no official announcement on this.

Saha is a black cat now.

it is always tough to get a result at Newcastle and personally, i felt that the performance last night was much better than any pre season match.

AVB installed part of his system which saw nice attacking football in the first half. The Ba goal was unsavable but partly due to Walker spinning away from the player rather than closely marking him. The penalty was a great move by them catching vdv and Lennon flatfooted.

I am sure AVB will make improvements by the next match. I truly liked the way he continually shouts instructions from the technical area rather than 'arry always just sitting in his seat. The way AVB celebrated Defoe's goal was immense.

Official news of Adebayor signing!

He said it at the start of the summer that he wanted to stay and now he has.

Kudos to Daniel Levy for doing a deal where a previous club continues to pay part of the player's salary even after he has signed for us.

This post has been edited by ihawk98: Aug 22 2012, 08:53 AM

we got to trust Levy...

one of the most uncomfortable 2nd half to watch. you would have gotten several heart attacks.

a point is a point. we clearly need a big man up front. Lukaku was like the second coming of Drogba....goodness me....

i want a win as much as any other fan but AVB must be realizing it is quite tricky to work with Levy.

having said that, he is the head coach and it is HIS job to figure out how to play with the player he has. when we were playing our brand of football in the first half, we were a beauty to watch. what was missing was the big target man upfront.

playing the high line makes us susceptible at the back and Lukaku was like the 2nd coming of Drogba. a big physical presence that was hard to shake.

i trust that AVB will get it done soon and there should be a couple of signings this coming week.

COYS!

Modric transfers to Real Madrid confirmed by Tottenham Hostpur announcement.

So long and thanks for what you did.

COYS

Dembele is a central midfielder who moves the ball from deep into attack. We are still lacking a box striker.

added and welcome!

AVB prefers younger players and this requirement suits Levy as well. the businessman in him wants value and can see selling them off later at higher prices.

The only issue is that with new players, we have to give them time to gel into a system and play as a team.

still waiting for official announcement from the club on the transfers.

for those playing fantasy, only Dembele can play for us today. Dempsey and Lloris did not make the deadline for today's match inclusion.

should be live on Astro on the Go as well i believe.

Dempsey can't play today. Transfer DID not make the deadline for today's match.

Dembele is a playmaker through and through. Quick passes and always wanting the ball. Can't wait to see him link up with Dempsey again soon.

they got 2 weeks to gel now. i know we can do this.

my take is that the players look tentative because there is a new system that AVB is trying to put in place. sometimes, that causes the players to stop and think about what they are supposed to do and where they are supposed to pass or stand etc.

the hope is that with more games under their belt soon, it becomes second nature.

we just have to keep the faith...TTID!

all new transfers are available to be selected now. let's see whether AVB can make the team click this weekend.

COYS

I know its Reading but a W is always motivating to the team and a move in the right direction. I now see that AVB's system is completely different from what Redknapp have them play.

No more of that long ball or counter attacking via the wings which made us fairly predictable. Players move around all over the field, short passes are employed and attacks can come any where on the field if an opportunity presents itself.

Yeah, long punts will happen if they oppportunity arises. For Defoe's 2nd, Bale made a great run that took one defender with him to the right while Defoe continued his run to the left.

Agree that the players are still getting used to how to position themselves in this new system. And it requires that players move out of their preferred positions.