Benwell Lad

http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=691147 I think they may possibly be even more obsessed with attendances than they are about our club. However it has to be said their gates have dropped considerably over the last few years despite the supposed optimism. All the cheap/free tickets probably mean the receipts (which are more important than the attendances) will have taken a huge dive. Not looking good for them. On a lighter note some macums are absolutely bending over backwards to help anyone get a cheap ticket for their remaining games, offering their season ticket numbers to any old Tom, Dick or Harry in a desperate effort to fill the empty seats. I think Randy Savage on RTG is so desperate he would even lay on transport from anywhere in the UK to help someone get there.

Have faith. Everton will win the cup but it won't matter, we won't finish below fifth. I have faith mate, it's just a lifetime of kicks in the bollocks preparing me for disappointment

As quite a few have said, the very existence of this thread is testament to what an incredible season it has been and we are in for a really exciting last few games. The interest in other PL games because of what bearing, directly or indirectly, they may have on our chances makes it even better. It will be a real test of character for Pardew and his staff to maintain the present level. All season we've been the upstarts who no one believed in and that has suited us fine. Now that we're the team they're all talking about there will be a different type of pressure but if this team are the "real deal" as some have said, then it's a type of pressure we'll have to get used to and deal with. Irrespective of how this amazing season ends, nothing should detract from the job the management and players have done or the progress we have made. FWIW the Newcastle pessimist in me thinks we'll finish 6th and miss out due to Everton winning on Saturday, so anything else will be taken as a huge bonus.

"sometimes you've just got to be patient and the win comes to you" - classic Pardew.

It's like FTM but better. FTM.

We've got a lot to be thankful to Niall Quinn for. Without his managerial appointments and wasting the Yank's money by sanctioning the tranfers and contracts etc, it could all have been so different. True macum legend.

As the SoL becomes increasingly deserted, the remaining Sunderland fans seem to be a mixture of those with an insane obsession and chip on their shoulder about all things Newcastle, and those who consider smashing up public transport as a good day out. It's no wonder decent fans are turning their back on them in favour of TV.

Really think they're going to struggle next season. A big squad full of dross with long and artificially highly rewarded contracts. They're not going to be easy to shift and I can't see the yank investing any more as he looks at all the empty seats despite the £5 and free tickets. After setting up a new company last week he may have given up on the football side of things and thinks his investment will be better served by the SoL being primarily a music venue with football being secondary. Tough times ahead now that marty's cloggers have been found out (again) and embarrassing defeats are becoming the norm (again).

Ream's dive after the Fenham Eusebio shrugged him off on the way to our second goal

Thought thjey were canny like. Not many of them but sang a lot and were right behing their team.

A lovely footballer who gives a midfield a natural shape with his left foot. Him and Santon are both very good footballers.

All credit to Perch, Williamson and of course the rest of the back 5 as well as all the other "squad" players who have stepped up and performed so well when required. The manager has to take huge credit for making these players believe in themselves and getting the very best out of them.

Savour every minute watching this guy playing football in a black and white shirt. Players like this come around once in a generation, perhaps once in a lifetime and most football fans will never be lucky enough to see such a god given talent playing for their team.

Two points I also wanted to make, i.e. it won the match and wasn't the 4th in a 4-0 win, making it even more exceptional, and yes the Bolton players should have been booked as they tried to take him out and certainly would have been if it was a player who decided to take a tumble to win a free kick.

Still the best player in the club for making the ball stick when we're up against a resilient defence. Can't wait for Sammy's first goal against the mackems - it will be a another landmark occasion for the club

In MON I trust. This could turn out better than Brucie in the long run. Management in this day and age requires more than someone jumping around on the touchline like a chimpanzee.

I'm not even sure Messi could have scored that one.

Reality, logic, on paper, supposition, fantasy, lies, mackems covincing themselves of something.

Ah no, the macum pillock is back. Seriously is anyone who considers the criminal thug Cattermole a decent footballer worth communicating with ? If so then perhaps we should change the title thread to his user name as he seems to have taken it over anyway.

When Alan Green expressed his surprise at how many empty seats there were at Sunderland yesterday, even against attractive top opposition, Michael Gray his co-commentator got all macum and said they had a "full house" for the cup QF but were badly let down and had decided not to return. Aren't pundits supposed to tell the truth? Considering Everton brought almost 10K fans to Wearside and there were still 5,000 empty seats doesn't that mean something like 33-35,000 Sunderland fans bothered turning out for their biggest game in years? Even with their Northern League price £5 tickets they can't get anywhere near a full house and that is a major reason why the Yank will lose interest soon. The SoL is becoming known as a music venue where football is also played.

They'll struggle next season. However I wouldn't even begin to attempt rationalising that statement to a macum as they remain blinded by the O'Niel blarney and Lee"Criminal" Cattermole's midfield brilliance. And of course they'll be setting the transfer window alight again this summer leaving us emerald green with envy.

Taking off Ba and replacing him with Ferguson just as they were starting to rip into us down the right was a good move at the right time. Not necessarily tactical genius but excellent timing and decision making.

Seems a fair analysis even before he'd kicked a ball for us. Outstanding. Cisse is no surprise to anyone who has watched Bundesiga football. The day we signed him a German told me we had signed the best player in the league - always debatable - but the lad who said it is pretty level headed, knows his football and also who is also playing for Bayern, Dortmund etc. While Graham Carr justifiably gets a lot of praise, in fairness most people in football knew about Cisse, perhaps the main credit for his signing has to go to the administrators (Llambias, Charnley etc) who made it happen so quickly and efficiently.

Not sure macums actually had anything to do with the origins of Athletic although the story about a shipyard worker lending them a set of R & W strips does have some credibility. I can think of no Spanish club more like Newcastle than Athletic and the two cities have a lot in common too. Proud people who embrace a regional identity, similar industrial backgrounds and stunning riverside centres - they even have a Millenium Bridge just like ours. Impressive city centres with great atmospheric bars and restaurants, stadiums with a central "cathedral" like feel and football clubs which are at the heart of the region and local culture. Athletic fans still talk very fondly of the games they played against NUFC. I'd struggle to think of any Spanish city which had anything in commom with Sunderland, La Linea next to Gibraltar possibly as it has a rather "crimial frontier outpost" feel about it , but apart from that I think Albania may be a better place to compare it to.

I think it's more a case of "every player has a price" rather than actively being for sale. If someone comes in with £20m for Tiote for example, that would be hard for any club in the world to reject, nevermind Newcastle. I doubt he'd be allowed to go for what would be considered "market value". Dead right. My house isn't for sale but if someone wants to offer me wacky money for it and finance a suitable replacement, it's theirs. The article does to some extent sum up Ashley's way of working. He is a chancer, but a chancer with an excellent track record due to the calculating manner in which he operates.