Cronky

like last thursday Aye, loved every minute. Also; David Beckham. Everyone loves Beckham though. He's easily the most popular England player. I still think theres an equal measure of people who think he's s***, or some that think it's cool to not like him, these are the usually the least cool people you're likely to meet, and they also usually dont rate Lampard. Beckham still gets the best reaction of any player when he comes on for Engalnd. But yeah your right by the same fans who have booed both Lampard and Cole whilst playing for England this year. Cole is almost understandable considering what a c**k he is, never got why people boo Lampard myself hes one of the players I most admire. As for Beckham for me its a mixed bag, there are quite a few things I don't like about him mainly the celebrity circus surrounding him and his wife (who is responsible for over 50% of it i'm sure) also i always felt he was a bit overrated as a player always a very good but never a great player. However having said that he remains an effective player for england to use if needed as his crossing ability is unmatched by any other england player and I think beneath all the celeb crap that surrounds him he's always struck me as a fundamentally good person and nice guy I think that's pretty close to my own opinion of Beckham. Over-rated as a footballer but a decent enough guy. It's the fuss around him that really irritates. In the last England game, when he had about 20 minutes as a sub, he was decent enough against poor opposition - some good passes, some passes that went astray - but to make him Man of the Match was laughable. Capello looked bemused and hardly able to keep a straight face, and even Beckham had the grace to look embarrassed about it.

Bar Newcastle United, who is your favourite team? Arsenal, by a long way. I actually always look out for Stenhousemuir's results. When I was younger, they were absolutely dire and I gave them my vicarious backing out of sympathy. Which team do you hate the most? I don't hate them, but I don't want Man City to do well, with all that money Who is your favourite player? Rooney, but I love watching Arshavin. You can never tell what's in store with him. Which player do you have the most hatred for? Again, hate isn't the right word, but I get very irritated by the undeserved attention that Beckham and Owen get.

Fergie Bellamy

Not a bad shout. He'd make a big difference to them. But anyway - Friedel Sagna Terry Vidic Clichy Gerrard Essien Fabregas Rooney Arshavin Torres

that could be the main problem after paying 80 million fot the club, then having to spend anthor 20 million to keep the club running, then having to find money for new players. Yeah, the purchase price is a separate issue. If the club holds its value, then you can always recoup your outlay by selling it on. However, if you're having to subsidise the running costs of a club whose value then goes into decline, you're in the classic throwing good money after bad scenario. Not an attractive idea for whoever's providing the finance.

Tough one, but with Rooney you've got a different kind of player. The other two are out and out strikers, whereas Rooney tends to operate between striker and midfield. Those kinds of players can really raise a team, so I'd go for Rooney. Of the other two, I'd go for Torres. Just. For his ability to make something out of nothing.

Yeah, bring it on. I'm getting so annoyed with all this posturing.

I think the major problem is that even having shed some players after relegation, the club still needs to be subsidised by £20 million each year to break even. If we don't get promoted this season, the income will drop and so the cash-flow pressure will increase. There's a danger of a downward spiral. Even if you invest money, there's no guarantee of promotion. Bad luck with injuries can make all the difference. In the current economic climate, banks don't want to take a risk. Moat was keen, but really had a problem raising the cash. I don't think Ashley's loan was the problem. I think he was prepared to write it off. I've never seen it mentioned in any newspapers - only internet forums.

Thinking about it, Hughton and Campbell would know each other well from their time together at Tottenham. There could be a good deal of substance to this story.

His partner is from the North East, isn't she? That may be the reason he's talking about. I've no idea what his level of fitness is like, or his mental state. But if they're okay, then he'd be a good addition.

But it doesn't have to happen at all. Having a sponsor on your shirt has become an industry standard, a fact of life, and who knows, in time selling the stadium's name may become the norm. But right now it isn't, respectable clubs just don't do it and never have. We would not be following the trend on this one, and supporters of any major club would be up in arms if it were them too. I agree with you that people might get used to the idea after a while and the anger will die down, but I honestly think Ashley would be pushing his luck too far this time. People say he owns the club but it's financed by our money and he's screwed without that. As ever, a lot would depend on performances on the pitch - when you're winning games it's easier to pacify the fans, but I think for many their patience has run out with this guy. Would that be a "respectable club" sold by philandering locals who paid themselves huge amounts out of club funds to often dubious offshore accounts and then sold it to a sports retailing wide boy. Seriously though, I agree with you. It does raise the question about - what is a step too far? So called 'respectable' clubs have sold the names of their new stadiums, so I can't see that we're crossing some enormous bridge here. The fact that this precise move hasn't been done before isn't that significant, because there's always a first time. Changing the actual name of the club to suit a sponsor would be the real step too far, I feel. People support a club over a period of time, despite changes of manager, players, competition and even stadium.

I'm not sure Ashley will definitely go through with this. He may have announced the intention early as a way of testing the water. The majority are against it, but the opposition is by no means unanimous, and people may get used to the idea as time passes. I can understand people being against it, but to say that the soul of the club is at stake is a bit much. We play in the Coca-Cola Championship, with ambitions to get into the Barclays Premiership. Fans sit there with an advert plastered over their replica shirts. It seems okay to name a new stadium after a sponsor, but not to re-name an old one. Given the way the game has gone over the last few years, I can't see that this is a huge step beyond any of the other commercial deals that are now customary.

