scoobos

First off, why do you fully expect us to get another striker, what part of the last 4 years makes you think we will buy anything other than the skeleton requirements, or if we do buy another striker it'll be a kid for less than 2 mil I reckon. This is what I was whining about, its just so hopelessly optimistic given the evidence of the past 5 years. If we were going to buy, why didn't we get Cornelius? He's arguably a better prospect. I know of him because fellaini was singing his praises and I thought Everton went for him but he knocked them back. He plays for his local team doesn't he, been there years and years. He also is a regular on the bench for Belgium but I think he's scored a small number for them already in a few appearances. (I also worked with a Belgian fellaini fan, so that's where I've really got it from) Ill bet you a fiver (to bobby foundation), we haven't a hope in hell. If he's snubbed Everton , he's got no baggage like most of our signings and his wage demands to leave his own supported club will be too much for him to *cough* get over the line. That said, I will cream my nickers if we get him. Last edit, I just texted my mate and he reckons he's refused the following clubs so far in the past 4 years, West Ham, Everton, arsenal, Aston villa and you wouldn't believe it Sunderland....... now Marco is known to exaggerate so I guess 60% of that is accurate a quick Google shows this. http://www.caughtoff...-villa-hitlist/ http://www.sportsmol...hase_49412.html http://avillafan.com...ink-for-vossen/ So 60% accurate as suspected !

Lol good point , well made. Yup vossen looks good, but we're dreaming.

Ok, well it came across that way to me, it seems no matter what we do there's a few posters on here who respond to any slur on his behaviour quite strongly. People defend Wonga, and the same say that Sports Direct branding and advertising wasn't just a clever way to shift taxable profits from one of his companies to another (he never pitched St James to anyone I don't reckon) , the same say that we've spent as much as we've brought in. I'm not saying all those points are wrong, cos they are all arguable either way, but to back ALL of them is just as pro as I am negative. Blaming pardew upsets me, its not his fault no one could do anything with the hand he was dealt last year, January signings count for shit, it takes months to integrate / gel. I could go on, but I've done it enough this season break .... I should say I'm not a massive Pardew fan btw, but to say he had a good squad isn't the year I saw, he was absolutely on his bare arse for most of it. Colo flouncing didn't help either. On with me happy face from here on in though, I'm just pleased the seasons starting again and who knows, we may well have another logic defying year of unprecedented success, and if we don't I'll still back the toon no matter what.

well for me, that's no reason to then turn full circle and just put the blinkers on and defend the actions of an idiot. MT , I do think the quality of the squad has dropped, and you kind of say that in your own post, its not the first XI its the whole squad - its absolutely impossible for any club to go a season without losing a player to medium term injury. I still don't think the first XI is as good as the one that Ashley inherited either, but its a matter of subjective opinion . But nuff said, season starts soon so its time for my happy face again. Come on Pards ! fight the good fight , don't let the bastards grind you down etc. The alternative is unthinkable.

What about poor ol cisse, I still think he's got mental ability just no fucker gives him the ball when he wants it, always too late (cabaye does well at this, but cant be arsed lately) come on Pards!!!!!!!

Yep agree, and thanks!! Toontastic is going to be my gateway to Newcastle now, so I'll try be less of a pessimistic cnut

Come on pards, you're our only hope. For all the shit we give him, at least he's actually got some background and achievements in his job. Ash and kin have fuck all in football really. Come on pards!!!!

So selective tho that statement isn't it? How about you extend that window to when Ashley arrived to today, or even 3 years. He only bought in Jan to get hold of the extra prem cash. Look I know I can come across as a miserable sod, but supporting your team is one thing, but trying to paint the club in a positive light is just delusional. In my view its a bloody miracle were still in the premiership after this year on year downsizing of the squad. To not buy anyone this window should illustrate our predicament perfectly. But I guess most others think that we cant do anything , so grin and bear it. I'm more a go to protests sort of person, any bad publicist to Ashley and co is not necessarily bad for the club (in my opinion) he's taking the piss.

Where do you see any surprise there. Given the patter from a lot of people here and elsewhere , the only thing that surprises me is the belief we were going to sign people in this window. We've signed no one. Loans don't really count do they, we don't have him, yet the blinkered masses will tout buy clauses etc that I bet aren't there. If he doesn't go down for rape it will be back to square one for transfer talks and a greatly elevated price from his buy price today, if he does well for us. FFS raaar etc, so frustrated ..... come on nufc, prove me wrong and do well this season, pleeeeeease !

Bit critical I think, the point is still valid, if they were that good its a bit silly to think that Carr sees things that no other top club coach can, we've not even had to compete for most of these players. Every time we do have to compete we lose, a' la gomis, Remy etc. Biggest and unprofessional sure, but he's proven mate and gets over 20 goals guaranteed at the very top level. He alone was Liverpool last year.

