Theregulars

Think Obertan will cause some problems for them. Don't think Wilson is a particularly nippy left back, could draw a few fouls, work himself some space to run in behind. I want to be positive and think he just needs one thing to go right for him. Looking at their side you hope Pardew's instructed us to just pass it around them.

Would like to see Ben Arfa on at some point, although wouldn't be too disappointed as he'll get clogged.

Guthrie's fine. He's about what you expect from a back-up central midfielder for a team of our standing - decent enough, can do a job, not a world beater. However, when compared to Tiote, he is a massive drop down.

Balls, just started watching ESPN3 over here, then realized the clocks went back over there..... still an hour to go.

Great avatar.

Is it just a one game thing or long-term?

Etherington vs Simpson. Big chance to Danny to shut up his critics here.

Got both this and the orange change strip for my birthday, total coincidence. Home from parents, away from girlfriend's parents, Cabaye and Coloccini respectively. Talking incessantly about your football team to people who don't care pays off: thank fuck for osmosis.

Wonder if playing Cabaye in a more defensive role with Marveaux attacking in central would work? Note: I realise this won't happen, but if we were to try and win via tactics of ball retention, sweet passing, deft through balls and clever runs, those two in the middle would, for my money, do the job. However, they may get trampled by that herd, like pringles under bison.

I think we have every chance of winning to be honest. We just need to get the ball down and play a passing game, be calm. In my opinion teams come unstuck at Stoke because they either try to 'outStoke' Stoke or set up to defend against the constant battering ram. Stoke can only have so many chances for their standard aerial assault if you keep the ball away from them.

That said, no Tiote is a massive blow then, as his ball retention is pretty fucking useful. Hopefully by dint of how good we've been, competition for places and improvement of individual performances this year, someone is going to step up.

I take back all of the above if Alan Smith plays.

Surely missed out: one of best 4/5 central midfield pairings in the league this year? The development and maturation of Coloccini?

After watching Obertan today can't believe some posters insist that they're happy he's gone. Absolute steal for QPR.

@laurenpardew

 

Pardews daughter?

 

Yes please.

 

http://www.bebo.com/c/photos/view?MemberId=1286137467&PhotoAlbumId=1286450926&PhotoId=1286450051

 

Nice rack if it is her

She's his niece, she's a freelance assistant producer at SkySports. Used to work with her when I worked on the NFL.

Sweet. Reminds me I need a 5-pack of Donnay socks and last year's away goalie strip for a £15.99.

I'll judge the team selection once the result comes through - if we lose I reserve the right to bleat about why those 3 (Ba, Marveaux and Santon) are on the bench, if we win I reserve the right to praise Pardew for not feeling like he has to hoy all the new players in for the sake of it when the team as it stands is undefeated.

Lawyer

You folk who feel they've been unfairly labelled as Ashley apologists - just as a benchmark, what could Mike do which would make you say "OK, that's completely unforgivable" and join the 'mob'?  Sell Tiote and colo without replacing them?  Sell off SJP?  Change the name of the Milburn stand?  Get us relegated again?  Or is there literally nothing he could do where you wouldn't feel the need to speak up on his behalf when people slag him off?

 

 

 

It's too broad a question though, who knows? I'm not aware of anyone who hasn't criticised a lot of what Ashley has done.

 

You could equally put it the other way round - what would Ashley have to do to make you think he was doing some things right? Buy one of the most exciting attacking midfielders in Europe? Sign a French league winner and one of the best defensive midfielders in the league? Get a promising young Italian international fullback from Inter Milan? Bounce back from a relegation, finish the season well and start the following season with some good results? Put our finances on a sounder footing?

 

But I wouldn't ask it like that because I know it's not black and white. I'm not trying to speak up on Ashley's behalf, I'm trying to highlight that the situation at the club isn't as dire as some people think, and everything we do isn't bad or part of some evil plan to punish Geordies.

