TRon

I think because the fans make heroes here of anyone who performs well it's easy for fairly ordinary players to start getting ahead of themselves. The "Ryan Taylor over the wall" chants for example. At most big clubs his presence on the pitch wouldn't be tolerated yet here we're singing songs about him. Nolan came from Bolton reserves and after scoring a few goals was demanding a 5 year contract. Easy to get above yourself in this atmosphere. Nolan was a fixture in Bolton's first team for the best part of six or seven years. The comment about Ryan Taylor is daft as well. Most people acknowledge that he's shite, but he's given us a moment of brilliance that really matters to look back upon. Nolan was a fixture for 6-7 years but he was in the reserves when we bought him and quite a bit heavier than his Bolton heyday. I should qualify, I don't think Ryan Taylor is getting above himself, it was just an example of a crap player with a song. The point I was making is at a club like this with supportive supporters it's possible for a player to get caught up in the hype. I italicised the "possible" this time to avoid litigation

I think because the fans make heroes here of anyone who performs well it's easy for fairly ordinary players to start getting ahead of themselves. The "Ryan Taylor over the wall" chants for example. At most big clubs his presence on the pitch wouldn't be tolerated yet here we're singing songs about him. Nolan came from Bolton reserves and after scoring a few goals was demanding a 5 year contract. Easy to get above yourself in this atmosphere.

As long as our football club is under M J A Holdings or whatever the f*** its called, we have every right to look at what he does with 'his' money. No we don't. Don't be ridiculous. For starters, him losing a few grand at the casino isn't going to affect the long-term future of our club, and secondly, do other people have the right to tell you what to spend your money on? No they don't, and it's no different for Ashley regardless of what he owns. And what about when it's a loss of £1.2 million in the space of two hours, a week before one of our most promising players for years is sold? Are... are you suggesting, um, genuinely thinking... for real, that Ashley sold AC to cover personal gambling losses? Not convinced he ever actually thinks about what he says on here I'm not convinced they are even his own opinions or just what he thinks will make him popular daft though it sounds. Just look at the above reply where he's now flip flopping and agreeing it was a tongue in cheek remark in an effort to get back onside.

Pardew is doing the right thing keeping Harper sweet while Elliott is still finding his feet here. If Elliott shows any sign that he's going to be up to the job though it wouldn't surprise me to see Harper permanently demoted to no 3 if this stuff about not wanting to travel to sit on the bench is true.

Without knowing how much say Pardew has in who stays and who goes it's hard to assess how much influence Pardew actually has. Were Barton and Nolan sold over his head for example? In any case he's got on with it and despite all the scare stories we seem to be doing the right things to keep morale high. If I'm going to give credit to Pardew for anything it's for accepting the limits of his role and working within the parameters he's been set. We are moving away from the era of managers having their hand in everything and heading more to a continental system where they are seen more as head coach. This has seen the end of player power with senior pros no longer able to use their influence to get deals beyond their worth. Sometimes it's better for a manager to get rid of the old guard and start fresh with players who buy into his plans rather than have players who are stuck in their ways.

Generational difference. Not really, I remember it but I'm fed up of hearing their self-righteous whining about it. Do you not think it is understandable though when people's lives were lost on that day. It was at the time. How about giving it a rest 20 years later (or however long it's been, I didn't check).

But their manager looks like an idiot and that might just swing it.

Generational difference. Not really, I remember it but I'm fed up of hearing their self-righteous whining about it.

Spot the difference: 1) "I want to spend a bit more time with my family and see my kid play, so I am refusing to travel with the squad to away games should I not be starting." 2) "If I'm only going to be on the bench for half our games this season, then would it be possible for it to be home games? I want to spend a bit more time with my family and see my kid play." It still comes across as half hearted either way. In any case it's just a rumour. I've read the AP quote in the chronicle and he seems happy enough to rotate the keepers.

You might recall that Steve Brenner of the Sun also tweeted about the camp being in disarray during the US tour with spirits low. Sometimes it's best to clear out the old guard and start with a clean slate. Pardew will have a squad he can call his own now with no resentment lingering.

The writings been on the wall for a while now with Harper, as he's one of the senior player cartel which has been broken up and mostly moved on. I'm surprised he's been as unprofessional as this however, he's getting paid (on a pretty good contract I'll bet) so he should be available as and when required.

Coloccini will be a money-hungry traitor this time next year. nice of you to remind everyone just in case they hadn't picked up on it the first 100 times they heard it.

