acrossthepond

Immense game yesterday, one of the most entertaining to watch in a while. It's mostly been done to death on this board (I'm late to the party ) but the weakness of our right flank compared to the left really suggests that Santon should come into the team for Simpson, who is never a Premier League player. Perhaps Santon's ability would bring something out of Obertan, who has been turboshit throughout, but who shouldn't quite be written off yet. I thought Ben Arfa could've done with passing a bit more but that sharpness and vision will return with time. He's just come back into the team, is training with new people and needs match fitness. I think the obvious move, and what all the fans are hoping for, is to replace Best with Ben Arfa against Wigan this Saturday. Destroying a softer team like Wigan could really infuse Ben Arfa with confidence and make him into a key player.

Not a chance. This 'ohh respect Mike or he'll not put his hand in his pocket, you naughty, stupid Geordies, stop singing nasty songs about our saviour and buy more shirts by the way' shit that's been coming from Dekka and Pardew is cringeworthy in the extreme.

The same old lies and bullshit as usual. We've had some good results so now they're trying to take credit for it, but if we hit a bad patch they'll clam up quick as you like. Let's focus on what's happening on the pitch, which is mostly down to team spirit, hard-working performances and, yes, the manager. MA and DL are liars who really have nothing to do with our success at the moment and are probably actively hampering our progression.

I'm just saying that Santon is coming back from injury and that it can really damage a player's confidence if they have a bad debut. It's true that Santon shackled C. Ronaldo one time, but he's lost his way a bit since then and is just starting off at a new club. Let's not expect miracles from him in his first match for us. Of course I want Santon to replace R. Taylor in the long term (and in the short term!) but I wonder if this is just one game too soon for him.

We surely have it in us to beat these. I'd bring in Marveaux for Obertan and HBA for Best, but I could see Pardew opting to use Ben Arfa from the bench. Not sure if Santon should get his debut against Lennon, that might be a bit of a baptism by fire.

But that's not it, HF. The reason many fans slag him off is because he's never made the most of the talent he plainly has, and that's because he's a lazy sack of shit and has always lacked the passion and hunger to succeed. He spends half the match on his arse and the other half with his hands on his hips. He's shown flashes of magic but they've only just been flashes, because he couldn't be bothered to put in the hard work on the pitch.

Beat them at home last year 2-1 and they've got Seydou Keita (of Barca) and Maiga in the squad for this one. If I had to call it, I'd say Mali will win, but a draw isn't outside the realms of possibility, which might drop them into the runner-up spot if Zimbabwe can beat Cape Verde. I've only been halfheartedly following the African stuff this qualifying season though since Egypt's campaign has been such a disaster. I don't think we'll be back in for Maiga in January anyway, though. Sochaux were playing hardball over the price, which isn't a game that Ashley has ever been prepared to play, and he's scored 4 in 6 this season already for them too. They'll want big money, which we won't spend.

They still need to beat Liberia, actually.

It sounds more like Harper's been told exactly what the situation is, which is that he's done playing for us, and so he's of course happy to keep collecting cheques. I don't think it's a lack of willingness to 'fight for his place' so much as it is that it's been made clear he won't be getting his place back. The move to bring in Elliott only makes sense in a situation where we won't be using Harper again, otherwise we really didn't need him. Pardew also worked with Elliott before iirc and will probably favor him over another one of the Barton/Nolan type who were so strongly in support of Hughton.

Guess we'd rather talk about tits than Michael Owen. But I repeat myself.

Geordies are too stupid to spell Gutierrez, that's why he's got Jonas on his shirt.

If we're nominating, I nominate 'Bafra.' 'Barfa' is odious enough, but 'Bafra' bears no resemblance to the lad's name and anyone who uses it should be made unable to see anyone's posts but Fop's. They'd wander this board alone, surrounded by madness, wondering if they are the last beacon of sanity in the Newcastle-supporting world.

I don't know if I agree. Certainly his awareness and positioning are areas that need work, but he's shown some silky touches - vs. Fulham for his 2nd goal, of course, and I remember him peeling away from two defenders early in the QPR game as well before just missing his shot. He has some ability, grafts hard, and is a model pro, but what's lacking in his game that could really elevate him to the next level is the mental side, which mostly just passes him by.

