Gemmill

If that £95 is just a standard match ticket with no add-ons, they want their fucking arses kicked.

I hope you took him up on it? Fucking right I did! Only after I'd confirmed that he wasn't on crack.

Mind, something amusing did happen at the weekend at least - my sister's boyfriend text me to offer me a £200 that Sunderland will WIN the Premiership in the next 10 years. He also says they have £65m to spend in the summer. We might be a bit of a laughing stock, but give them a decent run of results in the Championship and they're already talking about winning the Premiership.

My seat's good, titheed. Halfway line, Level 7, perfect view of the match. It's not worth £600 when you can see the same shite for £400 though, that's for certain.

The more I think about it, the more I think I might sack my ticket off and just buy on a match by match basis. Probably change my mind when the renewal form arrives, but we'll see. Sammy's right though, nowt implicitly condones Shepherd's chairmanship more than season tickets being renewed, and whilst I don't blame anyone for renewing (I might well end up doing it myself), the thought of that prick sitting thinking that he can just carry on in the same vein with the fans endorsement is not a pleasant one.

Sucking the life blood out of the club? Fucking hell. Aye, I'd sell him for what we bought him for, but don't talk cobblers about sucking the life blood out of the club. The chairman and his manager are doing that.

What attitude? Not living in Newcastle, not attending games, and blatently putting country before club. Ah right, his "not living in Newcastle, not attending games, and blatantly putting country before club" attitude. That one. Jesus wept. As I've said elsewhere, the lad is a professional footballer, paid to play for Newcastle. Where he lives is a matter of personal choice, whether he attends games when injured is too - I couldn't give a fuck about either. As for putting country before club - I've seen no evidence of that (have you?) but are you surprised that he's prouder pulling on an England shirt than a Newcastle one? I'm not - he was prouder playing for England than Liverpool too ffs. And I'm quite comfortable with it, as I know that outside of getting injured playing for England, it won't impact on his performances for Newcastle at all. Attending matches, and seeing how we have played is the absolute minimum I expect from this so-called professional. It would be a statement of commitment if nothing else. When Taylor was injured he attended every home match, I expect that from Owen too. You disagree, fair enough, but don't brand me as being mad for not concurring. Regarding England, sorry to bring up a cliche here, but he should remember who pays his wages and his sick pay. Clubs have such investment in players now I can forsee this problem becoming more acute and players being witheld from the national team. Shepherd does have a point imo, although he's dealing with it in a particularly ham fisted way, which is typical. How do you know what games he is and isn't at though? As far as I can gather you've got yourself worked up because he was at a horse race in Dubai while we were getting dicked off Man City. It's one game, so what? There's plenty season ticket holders go on holiday and miss home games. It means nowt. What point are you making in your second paragraph. "He should remember who pays his wages and his sick pay." What has he done that makes you think that he isn't mindful of that? If I'm Michael Owen I'm thinking "OK, I've recovered from my knee injury, I'm fit to play for Newcastle if picked, so why should I rule myself out of playing for England?". Why should he? I have it on good authority he doesn't attend matches. Seriously, where does he sit? Why do I never see him in the players box or on the touch line? Imho he shouldn't risk injury with England before playing for us. Can you imagine what will happen if he takes another serious injury? Seriously, can you not see Shepherd's point? Nope. As pointed out by someone on NO, "he's a footballer, not a fucking ornament". If we're going to withdraw him from England squads on the off-chance that he gets injured, then we may as well get shot of him. And we can't afford to dispose of players of that calibre lightly.

Christ, imagine the press conferences with that gurning spaz. "HEEYAH MAN WUZ ARE FUCKIN LUSH".

Best result for Shepherd is if this gets picked up by Judge Judy. That way he gets his day in "court" AND gets his face on the telly.

