Steady as she goes.

Posted on September 19th, 2010 | 112 Comments |

Cheick Tiote - A pleasant surprise.
Cheick Tiote - A pleasant surprise.
The aftermath of the result against Everton yesterday is still rumbling on in the minds of many today. After all, it was a fantastic result, and far more than most of us has thought we could get from Goodison.

I’ve been out most of the day taking in some fresh air and walking the dog up and down some big hills, which has given me a fair bit of time to reflect on things.

Are we not getting just a little bit carried away?

As I said in the opening paragraph, there is no doubt beating Everton in their own back yard is a fantastic result. My concern now is that after the exceptional full debut performances of Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheik Tiote yesterday we get ourselves into the position where too much is expected of them. I mean they have started off pretty well in the black and white, but what if they don’t perform like that in every match?

Football fans are fickle as a general rule, and like it or not we are no different. I have read the opinions of a lot of fans on many websites regarding the peformances of the new lads from yesterday and I have seen many comparisons to players like David Ginola for Ben Arfa and Micheal Essien for Tiote. I mean seriously?

That is what I am talking about when I ask if people are getting a bit too carried away. Sure they played really well yesterday and improved our team no end, but to label them after just 90 minutes for us is a tad over the top in my opinion. What if they had played rubbish yesterday? Would they then be consigned to the scrapheap? Probably not, so surely it should work both ways.

For both players to prove their pedigree it will take more than just 90 minutes. A promising start from both of them could well turn out to be a promising career on Tyneside in the long term, but that can only be worked out over time.

Now to me they both look like quality players, but I will ask people to cast their minds back a few years to the debut of Jonas Gutierrez at Old Trafford. He was exceptional that day and looked for all the world as though he would become a special player for us. Now he isn’t bad at all, but his lack of both goals and end product have become apparent since then. I’m not saying that Jonas is a bad player, because he isn’t, but if an opinion of him was formed solely on his debut then I am sure many would be disappointed with what he has done after that.

The same applies to Tiote and Ben Arfa. Yes they looked good yesterday, but lets not treat them as if they are the second coming of jesus, not yet anyway. Give them time and they will prove their class. Judge them now and you could end up diappointed.

NUFCBlog Author: toonsy toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.

Related Posts:

Posted on by toonsy in category: Cheick Tiote and General miscellany and Hatem Ben Arfa and Thoughts and reflections and Toonsy , with tags: ,
Comment on this post

112 Responses

  2. Toonsy-Agree that we can’t get carried away, however I think the comparison’s of both Benny and Tiote with Ex Toon legends/Premier league stars isn’t necessarily a problem. People aren’t necessarily comparing Tiote to Essien as far as his ability goes, more for me that he could just be an “Essien-esque” player for us. Is he as good as Essien? Most probably not, No. Could he be a player that does a similar job for our team? Absolutly.
    As for Ben Arfa, given the fact he had such a fantastic debut, I can imagine many fans will get carried away. Looking at his performance though, his talent was clear for all to see. He looks a brilliant dribbler of the ball, has an eye for a pass and can shoot. It might take him a while to bed into the squad fully and I doubt he will produce wonder kid performances week in week out.
    I also dont think though, that his performance yesterday was one of luck, or a flash in the pan. If he put in a performance like yesterday against relegation candidates you could say “ok, he was excellent, but lets see how he does against X or X”. Those “X’s” for me would be a team like Everton, or Villa. Put it this way-I think yesterday was an indication of what he’s capable of when he’s at his best and if played regularly, I think he will please us far more than disappoint us. He made Everton look pedestrian when he had the ball at his feet yesterday. Many Evertonian blogs/writers have said he embarrassed them when on the ball and they missed a trick in not taking him because he looked fantastic.

  3. On another topic , can we recall Foster from celtic ? it seems as if Harper could be out for a while and that leaves us with only Krul

  5. Toonsy IMO one of the best Threads you have done for a while but maybe that is because I feel the same :) sure the 2 new ones look super in their debut (remember Pancrate) but I think we need to look back at them after the season to get a true reflection on if they could be as good as Ginola and Essien. Re Jonas he is one of my fav’s even though he doesnt have a real end product but he is exciting and does cause teams alot of bother IMO resulting in teams trying to stop him resulting in Nolan getting more chances to be unmarked and score ;)

  7. Axel-Hughton confirmed yesterday that Harper will be out for a “period of time” but that we can’t recall Forster. Said he thought it was wrong to have both Forster and Krul benchwarming and it was one thing we had to deal with when sending him out.

