midds

Forget the 40 point stuff. Our short-term target should be to finish above (at least) 3 other teams. We might only need to win another 5 games. Maybe only 4 and a draw here or there.

3 goals in 22 games according to Wiki, the deal seems really strange. They must have been 3 cracking goals though...

Amazing what a boost a few new faces brings to a club. :-[

A few big games tonight. Hopefully wins for Villa, Fulham Man U and Spurs/Stoke to draw.

Still think if Given wants away that badly he should hand a transfer request in. Or at least make some little statement saying he's happy to play for Newcastle United.

You're joking aren't you? You think he's interested in being a Number 1? Brand spanking new 3 year deal. He'll be as happy as a pig in shit. Not like you to be cynical about him... I've just broken one of my New Year Resolutions. Seriously, I'm sure he'll come in and do ok if Given does go. The club have at least made sure they're not going to be left in the shit (in the goalkeeping dept) if Given leaves in the next day or 2.

You're joking aren't you? You think he's interested in being a Number 1? Brand spanking new 3 year deal. He'll be as happy as a pig in shit.

All that may be perfectly right but at the end of the day I still don't really know what he does for this club. It's a bit hard to praise him for sticking to his job when we don't fully understand what it is. By the same token it's even more harsh to criticise him for it. Perhaps. It's not hard to see why most fans came down on the side of Keegan though. Undoubtedly. I'm more than prepared to wait & see though. The worrying thing for me is the mixed messages (or lies ) that Kinnear has come out with lately. Is Wise doing the negotiating, or is he? Is Wise choosing the players in and out, or is he? As I said earlier, if he genuinely doesn't know where he stands then Wise cannot help but be a disruptive influence. Because I still believe the manager should be allowed to manage, regardless of how shit he is. Kinnear is just scrambling the signals. Sort of like that German Enigma machine. The message is there but it's jibberish to most fans.

Who? Villa? No West Ham who;ve just found £7.5m for 19 year old Brescia striker Savio Nsereko. Surely West Ham are in worse financial straits than NUFC, and if £7.5m is the going rate for promising young talent Dennis must be shopping at Netto? Bellamy's replacement making the club about £6m in the process I imagine. And we’re about to sell Given for £10m and haven’t reinvested the Milner money. West Ham have broken their transfer record to land this kid. It’ us like us spending £20m. Yep, it's exactly the same... I wouldn’t say exactly but it’s more meaningful than a pound for pound comparison. Of course it is. Our £ is worth less than West Ham's £ Fuck me.

Who? Villa? No West Ham who;ve just found £7.5m for 19 year old Brescia striker Savio Nsereko. Surely West Ham are in worse financial straits than NUFC, and if £7.5m is the going rate for promising young talent Dennis must be shopping at Netto? Bellamy's replacement making the club about £6m in the process I imagine. And we’re about to sell Given for £10m and haven’t reinvested the Milner money. West Ham have broken their transfer record to land this kid. It’ us like us spending £20m. Yep, it's exactly the same...

Who? Villa? No West Ham who;ve just found £7.5m for 19 year old Brescia striker Savio Nsereko. Surely West Ham are in worse financial straits than NUFC, and if £7.5m is the going rate for promising young talent Dennis must be shopping at Netto? Bellamy's replacement making the club about £6m in the process I imagine.

I thought Xisco and Gonzales coming in were the main reason for Keegan walking out?

Course he'll sign it. He's very loyal you know. Yes, very loyal indeed.

You have him. No, you have him. We don't want him. Tough, neither do we.

The atmosphere gives us a massive edge. Concurred. First goal (as always) is absolutely massive though. Need to attack them from start to finish because they're weak defensively imo. Hope to god McShane plays.

Got to remember that the mackems are shitting themselves too about this game. They know they're pretty wank and going away to Newcastle and losing is their biggest nightmare. They'll play for a draw I think so the onus is on us to take it to them and pressure them. We've got a few injuries but we should have a few back too. We're also due a win. I think we'll do them.

How do you get the impression that they've not been honest about this!?! Everything they've said about the financial side of the club has been proved to be honest. They said that the club was in danger of going out of business when they took over. True. They said that the debts had been paid off. True. All that can be true and there can still be money available to the manager for transfers. Ashley can be prepared to provide the money himself if the manager identifies a player that fits with the club's strategy (Young, value for money both in terms of wages and transfer fee, future potential, etc), that player is available (ie his club is willing to sell), and they want to come here and the club can still be financially in the shit at the moment. Unfortunately, that strategy is going to restrict the number of players available to us, especially within the confines of the ridiculous January transfer window - which surely needs to go, if FIFA/UEFA are serious about encouraging an element of financial realism in football - but that doesn't mean it's wrong. If we're needing to get in a few fire-fighters to see us through until the end of the season, then fine, but we should try and make them loan signings if they don't fit with the sensible, neigh essential, transfer strategy. The anger comes from people's desire for there to be a hero and a villain in all of this and their subsequent inability to see both sides of the story. People have simply refused to accept that Ashley has had legitimate reasons behind doing what he's done - whether you think he's made mistakes or not - preferring to see him as some kind of evil super-villain whose taken us over simply to destroy the club. That's simply fucking ridiculous and it's about time reality bit for many people, hopefully this is the start of that. Absolutely 100% nailed it indi. Particularly the last paragraph.

Right now whenever we're linked with a CM, my initial question is 'is he better than Nicky Butt?'. Invariably the answer is 'yes, much'. Not saying we should sign him but he's better than what we've got.

Clare Balding?

Tuesday's press conference should be interesting...

We've always had more than our fair share of injuries for years now but I can honestly say I've never known anything like this. Is that about 14 injuries now? Fair enough some aren't regular first team but these lads would normally have got a few games this season had they themselves been available to play. It's just absurd.

Did Decky design those?

The stuff I've read tonight answers a few questions tbh. I wanted him to spend a bit (I think we all did tbh) but I can understand why he's a bit reticent to bankroll us. I don't necessarily like it but I can understand it.

Viduka will be worth nothing, so any money raised would be pure 'profit' on the books. Perhaps (and I'm fucking hoping here) that's the reasoning behind signing Ameobi up. We're on the same wavelength here Dave. Getting something for someone who's always been worth nothing has got to look good.

One last thing before I'm off: Suppose Owen signs a contract this summer. I know, I know.... but suppose he signs it - is he still on the books as being worth £0? His 'worth' will have decreased by about £4m a year so in a few months time he'll be worth nothing. If he signs a new contract is he still listed as being worth nothing in the books? I'm guessing he is? So if he doesn't sign the we let a player worth £0 go and it doesn't affect the books (I'm aware we'd have to replace him with someone else). If he does sign we stand a chance of turning a(n accounting) profit on him should we sell him later. Same applies for Viduka. Also, if we sign someone on a Bosman for a 4 year deal, how much is he worth?