Ashley17

Ignore NewcastleGoals they are notorious for seeking attention. It’s a shame because the account used to be good when it did what it set out to do

It's almost certainly Bishop bollocks. The only other possible scenario is that the takeover is indeed several months away (reported by Martin Hardy) so offering a one year extension was seen as a compromise - the new owners would have to pay up a relatively small sum to remove Benitez whilst the club can continue as "normal" until a takeover is complete or falls through. It has been widely reported that Ashley decided to pull the trigger on Benitez last weekend on a whim, so maybe something had changed to cause that. It still doesn't make any sense though. Why wouldn't new owners want to retain a hugely popular and world class manager? Why is Ashley taking BZG's wishes into account if they aren't the only bidders? Why are they trying to appoint a new manager at all (although could this tie in with the story about Vieira being approached by somebody from the prospective owners)? Prepare for the "couldn't come up with the funds" statement any day now.

Rafa got a team with Gayle and Joselu as the forwards to 10th. TENTH FOR FUCK SAKE

That is Saj from the BBC for definite but no idea what his source is.

Most journalists have been. Who is that Liverpool poster who gets on here? I'm sure he said it was a pattern at Liverpool as well, whenever there was a disagreement between Rafa and the board there would be stories from the same journalists giving Rafa's side of the story. It's noticeable with Martin Hardy especially. They obviously are on good terms from his book and I think Hardy has suggested he is leaving for every transfer window he has been here.

Fuck I skipped from page 316 to 321 and we're still talking about fucking biscuits.

Is he back in?

He should try texting him

Actually read through those pages where it looks like Pardew is going and it's basically a mirror image of the forum now Some highlights: Neesy is exactly the same: https://www.newcastle-online.org/forum/index.php?topic=95667.msg5350937#msg5350937 I made the same Simpsons joke: https://www.newcastle-online.org/forum/index.php?topic=95667.msg5350947#msg5350947 General hatred for Lee Ryder: https://www.newcastle-online.org/forum/index.php?topic=95667.msg5350837#msg5350837

Wasn't Pardew ITK, that was Golfmag. I think he did get the team news though. Golfy was the main man but Penn had all the team news from the time. Also this: https://www.newcastle-online.org/forum/index.php?topic=95667.msg5350858#msg5350858 You don't see any "Penn is a dope" posts now do you? Anyway, this is a pointless discussion. Back to waiting.

Penn was the Pardew ITK a number of years ago wasn’t he? Was the first to reveal he was leaving and used to post bits of team news.

This is it now like. We're either in the middle of the greatest wind-up since Beadle was about or this is serious. At worst it might be a case that any buyer has to prove they have a UK company to take over the shares but even if that's as far as it has got, it at least shows they are serious. Considering they seem to think they bought it back in April all of this would be a massive coincidence now surely?!

Are we at the stage yet of beckoning back the Dave from above?

It's generated a lot of interest. As Edwards said, his paper wants to know what's going on. You can be the best journalist in the world but you've still got to report what is getting people talking. The Times or any other paper still need to sell subscriptions/advertisements.

Nobody can play it down because there's been no comment either way. They're all just quoting the same Sun article. Playing it down would purely be guesswork without official comment.

I'm not sure he is. Think Aguero will play both, Jesus the cup game and then Aguero back in for the CL

Rice is a centre half playing in midfield. Very good at breaking up the play, not much else to his game. It might develop but he will be more useful in games where we don't have so much of the ball.

Playoffs are based on the Nations League Yeah and Holland are guaranteed at least a playoff spot as a result even if they somehow finish outside of the top two in that group.