  8. Just back from the NW……loved it just loved it.
    Of course they won’t do it every week,especially Benny he’ll probably suffer when the winter hits and flair players are generally more inconsistent than your grafters.I thought Tiote was fantastic yesterday and we have been missing that type of player for many a year.I’m not having a go at Smith because I think on the whole he’s done a good job but he is not a defensive midfielder he’s an attacker who has been denied the attributes you need to play up front through injuries.
    I have to say I started going to away games in ’81 and yesterday was the worst atmosphere created(or not created) by a home crowd that I can remember for many a year.

  9. I meant to add that one of the biggest positives I can take out of a few of the games this season is that we do know that our team are capable of putting on a good show and getting points and winning games. So barring bad injuries there is no reason for us to get sucked into the relegation battle.
    Howay the Lads

  11. cant recall him..ch has said..didnt put it in his contract…perch was great..he will only improve said along fast and mobile is beter then a slow fullback..he can play in midfield in a central postion if we have injuries..he has got legs..thats what we had in tiote against everton..the other day some body said he was shit and slow..give the lad a chance we look a better as a unit at the back then any team this season..not had many chances against us..most of the shots have gone in against us which is unlucky..

  12. That’s true Dave and bearing in mind we could quite easily have won the Wolves game and could and should have got something from the Blackpool game we aren’t doing bad :-)

    oh and havnt seen a replay wi being away but how the f*** was that not a pen on Nolan!!

  13. Richie-Wait until you see the replay. If you thought it was a stonwaller from your seat in Goodison, you’ll fall out your armchair at home when you see it close up.

  14. Did someone not say the other week that you can’t put recall clauses in international loans anyway?………don’t know how true that is tho.

  15. Just a question to ask you all.

    Would you want Jonas on bench or Wayne on bench…

    I would choose the latter.

    I believe if Both Jonas and ben arfa plays,it would be great.

    Ben arfa can play right wing and can cut to the outside of box and shoot,just like what robben normally does.

    Jonas can still scores is only his delivery of ball to our strikers.~~i got more confidence in him than wayne.

    Like come on,Lennon,walcott crossing ish ain’t world class either,is only speed and trickery.

  17. Richie glad to hear you had a good trip mate. and your right about Nolan he was chopped down like a giant sequoia tree :) and the elbow on Williamson from fuzzball

  18. Ross…it was close enough it was at our end and that side of the penalty area..shocking mate. 60 odd minutes before I heard a chant from te Everton fans which lasted about 10 seconds…….and that hairy b@stard is a dirty tw@t……..and Evertons cornish pasties are sh!te………so is Goodison and the surrounding area :-)

  19. Asim he is mate but he was actually named in our 25 man squad which is bizarre if we cant recall him.

  20. doesnt matter lads what happened on nolan and williamson..said that 2 my mate..he said u didnt draw or lose did u..so doesnt mean shit..if they had scored that would be different..a week on we are happy again..anyway lads does perch miss chealsea or stoke..when does it kick in his 1 game ban..i hope it is chelsea..

  23. Are we getting carried away? No way.

    Were Tiote and Benny the difference when backed up by a good team performance? I think even the doom and gloom brigade would struggle to argue that we looked a far better team yesterday. The toothlessness had gone from our midfield and attack and players like Barton and Nolan seemed lifted by the new additions.

    A defeat at home to Blackpool and then a glorious victory away at goodison, where we failed in 15 previous attempts, what a topsy turvey couple of weeks.

    Im not getting carried away, Chelsea in midweek will likely bring us back down to earth but im positive and here’s why. Everton have struggled that is true; but we were fantastic and deserved to win, regardless of how they played. I think in this league every team needs that one special player to do well, everton are clearly missing Cahill. I think we though may have unearthed a gem, better than Cahill even, who can lift this team and kick us on to the next level. Tiote is unfairly and unfortunately going to be over shadowed a bit aswell but he is a VAST VAST improvement over Butt ans Smith and gave us real energy and bite in our midfield that I haven’t seen in many year. Am I getting carried away.. hell yeah. :)

  24. I don’t think we should worry about supporter expectation now because everyone can remember what happen against Blackpool. Everything can happen in football especially in PRM. I just hope we put our heart and passion every game we play.

