Wullie

Absolutely. Amazing how accurately any of us on here could have predicted the people who objected to this.

Get in

Rob Elliott slagging off Kevin Keegan.

At a time when Cabaye is gone and Remy missing, for the "English pros" not to want HBA in the side says far more about them than it does about him. More concerned with keeping their own undeserved place on the gravy train than winning a game or giving the paying public a single second of entertainment. Who are this lot anyway? We've played games this season with a full foreign XI. Williamson's the only "senior" English player who hasn't been a complete fucking waste of space all season. The idea that anyone at NUFC should pay any attention to what Rob Elliott thinks man.

Asking Alan Pardew to look after a load of foreign flair players is akin to asking Rose West to watch the kids while you pop down Tesco.

Where is the evidence that Rodgers wants Ben Arfa? Are you referring to old newspaper rumours? There would have been very little stopping Liverpool putting a transfer offer in for Ben Arfa last Summer or in January. I'd imagine Ben Arfa would have put a transfer request in if he'd heard Liverpool were after him. We'll see where Ben Arfa goes in the Summer. I'll be surprised if it is Liverpool. He wouldnt get a game for them tbh Give over man, once Rodgers got his hands on him and had him running into space on the break? Steven Gerrard looked completely finished 18 months ago. This is what good managers do. Who would he drop? I've a sneaking suspicion he might use more than 11 players during a Premier League season and Champions League campaign. Don't quote me on it though. So you agree in his first choice 11 he wouldnt get a game then. All you had to say tbh What, right this second, do I think he'd change his team with four games to go in a title race to fit this Ben Arfa into it? No I don't. Well done. I hadn't realised we were discussing an impossible hypothetical scenario as opposed to the possibility of Ben Arfa being bought in the summer.

Where is the evidence that Rodgers wants Ben Arfa? Are you referring to old newspaper rumours? There would have been very little stopping Liverpool putting a transfer offer in for Ben Arfa last Summer or in January. I'd imagine Ben Arfa would have put a transfer request in if he'd heard Liverpool were after him. We'll see where Ben Arfa goes in the Summer. I'll be surprised if it is Liverpool. He wouldnt get a game for them tbh Give over man, once Rodgers got his hands on him and had him running into space on the break? Steven Gerrard looked completely finished 18 months ago. This is what good managers do. Who would he drop? I've a sneaking suspicion he might use more than 11 players during a Premier League season and Champions League campaign. Don't quote me on it though.

Where is the evidence that Rodgers wants Ben Arfa? Are you referring to old newspaper rumours? There would have been very little stopping Liverpool putting a transfer offer in for Ben Arfa last Summer or in January. I'd imagine Ben Arfa would have put a transfer request in if he'd heard Liverpool were after him. We'll see where Ben Arfa goes in the Summer. I'll be surprised if it is Liverpool. He wouldnt get a game for them tbh Give over man, once Rodgers got his hands on him and had him running into space on the break? Steven Gerrard looked completely finished 18 months ago. This is what good managers do.

A manager who falls out with the cheap Frenchies ain't much good to Mike Ashley...

He's a PR master, no doubt about it.

Christ knows. At this point I just want to be free of a feeling that has me cheering on Stoke frigging City against my own team.

Certain people are very notable by their absence in this thread of late. Too busy mopping up their hysterical cyber tears I imagine.

Even the Stoke tea lady thinks he's an arsehole.

They weren't banned then? Well, exactly. Pathetic really. What's this in aid of? It isn't 'pathetic'. I won't sit here and defend the quality of journalists in the north-east. Save for the odd exception - they range from nothing-special to piss poor. Certainly when it comes to style and literary ability. But Newcastle United sells the Chronicle, so it's hardly pathetic that they shied away from alienating their exterior 'employers', thus endangering access to their biggest story. As it happens, they were banned for some fairly innocuous and objective reportage of an obviously newsworthy event. Regardless of them previously upholding an agenda that left no wriggle-room (such is the nature of those in charge at NUFC) - to their credit, they've delivered some excellent pieces since the ban and have actually had - what I believe to be - a positive effect on the narrative of where the club is going. What Pardew said about the local rags and their influence on the supporters is actually true (not that I believe it to be a worthy excuse for our dismal displays). Sorry to be touchy but I just think there's no place slagging off the press up there when they've had their hands tied in the past, and are now making a positive impact, now that they're unshackled. The entire fanbase is on their side so they can be a bit more outspoken - and they've maximised that opportunity with some damning articles about the state of the club. I suspect it's actually worked out pretty well for them. It's completely back-fired on Ashley & Co in the process, which is an added bonus. They haven't had access to the club for the last, what, six months and they're writing the best stuff that NCJ Media has written in years, having their front pages re-published in national newspapers and getting massive credit from the supporters. I've said that this should be their approach for years, and always been told that I was wrong, and that what they were doing was what they had to do to stay alive. They're now realising (in a completely shocking revelation) that people want to read interesting and honest stuff about the club, not Steven "We'll do it for the fans" Taylor's latest interview. Much like Alan Pardew, they never ever "had their hands tied" - they were complicit in feeding us the club's propaganda, right back to Alan Oliver and Freddy Shepherd. This line that was peddled for years and years in defence of them - that "they need access to the club and can't risk having it taken away" - has been revealed as the complete and utter bullshit it always was.

They weren't banned then? Well, exactly. Pathetic really. What's this in aid of?

They weren't banned then? Well, exactly. Pathetic really.

It's taken the press far too long tbh. Our recent form is nothing new, nor are the pathetic excuses. Why wasn't this done last season when he was doing his best to relegate us?

Imagine if Harps gets an FA Cup winners medal man.

Golfy, I find it completely bizarre that you marry these opinions up knowing full well that Pardew earns his coin by reducing costs and helping Ashley sell our best players for profit. He signed the contract full in the knowledge that this was the case, and more than willing to do these things. The thing I often hear in the press is that he "has his hands tied" - he tied them himself by going into NUFC with his eyes wide open. He's not just complicit, but actively hands-on (blatantly obvious from how often his interviews are just him publicly begging for clubs to come in for our best players). You know this better than anyone, yet you're always first to claim how hard done by he is.

Villa away. Chelsea home. West Ham away. Hull away. Man Utd away. Stoke home. Thats what I'd say were our good wins this season. I wouldn't include Stoke at home, they were the far better side and leading until the sendings off. Discount Hull as well. We didn't have Cabaye - the entire point of the claim is that we need both to play well and in any other circumstances, it's ok to get murdered. Palace was good too, but I'm not sure about Chelsea at home. Great win but "bloody good team"? We reduced the game to nothing and essentially nicked it with a set piece.

When have we looked a "bloody good team" at any point this season, other than 2 or 3 games where we've played well on the day?

A testament to the power of propaganda.

He never said that? We had one effort on target, Tiote from around 30 yards, comfortably gathered.

Rob Shepherd should fuck off back to prison, the complete arsehole.

We were 4 points behind them and 3 behind Liverpool at New Year. This was when the manager started talking about it being amazing for "a club like us" to have that many points and a white flag was raised above SJP.