OTF

Yes but the club was in utter turmoil off the pitch, with the owner having no idea....

'coz HBA has never looked any good against decent sides.

But they'll be playing a team that plays together in competitive matches as compared to us who will be playing a random assortment of players. Massive difference. This lends weight to the argument that Pardew will hang onto his job as long as the team aren't relegated, and is worrying as a sign that he knows our squad will not be improved upon.

The emergence and subsequent flourishing of Android should be the greatest catalyst for the development of IOS. Likewise the popularity and general intuitive UI of IOS devices has been and hopefully will continue to be an excellent driver for the refinement of the Android platform. It has come a long way in a short period of time, that's for sure.

If you were to chart the wave of interest upon the release of the latest iPhones vs the latest Samsung flagships I think you'd see that the hype for the Samsung products is growing whilst that for the iPhone cooling. The type of people that I think you're referring to with the launch hysteria will go where the market dictates, they're not necessarily capable of critical analysis so using them in a discussion is quite pointless. One thing that many have questioned is the build quality of Samsung phones. Several people I know have had problems with them across multiple models within warranty periods and some of those have had endless troubles trying to have them repaired/replaced. Contrast that with my Mrs who's almost 2 year old iPhone took a swim and unfortunately didn't come back to life. Apple immediately swapped it out for a reconditioned (as new) iPhone for approximately half the price that a second hand version of the same phone currently sells for on the open market. Dismiss these as anecdotal if you wish. For the record when I'm choosing my next phone I won't be dismissing any manufacturer or OS (even WP8 has some market leading qualities).

It may just be the people that I come into contact with but for me it's quite the opposite - Samsung users in particular have to boast about the superiority of their phone whilst simultaneously attempting to enforce the now outdated stereotype that Apple users are fanatical zealots. In fact I don't know anyone who is fanatical about an apple product, though I know many who use them and are happy with them. Conversely a number of the Samsung users that I know seem to take delight in hearing or seeing that I or someone else use an iPhone, as it allows for them to attempt to incite some sort of argument based on the technical superiority and larger more vibrant display of their phone. They're left disappointed by me as I'm not particularly fussed either way. In terms of cost - the price that I got my iPhone 4s for was actually cheaper than the cost of a Galaxy S2 through my provider (the S3 was not yet out). Of the subject of apps, there's a game that I'm somewhat addicted to that I play against a close (but interstate) friend of mine that is not available on the Android platform.

And Demba Ba.

How's your hearing? "...one of the toxic sides in the country"

Deserves it if he's willfully sat out.

The main issue is that he has no problem running the club into the ground in the interest of attempting to maximize his immediate financial interests. Our corporate revenue dipping when every other team in the league's has risen is evidence of this. He has no doubt sacked many of those responsible for the organisation of corporate sponsorships reducing his immediate costs, whilst faciliatating splashing his Sports Direct brand everywhere possible.

So the club brought in Kinnear to look after player aquisitions. Kinnear them confirmed that no aquisitions are necessary because the same team who just barely avoided relegation are good enough to finish in the top ten. But even though they're good enough for the top ten (as though that domestic result should be held up as the pinnacle of achievement for one of the 20 richest football clubs in the world EVEN WITH our commercial revenue taking a dive in a climate where every other teams has risen) good old Joe Kinnear has gone out on a limb and signed Looc Remy on loan with his ultimate aim being to improve the value of him for QPR. If the above is to be taken as true does this mean that the club lied about wanting to sign Gomis and Bent? Either way they've painted themselves into a corner that no amount of words from a seasoned shit talker can get them out of.

Enjoy the wilderness!

If he's refusing to play I hope the club are refusing to pay.

Debuchy was better, but he showed again that he struggles against pace. He was frustrating with his crosses as well - seems he always whips the ball in as early as possible, but does so without checking to see whether there's anyone to get on the end of it.

He did a job of getting under Reid's skin a little, all for nothing. How off the pace did he look the couple of times he had the ball at the top of the box? With the players we have I'm wondering who could have started. Shocking that no matter how poor Cisse plays he's guaranteed to start.

Yes. Anita is a solid reliable option in the middle, I think he should be persisted with to build some consistency. Sissoko looked more dynamic alongside him.

Wonder if our leading striker being MIA for most of the pre-season has anything to do with how poor he's looking both in terms of match sharpness and cohesion.

You'd be excused for thinking we'd signed 6 or 7 new players the way out players looked like they'd never played together before.

Good cameos so far from both Sammy and Gouffran.

Which ineffectual striker will he take off for Sammy? Neither, it's Marveaux.

With a bench full of game changers it's a difficult decision Pardew is faced with...

Underwhelming.

As they would have anyone that the media makes a spectacle of.

Yes, though Neymar was priced more realistically than Bale. My point was that new players of sufficient shirt selling quality don't have to cost ridiculous amounts. I'm very interested to see how Bale does and how he fits in with the team - he should do exceptionally well seeing as many of the opposing teams in that league are weak.

Not as though they would have sold a lot less without Neymar. Glory hounds the world over will get Barca/Real Madrid shirts more or less regardless of who they buy. They'll still dominate the sales and their league with more realistically prices players.