Happy Face

Tell em steve dave The Toronto Ontario Mo and Glo(ria) show Freakonomics Radio

Could be worse...

There you have. The difference is hopes versus expectations. Don't you think survival should be the minimum expectation and top half the hope? Like I said, "we want to emulate Stoke/Birmingham". I'd be aghast if we performed little better than West Ham have this year and I'd give Ashley a shitload for it if it happened. If he's lowered your expectation to the level you'd be happy with that kind of season then relegation's worked out well for him.

Not really. Would you find it more embarrassing regularly being in Europe, one of the top 5 teams in the country and having world class players scoring goals for fun? I wouldn't find that embarrasing at all. Don't get what you mean though. Sounds like you're suggesting no-one should be pleased about beating cancer if they can't run a marathon.

Let's build on what has been created over these last nine months. What do you, taking into account the present facts, owner and situation, suggest we do? At least engage in the argument instead of being a 'witty' wanker. I thought the consensus in the Huges thread was "hughes is the sort of guy we should be looking at if hughton isn't up to it." You're right though. There are some idiots suggesting he should go before a ball is kicked. A minority I'd say. Spend £20m on one or two players. Aim for the top half. Simples.

Course there was negativity. It probably got worse as the summer went on and was at its worst after the Orient game. You specified "at the start of the season" so I'll give you that....but people did expect to be champions. Stevie says in that thread he'd have been embarrassed to finish second this season. Most managers send messages to the players in interviews like.

This one... http://www.toontastic.net/board/index.php?...=24453&st=0

Aim for 7th and you're more likely to survive than aiming for 17th. I see your point Happy, honestly I do. But are you expecting Ashley to go ahead and spend 50 mill pounds next window? You write what you think we should do. You too, Christmas. I'm not saying aim for 17th, never did, but we have to be realistic. I'd like a knight on shining arabic horse horse to make us the next Man City ... but I don't see it happening anytime soon. Why can't we aim to do what Birmingham's done this season or Stoke (to some extent). We've built a solid, tight-knit base. If Ashley spends a realistic amount of 20-25 mil to bring in some extra players, that'll help. But going in, selling players and getting rid of CH (how many times have I read ... He's not a Prem. manager) and splashing the cash is most likely going to rock the unity that's developed over the last nine months. Also, if we do splash the cash, who do we end up spending it on? Why won't they be likely to be the next Owen , Viduka etc. Finally, heaven forbid we splash the cash but still get relegated ... what happens then? Ashley won't bail us out again, the team talk after Layton Orient won't build unity again ... and we'd be floundering in the CCC in heavy debt and royally fucked. Ashley is gojing to spend SOME money because he doesn't won't to see us dip in worth again by being relegated ... but this gung-ho talk of 'do it, and do it now' isn't going to work, nor is it going to happen. Be realistic, that's all I'm saying. As much as I care about NUFC ... we ARE just another promoted club. Anyway, Christmas Tree and Happy Face, I'm happy to have the discussion with you. Peasepud, I don't understand what you're on about ... Are you Mick Dennis? I'd love to meet the Newcastle fans saying we should sack Hughton. Look above where I sarcastically took the piss out of anyone suggesting doing what Stoke have done would be a bad thing. Talk of "ensuring survival" should ensure a fine for anyone at the club though. If expectations are that low going in to next season it's bound to become a self fulfilling prophecy. Expectations at the start of this season were not that we would be champions so your last sentence is drivel. I'd disagree based on that poll from last May I posted before.

Telling the players in the squad "survival is all we expect of you" is not only a demotivating slight on their ability but provides an excuse for a lacklustre performance. I don't think telling the team (or the fans) we want to emulate Stoke/Birmingham is an unreasonably high level of expectation.

