PaddockLad

Obertan as Barton's replacement has failed,the jury's still out for me on Santon and Ben Arfa,and as you say Simpson and Williamson are squad players at best. Theres huge plus points about this season, but there are also things that are plainly utter shite. We appear to be targeting certain players, and if the deal doesn't suit us we walk away. Which is ok, but then when we fail to bring a centre half in to replace Taylor last month we're stuck with the great lump who had 2 chances to clear the ball before Wolves scored the equaliser. Cisse coming in will make us go 442 every game, which is good if Pardew sticks with it as Cisse will benefit from the consisitancy. The defence is a worry though.

For him to get games, Pardew has to feel as if he can trust him.Less of his "best player in the playground" bullshit and more actual team play (i.e. passing instead of losing the ball when in possesion) and he'd be in the team. At the moment, he's a liability. The balls in his court as it were, do as Pardew asks and do it properly and we may even have won yesterday.

I think its harsh to stab the bloke who set you up in the back.Is there something in the background causing him to lose his grip on things work wise? Will you be adding to his problems by doing this? If you're on reasonably friendly terms with him and have other work in any case its poor form iyam. The only way its justifiable is you and your mate are struggling for work and you know he's done the same to others , or if you could see a situation where he'd do it to you and your mate.Which I imagine is probably the case as as it can all be put down to "no friends in business" and everyone will understand. If not, it doesnt sound like your needing to take on any extra labour to do the contract i.e. no actual "wealth creation"/trickle down of income so it would appear you'd just be doing it to line your own pockets at the expense of someone who has helped you in the past. The world of business is nothing like this, i do understand that. But is it wise to shit on anyone you feel like, especially those who've helped you in the past?....

Howman during his test..... Good luck Davide!

No thread for the Swansea game being moved to Good Friday CT? Don't away fans count in your selfish little world?

Is it the yank one from shakespeares sister?

Yeah but a flounce isn't a flounce without a "flounce post" for maxium attention gain

Yeah, spark by trade. Now quality control engineer, doing marine atm. Its been a good place to hide out from the recession. Job might be going north sometime in the next 18 months so I might just stick with it. Fancy a return "home", but I've been in the south for over 20 years so its a tricky one, lots of ties down here.

Didn't know the North Sea was to the west of the city. That Journal is a brilliant newspaper. Wasn't Beardsleys lad at the academy for a while? Difficult to step up with a famous and brilliant old man. Always going to be compared to the father.

I think last seasons stats had Jordan Henderson with the most assists, which led Commoli to recommend Liverpool spend 20 million on him. Hes not played every game, and those he has he's played often out wide and not in the middle, but he's nowhere near even this England squad. I think he's got something, and I know Andy Carroll has, so maybe they've just got the wrong coach

Baileys as well? Tbh I thought it was a done deal but maybe they're (rightly) thinking that the whole thing is unworkable and is going to be an admin nightmare. There's been loads of protests around the country about it but none have made the national media. Hmmm. Sounds like Colstons were "buying" work, sure sign of a recession induced panic to take jobs at any cost. You busy in general at the moment? Apart from placing Colstons blokes with other contractors this morning?!

Yeah that's the club culture in The Netherlands as well. In Simon Kuper's latest book he says there's a saying among these cloggie "amateurs" that regularly turn out world class talent: "he knows as much about football as your average Englishman" In the "Brilliant Orange" book that a few on here have read there's a chapter devoted to Sir Bob at PSV. Its noted that Sir Bob described every game in military terms, eg "its a battle", "you'd want him beside you in the trenches' etc etc...and it quotes one of his players as saying " Bobby Robson is a very nice man but I didn't learn much about football from him" The Dutch talk too much, they all have an opinion. But there's an element of truth in this for me. We need to start playing football with our brains as much as we do with our hearts if we want to move on at international level. We do compare football games in this country to going into battle in the second world war, I do think that's true. The Dutch reckon we're obsessed with 1939-45. A lot of managerial press conferences are riddled with military references "dogs of war", "SAS strike force" etc etc...its in our culture to treat a game as a battle and not a game if chess. More brain,less brawn required. Look at Spain, they've got the best half dozen players in the world and none of them are above 5ft 9. Puyol isn't 6ft tall.Although they're brilliant footballers, they do have to play in a system that makes up for their lack of physical presence. There's so many different ways to think about football but we seem incapable of doing it. Doubt if it will change too much.

Dunno but aren't they building a new "academy" at Burton on Trent? The Dutch and Spanish dont have a central academy. The French do. I don't think it makes much difference tbh, the talents either there or its not. And in the last 15 years I think England has produced loads of talented players. England turn up at tournaments knackered due to 38 very physical premier league games, overhyped by the press (although that has changed a bit) and clueless about how to play tournament football. Its our football culture to play aimless long balls into the opposistions box when we run out if ideas in the second half of games and that's not going to win us a major tournament as long as I've got a hole in my fuckin arse.

