Rich

Oh dear. http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/index.php?topic=53474.0

Not sure but it was reported yesterday that he hasnt been paid whilst inside so probably not.

It's fucking laborious though. We all know exactly what UV and NE5 have to say on the matter, we all know OzzieMandas will come and set it all off or keep it going with inflammatory one-liners, we all know the likes of yourself and others will argue against the old board... it's been done so many times we know exactly what the craic will be every single time. Apologies to the other usual suspects I haven't named, but the same goes for you too (although I appreciate that a lot of you have stopped the shite recently). We know where everyone stands on this, we know none of you will change your minds, that's why it's such a waste of time. How about focusing on the future, rather than the past?

One of the rags was saying he isn't getting paid while in prison, whether that's true or not is anyone's guess. Surely if a bloke is locked up then he shouldn't be getting any moolah, though.

Good on FM, has short, dark hair, is fairly tall, young. That's about as far reaching as my knowledge is of Digard, will be interesting to see how he does for them. Could it be another that FM gets right?

Stephen Spence, surely?

I hope that quote in the first paragraph wasn't meant to be my quote, I don't remember saying "We can't buy a first-team centre-half because the whole midfield will be different." As for Butt, if he's playing and wins the ball, he'll then have to find one of our players and that's where he falls down far too often and I expect it will get worse with every season. Paraphrasing. Too many daft arguments with NE5 have got you quote-paranoid, man. "I think we need an entire midfield who will need time to settle and work together, putting a defence beind that who have not worked together could cause us problems." I've been as big a critic about Butt's passing as anyone on here, but it did show a marked improvement when he had options during the spell where Keegan got them playing again, I see no reason why that shouldn't continue. It's the dinked balls over the top to the opposition goalkeeper that kill me, but hopefully we'll see less and less of those if there's more movement/options for him in other areas of the park.

That was the goal that made it 2-3, wasn't it?

I'm colour defficient, but even I can see that it's not "very similar"!

I can't disagree with that either except to say that Butt being one of the first names on the teamsheet doesn't fill me with confidence at all. His distribution is shocking at times, no point winning the ball if we're giving it straight back. He did that far too often and I can only see the problem becoming worse, a bit like when Rob Lee was getting on and doing the same. He might do better if he's got better players around him although I can't see that happening as you can just as easily find a bad player in space as you can find a good player in space. I am saying what I would like to see happen, we all do that. Aye, but you can't argue against my point with a completely fabricated one based on the fact you want to see the whole midfield changed! That's bad cricket! "We can't buy a first-team centre-half because the whole midfield will be different." I've never been a fan of Butt, although he's won me over more and more with his performances over the past couple of seasons (that winning goal down at "The Lane" helped tremendously), he's the one midfielder I wouldn't mind keeping his place, at least for next season. When he hasn't had the added burden of trying to "playmake" and do all of the stuff a defensive midfielder is supposed to do (because he was playing in a team of shite/who was bereft of confidence) he's looked very, very capable at his job. If I had my way I'd still try and replace him, although I think KK will want to keep him in there (along with Owen and Faye) to give the team a solid spine of experienced players.

I'd love to have a player as good as Woodgate was when here and fit but I don't think it's a priority. Once Keegan got the players believing in themselves we were OK. Most of the teams we played towards the end of the season were beatable but we showed against Spurs that when we are attacking teams our defenders can defend. We also showed that we could defend in the first half against Chelsea. We slackened off in the last game and a half when we seemed to go on holiday early but I don't think we would have done that if something was at stake. I think we need an entire midfield who will need time to settle and work together, putting a defence beind that who have not worked together could cause us problems. Can't disagree with much there, but I will just say that I'm only advocating one change in the backline. You never know, one of Taylor/Faye might be injured in the pre-season, so it might not even be an issue. Neither of them are exactly bulletproof for central defenders. We still need an experienced leader in the defence, ideally a British/Irish one who's been around the league a long time, and even if that doesn't happen, we still need to sign more defenders as we only have six on the books now. EDIT: Also, if we start next season with an "entire midfield" I'd be completely shocked. I'm fairly certain if Butt stays fit then he's one of the first names on the teamsheet, even at his age. That part of your argument is hypothetical based on what you'd like to see.

A trophy, man! Think about it! Actually winning a final at Wembley! The League Cup, though? I know we're not really in any position to be snobby, but howay man. You just know with NUFC when we do eventually break the duck it will be in some style. If we're in the CL it means we've finished top four, that's the bigger/more important achievement these days unfortunately.

Has to be the Champions' League these days.

Again, that depends on how much protection they are given. Not entirely sure about that, it's an easy get-out if you ask me. There will always be situations where the partnership has to stand up on its own and deal directly with threats. Obviously the rest of the team can help out massively, but it doesn't completely relieve the burden on the two centre-halves, they still need to be good enough individually and as a partnership in order to deal with the threat. See the difference between Woodgate playing and not playing back when the rest of the team was actually good, even just one top-class centre-half can be the difference between being also-rans and the genuine article. Neither Faye or Taylor are fit to lace Woodgate's boots, playing wise. I suppose we'll see, but I would hope Keegan also realises the need for a quality centre-half this summer.

Taylor and Faye will be OK if we have the right players in front of them. Hopefully, but if one gets injured (particular Big Faye) then the prospect of Taylor/Edgar or Taylor/Cacapa fills me with dread.