Aim for 7th and you're more likely to survive than aiming for 17th. I see your point Happy, honestly I do. But are you expecting Ashley to go ahead and spend 50 mill pounds next window? You write what you think we should do. You too, Christmas. I'm not saying aim for 17th, never did, but we have to be realistic. I'd like a knight on shining arabic horse horse to make us the next Man City ... but I don't see it happening anytime soon. Why can't we aim to do what Birmingham's done this season or Stoke (to some extent). We've built a solid, tight-knit base. If Ashley spends a realistic amount of 20-25 mil to bring in some extra players, that'll help. But going in, selling players and getting rid of CH (how many times have I read ... He's not a Prem. manager) and splashing the cash is most likely going to rock the unity that's developed over the last nine months. Also, if we do splash the cash, who do we end up spending it on? Why won't they be likely to be the next Owen , Viduka etc. Finally, heaven forbid we splash the cash but still get relegated ... what happens then? Ashley won't bail us out again, the team talk after Layton Orient won't build unity again ... and we'd be floundering in the CCC in heavy debt and royally fucked. Ashley is gojing to spend SOME money because he doesn't won't to see us dip in worth again by being relegated ... but this gung-ho talk of 'do it, and do it now' isn't going to work, nor is it going to happen. Be realistic, that's all I'm saying. As much as I care about NUFC ... we ARE just another promoted club. Anyway, Christmas Tree and Happy Face, I'm happy to have the discussion with you. Peasepud, I don't understand what you're on about ... Are you Mick Dennis? I'd love to meet the Newcastle fans saying we should sack Hughton. Look above where I sarcastically took the piss out of anyone suggesting doing what Stoke have done would be a bad thing. Talk of "ensuring survival" should ensure a fine for anyone at the club though. If expectations are that low going in to next season it's bound to become a self fulfilling prophecy.

The notion that we shouldn't be happy about promotion seems to me to stem from a will to overcompensate for dickheads like Mick Dennis who write articles that slate us collectively for stuff we haven't even done. He lumps in "celebrating promotion" with "making worrying noises on phone-ins. Nonsense about bringing back 'King Kev' Keegan or Alan Shearer as manager" and "tosh about Hughton not being the man to take the club to "the next level" before lying that "Toon fans believe all Geordies are special." and ending by wondering "whether the Geordie Nation can handle that truth." Some people seem to take this dross seriously and refuse to crack a smile over what has been a hugely succesful campaign. Ignore the cock man. No matter how much joy you drain out of the game for yourself, no matter how much you keep your shoes on, stay sober, sit on your hands only occasionally applauding a goal and seriously discuss the managers decision to go 4-3-3 as if that's the fun part of being at the match you'll never placate arsehole's like him or stop him making up shite. No-one with an ounce of common is advocating a bus top parade or owt. But if you aren't celebrating promotion as champions by a decisive margin then I don't know why you bother with football.

Unfortunately the right wing rulers of America fail to reflect public opinion on the matter.... http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/041...ael_letter.html

Not really.

FYP Deserved the job permanantly

Did anyone hear the Hodgson interview where he said no-one expected Fulham to get to the "semi f'naaal". You can forgive him though cos he's not a cock.

Reach for the stars and you can make it to the moon. We aim above the mark to hit the mark. You can’t rest unless you set goals that make you stretch. Aim at heaven and you get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither. Not failure, but low aim, is crime. It’s a funny thing about life: if you refuse to accept anything but the very best, you will often get it. We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. etc. Aim for 7th and you're more likely to survive than aiming for 17th.

Totally unreasonable for us to hope to be in Stoke's position this time next year.

http://www.juancole.com/2010/04/us-attitud...to-realism.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8618878.stm

Previous best was 9.

Ameobi assist. He's shit he is.

Love how Higuita's back up has a pale imitation hair do

Some knacker at the derby. http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/content/image_ga...s_gallery.shtml Worse than this photo of Alex...

Looks a bit basic, but just launched and could be canny.... http://www.nemusicforum.co.uk/forum/

I briefly considered adding some economics to my course in the summer before my second year started at Newcastle. I really enjoyed my visit to the department. Lovely building and the "punani" was unreal. I think I was put off by scare stories of how ridiculously difficult economics was supposed to be but i still have fond memories of the sunshine fanny dispersed about that building.