The Unsung Hero at Newcastle?

Our sudden turn in form as of late is not simply luck. Its down to one man stepping up to the plate. We were excellent early in the season due to our defensive displays, and sine the return of a class act, Mike Williamson, we suddenly look a lot more solid. Iron Mike never puts a foot wrong, partnering Coloccini superbly. Solid in the air and on the ground, this £1m purchase is a bargain! He deserves more plaudits than he gets, completely filling the void left by Steven Taylor's injury. Keep it up Mike!

 

Agree entirely, Taylor only edges it for me because of his miracle ability to get his body on the line, and pops up with the odd goal or two.

 

Agreed Playing alongside someone as good as Colocinni it's easy to look good (as we saw from Perch), but he still hasn't put a foot wrong and I thought he looked especially "Iron" on Sunday

 

Very solid and have to agree with the unsung hero that he is at the moment. Him Colo, Santon and Simpson very impressive at the mo, hopefully they will keep it up

 

I still say it's all down to Colo. Soon as he came back we looked solid
BUT
he does need someone who can head the ball alongside him. I.e. not Perch. Willo is a good player for that. £1m was he? Love the new signings system. All the players in the CCC less than £3m. Long may it continue!

 

After Taylor's almost constant MOM performances this season he just edges it for me if we're talking about who's the better CB but Williamson is very capable any I always feel comfortable when theres an issue to be dealt with at the back, hes one of those players who just quietly goes about his business without fuss and does a damn good job, I've always rated him since the championship.

My only slight niggle would be that he finds it extremely difficult when we're playing teams who have pace up front, but then again so does Colo to an extent, but I think it could be more to do with Pardew and his inexplicable high line against pacey opponents.

 

All down to Kuqi

 

Willo deffo doesnt get enough credit. He did good last season I even remember at some point I had him before saylor in the team, also he's contracted for another few years great squad player to have, hope he gets a goal soon though!

 

This. It was horrible watching a player as good as Colo looking so average against West Brom, just because Pardew had messed up his tactics!

 

Agreed, Taylor was a class act before been getting injured but Mike has done well and been impressive so hopefully that will continue with Colo. Only other slight problem with Mike is his distribution which can be a bit poor as he seems to boot it at lot unlike Colo who gets it down. However you can not argue for the 1 million pound that he cost.

 

I'll be honest, I've barely noticed Williamson. Which for a CB is not a bad thing. Nothing outstanding, but can't remember any mistakes and that's enough to make a cb a top class premier league player

 

That game was horrible to watch defensively, we were caught out almost every single time on the counter and by the time he changed it it was too late anyway.

 

Just to be clear, I'm not saying Williamson's better than Taylor, I just love having him around, as he's solid and reliable cover.

 

We definitely have benefitted from Iron Mike's presence, but I'll be glad when Saylor is fit enough to compete for a place.

 

We're lucky to have three good CB's like Colo, Taylor and Willo. All three of them do a great job when they play.

 

Aye but its in mine and everybody else's on here's nature to immediately compare any player we discuss with another player we have

 

I take back some of the bad things I said about Williamson last season. He made some serious blunders last year and I didn't have much confidence in him, BUT so far since coming back from injury he's been strong and stable, and I couldn't be happier with his performance!

 

We looked really solid against WBA when Colo came back, I mean he was outstanding in that game...

 

Aye, I am more than happy to have Iron Mike back there defensively, however his distribution is ****, properly ****. It's fine against the better sides but in game we should be dominating like Sunday, it is painful to watch. In England, young defenders are told to just kick it long, so I suppose Willo can hardly be blamed, but it is horrendous to watch. He is very good at stopping the opposition but doesn't have a lot of footballing ability and struggles on the ball.

May sound very critical but all in all, happy with having him back, atleast we are solid.

 

I think that's fair to say.