Dickie

He's a strange bloke isn't he. He's got a bit of the Ed Milliband about him, in that he seems like a canny enough bloke with good intentions, and probably some very good professional abilities, but he can hardly do owt without somehow looking like a right divvy. What they should be focusing on is that there's still 36 points to play for. That's absolutely loads. With the players we have got, allied to a positive approach, it should be very possible for us to get out of this and be safe with games to spare. "Should" is the operative word like.

Not sure if that's what people wanted to be fair. I think they wanted players that have shown they know how to play in the Premier League, unlike the likes of Thauvin and Cabella. Shelvey and Townsend have both shown they can play well in this league. Arguably Colback has shown fight and Englishness, and I don't think anyone thought we needed any more Colbacks. What we did want, and need, was proven quality in certain areas (left back, centre mid and centre forward) and more depth in others. We only partly met those requirements over the last two windows and we might well end up going down as a result.

Well as someone who has been sticking up for McClaren I have to admit that 2/3rds of the way through the season we should be seeing some signs or improvement away from home, as whatever messages he is trying to get across to the players should be sinking in and we should be seeing some evidence of it. My support for him is based less on any belief that he's the manager the club really needs (his record suggests he is almost certainly not), but more on the belief that he should be given time, especially as I would say we've been playing better football, by and large, than we have for quite a few years. After a performance like that last night though it's impossible to defend him. He is not the cause of the current situation, we all know that. We have seen enough of these howkings over the last 4-5 years under Pards and Carver to know that, but you have to have serious doubts about whether he's capable of getting rid of the losing surrendering mentality that seems to be so deeply ingrained in the club. I am not saying I now want him sacked immediately, because it still boils down to the two issues that it always has since Keegan left in 2008: 1) would any better manager be willing to come and work under Ashley, and 2) if they would be willing, would Charnley or whoever it is that makes these decisions be capable of picking the best candidate. If the fact that we've spent a canny bit in recent transfer windows would convince better managers that we've got a bit more ambition now, we should probably be looking to replace McLaren straight away. If Moyes was willing to come he should be given the job tomorrow with a massive bonus if he keeps us up and a guarantee about summer transfer budget, to give him these next two weeks to work with the squad. I suppose what I am saying is that although I think McLaren was probably the best we could have hoped for when we appointed him, he may not be now.

I'm with scoobos on this. You might well be right and maybe we're being overly positive but I think we should at least give him more time. I actually think he's been the most unlucky manager we've had in a long time. Little things have gone against us at crucial times, especially before xmas. Two examples that spring to mind: 1) the mackems match, when I remember thinking to myself during the first half that it was the best we'd played in about 10 years, which admittedly had a lot to do with how shocking they were, but still we were so on top it wasn't true. Then Colo goes and gets sent off out of nowhere with a terrible decision, we're 1-0 down and totally capitulate due to aforementioned negative mentality that has been growing for years. 2) The Villa match - the weather was the biggest leveller ever. I know this sounds like making excuses, but Barcelona would have struggled to look the better team in rain like that, and anyone who has played football at a decent level knows what I am talking about. Admittedly we should have dealt with Ayew better in the second half, but I really believe that if we hadn't had that freak rain we would have won that comfortably, especially coming off the back of the Spurs and Liverpool games and how absolutely woeful they were at the time. You can't coach or prepare a team to play in those conditions, and we don't have a team of cloggers who would relish that kind of game. And even then we had the chances to win it. That's 5 points that would have us comfortably in mid table and looking up, without mentioning a game like Everton at home. I know that's going to sound like I'm clutching at straws. I am not desperate to defend McLaren, he's not the bloke I would ideally have in charge of the toon, not by a long stretch. However we are where we are thanks to Ashley, and I happen to think McLaren is a decent bloke doing his best and he should get a bit more time before being judged so harshly. One more thing, I've heard a lot of ex pros say that he's one of the best, if not the best, coaches they've played for, which has to count for something.