There was a particular point last season where Brown seemed to lose the plot. It was like he started believing in the publicity that was surrounding him, and forgot what had got him there in the first place. Months later, there's no sign of recovery. Hull need to replace him.

The annoying thing is I gather it was very much Ashley's decision, and lots of people were advising him against it. As I said, he brought to the job this attitude of wanting to be one of the fans, and while I don't think any of them were putting forward Keegan's name as he sat there in the stands, Ashley had this head-in-the-clouds mindset and it seems he couldn't resist organising the Messiah's return. Ashley has a history in business of achieving success through bold and unorthodox decisions. Despite all the indications that Keegan would be a round peg in a square hole, he still backed his judgement against people who were in a position to know better. It's been a big dose of humble pie ever since.

So he has let us get relegated, put us on the market with clearly no intention of selling and now in November having gone for the cheapest option as manager has decided to turn the corner. And you think the changing of the stadium name is a show of bottle and leadership? That is crazy Bobyule and I don't believe you are being serious. What I'm getting at is that ever since he's taken over, it's like he's been reacting to events rather than shaping them. We've been stumbling from one unsatisfactory situation to another without him really getting a grip. The Allardyce sacking, the Keegan appointment, the Keegan walk-out, the first decision to sell, the first decision not to sell, the Shearer appointment, the second decision to sell - it all feels like he's been controlled by outside events and forces. His one real attempt at imposing his own ideas - the Keegan appointment with Wise as DOF - was flawed from the start through being a half-way house between his own ideas and what he thought he should do to please others. He saw Keegan as a way of getting the fans onside whereas he should really have picked a manager who was going to be comfortable with the long-term strategy and management structure that he believed in. I hope that this latest set of decisions represents him facing up to the situation and showing a willingness to stick with his job through thick and thin, despite media pressure and public unpopularity. Time will tell on that.

So not EVERY NUFC fan is a George fan. But I suspect 99% will be. read a couple of things today where Bob yule has replied, he was having a dig at nufc.com & NUST on the other one. Mwahahahahaha

For once, David, we can agree. It was great stuff. Kieron Gibbs impresses me every time I see him. This World Cup will probably be too soon for him, but he is sheer class. I quite liked the other full back as well, Gilbert.

Like what, in your opinion? Going off the rest of your post and many others lately, things seem pretty positive. I wasn't thinking of anything in particular that's happening at the moment. I just meant that the things to get worked up about are the performances and attitudes of players, managers and owners, results on the pitch etc etc. The name of the stadium isn't that important to me. Obviously things aren't great at the moment because we're in the Championship, but in the circumstances I think Ashley taking the club off the market and re-committing himself is a good move. If nothing else, there aren't any more positive alternatives.

I don't particularly want the stadium renamed, but it's all part of a general trend for clubs to maximise their income through sponsorship. I can remember a time when people thought having a sponsor's name on the shirt was a desecration. This kind of thing will happen more and more and there are more important things to get worked up about. When Ashley took over, he made this major mistake of thinking he could run the club and still join the fans in the stands and the clubs afterwards and be one of the lads. He thought it could be fun. He now knows different, and that part of running a major club means developing some thick skin. Unless you're making Abramovic-style signings, you're bound to come in for some flak. The Keegan appointment seems to have been some half-arsed attempt at pleasing the fans whilst still maintaining tight financial control, and of course it all exploded in his face. At least the flagging up of the renaming issue shows a bit of much-needed bottle, and a willingness to make his own decisions rather than run scared all the time. The club has badly lacked leadership on and off the field, so perhaps Ashley has turned some kind of corner. We've had a situation where the owner has wanted to be a fan, and the fans have wanted to be the owners. The result has been chaos, and if this marks the end of that, then great.

One encouraging thing is that for once, the players, manager and owner all seem to be working together. That's far more important than the approval of NUFC.com, NUST, or any of the other self-appointed voices of the people. We've not had unity behind the scenes since the early days of Sir Bob's regime, and we've suffered as a result.

An increase in value is worthless if nobody is willing to pay him. He's sticking another £20 million in and will probably have to do the same thing next year as our running costs will increase if we do go up. So what's the problem?

The thing is, he's allegedly taken the club off the market because of £20 million that he was going to get at a later date then he's coughed up £20 million now, it doesn't add up. They are completely separate decisions though. Only an idiot would accept an offer of 75%, with 25% to follow. Not only does such an offer broadcast the fact that the buyer doesn't actually have the 25% at the moment, it means that if there is then a problem with the final payment, the struggle to get the money might effectively be yours. Having decided not to go through with what looks like a shaky offer, he then decides to invest some money in his property, perhaps to increase its value by securing promotion. Isn't that what people have been wanting him to do anyway?

If it saves us selling anyone else in January it will be a start tbh. Do you believe that will be the case? So why not accept the £60m up front from Moat with £20m to be paid next year. He would rather "invest" a further £20m than take £20m less!! As always it does not make sense and just implies that he was never serious about selling the club. Oh and if he is going to do his "best" to achieve success for Newcastle, he would not be appointing Hughton as manager. Next time you're buying property, offer 75% of the price, and say you'll pay the rest in a year's time. See what happens.

Yeah? I thought it was a totally incoherent ramble. There's no point in the club changing hands unless it's going to someone who can take things forward and provide fresh investment. I can't see that Moat was able to offer anything other than not being Mike Ashley.

Ashley has asked for £80 million up front. Moat has only come up with £60 million. The £20 million later just means he doesn't have the money. Christ knows, he's had enough time to raise it.