    Now it’s chance for Krul to shine. Hopefully he can grab it with his both hands.

  26. @asim: i think is 1 league game ban~~

    Anyway,ryan taylor or Simpson can slot in there well. No worries.

    @Big Dave: I more eagerly waiting to see how our mid-field department fills up when both Gosling and Guthrie are fit.

    I heard Leon Best is destined to be sold soon. CH say there is a possibly of him going out on loan.

    I feel is a pity though. Best was great during pre-season.

    As for Xisco,well still serving his ban. But highly unlikely to have a buyer. So might be more of continued sub appearances.

    Is very interesting to see that,we have lots of depth in strikers,GK and Mid-fielders.

    What we need are decent/quality wingers and RB/LB now.that’s done.

  27. Tiote was my man of the match yesterday I thought he was great win it pass it,he was always available to recieve it back.Fantastic

  28. Ginkoh

    This is Krul’s chance now. All those saying Harper is off form, well Krul now has the chance to get first team games and try to force his way into the team, personally I hope he does well and he has undoubted quality.

  29. batty………he didnt find the run too hard but he left his car near the starting line so he has to run back to get it :lol:

  30. We are getting a bit carried away for sure but don’t we deserve to a bit after the past couple of seasons.

    Regardless of whether they become Ginola and Essien, the fact is it appears they have significantly improved our squad- giving us two things (an athletic DM enforcer and quality in the final third) that have been missing for far too long.

    Very excited about our central midfield at the moment and we have yet to see Guthrie or Gosling.

  33. Angelofdeath –

    “What we need are decent/quality wingers and RB/LB now.that’s done.”

    We have 3 out and out in-form wingers, plus loven and donaldson; maybe even ranger can player on right (as in cup game). 3 right backs in Raylor, simpson and perch – exactly how many options do we need to make you happy?

    OK – cover for enrique continues to be an issue – but with kadar, and perch again – it’s hardly a massive problem.

    If anything – we will do well to keep the existing players happy.

    Hughton is increasingly making me think he has a real midas touch as a manager – his signings are good – but the dressing room spirit he has built, means a lot if the positions are interchangable.

    I agree, it was great to see Tiote bring some mobility to the centre of the midfield – driving and ghosting into spaces from deep – you could see him fitting straight into the arsenal side in the holding role.

    Again, getting carried away.

  34. Now it’s chance for Krul to shine. Hopefully he can grab it with his both hands
    —————-

    Agreed, but while we are talking about tempered expectations, we should not expect too much from Krul right away. Although he clearly has quality, in some areas more than Harper, but goal keeping requires some savviness that can only come with experience. I expect he’ll let in a shocker or two at some point, but he will be better for it, and we will be a better club, in the end. Still, it’s always exciting when a new young player gets his chance- especially one we’ve been reading about for so long and have such high hopes for.

  36. I honestly believe Ben Arfa is more skilful than Ginola. Ginola played in a better team and was cold more often than hot. I am going to ignore Toonsy and say that I reckon Ben Arfa will be a better player than Ginola.

  37. A small part of me thinks we are now capable of having a decent season, if topsy turvy results-wise. More importantly, I think Hughton could really build something at our club over the coming years. The academy is producing some top, top talent now, Hughton’s coaching sway – means he is looking to bring in young talent and bring it on himself – wenger style.

    It’s all very encouraging. Just let’s not panic when we don’t get the points every week and we’ll be fine.

  38. @boater: well,let’s just wait and see perch on whether he is quality/decent player as u deem his as.Who Knows he will continue get yellow cards for each league matches.

    Ranger,Lovekrands,donaldson. U name this 3 as cover for wingers that are hardly in first 11 anymore. Or even not in the 18-man squad at all for league games.

    Again LB issue,is good to know,enrique is still performing well. Kadar can play well there,but CH doesn’t want to put Him there. CH already says Kadar is for CB. which again left PERCH for LB. Oh gosh.

  39. That is how I feel, Boater. Chris Hughton is exactly what we have needed since Sir Bobby. Our club no longer feels like a total joke.

