Having watched tonight's game against Villa, I have confimed my thoughts formed while watching a number of live matches. To put it simply, we are too light in midfield. We have nobody who is able to:

(a) challenge to win the ball (b) control midfield (c) make a telling pass

We might have players in Bassedas, Acuna, Solano and Dyer who are very neet and tidy on the ball, but most of the time, they play short, tight passes to feet. You have to be bliddy good to get away with that and overall, you need runners who move into space. We don't have them.

I have said in the past that we need strength up front. I think I've changed my mind. We made very few (if any) chances for our strikers. I blame midfield. Even had Speed and Glass been uninjured, I couldn't imagine things changing. IMHO, for £4.5M, Bassedas has shown very little ROI. Acuna has been slightly better, but in comparison tonight, Merson was a class above. He had time on the ball, and made some telling passes. And what's even worse, we've go tsod all in the Resorves to provide the midfield we need. God, I'm depressed.

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2001

Answers

I've been saying that for ages. We never seem to dictate the pace of a game. We just let the other team decide and we play accordingly. We need a Keane/Petit style player who can grab a game by the scruff of its bo11ox.

Can't think of anyone though.

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2001

This is a point I brought up before, not saying that the lads who turned out tonight weren't good enough, they simply aren't Premiership quality .....yet. Certainly time and experience may work wonders, but we were exposed as a fraud tonight and unless the board loosen the purse strings immediately things may get worse before they get better.

The second thing here is being able to stick to a formation and having the players available to fill and keep the formation without losing stride. If we have to continue tochop and change according to the injury of the week we'll never be able to maintain any consistency on the pitch....

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2001

I really think you're being unfair here - we had two people playing that pose a regular goal threat tonight - Ameobi (only 19) and Speed (taken off at half time injured). Nobody else is capable. When you can't hold it up, the only way out is the sleight of hand and short passes, but to who? The winning goal was a joke purely because Villa couldn't finish anything else, but we just have to weather the storm for a couple of games and should be back and firing.

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2001

hmmmm...bit harsh from what i've heard. I've seen nowt but the comments re: Bassedas seem to remind me of the comments about Nobby soon after he arrived "too lightweight, can't tackle, pretty passes but no one understands". Give the lad a chance! How static were the front two? Ameobi has one goal, Gallacher, yet to score this season [?], Lua x2 [ditto], Cordone [have we seen enough?]. Add to that the missing Cort, Lee, Solano, Shearer and Dyer and i see a picture emerging that YBR would loved to have gone through but considering the circumstances, it's not all that surprising. The lads fought but in the end just couldn't do it. We need a striker, we need a defender, perhaps we really do need a WORLD CLASS midfielder. However, we ain't gonna get them...so well done for trying lads. Now about this European place: do you realise how important it is now....?

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2001

"Merson was a class above. He had time on the ball, and made some telling passes."

Didn't see the game, but I have mentioned this before...We allowed him time on the ball, we allowed him to make telling passes. We need tigers in midfield. I honestly believe we have them in the South Americans, but we have to unleash them. Midfield is always where it's won or lost. So we didn't have Nobby or young Dyer tonight. So get into them, don't let the likes of Merson settle, don't give him a second on the ball...enough said, Pete is...well Pete has had a few pints and could ramble on forever. But I won't. Step up lads, the plate isn't so scary after all. Ask YKD.

-- Anonymous, January 18, 2001

Have to agree Screacher - two games in a row, the midfield has been bettered convincingly.

-- Anonymous, January 18, 2001

All of Villa were allowed way too much time on the ball and too much space to pass it around. Did we have a midfield last night. Seemed to just be another case of hoof and hope by Harper and our defenders. Though to be fair, I think every one of our players did give 100%, they just couldn't gel as a team. The kind of performance we saw on Boxing Day where they all worked for each other and got stuck in. Not sure what the h3ll happened out there last night. We couldn't keep possession of the ball if someone had dropped it in a bucket of superglue and attached it directly to our players.

Thought Hughes did a good job last night. And in light of his comments about how hard it is for the players to applaud the supporters when they themselves are felling gutted, I have to say those who did come over last night were champions and were greeted with a chorus of 'Newcastle Newcastle'.

Hope these injuries start clearing up soon! Still in a completely depressed daze about last night. bah!

-- Anonymous, January 18, 2001

A couple of general points/observations.

I agree with min about Bassedas and Acuna. They have to adjust to the EPL. They have shown glimpses of top form, but like min said they'll take this season just to learn what the EPL is about. Remember Solano really only came into his own in the later half of his second year, and has been recieving rave reviews in this his third season.

Secondly, most of the players must be pretty well dead on their feet by now. The team hasn't had a let up all season, and we've just about come to the end of a hell of a run of games since Christmass/New Years. Some of the players have played all season with little or no rest. Some of the players have been playing with niggling injuries. Those players who have been out injured haven't had a chance to get a run of games in the reserves to get some decent match fitness.

Finally what is Bobby going to do when all the players are healthy. Moving Dyer up front has thrown a real spanner in the works. He's undoubtly found his niche. The problem is the team can't play 3-5-2 as the defence just can't cope against an opposition line up of 4-4- 2. Simply for the fact that two wide men can't cover 4 wingers and fullbacks. Which eventually pulls 3 central defenders all over the place. Remember most teams who played with a 5 man midfield at Euro 2000, did so with one striker up front and four at the back.

Personally I can't waite for Carl Cort to get back as I'd love to see how he and Dyer get on up front. And if we had a real left winger, and not just Speed and Bassedas filling in, I think our midfield would adequatley cover the scoring load of a second striker.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2001