steve_69

I bet he was a proper snivelling little spiv cunt at school. He's clearly got some massive issues.

What?! The guy said 'Picking a team by training statistics is not the way a manager should be doing it'. That's a very definite statement and an incredibly arrogant one since every top manager in world football picks their team that way. Disagree with Rafa's team selections and tactics by all means, but don't make definite statements that he's wrong. None of us are qualified to make statements like that, least of all GeordieJeans

This is idiotic, tbh. I was a goalkeeper for twelve years and I was always worse than other two goalkeepers when they compared our fitness, speed... mostly because I'm 6ft 7inches tall, but I always performed better at games because the other two were lacking decision making, determination, positioning, etc. If that's how the squad is picked, then it's poor man management. Benitez should know that manager at his level is mostly motivator, psychologist and tactician and not some professor from middle school who thinks that ones who know subject by heart are better than ones who truly understand it. Ferguson and Big Ron openly admitted Paul Mcgrath never trained as he just wasn't upto it and usually drank a bottle of vodka before training. Come Saturdays though the guy was an absolute colossus of a centre half Picking a team by training statistics is not how a manager should be doing it Jesus Christ man, you're an absolute hoot :lol: Tell us more about how you know better than our every world class manager in the game.... Your trophy cabinet must be absolutely bursting chocca?

Missing a penalty and them scoring from a corner that wasn’t a corner is just fucking typical of our luck right now. On a positive note, Diame looks like a beast ath the moment

That’s fucking criminal given our position in the league. Never even looked like he was going to score it. I’m not one of these that’s hates the guy, I actually feel a bit sorry for him but that is unforgivable!

I don't know. If Sturridge stays fit he'll be very dangerous for them. Hopefully Pardew can work his magic within 4 games and turn him into an absolute turd.

I think Kenedy will be deployed more as a winger or wing-back (with a back 3) rather than a proper left-back.

Until they sign a dominant CB and a defensive midfielder, all of their transfer windows will be pointless

Yes. He's a massive twat but a talented one

He's on 70k. That is fucking mental! No wonder he doesn't want to leave, the little orange parasite!

That's an aeroplane mate!? He is fleeing the country until midnight. Ha ha! I didn't notice that it was a screenshot from Slimani's social media. I thought it was just a speculative photo of a plane at Newcastle airport or something. Apologies!

Giroud to Chelsea is possibly the best signing of the transfer window. Hopefully it comes back to bite Wenger in the arse. Quality player and God knows why he's been sat on Arsenal's bench this season.

That's an aeroplane mate!?

"Martin Dúbravka disconnected from the team after the morning training and is currently on his way to England. The club is about relaxing and working on the arrival of another goalie. We will continue to keep up with the situation."

Even if he is injured, a signing like this does more than strengthen the first team options - it gives everyone a lift and gives a kick up the arse to the players whose position he'll be fighting for. Great news if true

What a beautiful man! He deserves so much better than this shitshow, but the fact that he’s prepared to stick it out because of loyalty and understanding for, and appreciation of the fans puts him in a different league to anyone else in the game.

Why is cunting Pardew being heavily linked with Schurrle and we're fucking not?!

I'm guessing Deeney now

If he scores the goals that keep us up, he could do the shit Robbie Keane somersault celebration for all i care.

Based on what? Mitro hasn't actually been very good for us even when he has played. In fact his terrible finishing was one of the reasons we got relegated.

I'd prefer to take a punt on Sandro from Everton - less money and younger. If anyone can get a tune out of him, Rafa can

I'd prefer the latter if that's our only choice, but he's 29 and i can't see Ashley being prepared to bend that much

Hold on, do you think Rafa is justified or do you think Rafa is punishing him? Or both? I personally think Rafa is refusing to pick him based on something he is or isn't doing behind closed doors, so I believe he is being punished in a way. My personal opinion is that if Mitro isn't doing what Rafa is asking him to do then he shouldn't play. There's no point having a piss weak manager (like Pardew) who bows to fan pressure because he can't handle the flack. Even if the above is bollocks and it's just a case of Rafa not rating him then I'm happy enough for him not to play him - I have complete trust in Rafa's judgement. The man's footballing knowledge is far greater than mine will ever be. It's that old adage with Mitro - the less a player plays, the better he seems to become in the mind of the fans. The fact is Mitro has never shown much in a Newcastle shirt and is a total liability at times, albeit a very likeable one.

As i've said, for every minute we've seen of Mitro Rafa has seen 2-3 hours behind closed doors. One report has said he refuses to lose weight and has two personal trainers to help him bulk up, against Rafa's wishes. Ultimately the manager's say is final - if Mitro won't lose weight then he doesn't deserve to play. God knows if it's true or not, but the fact is no player should play a single minute in the first team if they won't toe the line. Maybe it';s because he won't stop doing stupid shit in training like he doesn when he's on the pitch - we can't afford to go down to 10 men in any game. Given how thin and piss weak our squad is i'm sure Rafa would've used him more if there wasn't some sort of disagreement between the two of them or a fundamental difference of opinion. It feels more like Rafa is punishing him rather than just not rating him, but who knows.

People can only base their opinions on what they have seen on the pitch (which hasn't been very impressive to date) and that's about 1/10000th of what the manager and coaches have seen behind closed doors. Rafa is a very fair and professional manager and i've absolutely no doubt he's given Mitro plenty of chances to break into the first team, but if he's incapable of following specific instructions then he only has himself to blame. Ultimately this sort of thing comes down to whether you trust the manager's judgement. In the case of Pardew, Carver and McLaren (to a lesser extent) the answer was no. I had absolutely no faith in any of them making a correct decision and i'd probably be calling for Mitro to get more game time. Rafa on the other hand, has my complete and utter trust and if he feels Mitro doesn't deserve to be playing and should be moved on i'm 100% behind him. He's seen a lot more of the guy than any of us have and he knows infinitely more about football than the lot of us.