Benwell Lad

Wouldn't get in the top twenty. Horrible,horrible part of London but that's about it. Have you been to Brum,Stoke,Leicester,Man City,Cardiff,Boro,Millwall etc etc ?

Brilliantly put.

Considering Ashley's overall wealth I don't see a few less pints being supped at SJP or a few less replica shirts being sold forcing him to the brink of starvation. It would simply mean less revenue to the football business and therefore less for the football business to spend. The booing and protest chanting provides a blurred image of the real crowd feelings. A couple of thousand booing or chanting in a crowd of 50K is noisy enough and usually reported by the media as "Newcastle fans booed their team". The true story is that a couple of thousand booed while 48,000 didn't. Booing however makes a much better story for them.

It was our "group of lads" versus a team of world class players, and while we pushed them hard and statistics show we dominated over 90 minutes, gifting such a side a two goal lead makes it an impossible task as the original game plan is tossed in the bin. Decent performances pretty much all round, special mention for Routledge who probably had his best PL outing for us, his substitution had nothing to do with his performance. Finally must say I absolutely despise their football club, their plastic fans and what they have done to football propped up by dubious wealth. Tevez' behaviour and tantrums sum them up and I hope the Arab cock sucking bastads fall from the artificial height they have climbed to back to the insignificance they naturally belong to.

I'd only trade the 3 points for a decapitation - nothing less.

Likewise I would tend not to normally, but I felt extremely sad reading the above as he seemed to not only be a very brave person but a great ambassador for the region too. Also he was one of us, part of the big NUFC family.

Agreed. It makes a very big statement when this occurs and his crime is deserving of that and a whole lot more.

Arguably the most important goal this season.

Struggling to sell tickets for a Christmas match - that is worrying for them. Blackpool have 3000 tickets the same as any away team at our place gets bar Man Utd who only get 1500 due to constant standing over the years. Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story though. The statement from Blackpool's official website says that Sunderland have made 1,000 EXTRA tickets available and away supporters can now pay on the day. Forgive me if I'm mistaken or if this statement was incorrect, but if it is correct it would imply that Sunderland are struggling to sell tickets for the match, which as I said is quite unusual for a Christmas holiday fixture.

Total respect and sincere condolences. Corporal Steven Thomas Dunn Corporal Steven Thomas Dunn, 27, from Gateshead, died on Tuesday after his Jackal vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province. Colleagues said the soldier, from 216 (Parachute) Signal Squadron, attached to 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment Battlegroup, was "always in the thick of it" and "died doing a job he loved". Corporal Dunn was born in Gateshead where he grew up and attended Saint Joseph's RC School in Hebburn. A statement on the MoD website said: "His passion for Newcastle United knew no bounds and his thirst and excitement for life was apparent in everything he did. Thoroughly dedicated to his family, his job and to those he served with, this potent blend won him the highest accolades and the respect of all." He leaves behind his wife Cheryl and daughter Emily. The family of Corporal Dunn issued a statement saying: "Steven was a loving husband to Cheryl, son to Vicky, and doting dad to Emily. He has left a huge hole in the lives of those he has left behind including his brothers Christopher and Michael. He will also be sorely missed by Kevin, an important person in his life and all his aunts, uncles, cousins and many friends. "He lived for the Army especially 216 Parachute (Signal) Squadron and worked hard to get his wings of which he was very proud, it was his first love after Cheryl and Newcastle United. Major Alistair Fawcett, Officer Commanding 216 (Parachute) Signal Squadron said: "Corporal Steven Dunn died doing a job he loved. At every turn he strove to improve the lot of his men. "He was always in the thick of it and his time in Afghanistan was no exception; with a spark in his eye and his devilish Geordie sense of humour, he tackled his work with a sense of purpose and in the pursuit of making a difference. "His support of the Magpies was equally potent - a good man to share a beer with and an excellent barometer of unit life." And Major Mike Shervington, Chief of Staff 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment Battle Group, said: "Corporal Dunn epitomised all that is best in our soldiers and all that is best about Newcastle and the North East.

Would be a canny new thread. I'll go for HBA first, Shola's 2nd vs Mackems 2nd and AC vs L'pool 3rd, although I reserve the right to change my mind if it gets it's own thread.

Struggling to sell tickets for a Christmas match - that is worrying for them.

Fat Russian basstad. Sack the board !

Agreed. It has certainly sparked up the interest in this thread to have a decent Sunderland fan putting his club's argument across intelligently. Former poster SAFC was a good lad too and his contributions were always worth reading.

With the exception of Man City and Chelsea type set ups, all clubs are in a fairly similar situation and will have to cut their cloth acording to their means from now on. So if you lose a player on a Bosman you will be able to pick up another club's former player in the same way and so it will go on and on. There is no doubt that this dealing will be a huge factor in a club's success/failure and good scouts and negociators will be very important people to have at your club. Making your club more attractive than the next one will help enormously and Newcastle's fan base, stadium and the city itself will give it an advantage over many other clubs.

