Wullie

Seems odd to choose the FA Cup given the scale of the competition.

I completely forgot Ferreyra existed. Does anyone know what happened to him? Back at Shakhtar.

You'd think the utter loathing would recede over the years. Turns out it doesn't. I can't remember how it started with you and him. Was it the sideways passing/his lack of heart, the goldfish bowl comment or did he repeatedly run over your cat? Jenas was a fantastic talent when we bought him. An 18 year old who slotted straight into the central midfield of a top Premier League club, and Champions League club, and didn't just not look out of his depth but looked like he'd been playing there for ten years. He had the composure and athleticism to have been a really top class player. Bobby bought him so he could improve him further. Unfortunately it turned out Jenas had absolutely fuck all interest in being improved. He was the horrible epitome of the modern young footballer who thinks they've 100% made it as soon as they get their first big pay cheque. He never improved one jot in ten years as a professional, in fact he got worse and worse, because his attitude absolutely stank. By the time he left here, it was like playing with ten men, such was his complete ineffectiveness and where £5m was an absolute snip when we bought him, we ended up robbing Spurs for the little prick. It was no surprise to me whatsoever that he ended up back in the Championship before he was out of his 20s.

We couldn't afford/wouldn't pay for Jordan Rhodes, so the king went gobbing off in the media about how limited a player he is and he wasn't of the standard to play for NUFC. Was probably the absolute worst of all the things he said while he was here- an unprovoked attack on a professional playing in the division below and even more galling as if we had picked him up on the cheap (which is what I'm guessing we tried to do), he would have been full of what a great striker he is and I must thank Mike for getting him over the line etc. Was truly abysmal. Aye, that's who I was thinking of, ta.

Which player(s) was it that Pardew said he didn't want here when we were linked with them, and that they weren't as good as what we had?

You laugh but if you knew much about business and the economy it honestly is about being in the right place at the right time. Obviously the harder you work and the more intelligent you are the greater chance you have of making it, but do you not think 100s of other people aren't doing exactly that as well? I agree it's also not just hard work but there has to be a drive - a certain type of ruthlessness and determination to see things through and also the cunning to carve out opportunities where others don't see them - in order to rise above the hundred-thousandaire club of quasi-successful entrepreneurs and into the millionaire+ brackets. Ashley obviously possesses these traits, cunt that he is. edit: In that respect I don't think it's down to luck, unless we're being pedantic and saying the luck of him being born with those genes . But a lot of the rest is - environment, initial opportunities, upbringing etc. I'd just never put a percentage on what space each of those occupy. The ruthlessness is much of what sets him apart from other businesses in the same market imo. Ashley doesn't pay minimum wage, he doesn't adhere to consumer laws regarding advertising, he doesn't treat staff like human beings where other companies will try to, he will refuse to pay suppliers etc etc. Britain doesn't have a grasp on companies like his, if they're big enough, they can basically do whatever the fuck they want, and he's nasty enough to exploit every possible cost cutting measure. All these things give him an edge that he's taken full advantage of.

Aye. For the first five years, all he did was fucking cryarse on about how much money NUFC was costing him. What a business genius.

Seems a good reason to stop talking about NUFC, you piece of shit.

Truth be told, it was Alan Pardew that ended my love for NUFC (as an avid matchgoer). I detested the man to such an extent that I actually wished for defeats so he would leave sooner. By extension, yes, that is all Ashley's fault, but my day-to-day enjoyment of this football club was ended by Pardew and his merry men. A good manager and some good players / football would get me back through the door, regardless of the owner to be honest. I wouldn't hold your breath. Ashley thought Pardew was fucking brilliant right up to the end. He wants more of that, hence getting in another lower league failure, desperate for a job.

If you've given up your season ticket as a result of the bloke actions (as I also have), why would you possibly "worry" about future potential owners? The most important thing to me with regards to NUFC are that I'm proud of them, and that I actually care about what happens to them, and that's something I haven't had for a long time. I can barely call myself a supporter anymore, such is my total apathy towards the results, so the idea that I could possibly worry about a new owner is preposterous. Anyone that gets me (and thousands of others) back through the door would be a welcome change, whether that be in the top flight or the Conference. What we've got now is purgatory.

I hear he wants us to win the World Cup too. Can't argue with that ambition.

No, why? I personally don't believe we'll be anywhere remotely close to Champions League in 5 years, but I do believe that that's what he wants! However, my personal opinion is that he'll continue to try and do these things without true ambitious spending / appointing of the right people... therefore the plan will fail miserably. So it's not what he wants really is it? I can say I want to be a millionaire but if I'm not prepared to make any move towards doing so, it's a pointless trite statement. Might as well tell us he wants to get a fucking pet unicorn.

Have Leicester spent £50m+ in successive windows? The culture of the club is riddled with an acceptance of failure. That's what holds us back more than anything, and what won't change until he's gone. You can't put this Newcastle United right with a few players, not now.

Wants to challenge for Champions League football so he waited for a Championship club to sack their failing manager and gave him a long contract. Sounds legit.

Ashley definitely wants to get into the Europa League like, all the evidence points that way.

Sick of hearing about how much we spent last summer. Love to know how many points these people think we'd have if we'd spent fuck all seeing as we're in the relegation zone anyway. He spends the bare minimum amount of money that he believes will give us a fighting chance of survival. That's the beginning and end of our transfer policy.

"Broken jaw? Stick by him love, the next bloke might kill you."

You can tell these brainless fuckwits don't even think about what they're saying by how they seem to think the Premier League operates in 2015 - i.e. the same as it did in 2005. You couldn't bankrupt a modern Premier League club unless you were deliberately trying to do so. They're a money tree.

You'd think the utter loathing would recede over the years. Turns out it doesn't.

Agreed, better the devil you know. Might end up with a club for which I have utter contempt for almost every single employee otherwise. That would be terrible.

After the Arsenal game, some French journo quoted Wenger as having said to HBA something along the lines of "I was only worried when you came on Hatem"

Imagine if that's true.

Turns out I was. I've been fucking hopeless this season.

Stoke are getting longer as well. They're 1/2 just to score. I'm thoroughly confused, like I'm completely missing something.