...as far as I'm concerned, are Villa, Spurs and Chelsea. These are the teams I feel we're striving to finish ahead of to book ourselves a UEFA place. I still don't feel we're competing with Arsenal, Liverpool Leeds and Man U, and if you offered me 4th place now I'd bite your hand off. Get a UEFA place boxed off, then we can start worrying about the 'Big Four's results. Three points clear tonight maybe, but to me what's more important is that we're 12 points clear of Spurs in 7th. (and we'd never surrender a 12-point lead, would we? ;@))

-- Anonymous, December 26, 2001

Answers

apapap

-- Anonymous, December 26, 2001

Spot on Dan. The title is just a dream, the champs league maybe something to aim for. But if anyone had said would you take 6th place at the start of th season, we ALL would have. So if we finish 6th this season, it is definitely not an under achievement. So for those reasons we had near perfect results today.

Champ league teams

Arsenal, Lierpool, Leeds, Manure

Teams aiming for Europe

Nufc, Chealsea, Tottenham, Aston VIlla, Sunderland (forgotten anyone?)

Chealsea, Tottenham, Aston VIlla all got beat today. We won and Sunderland won but they started off badly. Near the end ofthe seasonwhen we're battlng for 6th place. These reults may have been crucial.

-- Anonymous, December 26, 2001

Sorry Dan, but I disagree. We are 3 points clear at the top of the Premier League at Christmas. The likes of Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool etc are the teams who can stop us not Tottenham or Villa. We have to believe we can win the league - we are first on merit. If we aim for first we will get into Europe. If we aim for 4th we won't.

We have played 3 games in 10 days and picked up 9 points, most of us at the start of the season would have expected a maximum of 4 from those two games. We are a different team to what we all expected. In fact we are a team. Aim for the top - you never know, we may surprise ourselves.

-- Anonymous, December 26, 2001

The thing that worries me is that in the last 3 games we have the same players out there with the exception of Dabs with Distin in his place yesterday. Squad wise choices are pretty much limited compared with the so-called Big four. As long as everything goes according to our script (no injuries, no loss of form etc) we will probably end up top 3 or 4.

We would probably put out the same players for Chelsea and Manure as well. Will playing 5 matches in 2 weeks affect them? I hope if they get through the upcoming two matches, Bobby will seriously consider resting at least half of them for the FA Cup weekend. It would help long run wise to sustain the assault for Top four (for Dan)and Top place (for Kegsy).

-- Anonymous, December 26, 2001

We're on the top of a run. 5 wins on the trot with an unlucky defeat in the WC in the middle. 4 wins in 10 days, 2 of them away in Lahndaan against "Eurocontenders". Other teams are self-destructing (or at least self-inflicting wounds). It is YBR's job to ensure we don't do similar, and when we lose a game, pick them up and remind them what they are capable of.

IMHO, we are not good enough for a CL spot, but I'd love to be proved wrong. No doubt YBR will be convincing the lads that we can get a UEFA with CL an outside.

wrt the squad, we have cover at CB. If Griff can stay fit, he's good enough on the right. LB worries me, tho Bernard may be good enough. However, he seems to have blossomed more as a WB than a FB. Midfield is looking better now that LKD is back and Speed is playing better. Acuna is decent cover. Up front we have Shearer and Bellamy as first choice. Ameobi and Lua x2 are under par but young. It depends on injuries and suspensions, the latter of which Bellamy is the greatest culprit and must take more care.

I'd still like us to buy one or two more. One BIG player would help more than a couple of average ones. We need quality to sustain a challenge for Europe. The rewards are too great not to invest further.

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

hey, one more point and we're safe

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

I'm shifting my opinion now. We have to be aiming for 4th (which in itself would be a fantastic achievement). This means finishing ahead of two of Leeds, Man Utd and Chelsea, as I think Arsenal and Liverpool will make the top three. The 12-point gap with Spurs and Villa looks pretty good right now, though. Injuries may decide whether we can make the Champions' League. Still looking for a central midfielder, and fingers crossed that nothing happens to Bellamy, Dyer or O'Brien.

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

Our next games 10 games include Chelsea (H), Man U (A), Leeds (H), Spurs (A), Sunlun (A), Arsenal (H) and Liverpool (A), the final 9 of the season has Villa (A) from the top half sides.

Lets say 20 out of 27 from the last 9, and 3 wins from the lower sides in the first 10, and then a measly 4 points from the hard games. That would give us 33 more points from our remaining games. I feel this isn't unrealistic as it would be the number of points we would have if we'd lost at Arsenal and Leeds. The total number of points we'd have would be 39+33 = 72 and enough for 3rd in all but one of the last 6 seasons where it would have been 4th.

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

Our goal now is very simple - a CL place: nothing less.

If we slightly under-achieve we will still secure a UEFA spot: if we can stay relatively free from injury and suspension, and slightly over- achieve, we could conceivably win the Big Banana for Sir Bobby.

