Chaser

If Kinnear gets a good offer on the table near to the end of the season from another club willing to put their faith in him with an extended contract then I can see him leaving. This will then tempt the current fools to either sign him up for a long term contract or let him go. Who comes in after that I have no idea. I cant believe I am saying this (it goes against everything ive said about him in the past) but I'd like to see Steve Bruce take over if he wanted to come here.

Id happily get rid of Nzog now. Was keen to keep him before the season began, but he spouts off too much about moving for my liking. Id rather have Duff play there where he wanted to, rather than someone who is just trying to do anything to get away.

Where are we in terms of points in comparison with previous years?

Lets say that the season has been secured and we've finished up bottom half but clear of relegation, where do you think the club will go? Will Ashley be looking to sell or do we have to face another season lacking ambition, clearing out decent players to replace them with cheaper alternatives? Will Kinnear get an extension to his contract? Will Owen leave and will there be a further exodus of players? Personally, Ive got little faith in the chances of Ashley selling up and so we will be faced with yet more mediocre ambitions, cheap transfers and wheeling and dealing. If he doesnt sell up, Ive got the feeling that Kinnear will remain in post until next season on another year deal. I think Owen will definitely leave, regardless of what happens and there'll be an exodus of any talent left at the club. I think we'll probably be stuck with some deadwood still and we'll be still be in the same position we are in now, next January. I sincerely hope I can be proven wrong, but for some reason any optimism I once had about "maybe next season" has gone now. Im not sure I believe that there isnt anyone willing to take this club over for a good price, its not everyone suffering from financial meltdown.

Unfortunately while this guy has been provoked, its probably the worst place to do it at a football ground as the penalties are harsh. Was he charged with assault or a public order offence? Maybe one of you lot who witnessed what happened should pipe up and give a statement putting the facts across how this guy was acting in such a manner and intending to provoke. Its not going to stop him getting done in some way but may help explain to the court who passes the sentence.

I think a few posters have firmly hit the nail on the head why to me the future appears bleak. Ashley just isn't interested in us challenging at the top. What is the point in competition when we arent looking to compete?

So theres a queue of players looking to get out, we have a manager who clearly isnt good enough/cant attract players, we have an owner who doesnt give a flying fuck about us and a chairman who doesnt talk to us. We have 28 days to potentially save our season by getting people in, or 28 days to condemn us to a relegation battle and a serious threat of going into the Championship. We havent got any stability at any level at the club and I honestly wouldnt begrudge any player who wanted to leave. Lets face it, if we werent Newcastle fans, would we genuinely want to stay on a sinking ship or leave if the opportunity arose? Kinnear has already come out with the quotes that we've heard all too many times before about it being hard to attract players/compete in market etc. Its plain to see that he's simply a mouthpiece for the management and has little control over what will genuinely happen at the club. Ashley has obviously weathered the storm against him and the apathy against his ownership seems to be going in his favour. In the current financial climate, it seems impossible that we could see a change in ownership, and we have genuinely missed the boat. Wise and friends are still in their positions and obviously arent just twiddling their thumbs. What are they cooking up? The club is definitely at a crossroads this month. I wouldnt put anything past the clubs regime and one wrong turn could seriously threaten our position in the Premiership. At what point will we see it all bottoming out?

Missed the whole game, glad I didnt stay in to watch it tbh. Was it the lack of quality on the pitch, the lack of managerial nous from the manager or a mixture of both?

Im no fan of Gazza, as I think he's had help from pretty much every quarter but just hasnt taken any of it on board. He's got to want to get better and to stick at it (Adams/Merson etc) but he just seems to get worse much like Best. Saying that, it is sad seeing the guy literally implode on a very public stage. This kind of publicity only further compounds the problem and cant see it as anything other than a cheap money making opportunity for the producer and for his Ex.

Get in, inspired substitution by Kinnear!

I would agree with the opinion that he's just letting the club chart its own course and letting fate deal its own hand. If theres no money for transfers (why would he want to put his hand in his pocket for something he is trying to sell), then he'll just see if he can recoup some elsewhere. I think he lost interest before KK went as there were noises in the press that he was selling despite him coming out and saying he wasnt.

Thing is, you've got to look at what Keane has done for Sunderland. He took a distinctly average Championship side, turned them into winner and managed to avoid the drop with shite players last season. He bought players who have done the business in the past but for whatever reason werent flavour of the day and hoped they would gel with the team spirit they had. Those same players dont have the same commitment especially when it comes to a relegation scrap. They should put the likes of Chopra back in the team who at least gave something for the cause rather than the likes of journeymen like Diouf & Cisse.

This year more than any other year, I fear we could find ourselves in the bottom 3. Everyone seems capable of beating each other this season and we are very short in key areas, and look decidedly suspect in others. If this sale isnt completed by Christmas, I cant see a way out of it. I expect an exodus in January.

Martins is the least of our worries at the moment, there are far bigger problems surrounding the club which need URGENT attention

Given Watson Woodgate Albert Beresford Gillespie Speed Ginola Beardsley Shearer Ferdinand Bench: Hislop Pearce Lee Dyer Cole

Excellent result and 2nd half we were much better. Jonas was at the heart of everything good going forward and Martins & Ameobi seem to be striking up quite a rapport between each other which is good to see. Villa were poor though, and 2nd half they went missing. Lets hope this isnt a flash in the pan and its a springboard to better times ahead.

With all the stuff Kinnear has spouted, Im beginning to think that MA has no intention to sell, he puts it on the market for an inflated figure knowing that only a fool would pay it. Apathy, as with anything else increases over time and people begin to forget what happened to make us hate him. I think Kinnear is here for a lot longer than we think. I wouldnt be surprised in the slightest if he was still here by January, and even still here by May provided we're out of the bottom 3.

In theory its a pretty good idea. Going down even at this stage of the season is a real possibility and we'd be foolish to think otherwise. The thing is I reckon gates would still be about 40k even in the Championship for the first season. Provided that the money was there on starting the season, then there would be a good chance of going back up. It wouldnt be like Leeds as they were seriously in debt, had to clear masses of it so basically sold everyone. Im sure we'd lose the majority of the first team but then it would be a massive rebuilding job to get back into the league and back up the league. Its certainly one of the worst case scenarios and hopefully it wont happen but its something that needs to be considered when its the start of November and we're in the bottom 3.

Credit Crunch.

At least theres one we hopefully wont get rid of. The right side is sorted, the left side is doing a pretty good job, just got to sort out the middle now.

BBC site has Kinnear stating that things will be clearer after 22nd November. He says there havent been any firm bids which worries me as I fear that MA will think that the feeling of discontent has gone away and he'll be happy to carry on asset stripping

Just about to come on ITV. He's showing the effects of his chemo.

ITV news theres a piece on Bob in the next few minutes

I reckon theres a decent nucleus in the team, and of the attackers (barring Xisco from what ive seen) theyre pretty dynamic. Nzog offers us a different option to Duff but Duff certainly warrants his place with his performances. Duff & Jonas for the wings, Guthrie & Barton in the middle and the back four with Bassong or Enrique is fine for me. Thought Martins combined well with Ameobi last night, and its actually good to see that Shola does offer something up front. Xisco is the biggest worry. A lot of money for someone who looks like they couldnt be arsed.

Think he's got a long way to go to be captain. Sends out bad signals to the kids giving it to him, even though he's very vocal and seems to be captain material. He needs to be flawless on and off the pitch for the rest of this season at the very least.