Rich

Really hope he does the business here like. Have nothing against the bloke and don't hold any daft grudges over him sticking here for as long as he has even when he hasn't played. Good to hear the other stuff about Ashley and Co. too.

Go on Freddy son. That garage has been an eyesore since I lived in Jesmond a few years ago, nice to see something done. That Shepherd land is right behind my new gaff back home too, quite a hive of activity before I came back to university.

That was my take on it too. Interesting content put in a bit of a dodgy way.

That's a great read like, brilliant to know a bit more about what's going on. Fair play to the NUSC on this one.

Definitely.

Ronaldo, you used to be a jolly happy-go-lucky chap. Bring that man back.

In fairness, Jonas has looked better on the left than on the right so far this season. The main issue for me is robbing us of any potential delivery from wide-right, which is what Taylor had looked good at before he was asked to play out of position. I do realise this happening would have meant Lovenkrands or Jonas getting dropped with Smith or Geremi coming in, like.

Wikipedia, already. Who has the time/inclination?

Did I get away with that?

What a signing Bentley has been.

Screw you man, it was unavoidable!! Probably could have done it later, but ho-hum!

That's all sorted then, apologies for it being off for 5 mins or so. Back in time for penalties by the looks of it!

Sums him up.

Just doing a backup of the forum so if anything slows down, then you know what the craic is.

I hate this "knives out" attitude that engulfs everything when things don't go well. Yes, he probably could have done more today but he was still full of effort and running and looked our only real chance of a breakthrough. People should save their bile for those that have proven time and time again that they are not good enough for this football club, not aim it at those who have shown signs of being a very, very good player indeed.

We've got far bigger problems than Jonas man, howay.

For fuck's sake.

Another stunning showpiece for the Premier League. Fucking woeful that this is what football is coming to. Horrible game.

Oh God, Ameobi loses it yet again. I cannot get over him. What a stinker.

I've enjoyed Geremi since he came on, nice to have somebody in there who can play a bit. Obviously he's not the answer but the difference his craft makes to such a turgid team is very evident. Imagine if we could get someone with his craft AND some athleticism.

Missed that, what happened? Just muttering away to himself looking pissed Ah right. Aye, a few "fuckings" and a face like a slapped arse. As an aside: Ameobi makes me cry.

Smith not happy at not getting on.

Could have seen Anelka bombing here to be honest, especially under Souness. One of the mardiest cunts in football with one of the least diplomatic managers? Recipe for disaster if you ask me.

A solid fact that we had no money is the club accounts, not just the balance but also the fact that we'd spent £millions trying to and failing to re-finance the debt. The huge problem with the wages/turnover ratio was/is a solid fact, too, and identified as such by many on here at the time, even though some of our more naive posters attempted to laugh the problem away. That's a problem which has worringly increased since the takeover too, which would have probably been the same under Shepherd and perhaps even to a greater degree based on assumptions due to previous practice. It's a problem that is only solved by increasing revenue through European football (and even not so much UEFA Cup, based on our earnings through our last run) or reducing the wage-bill by selling your high-earners and replacing them with lower-paid players. Obviously another way is to simply fund things through outside investment or from the owner's pockets, as well.

Shepherd was given time to put right his mistakes, some people are going to give Ashley time to get it right. If we'd all kicked off after either, or both of Dalglish and Gullit we wouldn't have had Sir Bobby and what he gave us. if we had kept our best players, who didn't want to go ala Owen, Given and zoggy for starters, backed our managers and therefore kept them, and reached 2 FA Cup Finals, then I daresay Ashley would have been given more time by people like me too. A decent point, but too simplistic really man. Doesn't take into account anything else bar performance on the park and as such is a pretty weak position to argue from. Obviously performances are the end result of a lot of what goes on behind the scenes and around the place, but they alone cannot simply be used as a measure of success. Not to compare us to them, but the best example I can come up with at the drop of the hat: I'd bet Leeds fans, if you ask them now, would swap their CL campaigns and league finishes in a heartbeat with staying solvent and out of administration. They've had their heart ripped out for being overly-ambitious and not doing things properly and they could have been left without a club altogether, which is the very worst thing that could ever happen to a football fan. I appreciate your stance on ambition and admire the fact that you still live and breathe for us to be the best we can be after so many disappointements and so long supporting the club, but like anything else it has to be done in a measured fashion and it has to be financially viable, more so than ever before these days. The fact is that they've had 18 months and people have never given them a chance since day one. The way you're talking, you'd think we were already in the Championship with no return in sight.