We don't need defenders who need to come in and play all season, I would have no problem bringing in kids for the odd game to cover injuries and suspensions. Again, I never said we did, bar in the centre-half area, but I'm not sure I'd be chuffed having "kids" that close to the 1st team, unless they were really, really special. Can't help but feel that people are setting their sights a bit low, to be honest, when there's Keegan back and a billionaire at the helm. Even in Keegan's last reign we had Watson/Barton, Beresford/Elliott, Howey/Peacock/Albert - and that was when squads weren't as big as they are now.

what do you think when brown plays right back or o'shea on the left ? they arent good players there. i agree we do need defensive cover but not in the chelsea style of 2 starters in each position I never claimed we did need 2 starters. I said we need a centre-half to challenge Taylor/Faye for a starting place, because I don't think that partnership is up to much and that we need cover for fullbacks. As far as Brown goes, I think he was very, very solid for them this season. O'Shea didn't play much, but he's certainly good enough cover even at a club that size. I'm not one of those who thinks Brown/O'Shea aren't up to much, both very decent players. 3 players would be ideal, but 2 would suffice.

Aye Madras, they use them, but they've also got Silvestre sitting on the bench and Pique was there an' all. 8 first team defenders all-in-all. The fact our "versatile" cover is Edgar and the fact that Taylor "can" play RB while Beye "can" play CB isn't exactly brilliant. We need 2 defenders at the very least.

Will they not just credit our existing cards with next seasons 19 games? I thought that was the whole point of them. Aye, but there'll still be a lot of people moving about and stuff now due to all of this, which will result in a lot of new cards being divvied out.

Just read mine: why do students get discount in all the bar areas, the new singing section and the family area, but not in regular seating!? Seems very bizarre to me. For example, I can move up to the "Leazes Corner" and pay £330 instead of £429 for a saving of 23%! If I move up there from the Gallowgate, and get student prices, I could save £213! Madness, surely? Around 15-20% off in all areas, except the regular seating (Gallowgate, Leazes, East Stand, Paddocks)...

No matter what formation we play, we need a centre-half. Either one who can walk straight into the team or someone at least capable of challenging Faye and Taylor for a starting role, preferrably the former (obviously.) Faye and Taylor are no great shakes as a partnership as it stands, but if one of them gets injured then you're looking at Cacapa and Edgar as their replacements. Cacapa AND Edgar as a partnership would be a fucking disaster, if you ask me, so we'd be bollocksed if both Faye and Taylor got injured. Added to this, there is absolutely zero cover for either of the full-back positions. People will harp on about Kadar and Tozer (who can both play LB) but I highly doubt either to be ready for that kind of responsibility. On the right, there's absolutely chuff-all as far as natural positions go. So this leads me to think we need both a LB and a RB, again capable of challenging Enrique and Beye for their starting roles (I don't think either fullback should be replaced in the team, based on their performances last term.) So that's us at 3 so far, and we're not even out of the defence. Things get a bit more complicated in midfield, not least because of the formation stuff. You've got old legs in Geremi and Butt, who I'd imagine are both nailed-on to be kept, but then from there what else is there? Barton is up in the air, Milner and N'Zogbia are both well worth keeping but have been subject to a lot of speculation and everyone feels the same about Duff/Smith (on here at least). Emre's already on his way, and it's left us looking woefully short. If we're going 4-4-2 then we need a right-winger, because there's only Milner, and who the heck knows for the left-wing? We could end up keeping N'Zogbia and Duff, with the former being first choice, meaning I'd be happy enough with that. However, a 4-4-2 means that the centre of the park looks incredibly pedestrian. I'd say we're looking at 2 midfielders coming in, at the very least. I honestly couldn't say in what positions they should play. Depending on Barton/Duff/Smith, it could be pushed up to needing 4, as we'd only have the two young wingers and the two old central midfielders left. Oh dear. Lua Lua isn't good enough to be considered first-team, IMO. Up front is complicated as well, due to the formation stuff. I think at least 1 striker is needed no matter what formation we play, as Viduka isn't reliable enough and Carroll probably won't cut it, unless we're happy with 12th place or thereabouts again. We've got Owen and Martins, who we really have to keep, but who could struggle to form an effective partnership if asked to play up top in a 4-4-2, unless the midfield was absolutely top-drawer. I'm quite depressed after being made to think about this, because as it stands our squad looks like this (if we put people in their favoured/natural role): GK: Harper, Given, Krul, Forster (good but overstocked, expect the latter two to go on loan unless Given gets crocked/sold) RB: Beye. (oh dear - no cover) LB: Enrique (oh dear - no cover) CB: Faye, Taylor, Cacapa, Edgar (oh dear - Cacapa/Edgar not good enough cover, Faye/Taylor not exactly brilliant anyway) RM: Milner (oh dear - no cover, not particularly good enough anyway) LM: N'Zogbia, Duff (happy enough, although both could leave and Duff may well be finished) CM: Butt, Geremi, Barton (oh dear - slower than treacle, one is in jail) CF: Owen, Martins, Viduka, Carroll, Smith (oh dear - question marks over Owen's ability in a 4-4-2 and over Owen/Martins together, Viduka crocked, Carroll too young/raw and Smith needs no explanation) At the least we're looking at 6 (LB, RB, CB, M, M, CF), if we lose more players then it could go up to 8, easily.

I feel bad for enjoying all of these pieces on World. Habib Beye's daughter is his "sunshine". Fantastic man.

The Journal were horribly wrong about Rozehnal yesterday like. Despite the higher standards of writing present in the rag, they know even less than the Ronny do about what goes on at NUFC and it's been that way as long as I can remember.

He wanted to be the second-highest paid player at the club.