Dunedin

Trying to look on the bright side, thank God we didn't sign any Glasgow Rangers rejects and McManus from Celtic

Regrettably I am in the camp that believes we will be relegated now. It isn't because we didn't sign more players in this window (although that certainly has not helped) but because we have a seriously incompetent manager who has no idea how to get the best out of the players we currently do have. If he remains in charge we will go down. If he is replaced then we might have a chance. i know the usual cry will go up as to who would come to Newcastle, but if MA throws enough cash and incentives to keep us up to a good manager then he could be persuaded to come and do a rescue job. After all there is basically nothing for him to lose as if we still go down it would not be his fault given the squad etc but if he kept us up he would get all the plaudits going.

Yep. We are f*cked

Please lay off Coloccini. God help us if he gets injured.

Nothing further on Macmanus from Celtic, thank God. Rather we went for Berra from Hearts as I do not rate Macmanus at all.

If we really are after Balde then we have stopped scraping the bottom of the barrel and gone right through it. You could not describe him as hopeless as that is too generous. What have we become !!!!

I visit Portugal several times a year and after speaking to some Portuguese friends I think Meireles would be a great signing as we need a playmaker type. He is also very good at taking dead ball pieces. The only worry might be that the EPL might be too robust for him as he is quite small about 5'6" but better than anything we currently have

Yes, He stupidly picked a white ref but who had a coloured wife. His case fell apart at that point.

We have one of the worst midfields in the Prem. Unless we buy some quality for the midfield in Jan I think the possibility of relegation remains. Also when was the last time we dominated a game at St James ? When did we last score more than 2 goals in a prem league match ?

I am struggling to name the three teams that will finish below us.

Jock Stein was an average player but a f**king great manager. So what does it matter whether TK was an average player he'd be coming if he comes at all as manager

Not looking forward to Saturday. First a 3 hour train journey from Edinburgh (track repairs) so via Carlisle. No midfield to put out and a dismal 3 hour journey home. Thank f**k for alcohol.

not all bad news then

With Ashley trying to sell the club it is unlikely ( and probably foolish) to appoint a new manager. The sale process could take weeks if not months and we need some stability over the first team now. The answer might be to appoint a temporary manager on a month to month contract and pay him very well. Deschamps is looking for work and (putting tin helmet on now) there are always the likes of Venables, Graham etc. Any thoughts as to others who might do a good job in the short term ?

Had hoped I would never see Amoebi in a Newcastle team again. Still how can you expect him to pass a ball when he can't pass a medical.

Thats why there's no announcement yet. David Craig - and who's that Scottish guy in the SSN studio who always seems to be on when there is Toon news? (he did the late shift yesterday - post 11pm) David Tanner. Lives two doors away from me.

The ones that have disapponted me are signings made by other clubs and with reasonable fees. Eg Sidwell to AV, Kompany to Man City and Malbranque to the Mackems. These players would have added to our overall quality and were not or should not have been beyond our reach.

Well we we have to make the most of the situation. But, I dread to think what will happen if we have an injury to Coloccini and while I admit I know nothing about Gonzales I really worry that our midfield is likely to be over-run by many of the other Prem teams. Trying to assuage my feelings of disappointment but still look forward to Hull on 13 Sepd

Boyd is a lazy idle waster and makes Amoebi look sh*t hot. Please no.

Have to say i'd have liked him only on loan but I think Saviola is the better prospect, Can play as striker or attacking midfield. We'd only really need a powerhouse in a holding midfield role and a left back. Ideal situation is Saviola, Attacking midfielder, Holding Midfielder and left back but a bit of a big ask in 2 weeks unless the deals have been worked on for sometime. When it comes to centre midfielders, we need someone with a "quality" that they can bring to the side. Now i know that sounds obvious but what i mean is, we need someone who can bring a more specfic attribute. For example, if we brought in Tim Cahill we know he would get beyond the strikers and grab us a few goals from midfield or if we got Diarra we know he would dominate the midfield and win the ball. Although, Tiago is decent on the ball i feel right now we need a player that adds something special to our midfield. Frings would do it especially if the purse strings have been loosened.

Torsten Frings would provide the bite and composure that is needed in midfield. What a different German national team when he came on.

Poorest player today was N'Zogbia. The man is not a left back and never will be.

Presumably his"occasional attachments" were electrodes attached to his knackers.

Scott Brown is an improvement over the present bunch. If we do not strengthen the midfield ,I agree with earlier comments, we will watch the present incompetent t*ssers being over-run just like last season.

I've said in the past that we have been papering over the cracks but now there are f**king great wide gulfs in our team. I will be at Old Trafford on the 17 th and am not looking forward to it.