  40. AOD – Perch’s ban will be up against Chelsea in midweek meaning he will be back for Stoke :)

    Also, I know Perch has his doubters, but I honestly think he is improving. He has a bit of pace which is a good start, and didn’y Hughton play in that position for years at Spurs in the top flight? I think he can imporve him further tbh. I hope he can anyway, and there are signs of it already IMO.

  41. ginola had 2 great feet..but ben arfa is more well balanced then anyplayer who has ever played in this league..sorry he is should be the best player in the world with messi..if he hadnt had is off field problems he might have found a home with us..dont think he has ever been luved bye fans or players..thats why i believe he came to newcastle who luv thier players and thats why i believe he cant fail becasue he wonts to play like he said the other day he is ready..but didnt think he would do it that quickly against everton away not against some weak team at home.

  42. I think Perch and Barton have been unlucky with a couple of their yellow cards this season. Still not 100% on Perch but hasn’t done too badly thus far.

  43. @toonsy: Oh No…For a moment i thought,YEHHHHH Perch not playing against stoke. :(

    I thought ryan can play….i still rmb His goal during carling cup. ;)

    Anyway,Perch problem is his reckless tackles and untimely tackle that always cause him getting cards.

  44. I think the next step for Ashley is to give CH a new contract for 3 years on good money . IMO the guy has already proved himself as a manager . A new contract now will add that stability that the club needs .

  45. AngelOfDeath – whilst I agree it would be nice to have 2 or 3 world class outstanding players for every position – we are not barcelona – and I think it’s churlish when people moan about the back up players – I think we have more quality in depth than 60 or 70% of every other prem side – I really do. That’s not to say we have the best 11 – but in terms of options – my mind boggles at the players on the fringes. ryan taylor is a good example – now third choice at righ back – he’d walk into any bottom hald prem side, and be 2nd choice for the majority of the others outside the top 6.

  46. AOD – That goal that Taylor scored against League 2 opposition?

    Taylor is not a PL right-back. He wasn’t even a decent Championship right-back!

    I’m not knocking his delivery and long shooting, but apart from that he offers very little a right-back. He can’t defend IMO, and should be played right mid if anywhere.

  47. @Axel: i think Manager contract issue should be done when season ends.

    We don’t want another Alex McLeish incident. :lol: :lol:

  48. @toonsy: from what u say,it also proves my point that Our RB is still in need for help???

    Since u said taylor offers little,Perch ish still trial and error.

    Simpson??? What do you think of him then? We still have steven taylor??? These two?

  49. on Arfa – here’s what I think.

    He was desperate to move to one of the premiership’s top 6 sides. Hughton offered him a ‘shop window’ -come- ‘foot in the door’ to one of the big clubs with his 1 year loan deal at the toon.

    The unspoken agreement will be that if we have a good season, and arfa contributes to that, the 2 parties will look at a lucrative long-term loan deal.. if we don’t he’ll have had the chance to show off his obvious talents under the noses of chelsea, city, manure etc.. it’s therefore vitally important that we have a season worthy of keeping a top, top european rising star on the books- or that he falls in love with the toon army and wants to stay regardless of league position – fanciful these days.

    I hope it’s not a Hamann scenario – uses us a steeping stone to a CL side.

  51. I think Perch hasn’t done too bad and is improving.Yes he has given away some free kicks and mistimed the odd tackle but Simpson also has his faults as does Raylor……they don’t give away as many free kicks as Perch but that’s because they often keep backing off and dont make a tackle at all and just let wingers run into the box.All 3 have their pros and cons……..oh to be a manager :-)

  52. @boater: I didn’t say we must have outstanding RB players.

    I say even decent is good. To me atm Perch is below decent.

    That left us with Ryan,which toonsy opinion is offer not much.

    And Danny Simpson.

  54. AOD – I honestly see signs of improvement in Perch. Tell me, what exactly has he done wrong? How many goals has he personally cost us?

    Discipline is a problem, plus there is that penalty that wasn’t given against him at Wolves. What else?

    As for Simpson, I think he is decent enough to be honest. People forget that most were clamouring to sign him in January such was his form. He went off the boil a bit in the second half of the season but to be fair to the lad he was playing with a nasty injury.

