OzzieMandias

Have you stopped beating your girlfriend? Yes or no?

So Ashley instructed his people to make up stories about death threats in order to have an excuse to persecute the Geordie Nation. What a mastermind of evil and cunning!

If I was Ashley I'd be thinking about how to gimmick the roof of the West Stand so on sunny matchdays it'll spell "Sports Direct" in shadows on the pitch.

There seems to be a general consensus that the East Stand is untouchable due to the listed buildings behind it. However, could it not be extended vertically like Boca Juniors did with the Bombonera? it would look odd but it could prove a cheaper option than building over the road and metro station at the Gallowgate (on land which the club no longer owns so that would be an extra cost) I think that has been suggested but the Leazes terrace complained that it would block the natural light and leave them in a permanent shadow Then as long as they house only mackem students there, no problem.

Two magpies sitting on the roof opposite. It's a sign! 2-0

Why am I not surprised by that? My old man still speaks very highly of him as a player. Must have been a terrific talent. Marvellous clippings, btw - thanks for sharing. I was a teenager round about the same time (1972) and had a bad problem with my hip after a climbing holiday in Scotland. Nowt to do with the club, but the treatment I got was a farce. My GP gave me pain killers and an appointment to see a specialist some five or six months later. Before that ever happened, I slipped on some ice, fell on the hip, and was in screaming agony. At that point I was hospitalised and the RVI gave me the wrong treatment. A month later, a new doctor realised what was going on. I had a second operation and was in hospital for six months, walked on crutches for another six months after that. Today, as a result, I'm officially disabled, can barely walk some days, and need a hip replacement. Medical treatment in Newcastle in those days left a lot to be desired.

Because they're desperate to find something to moan about.

Peace on earth, goodwill to all!

Let's face it, if Pardew had been replaced in the summer and a new manager had had exactly the same season we've had so far, everyone would have been singing his praises for weeks already.

Absolutely fucking excellent. It's my birthday today. One of the mates I'll be going out with later is a Man U fan. Sweetness.

The last time we beat Man Utd at their place, Joe Harvey (God rest his soul) was manager.

For 45 minutes he actually looked like a player who should be at the World Cup.

After how many wins in a row is it acceptable to stop complaining?

Wow. Shola.

I discussed tonight's game with various Germans in the course of the day. Every single one of them seemed to think they're going to lose.

Travelling in Vietnam at the moment (look at me, look at me, pathetic, etc) and yesterday arrived in the city of Hué. I was smiling to myself that the name is basically pronounced like "howay", but today, doing the sightseeing thing and looking around pagodas and mausoleums and stuff, I'd even forgotten that it was a match day. Then my Vietnamese driver asks if I like football. Of course, I say. My team is Newcastle. "Ah," he beams with pleasure. "Newcastle United! They are my favourite England team! Tonight, against Chelsea, is on television. I am supporting Newcastle!" Seems Shearer was his all-time favourite player. Warmed the cockles, this conversation. Hué the lads!

Aye read about them before, they apparently swallowed up a couple of clubs from that area and made the new one I think. "The investment in SSV Markranstädt by Red Bull is not the company's first attempt to enter the Leipzig football scene. In 2006, it tried to purchase FC Sachsen Leipzig, a club with a rich tradition, but also plagued by constant financial trouble. After months of fan protests which deteriorated into violence, the company abandoned the plan.[9]" Seems to be the way forward if they try anything.... Sad thing is they'll probably end up being the premier club in Leipzig. Lokomotive and Sachsen have been stuck in the doldrums for years and there's a huge market for a successful Bundesliga club there. In fact other than Hertha which was a unique situation there isn't any Bundesliga sides from the old East Germany. Hertha weren't in East Germany. They were in West Berlin. I did say that was a different situation, but I wasn't sure which part of Berlin Hertha were in. Well, the club is as old as ours -- founded in 1892. So obviously it predates the division of Berlin and all along had fans on both sides of the city. Players and officials sometimes used to sneak over the Wall for fan meetings, often wearing replica kit under their normal clothes as presents for East Berlin supporters. Two days after the Wall came down, 11,000 East Germans turned up to watch a Hertha match. I don't know where their pre-war stadium was, but after the war and subsequent denazification of sporting institutions, the club was reformed in Gesundbrunnen, which was in West Berlin. They were one of the founding clubs of the Bundesliga in 1963, and from that year also started playing at the Olympia-Stadion in West Berlin. They were never part of East German football.

Aye, in the first couple of years -- 1892-94 -- we played in red and white.

Any change that puts some brand in the name of the club would be a sticking point for me. Same, probably, with a change in the club colours. I'm not that bothered about a stadium name change, though.

Aye read about them before, they apparently swallowed up a couple of clubs from that area and made the new one I think. "The investment in SSV Markranstädt by Red Bull is not the company's first attempt to enter the Leipzig football scene. In 2006, it tried to purchase FC Sachsen Leipzig, a club with a rich tradition, but also plagued by constant financial trouble. After months of fan protests which deteriorated into violence, the company abandoned the plan.[9]" Seems to be the way forward if they try anything.... Sad thing is they'll probably end up being the premier club in Leipzig. Lokomotive and Sachsen have been stuck in the doldrums for years and there's a huge market for a successful Bundesliga club there. In fact other than Hertha which was a unique situation there isn't any Bundesliga sides from the old East Germany. Hertha weren't in East Germany. They were in West Berlin.

Redbull Arena would be fine with me as long as we we're benefiting on the pitch from the investment. Personally I draw the line at change of team colours/name/badge. Mostly this although I would like to see SJP incorporated into the Red Bull Arena name. NUFC is a world famous club, mainly because of its history both recent and back through the years ; reputedly, the Italian who formed Juventus decided they would play in B & W stripes because he was so impressed with the football he saw when he came to watch NUFC, then a top side. Surely, anyone taking the club over could see that some things about the club are too famous and important to change because they would gain nothing financially by doing it. ANY potential sponsor would be happy to be associated with us provided they knew there was ambition and real money going into making the club a regular competitor for the PL title and the CL...changing the club colours would not make a ha'porth of difference because most people associate the club with those stripes. Some of the other clubs mentioned as having changed strips etc are nowhere near as famous as us and therefore lost nothing by doing so whereas I believe we would. Many fans would not take kindly to a change of colours which totally removed the traditional Black and White so its hardly worth Red Bull doing so - there are plenty of ways they can improve Newcastle United but strip and name change is not part of that. It would take some major on-field success to get many fans to accept these things although consistently being in the PL top 4 and in the CL may make the pill easier to swallow.... The bit in bold is bollocks. Juventus got their black and white stripes from Notts County, which is why Notts County were invited to play Juventus at the inauguration of their new stadium in 2011.

Perhaps Santa Claus will come along and offer to give the supporters lots of lush pressies. Should we protest changing the seahorses to reindeer?

What a dismal thread. The comment wasn't particularly racist in any evil kind of way, but it was the kind of thing only a racist would say. It's ignorant. And it does contain a racist idea, placing Les Ferdinand "black" as a category, not black as in his actual skin colour, which isn't black at all, though that's the "point" of the joke. The point is to call him a darkie, basically. I remember SJH also came out with some homophobic drivel many years ago. He's a bit like a sort of football chairman Prince Philip – an old fucker, a bit out of touch with reality, and with a lot of antediluvian attitudes in there.

It's amazing how you can't see Tim Krul in this picture.