Beren

Carroll on the end of Adam corners will be pretty devastating tbf.

Ameobi - #9 and Captain. Easy decision.

Who's he signing for next summer like? This reply made me titter. [Then again, so did the word 'titter' though, so...]

Not obvious to me exactly, but I'm inclined to believe the same. Or at least his options are filtered to such an extent that his options aren't really his own (which is true to most managers of non-Man City/Chelsea clubs, but more so here).

Not a clue how [/quickly] they'd gel - just optimistically speculating/hoping it works as I envisage it doing so - nothing as substantial as a league prediction from me!

Krul Simpson Colo Williamson Enrique Cabaye Tiote Jonas Ben Arfa Merveaux Ba Subs: Harper, Best, Ameobi, Barton, S. Taylor, Ferguson, Kazenga

What mould of striker do people think would be appropriate/best suited for the team? In a way, I don't want the first choice striker to be too big because it tends to engender long balls from the back/deep, but in terms of attractive football I find playing down the wings to be the most pleasing to the eye so I want the guy to be able to head the ball/get stuck in.

Sad but true. Loyalty to the team you grew up supporting/came through the ranks with seems increasingly meaningless too - perhaps I'm just being nostalgic and it's always been this way though. The wages flying around are too alluring, I suppose. I'd like to think if I got an NUFC salary (which, let's face it, will set you up relatively comfortably for life) I don't think any higher figure would tempt me to leave the club I love - but maybe that's because I don'treally know the difference between a 15k salary and a Yaya Toure salary Even N-O is not immune to the allure of brighter lights, apparently.

The Johnson-Dann partnership was so overrated last season. They had Foster behind them and about seven other players primarily focused on defending.

well £6m for Nolan and take away £1m to take Smith off our hands Exactly what I thought - trying to sweeten the deal with a revised figure and taking Smith

Given he could be the third Taylor after Staylor and Raylor, has anyone made a joke about what this could Ntayl for our Taylor nicknames? "I***** T*****: The Swansea fullback would nail her"

That was my reaction just now to be fair. I'd feel a little ripped off about the Carroll fee if Henderson goes for that much. Happy in a way though. Liverpool splashing out on a dud I'd like to think the rivalry with the mackems is fairly healthy and will spur us on to both do better and promote football in the area, too. Besides, they have so many holes in their squad I don't think even the Henderson + Bent money will cover it. And if it does, they have Steve Bruce

to what end ? losing him for nowt in 12 months ? Elimination Jose's options, then offering more money.

Wholly unsubstantiated guess: Ashley is pricing Enrique out of the market.

I think it's a fairly close decision. Krul is still in his infancy as a goalkeeper (in relative terms) and he has problems commanding his area, with decision-making and instilling the back four with confidence - but he did improve last season and there's no reason to think he won't continue to do so next season. Conversely, you'd probably find Steve Harper's mug next to the world "solid" in a dictionary - but his shot-stopped ability generally leaves a lot to be desired by comparison. Their kicking and general distribution can both be a bit wayward at times but Krul looks markedly more tentative. That said, I'd wager that Krul will save more points(/goals) through his superior shot-stopping than Harper will off-set with his better solid goalkeeping even if it does make it a nervier ride for the fans! Also, he'll improve quicker in the first team and is a better investment for the future of the club so I'd lean towards Krul for next season. [/admittedly haven't seen Foster enough to make a judgement on how he fits into the above]

Great business if they can pull that off. Excellent season. Shame he doesn't want to be sat on the bench, would e a brilliant understudy to Szczesny! Yup, a real choker that

Great business if they can pull that off. Excellent season.

Simpson said he was better.

Hope he goes to Fulham, think he could do a good job there - though how much better can they do without significant additional funding? Hughes, in a way, was clever to leave on a high.

Dissension in NUFC management. Pardew wants people on the edge of their seats/off their seats, whereas Carver wants bums on seats: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news//tm_headline=carver-new-signings-will-put-bums-on-seats%26method=full%26objectid=28800101%26siteid=72703-name_page.html Pardew wants players banging on the door, Carvel probably wants an open door policy.

That's a very valid point. :thup: You can really tell when he is motivated and when he is going through the motions. When he was motivated, he had goals coming out of his receding hairline, but for the not insignificant spells where he wasn't up for it, it really did show. He had a couple of interesting interviews (Godfather aside) last season where he actually spoke about his desire in training, and I think shortly thereafter he went on a magnificent run.

Struggle to think of a player with a better first touch in the league last season. Some of the balls he brought under control, and fairly acrobatically too, were incredible. As mentioned/bludgeoned to death on this thread though, think it's highly unlikely the switch will happen.

And what does that idiot's horrific managerial ability got to do with Joey Barton? Ronaldo, the archetypal Newcastle fan: Hates Shearer, hates Keegan, hates Shola, hates anyone who might get him some more attention

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100421115744/callofduty/images/a/a1/TrollFace-1-.png Dogleme?