I think 18 months is really the cut off time and if left so late aggressive negotiations should be used so by the time the summer comes and 12 months left the deal is done or the player is being sold to the highest bidder. The club had the option to sign Taylor with 2 years left, he asked for the deal, they refused to talk, they are paying for messing him about. Not sure they are. If he stays it will be on some sort of compromise deal, so both parties may consider they got the deal they wanted. If he doesn't stay they could most probably pick up someone better or as good for the kind of money he's demanding.

It's very,very difficult for clubs to renegociate contracts nowadays and since the Bosman ruling it's the player and his agent who call the shots. It's so risky to have to offer an equal deal to the last one and all clubs will end up winning some and losing some. I think wage structures are both necessary and advantageous to the game in general, but when you have the ridiculous Man City model it makes it very difficult for others not to follow suit. A rule to only spend a certain amount of turnover on wages can't come fast enough. Fortunately, despite some of the drivel we hear and read, we seem to be tying our best players down on longer contracts quite early and although it doesn't answer your question about at what stage it should be done, I'd say each individual case must be dealt with on it's own merits. I certainly know it's not a job I'd want and it's certainly not a job for a manager to do alone. We are going to run into problems eventually as the stock of players like Carroll, Barton, Enrique etc rises, if we don't pay the going rate we'll lose them. We'll need a structure with some flexibility - but maybe that wouldn't be a structure in that case. A real tough one.

If we had a mackem manager who lived in Sunderland and spent each evening boozin with his mackem mates, and a team who despite the patronising noises wouldn't set foot in Newcastle except matchdays and preferred to live and socialise in Sunderland, I'd probably find it quite difficult to go along and support them.

I think we all miss CH and he will always be highly regarded for what he did for us. Alan Pardew has always been very highly thought of by professionals and other coaches and it's no surprise that he is getting the players on side. It's very early days but so far he has handled himself impeccably and is going about the job the right way, in what were initially extremely difficult circumstances. I admire that.

;D Murray was a very rich successful businessman who undoubtedly loved his club, but he had a chip on his shoulder about Newcastle as big as any of the rabid posters who populate the SMB forum. His "one more seat than Newcastle" plan has to be one of the most stupid things a football chairman has ever said, it ranks up there with Saint Niall's "magic carpet" promises.

I'd certainly agree with the first bit, but do fans really want to see gratuitous time wasting and farcical wrestling at corners etc ?

I was at a Bundesliga game on Saturday, interestingly every Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga game took place despite colder weather than the UK - is it just that their government trusts the citizens to be able to walk over a few streets of snow without carnage ensuing and that their players and coaches etc can manage to get to their place of work once a fortnight even when it snows a bit ? Anyway, I digress, the point I really wish to make first is that the goalkeeper of the team who were leading was booked the FIRST time he slowed play down by taking his time over a goal kick. No warning just a yellow card. Secondly when a corner or free kick was being taken there was marking of course, but no hands used and certainly not the ugly sight of 18 outfield players wrestling with each other like we see in the Premier League. I thought both things were excellent and helped to make the game more entertaining. Assuming there are only one set of rules for football no matter where played, would it be asking too much for our FA and referees to start applying the rules as they should be ?

I'd agree, their current position seems better than the way they're really playing. Good home form but they seem to draw and scrape a lot of 1-0's without being convincing. Mind I'd settle for a few unconvincing 1-0 wins. they are fortunate to be 6th, on account they played on a weekend that most clubs had thier games ccalled off. add to that the incredible luck they have had this season. yes they have a good chairman and owner- but its not good stuff they are playing- certainly not pretty (wearside). i belive the proof of how s*** they are is reflected in the empty stands on tv. Aye they do seem to have scraped a lot at home, Stoke, Man City, Arsenal, Villa, Bolton etc and they probably got Spurs, Man U and Liverpool games at perfect times. Never mind it all evens out over time as the say. Interesting the bit about "good chairman and owner" - they're certainly a lot more popular than ours are, the yank doesn't actually seem too interested in football but he bought the club really cheap and probably sees it as a decent investment. Quinn - bah - totally inoffensive but always been a bit sugary sweet blarney for my liking. Nowt to do with football but I think I'd rather have a night out with Deggsy - at least you'd get to a few decent bars and probably pull a slapper or two. Saint Niall would bore the arse off you with his magic carpet stuff and want to be home for a cup of cocoa by ten o' clock. Maybe we could have a poll - night out with Quinn or Deggsy which would you rather have ?

I'd agree, their current position seems better than the way they're really playing. Good home form but they seem to draw and scrape a lot of 1-0's without being convincing. Mind I'd settle for a few unconvincing 1-0 wins.

Aye some absolute corkers. Nice to see the shameless bitch being ridiculed by all and sundry.