OzzieMandias

A quintet of what look like high-quality reinforcements, acquired for admirably economical sums, and each addressing specific squad weaknesses. What's not to like? They won't all work out, of course, but we've done well with these kinds of signings recently and I'm optimistic. It wasn't quite a perfect transfer window -- we could really have done with another goalscorer and maybe some centre-back cover -- but it was good beyond any reasonable expectation, and light years away from all the prophecies of tight-fisted doom on here. 8.5/10? There really are no excuses for Pardew now, unless one makes an argument about the difficulties of bedding in so many new players blah blah, and I can imagine Ashley is thinking along the lines of, "right, I've backed you in every way possible – long contract, loads of players. Now it's time to justify my faith in you." Whether Pardew can do so or not is an argument for another thread, but I think it's interesting that Ashley has so clearly gone out and tried to give the manager exactly what he was asking for. As for the way this was done, loads of preparatory work must gone before. It may be that recent results added a bit of urgency to the acquisition process (in another season, would we have forked out the extra 2.5 million to get Sissoko now instead of in the summer?), but even if it was a quick decision to reinforce so thoroughly, major homework on all these players must already have been sitting somewhere in the NUFC filing system. The club may look like a shambles sometimes, but in this respect we seem to be extremely well organised.

Well, Colo will be going and for all we know his head won't be right when he resumes playing. I'm not suggesting it's any kind of urgent need. My original comment was just about how close it was to being a perfect transfer window.

Did you miss the Yanga-Mbiwa signing? No. We could still do with another one. Just like we could still do with another striker.

Howay, Bony lad! If we get this chap, it would only need another top-class centre-back to make this transfer window pretty much a maximum break in terms of addressing specific squad weaknesses.

Anyone remember the Sandwich Boutique on Shakespeare Street (or was it Hood Street)? Tiny place, but with a cosmopolitan feel. Me and my teenage friends were always in there. The guy who owned it put a couple of tables on the pavement outside in the summer, and even came out and played the accordion sometimes for customers. The council forbade him to have the pavement tables, and I remember some official remarking sniffily that this was Newcastle, not Paris. How times have changed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21209808

That's how I remember it, though I can't remember exactly what he was supposed to have said. I cheerfully hated him throughout the entire time he was at Tottenham. In recent years I've forgiven him a bit, though, because now he usually speaks positively about us.

We need a song to the tune of La Marseillaise, which is, to be fair, a cracking tune as national anthems go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhNsmCn3Ft4

Don't be daft, man. Anyone who doesn't moan like a bitch throughout the entire transfer window is clearly worse than Hitler.

Right on. We need to add a no shop provision to our bids. Yep. Exclusivity would be helpful to us. I think it's nonsense that our bids are getting highjacked or shopped to other clubs after we get them accepted. Really poor on seller if that's true. Our policy of backing down in "auctions" doesn't help either. We don't even low ball bid and increase to our "ceiling" it seems. We just offer what we can pay max, say to the seller take it or leave it, fuck off if the deal requires any brain work. Obviously these deals aren't going to be clear, cut and dry anymore. We aren't even adapting to these changing conditions either ffs. Bollocks. You haven't got a fucking clue what goes on in these negotiations and neither has anyone else on here.

a. Except he did exactly that when he first got here. b. No he doesn't.

Now I've heard it all. We should be following the "mackem model".

Nor-WAY, Jose!

You could equally say that a lack of principles is fine if you can afford it.

I don't think Shola is ruthless enough.

Personally I hope his knee explodes as he skies a shot over the Gallowgate and is stretchered off to howls of derision from the crowd, while Papiss bags a brilliant hat-trick.

Toon Toon.

so was it..... a) colos wages were wildly exaggerated in the first place ? b) he really has taken a whacking pay cut ? c) his 'pay' is quite small but he makes a lump in image rights paid for by the club to his own private company, registered offshore Or maybe there was a trade-off, longer deal for lower wages.

Totally shite strip, Bordeaux's. That horrible V-shape thing. Pink trimmings. Awful.

Looks like the changing-your-manager-before-Christmas thing is going well at Chelsea.

Plus, while we're facing our old manager and our former striker, so are they.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/shola-ameobis-younger-brother-in-line-to-be-the-best-8303747.html

Yet the article states that in the given time period they bought Hazard, Mata and Cahill, among others, "without any major sales." Am I missing something here? I think the income (swollen via Champions League victory) has been banked and the outgoings deferred. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/chelsea-edge-into-profit--but-risk-big-loss-in-2013-8301468.html