes against a team that is perceived ( and is ) inferior. But I don't expect us to be hanging on in games against teams like that week after week. That's what's happening, mate. With supposedly better players.