Benwell Lad

Thats what I was thinking. Is our first league match this week or something ?

Does this include people who genuinely just can't afford to go any more? Should they f*** off too? Anyone who genuinely can't afford to go, but would like to, deserves absolute sympathy. Theres no doubt that watching football, like most other things in England, is expensive in comparison to other countries. But it's like people allegedly not being able to afford food or fuel or other things, and the numbers of people living in supposed poverty in the UK - There is NO poverty in the UK. There are people who are not as well off as others - but to see real poverty you have to visit other parts of the planet. People who complain about not being able to heat their houses etc - and sure, rising energy costs affect everyone - should perhaps think about budgeting and even sacrificing some of the non essential luxuries which are almost taken for granted. For example a season ticket costs approx £500 - that is about a tenner a week - an individual can spend their money in whatever way they wish - but if there is a choice between supporting Newcastle by making the sacrifice of 3 or 4 pints a week, a couple of packets of tabs or a takeaway meal each week, then I know what any TRUE Newcastle fan would choose. If you want to support Newcastle fine, if you don't want to support Newcastle thats fine too, but I'm not sure the "can't afford to go" argument is a particularly valid one.

In fairness most of what he said at the time was absolutely spot on and unlike Beardsley and Gazza he did not actually want to leave the club.

Good riddance to anyone who feels they no longer "fancy" going to the match. Supporting Newcastle isn't a fashion or an alternative to the cinema it's a lifetime decision and commitment. If they feel that way they should Feck off and follow man U or Chelsea for a season or two before moving on to Real Madrid or another "trendy" club. They're like the mackems of old, who despite having some great fans, could swing between 20,000 and 40,000 attendances from season to season. Yes, the club have their part to play but Ashley and Keegan have already shown that things are changing and NUFC will be different from now on, I think they are far more deserving of support than the previous regimes who DID manage to fill the house week in week out.

Thing is despite last season overall being awful, we did play so much better at the end when the Keegan factor really kicked in and certain players started believing in themselves and wanting to play. Our front 3 looked great, Barton looked like an international and even the back 4 looked like a unit. I think we have to trust Keegan when he says we need a few quality players to add to an already decent squad and not panic cos we haven't (yet) been linked with every Johnny Foreigner who's had a half decent Euro 2008. Keegan has a good record of investing wisely in players and this board's philosophy and business acumen is completely different to the last, which is no bad thing. Trust those who are in charge, don't panic and look forward to a much more positive season than the last one.

Funny that Waddle the "mackem" actually wanted to stay at Newcastle and moved very reluctantly to Spurs while those good "Geordie" lads Beardsley and Gazza (great players none the less) couldn't wait to get away from Tyneside.

From Nufc.com Whatever some of you might think about some of his more recent performances for us, it's hard to deny the fact that he has been an absolute 100% model professional for us and one of the top goalkeepers in the premier league over the past 8 or so years. Glad he's staying, and I hope he'll rightfully retain his place between the sticks this season. In Shay we trust. Shay's a great guy, but roughly translated from pro-football soundbite and agent speak into real world the above means :- "At this stage in my career there's no chance of Arsenal or any other top club coming in for me and about the best I could do is Celtic so I'm staying at Newcastle where I earn a fortune and am really well looked after. In future I won't hold the club to ransom if I'm dropped - as they'd probably call my bluff this time - and while I'm on I'll say a few nice things about the fans to keep everything sweet"

Is he any relation to David Edgar, or for that matter was Fulham's Collins John related to Fulham's John Collins ? Is there a Shearer Alan out there anywhere ?

Have to say congratulations to Ian Bogie who has put together an excellent side who play great football. All eleven players did well last night but a mention for ex-Newcastle player Paul Brayson who still looked a class act and scored a goal which would have been a goal of the season contender if scored at a higher level. The crowd as well - about 700 - but I kid you not there was more atmosphere and noise than 50,000 make at St.James' most weeks. Absolutely incredible support and I would imagine they will easily double the gate for Saturday's final against Buxton. Hard job for Bogie may now be to keep his players feet on the ground as they haven't won anything yet despite beating Buxton 5-0 last week.

