BottledDog

Only people who can add up.

No.

Another drain on our squad.

Fuck, keep forgetting Redknapp's back in a job. Sod the training ground, we need to fence this bloke off from our fax machine.

It really is quite bizarre, but basically come down to the point where if enough people use a name in a negative way, then the name itself becomes a term of abuse. Paki being the easiest way to refer to Pakistanis (and ultimately any south asian person), was used more in a derogatory manner and in hate speech rather than perfectly innocent ways (due in large part to increased immigration into the country), so became connected with racists, casual or otherwise. Hell even personal names can get tarred. I wonder if Joey is becoming an acceptable baby name again?

Ah, you may well be right. ...but may I refer you to the venerable Wiki. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chink A number of dictionaries have provided different suggestions as to the origin of chink. Some of these suggestions are that it originated from the Chinese courtesy ching-ching,[3] or that it evolved from the word China,[4] or that it was an alteration of Qing,[5] as in the Qing Dynasty (Ch'ing Dynasty), or that the word evolved from the other meaning of chink, which is a small crevice, crack, gap or a narrow opening, being a simile for small or slanted eyes. (Sometimes, the word is indeed employed as an adjective, as in chink-eyed.)[6] The most obvious etymology is chink evolved from the Indo-Iranian word for China, that word now having similar pronunciations in various European languages, such as Persian.[7] And that the Indo-Iranian and hence European name for China is an alteration of the Chinese name Qin, which has recurred in Chinese history a number of times, including the name of the western kingdom, which took over the rest to form the first Empire. This was the first time the name had been seen, and now it is a very common family name in China and Vietnam (Cheng, Trinh, and similar). Because it is a very common family name, it is impossible to trace it back to any specific time place or person, and the lack of evidence for the coining of the term in English (or any other European language) is therefore not unusual. It is possible that word was imported into Indo-European as the name of the Qin state. Not that Wiki means much, I grant you.

I agree; Some clearly don't see certain terms as quite as offensive as others do, though it's a hazy line in many ways. Paki, Jap, and going to the chinkies etc were only fairly recently dropped from what was classed as acceptable. Though they're in essence just country names, somehow the negative connotations have removed them from what is widely classed as acceptable. Spaz, mong, and flid are still terms used widely in banter, but I really struggle with them, and I'm not sure why really. Taff? Jock? Acceptable or not?

Aye, thats why i said being a bit flexible with it. Scary just how daft they are thinking that 11 is enough. They didn't. It was 8 plus Anita iirc.* To be fair, I think what Pardew had to say in the Chronicle gives some hope now that when faced with the club 'not being able to afford more purples', or 'the club can't afford to not invest in more purples', they'll opt for the latter more often than in the past. * "Where we are now is that we have, in effect, 11 purples if you count Anita - he can play midfield, right-back, left-back. You can't have two purples per position because the club can't afford it. You have to be realistic."

http://footballerswithbeards.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/cork.jpg http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Alan-Cork-Sheffield-United-173-Topps-1992-Stadium-Club-Football-Card-/00/s/MTA2MFg3NDk=/$(KGrHqN,!p0E9eEB!cl5BPcyhb17tw~~60_12.JPG

Of course. But having never worked under Pardew or know the players minds, that means diddly squat. Back to Demba. Yes, it would be sorely disappointing to see him go, but like most players we have been able to capture (not just in recent years), he came here with something to prove. Now that he has done that (both his fitness and his quality), without any ties to the club, he'll try and push for a bigger club or more money - And fair enough up to a point (tho he'll not get the reception he maybe deserves on a return if he carries on in the press to lack even so much as a thin veneer of loyalty). I'd like to think he'd stay and sign a new contract if we were doing better, but him failing to do so before the summer would suggest otherwise.

Then you shouldn't have fucking signed for Pardew.

Good to hear his side, especially in regards to the last window and Jonas.

True enough.

Give over. You seem very easily embarrassed.

The one from King Shola says "33 crosses away from home and 7 shots on target usually equates to 2 or 3 goals", yours says "34 crosses and 7 shots on target away from home should get you close to a victory."? Are these quotes from the same sentence but being reported differently, or is he repeating himself and getting his stats wrong?

http://www.newcastle-online.org/nufcforum/Smileys/Newcastle-Online/dowie.png The fact that only last month he suggested statistics were misleading aside, it is quite concerning that he seems to have such a simplistic view of attacking play, and thinks that more crosses = more goals. How would you quantify chances or getting in positions to potentially create chances then, if asked? That's not the question he was asked. That's not an answer to my question.

http://www.newcastle-online.org/nufcforum/Smileys/Newcastle-Online/dowie.png The fact that only last month he suggested statistics were misleading aside, it is quite concerning that he seems to have such a simplistic view of attacking play, and thinks that more crosses = more goals. How would you quantify chances or getting in positions to potentially create chances then, if asked?

