Benwell Lad

It's much worse than that mate. Communist Eastern Europe had well educated and healthy people.

I really can't believe just how good this fella is. Love watching him play and the fact that he wears our shirt.

Starting to look like the player most of us knew he could be when we signed him. A season of that level of performance, on a consistent basis, could be very good for us.

That Johnson dive for the penalty man wtf - it was worse than Ashley Young's effort. Can't see what they're bitching about regarding Altidire. Ref has to call it and once he whistles you can't then have a retrospective advantage given. Anyway the tussle looked 50/50 and free kick could easily have gone the other way.

Has to become an "automatic" starter. Does everything Tiote does in the role, but better, and doesn't look like giving the ball away or conceding stupid free kicks. Actually think his prescence could make Tiote a better player and a good back up.

Have we ever beaten them in the PL ?

I smell yankum.

Di Canio is taking the piss out of them. Everything seems to be about him. Like some narcissistic prima donna in a third rate stage production.

If the £1.8m loan fee that Redknapp made public was actually the truth, then you'd imagine the buyout fee is £5m should the mooted £6.8m release clause also exist in reality. Too logical? Definitely too positive. It was widely reported at the time, with some insisting the same since, that we have an agreed fee. I just cannot see us dropping near £2m on a loan signing, without that going towards a future fee. We'll sign him once his case is done, I reckon. If the £1.8m loan fee that Redknapp made public was actually the truth, then you'd imagine the buyout fee is £5m should the mooted £6.8m release clause also exist in reality. Too logical? Definitely too positive. It was widely reported at the time, with some insisting the same since, that we have an agreed fee. I just cannot see us dropping near £2m on a loan signing, without that going towards a future fee. We'll sign him once his case is done, I reckon. ...... like a new signing etc etc......

http://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/moments-that-leave-you-a-bitter-person.810199/ Being born a mackem ?

Can we officially laugh at them again or are we still just in the smug smile zone ?

they have the biggest bin?

Can you imagine any man making that statement and then caring about the fans wishes or how their club does? Then: Its not a massive mystery is it. Aye, but the tight bastard should still be spending more money on players for us to enjoy even though he's not welcome to watch it.

We've looked fairly shit so far it has to be said. That said I'm not going to judge after 3 games Totally agree. Wouldn't have been worth mentioning if it hadn't come from someone who is normally so defiant. As things stand I think the quality of your squad looks very poor for this league, that said one or two might surprise us. Much will depend on how the nutter and the players get along, but I really think he'd be doing himself a big favour if he keeps his thoughts on his players inside the dressing room rather than spouting gibberish into any microphone put in front of him.

Was talking to a macum who is pretty diehard, one of those who never concedes anything and seems to display blind faith to every manager and chairman no matter what. Was very surprised to hear him say they are definitely going down this season, that's based on him seeing the Southampton away and MK league cup game. Ridiculously early to be making such predictions but coming from him tells me they must be really bad.

Those two, same back 5 as Fulham, Anita, HBA, Cissoko, Remy and Cisse up front, would give us a better XI than them imo. In fact it's a very decent side and for parts of the Fulham game they looked very good.

Did Shearer actually say something else which is not quoted ? Nothing in his quotation sounds remotely like what the headline claims. Perhaps they just put his name to the headline to give it extra clout ?? I wonder if this means that the couple of dozen other ex-players present preferred to keep their own counsel, or can we look forward to more of these revealing exclusives ?

I seem to remember you being a big fan of protests against the NUFC board in the past. Thanks for the characteristically cheap shot. No answer to my honest question, however. There have been protests. Did you think they did any good? How's it a cheap shot? For people who are unhappy with the direction and stewardship of the club there's little alternative other than to shut up and meekly accept it. Something you weren't prepared to do under the previous regime. Strange. Still going for the man and not for the ball. I'll rephrase my question yet again, in the probably vain hope of actually getting an answer: If you think any of the protests against Ashley have had a positive effect, please tell me what it was. A protest in our case will make little or no difference to MA's personal conscience, he does effectively hold all the cards with regards to NUFC however that does not mean to say that the/a protest was or would be unsuccessful. What we as fans need to do is to highlight the mismanagement of NUFC and promote our worries and views to the national media, this is where our protests come in to play we need to use them as a vehicle to carry our sorry clubs demise into the national and international view because this is the only way that we will rid ourselves of MA. The knowledge of our demise is out there we just need to promote it and bring it even further into the public light. With this we can give MA a motivation to sell NUFC, he is not going to want bad headlines which could effect his FTSE 100 baby, at the moment he is cozy in bed with NUFC his business uses it as a vehicle to grow profits and he has the benefit of being able to draw money from the club as he pleases. IMO Protests need to be used to highlight our issues and ultimately put us in the shop window for a new owner. We can force MA out but chants of "sack the board" and FCB aren't going to do it. Good post, and some good ideas. A protest campaign needs to be intelligent and well presented. While there might be good reason to be annoyed at Ashley's running of the club, we need an alternative owner on the horizon before we start getting militant otherwise all it will achieve is him taking his money out of the club sooner rather than later. Isn't the line "our sorry clubs demise into the national and international view " slightly delusional ? Why would anyone else be particularly interested in our ownership ? Most fans in football bitch about their owners to a greater or lesser extent, and bearing in mind our current players, position and readiness for FFP etc, I doubt many fans in Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Blackburn, Bolton, Bristol, Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Glasgow, or anywhere else for that matter, will be too concerned about Newcastle fans' latest grievances.

