It's ridiculous that people are getting so worked up so early!

At Wigan and us in 154 games he has scored 17 goals(Including Championship with us). Probably less than halve have been free kicks. Not very good for a dead ball specialist, a first class one at that. Ranking him up with the likes of past and present first class dead ball specialists Messi, Cronaldo, Zidane, Vdv, Roberto Carlos, Gerrard, Del Piero is completely mental.

Add to that we have been awful with set pieces for nigh on 2 years. He hasn't done much of a 'first class' job.

 

How? I was merely stating the fact that the game was ****, because it was. Not getting worked up at all.

 

Well, you see, to call it "the ****test game ever played" is known as 'going to extremes' or perhaps 'going off the deep end'.

People do this when upset/worked up about things.

Every day's a school day...

 

To some people it's known as expressing an opinion.

We all have them!

 

Controversial as ever, AB.

 

Don't see where controversy comes into it. Tash has kept the board going at times when it was extremely quiet and his threads have kept the board going, he's a well respected member of our not606 team.

 

It was sarcasm... never mind.

"well respected" you say?

Interesting... calling people "******ed" for expressing their opinion doesn't garner a great deal of respect from my quarter.

As you say, you need your regular posters... however childish their 'personality' might be.

Carry on.

 

We will do, we've managed to get by so far, even without your input.

 

Wow, how petty.

 

Not petty, fact!

 

It's not the fact that is petty, it's you.

 

NUFC Stats ‏@NUFC_Stats
Since the start of last season, NUFC have scored from just 1 corner in 229 attempts in the Premier League (Wolves away) #nufc

 

Over the wall and into the net.

 

Its nice to present those stats but it is hard to really judge unless you can tell us the number of free kicks he has taken in that time so you can get an idea of ratio. Even when in the side he does not take the corners (Cabaye does) and I'm struggling to remember if he takes the non shooting free kicks.

It is amusing that you use Ronaldo as evidence of an expert dead ball free kick taker. I dare say he has one of the worst ratios around!! I watch spanish football regularly and his strike rate is absolutely appalling and regularly mocked by commentators. I dare say Gerrard's ratio is pretty poor too. Messi gets to take very few (more recently) but is showing signs of being up with the very best. Xavi has always taken the majority of their free kicks. Carlos also had a very poor strike rate for all he could produce the odd spell binding one. You're believing the hype unfortunately. Del Piero has a canny record from what I can remember, as does Zidane. The only ones with spell binding records I can really recall are the likes of Zola (1 in 3 while in Italy) and Maradona.

Raylors record is comparable with most modern dead ball takers except the very very best. They tend to reside at massive clubs. At our level he is good, certainly along the lines of a Robert or Solano. Though you do not consider him a dead ball specialist, those within the game do consider him one for a very good reason. Maybe it isn't always rewarded when he takes other dead balls but he puts pace and whip on the ball, and he's accurate. Our problems do not only reside with the taker. We lack great headers of the ball full stop.

So not mental at all and a bit of research would have told you all this.

 

Being early in the season is besides the point though?

The fact is we have played **** most of the time in the league and if we continue to do so we will finish in a **** league position, sugar coat it however you like.

 

Young Ferguson takes a good corner as does Biggi, however neither are regulars for first team starts.
Don't seem to see Saylor getting on the end of corners as much as he used too.

 

100% this.

 

Ok, in terms of where we are, we're around 7 points worse off vs the same fixtures last year. Man U and Chelsea beat us in games we won last season, but is that a huge surprise? And we picked up a point from Wolves where West Ham (somehow) beat us. Of our first 10 games, we've played 6 top 10 sides and Liverpool/Sunderland. Plus there's the Europe League. Give it some time. I don't even really care if we finish mid-table this season; everyone lauds Everton who managed 16th I think a couple of years ago? We're not Champs League regulars or Prem contenders - what we do is have a go (last season), then with the rigours of Europe have a quieter time of things. Then we rebuild, and come again. That's our lot in life, the sooner we all accept that, the easier it will be.

On set pieces, I am a little sore on this one - the ONLY tactic seems to be launch it to the back post for Williamson. There's three issues here - one, everyone in the league knows this and puts their best header of a ball on Mike. Two, Williamson is a very average player and ends up committing a foul most of the time. And, three, Pardew said ALL SUMMER that the club needed a strong in the air defender who can chip in with as many as 8 goals a season - we didn't effing buy one, and so we're left with nowt.