James

All the players have bricks on their legs. Ben Arfa best player but he has been very leaden too.

There was an interview with him talking about being given 49 in the Chronicle.

He has been given 49

Apparently he is waiting outside Sports Direct, wondering why the shop is closed and no-one has come to meet him.

Medical failed. He doesn't like needles so they cant take blood.

Apparently his welcoming committee at the airport was a Polish taxi driver carrying a placard saying 'Vernon'. Not even the right spelling, how unproffessional. No wonder he hasnt signed yet.

The reason for the hold up is that for every new signing the club produce a DVD/BLURAY/3D BLURAY explaining Newcastle and how they envisage the new signing fitting into the team. Colo and Pardew have filmed their bits and Pardew has produced this huge tactical analysis, however the DVD has to be in English and the language of the player's home nation, however the dutch translation is on hold as we found out that the translator is Steve McClaren.

A massive improvement to the game would be to have two-three longer international windows, rather than the one game a month that seems to go on right now. So during the ACON, England would play all its WC qualifiers.

http://ennyoueffsee.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/could-a-slower-transfer-market-lead-to-less-managers-being-given-the-boot/ Interesting. With clubs penny pinching this year, and more money expected to be available next year, this year could actually offer good value if we were to spendnow against next season's income - avoiding next summer's increased prices/wages.

Not classy enough for the Olympic Stadium - Keep them well clear.

Exactly, he isn't terrible. Just a scapegoat that people like to be dramatic about.

Simpson is Top 10 level, not Champions League level. That is still adequate for where we are realistically targetting for this season. Having said that, an identical performance but one better throw in over the course of last season by a different player would have got us top 4.

Typical Stoke forward, tall, powerful.. wait STOKE!? Probably Pulis sees him as last piece in the puzzle, someone to tap in knock downs from big powerful striker.

Ah ha!

And if we don't sign Debuchy? Seems like too many hearts are set on one person, we need to be a bit more open to other options IMO.

Only problem to your plan is he's got 3 year left on his contract not 12month... I thought it was only a one year extension he had? Shows I haven't been paying much attention to football this summer.

So Simpson/Perch/Tavernier at right back would be the best option?

Does Anita provide a good left back option? If not, what about Jonas at left back and Santon at right back if other potential signings aren't pulled off?

Playing Devil's advocate here, but why sign a player for £8m now when we can get him signed to a contract in January, either to sign much cheaper that month or for nowt in the summer? Lille have added value to the player that does not exist. I can see the sense of making do, with or without the need to play Danny Simpson, as there are a few alternative options to Simpson if Pardew wishes to use these. With or without Debuchy I don't think we will finish Top 5 this year, and those alternatives we already have are good enough in the short term, at least until January in my opinion. So lets be patient.

Eh? What's this about, like? First I've heard of it. New owners believe teams in red have better mass market appeal.

1% of what though? Butterflies? Coffee beans? Cranes? Amputees? He's fucking shite, and has the heart of a sheep. 1% of all humans. As would be all Premier League players.

Obertan's technique is certainly in the world's top 1%.

Having now watched Ben Arfa live, and Neymar live, I can categorically confirm that Ben Arfa is better than Neymar.

Who said anything about Obertan?

No way he can start without any sort of preseason. Bad for the team to give him preferential treatment, aside from any fitness or sharpness issues.