What attitude? Not living in Newcastle, not attending games, and blatently putting country before club. Ah right, his "not living in Newcastle, not attending games, and blatantly putting country before club" attitude. That one. Jesus wept. As I've said elsewhere, the lad is a professional footballer, paid to play for Newcastle. Where he lives is a matter of personal choice, whether he attends games when injured is too - I couldn't give a fuck about either. As for putting country before club - I've seen no evidence of that (have you?) but are you surprised that he's prouder pulling on an England shirt than a Newcastle one? I'm not - he was prouder playing for England than Liverpool too ffs. And I'm quite comfortable with it, as I know that outside of getting injured playing for England, it won't impact on his performances for Newcastle at all. Attending matches, and seeing how we have played is the absolute minimum I expect from this so-called professional. It would be a statement of commitment if nothing else. When Taylor was injured he attended every home match, I expect that from Owen too. You disagree, fair enough, but don't brand me as being mad for not concurring. Regarding England, sorry to bring up a cliche here, but he should remember who pays his wages and his sick pay. Clubs have such investment in players now I can forsee this problem becoming more acute and players being witheld from the national team. Shepherd does have a point imo, although he's dealing with it in a particularly ham fisted way, which is typical. How do you know what games he is and isn't at though? As far as I can gather you've got yourself worked up because he was at a horse race in Dubai while we were getting dicked off Man City. It's one game, so what? There's plenty season ticket holders go on holiday and miss home games. It means nowt. What point are you making in your second paragraph. "He should remember who pays his wages and his sick pay." What has he done that makes you think that he isn't mindful of that? If I'm Michael Owen I'm thinking "OK, I've recovered from my knee injury, I'm fit to play for Newcastle if picked, so why should I rule myself out of playing for England?". Why should he?

What attitude? Not living in Newcastle, not attending games, and blatently putting country before club. Ah right, his "not living in Newcastle, not attending games, and blatantly putting country before club" attitude. That one. Jesus wept. As I've said elsewhere, the lad is a professional footballer, paid to play for Newcastle. Where he lives is a matter of personal choice, whether he attends games when injured is too - I couldn't give a fuck about either. As for putting country before club - I've seen no evidence of that (have you?) but are you surprised that he's prouder pulling on an England shirt than a Newcastle one? I'm not - he was prouder playing for England than Liverpool too ffs. And I'm quite comfortable with it, as I know that outside of getting injured playing for England, it won't impact on his performances for Newcastle at all.

To be fair, outside of Rooney and Crouch, you're struggling for English centre forwards who are either top class (Rooney) or showing any sort of form (Crouch). Owen's proved time and again that he'll score goals at that level, so it makes sense to get him back in asap to be part of the squad.

What attitude?

Intertoto Cup ambitions ffs. Lofty stuff. From the top four of the Premiership to "Intertoto Cup ambitions". The ground we've lost is pretty much unrecoverable imo. The impact of Shepherd's calamitous decision-making as chairman is finally being seen. We are a mess.

I can't afford to pay outright, so it's gonna have to go on a credit card. To be honest, we should ALL just buy on a match to match basis, hit the fat wanker where it hurts and send a clear message that enough is enough with his incompetence - the only problem is I know I'd probably miss half the games if we carried on in the same vain as this season.

You need to download them to your itunes music folder.

"Is the world going to come to an end tomorrow? I guarantee it's not. But there'll be plenty of people who say it is." "Take them away from me; I can't stand negativity. Surround yourself with the lucky and the happy - that's my motto." These quotes are hilarious. Roeder lambasts "The End is Nigh" sandwich board-wearers everywhere, whilst patting the heads of his two dogs Lucky and Happy.

It's for real. This from the BBC: Newcastle have threatened legal action against the Football Association to stop England using Michael Owen in the June Euro 2008 qualifier with Estonia. The Magpies want compensation from the FA for the knee injury the 27-year-old striker suffered at the 2006 World Cup. Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd told the Sunday Mirror: "We could get an injunction to stop him playing. "We would do that very reluctantly. We will be seeking a reimbursement of his medical costs." Shepherd added: "We have not been paid a penny by the FA for Owen's recuperation bill. They cut him loose as soon as he was put on the plane home, despite it costing us well over £150,000. "They even told us to get the money off Fifa when it was clearly the FA's responsibility as he was in their care and control." Owen ruptured his anterior cruciate knee ligament against Sweden in the third match of the group stages with England. The striker has not played since, although a recent outing for the reserves suggests he could play for Newcastle before the end of the season - theoretically making him available for England's friendly with Brazil on 1 June and the Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia on 6 June. But Shepherd wants to prevent his international recall, adding: "The FA are forcing us to go to court and our lawyers believe there is a very good chance we can win this case." An FA spokesman said: "It is inappropriate to comment on this matter at this time."