If people think he's on a plan to ruin us, they're probably not worth debating with. For me, to show he was doing something right, we could show some modicum of ambition to get us on a slow and steady path of progress and development from lower mid table to mid, then upper mid, then towards 7th/8th and then challenging for Europa League, within 5 years, whilst maintaining a sensible and sound financial strategy and rightly limiting wages and transfer fees. I am all for balancing the books and sorting out our debt situation, but a football club isn't a normal business, so if he could do the above while actually genuinely trying to improve the squad that would be enough for me. Furthermore, showing ambition and getting us somewhere in the long run would actually improve his product - attract more fans, attract less criticism from professionals and fans alike, make more players inclined to play for us (i reckon some who turn us down do so as they don't want to play for those two, which I also believe is why we make no effort to recruit from England as foreigners likely haven't seen evidence of their untrustworthy behaviour) and make us win more, which ultimately brings in more money, via, for instance, gate receipts and more television coverage.

Not surprised that people like Lee Ryder, who are used to dealing with the average footballer, like Joey Barton. I would probably like him as well if I knew him personally, and he is more down to earth than the average player.

 

But that doesn't mask his obvious character flaws or mean it is right for him to be talking s*** about NUFC in public.

 

His opinion is a valid one.

 

You may not like what he has to say but he's been closer to the regime than anyone on this board which gives his views some gravitas.

 

I know his opinion is a valid one, I just don't agree with it.

 

And whether he's close to the regime or not is irrelevant to my criticism, Barton should keep his mouth shut whether he's right or wrong.

 

Where has keeping your mouth shut ever got you? I proudly participated in chants of SOUNESS OUT repeatedly at SJP and I'd like to think that helped to get him sacked.

 

You're a fan of NUFC, that's fine. Barton is a professional footballer who plays for QPR. There's a lot of distance between those two.

 

I'd disagree, I think Barton is a fan of NUFC too. Firstly, I still believe that players, while loyalty is dead, feel some sentiment for clubs they play for and probably want them to succeed if they aren't f***ed over by them. Secondly, I believe him when he says that he felt an affinity for the place, not least as he has become less of a volatile, crime-happy vagabond at NUFC, and likely (or so I would hope) appreciates our patience with him.

 

If he appreciates our patience with him then why is he giving us a hard time? The same people who chose not to sack him when he went to prison are the people he's having a go at now.

 

Anyway, pointless discussion really, I just think Barton is now a QPR player and should show some professionalism and mind his own business. Whether he has any affection for NUFC is beside the point.

 

They never chose not to sack him, they've made previous attempts to flog him and done so in an overtly public manner, they just couldn't shift him, primarily as due to his past mistakes nobody say him as a risk worth taking, especially as he was basically still in/fresh out of jail. As soon as they finally found a willing bidder he was off. I opine that had any club come in with a serious bid in a window before this one it would have been made very clear to him that he was not wanted here.

 

There's nothing unprofessional about what he's doing. He's a professional footballer, ergo perfectly entitled to criticise an unjust issue within his profession, that profession being football, especially about a professional football club for whom he exercised his professional skills.

 

Sorry, that's nonsense, it's not professional to air your grievances in public.

 

On the sacking thing I don't know, I'm pretty sure we could have terminated his contract if we had wanted. Anyway, that wasn't my argument, I was just responding to you saying we had shown patience with him, which we have.

I take your point but I don't think you can attribute the same meaning of "unprofessional" to our job you or I may do to professional football. If you and I are treated like shit at work, we can't really make it public, as nobody would care. But it would be in our interests, and in the best interests of our employer and other employees, to make clear to somebody who matters that something gravely unjust is going on. To attempt a clumsy analogy, if you and I worked for a financial services firm, and we knew a director was embezzling company funds, I believe it would be unprofessional not to air grievances, as we would have a duty to co-employees, investors, shareholders and the industry we worked on to shed light on the wrongdoing. Following these lines, it is entirely professional of Barton, bearing in mind the amount of people interested in NUFC, the game itself AND his (now former) colleagues at all levels of the club, to point out how his employer is treating the people who work for it/put money into it like absolute turd. It's not the most erudite analogy but I trust you can understand the point I'm making.

Furthermore, I don't think there should be an issue about Barton being dishonest or self-interested - we have enough evidence even despite the Ashley/Llambias media and communication blackout to see and understand that what Barton and other players accuse them of is most likely, if not definitely, true.

