ChezGiven

Went for lunch in Kensal green at The Parlour today, was really nice and they coped admirably with our group of 20 odd. Bit lumpy for me when you hoy in the return fare on Eurostar.

Is this why you ended up at the cinema by yourself? Hope you got it sorted out.

I dont know how CT dares to get defensive about me calling him a cock.

Andrew Weatherall >>>> Mogwai tbh. Much prefer Tarot Sport.

Or if you want to compare league positions, then why select today's position? Why not select the position from the end of October 2011 and compare it to mid 2007? Or why not compare it our position 6 weeks ago? if this is the best way to compare, then which dates are most comparable?

Its funny how when we were 4th and 5th last year, wider analysis was imperative

So if 15 clubs had invested $1billion each in the period, that analysis would be what? If we had experienced the strongest period of economic growth in the north east seen in history, how is that accounted for? How does the analysis account for the potential under the previous financial set-up to have spent our way out of trouble in january 2009? Does it include a valuation of the squad? 2 great comparisons of the playing staff might be Cacapa vs Yanga-Mbwia Sissoko vs Alan Smith That sort of thing seems to be missing. You cant just compare the league position and say the club has not moved forward. Its nonsense. in the 2007/8 season it was 4 years since we finished in the top 5. In the 2012/13 season it was 1 year since we finished 5th.

Thats nonsense on any qualitative judgement of the situation. Using a static analysis of just basic figures does not give any insights into the relative health of the club. It take no account of external environment, competitive landscape, local macro influences etc. It doesnt pass for analysis tbh.

No, you're right i just hadnt read any of the rest of the thread apart from the op and Gloomy's response.

It was Gloomy and me actually and i posted the response to him in the hope it would stimulate this very discussion.

I think thats wrong but i know why you say it. I'm not attached to this point of view so feel free to rubbish it but football just reflects the society in which it is played. Also, its one of those phrases that is quite empty when you try to unpick it. What do we mean by soul? The original games played at the poshest public schools before the codification? The relationship between town, club and industry (e.g. Bayer Leverkusen)? The global game played with bare-footed flair on the backstreets of Rio? The artistry and beauty of Barcelona or Dutch total football? If you are referring to an post-industrial revolution soul of football borne out of the working classes then what you are lamenting is not the loss of the soul of a club. Imo.

You could photo-shop that, print it on a t-shirt and Toffs would sell it.

So everyone who re-convinced themselves in November that they were right all along is just ignoring what happened in January? When i was a nipper i was obsessed with football, played it 7 days a week, loved watching it. Never gave a shite about McKeag or any of the politics but i do clearly remember everyone thinking he was a cunt. I dont really remember much about the Magpie group of the shenanigans before Hall eventually took over but pretty much everyone involved was a cunt. Those that werent cunts were later discovered to be cunts and that was put straight. For all of the Shepherd era, the majority thought he was a cunt. Now Ashley is the cunt except this time the cunt made 2 fateful mistakes, he was born within the sound of Bow bells and he kiilled Bambi. Now, in the north east, no cunt kills Bambi. Shepherd thought about it but he didnt really kill Bambi because, well, because Bambi was a pensioner not a white-talied deer. Ashley, the cunt that he is, killed fucking Bambi and thats unforgiveable tbh.

Some gay cunt sandwiched between a Chinese cunt and a Media cunt. Welcome to London.

Me too, really sorry to hear that Tom.

Definitely. 'Aal his taste is in his mooth' as my Grandad used to say.

Never 'defended' any person at all, i've seen sense in the strategy the club followed, had faith in the Ben Arfa, Cabaye signings before everyone else did (was laughed at when i said Tiote and Cabaye could be the best central midfield pair in the league - before anyone on here had seen Cabaye play). I saw the possibilities of having a policy that did not reward previous service (Nolan) and capitalised on transfer offers (Carroll). I've seen why the club's management would want to do things the way they said they wanted to. The main difference was trust, since most people didnt trust that i) they were telling the truth and ii) if they were, they were capable of doing it. My position since they held the salary level at 50m during the relegation season is that they were following what was the most logical way forward. The only time anyone on here has been able to poke holes in that position was for 8 weeks at the end of last year. I consider my analysis as still holding and support the direction we are taking, the difference now, especially since January, is that doubts lingering under ii) above should be a lot less. I've never 'defended Ashley' though, not to my mind anyway. It might come over like that but its always meant to be a general and realistic point of view of our options.

Fuck that, white rice all the way. I'll be doing an asian fusion type curry affair tonight, imagine this with brown rice? Shallots, garlic, carrots, ginger, red chilli, coriander stalks etc. Coat the chicken in crushed szechuan and add in some sukiyaki sauce (which is very flexible) and some honey. Bit of china, bit of Japan. Has to be served on white rice, anything else would be awful (with a GSM blend obviously).

Butter butt squash? Ooh-er.

I had lentils and spinach for lunch. With a fried escalope milanaise from the butcher though

He's pulled 100m out of SD so we can hang on to Sissoko this summer. Big efforts being prepared all round the club and people cant see it.

I was pissed up on a flight when i watched Ted and was giggling all the way through.

Fleur du sel Guerande ftw. I used coarse salt for cooking and the posh stuff from Brittany for steaks etc.

So on the footage, there is this period of time when the balloon is way up in the air with a load of smoke coming out of it. All that time, there is no pilot on board and people on board are trying to work out what to do? Fucking hell. If the pilot jumps he should have got everyone to jump, thats the bit i dont understand. If i'm with my lass, i hoy her out and go with her.