scores again. do we have a sensation around the corner?

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

Answers

If I was Carl Cort, I'd be seriously worried. Offiong may be ready for Premiership action before he is.

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

With the reserve win we are up to 22 unbeaten games?

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

I seem to remember someone saying Offing is Shola's cousin. Can anyone verify this?

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

Yepp, he is.

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

I have to laugh at the thought that one day we may have an all Geordie forward line of Ameobi, Offiong and Chopra, not many would have predicted those names 30 years ago !!

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

MacBeth, I'm still reeling from our having a player called Clarence...

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

Ive never got over Brian Pinas - thank god...

ken

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

I'm still in shock at the names Ian Rush, Silvio Maric, Jon Dahl Thomason, Andreas Andersson...

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

I have to say, for a 17 yr-old I really like the look of Offiong - looks the biz. He seems to be making the transition to the Reserves in his stride which is encouraging.
I have a funny feeling young Michael Chopra won't finish up as a striker - he looks more like a natural attacking m/f player to me at this stage of his development.

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

Offiong looks to be the better of the two (the two being him and Chopra)

How long before he breaks into the first team though? It might not happen at all, you never know, I don't even think it's likely that it will be in Bobby Robson's reign. Bellamy, Shearer, Cort and Ameobi all seem to be in front of him.

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

Interesting in last week's match programme that Wharton was saying that they are trying desperately hard to get them to be a strike partnership rather than individual strikers: some foresight at NUFC?

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

I don't feel Carl Cort will ever make it big with us. Not through lack of talent or anything, things just don't seem to go right for him. He gets injured and Shola comes through and looks better (to me) and clearly still with lots to learn.

Now Bellamy is a certain first choice, as is Shearer, it is difficult to work out a formation that allows Cort back in . If we stay as we ar efor a couple of years and Shearer is being eased out (faster than Robert Lee I hope !!) then the line up looks to be Bellamy, Cort, Shola all under 23 with a pair of 19-y-o snapping at their heels. I don't ever see Cort being a truly great player whereas we all have those hopes for the others. And then there's Zola too !!! If I had to say where I saw Carl Cort in two years time I reckon he'll be playing next to SuperKev trying to get Sunderland promoted back into the Premiership !!!!! (Joke boys, joke )

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

The fact is though that Carl Cort has scored in every other game for us.

He may miss the odd chance but he had a knack of getting in the right place at the right time, and making use of the service he had.

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

clarky, I thought you were older than 17?

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2001

It's worse than that he seems to be watching 17 year old boys, oh dear

-- Anonymous, September 21, 2001

Cort gives us something different from Bellamy and Ameobi, and should still be a useful player in our squad, especially since we can't rely on Shearer playing every remaining game. With just Bellamy and Ameobi, we might have a bit of movement and trickery, but we'd be very light weight. A Cort or Shearer gives the defenders another angle to worry about. As was mentioned so much last season re our left wing, balance is so important. And balance can be defined as having the ability to switch the play and tactics so the opposing defence doesn't have the luxury of being able to focus on a nice, predictable approach.

-- Anonymous, September 21, 2001

... you know, you don't have be a mackem lurker to get massacred on here! ;o{)

-- Anonymous, September 21, 2001

I think Bellamy will get the most games, if he stays injury free. I think a big un with a little un is the best combination, and Shearer is the current big un, with Cort, Ameobi and Offiong as his understudy. As for Bellamy, he has Lualua, coppinger and Chopra and his back up.

-- Anonymous, September 21, 2001