Thought he did very well 1st half apart from a couple of times not chasing the ball after he lost it. Great passing, crossing + 1 or 2 good runs. 2nd half pretty apalling.

Do u recokon hell improve the same way Solano has, after 1 or 2 seasons or will he treck off back home?

-- Anonymous, February 17, 2002

Answers

Hopefully he'll stay on and improve as he gets used to the style of play here, and what is expected of him. From the looks on his face, he did seem to be very into the match, very frustrated when he'd miss shots or passes. The problem is the crowd remembers the times when he turns to a pillar of salt rather than go after a ball. He can be a bit frustrating, but I do hope the crowd give him the time he needs. He does make a difference when he's out there, and has the talent to be a real star for us.

-- Anonymous, February 17, 2002

He has one the best left feet in the game, and his crossing was mostly top drawer yesterday. He did track back, but for me he doesn't run at defenders or into space enough. There was ample opportunity to sprint clear of the defender to collect a through ball as I shouted myself hoarse at the telly on severak occasions. Also, his tendency to come inside and find himself on his right foot (metaphorically non-existent) was equally frustrating.

More annoying was Motson continually criticising Robert in the 2nd half...and Brooking's barely hidden contempt for us...the c**t

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2002

Yes, you do just tend to remember the times he doesn't chase the loose ball, or the times he turns and complains instead of getting stuck in...but how many times do you remember say, Solano or Bellamy doing the same? At least Bellamy only whinges after the ball's gone out (equally pointless, I grant you). I'm afraid Robert is doing little to remove the suspicion he is a lazy bugger. Look, why is Bellamy getting all the attention this season? What can he do that Robert can't? Robert has pace, his crossing, passing and shooting are at least the equal of Bellamy's and he can actually finish in one-on- ones. But Bellamy chases everything and Robert can't be arsed.

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2002

He is a world class talent, and a world class lazy bastard who frankly needs a rocket up his @rse.

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2002

Have to agree Dan. What annoys me though is that Robert will often try to take on 3 or 4 men when there's a simple pass he could do and which he ignores or doesn't see.

I think he just needs time. Bellamy has fitted in with the team really easily where Robert still seems a bit out of it.

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2002

What I didn't realise about Robert is how left footed he really is. Everything he did was with his left. All Man City had to do was turn him inside, so he couldn't use his left foot to full effect. Which the did on a couple of occations. Also Robert often talks about not getting the ball. Well after watching yesterday, I don't think this has anything to do with Robert himself. It seemed as soon as someone like Speed or Acuna had the ball the didn't even bother looking to the left side of the midfield, but instantly crossed to the right. All in all I thought we were pretty poor yesterday and made City look better than they actually are.

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2002

When looking to pass to a winger last night then they didn't need to look left. Robert wasn't there for most of the game. He stayed deep or drifted into central midfield and just wasn't worth passing to. He proved he could drift through the City defence but wanted to run straight at goal to do this. He wasn't turned inside, he was trying to go inside and go for goal instead of taking on the right back putting the cross in. Attempting to go for glory imo. You just have to read the translations of his interviews. He is always going on about scoring more goals to get in the France team. Surely if he wants to go as the left winger then he should prove himself as the provider.

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2002

I ain't saying a bliddy word

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2002

I disagree Andy....they were doubling up on him on the left side of the box, forcing him to come inside onto his weak side....

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2002

He should be running with the ball more. On the few occasions that he did run with it yesterday, he came inside and didn't have a clue where he was going.

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2002

Robert has a major problem and I feel I have sussed it having read Dougals posts and the content therein, plus the limited time on the box, it finally came to me during the Man City game. It is obvious that he thinks he is a better player than he really is.!! I have seen the same at amateur level and dealt with it but at PL level how Bobby would go about I just dont know. The body language of certain other players towards Robert appears to back my point up, guys like Shearer/Speed are no-ones fools,will not comment publically to undermine the management or morale of team, more than ever sure now that if we had Sinclair instead for the money our chances for success this season would be much better

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2002

There is no doubt in my mind that he is an extremely talented footballer, Buff. However, he is temperamental, is not a great team player, and perhaps most importantly has a tendency to make poor decisions when he has the ball.