Looks like he's finally broken his "7th followed by relegation" duck. Progress.

Well for once I agree with Shepherd, I have to say. Serves him right for buying the mercenary twat anyway, I guess. You agree with the talk about injuctions? No, not at all, that's typical Shepherd diplomacy, shooting himself in his fat foot. What I do think is that if Owen had any decency at all, he'd rule himself out of playing for England, until he put in some games playing for us. But the guy has no decency or loyalty to us whatsoever. I don't know what this has to do with decency or loyalty? If Owen is fit or feels fit enough, he is entitled to play. I'm not denying he is entitled to play, hence I think Shepherd's efforts are a waste of time. Imo he's a tosser if he does play though. His loyalty should be the club who pay his wages, not England. Please explain to me how in playing for England when he is fully fit, at a time when NUFC have no games because the season is finished, he is demonstrating a lack of loyalty to his club. I admit I'm not being entirely rational here, but I get the strong impression Owen doesn't give a toss for us and only cares for England. Can you really not see why Sheperd and people like me are pissed off with the fact he hasn't kicked a ball for us all season, but has "timed" his comeback to coincide with an England game? What if he gets injured for England again? Why do you think Shepherd is so pissed off with the situation btw? I reckon he knows a lot more about Owen's attitude towards us than he's letting on. Signing Owen has proved to be a massive blunder, he'll probably piss off to ManU having cost us 15 million quid for 7 goals or whatever. The lads on a reputed 120k per week and doesen't even attend matches ffs. Sorry if my dislike of him doesn't meet your approval. He hasn't "timed" anything man. He's been out with a knee ligament injury. We all knew he'd be out for pretty much the season. That there's an England friendly a couple of months after his return has nothing to do with anything. Where do you get this strong impression that he doesn't give a toss about NUFC from? He's done no more or less than any other player at the club in that regard, he just happens to have got injured. People have just made their mind up about him based on the fact that the press are more concerned about Michael Owen and his injuries from an England point of view. Shepherd is pissed off because he doesn't feel like he's got sufficient compensation from the FA for the fact that Owen got injured while on England duty. That's got fuck all to do with Owen though. As for him signing for Man U blah blah, you're just ranting about nothing. Seriously, I do wonder about some Newcastle fans and this desperate need they have for the players to show the same love for the club that we do. The lad is a professional footballer, who is paid to play for Newcastle United. He's not paid to profess his love the club or the fans, or to attend every game while he's injured. You're not kidding about being irrational. He doesn't even live here ffs! He's being paid a 5 figure sum per week from us and is living in Cheshire. Maybe I am irrational (when it comes to football I'm entitled to be) but the bottom line is I don't like him as a person. Read his autobiograph - the lad's a twat tbh. You're a twat for reading a footballer's autobiography.

Well for once I agree with Shepherd, I have to say. Serves him right for buying the mercenary twat anyway, I guess. You agree with the talk about injuctions? No, not at all, that's typical Shepherd diplomacy, shooting himself in his fat foot. What I do think is that if Owen had any decency at all, he'd rule himself out of playing for England, until he put in some games playing for us. But the guy has no decency or loyalty to us whatsoever. I don't know what this has to do with decency or loyalty? If Owen is fit or feels fit enough, he is entitled to play. I'm not denying he is entitled to play, hence I think Shepherd's efforts are a waste of time. Imo he's a tosser if he does play though. His loyalty should be the club who pay his wages, not England. Please explain to me how in playing for England when he is fully fit, at a time when NUFC have no games because the season is finished, he is demonstrating a lack of loyalty to his club. I admit I'm not being entirely rational here, but I get the strong impression Owen doesn't give a toss for us and only cares for England. Can you really not see why Sheperd and people like me are pissed off with the fact he hasn't kicked a ball for us all season, but has "timed" his comeback to coincide with an England game? What if he gets injured for England again? Why do you think Shepherd is so pissed off with the situation btw? I reckon he knows a lot more about Owen's attitude towards us than he's letting on. Signing Owen has proved to be a massive blunder, he'll probably piss off to ManU having cost us 15 million quid for 7 goals or whatever. The lads on a reputed 120k per week and doesen't even attend matches ffs. Sorry if my dislike of him doesn't meet your approval. He hasn't "timed" anything man. He's been out with a knee ligament injury. We all knew he'd be out for pretty much the season. That there's an England friendly a couple of months after his return has nothing to do with anything. Where do you get this strong impression that he doesn't give a toss about NUFC from? He's done no more or less than any other player at the club in that regard, he just happens to have got injured. People have just made their mind up about him based on the fact that the press are more concerned about Michael Owen and his injuries from an England point of view. Shepherd is pissed off because he doesn't feel like he's got sufficient compensation from the FA for the fact that Owen got injured while on England duty. That's got fuck all to do with Owen though. As for him signing for Man U blah blah, you're just ranting about nothing. Seriously, I do wonder about some Newcastle fans and this desperate need they have for the players to show the same love for the club that we do. The lad is a professional footballer, who is paid to play for Newcastle United. He's not paid to profess his love the club or the fans, or to attend every game while he's injured. You're not kidding about being irrational.

