McFaul

1) We'll come 6th I think. We've had a decent season but Tottenham have overachieved more than we have and fair play to them. I see Chelsea 4th Arsenal 5th and Liverpool 7th. 2) 3rd biggest overachievement since Everton in 2005 when you look at club size, fair play. 3) As a man, total cunt. As a manager more than competent, reasonably pleased. 4) Total wank. Again proven quality manager. 5) I'd have him back for £10m that's his worth, I have no opinion on what he'll do at Liverpool, but if you're not a bin dipper or foreign it's harder to be a success there. Strange club, awful city, shit supporters. 6) I didn't have any expectations of us this season either way because I didn't know enough about the likes of Cabaye, and was worried about Demba's knee. I didn't have an expectation either way, although after the 0-0 draw with Arsenal opening day, I did think where are we going to get goals from. 7) Krul isn't the finished article but he's already in the top 5 keepers in the country. I have no fear of losing him. Of the bigger clubs Man Utd have two young keepers they've spent fortunes on, Arsenal wouldn't pay £15m+, Liverpool wouldn't part with Reina while the two artifically supported clubs have long term keepers. Who else could entice him? Tottenham? Even with Champions League football I very much doubt it particularly if we do make the top 6. 8) Peter Beardsley, favourite Tottenham player was Gazza, of the current era, I like Ledley King because he's not a mug, he just gets on with it, he's a good footballer, he's got a lisp but that's not his fault. 9) We need at least 4 squad players to get to the next level. A top right back, a top centre half, a top midfielder someone like Milner who can play L R or middle not that we'd get him like, and two new strikers to replace Best, Shola and Lovenkrands. I think the main target is Vertongen from Ajax who will cost about £10m, I'd like to see us get Clyne from Palace, but our scout Graham Carr is the daddy, he picks up players for us you've never heard of for £4m, you see them play like Tiote and realise they're worth far more, so no doubt we'll get the same again. 10) Tottenham 3 Newcastle 1 - we have no midfield, don't care who scores for Tottenham, another one for Cisse would be good for his confidence though.

I can't remember that but John Cairns was definitely number 2 on Metro at some point in the late 80s.

Just cos they're cunts and ugly it doesn't mean they give sex a miss ye naa. Even the aforementioned Paul Frost the smoggie Gerry Adams, would've been giving it 5 nowt to someone.

Perfecto. Though couldnt you see Harry going to England and them getting Jose... Don't think Jose would go anywhere but an A list club. There's only four of them in this country now, and Tottenham aren't one.

He's on the BBC isn't he he looks like Alan Brazil but uglier.

Agree about both points. Harrison was a boring posh cunt, whereas when John Cairns the scotchman filled in he was excellent. After the match they used to do the highlights with the MetroSport theme tune in the background, and I remember when we drew 3-3 with Southampton, O'Neill came off the bench to get two in the last ten mins, and we were listening to it in the car going home, best commentary ever. Aye Tames was Boro waved at the Boro fans that day we lost 4-1 at Ayresome and they clapped him. The thing is you're a football commentator, and 30000 fans sing that you're a wanker - you're not going to find them endearing are you. "Blustery arfternoon here on Tyneside and what a magnificent atmosphere here at SJP *BACKGROUND" RRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOGER TAMES IS A WANKER IS A WANKER". Wood was a self confessed mackem, and the biggest mackem in the media is Jeff Brown, actually a really canny bloke too although he swears more than anyone I've ever met.

I asked Alan Robson about this, and he said he hated Newcastle and Sunderland and was in fact a Barnsley fan.

You could do a comedy piss-take of that. "We Shag Kids" where Boro is etc. :lol:

Fuck knows about Duncan Wood, but I seem to remember him going to ITV morning telly mid 90s was it TV AM or something? Roger Tames surely the most sung about commentator in footballing history. Where's Bob Johnson now like Alex?

Mike Neville was the all time legend though. He used to crack a gag at the end especially on Look North, only it wasn't a gag it was usually shit, but he always laughed heartily and his laugh made you laugh. I don't know why I know Mike Neville was a drink driver mind, amazing what sticks in your head.

The ideal scenario is Redwank gets the England job, and Capello get the yid job and does a Juande Ramos.