MJN Colstons pulled out of the breakaway group of contractors before xmas Stevie, maybe this was why. Have they had any major jobs go tits up lately?

Verbally abusing old ladies isn't big or clever, whatever your opinions mate. How about a hammer and sickle flag left fluttering from your house before you go away on June though? Had some sad news at the weekend, we heard that our 80 year old mate has passed on. He went to watch Newcastle home and away all his life and was doing so right up to early January this year when he was admitted to hospital, sadly he never really came out, save for the odd weekend with his daughter. He attended 5 FA cup finals, actually saw us win 3! RIP Frank Couzens, Newcastle United fan. I came home from work early today feeling dog rough and shitting through the eye of a needle, promptly and violently emptied the contents of my digestive tract all over the bathroom. Am still passing rusty piss through my postern exit. As an experianced self-diagnoser, I reckon the prawn roll at 9 30 this morning may well be the culprit

I heard some ridiculous squawking mare on 5live at the back end of last yeear when it looked like Citeh weren't going to make it through their group in the champions league "we don't want europa league football, we're a champions league club...blah blah..." which is a hell of a claim seeing as a little over 10 years ago they were a Divisoion 3 club.

He's not got a lot of friends to go the the games with... http://ladyarse.co.uk/2012/02/why-arsenal-fans-really-hate-piers-morgan/

Negligible entity that exists purely to feed Mark Jensens ego and provide a way for the Mag to pass off its advertising debts..... oops did I say that? eeeeh wheres the delete button? ahh feck it hes never going to read it anyway because and I quote "people who use Internet forums are insignificant" Oh dear. Vaguely knew the bloke when he started the Mag, always seemed to be a good lad but it seems from whats been said about him on here by various posters that its all been a bit of an ego trip for him. Was being the founding editor of a successful and influential fanzine not enough for him in the end?

Branson was obviously offered the "double deal" for shirts and stadium but knew not to touch the ground with a bargepole.

"I prepared a few lines for today......but I snorted them all off the font in the church before you lot turned up"

The last time we played Arsenal in the FA Cup there was 51,023 there, that's what he was up against shame it took him 6 years to realise. He set himself up for the fall by criticising the fans for not going last season. Silly fucker shouldve shut up in the middle of the worst downturn for a generation or two. Crowds are down at most clubs. We only got 30k v Blackburn and it wasnt on the TV. Arsenal at home wouldve ensured 10-15k more than that though and that wouldve been around 25k more than they got on Saturday. Just when things are looking up for them they still cant be arsed to turn up.

Saturdays crowd the final straw then

Sauce?...nowt on bbc. ITK?

£20 to get in yesterday too. That yank must've realised by now that Quinn has sold him a fuckin pup.

Funny you should say that but I had the present Mrs PL (she'd never been north of Birmingham) up visiting my folks at xmas and new year and she was looking forward to seeing Edinburgh Castle, which turned out to be even duller than I'd remebered it as a bairn.She was a bit unimpressed as well. A day or so later we went for a spin down the Northumberland coastal route and she could see Bamburgh Castle from around Beadnell Bay. It didnt really prepare her for coming over the brow of the last hill before the villaige and seeing it sat there, towering above everything in the area.I'd sort of forgotten a bit about it too, having known the area well when I was a kid. We went on to the beach, it was at dusk in late December and the whole place had a completely otherworldly feel to it.The castle looked stunning lit up above the beach with the moon rising above it. We couldnt get in for a look but we're going up in a couple of weeks and are going to visit it again probably the day before we play the mackems. Suffice to say the missus is now in love with the Northumberland coast and is currently being talked into moving to somewhere like Alnmouth if/when my job moves north later this year, which is only a possibility at the moment but looking increasingly likely to happen. KSA , if its history you want just stop off anywhere between Newcastle and Edinburgh and you'll find it lying around everywhere.The Tyne valley and Hadrians wall are worth seeing,Rothbury and Cragside are great, Berwick is well worth a look, follow the Tweed up to Coldstream etc etc. Go up to Edinburgh from there or keep to the river and head further upstream, theres loads to see. Not been to the Beamish Mueseum near Chester-le-Street since I was a kid but if Victorian and Edwardian vilage life in the North East floats your boat then that may be worth a look. I saw Portillo on the TV visiting the Pitman Painter's exhibition a few weeks back and once I'd turned the sound downon the great steaming orange shit head the paintings looked brillaint, all done by the miner's themsleves in the 20s.