    S Taylor is also not a right back IMO. He may have started there when he was 17 or whatever but I don’t think he is one now.

  55. Also I meant “long-term PERMANENT deal” – eeeh lad, need to keep off them strongbows.

    Toonsy – I don’t agree that Ryan Taylor is not a decent option at this level. He struggled like nolan in that first season – but I think he’s a competitive, smart player with a good eye for goal. The long distance goal against Acc – Stanley was class, and he’s scored a canny few like that before. That could have been against anyone. He just never gets a game now – so he was trying to remind hughton what he can – shouldn’t knock that I reckon.

  56. r.taylor is weak as piss..he always pulls the players shirt..u will find out very quickly..if people were saying perch isnt that good..then ask yourself the question why hasnt r.taylor played in front of him.2 slow 2 play in that postion..ch doesnt play him for that reason..he cant get back if they break..were perch has done..prem league football all the best players who are quick play their..thats why we havnt had many teams attack us down the wings..look who we have played man u didnt get any change down the wings..people forget evra got away from perch and he got back and put him in the stand..what would ryn taylor have dun..yeas he has got yellow cards he has took them for the sake of the team..if he hasnt stopped them they would be breaking down his side..not many teams will score goals against us in the air..nobdy has have they so for..i dont think look at liverpool 2day or man u they didnt win anything in the air from corners against us..but scored 2 against liverpool..i would say we have a better side then them..

  57. boater……….apparently if he plays 25 games he signs for us for £5/6m ish and that would already be a binding contract signed by the 3 parties.So hopefully we have him for at least this season and next if he does well.If that reported deal is correct :-)

  59. Rich – Aye, spot on. All the future fees and wages will already be agreed on all sides. If they aren’t then why the hell did we pay a premium loan fee to get feck all in return. Love him or hate, but that aint like Ashley :lol:

  60. angelofdeath – Perch played a decent part in us hammering villa, beating everton in their own yard and dominating blackpool and wolves, it’s funny how people pick on the weakest link and won’t let go.

    Every single team has strong and weaker merits, even manure and arsenal have them. Even classic albums have fillers. It’s not playstation man, it’s about building something which functions effectively as a whole. People seem to forget that so quickly.

  61. the joke is he is streets ahead of glen johnson in terms of defending..look at glen johnson every time a player gets a cross in and he is englands right back…..enrique nobdy has slagged off..he has been at fault for 2 goals at least.

  63. Am I the only one who has seen a steady improvement in Perch’s game since his baptism of fire against Man United? I think he has been good in the last 3 games, with the penalty that wasn’t given at Wolves the only blip in any of those games. He will make mistakes throughout the season, but what full back won’t? The fact is, nowadays fullbacks are attacking players with decent, but not exceptional defensive capabilities. Just look at Clichy, he is fantastic going forward, but woeful defensively. Perch is decent defensively and decent offensively. He links up well with Routledge and has a good cross on him. A good, steady player. He has all the physical attributes to succeed and just needs more PL experience. Even the press have taken note of his progression.

    Also, I have noticed that people are starting to turn on Routledge. His delivery isn’t great all the time, but his pace and trickery is vital to our attack. Look at the space he created for Ben Arfa’s goal. He will stretch teams.

    Next week against Stoke I would like to see Nolan dropped for Lovenkrands in a 4-4-2. Lovenkrands can feel pretty aggrieved at being dropped after his performances at SJP last year.

  64. So would be our best back four, presuming all were fit and willing? Enrique is automatic left back even if he had competition.

  66. I don’t feel comfortable that we will have the option to sign have regardless. Think about this.

    This is a french international player that went on strike from a champion’s league side, to get a conditional loan move to a newly promoted club with a strict wage ceiling and no serious european prospects.

    I hope yees are right I really do, but I think it’ll be a case of the two parties looking again in the summer.

  67. I think Perch is coming under fire as he is constantly compared to Enrique. The thing is, Enrique is one of the best left backs in this league and that is no exaggeration. He has everything.

