O Neill

I'll have some of what you've been drinking this morning.

It's not the lack of spending that concerns me or even the disasterous hirings and firings so much as the lack of truth in the little bits of information handed out in the PR statements. Everything that comes from anyone in a position of power at the club has to be taken with a grain of salt as they attempt to lie, deceive and mislead the supporters (and from the looks of it the staff) at almost every opportunity. I guess it is hardly surprising though as the only time the club issues a PR statement is during the midst of another crisis where they feel the need to offer justification and reassurance to the supporters that they are later happy to backtrack upon.

Good post Jack. Good post but how does the likely departure of Barton and the very real possibility that no replacement will added to the squad influence your view of Ashley? Surely you have to lean towards the negative if Ashley allows another player to go without adding a replacement of comparable quality to the team?

Not convinced there is anything seriously wrong with Best. Ridgewell studded him in the thigh as they went up for a header.

Who cares. Can he play upfront?

That job unfortunately doesn't involve sticking the ball in the net given half a dozen chances.

Have to agree, I think he'd be awesome here. Sod SWP, get this lad in if we can. Not seen much of him, but very impressed with what I've seen. He'd be my number 1 choice, particularly given his age. He can play on either wing or just off the front man, so he'd be useful to have. If we had this lad and Ben Arfa on the the left we'd rip some shit up. My Belgian mate reckons he's injured a lot but would be worth a look if he could keep himself fit.

Money from bums on seats plays a far, far less important role in football finances these days. Besides which, I wonder how much their season tickets cost in relation to most of the rest of the league. Highest prices after Chelsea I think, it's unreal how much it costs. Not just that, but London clubs can charge for - and get much more - corporate entertainment than provincial clubs can. Back to STs, though, my mate is an Arsenal ST holder. His costs him 1200 quid. Mine, best in the house, costs 520 quid. That's the London factor for you. While it's still a massive difference I heard that the £1,200 included their first 7 cup games as well. That should cover as far as the next round of the Champions' League if it's true. Still pricey.

R.Taylor shouldn't have taken the free kick in the first place, it was pretty much on the half way line on the opposite side of the pitch and he came over from right back, Carson grabbed it and they attacked down the vacant right back position where R.Taylor would have been had Enrique taken the free kick, we don't need a specialist free kick taker to be taking free kicks from there. Or Ryan Taylor to be taking free kicks from there.

Kadar was fine at centre half. Didn't look troubled by anything Dundee United had. More concerned by how useless Ryan Taylor is at right back/football.

Marca is a Spanish daily sports paper he's giving an interview to, not a football club he's in discussions about a transfer with. Sorry about the ambiguity. Title amended to something more obvious.

From Marca this morning. http://www.marca.com/2009/05/29/futbol/futbol_internacional/espanoles_mundo/1243575356.html Unfortunately my Spanish isn't exactly great and I know those online translators tend to make a mess of things so I've tried to summarise as best I can. Marca introduce him as a regular in our defence and suggest it has been one of the worst years of his life but Enrique isn't hiding in shame and willing to speak about the last season. How is life mentally? Mentally he is knackered (although I think he opts for something more crude if translation is right). It's a very hard time and he could see back in September things weren't working. On a personal level the relegation is something that is difficult to take for him. He feels it's even harder as we have a great fanbase that fills out the stadium every game. What went through his head when Newcastle were relegated? He felt like crying as it was something that had never happened before. He went home and still couldn't believe it was happening. He can't understand how a team with so many big players could lose their Premiership status. Jose discusses the season... From September he could see there were troubles ahead. Plenty of big name players but things just weren't comnig together right. Last season was similar but the club managed to settle. This season wasn't like that as many things have been done badly from the beginning. The club needs a revolution. It is now looking to half the wage budget and many players will have to depart. Jose is now on vacation and needs the rest after what he feels is the longest year of his life. He says we only gained seven wins all season and for a club like Newcastle it is unacceptable. He believes if Shearer is appointed things will change for the better as he is a man who can bring big things to Newcastle. He also stresses the need to give Shearer time and that it has to be a long term project in order for fortunes to change. On the supporters... The people are incredible. They have always supported us and don't deserve to be watching Championship football. Gives us a 10 for passion/support but an 11 is deserved. Has he considered staying to play in the Championship next year? His contract has 3 years remaining. Nobody likes playing in the Championship but he believes in fulfilling his contract. He understands the team has a big budget and he is sure if things go well from the start next season they can look towards building themselves to the heights being reached by Aston Villa. He loves the city and is very happy living in England. However, with the financial situation at the club, if an offer comes in he knows he may have to leave. Unless that happens he will be a Newcastle player. On the future of Newcastle... There have been 4 managers this season and even periods with one. It has all been bad from day one but he hopes things will change for the better and with Alan Shearer in the chair that is possible. Sorry, if this has already been posted.

The idea someone would have got the opportunity to speak against that bloke today is daft. That's exactly how I feel. The formation of the group being founded on the idea of 'Ashley Out' has resulted in NUSC being seen as only interested in taking on one issue. I know there has likely been work on tackling other issues, such as the stewarding concerns, but that sort of news needs more exposure. I still think there is great potential for NUSC but to reach that potential it would require a change of public image. I think that if more people felt that NUSC weren't just an anti-Ashley/Wise protest group then there would be a greater interest in the group.

Anyone who thinks he's a better player than Veloso really needs to stop taking the stupid pills. That doesn't say he's better than Veloso. But paying 3 to 4 times as much for a player who is unproven in the Premiership and may not fancy the upcoming relegation battle would be rather foolish.

What is even more incredible is that they can alternate several players in the midfield around to include Iniesta, Hleb or Busquets and they don't seem to become any less dominant.

It's not about individuals so much as it is about creating an effective unit.

Another comedy decision that.

Of course I stood at SAFC & Blackburn but nee one asked me to sit down & at most away grounds only employ old fuckers as stewards not DOORMEN. While were on the subject of away games our away fans has a lot scummy/charva bastards in its ranks as well as in recent times they have got us banned from Arkles near Anfield/Goodison & a decent bar near Bolton's ground. My beef is not with people standing but if you stand dont be shocked if you get chucked out. Personally I would start from the front row in the corner & work backwards with evictions. Why should the people in corner get the cheap tickets but then cause the club more trouble than any other part of ground? News to me, cos me and my mates were drinking in Arkles before the Everton game this season and last season. Maybe the ban was lifted then but there was a ban after a few our lot started whacking eachother for something to do until kick off. A few seasons back against Liverpool it was restricted to home supporters only and entry was permitted on producing a ticket for the home end. Still the same?

We are due something after being robbed here last season.

Wouldn't say no.

I've got a stack of strikers if anyone fancies making me a decent bid I'd consider doing business. Currently have: Drogba (Che), Adebayor (Ars), Johnson (Ful), Harewood (Ast), Pavlyuchenko (Tot). I'm open to offers on other players as well of course.

I'm a bit wary of getting anyone from the Belgian league, seeing as 'Gooch' plays for the champions. Doesn't he play with Alkmaar or someone in the Dutch league?

I've got plenty of injured ones

Aye. Well timed too as I can now replace the donkey that is Senderos.

Coloccini has arrived in the 'out of contract' section. I think I'll trade in Martyn Waghorn for him in order to improve my backline.