Gejon

Me either.

Yet the defenders we had play for us in the final season before Ashley bought the club were... Taylor Bramble Craig Moore Onyewu (loan) Carr Babayaro Ramage Huntington Edgar Any others I've left out? Your arguments are like two ships passing in the night. I agree with what you're saying, which is that our top choice defence so far this season (R. Taylor/Colo/S. Taylor/Simpson), is far better than any four players selected from the above list. But Leazes is saying that if 'your man' Fat Mike were actually running the club in a competent way, rather than gambling on us having no major injuries, he would've invested in cover for positions where we were thin. He's also right. As shit as they all were, we had six CBs in the list you've given above. This season we have 3. Our first XI looks like gold, but scratch it and you find brass underneath. There was no reason for it to be that way. We had 35m to spend in the summer. For 8-9m we could've had Ridgewell and a cheap right-back, for example. We hardly had to break the bank, but the squad would've been so much stronger. I don't think many would like to swap our defence then for our defence now. But I also think that the failure to invest in key areas of the team shows Ashley's lack of ambition and reveals his fundamental plan to be "make as much money as possible while spending as little as possible." We've seen it so many times before - gambling on Kinnear, gambling in January 2009, gambling on Carroll, etc etc. Not buying defensive cover was just another Ashley gamble. We'll see if it pays off (for him, at least - is there absolutely anyone who calls himself a Toon fan who wouldn't prefer that we had spent the money on new players?) But let's not make out that it's some sort of brilliant plan and he's doing so well. He's a chancer. It's working...for now. You say we had 6 centre backs then but 3 now, do you think Edgar, Huntington and Ramage are much better than Perch and Kadar? I don't, so that makes it 5 centre backs to 6 in my book. I also think Tavernier has looked a lot better prospect than those mentioned, we just haven't had to resort to kids like that so far (I do realise he is on loan) [/Ashley apologist]. FWIW I though apart from the Liverpool game Gooch was fucking woeful for us, I know he somehow went on to AC MIlan but he really did make Bramble look like Maldini. I was at the Charlton away game and he was absolutely horrific. Also if we spent £9m on Ridgewell and a 'cheap' right back we will have been absolutely raped I certainly agree we have not invested properly and we should have been able to make sure we had quality first 11 players as well as good reserve players which we haven't done. Just don't think the numbers you have mentioned in your post tell the true story as you have only included the 3 good defenders in our team but neglected to mention the 'fillers' who aren't at that level but are still very comparable to some of the six you mentioned as part of the old squad.

Looking a bit of a knob at a fancy dress party? It's almost like these parties are made for people to make a bit of a tit out of themselves and have fun!

That requires the people concerned to have mates. don't you call them bum chums in your neck of the woods No, that's what you called them when you were 10. Did they have 'the gays' 80 years ago?

Come on pissy pants, answer him.

Leazes wept. Fucking pathetic they got off though, shit excuse.

I am embarrassed to say a mate and myself were round some lasses house and one of them had a fit, while all the girls were rushing about trying to help her we just froze, sat there looking at her a lot of good we were

Quitearanage Or Munroe Transfer.

Why has Leazes ignored Fish's perfectly reasonable, thought out reply? The one where he has answered all the questions put to him in a way Leazes says no-one ever does (no hypocrisy there)?

The real issue...

Happy Birthday.

This post didn't get the attention it deserved, definitely think this is the answer.

You really do have something wrong with you, you were accusing me not long ago of watching Australian soaps. I thought it was rather an odd thing to say and said I hadn't watched them for about 20 years, now you are coming out with stuff about watching Australian soaps 20 years ago seriously, get help

As Parky and Brock have said, he says stuff like this ALL the time. Looks like he has finally chosen the subject that can really be made a big deal of. It's pathetic really, heard someone genuinely comparing him to Gaddafi and saying he is inciting violence

Fucking hell, he gets worse and worse. Smelly old racist twat.

Congrats Gemmill.

Read up on depression and the various types. It's not as easy as saying "what does he have to be depressed about, there must be something up" or "how did no-one notice, why was he doing this and that". Maybe he did things like Football Focus to try and carry on as normal but just because he wasn't hiding away or crying every time someone spoke to him it doesn't mean that he couldn't be deeply depressed, he could have just kept it all in.

Good work

I would consult a 'proper' solicitor tbh, I don't think it costs anything for an initial meeting and they are a lot less likely to rape you in the bum bum.

Very good news, not only a 'promising'* player but he also seems like a really canny lad. *Copyright Shola Ameobi.

Plenty I count three men of footballing age. Sammy looks so tiny! Adorable. Scary thing is, that was only taken last week.

Happy birthday x

I don't agree. Sorry. I think the owner has a blinkered view, to repeat myself again [for the likes of Toonpack, Gejon and jaysouthernmag to name 3] I think the only impression the recent run will make on Mike Ashley is that it will convince him more than ever that he is on the right lines. Along with a few other impressionable people.....he will genuinely think you can be successful in football while selling your best players and find adequate or top class replacements in the bargain bin and it will strengthen him thinking he can cash in on Colocinni, Tiote, Krul, Demba Ba and Cabaye in the longer as well as the shorter term and continue to come out of it with a good team. It won't happen. It won't work. Edit. There is a lot more I could say, and a lot more I've said. All he wants for the club is publicity and an outlet for Sports Direct, when it stops working, he will lower sights further and operate in a lower budget again, driving down wages, making more cuts, until it makes its "profit"......why should he go for a profit by owning a club playing in europe etc when he can do it by selling a decent player once a year or so instead....it doesn't take a genius to work out the impact on the playing side of the football team when the bargain bin signings stop producing the goods......and when I say "goods" I mean premiership survival because this is all he wants, to do well or even quite well on a short term basis is just a bonus for him. Get over me would you ffs?