What I found so irritating in the City game was his tendency to beat two players, lay the ball off, and then stop in his tracks and stand still watching play develop, rather than moving into position to get the ball back or help out his team- mate in possession.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

When I tried to point this out very gently only a few weeks ago I was castigated from here to there and back again.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

and deservedly so nick :0)

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

Don't see yer having a go at the big boys like Clarky. I'm gonna bring my big bruvver next time and he'll sort you out Gus

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

I'm not sure he thinks he's better than he is. I think it's more a case of him having been the star of the show with Montpellier and PSG (leading scorer, French Player of the Year etc). At Newcastle, there aren't that many players who haven't had their day in the sun this season: Robert at first, then Bellamy, then Given, then O'Brien and Dabs, then Shearer, then Hughes. He's used to being what the French call, "the chou-chou" of the team. Whatever his defects, he is the only player in our entire squad who could change the Arse and Spurs games the way he did.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

..... he is capable of so much more though, dougal.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

I know, Clarky, I, like you, was one of the 3000 Newcastle fans who witnessed that miraculous spell at the Riverside earlier this season. My concern is that we'll never see this again if we keep carping about him - he already plays better away from home than at SJP.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

My euro cent's worth...

Robert is our luxury player - capable of winning matches but high maintenance to get the most out of him. I think he will really come into his own in Europe, where in only takes a few moments of magic sometimes to justify all the prima donna hassle and laziness. I also think he'll pick up when the weather gets a bit warmer. (In fact he's coped better with the winter than I thought he would). Problem at the moment is we feel we're relying too much on him due to lack of other options in the squad.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

I think Buff in on the right track when he talks about body language. He just doesn`t look like a team player yet. Whether that`s because he perceives himself to be a `star` and isn`t getting the respect he feels he deserves from the rest of the team, or, that he hasn`t done enough to earn the rest of the team`s respect and join the `gang` properly, I couldn`t say. I do know he doesn`t look particularly happy, or at times, comfortable.

I remember a spell when Nobby was a relative newcomer. There was a period of several games where he would make a mistake, maybe not spot Shearer waiting for the ball, get a real `Paddington` from Shearer and then either, be rubbish and look dejected for the rest of the game, or else take every possible opportunity to score, even if it meant taking on seven players and ignoring the easy option.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

Two words:

Robert Pires

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

....decent swap.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

Problem with signing Sinclair though buff would be that you and Sparxx would get the knives out for Bobby for signing a player for the present instead of the future ;-)

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

You're all so right. I reckon we should sell the useless prick and go back to playing lop-sided. It was staggeringly successful last season and we can return to our previous form and possibly scrape a back door entrance to the Inter Toto so long as someone else gets disqualified. Who wants a player with the ability to shake off two markers and beat 3 men when we could probably get Fumaca or Brady back in? At a pinch we could play Speed back wide on the left.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

Not a bad idea, Softie. Have we tried Marcelino on the left? Might just have the answer already!

Ooooo, is it that late already? I'll just be off now.... ;-)

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

Look man, for all of Arsene Wenger's whinging, the one thing he knows about is French players and he has said all along it takes a while for them to settle.

Robert has done more in his first season for us than any of Arsenal's Frenchies did for them in their first season.

If Robert broke his leg and we went on to win the league, I feel his contribution would be overlooked, but the facts are that he set the ball rolling, scoring or setting up nearly every goal in our first 5 games. A bad start and confidence drops, we lose games we really shouldn't. Take Derby at home for example, the whole team played pretty badly, but one magical Robert run into the box, foul, penalty, goal. That was all it took to win th match,

He could definitely do better though, but surely a 50% effort Robert is better than playing Christian Bassedas on left wing? He still does enough now to warrant a place in the team. I cannot think of a single occasion (apart from maybe the Spurs game at home, but that's not all his fault) when he has been responsible for us conceding a goal. Fine, he might give the ball away the odd time, but it is nearly always in the other half.

I have seen some tackles that he has "performed" while in France and believe me if he did those every match he would collect red cards like a 9 year old collects football stickers.

There are players like that all over the world, who are a bit soft, and nearly all of them play on the wing, as it is the one place you can get away with it. Anderton, Claus Jensen, Kilbane, Zenden, Smicer, Wilcox, Reuser. All of these play in the Premiership and not one of them have the natural technical ability of Laurent Robert.

If it was basic laziness, then I am certain Bobby Robson would have had a strong word with him, as it's not the sort of thing that is tolerated. I will give him at least another 6 months for him to produce his very best, but at present, even if he does absolutely nowt for us, at least he gives us a bit balance. The opposition will either let him cause them problems or mark him out of the game. Either way we gain, as he will be dangerous or the rest of the team have one less defender to worry about avoiding.

Hopefully he will improve his tackling back, but it isn't vital to the team that he does.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

Just looking back on my post, I disagree with myself :)

Robert isn't soft when he's got the ball, as he can hold off players pretty well and stop people getting round him. In this respect it makes it even more annoying that he can't hold off a player trying to get past him when he hasn't got the ball.

Also, if you had the option of Robert tackling back and running his arse off but being too tired and getting subbed off at half time, or sitting on his arse and producing occasional brilliance at lightning pace a few times a game?

