Benwell Lad

Still the PL's most effective player. The one who's presence will have a positive effect on his team's performance more than any other. Hence the absurd salary.

Yeah. All the shit ones. On Wednesday their two penalties were scored by on loan players while three were missed by their own players. Their only two efforts worthy of mention during the 90 minutes were also by loan players. It seems ever since Welbeck and Evans were playing there that season after season their best players have been on loan from other clubs. How can they expect to make progress when every year their key players have to be handed back to the clubs who own them ?

Aye, good point. They got through by being marginally less crap than the opposition.

Having a cup run is good fun and I love midweek matches so I envy them that, but I really don't give a flying fuck whether they win the Capital One cup or not. They've done nothing with style and just scraped along by default taking advantage of other club's shortcomings. The clubs who've featured in the final recently show that it's not something most clubs take seriously any more. That said, I did want them to get beaten last night for the very reason you mention. It was obvious that their bitterness about all things Newcastle would take precedent over any sense of achievement they may have felt.

Haven't read much of this but must say the thread title is absolutely accurate. That side they had out last night looked like a bottom six outfit not reigning champions.

They're this season's Bradford City. Filling coach loads of hairdressers and grannies for the big away cup ties but playing to a half empty stadium at home.

They've made the Capital 1 cup final - good luck to them but they are still a woeful side. They've had home draws all the way against either lower league sides or teams who weren't really taking it seriously, and lets face it although they're gloating now even their fans haven't taken it seriously thus far,with a mere 20 odd thousand turning out for the home semi final. They might be frothing at the mouth now but only a few days ago they were once again deserting in droves when Southampton went 2-0 up. Strange people. Some say they were good last night, but they lost over 90 minutes, lost over 120 minutes, had zero shots on target over 90 and finally mustered a virtual back pass on target after 118 minutes which the keeper threw into his own net. This against the worst Man Utd side anyone can remember and then they managed to miss 3 out of 5 penalties and still qualify! How can that be deemed a good performance? Anyway they're through and now join such giants as Swansea, Bradford, Cardiff (2nd division version) and Birmingham who've been there in the last couple of seasons. Sadly it's a competition which seems to have become "one too many" for most teams nowadays and for that reason and with the luck and decisions they've had so far they'll probably go on and win it.

Pooyet bigging up the Sunderland support going to Manchester tomorrow on the news this evening. Gus man, all little clubs take lots of fans away for cup ties against big clubs. It's a tradition. Many rustle up twice their home attendances for the big day out. Decent support would have meant more than 20 odd thousand bothering to turn out for the home tie and prevented the embarrassment of playing a semi final in a half empty stadium.

Macums look upon themselves as "victims" nowadays. They have to be treat like a sensitive minority, so the press and authorities go softly-softly on them.

= modern day Sunderland supporter. (attendance optional)

Did you see the mess Brown and o'shea were at the weekend? That tackle of Brown's looked bad live, but seeing the replay it was an absolute shocker. No wonder the Southampton player ended up on a stretcher.

Yeah. All the shit ones.

Seems like quite a few macums have finally realised that Cabaye is a very good player after all.......

It's au revoir in my opinion. At the beginning of the month I browsed a bookie site which was offering odds on January transfers - player and buying club. Even some of the most talked about ones were in the range of 5 to 8/1. Cabaye to PSG was a quite staggering 4/6 which would indicate a large amount of probably well informed wedge had already been placed. Whatever people say about Ashley he tends not to fail in his objectives, he takes hits along the way and often goes for a bumpy ride but he sticks to his core plans and this fits perfectly with his sell high outlook. If it is consolation, as things stand at present, I agree with earlier post that this will open the door for HBA to become the main man. Cabaye's roll has been increasingly free in front of a very solid midfield four, there was no way Pardew was having two "free" players and HBA suffered. HBA given the same role in front of that four will be different, probably more exciting and hopefully as effective. Anyway we'll see. As we all well know anything can happen round here in January.

A good read.

I found everything about the second half really predictable yesterday and although it's a hallmark of Pardew's time here I don't really blame him for it. It's the way football works, even when there is a gulf in class you cannot dominate a game away from home for 90 minutes. City, Arsenal and Chelsea can't do it to us and we can't do it to West Ham or Palace. Our substitutions were predictable, I reckon I could have guessed the Shola and Ben Arfa ones to within 5 minutes but Dummet would have got me I must admit. The dynamic of the game was bound to change with the timing of the West Ham goal and the introduction of Carroll. For that blame Taylor and Krul who were very poor for the goal and raised West Hams confidence and belief when they had looked a truly beaten side for 45 minutes. If Pardew is going to be criticised (and boy he gets it by the shed load) then he must get some praise as well. For long periods yesterday our football was sublime, all pass and move, and he has an away record this season and particularly in London which would be the envy of many managers before him.

That really is vile behaviour. Abusive and sickening. In fairness to Di Canio, in a broader sense he had identified behaviour problems amongst senior players (though nowhere near as bad as that) and wanted to change things radically. We know who won that one don't we and almost a season later it's essentially the same old bunch of pros making up the core of their piss poor team.

Have they introduced a rule whereby the thousands of free ticket fans have to dress up as pink seats to avoid any unwanted questions from the taxman ? They've long been top of the PL empty seats league but the pink seats look like they outnumber the occupied ones nowadays.

When we played them I thought they were as bad as anything I'd seen in the PL - and yet they beat us. Today was the first time I've watched them over 90 minutes since. Can't believe how bad they are, a truly woeful side unable to pass the ball and totally lacking any flair or quality.

aye, until Carroll scores..........

Exactly man. I remember after a defeat at Charlton in the 00-01 season, even Sir Bobby getting a bit of stick for taking the squad to Portugal (I think?) when there was an FA Cup weekend and him having to defend it. I doubt there will ever be another statement of any type from the club that will not be met with the same old predictable, cynical moaning which has become the trademark of so many supporters and the usual mouthpieces nowadays. We are becoming the biggest whingers in football. Get the fuckers running up and down the beach at Tynemouth in the cold easterly wind like they did in the old days. That'll teach them not to get beaten again.

Aye, it'll be back to thousands of freebies being bandied around to try and pad the stadium out after barely 20,000 bothered turning out for the semi final against Man U. Best fans in the land marra, not like them plastic 1992ers who never attend matches. FTM.

Could have bought Giggs in his prime for that

Our pisspoor ITV regional news programme, which nowadays carries about 5 minutes of local news and is then padded out with generic nonsense, was just as bad last night. Hardly surprising when their sports presenter was seen joyously celebrating Sunderland's derby win a few seasons back. Their thinly veiled pro Sunderland agenda (and consequently as anti-Newcastle as they can feasibly be) had them bigging up our neighbours for no longer being clear bottom last night, and of course celebrated the greatest hat trick in living memory, conveniently omitting any lead up to the goals which would have exposed clear diving. The Newcastle report then focused mainly on Pardew's rant with the disallowed goal and that tackle getting roughly equal coverage thereafter.

An author who is driven to expose ageism from afar will no doubt have spent a life crusading against the bigotry which exists in football in his own backyard, I assume ?? Or does he just pander to local readers rather than confront them ?