Time to feed yourself Oba!

ZORRO wrote...

HE,LL NOT ONLY CUT THE MUSTARD ,BUT HE,LL BE CUTTING THE BEEF TOO..OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE LAST NEET...SEE LIKE I TOLD THE MOANERS ON THE OTHER BLOG, BE POSITIVE...AND YUP , I WAS REET...CONFIDENCE IS HIGH AND NOW LETS KEEP IT GOING BOYS..GOD BLESS THE TOON

Posted by: ZORRO  | December 7, 2006 9:56 AM

PAUL METCALFE wrote...

i dont think he will unless he gets more service into the box, good performance, exept from the defence again, but like i said roeder wants to make sure om gets the delivery he needs.

Posted by: PAUL METCALFE  | December 7, 2006 12:30 PM

Michael wrote...

A great result no doubt, and congrats to all involved.

But shame on those who booed Babayaro. We do have a moronic element, much like any other club, but it doesn't make it any less embarrassing to hear it happen. As quick as we are to praise our wonderful following, I hope that the majority will quite simply tell this minority of boo-boys to button up.

Getting behind the players like we did for the last 25 mins is the way to help, not cat-calling every touch or movement.

It took the gloss off a super victory for me.

Posted by: Michael  | December 7, 2006 12:38 PM

oxboy wrote...

The only person I've heard say Martins is improving is Roeder and he would say that wouldn't he.
No movement, no pressurising defenders, no attacking space.These aren't settling in issues but significant shortfalls in the skills of a striker. In Shearers own words lets hope in January we can get a proper striker.
I'd also sell Martins in the same transfer window - he's that bad.

Posted by: oxboy  | December 7, 2006 3:20 PM

harvey dixon wrote...

O.B. needs to get the confidence to control the ball in the box. at the moment he panics and passes first time to nowhere. He looks scared of the toon army.

Posted by: harvey dixon  | December 7, 2006 7:09 PM

Ian Teasdale wrote...

Whether Oba can cut the mustard depends on what you want him to do.
As i said when GR signed him, he is never going to score 20+ goals a season. He will make 10-15 a season but is that really enough in our No 9 shirt? I don't think so, I think he was wrong to take the shirt, he will try his best but he wont be a great No 9 even with better service, he's not as clinical in front of goal as he needs to be.
Next season when he settles into the Premiership and adjusts to playing with Owen(I hope!!!!) he may score more goals.
This does not mean i don't think he's good enough for us, its just he's not settled in yet, but when he does everybody should watch out.

Posted by: Ian Teasdale  | December 7, 2006 8:10 PM

jackie w wrote...

martins is a half decent player in the same mould as lua lua sometimes good to watch but on the whole not very effective and flatters to decieve.i hope he gets more goals and with that a better understanding of the premiership and what is required of the toon no 9,but in my heart of hearts i dont believe he is ever going to be a hero in the mould of any of our other no 9s and will probably last till the end of next season and then be off to italy .on the positive side is it just me or did anyone else think big sib played well last night and took the disallowed goal well,i may be in the minority of one but i think he could link up with owen and they could become a very decent pairing up front at the end of the season,ok he may not set the place alight but for value for money his pound per goal ratio is impresive considering the likes of luque,,,and with shola out till next season and the boy rossi going home at the end of the month,unless we grab a decent striker on loan next month big sib will be a very important player for us in the coming months ,,,jackie

Posted by: jackie w  | December 7, 2006 9:27 PM

Ray WIlson wrote...

