steve_69

FYP

I don't see how anything can have changed with regards to final say over transfers. We know that Rafa made sure he got everything in writing, so he has a legally binding contract that states what he is and isn't responsible for. If the contract states he has full control over transfers and Ashley has interfered, it's a breach of contract and a legal matter. The fact that Rafa is still here and not taking legal action suggests that nothing has changed.

Nice tribute. I didn't get the coconut reference at all though

My favourite gif

If we don't sign some fucker soon we run the risk of seeing Jack Colback and Sammy Ameobi in the same starting eleven. Not cool!

As terrible as he is, he's about 10 trillion times better than Jack Colback so if it means that little skidmark doesn't play again, i'd take Cleverley (on loan) Anyone's better than Colback, we need another measure than just being better than him. Premier League quality should be the starting point. It might be the case that we can't sign anyone who fits that bill in this window though. I agree that in an ideal world we'd sign someone shit-hot but we're in the Championship and it's the notoriously tricky January transfer window. Better than Colback might just have to do for now. As long as it's not a loan with an option to buy i'm ok with it

I guess it depends if there are other, better options available. If there are better options than Cleverley available, obviously i'd rather we signed them instead but the absolute priority is to ensure that our best option for any position is not Jack Colback.

As terrible as he is, he's about 10 trillion times better than Jack Colback so if it means that little skidmark doesn't play again, i'd take Cleverley (on loan)

Absolute weapon!

To be fair, if the Moroccan lad was lying i'm sure he'd accuse Shelvey of saying something less niche than 'couscous nonce'

semen clause?

Listened to one of the victims of Barry Bennell on Talksport last night. It was tough going as the guy was clearly struggling to talk about it and it was clear how much it had fucked him up. Thankfully, in very un-Talk Sport fashion, it was handled really well and I take my hat off to the guy who was being interviewed for his courage. Hopefully this stuff coming to light will stop the whole bravado act that persists in football and encourage the governing bodies to put some decent support systems in place for players suffering from mental health issues, abuse etc.

NUFC is in my blood and no matter how hard i tried not to care when Ashley, Pardew, Kinnear etc were conspiring to make us a total laughing stock I couldn't help but check on results and rant about the state of things with family and mates. I'd tell people i wasn't interested any more but I think i was trying to convince myself more than anything. Having said that, even with things looking up and a manager/team that i actually like for the most part, I still don't feel like I used to. It's probably a combination of age, lack of trust in Ashley to keep his shit together but more than that, it's general feeling of apathy/distain towards the Premier League. It's nice to have some optimism and pride in the team again but knowing that the reward for our success will be a return to such a sterile, money-obsessed, corporate setup keeps me from being too excited. NUFC under Keegan the first time around up until the Bobby era was fantastic not just because we were good but because the Premier League and football in general was good. You could still sign unknown players, which was exciting because there was always that chance they'd turn out to be a worldy. Players/managers would give frothing, emotional interviews instead of generic, media-trained soundbites. Pitches in the winter were muddy and players would come off at full-time looking more like Rugby players. Tackling was still allowed and this 'going over because i was touched' bullshit didn't exist. Ashley and Pardew have done a lot to suck the enjoyment out of being a Newcastle United fan but their era has also coincided with the height of the destruction of the game by Sky and the Premier League. I think that's why so many fans (of other clubs as well) find it easier to disassociate themselves from clubs they once obsessed about and why attendances at lower league matches are higher than ever.

I fucking hate Andy Townsend, he's probably the worst of the jobs for the boys, shit-talking ITV brigade. No surprise at all that he rates Pardew since he knows absolutely fuck all about anything except being a total cunt!

He's been absolutely fucking terrible tonight. He's actually worse than when he was here and not giving a shit. Ha ha!

You've been Pardewed

Hopefully Rafa's got it written into his watertight contract that Mike will back him with significant funds upon achieving promotion

He's got really weird short arms. He looks a bit like a T-rex

Doesn't get anywhere near the credit he deserves. If a manager as good as Rafa is so keen to get him in his team that he'll play him in central midfield, right wing, right back etc. You just have to accept that he's a very good footballer. As supporters we know stuff about football and our club but we don't see what the real experts see. There was loads of doubt about the lineup tonight and yet we looked great and won 0-2. Sometimes you just have to accept that Rafa knows best.

What a hit! Rafa has exorcised the Pardew from Gouffran and turned him into a footballer again. Chuffed to bits for the lad.

Give Armstrong a run-out with Pereth and Ritchie either side.

Perfect response!

Wants to play Tika Taka, sells Bolasie and signs Benteke. Seems legit

Great news, now start playing him

I think it's one of the biggest frustrations of only having very limited inside knowledge about the club/team. Colback must be doing something in training or around the club that gets him picked for every game. I could understand to an extent when Pardew, Carver, McLarnon picked him because they're all incompetent but now Rafa, a manager with fantastic pedigree?! I've seen nothing in Colback's first team performances to justify his continued selection and if anything, he seems to be getting worse. Even if his attitude is first class, his detrimental impact on our progress should trump that and see him demoted to at least the bench but ideally the reserves. We've seen this situation happen in the past with Simpson, Williamson, Gouffran, Colo, Shola and probably loads of others i've forgotten. What do our managers see that we don't?