Tbf he was only answering what he was asked. The Forest job looks like a nightmare and probably will be one for quite some time to come. We all have experience of how well these DoF/transfer panel bullshit setups work, that is, not at all.

Crikey. I believe that's known as a 'fail' in industry parlance.

He has matured into the player we all knew he could become since that night in Sicily. I don't think we'll face a fight to hang on to him in the short term (that is, if Fat Mike wants to hang on to him ). Where would he go? Man U have just bought two new keepers, Chelsea have Cech, City have Hart, Liverpool have Reina, and Arsenal are in crisis, especially if Wenger eventually goes.

Over the moon with the result, and both of our goals were special, but we let them back into the game with poor subs and tactics, and Pardew will want to think about how to keep that from happening in future. Sammy would've been a much better choice than the totally finished Lovenkrands, for example, and Guthrie should just not be playing unless we're down to the bare bones. Tiote was back to his best except for pissing about on the edge of the box as he did when Colo was down. Obviously, atrocious refereeing and Wolves can honestly feel hard done by there. Obertan is useless and should've been off for Marveaux or HBA by 60 minutes. Krul was 'incredible' again.

Now they reckon Elmohamady is one of Bruce's transfer fuckups? I thought just this season some four-fingered Freds were coming on here and giving it the big one, saying he'd tear us apart. Fickle fans, kind of like when they turned on Darren Bent's mum.

If we keep worrying about bruiser-type players who will 'do' HBA, he'll never get a game because every side has them. I agree that Wolves are particularly bad for that sort of thing and he's not entirely fit yet, so another sub appearance, perhaps on 65-70 minutes, would be the way forward for this game. But Ben Arfa is one of the players of real quality in this side and he has to start when fully fit, whether against Tottenham/Arsenal/Wigan/other 'softer' sides, or against Stoke and Wolves. You don't see David Silva or Luis Suarez, for example, not starting vs. those physical sides for fear that they'll get injured. They have a job to do and they have to do it against whatever opposition they face, same as HBA does.

Please stop before you hurt yourself, Clee.

Sounds like we huffed and puffed far, far more than we should've against a limited Forest side. The run goes on nevertheless, though, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Ben Arfa and Marveaux will produce v. Blackburn on Saturday.

Sensible to take HBA off, sounds like he had a great game but no need to rush things. If he had someone a little more dangerous than Lovenkrands in front of him, we might've seen some real damage. Marveaux sounds like he's positively unplayable as well.

Avoid the 'Island of the Damned' entirely. Never, never, never go to Staten Island. 'Tip' doesn't even begin to describe the place, and good luck getting off it if you don't have a rental car. It's no coincidence that I put this advice in the first paragraph. If you must, you can ride the S.I. Ferry as it's a canny (and free) way of seeing the water, the southern coastline of Manhattan, some of Brooklyn, and the Statue of Liberty, but as soon as you get off, turn around and get on the next one back to Manhattan. Avoid Times Square unless you want to pay huge money. You can get decent hotels in even some of the trendier parts of Manhattan, like the Upper West Side, without forking over the big bucks, but not in Times Square. It's not even that great. Brooklyn, by and large, is a shithole, and the places that aren't (like Williamsburg) are so yuppie-fied you probably won't stomach them. The Bronx is pretty bad too, much as I love it. Queens has nice parts. Visit Grand Central Station, South Street Seaport, Rockefeller Center, Union Square, the Empire State Building, Central Park, Columbus Circle, Museum Mile, etc. I would personally advise you stay away from any guided tours, tour buses, etc etc as you will be paying through the nose. This is a great city, one of the best in the world, and you can see most of it on your own without paying for assistance. Ride the subway to get where you need to go. If you're having trouble, try mta.info. That site has a trip planner where you enter your address and the address of where you want to go, and it'll tell you what trains and buses to take and where, with maps.

Typical NUFC luck. Ben Arfa and Santon, two young and well-known players with bags of talent who had lost their way somewhat in their respective countries come to NUFC and promptly get crocked.

Who posted that flounce bingo earlier? I can count at least 5 or 6 of the top of my head from his posts on here today. Enjoy N-O, you perma-deluded lying sack of shit. Fuck me, stealing from the SBR Foundation, how low can you get and still call yourself a NUFC supporter?