Wullie

Can't believe they kept him after the end of last season.

Lovely pass that.

Pissed off that Serie A is on Premier Sports behind an extra paywall, the one league I really want to see this year.

He's so rattled. Two games.

Sweet Caroline The anthem of pensioners having it large in Benidorm.

I quite like the manager of Newcastle United to be someone I can feel proud of as a representative of the city and the club. Keegan, Robson, Benitez, even Hughton, all had an air of class and gravitas about them. http://img.skysports.com/08/01/496x259/SteveBruce_621103.jpg

Wow, I thought he was retiring.

Scenario: Blue defender handles the ball accidentally in his own penalty area, clearly not a penalty, arms by his side, whatever. He immediately boots the ball downfield to his striker, who scores. The original handball in his own box is now an offence because of the goal. Is it a) a penalty to Red, b) an indirect free kick in the Blue box to Red or c) nobody knows because IFAB haven't thought their daft rule change through?

Every thread.

I hear he was behind the grassy knoll when PJ got blinded.

On the contrary, it makes me smile how much Allardyce loathes Benitez. One of the things I like most about Rafa tbh.

I have absolutely no doubt what the law is meant to be doing, and the referees and the press are all going off how the law should have been written for what it is intended, not what it actually is. Ignore the BBC, Michael Oliver, whoever - read the words that have been written down. There's a typo in there for good measure ("touches", should be touched). It's appallingly written, which is ironic seeing as the whole thing has been done solely for the benefit of people obsessed with accuracy and the LETTER OF THE LAW.

We're reading the laws themselves, why are you quoting a BBC article at me? "By the letter of the law" which is what we're talking about, that goal was entirely legal. Laporte did not gain control or possession and BY THE LETTER OF THE LAW he (personally) has to do that, before scoring or creating, for it to be an offence. He did not, therefore it wasn't.

He has to gain control or possession of the ball first, before that part of the sentence applies.

• a player gains control/possession of the ball after it has touches their hand/arm and then scores, or creates a goal-scoring opportunity How does that in any way describe what happened on Saturday? Laporte did not gain control or possession of the ball at any point. The only way you can get that paragraph to disallow the goal on Saturday is to add extra meaning to the words that aren't there, "oh yeah they meant if it goes to a teammate obvs". If they meant that, they should have written it.

It wasn't the correct decision anyway tbh, I don't know what I'm on about there. Even reading the new law, it simply was not.

It was only the "correct decision" because the laws have been changed this summer for the purposes of accommodating VAR.

Newcastle-Online alumni.

I know him.

Balotelli to Brescia looks official, love that move.

The rule change is fucking ridiculous. How can you have a rule where an infringement is only an infringement based on what happens afterwards? In one box, it's handball, in the other it's not, the exact same scenario. The game is losing the plot.

Looks like he's washed his face with a tin of red paint on Soccer Saturday.

Just seen the score.

Griezmann just doesn't fit I don't think.