in response to Mr. Neal's comments about my not-so-beloved NUFC (how does he have time to dwell on this when his attention should have been focused on last night's capitol clash?):
NUFC's biggest problem is that they are a collection of players, not a team. That'll kill you every time. Robson was building a team of good, young, mostly-English players. However, that's deadly for a manager as you are putting together a team for your successor in most cases. And in this case his successor (and most likely the chairman) quickly wanted another set of toys. So out go Viana, Woodgate (to be fair, a good bit of business), Ambrose, and Robert. In comes Emre, Parker, Boumsoung, Babayaro, and many players to be named soon.
What is left, or what has remained through all this turnover? Shearer and Given. I have nothing bad to say about Given. He's made the best of a bad situation and has kept NUFC in more games than they have had a right to be in. And to be fair to Shearer, he is one of the greats and has done wonders for his hometown club. But you have to think that his status as untouchable (is it a coincidence that Ruud and Robson were fired days after leaving him on the bench?) and his influence in the dressing room has led to instability around the club. A player version of SAF's will-he or won't-he retire.
So caught between the desire to plan for the future and the need to win now, where is NUFC?
Given in net. End of story there.
In the back, they are a mess. Carr hasn't looked the same player that came from Tot. Maybe the injuries have taken their toll, but he seems to have become a mediocre attacking fullback and a terrible defending one. Ditto for Babayaro, leaving NUFC vulnerable on both flanks. Just ask Deportivo who terrorized NUFC by cutting inside from wide areas.
In the center they have one potentially great player in Boumsoung who has hopefully settled into the EPL after 1/2 a season and a full build up to this one. To partner him they have the injured and woefully inconsistent Bramble and a host of interchangeable utility men (Taylor, Ramage, Elliot).
They are deep in the midfield, but inexperienced and inconsistent. Viana, Milner, N'Zogbia, Faye, Parker, Emre, Butt, Bowyer and Dyer. Some dont' want to play for NUFC (Viana and Bowyer), some only want to play in certain positions (Bowyer and Dyer). Some are past their prime (Butt) and others haven't reached theirs (N'Zogbia, Milner, Faye). But a starting lineup of (from l-r) Milner, Emre, Parker and Bowyer should give them plenty of bite and creativity in the middle of the park. It will just depend on how quickly they gel and whether or not they can put their egos aside and play for the shirt -- unlikely under Souness who seems to feed and fire egos as a management tactic.
Finally at striker, NUFC is in dire shape. Shearer is still good, but limited in what he can give and how often. Ameobi is too raw, Chopra too unproven. And that's it. With the departure of Lua Lua and Bellamy, who will be Shearer's foil? Who takes advantage of what Shearer can do holding up the ball and moving it around?
My quess... Dyer. Look for him to be moved up into a supporting striker role. He's played there in the past and has never delivered the goals necessary, but I don't see another answer barring more success in the transfer market than they've had so far. And please don't ask me about their choice of targets. Oy!
This is a long way of saying that while I don't disagree with what Neal wrote, I am very pessimistic that anything will get sorted out. They will probably struggle to be mid-table with some streches of good games but other runs of terrible results. Until they sort out there mess behind the scenes... who runs the team now and in the near future, Souness, Shearer, or Shepherd?... they will just be spinning their wheels.
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