  68. personally I’d prefer a full back to attempt a tackle and give away a foul outside the box than keep backing then be unable to make a tackle cos there in the penalty area…….but hey what do I know ;-)

  69. ~ El Toro ~ says:
    September 19, 2010 at 6:58 pm

    “Am I the only one who has seen a steady improvement in Perch’s game”

    No :)

    toonsy says:
    September 19, 2010 at 6:47 pm

    “I honestly see signs of improvement in Perch.”

    toonsy says:
    September 19, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    “Also, I know Perch has his doubters, but I honestly think he is improving. He has a bit of pace which is a good start, and didn’y Hughton play in that position for years at Spurs in the top flight? I think he can imporve him further tbh. I hope he can anyway, and there are signs of it already IMO.”

    So yeh can get to feck with your little exclusive club :lol:

  70. @toonsy: So in what way do you think Perch is improving?? Maybe i didn’t notice/watch him much during the last few games~~

    Did he run faster? Nope. his speed is ever so quick.

    Did he starts to protect well enough on his right side of the field Nope…. I still him drifting away from his position time to time. Which is costly.

    Did he improve His tackling and time it well? Nope…i guess no need for explanation for this.

    Only Stuff i see him improving ish…he is following Jonas falling down to get fouls in favor.

    Rmb,i said at the moment,Perch is still below decent.He Might Improve.But atm Nope.

  72. Laced…

    I think the current 4 is our strongest – although hughton will alternate perch and simpson… sell the taylors and use campbell as back up.

  74. IMO I think Simpson is a better RB as Toonsy said he was playing for a longtime with an injury which showed him to have weakness’s but befroe that he was solid, I agree that up to now Perch has done ok but a yellow every game is a bit to much but I do think he was bought mainly as a backup as he can cover a lot of positions. So I would say while he is serving a ban Simpson will get back in and I dont think he will loose his place again ;)

  78. AOD

    I’m sorry, mate, but what you have just said about Perch is utter tosh.

    What has improved?

    1. Positional sense (watch the Everton game on football first. Time and time agaion Arteta looked to slip Pienaar in between Williamson and Perch but the latter cut it out for virtually the whole game)

    2. He has stopped constantly backing off of onrushing players.

    3. His partnership with Routledge is clearly improving as the games go by.

    I’m sorry, but you just seem like you have made your mind up about Perch because of a few errors he has made.

  79. el toro u are spot on..thats why arsenal struggle with thier fullbacks..who cant defend or head the ball were the goals come from..nobody doesnt see that..if they had fullbacks who defend they would win the league to me..out of postion all the time when they lose the ball..people go past them easily.. experts dont say anything or see it..

  81. toonsy says:
    September 19, 2010 at 7:02 pm

    “Boater – What strict wage ceiling?”

    The one that was made up in the media to try and get the fans angry again, Toonsy.

  82. Ok here’s the skinny on NUFC as I see it.

    Good news is that we are already good enough to stay up this season but (bad news) only if CH sheds the negative shackles that he seems happy to hold on to at cetain times.

    The results so far have been pretty predictable apart from the 6 we scored against Villa (but I still expected us to win that game) and the Blackpool reverse which was purely down to Hughton’s tactical formation.

    We are good enough to take on the likes of Wolves and outplay them and Everton who probably wont be the force this season that they have been in previous years.

    Currently I see us battling away with the likes of Fulham, Birmingham and maybe Liverpool for the positions outside the top five (Chelski, MUsa, Arse, Spuds, Citeh) and maybe an eigth place would be a reasonable return providing CH gets his act together.

    Yesterday showed that HBA and Tiote were easily better than the players they replaced and when Gosling becomes available I would hope that Nolan and Smudger accept their roles as valuable members of the squad.

    Its then up to CH to get the best out of HBA and AC and use the rest of the forwards/midfield to work out a game plan that allows us to react quickly and swiftly to penetrate less mobile defences.

    If the back four hangs together with the return of both Taylors and backup from Sol Campbell and Tiote becomes the midfield anchor we need then the formation up front is the key.

    Gosling, Barton and Guthrie should all compete for the central midfield spots and HBA could fill that playmaker role with AC and two other attack minded midfielders.

    Although I’m happy with the players we currently have in the squad, in an ideal world I’d like to recruit a young right sided attacking mf along the lines of Sanchez (Udinese) or Cleverley just to give us the mobility that we so obviously need and a suitably mobile forward to help out AC – the guy at PSG still looks a good bet IMO.

