Benwell Lad

Are we really that close? This summer Spurs spent £100m. Granted they sold Bale, but still. I think this highlights the problem with this whole debate TBH... footballl doesn't provide a defined return on investment. You could spend £20m and end up loads higher, or you could spend £50m and finish in the same position. In business terms, it's very hard to make the case in a concrete way IMO. I don't think that we're far away and reasonable sound investment could give us a squad that could compete for top 6 or 7. For the first time in ages we have a bench which includes realistic options and a couple of promising youngsters coming along nicely. Of course it depends on keeping key personnel, Remy is a must - a real class act - and Cabaye looks superb again and is probably our most vulnerable asset. Ashley must see how close we are and I hope his appetite can be wetted for good times and potential glory rather than a convenient marketing tool for his core business interests.

After a couple of decent performances apparently Ashley will be rubbing his hands at the prospect of players market values increasing because of course it's well known that he wants to flog all our best players. I really can't get my head around this notion as during his tenure we've been anything but a "selling club". If Ashley is to be criticised then surely it has to be based on his failed and strange appointments and lack of effective communication rather than our transfer dealings. We have brought more good players into the club than we have sold during his time and the whole transfer policy is a lot more astute than it ever was before.

Their home run against City is amazing, spooky almost in the similarity of the results and the manner in which they are achieved. Four times now, City make changes, rest players, murder them (was the corner count 0-14 yesterday? ) and get beat 1-0. Very lucky to get away with the foul before the goal mind and Larsson's tackle was a horrible, cowardly challenge.

He'll be sorely missed, gives us good balance in defence.

Superb again today. That slide rule pass for Remy was....... Cabayesque.

Empty seats ?

Just seen that they only had 15K gate against Southampton on Wednesday night, that's about 33,000 empty seats - is it a record for a game between two PL sides ? I know they regularly come top of the PL empty seats table so maybe they now have the individual game record too.

Well done the Heed. Pity they couldn't hang on for the win but hope they get a few thousand in for the replay.

Not really to do with the match day revenue debate, but surely it is good marketing sense to keep season ticket prices down in relation to individual match tickets. Sorry for that occasional attenders. In amongst the current vogue German football "love in" theres a lot of talk about cheap tickets. Sure German season ticket prices are comparatively low but when I've attended games one off I've found it expensive in comparison. 55 euros for an ordinary seat and a couple of times 140 euros albeit with booze and food thrown in. Makes sense to me.

Kriss Knights still banging on about 'drink and loud music' ffs. And letting us know (probably again as I haven't read a word of his for years now - until five minutes ago) he's been to S.America, yawn, but also got his picture taken next to some politica grafitti (how cool is he?). Not worth reading a word he says imo. Maybe not, but I thought these were a couple of gems from that article. "But we all know that if we fans arranged a meeting to discuss the width of the black and white stripes on our shirts, then six hours later, we would be wrestling each other, drunk and stubborn, in the car park. There would be carping, moaning, back biting and a separate committee set up with its own Facebook page within two days" "For what it’s worth I also feel desperately sorry for the journos who cover NUFC for the local rags; for years it was OK to knock out a , “Player A calls for the team to play well against Team X” piece of a Thursday without the writer being trolled savagely by one of the perpetually pugnacious bores who haunt the paper’s message boards"

Always makes me think of the saying "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel". In the case of the press it's normally "being on the side of the people".

Surprisingly, looks like Billy may be one of the 6%. http://billyfurious.com/

Turnover = Vanity. Profit = Sanity. Never truer than in that strangely slanted article. That said a PL team and a stadium like SJP is a very good fit with his core business interests at present.

I've seen both games previous to the Chelsea game exactly like that, hence when we eventually got a win it wasn't a huge surprise to me as i think we've played decent football since the second half of Everton. Against Sunderland we kept the ball but just created nothing, and neither did they but at least we weren't camped in our own half for large periods. Against Man City thought we played better again, actually created chances, just never took them then once again got punished for it. Then against Chelsea created the chances and slotted them away when they came, duly deserved. Was no shock horror even if we all might have expected us to play well but concede once again, this time it all came together. Hope we can give another good account of oursleves against a talented Spurs side, no reason why we can't go there and come back with a decent result. It's the last of our tough fixture period in which many thought might see the end of Pardew but a good performance at Spurs and we've came out relativley well. I'd agree with that regarding the way we've played since the first half at Everton, but the Sunderland game scared me in a sense of - if you can't see off a team as bad as that then you have problems. I don't understand why I have a slightly optimistic feeling about Sunday coming as it's just the type of fixture we've capitulated in far too often recently.

I friggin hope so because he's a class act. At least for now we can draw some consolation from the fact that we won't lose our best forward in the January window as has happened in recent seasons.

It often happens after a bad pass or mis-control which loses possession. Cattermole had just played a shocker and in his desire to rectify it totally loses control of the situation. Idiotic behaviour and deserved red which probably ended any chance they had of getting something from the game. Gus defended it. Ahemm.

