CaliMag

Shearer was carrying the team (above their potential) most of his time here and made Sutton look like a world beater at B'burn when in fact Sutton wasn't even good enough for the SPL. That is the major difference between the two.

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This is an internet forum so hyperbole and exagerration rule the day. I am disappointed, but I was more angry during the Gullit, Souness and Allardyce regimes than I am now at Pardew. I would guess I am not alone.

I think the more likely parallel would be Allesandro Pistone... and that is a worrying one.

That is a bit vague MW. That is essentially like saying: "I'll be around London and/or Manchester area, any suggestions?" There will be at least a dozen bars in the LA area showing the game and quite a few in San Diego. Try any brit/irish themed pub in your area. As for Vegas... I am not sure if that is televised in North America yet.

The current table would look less wierd if we switched places with Arsenal. 17th with one point and a -8 goal difference... faaaackin 'ell. I think it goes beyond the lack of leadership and resolve something else is wrong. It has to be some sort fo psychological thing. Ever since the 4-4 the whole team is waiting for the other shoe to drop in *every* game. The pressure is there on Arsene and its totally corrupted the players.

I agree. High levels of hubris going on. I can still see us sinking like a stone down the table.

Yes he did. He was playing back quite a lot at the start and then went back to a more traditional forward role. I was wondering if Pardew told him to push up to get him out of the way. He doesn't seem to have very good positional awareness in general. His runs have been pretty poor.

He's the biggest drama queen in english football, he loves the attention but he's learned from the best in his bent agent Willie McKay You have obviously never seen any of Adel Taarabt Oooh Behave! A little known fact, but QPR is just a simple abbreviation for the Screaming Queens, park rangers fc.

undeserved but the makems' inferiority complex wins the day yet again.

Yeah.... like England for example. We have been spoiled for so long with having 'keepers like Given and Harper that many don't realise how good we have it on the 'keeper front.

Why? Liverpool all the way for me. I am usually apathhtic towards Sunderland, but I am irrationally irked at Liverpool these days. Also I know some Liverpool supporters that are irritating.

I sincerely hope Sunderland win tomorrow. Best of luck to them.

Hyperbole aside. Shola is not as bad as people make out, but I would like to think that NUFC are better than the need to re-sign him. This new reality of lower expectations is difficult to accept.

Hmmm.... cancellation due to riots would fit nicely with our preseason from hell though. Fiorentina - Abandoned due to extreme weather, Arsenal - Cancelled due to rioting, makems away - cancelled/abandoned due to ... ?

My guess is by "being awkward" he means that Dekka and Ashley are trying to a large sum up front instead of the usual nonsense that agents have cooked up over the years. Such as: "2M every year for the next four years, unless relegated, with a 27.5% sell on clause and 5% image rights with 500K per 40 appearances, 1m per year contingent on UEFA Cup participation... etc"

I can't see anything but a loss for the first two games.

I'll wait until after the Fiorintina game before voting... But there better be some amazing signings in the next week and a strong performance against the Florentines to allay my fears. It's looking likley right now.

I can see that. Chelsea decides they need him afterall and throw in stupid money on the last day - plausible. If that happens we'll be lucky to get Derby Co's 13 points.

Finally Klinsmann. He'll do great. If that fails, Caleb Porter would be ideal.

http://www.womensprosoccer.com/~/media/Images/league/948x569/players/solo_hope/WPSSR0404091343.ashx?as=0&dmc=0&h=369&mh=369&mw=615&thn=0&w=615 Jennifer Carpenter ("Debbie Morgan" on Dexter) http://por-img.cimcontent.net/api/assets/bin-201001/f6fc1c1d3537c66489ebdaef387ba499.jpg Hope Solo

Morgan, Solo... The US has no business having better looking women on the pitch than France... and yet here we are.

I cannot believe how woeful Argentina have been... with those players at their disposal?

From the moment Pardew was hired there were quite a few quotes going around from "unnamed Newcastle sources" and even Llambias talking about how his contract would be based largely on incentives - (Keeping a positive balance sheet and winning). Here are a couple from the Torygraph back in Spetember http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/newcastle-united/8187624/Mike-Ashley-insists-he-will-pay-new-Newcastle-manager-by-results-as-Alan-Pardew-declares-interest.html : "There will be no £1.5 million signing-on fee and no compensation clauses in their contract. The bottom line is Mike wants value for money and, just as in his businesses, he expects to get it. "The new manager will not be handed a treasure trove of cash to spend and nor will he be handed a contract which means he can be rewarded for failure. He will be handsomely rewarded if he brings success to Newcastle United and will not be rewarded if he fails. "Mike wants an experienced manager at one of the biggest clubs in the land. But he wants a manager on his terms and those terms are simple: every penny has to be spent wisely and the club must continue to head in the right direction towards the top end of the Premier League." Ashley's stance reflects his determination to stop the club haemorrhaging money with centre-half Fabricio Coloccini's £85,000-per-week salary a constant reminder of the need to bring spending under control. The Newcastle hierarchy have no intention of throwing money around to attract a managerial big-hitter and the frugal nature of Ashley's regime who have been involved in a prolonged and unresolved dispute with his players over bonuses. Ashley strategy risks alienating would-be managerial candidates with his unconventional approach but he is sticking to his guns. "I think they have offered it to two or three people and said those are the terms and conditions and are you brave enough to take it on," the source added. "It will be run along the same lines Mike pays top executives at Sports Direct – a very good basic wage but big bonuses for results. It might be a lengthy contract but it would be a three or four-year deal buying into the vision. "I don't think any club in England would be run like this but this is a businessman running a football club as a business. Whether that is right or wrong only time will tell."

We know that Pardew's contract is largely based on the financial performance of the club. What we don't know for certain are the exact details of his contract. He is clearly willing to shield Ashley of blame from not spending money in the transfer window because he benefits from this financially. Did Pardew do the math in his head regarding Carroll's sale? Something along the lines of "I really don't want to sell him but since I get X% of any transfer positive balance at the end of the fiscal year I would earn X million." This is one of the things that worries me about the current set up. Buying cheap, selling high and making money has worked for Arsenal, but we're not Arsenal (no matter how many french players we sign) and Pardew is definately not Wenger. Also I doubt Wenger has the same type of contract that Pardew has. With Ashley and Llambias involved I would hazard a guess that Pardew's contract is a bit more cynical (naked greed). We just have to wait and see if this works.