shurlock

Redeeming feature is that Cortese probably hates it - has gone on record as saying that he doesn't bring his kids to the football because of the language. The chant is nice an crude insofar as it brings his highness down to earth for a bit and is set on the fans own terms. Don't like it but way better than the ridiculous Jose Fonte chant.

By the time we get to the prem, 200K probably wouldn't even get you jermaine wright's left peg. Its a case of running faster to stand still. Until the market corrects, its a joke to think we can stand outside these pressures.

Dune-too right.I think you should phone the boys at talksport about this.

Incredible that he's also been known for some of the most exciting, free-flowing football in the top leagues. Boro's a real change in style.

Game has draw written all over it.

And am sure lots of people were phoning in to complain about the inaccuracy of FIFA 12's graphic representation of van der vaart or something. Point is he probably gets greater access -whether with journo or operators for phone-in shows- than he deserves by peddling his dodgy voice-of-the-fans credentials.

Problem is because Talk Sport inhabits its parochial premiership/London bubble, any tom, **** and harry can get away with brandishing dodgy, defunct credentials.

Just hope adkins had him singing 'we're coming for you' as part of the dressing-room ritual for debutants. gun to the head or not.

Only for student co onts - good riddance.

Nina Simone = Baltimore (Randy Newman) Johnny Cash = Further Up the Road (Bruce Springsteen) Primal Scream = Know Your Rights (the Clash) Radiohead = The Thief (Can) The Kinks = Im Not Like Everybody Else (doing their own song but radically different from the original - also ended one of the best Sopranos episodes) Cowboy Junkies = Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground) Wu Tang Clan = Heart Gently Weeps (Beatles sort of) My Morning Jacket = Rocket Man (Elton John) Clint Boon Experience and Mark E Smith "Wanna Be Your Dog" (Stooges) Nirvana = Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Leadbelly) Both Devo and Cat Power's versions of Satisfaction by the Stones are pretty good

60K a week at Newcastle - no thanks.

Doesn't matter if you're citeh - scary the 'squad' team they've put out.

OF course, they were different situations. Pards inherited a squad shot of confidence and without a 'winning mentality' - getting a run going in the cup was part of the rebuilding process. Under NA, we now have a winning mentality and so cups don't have to play that surrogate role. Ultimately, I don't think the cups were a distraction - too many draws and an inability to change things around were responsible. Nor did they tire us out as we lasted the course of the season and indeed went on a run at the end. On the other hand, the championship is far more competitive and physically demanding than L1 -its harder to maintain the intensity necessary to win games week in week out -and as such, cups can become bit of a lead balloon.

That's what my Leicester mates tell anyway - interesting stats: where did you get them?

doesn't make it any less true - their problem is that they don't get enough service to the forwards. they have no width and their midfielders are largely holding players.

Thought he mugged the ref for a few free kicks. Not on long enough to see if there was end product to all the tricks.

Perhaps it's a bit harsh. No doubt he'll improve and get stronger but he's in the team to do a job in the here and now.

Exactly, the second round team wasn't too shabby either with Lallana et al. starting. No complaints we put out the team we did yesterday - but I do think it was a U-turn and an enforced response and possibly something that NA hadn't planned or anticipated.

I thought that eagle was a fantastic touch - whoever dreamed it up was obviously tripping, the incongruity of a wild animal in a built-up space. Had health and safety written all over it. Hope Coventry and Hull follow suit. Still that eagle had more of a clue than the ref.

I got the impression that the league cup managed to halt or reverse some of its decline in recent years - basically, as premiership teams have deepened their squads, the cup is a good opportunity to keep people happy; at the same time, cup has become a niche for some of the bigger sides -not one that need to focus on avoiding relegation but ones that cannot keep up with the growing gulf at the very top - before making the champions league, spurs always took the cup seriously. So did villa and a number of other teams.

With DC's current form, have thought for a while Guly should be playing upfront with Lambert and its worth remembering he did against Watford. Guess the question is what you do with the right -stick SDR there? Assuming Lallana returns, move Chaplow over? Or something else? SDR did himself no favours yesterday but with Boro [robably looking to stifle us, SDR is still a genuine threat to take the game to them. But its a risk -and maybe NA will play it safe with Guly and DC (who hasn't become a bad player overnight and is probably better suited for home games where the opposition plays a bit deeper).

Reckon it'll be KD Frazier Jose Jos Fox Guly Chaplow Deano Lallana DC Lambert Think Morgan had a very good game last night; and is knocking at the door. And who, after the first few games, would have thought that Cork would be nothing less than an automatic starter. IF Adam doesn't start, can see Morgan getting the nod over Cork. If Jose doesn't start, wouldnt mind giving Cork a go over Martin. Dont buy the line that because Schteve started last night, he was going to start Saturday. He's got plenty in the tank and can easily cope with a run of games. He won't start because he was poor.

This was the weakest team we've fielded in the competition, even though we were on the cusp of the big time in the competition. We didn't get a sense that NA would rest so many players until well after I bought my tickets - indeed, Im sure NA didn't know he was going to do that until after the Reading game. I can't complain - I live in London (its the shortest I've had to travel for a game this season); but I do feel a bit of sympathy for those who traveled up - 2500 don't just travel up for a reserve game. It really was a spiritless and lacklustre performance. Anyway, it happens all the time - and unlike Arsenal, we have a genuine shot at winning or achieving something elsewhere. It will be quickly forgotten if the rested players come out over the next 2-3 games fresher and taking no prisoners.

Disappointed in that a poor side (us) came up against an even poorer side (them) and a game that was there for the taking slipped out of our grasp. Quite a surreal evening- has to be one of the lowest intensity cup ties I've ever attended - I've been to preseason games with more energy and desire to boss proceedings. We were tidy if unimaginative for large spells of the game, especially in the first half but should have exploited the space in the middle more and used both sides of the pitch - too much went down our right. Morgan was heads and shoulders the best player on the pitch - nice to see him impose himself on the game and not wait to take cues from others. An honourable mention also goes to Holmes who got good some crosses in against Clyne (really solid if a bit one-footed). Expected a bit more from Ward-Prowse who struggled a bit, playing with his back to the game and sending too many passes backwards when there was space and time. Reeves looked sharper and more confident and was the better of the two young'uns though without really threatening. Cork looked better, though he didn't really get his foot on the ball and ultimately must take some responsibility for the opener. De Ridder didn't do himself any favours. Kept running into traffic on the inside (though others will tell me those were NA's instructions and was let down by the lack of movement in front of him). Thought Forte started brightly enough -and it was refreshing to see some pace- but he faded badly after that. All in all, tonight underlined how quickly the quality drops after you get beyond the first team and subs - the players you expected to do well gave a good account of themselves; the rest struggled. Lets just hope the team stays fit and free from injury. Lastly, the ref was an absolute c*ck - moronic the number of times the lino had to bail him out.

But Guly largely played with Lambert rather than Guly + somebody else. Guly prefers playing in the hole and he's not a lightweight; but can he win his headers, hold play up and do the things Lambert does?