Exiled in Texas

Ah, but would you do it in Fenwicks window??

BSA will always be a legend around here......... ......for THAT THREAD on the SMB That was classic

Yep he was dire. Amazing game in ET. Getafe, down to 10 men since the 6 minute mark of the regular game, grab two quick goals in the first 5 mins of Extra Time to lead 3-1. Bayern looked dead in the water but two terrible mistakes in the dying minutes/seconds allow Toni to grab two late goals to send Bayern through on Away goals.

Snicker!!!

I don't understand the interest in Carrick. Not that he isn;t a good player, but isn't Carrick starting most games for Manure? Other than Carrick being from Tyneside, what other draw is there for him to come to Newcastle. You have more chance getting Hargreaves than Carrick.

Oba is loved because he has always stood up, and defied the media in saying how much he loves the city, loves the club and doesn't want to leave. Despite the media's best efforts to encourage him to consider leaving, he routinely states just how much he loves the club and the city. The fact that he is willing to dig into the clubs history to understand who Keegan is and what he did, or how he wants to aspire to be like Shearer and doesn't think he is a step above him, endears him to the fans. He could easily have turned his first season here into a move elsewhere, but he appears to have found a home in the Black and White stripes, and that appears to be very important to him. So why not love him and his back flips.

Beat Chelsea.....and make a statement for next year about what the future of Newcastle holds. Anything to increase the potential "pull" of the club on a transfer target. As for what happens elsewhere....not bothered.

Interesting thoughts....big club, bigger club etc. Obviously the lights burn brighter in the home town and obscure the lights in the other towns. I don't think Newcastle fans can truely/objectivly judge the attraction of their team vs another despite how we may claim to be biased. There are just too many unspoken perceptions and preconceptions built into our lives. Ever heard of Peter Wythe or Gordon Cowans? Yes, us oldies have....we remember listening to the radio at night for games from Rotterdam, or Bucharest or Moscow. Gary Lineker.....he played?? I thought he just did MOTD. Who remembers the him leading Everton as Div 1 leaders. Actually...who remembers the First Division. The simple fact is that a 40yr old will have a different view of these teams than his 20yr old son. The just have different references to base their views on. Clear as the Cathedral on the Hill, Newcastle have a big stadium full of passionate fans. Does Goodison Park or Villa park have the same atmosphere. No. They don't. The makeup of the stands, closeness to the pitch, Height of the roof, one terrace or multiple levels etc all make the stadiums unique. One man's state of the art cathedral is another's soul-less cookie cutter stadium, just as one mans 4 cow shed dump is another old-school real-football home. As a Newcastle fan I can judge the appeal of Everton vs Villa vs Pompey, but for sure I can't truely compare Newcastle to these teams as I am too invested in the Toon to truly be objective. But I can make assessments of KK Newcastle vs BSA Newcastle. If we could split reality and have a KK Newcastle and a BSA Newcastle playing in the EPL next year. KK finishing the season his way, and BSA playing out the season his way.......what would the off season look like. Who would sign for each team? Imagine both Newcastle's challenging for the same player....I am sure that the style of play (the demeanor or swagger of the team) would be a huge factor in making SJP an attractive place to commit the next three years of your football future if your an ambitious young player. Do you want to play sterile, no risk, by the pro-zone numbers game? Or do you want to play attacking swash-buckling football? I think we stand a better chance signing a Bentley or a Deco or a Moutinho under KK than we would under BSA. No wether they sign here or at Everton or Villa or Athletico Madrid......that's another matter.

he's s*** now... maybe he can't manage the pressure of the hype Yep, commentators said he was having a poor season, but you don't get bad quickly except for loosing your confidence. Having said that, he had a good game against Gettafe.....I'd love to see him come in to play in Butt's DM anchor role. What the f***? Do you want to sign Ronaldo and play him left back as well? Schwienstager is no MidFielder in the Ronaldo role, but perhaps the holding DM is not quite his best role. Certainly playing the Barton/Geremi role in the 4-3-3 would suit him. Still like to see him in the B&W Stipes.

The key thing now, as was pointed out by the broadcast crew, is that now Oba and Owen are working FOR each other instead of competing AGAINST each other.

he's s*** now... maybe he can't manage the pressure of the hype Yep, commentators said he was having a poor season, but you don't get bad quickly except for loosing your confidence. Having said that, he had a good game against Gettafe.....I'd love to see him come in to play in Butt's DM anchor role.