I agree with this. Also, I am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt a bit more than I would have been with Pards, Carver, Souness etc because he seems like a decent enough bloke, in contrast to some of the others who have darkened or doors in recent years. And it might be wishful thinking but by and large we seem to be better coached, and despite the odd debacle and a number of underwhelming away performances it seems to me that he is trying to instil a possession style of football that we might be able to build on over the next few years. We know that there is definitely a negative mentality in the club, from the top down, and I think that has a lot to do with the type of pea-hearted surrenders we've seen in countless games over the last few years, but I don't think any manager could be expected to change that - KK realised it sharpish, and if he couldn't get the toon thinking positively then noone can. We've had 8 more years of malaise and pretty much constant decline since then, to the point that Mclaren was probably the best we could have hoped for at the time he was appointed. Whether or not us splashing the cash in these last couple of windows might convince someone better to come and give it a try is an interesting point, but that sort of investment needs to be sustained over a period of time before anyone really believes Ashley has any serious ambition for the club.

He is a moron like but I also think he's a good premier league centre half. He's had too many injuries over his career which has hampered his development, but I've always been happy to see him in the side - admittedly that probably also speaks volumes for the dross we've had in the side in his absence, particularly Williamson. Taylor and Coloccini together when Colo was at his peak was a very good centre half pairing, possibly as good as any we've had in my time watching Newcastle. You need that level of physicality in the defence and not many have got it while also being mobile and comfortable enough on the ball... If he didn't carry on like such a divvy, and didn't start spouting off in the Chronicle all the time, people might rate him a bit higher. The odd clanger doesn't help him either obviously. Anyway, too injury prone to be a long term solution at centre half now that Colo is on the way out.

Tiote played as well as he has done for years. If he stays til the end of the season and shows that attitude he could have a massive influence on our fate. About shelvey looking sulky, aye he does but I'd rather have that than Anita or colback scampering around looking busy while contributing absolutely nowt. I hope the crowd doesn't start getting on his back if he's not charging about the place - that's not his game and that's not why he was bought. Cabaye never tackled anyone apart from the odd sneaky little ankle breaker when he bottled a fifty, but no one seemed to mind that. Good game from Townsend, he gave us a bit of threat going forwards. I'm interested to see how fit doumbia is. We might need 5 more wins to stay up so we need to start scoring more

I think we'll play well and win but it will be another false dawn followed by a couple of howkings at Chelsea and West Brom, followed by a complete meltdown from there on out. What a shambles. I had been relatively optimistic until fairly recently but the things I was hoping to see starting to click just haven't happened. Bottom 3 at this stage of the season, still unable to score and still so soft defensively, coupled with pea-hearted senior players like Sissoko and a manager with a track record of wilting under pressure = recipe for relegation. I do feel for Mclaren cos he's a decent bloke and a good coach by all accounts, but unfortunately relegation is probably just what this shambles of a club deserves.

I've been saying we'll be OK - I thought we'd eventually start scoring the chances we've been missing and we'd put a run of 3 or 4 wins together to pull us away from the bottom 3 by now. However in the back of my mind has been the fear that if we're still in or around the relegation zone towards the end of the season we haven't got the players or the manager to deal with that sort of pressure and scrap the points together. Unfortunately I think we have now reached that point and I think we're probably going down. I think we'll still beat West Brom but the pressure will still be massive after that cos Norwich will probably beat Villa, and I can't see us getting owt at Chelsea and Stoke, by which time we might be cut adrift in the bottom 3. I can't decide whether going down would be a good thing for us or not.

Wow, what a weird post. A little window into a pretty bitter outlook on the world. Most of the Everton supporters I've met have been nice enough. One of my best mates is a match going Evertonian, as are most of the blokes in his family, and they're all canny, know their football inside out and a good few of them have played to a good level as well. Weird post!

Aye they said Spurs were in for him on 5 Live before

Nice one mate, I've just got the final chapter to go. Every single chapter has been an absolute gem. Loved the Beardlsey, Beresford and Clarkie chapters last night. It's brilliant to get a feeling for the affinity they all felt for with club and supporters, and the amount of respect and affection they all had for Keegan. What a bloke. I never got to any of the open training sessions back then but I really wish I had after reading some of the description of the training in the book.

Happy to see him leave, really poor player. Seemed like a canny enough lad but just not up to it - too slow, too weak, far too soft, poor in the air and almost zero ability on the ball!

