Happiest I've been so far - My thoughts on the Brugge game.

Cheers! It'll be a completely different competition when the CL teams drop down (a rule as equally as stupid as not awarding the winner a CL spot!)

I don't think we ever needed to look amazing though. We chopped and changed a lot and our shape was never properly established so there were gaps there to be exploited had we been playing better opposition. (cliche alert!) At the end of the day, all you can do is play what is in front of you, the 3 points were what mattered...

Yeah, he does need to improve his decision making, but then think back 6 months to a year ago, Ben Arfa was exactly the same and has now added passing to his game and looks better for it. I think Sammy's problem is he's been told to run at them and cause problems, and he isn't experienced enough to do it ONLY at the right times...

 

Am I the only one who isn't convinced about Sammy and was impressed with him last night. Ferguson was the best player.

 

Well, quite a few people have criticised hsi decision making. I was impressed by him but agree that he is still quite raw.

I was impressed because he looks fast, skillful, hardworking and has a decent shot on him. Those are things which it is hard to develop in a player if he doesn;t have them as a teenager. The over ambition, lack of awareness and possible greediness can all be worked on.

I think you've got to agree the combination of skill, pace and pass that lead up to the goal is as nice as anything you can ask for from a young player.

If your point is that Fergie is the better of the two, very possibly. He is excellent as well, and much tidier.

 

But I'm Not a fan of Sammy Ameobi would probably agree with you.

 

If we continue in this competition at what stage would you put out a full strength side?

 

I worry that Overan will now disappear again for a few months before having his next 'one off' show of potential.

 

Sammy's decision making and lack of experience was obvious, but the quality is there and it was undeniable.

His magnificent run lead to the goal, and we're all quick to **** over Ben Arfa if he's absent for 70 mins of a game but produces moments of magic to win it for us.

But Sammy was alive for more than that. Ferguson did more in the game and was consistent, but Sammy's class IMO made the difference and it won us the game. We lacked creativity throughout the whole match, apart from a few good crosses from Ferguson.

 

Not a scintillating performance, but still plenty of positives to take forward. Some of our younger players, Fergie, Bigi, Sammy are really starting to look like players, as the raw talent each has starts to take shape. The average age on the field last night was 23 and Pardew said we were looking to some extent at the future of NUFC, l can see why he said that.
We go forward into Europe and still have many challenges yet to come, including the CL teams dropping down, that's a whole different thread, but it's such a good opportunity for the likes of those mentioned above to get their chance to perform and grow.
Anita will need a season l suspect before we can tell if he will make the grade, Jonas must be looking over his shoulder at Fergie, but he is for the future and still needs developing. I personally love Santon in his natural right back position and feel Bigi performs beyond his years, but again needs to be carefully developed. For me at this point my biggest concern is Cisse, something just does not look right about him and l am struggling to pinpoint what exactly it is. Can't help feeling that if he had buried one if the chances he had last night it would have helped enormously, don't really want to see him being dropped, as that will do his confidence no favours, but in fairness Shola is looking sharper and more of a threat as it stands. Guess this is where Pardew needs to show his managerial skill both in terms of tactics, rotation of the squad and man management of those who are under-performing and struggling at present.

 

Santon was better than a 6.5 rating Tash, the whole team was. I've also heard that Tiote is down your way looking for you!

 

We were REALLY lucky to escape with 3 points. We were sloppy in defence at times, and we really caught a break when their striker headed the ball over the bar from 5 yards out.
Did the pitch look abnormally large yesterday?

-NONE of our team on the pitch bar Ferguson could put in any semblance of a cross.
No, not Santon, not Sammy and definitely not Obertan.
-Sammy flashed, and its pretty much obvious that he has done more than Vuckic ever did in the same position playing for us... However he tends to dribble too much at times , like the one before he got substituted we were on a 4 on 3 break and he dribbled himself to death
-Obertan got us the crucial goal and that was worth a lot in itself. Otherwise, Obertan ALWAYS beats his man, and finds himself stuck in the corner with no threat to deliver a ball into the box, and leaves opponents jogging in to close down his space, forcing him to pass backwards. While this may work, if he waas playing on the left with Ferguson, it did no favours playing on the right
-Anita got substituted out early, it's obvious he isn't comfortable with his teammates yet, still holding out hope he'll come through
-Tiote , to be brutally honest, was abysmal. Even worse than the 30 minutes he played at the derby, he gave the ball away numerous times and we were lucky their strikers, were probably just centre backs playing in that position

Still, it's awesome to get the 3 points and we are a step closer to qualification(if we haven't already)