manc-mag

We should have taken 9 points from Swansea-WBA-Norwich. Before those games, we could all see that Pardew was picking the wrong players. I think if HBA had started those games with Sammy rather than Best/Obertan, we'd have performed much better. Yeah, cos we routinely win 3 games on the belt in the Prem, even when at full strength.

Given when the injuries hit, that sequence of games we were all looking forward to thinking we should take a hefty points total instantly became forfeit as far as I was concerned. You knew we were going to lose to Norwich (been watching Newcastle 30 years and any Toon team would have gone there and lost that one on the back of the shock to the system at Chelsea, even back in the days when we threw money about). Swansea was the opportunity to bounce back quickly that went begging-the real missed opportunity as you say. WBA I hoped we'd get it back on track but I wasn't massively surprised we didn't as they'd hit a bit of form. That being the case, for me Bolton away was another one where we could very easily have rolled over again and gone into the Liverpool game in a serious rut. But we didn't, we stopped it becoming a total holocaust of a month and at least gave some confidence to go to Anfield with. It could have gone better but it could have gone worse and I'm with you basically, it's hardly Pardew's fault we've got no defensive cover. In fact everyone said we were playing above ourselves (which we definitely had been) so in the circumstances when the injuries hit, the 'balance' was upset, the cover was non-existent we all knew defeats were in the offing. Well the injuries happened and yet lo and behold he still gets panned for it.

Of Of course he's 'to blame'. He's also 'to be credited' when he picks teams that win. 30 points just shy of half way through the season is reason to credit him, particularly as you're so keen to point out how shit the players he has at his disposal are by and large. HBA will turn certain games and I love it when he's firing on all cylinders but he isn't so effective that he would've automatically won you any game he didnt figure in. It gets a bit boring hearing it after a bit.

Yes I would agree he's spent horribly overall. His value is in galvanizing the club/being the iconic figurehead manager though. The same players were always going to do more for him than Hodgson. None of them will turn out to be truly awful footballers, they'll just not be worth what he paid.

That rules The Fish out of who it could be then. Your hair has been borderline at times by the way, but mercifully you never angle it upwards at the front at a peacock-esque 45 degrees. The warning signs are flashing white hot elsewhere though.

In other words the Maiga deal is off and we've got nowt else we're willing to pay an equivalent fee for because 'they' don't do that without a lot of homework. That shouldn't rule out a loan signing though as the argument put forward (increased January premiums) is irrelevant in that case. If we know Maiga isn't going to happen now (and for the last few weeks) then efforts should be being poured into finding who might be available on loan. The incoming defender is hugely important but it's a completely different brief anyway. If we've got defender targets identified the Maiga fall out shouldn't affect any of the negotiations/prep there, you'd hope theyre already well down the road with it. Lovenkrands at the very least needs to be got shut of now so his name can't keep being mentioned as striker back up.

One thing I will say is that I think the Toon was at the vanguard of this, quite strangely. Definitely noticed more of those massively angular hairstyles in Newcastle than other cities to start with. Lots of people looking gay, while actually still being one of the more homophobic cities of the country. Quite an odd discrepancy really. Other places have caught up now but I definitely noticed the gay hairstyle/t shirt combo prevalent on a large scale amongst hetero NE lads first. Just like to add that I've not noticed one instance of it amongst people I've met off here. *disclaimer*

Enrique to play badly in this game.

To not bring in a striker this window (price being irrelevant; they could be a big fee, they could be on a free/loan) is basically just neglectful of the team's continued progress. Yes a defender has become massively important but it was at the start of the season anyway. It doesn't detract from our requirements up top in any scenario. It's all bullshit verbals with our lot anyway in my book until the deadline has passed, can't even be arsed speculating in the meantime.

This is the thing though, it is still needed. And that tells you all you need to know about the Prem these days-he's spent a fortune in a year and it's still not got them into the CL places because a few teams are utterly awash with mega money. They will have to spend more again. If there was ever an obvious example of why we absolutely will not spend fantasy money to compete for the one 'remaining' available CL place it's Liverpool FC. He's not spent it brilliantly but he's not been a disaster either. He's got a persecution complex on a par with Martin O'Neil though the grumbling, depressing twat that he is, and hopefully that will be what causes them both to fail, ultimately.