I seem to remember you being a big fan of protests against the NUFC board in the past. Thanks for the characteristically cheap shot. No answer to my honest question, however. There have been protests. Did you think they did any good? How's it a cheap shot? For people who are unhappy with the direction and stewardship of the club there's little alternative other than to shut up and meekly accept it. Something you weren't prepared to do under the previous regime. Strange. Still going for the man and not for the ball. I'll rephrase my question yet again, in the probably vain hope of actually getting an answer: If you think any of the protests against Ashley have had a positive effect, please tell me what it was. A protest in our case will make little or no difference to MA's personal conscience, he does effectively hold all the cards with regards to NUFC however that does not mean to say that the/a protest was or would be unsuccessful. What we as fans need to do is to highlight the mismanagement of NUFC and promote our worries and views to the national media, this is where our protests come in to play we need to use them as a vehicle to carry our sorry clubs demise into the national and international view because this is the only way that we will rid ourselves of MA. The knowledge of our demise is out there we just need to promote it and bring it even further into the public light. With this we can give MA a motivation to sell NUFC, he is not going to want bad headlines which could effect his FTSE 100 baby, at the moment he is cozy in bed with NUFC his business uses it as a vehicle to grow profits and he has the benefit of being able to draw money from the club as he pleases. IMO Protests need to be used to highlight our issues and ultimately put us in the shop window for a new owner. We can force MA out but chants of "sack the board" and FCB aren't going to do it. Football club ownership is a very flawed thing nowadays and whether it's an oligarch, a US hedge fund operator, a "sovereign state", or local boy made good like Steve Gibson, it leaves itself open to criticism and fans are seldom totally happy. As a veteran of several Newcastle "anti board" campaigns over decades I don't think we can "force MA out". His position is very different and when he goes it will be pretty much on his terms.

I seem to remember you being a big fan of protests against the NUFC board in the past. Thanks for the characteristically cheap shot. No answer to my honest question, however. There have been protests. Did you think they did any good? How's it a cheap shot? For people who are unhappy with the direction and stewardship of the club there's little alternative other than to shut up and meekly accept it. Something you weren't prepared to do under the previous regime. Strange. Still going for the man and not for the ball. I'll rephrase my question yet again, in the probably vain hope of actually getting an answer: If you think any of the protests against Ashley have had a positive effect, please tell me what it was. Acknowledging he was out of his depth and openly putting the club up for sale. Why is your opinion on protests against such an unpopular NUFC tenure diametrically opposed to your opinion when Shepherd was here? Both the personalities and the circumstances have changed. Football has changed, the economy has changed, and Ashley is not Shepherd. Shepherd was vulnerable to being hit in the pocket -- given the tying of loans to season ticket sales, for example, fan unrest had the potential of totally hobbling his already unsteady cash cow and a few chants of "sack the board" would have the effect of getting him to scurry out and blow some more borrowed money on Michael Owen or some such. Now there isn't even a board, and Ashley is too rich to be vulnerable in the same way. Such protests as there have been seem to have had no effect but to make Ashley give up trying to enjoy his ownership of the club, and he's clearly not interested in acquiescing to the wishes of a bunch of people who think he's a "fat cockney rapist". In short, just because one thinks protest is a good idea in one set of circumstances, it doesn't follow that one should think it's always a good idea in any circumstances. Can't believe I'm having to point out something so blindingly obvious, like. Ashley is being asked by some to "engage with fans" but in fairness he tried that in the beginning, both in a formal and informal manner, perhaps even trying too hard some may say, but a section of supporters and self-appointed spokespeople made it very clear they didn't approve and wanted him out. Ashley losing interest in enjoying matches coupled with no realistic buyers is not a good place to be. We either need an interested Ashley or positive new ownership to start moving forward again. Great players, great stadium, great city, massive support. It's all just waiting for someone to make it happen.

I don't know what form any protest should take, but obviously people are angry and feel they need to do something. IMO a boycott of the cup game would only scratch the surface financially, and we all know we won't stay away should we somehow reach the interesting stages, quarter finals onwards, and there'll be nearer a full house than in the Leeds game. Suggesting a boycoutt against a club like Leeds, who will bring 6,000 fans with them and would love to be in the position we are in, is pretty embarrassing really.

The absolute bastards advertise cars as well. Don't they know how many people are KILLED on our roads every day by these MACHINES OF DEATH? You probably know where I was coming from, particularly the Sky adverts. They love having a moan when Sky decides we should kick off at some stupid time.

Very well put.

Surely any campaign to remove Ashley would get more support if, for once, they could come up with a coherent plan of what is supposed to happen in the unlikely event that they succeed. Or, perhaps they live in some fantastical world where they think calling him a few names will make him hand over a 200 million pound asset.

There was an attempted boycoutt when we played Leeds first game of the season many years ago, won 5-2 and Micky Quinn scored 4. Seems we love a boycoutt round here. Maybe we've now come full circle.