Sifu

Same feelings as before so thought I'd just repost this: If he is Arteta-like, then he could very well be a decent signing. In any case, it's a new club and a new country so he would need time to settle in. So, he might be a replacement for Guthrie but then again, he might not. Could be the case that Amalfitano is being brought in just to add to the squad? We shall see in the near future...

Probably. I can understand calls for a British Football team for the Olympics but for actual football events (the Euros and the World Cup), individual countries are definitely the way to go. Out identities are too strong to be represented by the same football team. Slightly different for Geordies maybe as we don't identify with the rest of England as much in general. The way I see it is that the Euros and World Cups (qualifiers or the competition proper) have all traditionally been contested by England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales and it should stay that way. The amount of footballing history from each country is far too great for it to be integrated into one single entity in the FIFA world. Now, the Olympics has traditionally been contested by participants from Great Britain and because of that, it's understandable that some were asking for a GB Football Team (what with the Olympics actually being in London this time round). So I'm fine with a GB football team for this occasion. Might be a bit iffy about it in the future. But one thing I can see happening though is that if Team GB fails miserably, then I think it'll be the last time we'll see a GB football team for a while. (Btw, think I may have just contradicted myself in this post, haha).

That's plan B sorted then, how did you do it? Are the tickets getting posted out or do you pick them up from the ticket office? Just rang up the extra £5 for the Wolves game is what gets you the ticket for our game which is a no brainer for just a extra £5 just make sure you ask for the both games package and to pick up don't tell them to send to your address doubt it would work if you try get them sent to Newcastle... just be prepared to dodge a few questions I had to dodge a few piece of p*ss really though. Again thanks durhamunigeordie for the heads up What kind of questions did they ask?

Nope.

Probably. I can understand calls for a British Football team for the Olympics but for actual football events (the Euros and the World Cup), individual countries are definitely the way to go.

Nice, thanks for letting us know. Think that's me sorted then...

Canny draw and line up there. Unfortunately though, the draw hasn't been so nice for Team GB. I can see them struggling due to that muppet, Pearce being in charge. Senegal and Uruguay will be massive tests (Crooks must have been high when he said it was an "easy group"). That warm-up game with Brazil will be a sure indicator of where GB will be at, level-wise (though it'll be better if GB can get other friendlies sorted). If Pearce can get the players working as a team then fair play (but judging from his performance in the U21 Championships last year, I'm not so confident).

From what I gather, you need to be a registered Wigan supporter or have a proof of address (ie. proof that you live in Wigan) to buy tickets for the home end...

People can go down without tickets and pay at the turnstile. Is that definate, i've heard conflicting stories. I'm sure that they said you couldn't - with the people saying you couldn't indulding in wummery Yeah, I remember seeing something that said they wouldn't open the turnstiles to any away fans this Saturday. It's down to Wigan in the end, they could change their stance (I'm hoping this will be so) in the next few days or they might not, we'll see.

Some of those interviews man

In answer to your first question, I think so. Ticket sales have closed but I think they're going to sell more tickets closer to the time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17808441#asset 00:27. Yep, his goalscoring instinct is back

Despite my new found belief, still haven't voted in the poll. Too scared to

2-1 to West Ham. Come on Leicester, get one back!

A few stories here and there on a few French websites and in the Journal.

Well in Yohan, just keep putting a good word in for us - maybe do the same at the Euros too?

If the score stays as it is, it will mean West Ham will be destined for the playoffs while Southampton will be promoted.

The Olympic Football Draws are tomorrow:

We have to count on a Liverpool win again? How many times has that been this season?

Whatever happens in the next few weeks/final 4 games, I'll be very proud of the players. It's been a fantastic season. 4th is pretty much now in our hands ( ). Seriously though, we're in such a great position! Three points off Arsenal and 3 points ahead of Spurs, the momentum is certainly with us so I would be a bit disappointed if we do miss out in the end.

Now that sounds promising.

Was always under the impression that Auclaire was a sensible one who knew his stuff. Clearly not, shame.

Someone thought that list was realistic? :lol: Tbf, all the replies have rightly ridiculed that poster (too much FM for him methinks!).

Great post except for this part. The way I saw it was that we were underperforming and I believe that it was right to question some of his decisions at the time. Like I've said, even the likes of Ferguson and Wenger receive a bit of stick when their gameplans/tactis don't work - it's all part of the package as a manager. I've always had faith in Pardew but there was a time when some of his decisions were, well, weird and I felt that I was within my right to comment on what was right and what was wrong.

I've mentioned this quite a few times in the past but thought I'd mention it again, a manager deserves praise when things go well but he also deserves criticism when things don't go well. It's all part of the package of being a manager after all - you will see the likes of Wenger/Ferguson being criticised when Arsenal/Man U lose or when things aren't going well performance-wise for their respective clubs and Pardew is no different. So, Pardew justifiably saw a bit of criticism come his way when we were having that period when performances were well below-par. During this time, the tactics just seemed to be wrong and to quite an extent, they were negative as well (a somewhat over-reliance on direct football, scoring one goal but then sitting back/defending deep instead of going for more). It was almost incomprehensible why Pardew had decided to opt for such an approach in our play. Pardew deservedly saw praise for our fantastic start to the season. He had established a foundation where we became hard to beat, that is, the emphasis of defensive solidity. Such an approach was effective and we certainly reaped benefits from it. He is now receiving praise for our fantastic run of form atm and with his strongest 11 being pretty much available, I really think we are seeing the vision he had for us in proper action now. We did actually see glimpses of the pass-and-play system on several prior occasions this season so I'm of the opinion that such a system was always on his mind but for whatever reason, he felt it wasn't ready to be used properly at the time (could be down to a lack of personnel? Lack of confidence? Or he just wanted to play it safe and stick to the "winning formula" he had prior to Christmas?). All in all, one thing you can't deny is that we've had a phenomenal season under Pardew (we have been in the top 7 for almost all of the season!) Yes, he has made mistakes but he has, to my mind, acknowledged and corrected them. So no doubt this season will have come as a learning curve for him too. Times are really exciting atm and I am very much looking forward to the future - it really is so good to be a Newcastle fan atm and Alan Pardew deserves a massive amount of credit. Time to Pardy.