Howay easy question. Who would win? Us now, or Keegans best?

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2002

Answers

I think Keegans team in the first half of the 12 point lead season would wipe the floor with us.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2002

I don't think they'd wipe the floor with us, but I think our current team is light of one or two top players. I think Nobby & Lo Lo may yet come good, though. Then it would be more interesting.

How do you rate Bobby vs. Kev? I like the way Bobby has steadily built this team, and I think he has a great eye for talent. I think Kev is a bit of a glory-merchant, and gets bored if things don't go right.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2002

Robson's had it harder to build a team worthy of top European places, what with lack of funds, and dead wood to rid. KK was the right man at the right time, and spent wisely (mostly) to give us a team and the football to match our collective hopes. Robson is getting there, and hopefully a European jaunt will bring money for players. If we're doing the same or better next season I think we can start to say we have something special.

At the moment, I think we have a team reflecting our first couple of seasons up from promotion, but we're short of the '12 point' season/team by about 3 players.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

I think the current side would come back from 3-0 down to win 4-3 at the death

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Wheres your head at? Nick Keegans team are old men now. The current team would win easy

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Pav v Given ..... Given Barton v Hughes ...... mmmmm Beresford v Elliot .... Beresford Howey/Peacock/Albert v O'Brien/Dabizas/Distin .... mmmmm Gillespie for Solano ..... Solano Lee v Dyer ..... mmmmm Clark v Speed ..... mmmmm Ginola v Robert ..... Ginola Ferdinand v Shearer ..... Ferdinand Beardsley v Bellamy ..... mmmmmm

So not much in it. The Keegan side had a nice pace/guile variety on the wings, but it didn't have the raw pace that the current side has. I'm not sure the current side will grind out results as the Keegan side did, because Beardsley/Ginola were very very special and Dyer/Bellamy are just very special at the moment

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

The current side is managed by a calmer head than Keegan's and have no pressure: no one expects them to win the title and they are just seeing how far they can go. This is a tremendous advantage.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Impossible to assess. What is more compelling to me is what would have happened if BR had left Barcelona to join us when KK was sacked/quit, instead of following his admirable conscience?

Bobby has worked an absolute miracle with limited resources. What could he have done with all the money that TSM/TDO wasted, and how much closer to legitimate contenders to ManU would we have been?

My instinct is that history would have been very different, and that we would have won the PL at least once by now. I can always dream, can't I.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Keegans team would win 33-32 ! Our current position owes more to team spirit than outright ability. Keegans team would just go up the other end and score every time they fought to bring it back to even.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

you lot do this to wind me up.... well you won't goad me into it.... no you won't!!!!!!!

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

I think Bobby's current lot would beat Keegan's, but it might be by the odd goal in five or six.

The obvious difference to me between the two sides is that Keegan had us going forward at 100 mph using a short, accurate passing game. Bobby has us going forward at 100 mph by having Bellamy, Dyer and Robert (maybe to a lesser extent, ATM), and even Sol, making long fast breaks into space, which I reckon are more economical and put much more pressure on opposing defenders, because of the uncertainty of who needs to be covered, and also the reduction in the time the defenders have to think.

Okay, it may be concentrating the load onto two or three players doing it that way, and increases the effect of injuries, but it looks every bit as good as the KK style, and is more effective IMO. It works best I think, though, when Bobby doesn't try to hedge his bets. He has to play as many as possible, even away from home, of the runners, because I think that's how we're most effective.

I also think the current defense is starting to get the hang of things, and strikes me as being marginally safer than KK's, and if memory serves, the games that sum up KK's side are those where we lost marginally from being quite often, well in front. The current side are giving goals away, and still managing very impressive wins. I'm not sure the KK side could do that. I've watched the tv version of Saturday's game quite a few times now and am still gob smacked at the quality and simplicity of Dyer's and Bellamy's goals. They look better each time I see them. The way Dyer chested the ball past Duberry to make the space for the shot was the pure instinct of footbal genius, and Bellamy's more than made up for the one on one he fluffed. I'd even go so far as to put Bellamy down as joint motm with Dyer.

All in all, I'm over the moon with the way we're playing. When we're on song, it looks bliddy good and it doesn't half scare the sh1t out of the opposition.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

I reckon Bobby's lot have the potential to win things as long as we aquire at least one more player (defensive midfielder IMO). Then we'd have bettered Keegan's team.

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

Interesting player comparisons macbeth but the real match ups are:

Barton Peacock Howey Albert Beresford vs Solano Dyer Robert Shearer Bellamy
Hughes Dabizas O'Brien Distin Elliot vs Gillespie Beardsley Ginola Ferdinand Asprilla

?

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

they would not have even got near Beardsley / Cole...

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002

yes Geordie, doesn't make it any easier though, still looks liek a banker 4-3, to one or the other

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2002