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

Some of you are being overly sensitive and overly-protective. Neebody, but neebody is saying he's a useless prat, or that he should be sold. All that is really being said, I believe, is that Laurent Robert is an immensely talented player who could be contributing somewhat more to the team.

I really believe the SJP fans, in general, have been patient with him. However, he has now been here 6 months, and as things inevitably start to tighten up during the run- in, this is the time we need LoLo to really step forward and win us games we might otherwise draw, and get us a point when we might otherwise lose. He truly could make the difference.

That is what truly world-class players do - remember Cantona in 95/96?

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

Except Cantona had been at Man Utd a little longer than 6 months.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

I believe (I say I believe) that Robert has the 'fear of God' factor, the thing that scares the opposition. Back in the bad old Keegan days we had Gillespie (yes he did, because of his pace), Beardsley, Ginola, Shearer, Ferdinand and Tino who scared the opposition into putting two people on them. This left pretty scary people like Robert Lee bucket loads of space to win games.

Robert has this at the moment, Bellamy does because of his pace, although not his finishing yet :0) Dyer has it. You need three to make the other less fearsome players look good. Gary Speed for example looks world class with Robert, Bellamy and Dyer next to him. If Jenas is better than Speed and introduces a 4th fearsome player then suddenly we're flying again.

Robert on his own would be a luxury, he'd be worse than useless at Sunderland for example, no commitment, easy to double on with no worry that it would allow others to perform. Robert is great to have when the team is great.

If we had a fast and mobile version of Shearer, or a fast and mobile version of Speed then Robert would have more space as the opposition wouldn't be abel to concentrate on him. My hope is that Jenas will be the classy version of Gary Speed and suddenly we'll flip over from being a very good team to being a fearsome team. Robert is a kay part of that.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

You speak a lot of sense Macbeth.

I wonder if Mbomba will flop at Sunderland for the same reasons?

-- Anonymous, February 20, 2002

I recognise that Robert can be pants, and wouldn't disagree with any of the many criticisms levelled at him here in recent months. However, he, along with Dyer, Bellamy and Shearer, is one person I look forward to seeing receiving the ball. You just know that he could do something special with it. And if we think that, so does the opposition. Which means they panic. Which means they do something daft. So, I'm happy to forgive him all of his weaknesses 'cos he's class,

-- Anonymous, February 21, 2002

For me see robert read solano , theyre both the same extremely talented players whith pace and skill to die for, but both seem incabaple of running to the touch line to cross a ball instead they both come inside and have a crack.
When they loose the ball at least howver noby will attempt to get it back unlike Robert Bellamy Shearer who put their heads in their hands.

-- Anonymous, February 21, 2002

Generally, the Sunderland game may be one which is tailor-made for him to come on after half-time to change the pace of the game. I know he handled Leeds and their shennanigans well enough but this is a bit of a step up from that.

-- Anonymous, February 21, 2002

.....so what happens if he starts dougal, which he surely will? The mackems will undoubtedly try to niggle him and wind him up - he hasn't been sent off yet! In fact, I don't think he's been booked for a while, has he?

-- Anonymous, February 21, 2002

No, that's something he deserves a bit of credit for IMHO - he got booked early on for moaning and stopped doing it and got booked early on for diving and stopped doing it. He was regularly sent off in the Championnat.

Personally, I'd start with Bernard (partly to keep the latter in the first team frame) and bring Robert on later.

Having said that, I don't think we'll stop Phillips and Mboma from scoring so we need all the players who can score on the pitch..

-- Anonymous, February 21, 2002

.......so, its another 3-2 or 4-3 for us then eh, dougal? ;o{]

-- Anonymous, February 21, 2002

Nah, my current thinking is a draw (they almost always are) but there are so many things: we should win, Reid is in trouble, new striker plus England-hopeful striker. These point to a home win for the first time in 22 years...

-- Anonymous, February 21, 2002

Kennyboy, I don't think getting to the byline and putting in a cross is the best idea for us.

Speed has been playing a reserved role so we only really have Shearer who can win a header in the box. Using crosses as our main threat would reap very little reward. Robert has caused a lot of trouble when he's switched sides, winning a couple of penalties I can remember when he was wide right coming inside.

-- Anonymous, February 21, 2002

....perhaps not ideal Paul, but that sort of cross for Shearer MUST be better than the diagonal crosses they are knocking in?

-- Anonymous, February 21, 2002

Who said his crosses had to be for Shearers head. Low crosses into the box are just as good as has been proved by Shearer Bellamy and others this season, it als causes major headaches for defenders as contact could send it into the back of the net instead of out of play as has been seen as well this season. I have criticised Robert this season but his crossing is not a problem, when he puts in the diagonal cross it tends to drop between the pen spot and six yard box. Good spot for anyone running through.

