Cronky

Better than it's been any time since the Sir Bob era. Despite the blips, the momentum is in the right direction.

I don't remember that at all, and it doesn't sound like CH. He's pretty good at picking on merit - we might not agree with him, but he's not afraid of a tricky decision.

The sudden change in attitude on TT has an awful lot to do with the key people on there not getting re-elected to the NUST committee imo. I can see how that opinion would be formed but can assure you its not. Firstly, that thread shows many of those who were losing faith stated the fact before I or Tom came into the thread with our views. For myself, as Ive already stated elsewhere, not getting re-elected was not the reason for my views, they were already heading that way a good while before the elections. I had many an argument at committee meetings about things I wasnt happy with, lack of communication and the way in which Internet forums are viewed by the (now) chairman being just two of them. You just need to look at my "manifesto" to see my thoughts. NUSC (not NUST) is something I strongly believe in, when I came on here many times and argued the points I did so because overall I believed in the organisation and I still do. Things such as the £7m per month, I was sucked into and made to believe that there was proof of this from an independent source due out any day. When that programme was aired it turned out to be something totally different, do you think I took pride in being made to look a fool? As for YWC, we had a small group who were dealing with it day to day and believe it or not, they gave very little information to the rest of the committee (something thats still happening today and needs to be stopped). The rest of us however needed to back this, it looked fantastic from the basic info that was given out. If I and the rest of the committee hadnt backed it and promoted it as we did then it would have been doomed to failure without even a chance. Id like to think however that all promotion we did was informing rather than selling. I always (wrongly) believed that more info was just around the corner and by keeping people involved it stood a better chance when the full info was released. Newcastle United needs a supporters club, thats something I strongly believe, thats what we set out to build, yes it came at a time when all that was talked about was protest but the basis of a good supporters club should be working for whatever is best for the fans. Away trips, fan days, stuff to keep the younger generations interested in the football club rather than have them go to "successful clubs". It hurts to see what is happening now to the organisation I was proud to be part of, no consultation with the members, no meetings since it became a Trust (when Supporters Direct recommend 3 or 4 per year), the belief that those who post on places such as this are not representative of NUFC fans. All of that is wrong and needs to be changed. It's a bit of a worry that an organisation like that is having meetings with the likes of the Minister of Sport, and presenting themselves as remotely competent or representative. They also managed to gain the support of a journalist on a respected National newspaper, who seemed more intent on self-promotion than checking his information. NUST have never had much credibility in my eyes, but it's scary how easy it is to get your voice heard if you're giving the media the news that they want.

I thought they were fairly good ratings myself. The only quibble I'd have was Jonas as a 5. There was the usual final ball problem, but he was a very useful outlet and kept the ball well usually. Barton 8 - bit generous, but he made a good fist of playing out of position, and those two Beckham-like crosses won us the game.

I just don't get Avram Grant as a manager. With that monotone voice and hangdog expression, I can't imagine him inspiring anyone. Perhaps he's different away from the cameras, but West Ham seemed completely devoid of spirit in the second half. Grant looked very worried afterwards, with good reason.

He had a very good reputation as a coach but was a regular failure as a manager. His second spell at Man City set them back many years - in the late 60's and early 70's they were equals to Man Utd but he put paid to that. He always came across as a flash harry who was far too full of himself. He may well be missed by his nearest and dearest, but all the media hand-wringing feels a bit misplaced. PS - His record as a manager in England was - Trophies 0, Promotions 0, Relegations 4.

I'd say if he's going to wear a suit, he needs to get a decent one. That suit yesterday looks like the one he pulls out of the corner of his wardrobe once a year. I was quite happy with the tracksuit.

Krul has really stepped up to the mark. He looks confident and if he carries on like that, Harper won't get his place back even when he recovers fitness. The one thing that makes me nervous is that he will often catch crosses which he may be better off punching away. He got away with it yesterday, and obviously it's better if you do catch them, but it looks risky. All in all though, he's a very different keeper to that hot-headed youngster of a couple of years ago. And we can fully expect him to improve even more as the season goes on.

That's a rarity with any side. It shows how much in control of the game we were.

Difficult to assess the performance, because West Ham were unbelievably shit in the second half. It felt like we were back in the Championship. Tiote really looks a brilliant buy. He held things together when we were poor, and then did a great job of protecting the defence on the few occasions that we were under pressure. Loads of energy and not afraid of taking responsibility. Jonas did well too. He's a very useful outlet. We still have a problem at RB.

West Ham have looked really poor this half. We've had so much time and space it's ridiculous.

Yeah, I'd go back to Plan A and bring Routledge on, Barton inside, Nolan forward and....... take Carroll off. Shola's that bit better at holding the ball up. Simpson has done okay defensively, but doesn't look remotely confident going forward. Not much to choose between him and Perch I'm afraid.

We're doing better than I thought possible after the first 10 minutes. Anyone's game, really. It'll depend on who gets the run of the ball in the penalty area.

Trouble is, any old ball up to Cole has us in trouble.