    That would give us the opportunity to compete with this top group (outside of the five) and ideally win a European place as a reward.

  83. so didnt u watch the man u game u must have missed it..send u a video evra must be slow..he got away from perch with a 1-2 and perch got back and put him in the stand..

  84. boater
    right on brother, preach! Perch has been fine, good even, if we were to listen to the fans Enrique and Collocini wouldn’t even be here man, they would have been shipped out after their fist seasons. But look at them now, two of our most consistent, high, performers, and I would even go on to say they have produced some of the highest standards of play i’ve seen throughout all of the teams i’ve saw this season! “Just have a little patienccccccccceeeee”

    Was just watching Paul Merson’s comments on us after the game and he said something which I’ve been thinking. He said we will do alright away from home this season, it’s our home form we need address.

    I think it’s our home ‘team’ which we need to tinker with. Our best players are suited to, and play best, in a 4-5-1, but, as against Blackpool, it can come undone. CH isn’t stupid though, food for thought maybe.

    I’ve actually got a bet on with a lad at work that we will get 15 points or more away from home this season, only 11 more to go :D

    Ben Arfa and Tiote for England!

  86. workyticket says:
    September 19, 2010 at 7:11 pm

    “The one that was made up in the media to try and get the fans angry again, Toonsy.”

    Aye I thought it was that one but just wanted to check like :)

  87. @~ El Toro ~: Point 3. Is obvious and of course the partnership with routledge will improve….If it doesn’t,it will be a shock to me.

    Point 2: stopped constantly backing off of onrushing players…But what he did to manage that? Slide tackle! Percentage of timely tackle? need to improve alot on that.

    Point 1: refer to basically what i say…have not improve his command on the right side yet…I see Colo and Williamson going to right,when Perch gone MIA from there.

  88. angle of death forget it mate..u are talking shit u have to slide tackle if u are coming across to stop the ball when some body is breaking..u either take the man or the ball..it is not girls play ground…..look at vidic he gets done for joke against good players sent off and pulls players he is good..that what experts think.. i think he is shit..so sod off

  89. ILM the problem I have with 4 5 1 at home is that at 0-0 its ok but if we go a goal down its hard to get back into the game without leaving ourselfs open even more haveing to chase the game, I wouldn’t mind it against the top 4 teams but teams round us I think we should be going out to beat them not stop them from scoring. Saying that if Benny is played in Nolans role I suppose its like playing with 2 strikers

  90. I hope that our scouts are looking for young talented left backs, because that seems to be a real weekness at our club. Is there any kids coming through the ranks who could play there?

  92. Asim – Chill out a little mate eh? AOD is only having his opinion and doesn’t deserve to be sworn at and abused for it FFS lad!

  94. @asim: well,i guess u don’t get the meaning of sliding tackle to try get the ball out but fail miserably wrong and get yellow card for getting out the man instead.

    That’s Perch~~~That’s what i am saying about him.

    Done Deal.

    He isn’t improving Yet.

  98. Lets not forget that Perch is still finding his feet at this level , 5 games in and he looks a decent fullback with potential , the 5 yellows are part of his learning curve and so long as he learns from them then before the end of the season he will have justified his place in the side . imo i can see an England call up for the lad in a couple of seasons . Their is not a lot of good young English rb’s around at the minute .

  99. I kna that feeling Toonsy……I just wanted to gloat after storming(provisionally) past him in the fantasy footy :-)

  102. stormed up to 8th :-) ……it’s doon to my assistant manager batty who called me a Judas for having Zog in the team so I got rid and got Benny in instead :lol:

  104. “Europe? This season? 8O

    Nee wonder we get called deluded at times…”

    The fifth-placed team in the BPL qualifies for the UEFA Cup, as do the FA Cup winners and the Carling Cup winners.

    However European places are also available for English teams in the Inter-Toto Cup and via the Fair Play League, where the highest placed team in the Fair Play League that has not qualified for Europe by other means, is entered into a UEFA draw. If a team is drawn out of the hat – they enter the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Cup.

    Snot impossible but if you read what I wrote Toonsy you’d know I used the word “ideally” which translates to “in theory or imagination” or “theoretically”

    Thats why we’re not deluded we’re idealists :) Cant find the smug grin smiley face.