There is evidence against him, it hinges on what the payment was made for, was it part of his bonus or was it a gift or a transferal of cash for a business transaction? The jury will decide

He reminds me of Brick Top in those rimmed glasses mind

felt the same way about Lucy Robinson on Neighbours ye look now and think ye goofy cow.

Well too good for Pedro anyway. I think Pam Royal and Wendy Gibson were about as good as it got. Having said that Dawn Thewlis gets better with age.

You're talking shit mate! You go on about Pardew's impact at Charlton, a sinking ship full of overpaid underachieving remnants of the Iain Dowie era? They were 19th, no one else would've saved them. So what impact did he have? Not a negative one, he just couldn't save them. I brought Everton in to it to emphasise my point, Everton aren't really a small club (even though they get 28,000 in derby games against Man City), but they can't compete now because of the way football has gone, whereas the likes of Oxford, Ipswich, Luton, Derby, Leeds etc... could all win trophies in that era with proper management, they can't now. My initial point was against your point diminishing "a club like Ipswich", it made fuck all difference the size of a club then.

Paul Frost . Things were so bad Duncan Wood was billed as the "housewives favourite". You are right Alex, I saw a documentary about it mentioned on the other thread the other month. The big five agreed they couldn't be just a big five and that be it, so they invited five others (we were in Division Two at the time which shows even then everyone knew we were THE sleeping giants), it was Newcastle, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Chelsea.

I get an email at 1126 every fucking day off the Sunderland Echo! Fuck off!

You said anyone could win anything, then said your team didn't and you were unhappy about it. If "any team could win stuff" then your team would have... so on one hand you're saying SBR didn't do that that great a job as it was easy to win things, yet on the other hand saying how badly your team was run and how unhappy you are that your team didn't win anything. It doesn't even make sense! Either i) everyone could win anything, so your team did... or ii)it was still about good management and teams with good managers won things. I've already stated Pardew took West Ham on their worst run in 70 years after the cup final, and that they neevr recovered and went down... he also had a similar impact at Charlton... If you can't even be bothered to read what I'm writing then there's really not much point in continuing this debate! He also had a similar impact at Charlton??! They were 19th when he took the job. Despite his bad run at West Ham they weren't in the bottom three when he was sacked, and the supporters didn't wnat it indicating he was not a failure. First cup final in 26 years in his second season and he's a failure?!?! You miss my point, any club of any size could win anything in those days if managed right. You could have JC himself managing Everton and you couldn't come in the top 3 or 4 these days. That is my point. Football has changed to the extent smaller clubs have absolutely no hope of being a major force again.

You say a club like Ipswich in those days anyone could win trophies size didn't matter, revenues weren't too different. I watched a program on the forming of the Premiership a while ago, and the TV deals from 1970 to 1988 were ridiculous. Say BBC and ITV would chip in £1m for live games, all of that money would be spread evenly between the 92 clubs. No one was significantly wealthier than the rest other than teams who had good European runs, hence Forest's ability to spend £1m on Trevor Francis. So a club "like Ipswich" were no different from a club like Everton. The gauling thing as a Newcastle fan is up to 1971 we were the most successful club in the history of English football, we had a history of being the best supported, and complete neglect of the club and mismanagement meant we weren't able to sustain our level as the biggest club in the country and by the 80's had fallen far behind Man Utd and Liverpool. All these honours in the 60's and 70's well done to the clubs who won them, but the difference between smallest club and biggest club was smaller, and anyone could win anything. That's getting off the point like but Pardew has enough experience for the England job in my view. What experience did van Basten have with Holland, or Klinsmann with Germany, both did great jobs. You can't say "any team could win stuff" in those times, and then berate the fact your own team didn't... your taking such a narrow and contradictory view on the points you're making, but anyway like you said it's not really all that relevant. A good manager would win trophies... it's not as simple as just "anyone could win things" as it still took a good manager to enable a team to be successful. Van Basten & Klinsmann were great players but had no real experience, they were both a calculated gamble. Pardew has a history of failure, so the gamble becomes a lot greater due to his track record. Over time he will be able to address this if he is a continued success at the Toon... as it stands just now he has a history of doing well at first and then capitulating - not the kind of person you want managing the national team! However if he proves he's learnt and improved over a longer period of time then his credentials improve. An England manager should be appointed on merit, not just on the job he's done over the last 12 months or so. Expand on the bits in bold please. I don't see how it's a contradiction at all. I highlight how badly we were managed from top to bottom that we fell from grace so spectactularly while little clubs like Derby and Ipswich who did things properly could be successful. Also how was Pardew a failure exactly? His first job he took Reading from almost certainly going in to the 4th tier of English football to their highest finish in their entire history. At West Ham there are still fans who take issue with him being sacked. He got them up on a shoe string, finished top 10 in his first season, and was absolutely robbed off the worlds luckiest club in the FA Cup Final. Charlton was already a sinking ship, and Southampton he was sacked for shagging half the dressing rooms wives, I'd hardly say that is abject failure to be fair.

