PaddockLad

Don't agree with somebody so the toys come out?...I bet you're a fuckin dream to work beside. As for calling those involved at Hillsborough "corpse robbers" as you did this week, I think that just about sums you up mate. Don't hurry back.

What if we'd paid the asking price for this Douglas gadge? We could looking at an extra 10million big ones to off set the outlay.

All I'm saying is next season will be a lot tougher than this one. I'm actually really looking forward to seeing who comes and goes and how Pardew will set about his first European campaign. But looking at how other clubs have faired in the league who have also had to play in the EL in the last few years doesn't fill me with too much hope. Qualifying for it then not being able to give it a decent bash and throwing in the towel is utterly pointless too. I just don't think the squad will be strong enough. Where would we be in the league now if we'd bought a quality centre back in January? 4th might well be ours for the taking. Its this attitude that makes me a bit dispondant about what might be coming up for us. Ok, no one takes the piss out of big Mike, but at what cost to the squad. There was a lot of stick for him on here for that on Feb 1st or do people's memories only go back as far as HBA's goal last Monday?

Give fans 5-6 hours drinking in a pub before the game (FA cup semi final,sponsored by Budweiser) and they won't really give a fuck about anything. Pretty predictable really. The fans are twats, no doubt, but the FA let tv companies dictate kick off times so they've got to accept some responsibility for that unpleasant episode.

What makes YOU say THAT CabayeAye?

That fucker should be ashamed of himself. Good player as well. He did it against us at Villa Park last season too.

I'm certainly not suggesting a return to buying players who can't get a game at champions league clubs, I understand and largely agree with the clubs policy on transfers. As we stand now its impossible not to. I also however feel we also need a bit of a reality check. Selling your best players is a tricky policy to sell to supporters. After the events of the last 18months its a lot easier to sell it to supporters of NUFC than virtually any other set in the country. We'll see. I just don't think the financial rewards of the Europa league are enough to compensate what the extra games may do to the league campaign. Coupled with some very important players being likely to leave, for me its going to be difficult to build on this seasons acheivements.

I'm not sad, far from it. I'm just pointing out that if we're now all on board Mike's happy bus then I don't think there's too much room for criticism next season should it not go as well as this one.

Selling Carroll was a huge gamble....we were nowhere near safe and all we had was Best and Shola. It was also one that's paid off handsomely, but I think Krul, Tiote and Ba will all be sold this summer. This is the world we now inhabit at NUFC. Get them in cheap, sell them on for millions. Fair play, this season has been great but there's no point feeling in any way perplexed or resentful when perhaps 3 of our best players leave. This is where we are and what we do as a club. Lets see how selling that many players and bedding in their replacements plans out with 8 extra games before Christmas.

Not really my cup of tea, but him and his brothers wrote brilliant pop songs. He appeared on one of the talent shows a few years back and tried to teach some of the kids how to write songs. It was great to watch.

Good article that, leaves one question ....whos the Guardian's secret footballer?......

Two huge ego's, match made in heaven. Cruyff is brilliant, he's in that long line of Dutch football figures who really don't give a fuck what they say and who they say it to. Which of coure will go down well with Dalglish

The core of their current squad were in that "relegation battle" ( a couple of months near the bottom) as was mentioned yesterday. Bale wasnt in a winning spurs team for 40 odd games or something. Hes been in a few since then. And its Mike Ashley we're dealing with here. If the centre half we needed in January had been bought where would we be now in the league? Not much different as its only since West Brom have we seen a real upturn in our form, and Colo has been missing for 2 of those games. Thats been down pretty much to Cisse and Ben Arfa, and we're not going to have players of that standard in every posistion.

We were in the San Siro 10 years ago with Dabizas,O'Brien and Hughes. None of them disgraced themselves in that campaign. Bellamy and Shearer did in the home game v Inter mind and they were two of our better players, to say the least. So we had to go to Bayer Leverkusen in the next game with Shola and Lualua up front where we won 2 nil and they both scored. We're not going to have 11 top quality players in the first choice team, we never have had and neither has virtually any fucker else in any other side in the history of the game. Forget it.

Good read that, David Conn is one of the best journo's out there. FTAO Cabayaye:

If I were Guthrie, I'd be asking myself why have 2 Argentinian international players re signed and may well finish their top level careers with us?...he's been offered 25k a week to play a significant part in a squad that plays in front of 50k+ every fortnight. I cant think of another club where a player of his ability going to get an offer like that. A lot depends on what his agent is whispering in his ear, but hes a silly fucker if he doesn't sign iyam.

According to nufc.com we're 6-1 to be in the champions league group stages next season.....think 66-1 would be more accurate......

did some fucker get paid for coming up with that?

I think the cruise on the Balmoral is for paying customers only....as you say my mate "Pete the pipey" possibly wasn't the image the mueseum folk were looking for His relatives were "trimmers", who were one down the social scale from the stokers....trimmers shovelled the coal into wheelbarrows, then wheeled it to the stokers who shoved it into the furnaces. Anyone working in IT fancy a go at that gig?

A bloke I work with had his grandfather and great uncle on there, both deep below decks....grandad survived, great uncle didnt. He tried to get into the big commemoration last Monday at Town Dock in Southampton where it sailed from 100 years ago to the day only to be told it was VIPs and invited guests only! It was staged in a multi millon pund new mueseum dedicated to the disaster (keep buying those scratchcards folks!).....so he went to the other side of Southampton Water at Woolston to watch the proceedings, which consisted of a recording of the ship's horn blowing...it was the actual Titianic's horn as well, honest guv....he ended up going to the pub. As a bit of social history its quite interesting (500 crew were recruited from Southampton, not many came back, see above) but a cruise out to the wreck site and getting misty eyed when it stopped off at Cobh in Ireland etc etc...more professional shroud waving/pro-celebrity competative grieveing for something most people have little or no connnection with. 21st century UK at its finest.

Yeah, I have and its as dull as fuck. Hes from a similar background to Hornby but isnt as good a writer and is just really fuckin boring.

Gareth Southgate got his place at euro 96 after he got injured and never looked back. Howey was never the same after that, it ruined him at the top level. I'm not going to say you're wrong about Howey v manu but I was there and I only remember Anth Lormor making his debut from the bench as a strker.

His sister married Robert Harris,not short of a bob or two either. In the end it was his story, which was always going to be different to an Arsenal fan who grew up in Somerstown or on the Essex Road. I just dont think he could be described as posh though.

He was sacked from Spurs too.....there is a school of thought this was after he'd recruited the core of their current side. Off the top of my head I can only think that Bale was one of his.....but am no expert where Spurs transfer dates are concerend. Henderson was one of his and was undoubtedly recruited because of his assist's stats last season which were apparently brilliant. Had a quick look. Henderson wasn't in the top 30 for PL assists last season. (He'd have needed 6 to be one of the 12 players who were joint 19th). Barton had 8. He'd have been a better signing and I said that to the Scouser at work at the time who laughed. really?... am just repeating something i heard...thought it sounded a bit optimistic tbh....he was shite x 2 against us last season

Think you must've forgotten the bit at the start then when it says he went to the local grammar school in Reading. Hardly down the road at Eton. But neither was it Byker tbh.He did well and got into Cambridge at a time when they wanted bright kids from other backgrounds other than the public schools. The book is a good read iyam. It explains why those who say "never mind its only a game" will never,ever understand. And why Gus Ceaser got to the Arsenal first team, and why he was crap too.