No we werent, we were always too good for the championship, even when half the squad fucked off. And that Bolton-win had a draw/loss written all over it until HBA came on. Pardew is stubborn and lucky both, anyone claiming with a straight face that we played well the first 11 games when we were "CL`ing" it up with the big boys and pretending to be billy big bucks needs to take their glasses off and have another pint. We have had 2-3 decent and perhaps 1-2 genuinely good games before the losing streak, rest of the points gathered were blatantly lucky. You make your own luck at the end of the day and without exception you get far luckier if you bust your balls for 90 minutes + every game. Nobody has ever claimed we were chalking up sweeping victories on a par with the CL/'billy big bucks' of the division (this is just a lie that gets perpetuated to suit certain agendas), we were playing to the best of our abilities and the added effort and determination was making the difference. The downturn when injuries hit was forecast by nearly everyone as it's a consensus on here that our squad is too thin. Peoples appraisals on here this season of personnel and performance could scarcely be more rational. It is true to say the expectation was relegation when we came up. You're re-writing history now because all of a sudden 7th isnt good enough only a year on. Grow up, it's Newcastle United-we never win owt so don't mess yourself just because a team with relegation expectations doesn't make the CL this year. Personality is irrelevant, one of the absolute strengths this season has been the manager so to call him 'lucky' is a joke. He's had a positive impact on the whole so it's neither here nor there if his every team selection hasn't had you touching yourself 24/7.

standing under a 40 watt bulb in his case then.

back on the gear.

fake sun cream?

How does a native Portugese manage to look sunburnt in England in December?

The dilemma is though (and it is a real one) our play is so much about pressing the opposition now when not in possession. That's an undeniably good thing, the top teams do it as standard, it's about knowing what it's sposed to mean to play for the team and that has to become ingrained in the fabric of the club. That's how Pardew is squeezing the most out of not-always-spectacular players and he knows it fine well. I love Ben Arfa's talent but that's the obvious weakness to his 'game'. I don't think that will change much-that's not to say you get shut but it is a case for saying that he may have to be sacrificed in certain games/formations until the overall team strength permits for his diminished work rate. We're not serious contenders for the CL so the stakes aren't that massive this year in a sense anyway (in the league), which means it has to be fair to try games with and without him in the starting 11. In an ideal world I'd start him every time but if anyone knows he's not operating in an ideal footballing world it's Pardew. We were expected to be relegated a year ago so as much as theres loads of areas we can still improve we do still have to try and retain an objective view of how the team is getting results.

Some perm haired Trotskyist who drove round in BMW's and Jaguar's with the personalised plate 'DEG5Y' as I recall. Having a perm and driving around in personalised luxury cars being amongst the main tenets of Trotskyism.

Who? Cheik! Think it's only J69 thinks he's shit....and has done for a while. Whilst I don't think he's shit, he most certainly isn't as "great" as some make him out. He's by no means shit. He's great at what he does and it's highly important (harrying opponents/breaking down play-we've scarecely ever had that), it's just he's a 'shit' footballer. ie he's not very good with the ball. His pass completion is always good because they're short lay offs once he's gained possession so that stat itself is largely meaningless. It's totally different to trying to make incisive defence splitting passes into space for your forwards to read. This is why for me if he does go we can't have the mentality it's some sort of irreplaceable loss. The function he performs is what has been shown to be so important to the team and so it's an exercise in making sure we've always got someone/our eye on someone who can perform the same basic role. He's not a natural footballer so that shouldn't be such a mammoth task, he just carries out a highly important defensive function. If he had an attacking side to his game it would be nigh on impossible to replace him (he'd be the 'complete' footballer) but he doesn't. Far from it in fact, for me he could train all week without a ball and probably be quite happy.

Since when did Howey turn out amazingly handsome at 25? He's a mackem too remember, so choose your words carefully.

Steve Howey

Aye, basically what I was thinking. If he'd just denied it outright I don't think they could have arrived at their outcome. Sounds like he tried to come up with some sort of exculpatory 'explanation' though in an attempt to cover all bases in case it transpired there was some additional evidence.

Reported.

Has he got a black grandad though? Fuck knows who drafted LFC's response but parts of it were as ill advised as Suarez's 'defence' in the case. Mixed race people are amongst the worst offenders for using racist language in my personal experience so who gives a fuck if Suarez has got a black granddad I know mixed race lads who'll happily slag whites despite the fact their own mothers are white. Thick as fuck. Not racists in the pure sense I spose but twatful in exactly the same way as Suarez nonetheless.

As an aside, if the ban stands, it might just be the making of Carroll this. Or possibly the end of his career.

On the evidential side of things, it sounds like they reached their decision based on Evra's testimony and Suarez's (partial) admission. Ie there wasn't any other evidence from team mates/officials. Evra claimed one thing and Suarez tried to explain it away as another. The standard of proof will only have been 'on balance of probabilities' which is more likely to be true, which is a low threshold - ie just which account is more believable than the other. Obviously it's incongruous for Suarez to try to claim he was paying Evra a compliment/using a term of endearment. Terry's different because he's been charged up by the CPS so it'll be the criminal standard of proof (beyond reasonable doubt). A higher threshold (ie not just who's evidence is more likely to be true on balance, but is it virtually certain Terry's explanation is untrue). That said there's also more evidence in the Terry case to start with (objective TV footage) hence why it became a CPS matter in the first place rather than an internal FA matter.