They play on a one off basis with the highest finishing team given home advantage. Gateshead V Eastwood is 3rd V 4th, the other tie being 2nd V 5th. If 2nd win they are at home, if 5th win Gateshead or Eastwood would be at home. Hope that's clear ?? This will be a hell of a game between 2 in form sides and a clash of a passing team against a slighly more direct physical team. For those who prefer their football "unsanitised" this will be a better bet than Manu V Barcelona. Shame the games clash as it will take a few off the gate as "armchair fans" take the comfortable option.

aye, he should have stayed out of that one He also did, as alleged earlier, completely stop playing for us when he was after a transfer to Liverpool. It was disgraceful behaviour for a professional and an insult to Newcastle United. I was there and witnessed it with my own eyes and have never forgiven him. His sucking up to Souness and Shearer and the devious role he played in assisting Bellamy's departure, merely compounded my distrust of him.

You sound like a bitter SMB.

Do Sports Direct sell magic carpets ?

haha Just been reading through their forum just now and its incredible the amount of bitterness, jealousy and pure hatred they have about us. Whats funny is that theres about 7 McShane threads on every page of their forum :lol: http://www.readytogo.net/smb/forumdisplay.php?f=86 aye. they don't get irony. they had a large thread on there about (and they have a point) mong NUFC fans waiting behind to goad them on their buses instead of going straight for a pint to celebrate without realising the delicious irony that the last time they won at home against us you had to hang around even to get a pint due to the licensing laws in 1980. And theres more...... I'm still sniggering at KK and predominatly the mags actually. Why? Because the delusional b'stds are an established prem team and could only beat us 2-0 with a weak team playing for us! They where poor as piss in the 2nd half and tactically very weak! A lucky 2 goals in the first does not make a good team , get a grip they are poor and in 2 years time will be doing a Derby County!! mackems.gif mackems.gif Was it really 1980 - jeez I was still a daft young lad then ! Instead of blaming everything on McShane they'd be better off having a look at the guy who bought him and the rest of the championship standard squad for ridiculously inflated prices. Keano theres only one Keano, Keano............................................. been thinking for a while keano might have got away with a bit because of who he is and he does give good interview (and he did well getting them up) but there play and his transfer record make you think next season will be make or break for him. I hope they give him a ten year contract and a huge transfer and salary budget. So does every Manu failure and "has been" I would imagine.

and possibly the best of all..... "The way I see it they are building foundations on quicksand - Owen has turned their season around almost single - handedly, so desperate is he to land a new contract....somewhere else We might still finish above them" mackems.gif mackems.gif mackems.gif

haha Just been reading through their forum just now and its incredible the amount of bitterness, jealousy and pure hatred they have about us. Whats funny is that theres about 7 McShane threads on every page of their forum :lol: http://www.readytogo.net/smb/forumdisplay.php?f=86 aye. they don't get irony. they had a large thread on there about (and they have a point) mong NUFC fans waiting behind to goad them on their buses instead of going straight for a pint to celebrate without realising the delicious irony that the last time they won at home against us you had to hang around even to get a pint due to the licensing laws in 1980. And theres more...... I'm still sniggering at KK and predominatly the mags actually. Why? Because the delusional b'stds are an established prem team and could only beat us 2-0 with a weak team playing for us! They where poor as piss in the 2nd half and tactically very weak! A lucky 2 goals in the first does not make a good team , get a grip they are poor and in 2 years time will be doing a Derby County!! mackems.gif mackems.gif Was it really 1980 - jeez I was still a daft young lad then ! Instead of blaming everything on McShane they'd be better off having a look at the guy who bought him and the rest of the championship standard squad for ridiculously inflated prices. Keano theres only one Keano, Keano.............................................

It's what he knows. He introduced the unedifying spectacle of mass player protests to try and influence officials on the pitch during his Manu days and it's no surprise he now has his charges doing the same.

Why the spiteful title This thread would get the response you seem to be looking for on the SMB. Why don't you go on there. Definitely SMB.

Great piece from the Chronicle. Meanwhile Sunderland’s efforts to make themselves feel at home at St James’s back-fired on them yesterday. When officials opened up on Sunday morning and went into the visiting dressing room, they found that all the United plaques had been covered by the red-and-white of Sunderland. And a United insider told me: “Perhaps Sunderland wanted to feel at home, but I don’t know why. They have not beaten us down at their place since 1980.”

Really, I'd never have known that. Bit touchy aren't we ?