Hi Lee Some thoughts on last nights game,Lets start with Martins,He is a bit
of a mystery, Certainly he does not seem to have the predators ability of an
out and out centre forward,He rarely scores the typical poachers goal and
most of the time expands a lot of energy in the end third without getting on
the end of crosses,either at the near post or the far post,I know he is
small but so was Len White and there was not many better centre forwards
than Len White. Martins has pace in abundance and seems to have something of
a decent shot on him,but have you noticed how many of his goal attempts are
from way out side the box,which is going to restrict his ratio of goals as
more often than not,he is not going to score from the range he shoots at. I
think we may see the best of him in a support striker role if he could be
played alongside a big powerful number nine, cant help thinking James
Beattie would fulfil that function very well at Newcastle. Beattie has not
looked happy being constantly benched at Everton and though he is getting
regular games at the moment ,that is only due to Andy Johnson's injuries and
if Johnson come back in a few weeks then I think Beattie will be benched
again. David Moyes certainly prefers the Johnson Cahill combination and it
suits the way he wants his team to play,so where will that leave Beattie ?
Out in the cold I think,and an offer of the 7 or 8 million which Moyes paid
for him would see Beattie leaving the club. I do believe Beattie and Owen or
Beattie and Martins would score goals together,Martins needs to learn how to
lay off the shoulder between his centre forward and the two central
defenders in the upper third so as he can run onto balls fed through to him
in a similar sort of fashion as Shearer did with Bellamy,but then again at
Newcastle who coaches our strikers ? and why cant Shearer do some of this
just working with the main strikers ? Martins has played this way since he
came and its a bit sad he does not seem to be getting any help to change
his game as he has real ability.I thought Sibs was excellent against Reading
and seems to improve in his striker role with every game,His second goal
which Rob Stiles decided was not a goal was superb, good close control,great
body movement to beat at least two defenders and a brilliant clinical finish
to score from not the easiest of angles. This is really what Martins should
be doing. I have a feeling Sibs is going to turn out one of the surprises of
the season and he may end up more by accident than design becoming a real
hero at Newcastle, He comes across as a real nice guy and good pro. so it
would be great for him if that happens. Before I close,the defence even with
Bramble in it has improved a lot and I am not sure we can sign better than
what we have in the window, Taylor and Ramage would walk through brick walls
for their shirts,and whilst they may make the odd mistake they are becoming
rocks for us at the back and both players will get better every game. I
would think a James Beattie would make us into a decent outfit,he is premier
experienced,has a lot of ability and has a point to prove if he leaves
Everton, He was outstanding at Southampton. He should be the priority
,please GR no more imports. The real defensive priority is two full backs
Carr and Babayaro make too many costly mistakes,are always caught the wrong
side of their man,and get beat for pace. Nobby should continue until we get
a real back though presently he is playing so well there it would be
criminal to drop him.Unlike the other two notice his vision and ability to
thread that fantastic pass onto Sibs head on Wednesday, No way could the
other two come any where near that class.Lets get rid of we know who,bring
in Beattie,and look at some of our youngsters for fullbacks,we dont need to
spend on the defence. The goals for and the goals against in the current
prem tables are not lying.

Posted by: Ray WIlson  | December 8, 2006 7:53 AM

Rich wrote...

As jose mourinho just said yesterday, Thierry Henry scored one goal in his first 12 premiership games after moving from (where?) ITALY!!! (for how much?) £10MILLION!!! (at what age?) AT A YOUNG AGE!!!

Cut Martins some slack for crying out loud. We are far to quick to slag players off or judge them (think champions league winner Tommasson). There are endless examples of how other clubs (clubs we aspire to be) give players time and reap the rewards. He's 21, he has great potential, he's not the finished article by any means but lets get behind him and lets hope roeder provides him with a long term strike partner.

Someone to take the knocks and bruises, can flick the ball on in the appropriate places, but importantly also hold up the play and bring the on running midfielders into the play when we attack who can then start to feed Oba with the clever through balls, interplay and drop downs that his game is based on. Not lumping 60 yard balls in the air and expecting him to either win headers, chase predictable 60 yard ball over the top or chase slow, predictable flick ons which covering defenders can read easily.

He's not shearer, get over him its not doing anyone any good comparing them to Shearer, but Martins could be potentially excellent, so let us the fans, roeder and the coaches support him and get the potential out of him, rather than giving up on him after 3 months and loosing another 8 million when we ruin his confidence and have to sell him for £2m in 12 months time.

Posted by: Rich  | December 8, 2006 10:48 AM

ZORRO wrote...

WELL SAID "RICH" M8....THERES TOO MANY MOANING ARMY....WE USED TO HAVE A FAN CLUB THAT STUCK TOGETHER...I KNOW Y ...ITS COZ THERE PLASTIC FANS AND NOT TRUE SUPPORTERS....YA CAN LOSE 1 GAME IN NEWCASTLE AND PEOPLE START CRYING AS IF ITS THE END OV THE WORLD...START ACTING LIKE MEN AND NOT WO MEN...AND BACK THE BOYS UP OK.

Posted by: ZORRO  | December 9, 2006 12:26 PM

SuperSub wrote...

Sell Martins??? You got to be joking. Or just plain blind. No one is gonna come and just start scoring from the off. This isn't Roy of the Rovers. He's good....whether or not he can be great is up to him. Give the lad a chance for crying out loud. I agree with G.R. and think Oba is improving with every game. Have some faith.

Posted by: SuperSub  | December 11, 2006 9:25 AM

oxboy wrote...

Just for the partially informed, including Jose M. when Henry came to Arsenal he was played as a winger not a striker.

Posted by: oxboy  | December 11, 2006 6:02 PM