chicago_shearer

With Bramble's contract up this summer and the low numbers to begin with we have the perfect excuse to try and rebuild the defence. It has needed doing for years.

Yes, completely. Absolutely outstanding.

How many points until we are mathematically safe?

Don't care any more. Wake me when the players start showing a little pride and effort.

Anton Ferdinand is the absolute LAST player we need to sign. If I had my choice, I'd pick Woodgate.

Don't care really. Why not? Carroll/Luque up front against Charlton. Although I did hear from an ITK that the reason he isn't being played in the Premiership is a massive additional fee if he makes another league appearence. Who knows.

I would try and pry Nicky Shorey away from Reading. Cheaper than Bale or Baines and arguably better.

Why? I usually buy it myself, but giving money to the club at the moment just seems stupid.

I actually think that will be entertaining if only to watch these two midgets trying to get on the end of whatever aimless long balls Bramble, Given, Taylor or Carr decide to hoof forward.

I predict that we will wait to the last minute with everyone we sign and that we will not sign a left back.

Just had it out with the computer repair technician who phoned to say they are going to mess me about on the repair I need for an additional 3-5 days. I pretended it was Titus Bramble putting on an American accent. Helped actually. Now I'm going to mope around my flat, drink a bit, and use this latest senseless, embarassing cup defeat as an excuse to avoid doing the term paper I have to start/finish.

You are all totally deluded if you think a top manager could come in and make Titus Bramble, Stephen Carr, Huntington, Ramage, Taylor, Babayaro a good team. Personally, I'm past caring if Roeder is sacked or not. But you are all pretending this is a good side and that - despite all evidence to the contrary for about 4 or 5 years - they are ready to rocket up the table when Hitzfeld or Hiddink or whoever rides in on his white horse. The players aren't there at the moment. Even when they win they look poor most of the time. This magical turnaround under a new manager theory is based on the notion that players like Parker & Dyer will suddenly pretend its 2001 or 2002 again and return to form they haven't found consistently since then. The squad is about 60-70% utter wank.

I'm so tired of people saying that. Why don't they play like it then??? Does the manager tell them "dont pass the ball to your team mate?"

I'd love to think this team were capable of keeping it 0-0 or winning 1-0, but that would be making life easy and that just doesn't happen with Newcaste.

I disagree with that. In most professional sports leagues in the US there are teams that are s*** and have been s*** ever since I can remember. Randy Lerner's NFL team the Cleveland Browns for example. The Chicago Cubs in baseball. And those aren't isolated examples. I do agree with the point you are trying to make which is that every team starts with a clean slate every year, but that isn't what sport is about is it? It renders every season meaningless. You never pay the cost of being s***, you never build on success, because you are always a few salary caps & free agencies & good draft picks away from success. No atmosphere, little passion, no tradition. Boring. The franchise system is a complete waste of time IMO because it promotes the 'spectacle' above the competition. The Chicago Cubs baseball team will always sell out their home games no matter how bad they are and will never win the...ahem..."World" Series, because there is a stagnant league structure. Can you imagine if the Premiership did away with the drop? At first it would be great...no chance of going down and no chance of Sunderland coming up....but the one who would profit most is Shepherd. Fills SJP every week, regardless of crap the side is, no matter how poorly they play, he makes his money and no pressure from the supporters because there is always next season so who gives a toss. That is American sport for you. Relegation, like the draw, just doesn't gel with their mentality.

He made those comments before the first leg probably to put Martins off and he ended up scoring twice.

So the FA gets their nice showcase fixture for the new Wembley instead of Man Utd or Chelsea beating Watford 4-0 in the final. Most blatant fix ever.

Bremen gave Chelsea a good game in the Champions League. And they have Klose. Both Sevilla and Bremen are better than Spurs. But a Newcastle/Tottenham final would be fine by me (it would say something about English football if that were the UEFA Cup final and the Champions League final was between Chelsea/Man Utd or Liverpool).

We aren't favourites by any stretch of the imagination....Sevilla are defending champions and Bremen are contending for the title in Germany. A lot of work to do, even if we do get past AZ.

On form, Thierry Henry. Although Obafemi is up there too.

Warnock went for something like 1.5 mil to Blackburn in January. He would have been a good buy IMO. Reasonably priced, experienced in England. I'm not sure if I agree about looking abroad. Young players like Bale will go for ridiculous money, but there are other options. Nicky Shorey has performed very well this year and would go for a lot less because he isn't in his teens. I'd rather have someone proven in the league. Even fullbacks that are rather decent/average by Premiership standards (Bocanegra, Lauren, Nicky Hunt) would be a vast improvement on playing someone past it like Carr or Academy centre-halves. We don't need world beaters, just Premiership capable defenders.

Thats 5 summer signings. Not much more than most clubs get up to in a summer. I'm not talking about world class players in most cases, just decent squad signings to avoid playing 18 year old reservists and fat right-backs out of position during the season.

I think we are still 4 or 5 players away from being consistently good. Although a well-planned, well-executed transfer strategy this summer could go a long way to correcting that (not much hope of that, I'm afraid). Give us a pair of decent full backs, a top quality creative midfielder, possibly an experienced centre-half, and preferably another striker and we could be very competitive next year.

Tevez, Benayoun, Ashton, Luke Young, Konchesky and in that order. The first two are the only ones I'd pay serious money for. Tevez is quality and Benayoun would be a decent replacement for Emre if he is done for racism.

I could see Hargreaves picking the first Premiership club that came in for him. He really has no reason to hold out for Man Utd seeing as the transfer saga last summer and in January really messed him about. If he was forced to choose, he has no reason not to pick the more successful club, but no reason not to put a bid in if we can afford it. I'd love to see him at Newcastle.