Benwell Lad

Showed up for what he is - a very average player. Can't believe Bruce paid so much for him, gave him a huge contract AND made him captain. He's a liability in today's football and very ineffective as a player. Sunderland had better players on the bench and dare I say it out on loan, who would have been better suited to yesterday's atmosphere. Thanks Brucie !

Top bloke. Bleeds black and white. 100% Premier League record as assistant boss.

To be honest I would prefer if they stuck to the plan of negotiating at the end of the season. We shouldn't be making managerial decisions based on short periods of time or on press speculation. If he's sustained his success then give him the contract he deserves. Problem as I see it, is he's not on top dollar at all and if he wants to recruit a decent No 2 already in employment we could have a ludicrous situation where the assistant is on more than the boss. If that is the case I'd re-negociate his now and give him what he's due.

http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=536425 Actually some quite astute and intelligent appraisal on this one. Some shite too but it seems not all mackems are stupid. A load of anti Bruce stuff - most seem to want him out. Wonder if the papers will run with a manager on the brink story that actually has some substance ? Don't suppose he'll be too bothered anyway as he enjoys a few bevvies in his north-Newcastle local this evening.

To play as well as he did yesterday after a 7th minute booking was amazing - very difficult to do in his role - but achieved with great intelligence and maturity. Compare that to the idiot Cattermole playing CM for them. Bruce should be fired just for spending so much money on him and then giving him the captain's job on top. Unbelievable. They had players better suited to yesterday's game on the bench and even out on loan. Well done special agent Bruce.

The Shola we're seeing right now is a far fitter and stronger player than what we've seen before. Awesome.

Ten best things about today. 1. 1-0 Nolan 2. 2-0 Nolan 3. 3-0 Shola 4. 4-0 Shola 5. 5-0 Nolan 6. Macum end half empty ofter 60 minutes 7. Pass and move oles (never seen in any derby before) 8. Titus Shambles 9. The "unplayable" Andy Carrol. 10. First pint after the match. Just ouside the top ten :- The tune on the PA at the end - total piss take. PA asking the 20 remaining macums to stay in the ground after the final whistle.

Thought at least one of the Norwegian Mags might have picked up on it :-)

Bruce out drinking in a posh Newcastle suburb this evening, smiling like nothing happened.

Apparently some innocent Geordies in the Leazes end lower tier were hit by bags of cheesy chips thrown by the macums.

Did Bruce drop O.G. today or was he injured ?

Thanks Jackie. You put across what a lot of us wanted to say.

Class. Thanks lads who made the banner.

Louise Taylor, Kate Adie, Wearside Jack.................. your boys took a hell of a beating !

To see the mackem end less than half full after just 60 minutes just shows what kind of fans they are. Apparently some of them were back home in Pennywell in time to celebrate Benties goal.

Do you think he lives/socialises in Sunderland, or will he have moved to Tyneside like all their players and management have ?

Imagine coming from a town whose most famous ever citizen was a hoax telephone caller who got off by pretending to have murdered lots of women !

Lazy malicious journalism perhaps ? True, but this scepticism about Hughton isn't just confined to the press. I can only go by what I read on here, but there seems to be a lot of hesitation about granting him full recognition amongst some supporters. I think it stems back from the way in which he got the job. When a coach becomes caretaker, and then gets the permanent job, it's natural to wonder whether at some stage he's going to be found out. I spent the first half of last season wondering when it was all going to go belly-up. Of course, it didn't. Every time there was a setback, the team just picked itself up and got going again. The same thing seems to be happening this season. This team has the capacity to shake off pressure and stay focused, and I'm sure that's what Hughton has brought to the club. The other big plus is his judgement of players to bring in. Despite a small budget, we've been strengthened significantly in both transfer windows. But as I say, this attitude of 'when is Hughton going to fail' still lingers. But he seems to have the ability that only the best managers have - which is to re-focus the players on the next game regardless of victory or defeat previously. You can even see it during games, when we pick up our performance in the second halves of matches. There was this funny sense on Wednesday - and this is typical - that even after a 4-0 home defeat we didn't look like a beaten side. Nobody's head dropped. It was so noticeable how nobody's head dropped and the spirited way they played and all credit to Hughton for instilling that into the club. He does have doubters on here - are they the type who are cry out for big names - we've tried that with Daglish, Gullit and FSA and it didn't work. It seems a lot of people don't realise Hughton has been involved at the top end of pro football for nearly 40 years and he's learned a lot in that time. His spending, as you say, has been mostly excellent. By his own admission, dealing with the press is not his favourite thing - great - rather that than a "popular" manager like Phil Brown or Holloway who start to get carried away with their own voices. Last season his results were superb, this season despite missing many key players they've been quite impressive (with certain exceptions of course) In a profession full of greed and dishonesty Chris Hughton brings a touch of class and dignity to the job and maybe this is what the gutter press really can't stand. Jose Enrique - himself a model pro - spoke of the wonderful job Hughton does and how hard he works for the club - perhaps we'd be better off taking Jose's word rather than some fat lazy Newcastle hating journalist's. Finally I reckon had Shearer stayed on and achieved what Hughton did last season and followed it up with a steady away start to this one, there would already be a fund set up to have his statue replacing Earl Grey at the top of the monument.

Lazy malicious journalism perhaps ?

I was right at the back that day and was one of the first out after the gates were kicked open, the mackems threw bricks at us and a few of us (probably 1 or 2 hundred) went after them and they legged it. there were scuffles all the way up that long street to the blue bell aswell. did you go the that pre season friendly ?, the road along the roker sea front looked like a big andy capp cartoon, a cloud of dust with legs and fists sticking out of it. Was that the one when Tom Cowie said afterwards that he wished they has fans as good as ours ?

A mackem lad I know who sometimes socialises with some of their players reckons there was a big bust up in training yesterday after Cattermole mistook Bent for an opposition player and tried to break his leg. Hell on apparently Northumbria police had to be called to calm it down and Bent's car got torched by Malbranque afterwards - it seems Malbranque has now admitted to being a leading figure in Jean Marie Le Pen's right wing Front National party. Seems like Saint Niall's patience has finally cracked and he's told Bruce he's getting thrown off the magic carpet unless they win on Sunday and he agrees to step foot in Sunderland on occasions other than home matches and to pick up his bloated pay check. I'm not sure it's true but I see no reason to doubt the mackem I know as he sits in the corporate area. Apparently it's all gonna come out in the papers on Monday - apart from the Grauniad as Louise Taylor said she refuses to write anything malicious or unsubstantiated. Also heard recently that because they are so much better than us nowadays, kids in Newcastle are begging their parents for Sunderland srtips for Christmas !

John MacNamee swinging on the bar at the Fulwell end when we scored - it was bending under his weight "Scuffles" - the Fulwell end - which was THEIR end was 50/50 during derby games and unsegregated apart from a few policemen in the middle - imagine that nowadays ?

In a professional football club coaching youngsters is not the job of the assistant manager, he will work with the first team. He may of course take an interest at reserve and junior levels, but it's not his job. And by the way, if you look at the number of our first team squad who have graduated through the club from juniors, compared to most other Premier clubs we have been doing quite well.

With something as bad as TOMBOLA (The Obnoxious Macum Bastards Often Lose Away) smeared across the front of their shirts you'd think they'd keep quiet.

Yeah, but he's a saint and he took them all on a magic carpet ride - he must be better. Beats me how even thick macums continue believing his blarney.