Nolan had a good season and tried to capitalise on it as did Barton. In this case it actually worked massively in our favour that our board are misers and not too emotionally attached to the players. I can think of players in the past who have probably negotiated themselves some nice new contracts on the back of being "great for squad moral" or local heroes. Nicky Butt? By god was he good for squad moral. Top bloke

No no, he clearly spunked upwards of 200 million on the club just to take the p*ss out of Geordies Good luck finding a post from anyone ever claiming that. Oh. Didn't realize the post needed a or summat. Sorry like Accepted. I just think there's often as much hyperbole on either side of the fence when it comes to Ashley. So why ask for a proof of a fairly bog standard comment which most people understood perfectly well? Was it really necessary? I think most people have seen posts along the lines themanupstairs alluded to.

He's looking up at us in 4th place and probably missing the banter with his mates here. Those words are probably as much to convince himself as much as anyone else.

I wouldn't be surprised if there's a fair few who would be happy to see us back in the third tier if it meant us getting rid of Mike Ashley. There's one such nut posting in this very thread.

Let's hope that most clubs share Alan Brazil's opinion when he said on his show the other day that he doesn't rate him. That bloke is an utter tosser though, prehistoric views and constantly talks over people and repeats himself to somehow drive his point home. Also said Mike Ashley is one of a few owners in the league who could write a cheque for £50 odd million and barely bat an eyelid Unlike Durham and Gough, he seems pretty serious with what he says, as the show isn't based on getting callers to phone in and waste loads of money arguing the toss. Exactly. Brazil is old school, he probably still believes a central defender should be the big stopper no nonsense hard man who should kick centre forwards up in the air first and ask questions later. Qualities like anticipation and reading the game probably don't even register in the old fool's mind. It's this type of thinking which would have seen us keeping Nolan and Barton, buying Peter Crouch for £10m then getting the lads together after training for a pie and a few pints down the pub after training.

If the money wasn't spent how have we ended up Ba, Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Tiote Santon, Marveaux, Mehdi, etc in our squad? are they here playing for free?

He'd have to be Fred Shepherd or John Hall to be that loyal. No doubt both have got can be easily reached on an 0191 number.

He didn't have a 5 yr contract behind him when he was with us. Having said that I still think he'll do ok for West Ham over the season. His job is just to be a fat midfielder who turns up in the right areas to score goals. If any manager can get him to do that in the championship surely it has to be Big Sam.

Why didn't QPR bust our door down for even £1m never mind £3m when he was clearly available with a year left on his contract? The fact is we had to offer him on a free for QPR to show an interest. Weren't QPR in for him quick as a flash once Fernandez bought the club? They weren't buying anyone at all before that. That's hindsight talking. Barton was on the market for free for a decent period before QPR's takeover and there was no interest unless you believe Joey's BS about Arsenal and Sunderland. To say we could have got more from QPR would mean we would know they would definitely be taken over and that their owner would want to sanction a bid of say £3m.

Nail on the head basically. Easy to take Jonas' athleticism and pace for granted when so many of our squad lack it. Players like Barton knew his value, that's why they used his name to try and bolster their own position. You can't blame them for trying can you?

Why didn't QPR bust our door down for even £1m never mind £3m when he was clearly available with a year left on his contract? The fact is we had to offer him on a free for QPR to show an interest.

Give us a clue. The positive stupidity or the negative stupidity. limited ability and the beckham nonsense.... He does have limited ability. If his ability was limitless he'd be the best player in the world. There are times he struggles to produce an end product, no amount of rose-tinted specs should prevent one from noticing that. That said he does bring a lot to the team. Personally, I've thought in the past, it's nowhere enough to justify his place sometimes. However, as already stated, he could shine with the better players around him. Not sure how we accommodate them all now though. 4-3-3 anyone? The way I look at it is we have given a good player who has been important to us a new contract. He's no world beater but his pace and hard work defensively make him an invaluable squad player who will no doubt be used in games where we might not have as much possession, and away games. Marveaux and Ben Arfa are higher quality end product players but that doesn't mean they'll walk into the team or be able to bring the qualities he does in certain matches. There's definitely a place for Jonas in the new look NUFC squad, limited or otherwise.

If Beckham could only cross averagely and pass averagely: he would've been hopeless. The fact that he was exceptional at both of those things made him a great player. What is Jonas's exceptional attribute other than hairiness? And it's not like I dislike him: he's a fine player for us. If he's a fine player for us then that's all that matters at the end of the day. Arguing the toss over exceptional or limited isn't really a major issue.