Aye much better man management and cost effective to just state we need 5 players to come in.... "We are shite all over the pitch, we need at least five signings or we're getting relegated". Cheers Alan. If a manager says he's bringing in a number of players it might just give some of our current team a kick up the arse that their place might be under threat. Possibly, true. Different players will respond in different ways I suppose. Pardew never seems to use negative motivation though, not sure whether that's good or bad. He might not hammer players in public that often (after Bordauex would be one occasion though ottomh, or maybe Hatems and Rangers darker periods), and rightly so. But I think it's nonsense to suggest he's restricted to motivation through praise alone.

Does he? The main gripe seems to have stemmed from the perceived contradiction that where he states how he'd like us to play but we get shitball on the pitch, or when he took positives out of a window but now calls on more investment in the next window. Fair enough, make him look a bit of a twat, but I have sympathy with how changes in circumstance can have an effect. The rest of it seems to be spiralling off into simply examining to death every off the cuff and often out of context quote, and looking to trip him up as far as I can tell.

And this is why i'm beginning to really dislike Pardew, i'm sure he mentioned recently that we need to sign 3 or so. I could be wrong but it always seems to go, we need 3, then we are working on definitely 2, then we hope to get 1 through the door. Its always bullshit and by now to keep trying it, he must think we're thick. When did he say the '3 or so players' thing? Struggling to remember that one.

Guessing this means big club interest in Tiote has waned then.

shola on the the last 25 mintues and go even longer when we have not won one single header in their penalty area all match. That is how clueless he is. It really nails it for me! We barely hoofed it all game and the hoofing didn't really increase when Shola came on. Some people just make their mind up before the game and with each substitution without even watching the game properly. This is how I saw it TBH. I was disappointed to see HBA go off, but that seems to be down to his return from injury, which it's sensible to manage. I would have probably gone for Marveaux rather than Shola like, but in the game overall we didn't hoof it excessively at all. Bang on. I'm sure this 'seeing what you want to see' works both ways, but in last few games the players have stopped panicking and resorting to hoofing, and I'm actually positive and getting close to enjoying elements of or performances again (if not the results bar Wigan). The Shola sub was really disappointing at the time though as we were doing ok and could have gone with a like for like, I think we can all agree on that.

Cracking sentiment and, you'd hope, bang on the money. He has hasn't been on this forum much though has he. A fair few I suspect would take umbrance with the following bits... "Newcastle were excellent last term, but they exist in a different world to the really big boys. Newcastle fans knew this. Outside of the crazies and the arch-optimists that you’ll find at every club, they knew that this season would be ‘The Second Coming’ to their eponymous debut album. They knew that the Europa League would drain the stamina of a small squad and leave them ill-prepared for the grind of the domestic game. They knew that key players would have their heads turned by agents. Of the Newcastle fans I spoke to, most agreed that a top ten finish would be absolutely acceptable, all things considered. Well, they’re now just four points away. ...These days, however, Ashley is a little more astute. A good manager has been tied down to a long term contract and a decent squad has been assembled. It’s not a big enough squad, that much is obvious, but it’s a start. Money has been allocated for an overhaul of the youth system, the stadium has its name back and the future looks as bright as it can for a club without a sugar daddy."

Good post. We almost exclusively look to sit back and defend a lead. We just lack the players for it to work effectively and it's horrible to watch. Wigan looked dangerous for a spell at the start of the second half. We were all over the shop and invited too much pressure. We end up looking nervy, the crowd get edgy and it's just a vicious circle. The game against Maritimo was a perfect example and we were guilty of it to a point against Stoke. I'm not saying we should be gung ho, but we certainly need to be more positive. The 2 or 3 hammerings we had last season didn't help the goal dif, but neither did the negative, sit back on a slender lead mentality. There have been lots of games where the opposition are there for the taking, we have a chance to boost the goals for column, pass the ball about nicely and get a bit of confidence up. We just plonk everyone behind the ball! Would be foolish to get too carried away, bit hard to judge the performance really. But there were a lot of positives to take at least. Did we actually sit back, or did Wigan not come out for the second half in desperate need for an early goal? We contained them fairly well and then got back into our stride. Bit of both clearly, but I think we sat back for quite a lot of the second half. We were comfortable for the majority, but if Kone didn't play in blind alleys like Martins and Di Santo looked to pass instead of shank it from 30 yards, they might have posed more problems. We lack any composure at the back. Even Colo seems to have caught the Williamson bug. We looked a bit rushed for 5-10 minutes and kept giving the ball back to them to start another attack. But once Bigi settled, we started playing well again in fairness. I'm not basing this just on last night, as for the most part, it was enjoyable to watch and we were much improved. But it's been a feature of Pardew's time in charge. Sorry to bring it up again, but the 4 days defensive work, 1 day attacking quote might be a factor!? You're right, we have really struggled to get a grip defensively this season which I think has a fair bit to do with the lack of a settled side through injuries etc, Tiote's loss of form, and a lack of decent movement in front of them. We just can't take much pressure without panicking and lumping it forward which is driving us all nuts. I would love to know though whether this 4 days defensive work one day attacking was as rigid as people hold it. I think when Pardew first arrived, like most managers, he focused primarily on getting the defensive side right. I t may still be the case, but I doubt it. Besides we struggle to get even two days of intensive training in these days what with our European jaunt.