acrossthepond

It has to be Krul I think. I can't think of a dodgy moment all season. Even after recovering from injury and being thrown into the side v. Benfica away, he performed admirably. Top class player who we are deeply indebted to.

Great first contribution from Gosling there. Fuck me senseless.

Shocking. Perch and Jonas off for Gouffran and HBA - we've lost this game for certain but let's at least make a fist of it as we were doing at the end of the second half. If Perch isn't sitting in and protecting the back four then what is he doing? Not scoring, that's for sure. He needs to be off. Jonas has been atrocious as well. Johnson should not be on the pitch - utterly baffling decision. You simply cannot grab another player from the ground and wrestle them off the ball, for any reason, at any point.

Don't think the 0-0 plan is on Pards.

Utterly dire. If we took our chances first half, we'd have killed this game off before the inevitable fightback. We were beaten all ends up in the second half - I don't think Ben Arfa touched the ball more than once and neither did Shola, and we did not threaten at all. We haven't played 2 good halves of football all season. Maybe once against Benfica, depending on how you define "good." This game has been emblematic of our season - we have the players to do well, but we lack the fight and the commitment to keep going when the going gets tough, and part of that has got to come down to the manager.

I think we will truly trounce them tomorrow and have rarely looked forward to a derby with such anticipation. They are a dire, embarrassing side and it would be doing the Premier League a favour to send them down.

Played exactly to plan and it almost worked. We lost to the better team. Going gung-ho would've done exactly nothing except see us torn to shreds. We played a cautious game, built up pressure, and sent on our attacking subs at just the right times. Pardew had this planned out to perfection. Just couldn't get the slice of luck we needed with the offside goals/definite second yellow for the Benfica defender/late HBA shot. Very pleased with the second-half performance (and even the first wasn't THAT bad) and I think we can build on this to utterly smash the mackems.

Considering how often they tinkered with the story in the second season, every episode was like a new surprise, despite having read them all. Third season has started well. Third book was also the best so that's no surprise. 5th book was good too.

He likes to leave it late, doesn't he? Fucking hell. Great finish as well.

Get the fuck in!

If we can digress from discussing the fascist for a moment: Could have something to do with the fact that Clough was a legend and you're a chequebook manager who could only win a two-horse race, Marty

Ben Arfa is five times the player Marveaux is. Marveaux is just another Routledge. Skilled in one area, limited in all others.

Disgraceful. What odds Pardew decides to completely pack this competition in and sends out the reserves next Thursday? We imploded, shit ref, woodwork or not and have only ourselves to blame. It's time to end the fiction that Santon is a defender as well.

Think I may have jinxed this like. Just got home from graft, put this on, we miss two easy chances and concede. Bollocks.

Oh do fuck off you fossilised set of wankers. What a complete shambles.

You can't beat incompetence of that magnitude. Hard done by isn't even in it. That was a diabolical performance by Halsey and it's utterly wrecked that game of football. Fair play to Wigan as they matched us thoroughly but they must know in their heart of hearts that they never deserved that.

I think we're still in this one. We're a better side and that quality will tell as long as we keep our heads.

Expect a revenge tackle from Tiote which will get a yellow or worse at any moment now.

Tiote was sent off v. Sunderland for doing that. MacWhatever is going to walk away with nothing it seems.

Comedy defending.

Sunderland are one of the most dire sides seen in this division in some time. They are so utterly and comprehensively rubbish.

Never heard a co-commentator who has anything positive to say about NUFC. To a man they all hate us, especially since Sky and the like keep putting on either ex-mackems or ex-whoever we're playing to co-commentate our games. Wasn't wild about Cisse's celebration actually and I think it was telling that only two players ran over to celebrate with him. Usually last-gasp winners are greeted with scenes of insane jubilation - not so here. I feel a bit miserable nit-picking things like that after a good victory from a losing position but it worried me a bit. Good result against a difficult side to play, especially with some key players not really on form (Sissoko, Gouffran.) Yet another masterpiece from Cabaye too, what a player.

J69 has his own thing going on, he doesn't particularly care if others approve of/like it, and I think that's canny. I only wish he didn't have to keep constantly banging on about it. Different strokes for different folks, mate.

Couldn't agree more about that last bit. Being a Newcastle fan is a series of frustrations one after the other, but few as frustrating as watching Tiote shoot from ludicrous positions on command from the crowd. Some fucker has got to tell him to cut that out. Don't we have coaches who can have a word with him?

Visited when I was over this summer. Very beautiful place where me mam lived in her childhood. Definitely would consider it if I were maybe getting on a bit and wanted a quiet, classy place to live.