Thought it was interesting that Rafa said Sterry wasn't in the squad. Presumably that'll mean Manquillo at right back/wing back and Ritchie or Kenedy on the left. Either way, I'm expecting loads of changes. Personally I would play more or less full strength here. If we play Rondon against Man City he'll be up front on his own by about 40 yards, assuming he won't play all three games this week I'd say it makes more sense to play him tomorrow and then against Spurs. Besides, if we lose this we'll probably lose three games in a week. There's 7 non-Premier League teams guaranteed to be in the last 16 so nearly a 50/50 chance of playing a non-Premier League side for a quarter final spot. I know, I know. But it did Sunderland no harm under Poyet to go on a couple of cup runs and it ultimately spurred them on to safety. We can't possibly be tired after our one cup game in the first half of the season so I don't buy that as an excuse. The FA cup games are on a weekend as normal, last year we got so bored we went and played a friendly in Belgium and ended up playing Spurs on a Wednesday night anyway. If we get relegated it won't be because we play a couple of extra cup games. Besides, if Rafa's going at the end of the season it would be nice if his last game is at Wembley - and I don't mean Spurs away.

Have to say like my row was more or less empty at full time. That was in the Leazes end. The guy next to me even said "look at this lot fucking off early when we've won 3-0" which is the only reason I noticed. To say it half emptied would be an exaggeration though. Anyway, Cardiff are really quite shit. Once we got ahead I never really felt like we'd lose it, Cardiff created nothing other than the odd flurry from a set piece. Rondon was an absolute beast and ran them ragged all day, whether it be holding the ball up or fronting them up in the channels. The three centre halves though were all excellent. Obviously Schar's contribution was noted on Match of the Day but Lascelles barely lost a header and Lejeune was his usual self. Ritchie ran himself into the ground and I even thought Hayden did pretty well at doing the dirty work. Longstaff is an old head on young shoulders. Always wants the ball and most of the time already knows what he's going to do with it. I know he's only getting his chance out of circumstance but he's grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Yedlin's pace was useful on the counter but he has no end product. It's annoying but I guess he usually has so few options to aim for it's pinpoint or nothing. Perez and Atsu were quiet until the closing stages where they became useful on the counter. A well earned win. Personally I'd play a pretty strong side against Watford. We've got more chance of beating them than Man City and winning is a habit. I'd rather see Rondon give Mariappa a tough game next Saturday than see him lightly press John Stones for 70 minutes. Some good anti-Ashley songs today, not that it'll bother him. He'll probably use today as an argument for not spending but sadly we'll play better teams than Cardiff most weeks.

Yes but he won't sell at a loss and he doesn't seem the type to wipe out his own debt. If we go down he'll appoint some dickweed and actually make some money available for transfers. We'll come up and the process will begin again. At least if we stay in the league and he takes the money it might pay off what he is owed (for his own stupid mistakes) and then he might one day fuck off.

There's hardly anybody worth resting. Dubravka, Rondon, probably Lascelles and I can't imagine Lejeune playing twice in quick succession. We have only two centre midfielders though I think Diame will be back for Cardiff. He had a fitness test yesterday which presumably means he is somewhere near. Woodman Sterry Schar Fernandez Clark Manquillo Hayden Longstaff Murphy Kenedy Joselu He might remove a centre half in favour of Ritchie and a change in formation. We only have one "number 10" in the whole club it seems which limits the chances of playing 4 at the back. That side should have enough to beat a Championship club, whether it has the desire and application is another matter. They didn't in the first match that's for sure.

Considering this was drab it went over really quickly. That's a positive. Hayden, Murphy and Kenedy were abject. Sterry was only marginally better and Woodman didn't cover himself in glory trying to deal with their set pieces, which to be fair were very good. Joselu won quite a few flick ons but offered minimal goal threat as usual. Shelvey made a big difference when he came on, as you'd expect, but there's no confidence in the whole team. Atmosphere was actually quite good, a very loud "stand up if you hate Ashley" broke out at one stage. Other than that, nice to see Lejeune back and I for one can't wait for the replay (which I think will be televised).

Chalmers: “A letter from Peter Kenyon that shows his interest is genuine and wants the deal done as soon as possible, released at this time of year and seen by all the papers! May I see it?” Skinner: No

I don't think anything has changed. There is interest, they might have done all the due diligence in the world. Hell, the FA might have done their checks already. But until there is a fee agreed it's irrelevant