Innocent until proven guilty is fair enough. Trouble is throw enough muck and some is bound to stick.......I find it very difficult to understand how on earth footballers get into such positions that they could be accused of rape!! While it is true we do not know all the facts, there must be something that went on for it to be called possible rape. The crown prosecution service do not usually proceed with this type of case, unless in their eyes there is better than a 65% chance of success. However a jury will have to interpret what happened and more often than not will give the benefit of any doubt to the accused.....which sadly does not mean he was not guilty of some mis-demeanour, just that it is not beyond reasonable doubt that he was guilty. That is the reason why the CPS is normally very reluctant to prosecute rape cases of this nature. If he is found guilty.....I personally would like them to lock him up and throw away the key!!! However I cannot see this happening........
I'd be surprised if there are more than two league places between us and you come the end of the season. Both have decent keepers. We have a cracking RB in Debuchy, Santon not so clever defending but good going forward. You're very strong at full back on both sides. I'd say we both have solid CB options. We do tend to ship 3 or 4 away from home once every five or six games but this is more due to Pardew going 4-4-2 away from home and the defence not always having the protection it should have. Midfield is our strongest area, with good players like Ben Arfa and Anita not seeing much game time of late. We have good strength in depth there. From what I've seen of you it's also where I think you're strongest too. Up top we're both light in my opinion. We have Remy with Cisse and Shola as back up and you have Lambert and Osvaldo. I know Rodriguez can play there but he's normally on the left for you. An injury to Remy for us or Lambert/Osvaldo for you and suddenly we both look short for a team in the top 6/8. Hoping to get to the game at your place later in the season and would be great (and also unlikely) if one of us could gate crash the top four come the end of the season
Yes agree with that. We have a few key players out now but we would struggle big time if any of our strikers were out for long.
I think that's a fair assessment as well. You're a good strong side - I made an awful prediction at the start of the season that you would struggle, as it seemed as though Pardew wasn't getting the best out of the players. He has turned it around massively in the last month or so and you are finally seeing the results that you should be. I still think he can be very tactically naive and make the wrong decisions at times - but fair play to him for riding the storm and coming out the other side. This game really could go either way! I would be very happy with a point.
15:00 Newcastle v Southampton Referee - Michael Jones Assistants = G Beswick & M Scholes 4th Official = K Friend
Looks like you're about to increase your winless run. Then a few tough games to come afterwards. It will be a shame if your season fizzles out after such a promising start.
And it will be fantastic if it doesn't. We have plenty of reason to have a positive side here, unlike some other Not606 forums I could mention.
Did I miss something? Are we playing West Ham on the weekend? No, I think it's Newcastle, so why are you here? Can I direct you to the Knees Up Mother Brown forum where I'm sure you'll be welcome, and be able to converse with other fans of your club. http://www.kumb.com/forum/index.php
Wasn't he the chap that wanted Adkins sacked? So turns out he was right then? Must be a bit embarrassing that in hindsight he has more knowledge than all of you?
I would just go with whichever of the usual starting XI are healthy as a lineup, and then the usual backups. Don't see any reason for a change in tactics. I understand the point that Cork, Davis, etc. played very well and could be said to have "earned" another start. But on the other hand, it's not like any of the starters have been under-performing. It's harsh to go back to the bench after playing well, but it's also harsh to lose your starting spot due to injury. You earn that spot by performing every day in practice and in every match. And on that basis, we've established a starting XI. One game doesn't change that. We do however, have a bit of luxury perhaps in that the backups have proven quite capable so if there are any questions about the health of Schneiderlin or others, best to play it safe and wait until certain. I also feel like Chambers and Cork should have been getting some occasional starts this entire time, even with everyone healthy. The tricky part for me is still deciding on the strikes/attacking midfielders. Osvaldo had the wonder goal, JWP has the set pieces and has been steadily improving all-around, Rodriguez is the best at pressing/chasing, Lallana's been in fine form, and Lambert offers a bit of everything, and I think Davis is quite good at keeping things moving and when he is in does much more than people realize... and yet overall the offense has struggled at times. No idea how to sort out that situation.
http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/pdf/wp55_eng.pdf Newcastle fielding the most foreign players in England. Don't mean nowt.
