How can we play without our main target for three months?! Who is going to be his tempoary replacement? Emile Mpenza? Ronaldo? Robbie Keane? Michael Bridges? Titi Camara? Egil Ostenstad? Jamie Beattie? Marian Pahars? James Coppinger? Shola Ameobi? Micahel Chopra? Any other candidates?

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Answers

If we have not got a player to hold the ball up like Shearer, perhaps we should swap Dyer for Bridges and 3million??

A solution, but it's not perfect, but it would keep the team with an outlet, a player who can hold the ball up and give the lads a little composer and confidence when in possession, not to mention the fact he can stick the ball in the net, and is a Toon fan.

But losing a player with Dyers potential would be a twat. Even if we got a good player plus cash.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

A Bridges/Dyer cash/swap deal would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that Bridges is long term injured with a calf and ankle problem (according to the LUFC Website) They have no known return date for him, and given the open attitude of the 'upper' management at Elland Road, this suggests to me that he possibly won't be back this season.

Mind you, I suppose that is the best qualification for us going after him.....another friggin crock!

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

I wouldn't mind us getting Bridges (how long is he really out for?) , and parting with Dyer may not be the worse case scenario, but only £3 million extra? Not enough to tempt Mr Robson methinks.

If there were 6 or 7 million then it could happen. As for the others, M'penza would be a gamble, and were is the £6 million coming from? Southampton wont be parting with their players, so forget Beatie and Pahars. One source couldbe Rangers, they look on the verge of parting company with thier manager who would possibly want rid of a number of the current players. Other than them I can't see any team wanting to part with any strikers that are better than what we have.

So bring on Chopra and Ameobi.... It's the only solution.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Long term, We won't be keeping Cordone or Gallagher, so we need to find someone NOW who is capable of filling Shearers boots, he would never come in wrong as we really only have Cort and Shearer who will be any good in the PL next sason,none of the youngsters would be ready for first team action week in week out.

What about Huckerby?

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Who was that Swede/Norwegian we were after in the summer. The one who Rangers 'nicked' at the death.......is he playing for them, any good, cheap pick up/loan?

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Ken. Lovenkrands is crap, played 45 mins for Rangers, as I have posted elsewhere, info Rik, this is their peckin order, 1, Mols 2.Flo 3.Miller 4.Wallace 5 Dodds 6. Negri 7.Lovenkrands 8 Rosenthal. Scuttlebutt up here suggests Wallace > Newcastle, *Watched Russell Latapy (Hibs) last night and in my mind was comparing him with Dyer, no contest, the Trinidadian is miles better with his all round contribution, a very good player, comments McBeth? Only short term solution for Shearer I can suggest is Motherwlls Lee McCulloch, young, big, raw, puts himself about and can hold up ball. Jeffries took over at Bradford and put a offer in for him the next day, not take much foe Well to budge, est 1 mill.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Thanks for that Buff......I wondered what had happened to Loven.....whatsisface.

Pleased to hear thet we didn't get our fingers burnt with him after all.

My cousins are 'Well supporters as well as Toon, and was talking about this McCulloch last week at Villa....how old (or should that be how young) is he.....is he worth a punt or would we be better saviung some precious pennies and sticking with one of the already existing youngsters at SJP (Ameobi, Coppinger, Chopra et al)

Devil and deep blue sea spring to mind. Two of the above have already broken into the first team squad and I know Chopra scored for the England kids the other night, but is he 'big enough and good enough' to hack it in the PL.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

McCulloch if I can mind right is a mature 20 years, realise Cort will be back, it all depends what Bobby feels he requires, Chopra is too young for that role, coppinger if I read Softie correct needs to play off a target man, that leaves Amobi -v- McCulloch, the problem is the likes of our 3 may feel slighted about bringing in a new face, Football is a game for NOW , managers do not get a chance to build a club, order of the day is instant success

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Buff, Not sure about Latapy, he's too happy, free thinking to be taken seriously as a footballer :0) They were only playing Dunfermline yesterday so it's difficult to tell.

I'd happily go for Wallace, or Dodds, and I would die for Kenny Miller but I think Advocaat would die for Kenny Miller too. McCulloch would do as far as battering rams go, I was surprised at Jeffries going for him as he's just a younger version of Windass. Having said that £1m for McCulloch would be well worth it.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Made my feelings known on this on other thread and the dilema that has been with us since the departure of Sir Les.

Alan Shearer is still a major asset of Newcastle United and thus needs protecting. Whatever we read about him 'wanting to play everyweek bla bla bla' is bollox.With the purchase of Cort, it was going to be the two big lads up front. So for gods sake, here was a chance at last to use Alan properly. Thirty years of age. Kicked from pillar to post and hit by two major injuries. Get another lad in and give Shearer a chance to get over injuries and prolong what hopefully will be a long end to his time at the Toon.

Pre season we got a warning. Still no action. Then Cort gets a knock. No action and Cort brought back early, makes the injury worse out for months. Shearer not training for weeks we are told and lurching from week to week less than half fit.

Approaching Christmas and what a suprise. Shearer finally sucumbs to an injury that was first diagnosed in June and has been patched up ever since.

Leaving us with the hugely promising LuaLua(who is a wider player rather than a out and out striker) and an Argentinian,Cordone, we secured primarily IMO to 'have a look at' and use sparingly in the Premier Laegue. In this role Cordone may and still could be effective.

Managing a Premier League Football Club like this is a joke - and by mangement I dont mean YBR. I may be wrong, but it seems his hands are tied financilally and is operating on a shoe string budget.

Freddie - you have blundered big time on this one. False savings on the striker front will cost you dearly. Both in the long term and the short term. Stupidity.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Why not go for Camara? I think he is pretty cheap and he's sick of being on the bench. Could be a terrific buy.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Roxy- Asking price for canamara has dropped from 4mill to 2 mill

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

At £2 million this lad is a snip - we should get in for him before someone else does.

I was looking through "This Weeks Transfers" in the times earlier - we actually seem to be one of the few who are still worried by this EU transfer business!

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Clarky, our similarities with Spurs and Villa terrify me. All hard up PLCs, all terrified of the hit on the balance sheets if a £6 mill purchase suddenly lost his market value.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

I think we should be seriously looking at the forward line as an oportunity to move forward to the future. Life without Al, change the system & be less obsessed with sending in crosses. Sure we had better players in 95/96 but we were alot less predictable without Shearer, we had two wide men but we ddin't just centre every ball & of course we had clever movement from Beardsley & Tino. Gullit's man management may have been poor but he looked beyond big AL.

I say take Camara, he & Cort & the youngsters will be OK. Shearer will come back but he can't think he' automatic choice but an option. We may play to Shearer's strengths but but totally useless if he's on th etreatment table. The goals can come from midfield that's where our real problem is. Acuna is good but we have no movement around him.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Well, we had no forwards and no defense yesterday, so I guess the problem must be our midfield!

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Clarky. Our problem definitely was in midfield. We were overrun by a better, hungier, more physical and more skillful team. With the strength in their midfield, our defence had little chance. Please don't get me going - I'm still very disappointed by the whole thing.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000