Interesting stuff from the nufc.com match report. This is surely the type of sane, mature reasoning we need to move forward under the present ownership. At present fan protest seems to be along the lines of trying to impress the owner by waving hankies or newspapers at him both of which were laughable and became embarrassing failures. We need people who are capable of entering into a grown up, business like dialogue rather than organisations who turn every utterance or action into a negative, in an attempt to score points for their crusade, and end up merely antagonising an already polarised situation. Some of our so called representatives are in reality as representative of Newcastle supporters as the BNP is of the British people. The Magpie Group, although a different situation at a different time, showed what could be achieved with a hard headed, pragmatic, determined approach rather than a seemingly hysterical one. Perhaps a starting point right now could be the banging together of a few stubborn heads. The result and second half display restored some much-needed credibility to squad and manager, as a pre-game mood that was more one of disappointment and disenfranchisement that demonstration was swept away, fans finding both feet and voices to unite in praise rather than protest. And that in a nutshell encapsulates the simultaneous joy and curse of this club - it's all about the game here, for better or worse. Whatever the romantic/utopian ideals of some (including ourselves) supporters support the team, not meetings, protests or boycotts. They don't want to own NUFC. Simmering discontent among some sections of the fanbase with our current situation seems to have been triggered by the return of Joe Kinnear, setting the clocks back to 2008 in some households. Actions such as that enrage many and energise some, but forcing issues like the identity of club personnel, the shirt sponsor or the status of various press box occupants is ultimately divisive and destructive. People who struggle with the concept of pensions and savings are being tasked with understanding the whys and wherefores of corporate finance. It's not meant to be complicated. Days like this surely just emphasise the aching sense of underachievement and the true potential that remains unrealised. The fervour evident in the closing moments is a hint of what still lies there - even with a split fanbase. That's one where some are content with the status quo, but others demoralised, some to the point of outright conflict or watching from afar as a personal protest. A change of policy - not necessarily a change of personnel - seems to be the real world scenario in the absence of a willing new owner - and given the madness that has unfolded at Hull, Leeds, Cardiff, Birmingham, Portsmouth and Blackburn that in itself is fraught with pitfalls. People are waiting to support the club - their club - and Pardew's line about not being able to spend £100m entirely misses the point. Previous attempts to compete with the big lads in transfers and wages played their part in the comparative age of austerity we know live in and left us where we are now, beholden to a sandshoe salesman deemed a fit and proper person by his predecessors. Sane folks need do no more than refer to the manager's own summer wants list, namely a free transfer centre half and something in the way of striking cover with a physical presence. Surely making adequate preparations for the task ahead is a common-sense policy, especially when the previous two seasons have borne witness to a similar failure to act? Appointing a competent MD might help, someone who can convincingly convey the club's message publicly and provide some motivation and leadership off the pitch. Today's match programme contained lesson #2 of the JFK guide to football finance, where he explained Financial Fair Play - although in reality he probably thinks that's letting a bank manager beat him over 18 holes.... By the next time we assemble here, Remy's charge of alleged rape will have come before the courts and his fellow countrymen will know whether to start planning for a trip to Brazil next summer. Both of those situations could have a profound influence on the outcome of this season - the quest to collect as many points as possible as quickly as possible remains paramount. There's one thing that people can agree on at least, even if the jury remains out whether today was a rebirth or a grand example of papering over the cracks. This isn't meant to be an open letter to the owner, but if it was the message would be simple. Realise your own potential at your own club, stop creating conflict and confusion and picking fights with your own customers. Opinion is divided over whether you're a fan or a businessman, but it seems to be neither on current evidence.

Modern bloody parenting. Should make him walk Bimpy.

Kept one too, sentimental reasons 'n that and one particular report therein. Might be worth the price of a pint or two in a hundred years time

Great one, I used to love it. Especially when it didn't have the final score in! Good one that. An alternative was crowding round the window of the electrical shop on Blackett St to see the final scores on the tele's. Aye, something the mackems outdid us in by keeping their Football Echo or whatever it was called. NCJ wankers :-)

Indeed. In addition to that you can say the same of, with minimal exceptions, every football autobiography and every footballer's newspaper column that has ever been written. But hey, just like X-Factor and Big Brother stories, the public just can't get enough of them.

Although most likely not written by him, his programme column had quite an interesting piece on FFP on Saturday, stuff I certainly didn't know anyway. It will be a huge step forward for football if it is effectively implemented and policed.

They're bound to be a bit miffed about the total non event that was Saturday's paper waving protest. At least the hanky thing had two people waving before kick off.

Pardew comes out before the game, tells Mourinho what our game plan is, dares him to do something about it and still wins the tactical battle. I was as delighted as anyone with the win, but as I alluded to in another pre-match post: setting up like that at home will never be for me and shows why I'll never be able to back a manager like Pardew. Ruined by Keegan and Robson, I suppose. To me it's actually as high risk to be so ultra-defensive from the outset as it is to play our normal game, but I can't deny that it seems to suit Pardew's management style more. It's the best chance we have of coming away from these games with a result. Wouldn't say we were ultra-defensive either. Unless we get some nutjob like Bielsa in, the approach against the likes of Chelsea isn't going to vary much. Keegan and Robson benefited from having teams with nearly as much quality as the best in the league. I'd agree, we weren't ultra defensive they were just much better at that time and were pushing us back. While Keegan's attacking style was of course legendary, Bobby could set a team up for a 0-0 or a 1-0 when he needed to.

They were horrible throughout the game. Amazing passing? They couldn't string a sequence of more than four passes together man. They were very good first half and showed excellent control considering the weather. Did you watch it live ?