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

My only expectation is European football next season: losing out on that would be appalling now.

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

If you look at this from the point of view of the rest of the premiereship, they actually know next to nowt about us, because the playing style we're using now is something nobody has seen much of.

The teams we're due to play are sort of facing the unknown. Okay, they'll have had us watched, and we've played some since things started to look up, but that still doesn't guarantee they'll be any better able to handle Bellamy, Dyer, Robert, Bernard, Lua Lua and uncle Tom Cobley, running at them and scaring them sh1tless.

And with the defense now not giving me massive panic attacks any time the ball goes near them, I'd go so far as to say if we're still in contention at the end of January, I see no reason to aim for anything other than top spot, despite what Bobby says.

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

Make no mistake PB, Bobby and the team will be aiming for top spot. However, Bobby's simply trying to avoid some players putting their feet up and thinking they've already achieved something.

The reality is that from we are now we could bloody well do it, and I only hope the players want it as badly as Bobby Robson does - not to mention at least 100,000 fans here and around the world.

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

The signs are there for me Clarky. It's all about the general impression left at the end of a game, and I have to say, from being disgusted by quite a number of performances in the very recent past, I'm now just making the most of basking in the look of how we play. I've been coming away lately feeling as though I've been, god forbid, entertained.

Very encouraging, and I'll wait until the signs of the bubble bursting are a lot more obvious before I'll feel the urge to have my two penn'orth of why it's happened.

50% tongue in cheek with this one, but a sign of the return of old times for me, will be when we play Barton from necessity and not from choice. I know it's ridiculous to imply one player can make so much difference, but it seems too much of a coincidence that we've hardly put a foot wrong since he did his disappearing act.

And taking it to even more ridiculous lengths, it's even made Gary Speed a better player. :-))

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

Kegsy & Dan2, please re-read your postings, or must I point out your respective "Colemanballs"?

;7) Oh, and if I'm wrong...trousers, @r$e,... U name the place.

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

do you mean this Bud - 4 points from those three games

I make so many mistakes it's difficult to know which one you are talking about :-0

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

Kegsy, you got it mate:

"We have played 3 games in 10 days and picked up 9 points, most of us at the start of the season would have expected a maximum of 4 from those TWO games."

R U gonna meet me at Narita or

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2001

Kegsy, you got it mate:

"We have played 3 games in 10 days and picked up 9 points, most of us at the start of the season would have expected a maximum of 4 from those TWO games."

R U gonna meet me at Narita (7 Jan?)or, shall I arrange a stopower on my way back (in about 2 months time)

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2001

Kegsy, you got it mate:

"We have played 3 games in 10 days and picked up 9 points, most of us at the start of the season would have expected a maximum of 4 from those TWO games." ;-)

R U gonna meet me at Narita (7 Jan?)or, shall I arrange a stopower on my way back (in about 2 months time), give it some thought?

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2001

BOLLOX - SORRY (VERY!!!) ABOUT THAT, not my computer :-(

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2001

I'm gonna miss you Bud if you don't arrive at Narita until 7th as we're away on the 5th sadly

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2001

Bud - thought I had replied. I am back at work on the 7th so it would be very difficult, especially as Tokyo is a good 90 minutes from the airport. Let me know when you are back in town and we can arrange something.

Loony check your email.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2001

Loony, what time are you leaving Tokyo, my flight arrives at 1.40pm (local) and I'll have about 3 hours (= n pints!) in transit, should I decide to leave 2 days earlier? Currently I'm only planning to leave NZ on the 5th, stopping over in Singapore ("home") for 2 nights, shame :-(

We really should arrange an 'eastern hemisphere' BBS get together, e.g. in Bali (even Gus could swim there!?), any seconders?

Hey Gav, if you're reading this mate, when are you off to the Maldives?

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2001

Bud he has already left, back around the 10th Jan.

My sister in law owns a resort on Bali. It is away from everything sort of back to Bali before everyone started going. It is up near Ubud.

-- Anonymous, December 28, 2001

gus, so let's work on a date for next year?

OK sweetie?

-- Anonymous, December 29, 2001

Great idea to let Gus swim there. Divvent forget to tell them sharks, mind.

-- Anonymous, December 29, 2001

"Divvent forget to tell them sharks, mind", do you mean his (fellow 'civil servant') colleagues, Screach?

-- Anonymous, December 29, 2001

Not sure if I can let you lot anywhere near any relatives of mine!

-- Anonymous, December 29, 2001

'My sister in law owns a resort on Bali' - sounds impressive - a resort - I'm in awe - is she the next Billy Butlin ?

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2001

Or is that "my relative resorts to mowing lawns in Bali?" ;-{]

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2001

"Not sure if I can let you lot anywhere near any relatives of mine!"

No worries gus, I can't play the banjo!

;7)

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2001