Last season, West Brom and Blackpool were better footballing sides than us, and I did wonder whether they might find it easier to adjust to the Premiership. They've had to improve, but they've not had to change their style, whereas we've had to do both. I think Hughton has made a good fist of things. We are a bit better at playing the ball on the deck, even though Ben Arfa's injury has been a real blow. However, the build up is often a bit slow, so it's still a work in progress. But we have improved, and we do need to keep faith with the man who has brought us this far.

It's this kind of nerveless facing down of star names and pressure situations that has made Fergie the most successful manager of all time. He put everything on the line when he publicly told Rooney - okay, you say you definitely want to go, let's sort a move out. He forced him to step away from the games that his agent was trying to play with the club. Let's give credit where it's due.

My guess is that they're just fed up with Gaydamak and his games and are putting him under public pressure to agree. I can't see it all falling through if they're that close to settling it all.

I don't think this is just about money. I reckon he would have got more elsewhere, but he's not a person that would adjust easily to a move to a different country, or even to London. His best option would have been Man City, and that would have brought its own problems, not least the fact that they won't be able to spend as big as they're doing now, once the Financial Fair play rules kick in. It looks like his agent has tried to bluff the club into thinking that Rooney wanted out, in order to get a better deal, and has manipulated press and fan opinion to further that end. Ferguson has called his bluff and trampled over him. The funniest thing about this is how so many journos, who are supposed to be in the know and insightful about the situation, have read this completely wrong. Ferguson has consistently confounded the critics who have written him off time and again, and I have to admire him for that.

Another triumph for Fergie. According to the press, he was a shattered and broken man in that press conference a few days ago. He's pissed all over them yet again.

because he thinks it would take the power away from the players in contract terms i assume i.e. if rooney can't leave manyoo for free when his contract runs out the club he's going to might not pay him as much as they'll be hit with a tribunal fee that has to be factored in, therefore the ball isn't as much in his court tbf it is a little shit that you can pay 20m for a player, pay him for his services, then he walks away and you get nothing back...it's not like he's suddenly not worth anything every player has a value even if it's usually depreciating...i don't see why a club who paid for a player should get nothing back either tbh it just shouldn't restrict him being able to move on, which a tribunal wouldn't 'cause their rulings are/were final Yeah, this. Transfer fees are a way of recognising the investment that the selling club has made in developing the player. It's an important way of distributing income from the big clubs who would otherwise be exploiting the good work of the smaller clubs, by taking their better players off them for free the minute they reached a certain standard. At the moment, we have a situation where a player can be worth millions at one point, and then nothing a couple of years later. That allows players to force clubs to pay inflated wages when their contract comes up for renewal, for fear of losing them for nothing a while later. Effectively, the transfer money that was originally going to clubs is now going straight into the pockets of the players.

I agree with you. I find this a bit embarrassing, considering Hughton's overall record since he's been in charge. If fans of another club were doing this, we'd be laughing at them and saying how weak and fickle they are. The club has to hold its nerve through the difficult times. Unless Hughton has lost the support of the dressing room - and there's absolutely no indication of that - then the club should be fully behind him.

erm wasn't that what bosman was about man? his contract expired but his club wouldn't release his registration due to them deeming the fee offered too low so he couldn't go anywhere http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosman_ruling There was variation throughout Europe, but in England, disputes about transfer fees at the end of a player's contract were resolved by a transfer tribunal, so in practice the player wasn't tied and the club had compensation. In Belgium, the club could just refuse to release the player's registration. I feel that getting rid of the tribunal was throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Keeping a player tied after the contract has expired is clearly wrong, and the clubs who wanted to keep that system had only themselves to blame when it went to court and things were put in the hands of lawyers. A sensible compromise was the tribunal system.

The problem with the Bosman ruling is that it abolished the transfer tribunal that had previously sat alongside freedom of contract. Players were not tied to a club, but the club could get some compensation from the new club that he joined. Bosman ruled that a restraint of trade. That was when the power balance shifted decisively in favour of the player. If it hadn't gone to court, the system might have lasted, if not indefinitely, but a few years more.

He has the same problem as Nolan in that he's too slow/physically incapable to be a be a box to box player so ends up just hovering round a small area of the pitch leaving all the movement to other players. He's certainly slow, but he does get into the penalty area. I'm not saying he's a Lampard, but I don't think there's an issue with his mobility. If we had a striker who could drop back and link with the midfield, I think we'd see some exchanging of positions and Barton getting into the box a bit more - in the way that Beardsley and Lee used to interchange. At the moment we look a bit static. At the end of the day, do we have anyone better for CM? I don't think so.

I think they'd be lucky to get that. If he can buy himself out of his contract at the end of the season, then it'll come down to who can offer him the most money. I think the likeliest outcome is that he'll stay. At the moment, he's torn between taking the superstar route to the big money, (which is where I suspect his agent wants to take him) and where he'll feel at home, which is where he is now. The recent collapse in his form suggests to me that he's not very happy about where he's heading at the moment.