Not surprised that people like Lee Ryder, who are used to dealing with the average footballer, like Joey Barton. I would probably like him as well if I knew him personally, and he is more down to earth than the average player.

 

But that doesn't mask his obvious character flaws or mean it is right for him to be talking s*** about NUFC in public.

 

His opinion is a valid one.

 

You may not like what he has to say but he's been closer to the regime than anyone on this board which gives his views some gravitas.

 

I know his opinion is a valid one, I just don't agree with it.

 

And whether he's close to the regime or not is irrelevant to my criticism, Barton should keep his mouth shut whether he's right or wrong.

 

Where has keeping your mouth shut ever got you? I proudly participated in chants of SOUNESS OUT repeatedly at SJP and I'd like to think that helped to get him sacked.

 

You're a fan of NUFC, that's fine. Barton is a professional footballer who plays for QPR. There's a lot of distance between those two.

 

I'd disagree, I think Barton is a fan of NUFC too. Firstly, I still believe that players, while loyalty is dead, feel some sentiment for clubs they play for and probably want them to succeed if they aren't f***ed over by them. Secondly, I believe him when he says that he felt an affinity for the place, not least as he has become less of a volatile, crime-happy vagabond at NUFC, and likely (or so I would hope) appreciates our patience with him.

 

If he appreciates our patience with him then why is he giving us a hard time? The same people who chose not to sack him when he went to prison are the people he's having a go at now.

 

Anyway, pointless discussion really, I just think Barton is now a QPR player and should show some professionalism and mind his own business. Whether he has any affection for NUFC is beside the point.

 

 

 

he is maybe giving "us"(by us i mean the board) a hard time because he doesn't like fans being lied too and also didn't Mike Ashely want to sack Barton but Keegan wanted to keep him ? And personally i am glad that Barton is highlighting these things the truth needs to be known, the only thing i would say is that if i was Q.P.R fan i would be dissapointed to see Barton fawning over another club.

Any QPR fan with a shred of intelligence understands that if our club wasn't rotten from the core a player of his caliber wouldn't be lining up for them. I'm sure they'll deal with the media spotlight that it brings instead of watching a less talented player in their side.

Not surprised that people like Lee Ryder, who are used to dealing with the average footballer, like Joey Barton. I would probably like him as well if I knew him personally, and he is more down to earth than the average player.

 

But that doesn't mask his obvious character flaws or mean it is right for him to be talking s*** about NUFC in public.

 

His opinion is a valid one.

 

You may not like what he has to say but he's been closer to the regime than anyone on this board which gives his views some gravitas.

 

I know his opinion is a valid one, I just don't agree with it.

 

And whether he's close to the regime or not is irrelevant to my criticism, Barton should keep his mouth shut whether he's right or wrong.

 

Where has keeping your mouth shut ever got you? I proudly participated in chants of SOUNESS OUT repeatedly at SJP and I'd like to think that helped to get him sacked.

 

You're a fan of NUFC, that's fine. Barton is a professional footballer who plays for QPR. There's a lot of distance between those two.

 

I'd disagree, I think Barton is a fan of NUFC too. Firstly, I still believe that players, while loyalty is dead, feel some sentiment for clubs they play for and probably want them to succeed if they aren't f***ed over by them. Secondly, I believe him when he says that he felt an affinity for the place, not least as he has become less of a volatile, crime-happy vagabond at NUFC, and likely (or so I would hope) appreciates our patience with him.

 

Keep believing that, but IMO you're 100% wrong.

 

Footballers are all twats that do what is best for themselves.

 

So you believe no footballer ever has sentimental attachment to clubs they've played for? See the line up on soccer saturday for proof of why you're wrong.

 

These days, no.

 

When football used to be football, absolutely.

I would disagree, there are still players out there (absolutely less so than in the past, you are correct) who support their clubs and feel sentiment towards them. When we went down, Steven Taylor made it very clear that he wanted to stay and help out immediately. Gerrard at Liverpool is another, Giggs and Scholes at United...