Had nothing on the Owen/Beye celebration, to be honest. Yep, with Owen hanging on for dear life :-D

I'd love to see us make a bid for the out-of-favour Bayern Munich midfielder Bastien Schweinstager (sp?). Strong midfielder, with a good gengine and a wicked long range shot. According the coverage of the Bayern game against Getaffe, Schweinstager has rarely featured for Hitzfeld's Bayern this season. Of course this may be a case if him just waiting out Hitzfeld, and waiting for Klinnsman to arrive for whom he featured strongly in the 06 World Cup. I thought Schweinstager was great for Germany in the WC, and am suprised to hear that he is out of favour at Bayern. Wonder what he would cost though?

So who saw the Oba-Faye two step together after Oba scored. Pretty funny seeing him and Faye start out with the hand-dap and then go on to hips and heels. Very funny.

If Arshavin can play every week, like he played for Zenit against Leverkusen in the Waffa cup this week, he would be a great addition.

Arshavin did have a great game for Zenit against Leverkusen. He is quite the deminutive player, but quick as foook. Scored a great goal from out of nothing by running hard at the defense, made another with a great run and a perfect pass, and set up their third goal with a superb midfield pass to get the wide player running into space. Overall, he looked a very nice player - skilled, fast and mobile - but a tad small to lead the front line. As a winger/in the hole he might be very good though.

I'd like to see us play out the season with some good football played (similar to the style we played against Blackburn, Fulham and especially Spurs). Finishing with a flourish in either 12 or 11th would be great - 3 wins, a tie and 2 losses would be fine. But it's the style that we play that will be important. We need to show prospective targets that we are on the up, and playing attractive football. The better we show, the easier it is to attract the higher quality players. Then next season our target should be 7th-10th place. Step by step. Easy does it. Solid foundations all the way, without gambling on the quick-fix that may not pay off.

If you didn't look at the stands, you would have through this was a home game for Newcastle. When the chants started you could hear the Geordie fans coming through loud and clear. Didn't hear any Spurs chants.

Ranieri made most of their better signings, but I kinda get your point. Actually, I think Keegan is our Ranieri.......steadies the ship, and prepares us for the next stage.....although I'd like to see him stay and reap the rewards himself

Exactamundo!!.....Not good enough for 17th place, so why would they be good for top 10 which is what we are aiming for.

It should be all about stepping stones. This season - First safety, then good form in how we play. Hopefully objective achieved Then next season - Utilise our end of season form to attract some key players. Won't be earth shattering signings, but will be progress. Think Ferdinand/Lee rather than Shearer. Aiming for 10-7th in the league. Season after - then we hit top form, top 6 and beyond. Think how Chelsea were positioned by Claudio Ranieri as a good but not great team, before they kicked into top gear with the Big Signings. Without the work done by Ranieri, they would never have been able to get the signings they did get (inc Mourinho).

So far the results are looking good. The team has been playing much more mobile and fluid going back at least till the Birmingham and Blackburn games, and results like the last two games were due. Alardyce had the team standing still - passing to players who were already covered or who were completely stationary. It was poor pass one way into danger, then a poor pass right back where it had come from. No-one in teh midfield was facing forward, everyone was facing backwards....Static players, Static football. Now they have movement....the players are moving into supporting positions, the ball is played for players to move on to, and not to the foot of a stationary player with his back to the opposition. This is at least the 4th game in a row that the players have been moving and supporting each other. A few more games of this type of display and we will be a much more attractive proposition for potential players to come to in the summer.

Article from a Norwich source, indicates that Roeder was interested in Shola, but Stoke agreed to an initial loan with £5M transfer in the summer. Too expensive a gamble for Roeder to compete with. http://norwichcity.myfootballwriter.com/full_article.asp?i=3081 make sure you read page 2 of the article. Great business from KK if he has wrung £5M out of anyone for Strola.

All Referees miss things, and given access to replays they would increase the % of correct calls even higher. I think that if the FA did review players actions after the games, the referees would be more likely to make more calls on the field knowing that they would get looked at later.

All appeals should automatically have an increase in the ban being the outcome if the ban is upheld. What incentive is there for a team/player to accept a ban and get on with it - None. They all challenge the Ban because they might win, and the worst that happens is tha ban remains. If they risk loosing and getting the ban increased, they they wouldn't automatically just challenge it for the sake of it. If they are so sure that they are right, and the referee was wrong then they will have no worry about risking an increase in the ban. Glad to see Aladiere have his ban increased - if only they had done the same for Dida when he faked a near-fatal assult at Celtic in the CL.