Strange people them macums - got to say theres some canny lads amongst them and some loyal supporters - but there's a whole bunch of them whose jealousy of all things Newcastle is bordering on dangerous insanity. Last week they constantly bleated about things as diverse as our airport, the metro and how Northumbria police offer better protection to Newcastle fans at the SoS than they get at SJP. Well I have NEVER seen so many police at any sports venue as I saw ensuring the macums a safe entrance to SJP on Sunday. My God, one of them actually posted on their forum saying he hoped for a terrorist attack on Newcastle and got approving support from fellow posters. Sick or what ? The same website said it was unable to offer a match report for Sunday - why not tell it as it is - and instead offered another diatribe of vitriolic abuse for all things Newcastle. If it's any consolation to them most of us hate the pathetic charvas who wait outside of SJP to see them off as much as they do. The Newcastle slagging was rounded off by the poem below. Pathetic. For the waves crashing mercilessly and battering sea hardened walls For the mighty pit wheels, slowly turning, silhouetted against blackened skies For our brave fishermen, hauling their catch for all they’re worth to stay alive For our ships, spread across this world yet made with the hands of Wearside For years of hurt and suffering, of empty promises and hollow dreams For cries of anguish and pain and so many “nearly” teams For the red and white stripes adorned so proudly, it means so much more Our city, it’s heartbeat, our people, we will never be beaten…. for we are Sunderland KEEP THE FAITH FTM TAFKARLC (Paul) They'd probably be better off reporting on the state of their union and the manager's tactical ineptitude than a woefully out of date poem. Just a few points :- There are no pit wheels. There are no fish left. There are no ships made anymore they're all built in China and Korea. But the strangest line of all "we will never be beaten…. for we are Sunderland" Ahem !

I think its more that there was more quit in the Milburn Stand really, because there was alot of noice everywhere else. I think the whole idea was let the professional sing the verses and we all join in the chorus ( the oh me lads bit ) and that worked out best. Great video but like you say seems like the Platinum Club was more into having a last pint than getting out and singing, where I was everyone was singing. Maybe if it became a regular thing and we knew it was happening everyone would be out singing.

Only at the end of his managerial time when alcoholism and depression had set in. His legendary status at Forest meant they made big allowances for him at that time and he did have a couple of European Cups and Championships on his CV. He wasn't behaving like that a year into his managerial career, in fact around that time he was probably painting and doing odd jobs around Hartlepool's Victoria Ground after taking the day's training session, not behaving like some overpaid spoilt brat prima donna.

An article written by Eamon Dunphy the ex Irish international. Interesting. A couple of years back, I had Richard Sadlier as a guest on my TV3 chat show and I was very impressed by him. He had a very promising football career which was cut short by injury but Sadlier pulled himself together and he has made his mark in a number of fields since then. Sadlier has shown promise as a journalist and he did really well to get a scoop of an interview with Clive Clarke a couple of months back. That interview covered Clarke's heart problems and he also mentioned Roy Keane's style of management at Sunderland. Clarke alleged that Keane doesn't talk to players and that, instead, goes around booting chairs and throwing things. Reward Sadlier didn't sensationalise Clarke's comments and they were included towards the end of his interview. But Sadlier's reward was a phone call from Keane which shows the Corkman is a bully at heart. Keane hid behind a private number and then proceeded to abuse Sadlier - calling him a "spiteful c**t" before slamming the phone down. That is outrageous behaviour and shows Keane's hypocrisy. It is classic bully-boy tactics - able to dish it out but not able to take it. Keane has never been slow to hit out at various targets - including his Manchester United teammates - but he doesn't like a slice of his own medicine. All Sadlier did was report what Clarke had said yet his reward for doing his job was vulgar abuse from Keane. I really think he's lost the plot and this is further proof Keane isn't cut out for management. After all, he admitted in a recent interview that he didn't turn up at work until the Friday after Wigan beat Sunderland in the FA Cup. How can players have confidence in a manager who hides after a setback like that? The revelations of Keane's outburst at Sadlier come at the same time as reports of him looking for £200m to spend and targeting Ronaldinho. This shows the fantasy world he lives in. Going on the players he bought for the Black Cats, I wouldn't give him a budget of £200.

Keano theres only one Keano, Keano................................. Best manager Sundlund have ever had, brilliant tactician, great in the transfer market, I hope he keeps his job for years to come.