Matt

Because a lot of people think he will be sacked- clearly- that is how bookies make their prices. Clue: You still win the bet if the manager quits. That's not my point. Bookies change their prices to reflect past and anticipated betting patterns. They expect (given our harsh start to the season) Keegan to come under pressure from the press and general mongoloid population (as he was when we went on that crisis run of losing to a number of teams who were a country mile ahead of us). There will probably be a run of bets on him to depart. That's all priced in. Let's say I went into a bookies and put £100,000 on Wenger to go, just for the hell of it. Then I went down the road and put another £100,000 on. Word would get around, odds would shorten so that the bookies net margins remain intact- they don't operate on gut instincts but on cold, hard numbers (that's why they make money and punters lose it). It doesn't make Wenger any more or less likely to be sacked, or quit, or be run over by a truck. All these people who follow the club on a daily basis don't think it's as likely as those odds suggest. Your obvious reaction is that we're all a misty-eyed deluded bunch, rather than perhaps the more astute observation that in fact, general consensus might not be that accurate. If you look at the reasons behind each departure, we can say that he won't be offered the next England job, he won't be spat at or derided like he was by horrible filth that follows England round every game, and he won't be overpowered by the board. You might think that last comment is a bit strange, given all the 'boardroom turmoil' that has been reported in reliable, London-centric papers like the Mail. But then you would. That's what you're going off. Not only that, he really has nothing to lose. What a sport- what a country- that a man who so honestly and passionately served the game for decades is treated as a figure of fun. Not here- that's why he'll be staying.

Because a lot of people think he will be sacked- clearly- that is how bookies make their prices. Now I don't think there will be many Newcastle fans expecting him out of the door first or all 20 so I can only assume an awful lot of others do. I would hazard a guess those are the people who don't really know why he left us in the first place, or the fact that he is clearly quite determined to prove some people wrong. He KNOWS he is unsackable (and the board knew this in taking him on) and he has no reason to walk away from a lucrative contract in a job where he is extremely popular. So those without any real understanding of NUFC are busy making their bookmakers rich. Sack Keegan, and you've alienated your entire fanbase in one fell swoop- fans trust Keegan as someone who will do right by the club (as he felt when he first quite as the club were too focused on the PLC and the Sporting Club)- Ashley does not enjoy this trust.

They don't exclusively sign crocks like West Ham do, though.

Well, he left Fulham for England and left England having been subject to a torrent of hate and abuse from those lovely 'Engurland' fans at Wembley (not the first or the last). Keegan left that job without a payoff (unlike say, Ericsson or MacLaren) as he openly admitted it was a job too far for him. A fact which all the massive Engurland fans and the cuddly London press had rammed down the throats all summer, and blamed him for the Euro exit- despite having originally suggested that to reject the job would be treacherous. We know now that no decent english manager will ruin his reputation by taking that poisoned chalice. We have to leave it to chancers and those who know they can go back home with a fat wallet and not fear leaving the house. No, he's a bottler and a rubbish tactician and he always plays 1-1-8 formations.

It would, of course, be wonderful to emulate Spurs but I think a top-half finish is still an outside possibility.

Love the description of kids in 'A' as 'proper elitist'. Of course you weren't in that class, the spelling you're looking for is 'elitest'. We raised merry hell tbh. Always getting told how we were the worst top stream in history, pretty sure the next lot outdid us, and them after that too.

Peffer- his involuntary movements while playing the piano were superb. General ledge.

Monaghan and Barron are both dead and gone now. Ruane was a twat but we had him in sixth form and to be fair he gave out the banter as good as he got. Both Tony Knoxes were superb- remember playing centre-half with the PE one during a lesson as we had odd numbers (even at 60 he was pretty useful!) and the language one will always be an absolute legend. As for mentalists, screaming harridan duo Mrs Thomson and Mrs Whelan were hard to beat. Talbot was just fucking terrifying. I'm pretty sure both him and Ron Snowdon has been dead for 25 years but kept coming back to teach. As for Stan- stance, raise, step and play!

Not Davey Stapes? I'm sure there's more than one in Newcastle!

In non-tech terms, the cable will probably be the same standard anyway, so it's all about the supply and the equipment in question. Cable standards are more about current (amps) rather than voltage. Or what Rob said.

Yes, this is clear proof that media are trying to keep Labour in power. It also explains why Gordon Brown has had so much good press recently.

The number of complaints is irrelevant- stations and their presenters agree to adhere to the broadcasting regulations- this will be part of their contract. What he did is pretty close to a cardinal sin- Chris Evans was fined for backing Livingstone first time around though he had the advantage of owning the station at the time so he retained his job. Whale has breached these regulations on a number of occasions in the past and this puts Talksport under severe pressure. If a station is seen to be failing to do all it can to adhere to the codes then their licence may not be renewed- or even revoked. Everyone is out of work and the owners see millions of pounds of investment evaporate. In TV-land regulation is pretty lax, with radio it's still pretty draconian (a hangover from the pre-Ofcom day of The Radio Authority).

If Crouch, with 1 year on his contract, can go for £9m+add ons then I think Owen would be fetching more than £5m.

What we should have is no new products!

Happy Birthday Craig!

Thanks folks- for an old man I'm doing OK!

Thanks guys! Successfully avoided working so far.....!

Gotta love journos- it's convenented land, boys. As we've seen in the past, planning permission will never be given for a stadium away from the city centre, so they would be wasting their time.

ROCKER PAUL MCARTNEY TO BUY NUFC lol bastard made me laugh when I'm supposed to be working again! cant fault the term 'rocker' mind DOUBLE FAULT AS ANDY MURRAY FAILS TO BUY NUFC! OH MY WORD!: MURRAY WALKER APPOINTED AS NUFC TANNOY ANNOUNCER

Have a good'un Jill!

Assuming the role of 'mum', a mantle carried so commendably by Catmag in recent years, I'm prepared to put my head on the block and arrange something for the Valencia game. Assuming a kick off of 3pm, drinks will be had in the Union Rooms or the Trent beforehand, after the game a few more then off for food, further drinks (Tilleys?) and then God knows where. Speak now or forvever hold your peace. (sticky?)

I fail to beleive that we really want Boa Morte- he's absolutely finished. I think West Ham would happily let him go for free. Would be a shambolic signing.

What a monumental balls-up. They're also still direct debiting my account for the 08/09 upfront payment, but I'm not even going to attempt to call for a couple more weeks, by which time they'll have wrongly removed another £57 of my money.

So you've got a box then.... Nope, but I've been in a couple and both guys who had them were top blokes and cared a lot for the club. The endless vitriol that eminates from 'proper' fans is way over the top. All this talk of moral bankruptcy- bollocks. Especially when I see the 'passion' in so many of the salt-of-the-earth sections of the crowd.

Do they want to Direct Debit the one-off payment? It's one way of making sure it won't bounce like cheques or credit card payments- even if it means going £1800 overdrawn- the club will get the cash.