Memphis

Demba Ba made Shola look like Leo Messi in his preseason friendly performances last year. He turned out to be pretty decent. Friendlies - especially ones this early - show very very little. If you see flashes of something you like in a player, great, but know that what you saw is hardly representative of what will happen in competitive fixtures.

This is the very definition of a deal I'm on the fence about. PROS: Still quite young Clearly loves the club and the city Unquestionably talented, albeit perhaps in a style not conducive to attractive football Presumably chastened after what would be an embarrassing 18 months Loan means risk is small; I'll withhold judgment on the future fee until it's known CONS: How will his high wages be perceived in a tight dressing room w/ few high earners? What role would be play? Would he be amenable to 3rd choice status? Where would the future fee come from? Does his presence necessitate hoofball? Can he play on the ground? I find myself leaning more towards trusting Pards and the staff. I don't think they would sanction it unless Carroll and the squad were onboard. Carroll is a serious talent and if a return home can't generate the best from him, we won't pay a fee, and that'll be that. If he plays to his potential, the fee will seem quite reasonable. Quite a way to liven up a dull as fuck last few weeks, though.

Plan S: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lppmavWyCB1qecli2.jpg

Not only have Graham Carr and the scouting department found good players, they've found good players who have the proper attitude and commitment to fit in right away in the Premier League with us. There are innumerable examples of fabulous players not being able to get acclimated and we've avoided that. So if they feel de Jong has the talent and the mental makeup to be an immediate impact player for us, who am I to doubt it, regardless of whatever Youtubery anyone wants to discuss.

From Ligue 1 commentator and reporter David Crossan on Twitter (@davidmcrossan, worth a follow, usually has good information): "This #Debuchy stuff is just standard negotiating ploy to increase fee. About 6.5 mill pounds (8 mill euros) could be accepted by #lille" 6.5 million seems a reasonable compromise for a player of his obvious quality.

Saw it on Twitter - All four of Pardew's former clubs - Southampton, Reading, West Ham, and Charlton - were promoted this season. He really did have one hell of a season. http://www.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article807046.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Alan+Pardew-Newcastle+United+cropped.jpg

Supposedly Martinez, so says the BBC.

FT Ratings: Parky: 9 - bit of a dodgy start, but wow - what a second half he had Dalglish: 10 - incredible entertainment value, grumpiness off the charts Carroll: 6 - started off so well, SJP was a true pinnacle of hilarity, but a decent run at the end of the season sees his rating drop Joke Enrique: 8 - losing form was funny, losing face was hysterical. Muy hilarioso. Henderson: 10 - amazingly shit Suarez: 8 - top-class cuntery RAWK: 10 - incomparable, stunning delusion Justice: 96

Terrible news, but a brilliant Cisse-style finisher by Parky to wrap up the points. Well done.

From Matt Lawton of the Daily Mail's Twitter: It is my understanding that Kenny Dalglish will no longer be Liverpool manager by close of play tonight Surely FT, now.

We had a horrendous preseason, too. I was in Kansas City for the HBA injury - the whole affair was a bit of a joke, really. It was incredibly hot and the whole US trip was a fiasco. Cabaye couldn't travel, Tiote had the ridiculous visa issue returning to England, then you add the Barton/Enrique nonsense and the fact that so many people were still doubting and questioning him even up until January and beyond and you realize how miraculous the job he's done has been. He has got the players playing for each other and for the city. He's turned fucking James Perch into Perchinho, Williamson into a much better CB than he's ever been, Ryan Taylor into a decent squad player, Danny Simpson into someone inexplicably linked with Chelsea, Obertan into...well, you can't win them all. And Ba, Cabaye, and Cisse all adapted with little (Ba) or no (Cabaye, Cisse) difficulty to the league and the team. We've finished above Chelsea. We might just finish above Arsenal and Spurs, too. We're playing attractive football, we kept 15 clean sheets, we only lost three times and won 11 at SJP, we're everyone's 2nd favorite team again, we're all the rage in France, and we barely spent any money in the process. It is a staggering accomplishment. Seriously, taking it all into account, it might be one of the best managerial jobs of all time.

Can't fault the effort, played really hard - they're a fantastic team and we had to take one of the few chances we created... It was always going to be a really difficult day.

Just can't be overstated what a tremendous player he is. He's got amazing strength, much more than I ever would have imagined. He's now using that on the defensive side of things, tackling, shielding players, winning the ball back frequently. And on the ball, holy shit, what a player. That strength just lets him ride tackles and keep the ball with ease. I don't care how it's happened, somehow the flair of Robert has been combined with the graft of a Jonas and this new player is absolutely brilliant.