Not surprised that people like Lee Ryder, who are used to dealing with the average footballer, like Joey Barton. I would probably like him as well if I knew him personally, and he is more down to earth than the average player.

 

But that doesn't mask his obvious character flaws or mean it is right for him to be talking s*** about NUFC in public.

 

His opinion is a valid one.

 

You may not like what he has to say but he's been closer to the regime than anyone on this board which gives his views some gravitas.

 

I know his opinion is a valid one, I just don't agree with it.

 

And whether he's close to the regime or not is irrelevant to my criticism, Barton should keep his mouth shut whether he's right or wrong.

 

Where has keeping your mouth shut ever got you? I proudly participated in chants of SOUNESS OUT repeatedly at SJP and I'd like to think that helped to get him sacked.

 

You're a fan of NUFC, that's fine. Barton is a professional footballer who plays for QPR. There's a lot of distance between those two.

 

I'd disagree, I think Barton is a fan of NUFC too. Firstly, I still believe that players, while loyalty is dead, feel some sentiment for clubs they play for and probably want them to succeed if they aren't f***ed over by them. Secondly, I believe him when he says that he felt an affinity for the place, not least as he has become less of a volatile, crime-happy vagabond at NUFC, and likely (or so I would hope) appreciates our patience with him.

 

If he appreciates our patience with him then why is he giving us a hard time? The same people who chose not to sack him when he went to prison are the people he's having a go at now.

 

Anyway, pointless discussion really, I just think Barton is now a QPR player and should show some professionalism and mind his own business. Whether he has any affection for NUFC is beside the point.

They never chose not to sack him, they've made previous attempts to flog him and done so in an overtly public manner, they just couldn't shift him, primarily as due to his past mistakes nobody say him as a risk worth taking, especially as he was basically still in/fresh out of jail. As soon as they finally found a willing bidder he was off. I opine that had any club come in with a serious bid in a window before this one it would have been made very clear to him that he was not wanted here.

There's nothing unprofessional about what he's doing. He's a professional footballer, ergo perfectly entitled to criticise an unjust issue within his profession, that profession being football, especially about a professional football club for whom he exercised his professional skills.

To add to that, Shearmagic, the opinion "footballers are all twats" is a shade too general don't you think? I wouldn't even attribute twat status to half of our squad.

Not surprised that people like Lee Ryder, who are used to dealing with the average footballer, like Joey Barton. I would probably like him as well if I knew him personally, and he is more down to earth than the average player.

 

But that doesn't mask his obvious character flaws or mean it is right for him to be talking s*** about NUFC in public.

 

His opinion is a valid one.

 

You may not like what he has to say but he's been closer to the regime than anyone on this board which gives his views some gravitas.

 

I know his opinion is a valid one, I just don't agree with it.

 

And whether he's close to the regime or not is irrelevant to my criticism, Barton should keep his mouth shut whether he's right or wrong.

 

Where has keeping your mouth shut ever got you? I proudly participated in chants of SOUNESS OUT repeatedly at SJP and I'd like to think that helped to get him sacked.

 

You're a fan of NUFC, that's fine. Barton is a professional footballer who plays for QPR. There's a lot of distance between those two.

 

I'd disagree, I think Barton is a fan of NUFC too. Firstly, I still believe that players, while loyalty is dead, feel some sentiment for clubs they play for and probably want them to succeed if they aren't f***ed over by them. Secondly, I believe him when he says that he felt an affinity for the place, not least as he has become less of a volatile, crime-happy vagabond at NUFC, and likely (or so I would hope) appreciates our patience with him.

 

Keep believing that, but IMO you're 100% wrong.

 

Footballers are all twats that do what is best for themselves.

So you believe no footballer ever has sentimental attachment to clubs they've played for? See the line up on soccer saturday for proof of why you're wrong.

My worry is that we're stuck with him for a while. If he keeps us in the league with minimal expenditure he can claw back what money he lost and then start making some money while the whole time using NUFC/St James Park as a marketing tool for his awful Sports Direct carry on. It's pretty clear he has absolutely zero intention of placating the fans with squad progression or signings and I'm just worried that he sees NUFC/St James as a good marketing tool/money making scheme in the years to come.