You say a club like Ipswich in those days anyone could win trophies size didn't matter, revenues weren't too different. I watched a program on the forming of the Premiership a while ago, and the TV deals from 1970 to 1988 were ridiculous. Say BBC and ITV would chip in £1m for live games, all of that money would be spread evenly between the 92 clubs. No one was significantly wealthier than the rest other than teams who had good European runs, hence Forest's ability to spend £1m on Trevor Francis. So a club "like Ipswich" were no different from a club like Everton. The gauling thing as a Newcastle fan is up to 1971 we were the most successful club in the history of English football, we had a history of being the best supported, and complete neglect of the club and mismanagement meant we weren't able to sustain our level as the biggest club in the country and by the 80's had fallen far behind Man Utd and Liverpool. All these honours in the 60's and 70's well done to the clubs who won them, but the difference between smallest club and biggest club was smaller, and anyone could win anything. That's getting off the point like but Pardew has enough experience for the England job in my view. What experience did van Basten have with Holland, or Klinsmann with Germany, both did great jobs.

No one is saying he didn't do great things, but I'd hardly say it was prolonged success like a Wenger or a Paisley, similarly Venables, one FA Cup and a La Liga in 18 years. If Pardew gets us top 4 or 5 a few seasons running, in the context of things he's one of the most successful managers in the modern game with what he's had to work with, and the disparity in quality and financial backing of the opposition.

Thanks for the feedback You're right that i'm saying Pardew hasn't had the experience to be England manager - He's had a very patchy career as he did great at Reading, took over at West Ham and took them to the FA Cup Final, the next season though he took them on there worst run in 70 years and got sacked (west ham didn't recover from this start and were relegated)... he moved to Charlton and failed to prevent them being relegated (it would have been a big ask in all fairness), the next season they were expected to bounce straight back... they finished 11th, the next season he took them in to the bottom 3 and was sacked (they never recovered and got relegated)... he took over at Southampton and did a decent enough job but was again sacked. So no he's not had the experience of success and consistency to be considered for the job IMO. The Toon was a job that on merit he didn't deserve, however he has done a great job... although he's not been in it long enough to have been judged a "success" yet, although he's very much on the right path. Should he continue to do well then in a few years I'd say it'd be fair for him to be considered for the England job, but a short spell in charge of the Toon isn't long enough to warrant consideration - especially when his record pre-toon is patchy at best. I dont agree that just having managed the Toon prepares you for the England job, being a success over a prolongued period of time does, but just having managed them and done well for a short time certainly doesn't. Keegan managed the Toon but clearly wasn't a good England manager... Bobby Robson albeit manager after his England days had earned the England managers job due to his experience of being successful at different clubs over a prolongued period of time... both things Pardew hasn't done. I think I paid enough respect to Pardew and the job he's doing in the article, and also feel he should be given time to prove his worth at the Toon. As always though that's just an opinion and I accept not everyone will agree and I appreciate your thoughts and offering some debate on the subject The best England manager of the last 40 years was SBR, what prolonged success did he have? A FA Cup and a UEFA Cup to show for 13 years in management, Venables and Hoddle were good and they had fuck all success really.

mmm it comes across like you're not a toon fan to be honest. No one focuses on England here, and in my view if you can manager Newcastle you can definitely manage any team in the world such is the pressure and everything else that the mini country that Tyneside is can impose on you. It's basically saying Pards has done a canny job, but he's not experienced enough as a manager. Pardew has had 14 years in management, McClaren had 4, big difference, and McClaren never had a job like Newcastle with the expectancy, spotlight and everything that goes with it. I don't like Pardew as a bloke but I hope he stays anyway. I think as it's a NE blog your next piece should be completely about North East matters.