What always confused me as a young'un was that US contracts were announced with the whole contract's worth, not just weekly/monthly/yearly pay. And US deals are quite often longer than the 5 year limit in our football, are they not? In almost all leagues except for the NBA (where there is a 5 year max now on contracts) you will often see 6, 7, or even 8 year deals. The NHL (ice hockey) even has a couple of players on FIFTEEN YEAR contracts.

No need to overanalyse this one. Terrible day out, started with the best XI we have at the moment, we were outplayed comprehensively by a severely motivated side. It is a reality check as to the limitations of our defence and our team when the spirit isn't there. Hard to play at the level we have been playing at for 2 months straight. Form does dip. Let's see how Pardew gets them back up for Chelsea - it is the biggest match we have had in some time. A draw or dare say a win would still be so massive. One of those days, certainly doesn't invalidate the incredible work he has done this season.

Generally looked baffled by the 3-4-3. Their movement was far too good and we struggled to figure out who to pick up at the back. Don't think the change helped matters but it's justifiable given the way the first 20 min unfolded. Freak result, just need to bounce back. Results going our way would help restore confidence.

We are a confidence team. Team spirit and such. So on days it isn't there, we are hyperturd.

DVD-worthy for Wigan.

The fact remains that only 4 sides get into the Champions League no matter what. If we are in that mix of 6-7 teams (Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs, us) next year, it means we're a legitimately top team and one which would be attractive to our own players as well as others. We're never going to escape the constant, grinding, tedious speculation of BIG MASSIVE CLUB X wants NEWCASTLE PLAYER for HUGE MONEY but if we can stay in that group of teams, it means we've got an awful lot to offer. The fact that we extended Colo's deal means we are willing to pay top wages for top players, even those who might be out of our preferred policy - that will mean a lot to players in the changing room. We attracted the likes of Cisse, HBA, Tiote, Cabaye, Santon, Colo, Ba, etc without any attraction of Europe or even paying particularly high wages. All of those players will have had varying personal reasons for making the move, but the point remains we built an excellent side without the attraction of even the Europa League; we can continue in that vein and then some with it. As long as we can keep the majority of our best players and bolster the squad appropriately, I see no reason why we can't be in the Top 7 mix, which is all any sane person can ask given our lack of financial clout compared with the other teams in that group.

Excellent system yet again - we've used 3 different systems in the run of 6 straight wins. The 4-4-2 wasn't great, but the 4-3-3 and today's 4-2-1-3 are both brilliant. Pardew's talked a lot about the flexibility he has to deploy the front 6 in different ways, and we are seeing it pay dividends now. It must be very difficult for opposing managers to figure out how we're going to play - even if we use a 4-3-3, there's so much movement and fluidity, it can change shape very quickly. We've bought not only gifted players, but intelligent players who can adapt. And Pardew's allowing them that flexibility now, when we need to see it the most. The fact we're playing with such a small squad and we're actually playing our best, most fluid football in April when the pressure and fatigue should be hitting us hardest shows the quality of his management this season.

I really like this system - looks like a 4-2-3-1 with Jonas and Tiote in the holding roles but the front four are all so fluid it makes it difficult for Stoke to track any of the runners. The workrate of Tiote and Jonas also effectively means we've got 6 at the back when needed. Hope for a third to settle it but that was a quality, composed 1st half.

Subs: Elliot, Ferguson, Perch, Gosling, R.Taylor, Best, Shola Ameobi.

Looks like 4-4-2.

I think that's the line they peddle, but I can't say I've ever been hugely convinced. In the US they often have local "blackouts" on games if the stadium doesn't sell out / reach x% attendance. They do use local blackouts in the NFL if the stadium isn't 98% sold out 48 hours before kickoff (although sometimes they allow exceptions). The NBA and MLB also use your IP address to determine your locality, then restrict you from viewing your local team's games online. It's their way of trying to encourage people to either attend in person or watch it on the respective local cable channel. It's much easier to do this in the US, of course, with the spread-out geography. I can imagine it might be much tougher to implement in England. Probably not a viable option. But the blackout thing, maybe.

It is about tradition and ostensibly attendance as well, although the anemic attendances at some grounds tells you it doesn't matter a bit about TV. If the football is compelling and the match worth watching and the tickets reasonably priced), people will go. There is nothing like a matchday atmosphere. You might have to lower ticket prices, but people will show up. It is in their blood. Clubs will have to adapt to the changing reality of easy online availability. If you give your customers options to view legally, reliably, and easily (rather than illegally, unreliably, and difficult), you will make money. Streaming video is never going away. So you can accept it and use it to your advantage or you can fight it, have it cannibalise your business, and lose money in the process.