I understand what he means so much as in dont all go running forward forgetting the defensive duties but the toon were so open it didnt need much encouragement to all bomb forward but then we were short when they countered, thats for you to teach them on the training pitch mr Jol. You dont buy players like Malbranque to defend, let the attackers attack and the defenders defend.

yes we were awesome goin forward theres no doubt, the defence and Robo were rubbish, we miss Ledley so bad and if we could have swapped keepers with the toon that day we would have won 6 - 1.

Forgetting tabloid rumours i will be very interested in who Jol exactly targets this Jan as that will show us where he thinks the problems are.

Except that not a single one of their goals came because we were too open or because we were hit on the break. They came from:

1. Awful defending from a set piece, followed by poor keeping.

2. A screamer from range, although given it was near post (again) I would look to Robbo to keep that out.

3. Awful marking by Tainio in letting Butt get ahead of him in the Box. And again, poor positioning by Robbo.

With the possible exception of their second, the goals all came from a lack of mental strength and concentration from our players. The same weakness that meant we only scored 2 from a bundle of chances.

We have a good squad, but it lacks ruthlessness. Toughness. It has all season and it won't change unless and until they mature.

I know Jol as being a Cruyff-adept, loving attacking and attractive football.
Gutted about the result but in general I was well surprised in the way we played, especially the first part. And in the whole game we created a dozen of really good chances. Can't be discontent with that, and that's an effort you can't get when there's not good back-up!! Impossible!! <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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It's not fantasy-football! Most important in a team is work off the ball...
If you go to a game and have the patience to watch a separate player over 90 minutes it's really amazing what he does (or doesn’t...) in his 87 minutes without ball. That is results to judge someone on and it's a managers job!

And no doubt you need a boss on the pitch to speed up or slow down the pace, read the game (recognizing the tactics and searching for the opponents weakest link). Is that man available atm? Besides that a good organization is indispensable. When it goes wrong it is plain wrong. In total football first attacker is the keeper and first defender is the centreforward. <o></o>
Actually you can’t say defense was rubbish and attack was sublime cause it’s a teameffort and everything gears into one another. There’s positive and negative loosing of the ball and every player has to cope with it and if he hasn’t the concentration and discipline for the whole 90 minutes you are in trouble, like we did in some split-seconds in which Newcastle took advantage of (and don’t forget about a terrific Shay Given!).<o></o>

We lost last at sunday, however nobody will deny we’ve really made some improvement with those young players. It's a puzzle every week and the best coaches are in the sands but this job is right up Jol's street. He's devoted to the best football he can get and in sacking him we’ll go 2 years back in time.<o></o>
I've seen this kind of development before; attacking and attractive football is the most difficult entertainment to achive. It's football with risks, but I’m sure at final last it will pay off.

Less of the robbo bashing pls. not been fantastic, but beaten by so many screamers this season - i've never seen owt like it.
for martins shot he or any keeper had no chance. had he been closer to teh near post and beaten at the far you'd be bleating about poor positioning.
For the 3rd he covered his near post and was beaten at the far. What exactly do you want?

Look at the saves given made - there were a lot of standard saves, the odd very good save. But would he have saved any of the toon goals? i very much doubt it.

Agree about the Robbo bashing. Take the third Newc goal. He was COMPLETELY blameless. Beaten by a cross shot which went in off the far post - the perfect finish. And Banks and Shilton stood together wouldn't have saved the second.
I think he has lost a little something this season but it's pointless to point the finger for every goal conceded.

First, I am neither bashing Robbo nor bleating. I am trying to point out that none of the goals came because we were hit on the break; ie they did not arise because we were pushing forward playing exciting football as the Article seemed to suggest. They arose because of poor defending on our part - not over attacking. To try and suggest otherwise, glosses over the real reason for the loss: poor concentration/mentality. That is the real cause of some very poor away form, and some not so good recent home results.

Second, and in any event, Robbo's keeping for the three goals was, in my view, questionable at best. That is not to say I am bashing him (see above) or saying he is to blame. Just that I would expect better from his own high standards. To address your two specific queries:

(a) For the second goal his positioning was fine, but I would have hoped that even though it was a stunning strike he could have got something on it. He looked a bit slow for me.

(b) For the third, he got sucked too far away from his goal line which meant he didn't have time to get down for Butt's shot. And it's not me saying that, they highlighted it on MoTD. Although, as I said, Tainio should never have let Butt get ahead of him.

In the round, I think he had 3 saves to make and didn't make one of them. That's a poor match, in my book.

Finally, while I don't think any of the above is bashing him - just pointing out where I think the goals were conceded (ie not on the break); I do think his form since the World Cup has been well below his best. You mention the number of long range strikes that have beaten him as if that suggests he is unlucky rather than low on form. Is it really a co-incidence? And the very fact you mention Given's excellent performance (he got MoTM) suggests to me you know Robbo is below that level this season.

Don't worry, I'm not calling for his head. But I don't think it helps to gloss over the real reasons for losses (NB: not Robbo; mentality) or an individual player's lack of form.