James

He's been offerred a new contract, Roeder said a couple of weeks ago. Roeder also said that Edgar, Huntington, Krul, Pattisson and Carroll will all get periods off on loan next season if they cant get near the first team due to new arrivals. Thes people only get near the first team if 12+ players get injured, so I see no problem with this. They could probably be recalled too in emergencies.

Its not even NOTW, its the People, according to BBC anyway...

How many times do I tell people that there is only one use for The People - wiping your arse (but even then, I'd still prefer Asda Smart Price)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/4309136.stm

But, in the long run, what would be more valuable. 25 goals a season from Owen for the next 5 years, or a 5million loss? 25 goals a season (or whatever he scores) for the next 5 years, without any doubt. But that's the nub of the problem. Owen's contract only runs for another 2 years and under the new Uefa rules, he could buy out his contract at the end of next season for approximately £5m (assuming he's on around £100k pw). Don't sell him for £12m this summer and he could be gone for £5m next summer, gone for nothing the summer after that. Newcastle have to get him to sign a new contract this summer or sell him imo. Rules state that you can only buy out your contract to move to a club in another country. Owen has no intention of playing abroad ever again. Where/when did he state this? http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?scope=all&edition=d&q=owen+real+madrid&go=Search Radio Interview there, but he has said the same in even more certain terms pretty regularly over the past 18 months.

But, in the long run, what would be more valuable. 25 goals a season from Owen for the next 5 years, or a 5million loss? 25 goals a season (or whatever he scores) for the next 5 years, without any doubt. But that's the nub of the problem. Owen's contract only runs for another 2 years and under the new Uefa rules, he could buy out his contract at the end of next season for approximately £5m (assuming he's on around £100k pw). Don't sell him for £12m this summer and he could be gone for £5m next summer, gone for nothing the summer after that. Newcastle have to get him to sign a new contract this summer or sell him imo. Rules state that you can only buy out your contract to move to a club in another country. Owen has no intention of playing abroad ever again.

Furthermore, this is in the People. Least reliable of all the Sunday papers.

We had quite alot of reviews of home reserve and academy fixtures last season on the front page, but the guys who did it got jobs/started university and stopped doing them. Nufc.com and .cock also supply short match reports, but you can't really learn anything from them.

Manchester United have looked the best they do for ages this season, with a team that can pass, move, and hold the ball up. Owen and Rooney have never clicked for England, and I cant see Manyoo looking a better team with Owenin their starting XI. For that reason, I doubt Fergie has even considered it.

Would just be like going back to square one.

If I was an admin, I would sort out that semi-colon, it is really bothering me!

Carroll looked promising

Comparing the appointments of Dalglish and Gullit with the appointment of Wenger is laughable. Dalglish and Gullit had proved that they could win trophies in England, were established names, and management style was to splash the cash on players good enough to bring success. They were ambitious, and they were a statement of intent. In contrast, although he had some success abroad, Wenger was greeted with 'Arsene Who?' headlines. He did not have the name to attract the world class players that Newcastle or Chelsea were signing at the time, and he wasn't even big enough to win his own players. There seemed to be no short term vision of ambition, no apparent intent to turn the corner. Instead, it was a long term decision to revolutionise the club from its roots. In the end, it was the move to change things long-term that was going to ensure a prolonged spell of success, whereas Newcastle, with their short term ambition, have stagnated and declined. We are still waiting for our revolution. And we wont realise our potential until our chairman puts it in place.

It isn't up to Owen whether or not he plays for England. All registered players are the property of FIFA. If a player is called up to an international game for their country (or what is registered as their first country in the case of dual nationality players), he has to play, unless the club appeals, and he fails an independent medical. Despite lack of sharpness, and match fitness, McClaren could pick Owen for a Newcastle game tommorrow, and Owen would have to play. In the end of the day, the decision rests solely with McClaren. Although common sense would likely make McClaren willing to rest him for Brazil, given the friendly nature of the game,it would be better for him to get Owen as sharp and fit as possible ready for the Estonia game, which will be the first meaningful and competitive game in which Owen will feature. There is no cance of McClaren resting him for this game, so he may as well play versus Brazil.

Every time we have played Portsmouth, Redknapp has come out and attacked Roeder.

Harper Solano Taylor Moore Babayaro Milner Butt Dyer Duff Martins Sibierski

Is that why a handful of them came out after the World Cup and openly criticised his tactics, selection etc.? Because they were all releasing autobiographies which were ghost-written by journalists that wanted to stick the boot in?

I seem to remember Alan Oliver hinting at Martins being a possibility, and then the following day, The Times and a few others ran with it. No the Times was weeks ahead, it ran a two lined piece at the bottom of another aticle, and it was a long time before anyone picked up on it. Here we are, Times were 4 days ahead of Alan Oliver: http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/index.php?topic=27381.0

I seem to remember Alan Oliver hinting at Martins being a possibility, and then the following day, The Times and a few others ran with it. No the Times was weeks ahead, it ran a two lined piece at the bottom of another aticle, and it was a long time before anyone picked up on it.

Dickenson also got the Martins to Newcastle story weeks before anyone else.

Ourfirst team squad literally is 16 first teamers on high wages, and then reserves on low wages. No real difference from what you are suggesting to what actually exists in reality.

The only time I felt scared at a football match was when a policeman grabbed one of my mates while we participated in a pitch invasion. EDIT: 200 13 year olds on the pitch, end of the season Division 3 pitch invasion, nothing too zany/exaggerrated/made-up.

It is impossible to chart league positions over time, and create as model of us going up or down. Sport is a random walk. We have a moving average, but it is unusual for us to match our average, instead finding ourselves in a position above or below, with probabilities determined by either a normal distribution or a negative skew.

I expect diminishing rates of marginal returns, with less effort required to increase league position at the lower end, and a huge amount of effort required to move from 2nd to 1st.

I actually wrote something, but realising, I quickly pressed back.