Rich

I think you meant to say "look forward to attractive, front-foot football."

Yes, because it would be absolute proof that miracles do indeed exist.

Time to move my source of optimism on to a good summer of transfer activity

I think modern fullbacks are increasingly expected to contribute in the final third, given how tightly the play gets squeezed in other positions. In the current climate they are usually the biggest outlets, even for the best teams. Simpson embodies the type of player we should be looking to improve on.

Hans, you're such a fucking geezer.

Should we reset the poll with a more "realistic" set of choices by the way? Although I think it's a forlorn hope now.

Definitely working, found my favourite post of 2012 straight away.

Would you believe me if I called it extreme sarcasm? I just wanted an excuse to check the search function was still working alright. Sorry bro

These last few pages have put me off posting. It's that bad. Every cloud.

Of course he knows man

http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Jonathan+Walters+Newcastle+United+v+Stoke+lneH22Sk5CWl.jpg Quite.

I'm sure this was said yesterday, but I'm not sure Tiote has ever been invisible. He's never hidden in any game I've seen. His problem is despite being solid for most of the game he makes errors that cost us dear. Certainly moreso this season. He's one of the internationals at the club being played where he is most comfortable though. There is an argument that Perch has had a better season when played, so he should play. If he made that selection choice though, the amount of grief given to Pardew on here would be unreal. Guaranteed. What's that based on? I'm still a fan of Tiote but his reputation on here has nosedived massively over the last 18 months. It's bullshit, there's been loads of calls for Perch to get that spot. HF hasn't been here much to see them though, in fairness. In fact he's only made 190 posts this season, a mere 2.4% of his total since 2006. Further still, 133 of those have been since Monday. That's 70% of his 2012/13 contribution. Not good enough, leaving his effort for when we're already guaranteed safety. /stats

We haven't conceded 4 in a game when Tiote has played this season, unless you count Liverpool where it was 4-0 by the time he went off

Even more interestingly, Tiote's only ever error leading directly to a goal was in his first season when people thought he was playing his best football for us. /shockingstatsshockingtheworld

Interestingly, Tiote hasn't made a single error this season that has led directly to a goal.

There's not much of a level of confirmation there at all, though, given the relative absence of any context. True, what else can we add to it? What do you reckon would qualify as "context" for a stat like that?

There's not much of a level of confirmation there at all, though, given the relative absence of any context.

Reid just signed a new contract too. God awful article as usual He's a fantastic RB though.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-not-spend-fortune-3815983

That's generally what you do with stats, you know, analyze them My eyes have shown me enough to tell me that our attacking play is poor, but numbers do prove that we create at least as many chances as most other teams. It's just that creating chances doesn't fully correlate with good attacking play. Stats are fine as long as you accept that there are limitations on their analytical value. You don't need to be pigeonholed into thinking they're either omnipotent or completely worthless. Certainly don't agree with some sports fans treating them like they're the devil. Nah, stats - particularly arbitrary bollocks like chances created - are indeed completely worthless. One's own eyes will suffice. You still support Pardew, don't you?

Me, on that occasion To be fair I just thought that as stats were being used to back up certain arguments that we might as well have the most relevant ones possible.