Exiled in Texas

He's better than Pardew, don't see any reason why he shouldn't be given a chance considering some of the other options. Was assistant manager for Netherlands at the recent WC under LVG

Nice to see David Silva swap shirts with him on his debut game.

I'm not sure that Tiote does that either.

It's sad, but when I read that statement, it did not to mean that Newcastle would be in the CL within a year, but Lacazette could move on to a new club after just one year with Newcastle. I am actually OK with us being viewed as a stepping stone club (as long as its a stepping stone to the Champions league clubs and not to the likes of Spurs or Everton or Southampton). My view is that for each player who uses us to step up and move on, another one sees us just as a step up and stays. That process then fuels our progress upwards at a steady pace. Life must be good in Texas to have that sort of mentality. Yes, I know that I am isolated from the day to day feelings compared to those in Newcastle. So I'm probably less emotional about the team (and Pardew). My point being, that we are not going to be able to challenge Man Utd, City, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool. They are financially outside of our league, so we need to focus on solidifying our place in the next group with Spurs, Everton. We are not going to be able to take massive steps to change the team, we are just not set up that way (ahem, manager, ahem), so I see us taking smaller steps and if we need to turn over players every 2 years than so be it.

Yes, agree. A real honest (and realistic) shot at the top 6 would be nice for fans and a positive sign for the club

It's sad, but when I read that statement, it did not to mean that Newcastle would be in the CL within a year, but Lacazette could move on to a new club after just one year with Newcastle. I am actually OK with us being viewed as a stepping stone club (as long as its a stepping stone to the Champions league clubs and not to the likes of Spurs or Everton or Southampton). My view is that for each player who uses us to step up and move on, another one sees us just as a step up and stays. That process then fuels our progress upwards at a steady pace.

Hindsight - we only recognize the things that we think the referee did wrong. Never what they do right. Refereeing is an art not a science, and lets just say that not everyone has the same view on art as their neighbour

Claire Grogan (Kochanski)

That is awesome!!

I think the signing of Colback was a question of timing. He signed early in the window when NUFC did not know what other signings would come through, and better to sign Colback when available than hold out for the Plan A signings (Cabella, Grennier, PEA, Lacasette) which may/may not come off. I'm not convinced that we would sign Colback today if he came on the market now. It was opportunistic and provided cover for minimal cost.

Circle of the New Top continues. Shirt released - widely hated Season progresses - shirt becomes more familiar - less jarring - not so bad If Season going well - fond memories of the shirt start to develop (See the Piss and Puss custard crème for a great example) Season ends - shirt on sale - not as bad as first thought - might get that with xxxxx on the back New season shirt leaked - worst shirt ever - no where near as good as last seasons - quite liked that shirt, but this season is horrendous rise and repeat

Nice one

I like those (would be great for me when I am refereeing)

It's not a foul (i.e. cannot award a DFK for this), but it could be considered a Misconduct (Unsporting Behaviour). The card would be administered at the next stoppage of play (unless the referee decides there is a need to stop play to award the card in which case the restart would be a drop-ball). If the referee decides that a misconduct is required, but will not stop play for this, the best procedure would be for the referee to tell the player he was coming back for him with a yellow card, and to get the card out of his pocket and hold it until the next stoppage of play (the players see the card is out and know that it's being dealt with).

It's called "reduce to equate" and the premise behind this is that it would be unfair for a team with only 9 players to have their top player shooting a second time while the other team with 11 players still had their 10th and 11th players shooting who are presumably not very good (assuming it went that deep in rounds). So both teams would always have equal number of their top players available for the shootout

The time and care taken to create this is staggering. Someone clearly put a lot of effort into this one. SMB

I think that's a myth which needs to be shot down. He cares plenty otherwise he wouldn't be banning local media for reporting on a protest outside the ground which numbered barely 500 people. Exactly, it's clear he is bothered by what people think and say, was it Llambias or Kinnear who asked us to stop singing nasty songs about him? Because he's bothered he's chosen withdrawal and spite, because that is easier than coming clean and trying again. Just ask all my ex girlfriends. I don't believe that Ashley is driven by Spite or Revenge or a desire to F*** the Geordies over. I think he is an unemotional business man who works by the numbers. I know that its popular on here to think that Ashley does things just to piss off the fans, but I cannot imagine a business man wasting time, effort and energy to screw over their customer base. Sure, they are not driven by the same emotions as the fans, and don't have the win-at-all-costs mentality, but I think that profit and/or ROI are more important than esoterical demands like cup runs or getting into top 6 etc.

You'd assume that one of the outfield players would replace him in goal and the shootout would continue. Not actually sure though. Correct

This is part of the problem in football these days. One owner decides to write off 180M as part of a pet project without any business justification to the project and the market is dramatically and artificially corrupted. What will Etihad's response be to this....spend 250M to defend their position and then a clubs reasonable budget of 50M is suddenly reduced to an insignificant amount.

Wonder what percentage of those passes were backwards, or an immediate return pass. I bet less than 30% were forward or positive in nature.

#Crystanbul. Hahahaha

Nah, it'll be Mark Cuban or someone else wonderful. Cuban would be a good owner....he is not afraid to spend some money for the right players, but it is also a very good business man. Perhaps their really is a middle ground for club ownership. Crazy talk. The two options are Man City or Leeds, there's nothing inbetween.

Nah, it'll be Mark Cuban or someone else wonderful. Cuban would be a good owner....he is not afraid to spend some money for the right players, but it is also a very good business man. Perhaps their really is a middle ground for club ownership.

Sports Direct : producing shit clothes and shit football teams since 2008