Papa Lazaru

End of first half and Wilkinson straight back to top form, 3 penalty kicks an excellent drop goal and right back into the game throughout. If only NUFC had arguably England's most important player and 2 top class yong players on the bench waiting to get on for their country!

Not picking Solano is fucking embarassing management, aside from his own performance he improves the shambles our back 4 has been recently. It does your head in when you get a win and a chance to build some momentum and the manager makes totally moronic decisions in the following match, which leave you up shit creek. Did he not watch the defnce against Villa from when they scored their goal, it was clear to anyone that Nobby was badly missed.

Most people don't think he would have made it in the prem with Newcastle, but it was always fair to say he never got much of a chance, in terms of getting a run of games in the team to get his confidence up and get him used to the prem. I hope should he go on to do better than expected that we have had the braisn to put in a sell on clause in case he goes for decent money.

Strange game that really! We started playing some really good football, went 2-0 up and then as is often the case started hoofing aimless balls up the field, lost possession, invited the other team to attack, which they did. And eventually their pressure and impressive set pieces got it back to 2-1 After that we lost the plot completely until the last 5 mins of the half with the defence and midfield all over the shop! Second half neither team was anything special, but we took our chance at the end. Thought Millner had an impressive first half, scored a nice goal and crosssed for Dyer. Harper did his job well, which was hard considering the defending going on all around him! Martins for me possibly was MOTM as he was everywhere, working hard, looking for the ball, showed some nice touches etc. The defending though!!! None of them could clear the ball more than 2 yards, or if they did it was sliced or hooked badly. Their positioning was off and we kept giving the ball away! We desperately need Nobby back. He's way ahead of Carr at RB and he actually attempts some sort of organising at times at the back and helps the young lads with his experience. He also allows us to keep possession better and actually start moves from the back. The watching "Gooch" has to play next match, we have about 12 games to see what he can do and we should have him in for all of them since nobody else has made a CB place their own yet!

So we're not allowed to type cunt anymore, is that right? In that case i won't type cunt, that would be wrong!

Unless the player wants to live in London then we more than likely are. We have (wrongly for quite a while now!) a reputation for attacking, entertaining football, big stadium and crowds (again with the reputation still of a great atmosphere, despite there not being one). We are regularly in europe in one form or another and we will pay big wages. If we go up against the "big 4" for a player then failing them being a geordie we will lose out, against say Spurs they will win if the player prefers London, but as Duff showed, that is about the only thing they have over us. Other than that we'd beat most clubs for a signing even if some of the reasons for it are now wrong!

In all the modern football i've watched, and before numbers went all over the shop with squads being included, its always been 5 and 6 at centreback to my knowledge in this country.

The only info i've ever heard was that Mourinho didn't spend that much at Porto. But even if he had spent alot, he delivers trophies, including league titles and euro trophies, and as we know plenty of money can be spent without winning fuck all! Of course the money at Chelsea has helped him massively but he's up their with the very bets managers around and come the end of his career his record will be the match of anyones.

Fact hunt was the late night pub quiz thing he did wasn't it! Always enjoy TV burp, but how much TV (and mostly shite tv) must Harry and his researchers have to sit through to get their material! I mean the poor bastards must have to watch every episode of Eastenders, which alone means they've earned their wages!

Aye, Al Resto Vs Billy Collins, Resto's cornerman, Panama Al Lewis ripped out over half the stuffing from his gloves, was sent to prison for assualt and banned from boxing for life. Before locking him up for assualt i would have sentenced him to a fight with the current heavyweight champion at that time, who would be on a bonus for every punch landed (and would of course have removed the padding from his gloves first!)

The worst boxing one was that time some complete twat took out the inside padding from his gloves and his opponent (Irish i think) took a battering to the head for the whole contest and it ended up killing him i think, though not directly after, it was absolutely scandelous.

I can always make it beforehand as i just stay in town after work, but not out after the match.

Not that i'm exactly an enthusiast, but you're half right, i like Terry Pratchett!

That's the fella tbh. We have a winner. Yeah, that definitely the winner, though pretty much any charva speaking would get the vote as thickest/most annoying accent going.

Its got to be worth a try! To be fair if we could just replicate Nobby's brain and stick that in Brambles head he'd be fine!

I've always loved the fact that board wastes about 50% of its output on NUFC, has coutless threads about us, including devoting threads to our matches as they happen, has names/avatars/sigs referencing NUFC, Newcaste and geordies and yet they continually (and with frightening seriousness) say we are obsessed with them!!!

I think the hatred comes from the way he will go over the top in challenges and then go down holding his face and all that malarkey. I think he's a better player than he's given credit for, but his reputation as a figure of hate is well deserved. I'm not happy he's broken his leg or anything, but I'm not wasting any time feeling sorry for him. Yeah, he's made a career of going out and tryign to do other players combined with then hitting the deck like a tart to get people sent off. Theres plenty of times he could have injured fellow proffesionals, so when it happens to him its tough shit. Theres also various other things he's done to earn the hatred like taking the piss out of players who had just been relegated and the like, i seem to remember with that one that Niall Quinn (who was commentating or analysing the game) had a right go at the little prick.

I've always enjoyed it since i was a kid, the only one of the US sports i do like as i wouldn't watch baseball and basket ball if you paid me. But i do just watch highlights as live its going to take far too long and have too much stopping. I've stopped up and watched quite alot of the superbowl on a few occasions though. Don't have a team and wouldn't bother with one, i just watch the games with no particular team i want to win most times.

I've always thought Bramble was the best centreback here in terms of ability, he has everything you would want except for the concentration issue and the fact his confidence is very fragile and its been incredibly annoying that he hasn't kicked on and become the sort of player he should be. I also like Taylor, still plenty of work to do, but would be helped a great deal if we signed a class and experienced CB to play alongside him, or for that matter Bramble.

There's something in that to be fair. Over the season our crossing has been largely woeful, there hasn't exactly been loads of weel timed through balls and we haven't been cutting through teams, so we'll take more than our share of long shots instead. But its also good we have some players witht he technique to score these goals, as long as we can improve the crossing and assists for easier goals!

Keane the person is without questiona complete dick and always will be, his revenge assault on Haaland sums him up nicely. But unfortunately he was also a world class player who we'd all have loved in our team, though playing for say us rather than manu he wouldn't have got away with half of what he did, and would have to have calmed down a bit! I don't think he'd be jealous of Shearer or vice versa, they wouldn't give a shit about each other and deep down will respect each others ability. I'd back Shearer to have knocked him out though if it ever came to it. Keane liked to play the hardman (and to an extent was), Shearer's the proper sort of hardman who doesn't need to emphasise it but should it ever be needed he'd sort anyone out.

Aye, you could put the best young defender in the country in there and it wouldn't help much. An old head is needed. Someone like Sol Campbell Its true though! Ideally a top class and experienced CB would have been nice (ie. Campbell) but even a decent and experienced CB who talks and organises a back four would have been a good aquisition. We don' just need a good defender, we need one who will organise the back four + Given and shout at/bollock them when required an also one who'm the likes of Taylor can learn from watching/training with as well as playing alongside.

Get rid, and not just because NUFC are shite at using it correctly! I'm surprised somebody hasn't challenged it in the european court under restriction of trade or freedom of movement type arguments by now.

Think that will probably be it, Murray had chances to break there, including playing one that seemed to be going out and now he'll most likely pay for it. But at least he's still competing in the final set.

Not sure how close it may be, but unfortunately i would expect Nadal to take it as well, but lets hope not!