Following his two brief appearances two postings on here along with the a originial quote from YBR have used the phrase `The ball appears to be tied to his feet`, this to me if accurrate is great attribute, he is mastering the tools of his trade, coupled with I would suspect natural pace this bodes well for the young un. I was interested in the last match report posting(Tony I think?) in which the writer in summing up the players said of Lua, raw talent. Okay all things being equal, what would you do if you were the coach at Newcastle, (a)Let him carry on as now, a raw unbridled talent which can confuse both his teamates and the oppossition. (b)Initially used sparingly, further his development at the R/Side by coaching him in team tactics, his role within the system that may curtail his natural game. (c)What would you like to see (a) or (b) if you were just a fan

-- Anonymous, October 01, 2000

Answers

I'd give him his head for a while. It would be a pity to discipline his natural talent until we know just how talented he might be. It may turn out that being screamed at by team mates when he drops bollix might be all the discipline he needs.

Even if sometimes he does confuse his team mates, nee problem, as long as he does it more times to the opposition.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2000

I'd first like to see what effect he'd have on a full game. Coming on when defenders are tired is one thing ... the full 90 mins another.
Given our injury record I reckon this will happen sooner rather than later. YBR may have bought him as "one for the future" but he clearly believes he can hack it already in the Premiership.

I'd go for (a)... let him loose.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2000

Buff, I've seen both matches, and I would not use the phrase raw unbridled talent Well, not if that simply means indisciplined. More likely uninhibited. To me, the lad bringsd a freshness to the side the like of which we have only seen from LKD in small doses.

From what I hear, off the field he is in no way from the same mould as LKD. That is what YBR must preserve. I believe LKD is in danger of burning out, due to (perhaps) indiscipline off the pitch.

Make no mistake, Lua x2 has still a lot to learn, and I think YBR will likely try to ease him in gently, and not let a couple of great performances go to his head, because surely, he's gonna have a stinker one of these days and that must not get him down.

I hope the hype doesn't build too much and that YBR uses him wisely. That said, I fully expect him to be in the starting lineup against the Smoggies.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2000

The thing about teammates not knowing what he will do is good at the moment. Coupled with the fact that he doesn't lose the ball easily, he ends up with 2 or 3 showing for him and we suddenly have all those options that make it hard for defenders. Not being horrible, but when LKD gets the ball you know he won't pass until he gets forced away from the six yard box so everyone slows right down until he's there and likewise Solano will not cross until he's in space and seems unwilling to make it for himself.

Lua Lua has sent a greater variety of through-balls and shots into the area in 2 substitute appearances than the rest of the team have managed all season. I'd hate to see that trained out of him. His ability to keep hold of the ball means that he is one creative option that doesn't make us lighter since he keeps teams pinned back.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2000

Dare I say, he is our next Gazza?

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2000

Our new Tino, more like. He could be very, very, very good indeed. The prospect of Lua x2, YKD, Hughes and Stevie Caldwell is mouth watering...in a purely footballing sense, ok course (slap my thigh in a manly manner).

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2000

i believe he's being mentored by Nobby , as he was giving him a lot of instruction at Maine Road on saturday .. that may also account for why he never squared the ball to him on 90 minutes . I think hes been blooded well so far , and i reckon bobby will keep it that way , a secret weaponfor half an hour may be better than a raw one for minutes at this stage , especially v the Smoggies .

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2000

Bringing him off the bench when the opposition is tiring is the ideal situation for him - this also allows him to can watch the development of the game, suss out the opposition players - many of who he will never have seen live - and think about where the weak points are in the opposition defence before he comes on.
Unfortunately, right now we don't seem to have a legitimate partner for AS and I might be tempted to give him a couple of starts just to seem how he made out.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2000

Trouble with him being a supersub is that we already have two of the PL's great supersubs in Dyer and Domi. However, I'd agree that he should be eased into games. It was nice to see Big Al giving him so many hugs and stuff at the end. He's not quite snogging him like he did Duncan Ferguson but I'm sure that will come.. All I hope is that the likes of Amoebi and Coppinger get their runs out too as they need to be encouraged.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2000

Thanks all for top anwers, not having seen him I place the opinions on here before all other pundits,

-- Anonymous, October 06, 2000