In my experience most people who go to football all over the world are sound. You get some divvies obviously, more so these days and especially at the London clubs, but you get it everywhere including Newcastle. A significant minority of our support these days is utterly clueless in my opinion but the majority is still alright. I would love to see Pardew take Palace down, and their support does have a bit of an artificialness to it these days, especially for anyone who can remember how quiet they always were, but to a man every Palace supporter I've spoken to over the years has seemed canny. Even in Stoke, which has to be one of the worst places I've ever been to and where there is a obviously a larger-than-average contingent of unpleasant, ignorant arseholes, I've still always come away with the opinion that the average match goer is probably a decent enough person.

I'm predicting 6 points from Everton and West Brom, taking the pressure off a bit. However if we get less than 3 I think we'll implode, get walloped off Chelsea on telly and be down before the last game of the season.

Aye it really is - for me it's been a reminder of the hope and positivity we had in those years. It really hits home that it's just not the same club now. I just read Ferdinand's chapter last night - what a top bloke, it was great to read what he had to say about what it meant to him to play for the club and supporters. Same goes for Kelly as well, brilliant stuff. I've heard them say similar things in various interviews over the years but Martin Hardy has done a great job pulling it all together and putting in in context with the narrative of those few seasons.

Ah OK cheers. My brother got me the book for Christmas actually but I haven't started it yet - I'm still reading Touching Distance, which is absolutely class

Does he say anything about Newcastle?

Aye I was just watching that. The two kids are basically just a couple of weird misfits, but it's really sinister given the seriousness of the idealism they've latched onto. Good to see other muslims ridiculing them on the streets but the scary thing is that oddballs like these two actually have followings and have the power to influence others.

Brilliant analysis of the bloke!

Aye I'm still very worried. Especially with the way this season has gone - you always feel we're just a bad decision or some wasteful finishing away from going on another run of winless games, which is something we just can't afford at this stage. If we can get 6 pts from the next 3 games I'll be a bit more confident. Even though on paper they're not the most intimidating 3 fixtures on paper it's still a big if at the moment. And that's without the potential for injuries to important players. Loads of reasons to be positive from the last two games (and actually from the performances over most of the season), especially after Shelvey's performance on Saturday, but until we start putting points on the board consistently the situation is still dicey.

It was only a matter of time til it started to unravel for him. This may be premature but I would love it if they fell away in the second half of the season and ended up in the bottom half having been talked up as Champs League contenders earlier on. I've nothing at all against Palace as a club and have enjoyed a few good trips down there but I have to admit I would take some pleasure in seeing him struggle. We had a good 3 seasons of dross football from his poorly coached sides, not to mention his shocking interview patter and embarrassing touchline antics, yet he still seems to be regarded (mainly by himself but also, incredibly, other halfwits in the media) as a top manager.

I wouldn't say Colback was an improvement on Dummett. Neither of them is a left back but they both seem like decent lads trying their best. Dummett has looked a good prospect at centre half. Who knows, maybe this experience at left back will benefit him in the long run. Mclaren's doing a good job in my opinion.

Aye good point well made Tooj.

Brilliant player, he was class again today. I really hope having Shelvey in there now will benefit him - our game plan needs to revolve around getting him the ball as much as possible, and as quickly as possible, in the opposition half because he doesn't give it away and he's got more than enough quality to make and score goals in this league. I'm reluctant to be too harsh on Mclaren for putting him on the left a fair bit initially - it's got to be hard figuring out the best way to use such a lop-sided sqaud while also figuring which players you can trust in matches, and one thing we always forget as supporters is that we don't get to see who the best trainers are. Plus I think most managers these days may have done the same - the perceived wisdom seems to be that these types of players are too lightweight or get passed by in the middle - look at the likes of Silva and Hazard, genuine world class players who aren't really wide players but have still spent a fair bit of their time in wide positions from what I've seen. I also think the performances, bar a few blips against Palace Leicester and Bournemouth, have probably been better than any we've seen during the last ten years, and I'd say a lot of the credit for that has to go to Mclaren. We've mostly looked like a well coached side in my opinion, which was hardly ever the case under Pards, and never the case under Allardyce and Souness. With a bit more luck and some better finishing we'd be mid table and looking up I think. Anyway, having said all that, like everyone else I'm happy Wijnaldum has been moved more central cos he's proving to be infinitely more effective there and he's showing what a real class act he is.