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2002

Remind me how many goals we scored from crosses at WHL at the end of last month....

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2002

If crossing was that good diagonally ?, how did Stevie Howey mop up everything facing forward,? not a new concept but they did stress the point in the past/present/future that the most effective ball is cut back from the bye-line to onrushing forwards, thus catching defenders flat-footed, facing the wrong way , *witness Hughes against South/ton

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2002

Robert never (OK maybe once or twice) crossed in the City game he kept drifting inside. All the crosses that did go in were mainly head height. We need variety.

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2002

Perhaps Elliott's shortcoming's reflect badly on Robert in this respect - look at the other flank, where Solano's understanding with Hughes (see AH's comments in the Ronnie) is creating more crosses from that side, often with Solano as 'decoy' and Hughes providing the final ball. Narrowly prefer Bernard to Distin in this respect on the left, but either would 'flatter' Robert more and be preferable to poor old RE.

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2002

I agree that byline crosses are better than diagonal balls, but generally we only have Shearer who can put them in.

When Bellamy's scored from a cross it is usually when the game is stretched and there are hardly any of the other team in the box. In this case it's more of a pass than a cross.

We put in loads of good crosses but nobody seems to get on the end of them which is what gets me.

Solano and Robert, I think it was against Bolton, both put in some beautiful balls and Shearer was marked out of it leaving the grand sum of Gary Speed who would head it in, except he's on the half way line.

In some respects, this points towards Acuna for the Sunderland game, as although small he seems to pop up with some good headers, the Leeds game last season sticks in my mind. I couldn't imagine McClen scoring a goal like that.

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2002

Anyone ever think it could actually be Robert's inadequacies that are making Elliott look sh*te? No - didn't think so!

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2002

I thought about it Clarky, then realised how it wasn't the case. Elliott has played dozens and dozens of absolutely atrocious wasted long balls when a simple ball up the wing to Robert would have been fine.

To be fair to him, when he's played recently he has looked more like passing it up the wing rather than into a random space up front, but he never seems to look confident. Maybe this will come over time like with Hughes but I don't know.

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2002

The ominous thing about Mboma is that at every club he's been, he's started like a house on fire, and lost it only after several games.

I reckon he might be the one to get Phillips out the cak, and I'd have preferred the derby to have been about three games away, when hopefully, he'll have started to realise what a bollik he's dropped.

I'm inclined to agree with Dougal that we might not be able to keep them out so we'd better hope we're in the mood to score at least one more than they do.

I also think that if we have to lose one of the next three league games, this one might be the least costly. And, since this appears to be the year of fixing jinxes, isn't it 20 years or so since they beat us at there's ?

THERE IS A STADE DE MERDE JINX.

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2002

Clarky, I think we did have a debate about whether Solano and Robert made it more difficult for the fullbacks a while ago. This was before Nobby started playing as he has been playing, BTW. I seem to recall we concluded that they didn't help but that they weren't to blame since Elliott has looked as poor when Robert isn't playing (ie. in the InterToto expect v. 1860 Munich). I do recall Malcolm McDonald saying that he believed Warren Barton got a lot of the stick that Solano should get...

-- Anonymous, February 23, 2002

Thing about the Makems is that they have done well at home against decent sides - they beat Leeds and drew with Chelsea and Arsenal and that was without the new resources like Reyna and Mbomo. They don't concede many at home. We really have to hope that the likes of Bellamy and Robert are on their games. Also, a bit worried about Arca.

-- Anonymous, February 23, 2002

PS. I note Sorenson saying our defence is the weakest link...we have conceded 33 to their 30.

-- Anonymous, February 23, 2002

There is no earthly reason to believe we can't win tomorrow. We are the better team, and score more goals. However, this is a Tyne/Wear Derby, and it is likely to be the team who wants it most who will win.

The key area for us is central m/f. Peyter will have realised we are relatively weak there, and will set out to flood that area and limit our possession of the ball in the hope of starving our forward players.

This is not brain-surgery, and if we haven't anticipated this, and planned to counteract it, we could struggle to get our natural attacking game going.

I worry about our central m/f in virtually every game, and I'd be tempted to play JJ despite the occasion, but I don't think Bobby will take the risk.

This is undoubtedly a "do or die" occasion for the mackems, more so than for us, and I expect them to be flying into tackles from the ko - we will need to keep our heads. Because of this, I think BR will bring JJ off the bench, when hopefully some of the initial passion will have died down.

We have become a team that starts slowly. We cannot afford to start slowly tomorrow, and simply MUST match them physically in the first 20 minutes. If we do that, we have a good chance of winning: if we don't we could struggle.

Prediction? 1-1!

-- Anonymous, February 23, 2002