 

Sorry to be negative................I might add I don't expect popcorn signings and trillions spent on players, I'm a realist but I would like to see the fans treated with the respect they deserve and that'll never under Ashley/Llambias.

Spot on. I think, to further your point, we all appreciate the need for stability and understand that the debt we'd accrued under the previous regime needed to be remedied, and our transfer policy was potentially fatally flawed. But, it being a football club, we'd like this to be done whilst still showing at least a pretence of ambition, or with a genuine (if restrained and sensible) attempt to make us as competitive as possible within sound financial parameters. There's a difference between that and exploiting OUR club as his latest cash cow, and that's what makes him insufferable.

Not surprised that people like Lee Ryder, who are used to dealing with the average footballer, like Joey Barton. I would probably like him as well if I knew him personally, and he is more down to earth than the average player.

 

But that doesn't mask his obvious character flaws or mean it is right for him to be talking s*** about NUFC in public.

 

His opinion is a valid one.

 

You may not like what he has to say but he's been closer to the regime than anyone on this board which gives his views some gravitas.

 

I know his opinion is a valid one, I just don't agree with it.

 

And whether he's close to the regime or not is irrelevant to my criticism, Barton should keep his mouth shut whether he's right or wrong.

 

Where has keeping your mouth shut ever got you? I proudly participated in chants of SOUNESS OUT repeatedly at SJP and I'd like to think that helped to get him sacked.

 

You're a fan of NUFC, that's fine. Barton is a professional footballer who plays for QPR. There's a lot of distance between those two.

I'd disagree, I think Barton is a fan of NUFC too. Firstly, I still believe that players, while loyalty is dead, feel some sentiment for clubs they play for and probably want them to succeed if they aren't fucked over by them. Secondly, I believe him when he says that he felt an affinity for the place, not least as he has become less of a volatile, crime-happy vagabond at NUFC, and likely (or so I would hope) appreciates our patience with him.

Can't believe people still fall for Barton's s***. He himself doesn't know what he wants, actually that's not completely true. He wanted him and his little gang to get the contracts they wanted and to stay here for life. He complains about a lack of ambition but doesn't seem to understand ambition any more than the tossers who run the club. He was moaning about Cabaye (bad signing anyone?) and now we have signed a very promising full back to replace the one who inevitably left he is moaning about him.

 

He is a bullshit merchant on par with the owners, if we didn't sell anyone but didn't buy anyone he would have been perfectly happy to stay here the rest of his career.

 

As said before, he just needs to concentrate and show a little bit of respect for his current club. They will need him putting in all his effort to keep them up, while we with our s***, unproven signings can concentrate on trying to achieve a top half finish.

"if we didn't sell anyone but didn't buy anyone he would have been perfectly happy to stay here the rest of his career." That's complete and utter conjecture. Anyone who knows about him can envisage Barton pointing out that the Carroll money wasn't spent in that situation, and pointing out the lack of ambition. You can't just attribute your analysis of the potential outcome of a hypothetical situation to factual reality and then assign it as an argument to denigrate the man's character.

Not surprised that people like Lee Ryder, who are used to dealing with the average footballer, like Joey Barton. I would probably like him as well if I knew him personally, and he is more down to earth than the average player.

 

But that doesn't mask his obvious character flaws or mean it is right for him to be talking s*** about NUFC in public.

 

His opinion is a valid one.

 

You may not like what he has to say but he's been closer to the regime than anyone on this board which gives his views some gravitas.

 

I know his opinion is a valid one, I just don't agree with it.

 

And whether he's close to the regime or not is irrelevant to my criticism, Barton should keep his mouth shut whether he's right or wrong.

Where has keeping your mouth shut ever got you? I proudly participated in chants of SOUNESS OUT repeatedly at SJP and I'd like to think that helped to get him sacked.

And furthermore if any of you can honestly say you'd take Obertan/R. Taylor/Marveaux on right wing without the media circus or Barton on the right wing with the media circus, then in my opinion you don't have the club's best interests at heart, because winning games is ultimately more in the club's best interests than having our shambolic ownership situation challenged in the public eye. Gabriel fucking Obertan.