what the hell does that have to do with anything? I'll have a go: "I'm English and an expert because I add a "u" to the world color..." no we shant go there, 'tis a silly place...
What would you rather me have called you? ******? Gaylord? Queer? They all add up to the same thing...wanker.
You have to laugh don't you? I bet Fat Sam is pissing himself right now. Also the news about Ashley wanting out is interesting, it appears the man took very little interest in football before buying Newcastle and if he ends up selling for the price he wants he'll make a very nice profit. Who said English owners are good for the game? I'm off to put money on Keegan leaving Newcastle before the end of the season right now and you know what? I actually feel sorry for him because not only is he totally out of his depth it appears he's been used in a pretty bad way.
To be fair, Sam's Bolton used to get thrashed by United twice a season, although we did actually pick up points from other places. So much for the Keegan revolution...
I miss that Bolton . We could always count on you for an easy six points, then to take a handful off Arsenal and possibly pull and upset or squeeze a draw out of Chelsea every single year. I did honestly appreciate how such a small club could punch so far above their weight, though.
They've taken their show continental this season drawing @ Bayern; winning home to Athletico and then drawing @ Athletico. Back to the topic of Newcastle though, they truly are a joy to watch at this point. Complete shambles everywhere but with a fair amount of talent. Its almost at an "island of misfit toys" level at this point.
I am wondering what those Newcastle fans who supported Keegan at the start are feeling right now. Cause without a doubt he's worse than Big Sam, Roeder and I would argue Souness (although many would disagree with me). At least those managers were able to keep Newcastle at mid table level. Of course, he should be judge only when next season starts, but I do expect the worst from him. Cause from what he had done in Man City I don't expect much from him.
Yeah, exactly. That kind of invalidates the rest of your post, doesn't it? He hasn't even had the opportunity of making any transfers.
Yea, but 2 points from 6 league games with 14 goals conceeded and just 3 scored (as well as losing one FA cup game 3-0, albeit to Arsenal), regardless of the transfer he has been unable to make is still pretty dismal. I mean despite injuries and squad morale Newcastle still have a decent base of players and sould be doing far more than that.
But surely you can concede, considering which team you support, that 11 of those goals came from the best team in the premiership that is on an incredible hot streak. You make a special note about us losing to Arsenal, I'm assuming because you know they are one of the best teams. I mean, Arsenal lost to you 4-nil. You really think Keegan should have been able to get us 9 or 10 points out of those six matches? And how can you hold a man responsible for any of the matches that take place within two weeks of him walking into a club? You really think that any manager in the world could have walked in and done substantially better? I doubt Allardyce would have been able to take away more than a half dozen points from those matches, hell, it might have been worse.
The goal Rovers scored to beat Newcastle shows exactly why Keegan sucks and why Newcastle will probably go down if he doesn't change his ways. OK, yeah, you want to get the 3 points, especially after missing all those chances. But in Nuke's position in the table, you can't be foolish. But sure enough, Derbyshire was able to get goalside and score on a breakaway off of a set piece deep in the Blackburn end. A smarter manager would have saved the point. A fool recklessly goes for glory.
Fair enough, but the strength-of-opposition argument only goes so far. As a Man Utd supporter, I'd like to point out that these were the only matches this season in which we scored 5+ goals. Derby didn't give up 5. Nor did Fulham, nor did Dinamo Kiev. But Newcastle did, twice. That seems like a reason to worry. But like you said, the point is points. Zero for losing by one or for losing by six. Keegan will be judged on what happens in the next couple of months in matches against some equally troubled opponents. In a way, this could turn out well for him, since a half-decent March and april could end with him being seen as the club's "savior" in a way that would not have been possible had he steered them into a steady, comfortable 12th place finish. Sort of like Tevez, actually. Doubt he would have had the same reputation at the end of last season if he had been decent all year instead of sucking for a while and then saving West Ham (single-handedly, if you squint enough when you look at it) by the thinnest of margins. But Carlito is a good player. Don't buy the Keegan hype. He is out of his element, and he is taking Newcastle nowhere in a hurry.
There's a show on FSW/Canada and FSC/US called the Fox Soccer Report. They have this Scot-Canadian named Bobby McMahon who is a really strong pundit. He's one of the few guys doing this sort of thing who really adds value. Anyway, he's talking about the BR-NUFC match over the highlights, and he says about the goal, in my notes I wrote it was unprofessional, and then I crossed that out and wrote, it's unamateur. If a team of 10 year olds gave up a goal like that you'd cringe. Then over the actual goal, when Bentley is challenged AT THE HALFWAY LINE by the LAST DEFENDER, and Derbyshire comes streaking into the screen, McMahon stops analyzing and just goes "Look at that. Look at it!!!" Unfortunately, I can't convey his inflection here, but it was totally hilarious. It was an odd combination of pity, disgust, and disbelief, all delivered in a Scottish accent. He thinks they have too much talent to go down. I sort of agree, but if in a TIE GAME you give up a goal like that, obviously the talent isn't showing up on the field. I coach my son's team. Last year U-7, now U-8. We fixed the problem of conceding chances like that about a year ago. Seriously.
Although I do agree with his view that this was stupid goal to give up, and easily preventable, I would also like to point out that since he is a pundit with a limited amount of time to communicate his analysis, Bobby McMahon made no mention of the context of the goal. Notably at what time in the game the goal was scored and that is was the second touch of a long ball clearance by Blackburn from a NUFC corner kick. Those points and OA context are not rationalizing the conceding of the goal by any means, but what they do point out is that other teams would have responded to a corner kick in the 89th minute in the same way by pulling everyone up front to try an put it in, on the risk of conceding a goal like that. Like wise had the shoe been on the other foot, NUFC would have been in the same position (but probably have not been able to score on the break...IMO). And I'm not sure which I find scarier: that you have U-7 team that plays like that or that you take notes while watching and listening to Bobby McMahon on FSC to ensure your team plays like that...
You guys are gonna die in the Championship next year. So it's a wash. As for the context...giving up a goal like that while trailing by one happens all the time. But remember, Derbyshire was able to get goalside of NINE PLAYERS!!! With one point in hand!!! If you guys have ever watched soccer before, you'd know the "added value" of that 9th guy is pretty much nothing. Better to have one defender back and another guy assigned to preventing exactly what happened. As for mentioning the "context," you clearly didn't watch the show.
here we go. Superdave turns the thread with his Expert™ analysis into the typical YA thread. You know the one, where you pronounce your über hyper anal-lysis of exactly what the effect was of the wind from a certain players ass on a certain player's foot before he managed to score a goal...