dbsweeney

Someone should change the name of the thread, 'cause it seems to have become the match thread.

Someone should change the name of the thread, 'cause it seems to have become the match thread.

Unlike us Villa would be smart enough to have a clause in his loan that doesn't give him the opportunity to score against them. Ahhh, of course!

No Ireland?

Lee Ryder:

Good call, but maybe give it five or so more games and then have it.

Shouldn't the whole 'haven't won anything for 50 years' thing already have sorted the wheat from the chaff?

Does the whole does he want to stay/doesn't he thingy possibly get in the way including Jose? I'd deffo include Colo. Wow, what a change from how he was two seasons ago. Otherwise, Tiote, Barton and Nolan are good for the shortlist.

Put me in the Ashley camp, even though I thoroughly dislike the regime.

Any word on his fittness?

Was Jonas trying to make a fuck you-point to the technical area (i.e. Pardew) with his celebration?

And all of a sudden ... the results of other games are going against us. WBA equalise against Liverpoo, Villa beating Everton, Birmingham well beating Bolton.

Agree

We're looking very nervous!!

Bugger it!

If we keep this up, we'll get a few monkeys off our back—including the whole Saturday 3 pm thingy.

Regarding Nolan's yellow: shizen! Still, did we expect to get anything from the next two?? Meanwhile, goooooooo Shola!!!

Villa really are in dire trouble. Similar to where we were two seasons ago (and still could be).

And Stoke concede against Chelsea. We're currently ninth!

What is Wayne's problem with the cameraman? Fucking grow up you twat.

So Ireland is ???

Is that confirmed? So our strikeforce will be Shola and McLovin with Ranger on the bench?

Agreed next person to mention Shepherd or muslims should be banned. We should have a weeks ban on using those two words. Without bothering to read all this thread, how the hell did the word 'muslims' become involved in all this?

Very nervous/excited/shitscared about this match ... haven't felt this way since the likes of us paying against Hull, Fulham, Smoggies and the like in our relegation season. I'm not gonna be able to watch it all on the TV as I have to pick up someone from the airport. Nevertheless, I will be glued to World Service's radio coverage of it.

That simply isn’t true. £135m was a stupid price to pay for a club that was apparently about to cease to exist, and we all know why he paid way over the odds. It’s ironic a man renowned for bargain buys should get so well and truly ripped off. Ashley gambled and lost. The bottom line is in close to four years the club’s revenues have dropped, attendances have dropped and its status has dropped. The only key business indicator that has gone up is the amount of money it owes, which has near enough doubled and now stands in excess of £150m. It’s a shocking state of affairs and there is only one person to blame. The local media need to grow some balls and scrutinise the data, not just regurgitate the club’s absurd spin. I don't get this - are you saying Ashley thought he was getting a bargain and thought he was shafting the "daft Geordies" only to find the joke was on him when the debts were revealed? Nobody comes out of the mess well apart from maybe Shepherd himself who at least tried to stop the sale. The cunts who sold their shares among shite about "handing over the reigns to the right man" while sniggering behind his back about the mortgage terms and future liabilities (while their mate was seriously ill BTW) on one hand and the stupid cunt who didn't do due diligence on the other. That key indicator you mention has gone from 110m to 150m and relegation is a factor in that as is falling performances all round but the idea that the extra 40m wouldn't have had to be found anyway to finance Shepherd's debt driven cash flow model is naive - especially as I doubt he would have attacked the wage bill. Personally, I think that Mike Ashley wanted to look for an outlet, for want of a better word, to sit alongside his Sports Direct. A big football club, with huge support [we won't go into that I've said my bit] fitted the bill perfectly. He was naive, or stupid, or both, for not doing his diligence etc. There isn't much doubt that he was shocked at the costs involved in football - naive and stupid - which wasn't what he expected at all. He has set about running it as a business as he thinks it should be run. He is well known for being a maverick sort of figure, so may even be aware now that his approach is not what went before, but isn't really bothered so long as he makes some money out of it, although there is a case for him not making money and sacrificing that if he made it up as a vehicle sitting alongside Sports Direct. I'm guessing, none of us know, but I'm absolutely certain that he - now - has no intention at all of doing what is required to make it a success on the pitch and try to get the money from the Champions League because although it is a gamble, its the sort of gamble that just does not appeal to him. His naivety about football, which was obvious from the very start, is unfortunate and it is us who are the ones who have to put up with the frustration of it as supporters of the club. Maybe I haven't worded this perfectly, I'm sure others will have their say and expand in different ways. Top post, Leazes.