James

Let down by science, economics, French, history and woodwork.

Gouffran in Perez role with Atsu and Ritchie on the wings? Might be an interesting experiment...

With the way the season is playing out so far I don't think we need to be looking to draw home games at any time tbh. And probably not any away games either. You just have to look at the Hull thread or Trophy or Promotion thread and see that a lot want us to beat Hull on Tuesday. It will be our biggest game this season to date and also carries the risk of extra time So I think on the basis of public opinion, playing a 25% full strength team today and getting a draw is acceptable - so long as our full strength team does the job at Hull. And on current results we may be getting even further away from Brighton anyhow.

Based on the team selection we might draw this with focus going on Hull (and that includes being prepared for the possibility of extra time) But we would have to beat Hull. No excuses.

If we don't win I blame Yorkie's diabolically inconsistent OP.

Ben(itez), the Toon Army need look no more We all found what we were looking for With a gaffer to call our own You'll never hear us moan And you our friend will see Your friendly Toon Army Ben(itez), you've been managing here and there You feel you're not wanted anywhere If you ever look behind And don't like what you find There's something you should know St James' you should go I used to say "NUFC" Now it's "Rafa's Toon Army" Ben(itez), most club's fans would turn you away We won't listen to a word they say They don't see you as we do I wish they would try to I'm sure they'd think again If they had a boss like Ben(itez)

What is wrong with you?

Regardless this brief diversion was more worthwhile than talking about Rafa going to West Ham

You will always remember when Benifactored enters the forum lore that you were all there on page 552 when it came into existence. Except Nut who came late.

Ah I have a better one BENIFACTORED

Only in the sense I couldn't chooses between Benited, Rafad, or Benitezed.

I propose a new verb for the Newcastle-Online dictionary to act as a counter balance to Pardewed. BENITED Def: to pick something up on a downward spiral and to launch back upwards. Example: Dwight Gayle has been Benited.

Gayle

Jon Dahl Tomasson won the Champions League, UEFA Cup, Serie A, Eridivisie, Bronze Boot at 2002 World Cup and in team of the tournament for Euro 2004.

Jon Dahl Tomasson and Guiseppe Rossi went on to have decent careers.

She should get a season ticket for Toronto just in case.

I have a season ticket with Barcelona, Melbourne Victory and Legia Warsaw just in case I need it for a Newcastle game.

Just beware of Stuart

Sunderland to be relegated The top of the league team from the Championship down to the National League to win the league The top of the league team in Italy, Holland, Turkey, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal and Austria to win the league Barcelona and PSG to win the league Celtic to win the Scottish cup Somewhere around 5000/1

Monk could be a division above Swansea within a season or two so long as there are no Leeds breakdowns.

What is this god botherer stuff? Why are people that aren't concerned about god always worried about those that do man? So weird I'm not concerned about god, I'm concerned about those that believe in one. At one end of the spectrum they tell people how their lives should be lived, at the other end they behead people and fly planes into buildings. Im not religious but I'm sorry, that's wrong, people have every right to beleive in what they want, and just because a small minority do barbaric things, doesn't mean the others should should be looked down upon. A lot of atheists are just as bad, like somehow they are morally/intellectually superior for not being religious. Name me one war started in the name of atheism. Not started by an atheist but because of atheism, there hasn't been one and the moral high ground is usually the claim of the religious. No woman has ever been mutilated or subjugated in the name of atheism and no child has ever been mutilated or brainwashed into atheism. Atheists are neither morally nor intellectually superior but I believe they are more open thinkers and they should be proud of that. I'm also not saying people can't believe in what they want, that's their right but I think it's preposterous, like belief in the tooth fairy. If an adult said that you'd think they were insane but bang on about one of the many Gods and not only is it considered virtuous, you are above criticism. Whether you like it or not the difference between a person of faith and an atheist is that one would change their mind when presented with evidence, the other refuses to. Actually a lot of atrocities against religious people were caused by atheists over the past 70 years in the name of communism.

If by very limited you mean 8 years as a doctor at an elite level football club and previously working for the FA, yes very limited football experience. Obviously that is still quite a small period of time in the career of a doctor but to say he is very inexperienced in football is wrong. The club also works very closely with the Nuffield (where Dr. Catterson is also a consultant) so they won't be short on second or third opinions if required. Clearly I don't have the scientific data or knowledge of the medical conditions but as an outsider looking it it looks very bad. Firstly there is a lot of anecdotal evidence of footballers doing in their ACL after coming back from a foot injury. Crumpy gave one example. Then Aarons on return from a foot injury does his ACL, as an outsider with that anecdotal knowledge it looks like he was signed off when he wasn't ready and if that was the case that is a serious error. Take a step back and think about the long term effects for a sec. Aarons career is now on a knifes edge. We may have to spend millions on a winger, and if Aarons never fully recovers it will again cost us millions on lost potential. It was therefore an error that was extremely bad for this football club. We may be an elite club but we have had a tin pot back room for years. This is not an environment to develop good experience he may as well only have one years experience. Work for England youth does not count as the role does not require managing the players over a fifty game season. Nuffield can not offer that either. I'm not saying we bin Catterson but we can't rely on someone like that to work on their own and do a great job. We need a doctor with a good track record and 15-20 years of experience working in professional contact sport.

How do you define 'very limited'? He's been here for nearly 8 years and according to his website which doesn't suggest 'very limited' experience in football. With exception to working with us, none of those roles consist of managing a large group of players over a 50-game season. Our medical department has been so poorly run for eight years that I do not count this as good experience either. We need someone else who can offer a lot more thorough experience in working in the kind of setup Rafa prefers and then eventually by working with this new doctor over a period of time he will have the experience to lead. Anyway the stakes of the sport are to high to rely on the word of one doctor, we need two.

As I said a few posts up I've seen ACL's follow a fair few foot injuries with footballers in the past I suppose if you can't twist or flex a foot then the knees are going to do a fair amount of the twisting and take the strain. Obviously I don't have the data in front of me but questions need to be asked on whether Aarons was truly ready to return to training. Whilst Rafa has put much more faith and responsibility in Dr Paul Catterson his experience in football is very limited and if we could bring in a second more experienced doctor to work alongside him and give a second opinion I think it would be highly preferable.

Then see in the 45 mins if it is worth keeping him on for 90. Because a football manager knows more than a doctor.