Aye heard that on the radio about Torquay, and thought that you'd have your lip on. Canny shit like.

Well for once I agree with Shepherd, I have to say. Serves him right for buying the mercenary twat anyway, I guess. You agree with the talk about injuctions? No, not at all, that's typical Shepherd diplomacy, shooting himself in his fat foot. What I do think is that if Owen had any decency at all, he'd rule himself out of playing for England, until he put in some games playing for us. But the guy has no decency or loyalty to us whatsoever. I don't know what this has to do with decency or loyalty? If Owen is fit or feels fit enough, he is entitled to play. I'm not denying he is entitled to play, hence I think Shepherd's efforts are a waste of time. Imo he's a tosser if he does play though. His loyalty should be the club who pay his wages, not England. Please explain to me how in playing for England when he is fully fit, at a time when NUFC have no games because the season is finished, he is demonstrating a lack of loyalty to his club.

Well for once I agree with Shepherd, I have to say. Serves him right for buying the mercenary twat anyway, I guess. You agree with the talk about injuctions? No, not at all, that's typical Shepherd diplomacy, shooting himself in his fat foot. What I do think is that if Owen had any decency at all, he'd rule himself out of playing for England, until he put in some games playing for us. But the guy has no decency or loyalty to us whatsoever. I don't know what this has to do with decency or loyalty? If Owen is fit or feels fit enough, he is entitled to play. Exactly. Sorry Renton, you're talking shit. I can't get my head around the Newcastle fans who desperately need Owen to show his love for NUFC. What do you want from the lad? He was injured during the season, so he couldn't play for NUFC, and now that he's fit for some reason he has to play a nominal number of games for us, before you'll see fit to allow him to play for England again? Even during the close season when we aren't playing, he has to sit kicking his heels because he still hasn't fulfilled his NUFC quota? I mean does that not sound completely stupid to you, Renton? It's enough for me that he plays for us, and that I know we'll get 100% when he's on the pitch. I'm not one of these that needs him to stage a press conference where he talks exclusively about NUFC and wipes his arse on his England shirt before I'll accept him. Honestly, some of the stuff you read on forums about Owen (and I'm not aiming this at you Renton) makes me think that NUFC fans are completely retarded.

He's spot on in what he's saying, and it's been going on for years - the contracts we put these people on is one of the biggest problems imo. They are getting paid wages which far outweigh the market rate for someone of their abilities, and they start believing their own hype - if you had them somewhere like Reading on £25k a week instead of at Newcastle on £45k a week, you'd get performances out of them that suggested a player that wanted to move on to bigger and better things. At Newcastle they get the rewards the day they join the club. Having said that he's correct in his assessment, you would see more motivated players if they were playing in a system that worked, for a coach who could motivate. The players are probably as sick as the rest of us at the total lack of cohesion and shape to the team, and they can't make that happen for themselves. It takes top coaching, and it takes strong personalities to instil belief, and we've got none of that at this club. I don't know a lot about Nigel Pearson, but fucking Terry Mac and Lee Clark, man. If they were running a summer soccer school, fair enough, but a Premiership side. It's painfully obvious that there's a complete lack of direction from the coaching team (look at Titus Bramble CONTINUING to just boot the ball long constantly, or Martins' horrendous movement and touch - is anyone actually trying to address this stuff? What other club allows their players to just keep getting away with this sort of thing?), and what player is going to feel motivated under those circumstances?