  105. Firstly i would like to applaued this write up its truly excellent.
    People on Ben Arfa people have to remember that one his biggest weakness was not his lack of talent but it was his consistency.
    I remember watching a video in french where Arsene Wenger said Ben Arfa had the moments like ” Maradona” but he lacked the mentality
    He reminds me of Cristiano ronaldo when he first came to the mancs ( not i dont say he is as good as ronaldo )
    But if CH can sit down with him and get the best out of him then we will have an amazing player.
    But for now lets enjoy the stunner aganist everton goals like that dont come every match !

  107. aye Dave but I have to associate him with the team first then he cant deny it when I blame him later ;-)

  108. AndyMac – Given that we are one of the worst in terms of bookings according to the fair play league already, I very much doubt that Europe through the back door is a possibility either!

  109. alrite lads? just back from my holidays! been traveling for what seems like 24 hours now,was watching the everton game at the hotel on the pc,bus left at 3.55pm,caught the ben arfa goal on the stream and then skipped to the bus with a major head rush the likes of which i havent recieved since sitting in milburn level 7 on a cold winter afternoon after watching monsiuer robert whack a couple of belters in against the spuds! i love a frenchman with a left peg me.hope your all well like,glad i missed the blackpool game now,its the 1st time my season ticket substitute mate has witnessed defeat in my abscence,strangely satisfying.thot tiote looked amazing yesterday like,and as for hatem well,lets just hope he keeps it up and we defo have first refusal at the agreed price of 5m? bloody hope so

  110. After these five matches, I’ve been very pleased with Enrique and Barton. Enrique has been very solid in defending and clicked well with midfield when going forward. He’s strong and mobile and cuts off opponent’s wideplay on his flank, steals the ball and makes it look sooo easy. Barton has shown his footballing talent and is very aware of the play and his positioning in the system. However, his set pieces were terrible yesterday.

    The one who worries me is Coloccini. He overplays too often and is caught off position. He’s always few steps advanced or behind the defensive line and therefore causing troubles for Willo. Disastrous game against Blackpool. Good block on Fellaini yesterday though. And can’t blame his attitude, he’s been very willing to put his foot or head in and get involved. But, has to concentrate on his positioning.

    What comes to new boys (HBA, Tiote) they had strong debutes. Looking forward to see more of them.

  111. As far as Arfa goes, let’s hope his performances aren’t all as sensational, or we likely won’t be seing him in a Toon shirt after this season :).
    Both the lads did brilliantly, Tiote for Essien is a bit extreme I think, I don’t think he is or ever will reach essien’s quality, but thats not to take anything away from the lad, he played brilliantly and has been just the find we’ve been looking for for a few seasons. He’s a player that doesn’t particularly need to stand out or grab any headlines, and as long as he doesn’t get himself sent off or give away too much I don’t think fans will be too critical.

    As far as Arfa goes, I can see people’s point when comparing him to Ginola, and indeed his goal was Robert-esque but I do believe we need to be a bit patient with claiming he is either one of them, or both, or better, it can be dangerous to make those claims after one game..even one season is tough enough-who would have thought Berbatov would have been playing so well this season? If we had lost there would have been much less of these claims, but as we won, and these two players were integral then I suppose people assume they’re world beaters.

    I think its important to ntoe what Hughton said-despite the two brilliant debuts, it was a team performance-Routledge’s pace caused plenty of problems, Enrique was brilliant again, or back line was solid in general, Barton had his passing back up to scratch and Nolan did well and earned us a penalty even if it wasn’t given. Carroll was quiet like but he kept the defence focused on him as an outlet, and obviously brought the attention off Arfa and allowed him to play as he liked.

    Still, after all that, I think most toon fans will be patient and accepting as we have always been-this is a better result in terms of points gained than the Villa game -but lets face it that game was magical, and will be noted down as a “classic.” In saying that though, we were beaten afterwards by blackpool, in possibly one of the most sobering moments of my football-watching life. I believe it was a shared experience by many of us, and here’s hoping its taught us all to enjoy the brilliant results like Everton, but to never look too far, or feel too confident or expect too much of our lads because of what could lie around the corner..aka Blackpool.

  112. Good point Toonsy; that game is now history and not to be generalized from. Preparation and execution are what matters for the next match, not some skirted cheerleader blather.