I get the arguments both ways and I sit in the camp of : If he's heavier and still able to perform at the same speed then I'm actually happier because he's physically stronger. But, the point I want to make is that this is a result of our hiring policy. If we buy cheap, they are cheap for a reason and it's not being French. Wenger for example, would and does snap up French talent but has omitted all these players , as have the other premiership clubs. I'm not say in by any means that Carr is not great, but its stretching it a bit when we are saying our one scout is better than the teams at Man U, Arsenal etc. There's a reason for the low cost, just wiki or Google Ben arfa's past and its KNOWN that he has attitude and professionalism problems, same way it was known that BA had a dodgy knee, Cabbage has depression, Tiote takes things personally, etc etc. If Ben Arfa had those skills and no problems its unbelievable to me to accept he's worth any less than 15 mil at current prices. If you buy players of this playing quality for the prices and wages we pay, its due to undisclosed or known problems. A few players are squeaky clean and don't get in the team, e.g. Anita , Brig etc, because they allegedly aren't of the same talent level. So its all a balance really. Personally I don't blame any of these players for getting downhearted with the shit they've put up with since arriving from France. Yes they are paid a lot, but they must feel tricked from the sales pitch we gave, it doesn't take a genius to see we are a selling club and they are being advertised badly when the team are so poor, and make no doubt about it, we are poor at the moment *sob*

Done a mint job so far hasn't he? Loaned a relegated player to give him premiership matches and failed to bring a fellow snake into the club.

I just hope we manage to stay up, until Ashley gets his money back. I'm really not feeling good about the season ahead though, its like we are liquidising stock. Sure we've bought in the last two years, but we've always been decreasing the value of the squad (e.g total spend is always less than income from transfers). There are a lot of gambles in our squad now, more so than dependables; but who knows, they might click and all perform hey? It should go without saying that we haven't actually bought anyone this window.

Yep there's another. Great player for us, shame he wasn't there in Gillespie's time , we always were short on the right if I remember correctly. Funny, dalglish was a shat manager, and did rid of too many of Keegan players imo, but his signings weren't bad, sales aside.

Hey, well we will see how lucky I am if I make it through the probationary period I'm a freelance techy, subject matter expert for a niche Microsoft product called DPM (backup). The jobs full time tho and nothing to do with dpm, minimum 2 years after 3 months probation. I've not worked as a full time employee for 7 years, so it's going to be a challenge that could go either way. That's my cover story anyway :-> I'm looking forward to coming back home to Newcastle after 2 years out there, when I get back it will be 15 years since I lived there :/ But I'll be waving goodbye to I.T.

Heh, he got speed, given and ketsbia I think, he defo got didi hamman. Its like George Lucas with films.

Wow, the mind boggles. He did alright signings wise for us , or my minds playing tricks on me

Makes me feel better after your "I hate your posts more than anyone" Cant get much lower than stealing from a charity. I worked for one and just quit because I felt I wasn't saving them money anymore, just costing , but to rip one off is unspeakable.

London evening standard on Tuesday last week, I'm packing as I'm working overseas for two years and grumbled at it this morning, as I tore it up for packing Similar things are written and talked about in the office every week, a lot of guys down here do seem to think we are all miners with chips on our shoulders. I do have a Thatcher chip on my shoulder tho, most people loved her in my workplaces.

I think we just lack players, the squad is far too thin, all our backup is championship level at best. Let's see though, Pardew might learn and adjust to spite the guys above him, who are clearly trying to get Joe in and him out. Going by brada though, he's not for changing. I actually liked his defensive tactics in his first season, building from the back etc and patient build ups. But it just doesn't work when the team is under pressure. I hope we stay up this year, but think its going to be very difficult for pardew and co. If he keeps us up again, he's a good manager in my book. Getting us to where he did in the Europa with a second string was an achievement for me last year.

I've worked in maidenhead, reading, canary wharf and Guildford, all Tory, all think we are leeches. I've had people ask just how bad is it, as they have genuinely never been north of Birmingham, at best. This is in every job I've had for the past 4 years. Most have never been further north than Watford gap. Here's a quote from the London evening standard on Friday: (edit Tuesday) The context is fracking "This will upset many who don't agree with a city state, but London has subsidised the far north for too long. Fracking will allow these northern cities to finally make their own income and release the burden of mass unemployment and social problems that cost London so dearly" It makes my blood boil, for too long? What you mean after the creation of the industrial revolution, north sea oil, manufacturing, coal etc. Is this unemployment and social unrest due to the fact that they raped us of all our industry, in the name of the city? We can get coal cheaper from France! - yep until you destroy your domestic production, then watch the price rise. So if this is fine to print in the local paper, I think you've been lucky in who you've met, or me unlucky. Getting sponsored by Wonga doesn't help imo. Lol, end rant. Honest

I'm 2 stone lighter this year, fishy.

For me, I suppose it is caring what others think, but only in the way that I want Newcastle to do well as a city etc, it really winds me up that, for example, the bbc always show the dregs when they are showing geordies. This long running stereotype of us being hard, in a dangerous city full of chavs and gangsters, and jesmond aside, no wealthy people. It definitely works against us and is a reason why investment in the north is so shite; because its these twats down here with the money... Seriously, when was the las time a UK firm invested here on its own money, WITHOUT the help of EU funding, its all EU regeneration money. I know by the way that the stereotype is rubbish, I've lived all around the UK and many cities around the world and Newcastle is among the very best.

This will be fuckin ace. Shame there's no way I can watch it tho, ill be emigrated by then :/

EDIT , yup sorry fish, I stand corrected, after looking it up.