Unbelievable

Absolutely!

What makes you think it would be any different?

Which is not the case, nowhere near...

What makes it decent? The fact that we haven't lost any of our better players? We are going up against opposition that is massively better than last years', promotion must have done our financial position a world of good, so I don't see why we couldn't expect a reasonable investment in the squad to give us a better chance of staying up..? What's happened is Ashley has lowered our expectations to the point where we are happy if anything but the worst happens.. Criminal how far we've fallen from grace in just a few years.. If the money's not there, it's not there though. Fullstop. At the end of the day the club is a business and if they can't afford to bring in top quality players, then we'll have to put up with that until we stabilize, or a sugar daddy decides he wants in. I respect that position from Hughton, but not from Mike Ashley. If he isn't in a position to take us forward as a football club, why did he buy us in the first place? Every fucker and their dog knows football is not a business like any other, where making a solid profit is a realistic prospect. Top level football is now a place where the mega rich invest as a pass time, like they do in arts or charity, not to make a buck or two. This type of owner is in it for the prestige that comes with it. If Mike Ashley thinks he can realistically compete with these guys whilst turning NUFC into a profitable business, then he's more deluded than I feared. I don't expect him to bankroll the club like the owner of Man City does, but I do expect him to keep this club at an even keel with its natural competitors (i.e. at the very least consolidation of our position in the Premiership) so we remain an attractive proposition for footballers, supporters and potential buyers. That is the responsibility he took upon himself the moment he bought our shares. In a way, he's very lucky, because he's made huge, huge mistakes in the past few seasons, yet he's been given another crack at it with massively deflated expectation courtesy of Hughton's hard work. The least I expect now is for him to support the manager and give him a proper chance of achieving what should be their common goal now: Premiership survival. I can't say I trust Mike Ashley enough to be confident he understands his predicament however...

What makes it decent? The fact that we haven't lost any of our better players? We are going up against opposition that is massively better than last years', promotion must have done our financial position a world of good, so I don't see why we couldn't expect a reasonable investment in the squad to give us a better chance of staying up..? What's happened is Ashley has lowered our expectations to the point where we are happy if anything but the worst happens.. Criminal how far we've fallen from grace in just a few years..

Player-for-player our relegation squad was better than a lot of teams that stayed up. Absolutely, so what makes you so confident a lesser squad will stand a better chance of survival..?

I remember a similar thread one and a half season ago..

Player for player we are certainly worse than two seasons ago, but as a squad we seem to have grown. The question is how will the squad cope with getting its ass kicked in the majority of our games? Call me a cynic, but this being NUFC, and us still being run by a buffoon, I will nail my colour to the "nay" mast for now.. As for getting improvements in, I'm really hope so, but I'm also fearsome that we may yet sell one of our better players if a decent offer comes in...

Too close to call. Heart says yes, head says no..

I hope he is. He looks worse at the moment..

Can't see us playing 2 strikers next week at all. Probably not, but we'll lose that one either way most likely. It's about getting a partnership together that will score goals in matches where we can and will need to get the points we require for survival..

Well, it has to be Carroll and Lovenkrands for me up front.. Shame we didn't see them both on the pitch today..

Oooohhh, well played that..

White flag..

Have to say Barton has improved dramatically in the last couple of minutes..

How the fuck did we not score..?

Another weird sub.. Nolan is untouchable!

Great play by Raylor..

That was cack, and it started with sloppily conceding possession in central midfield again..

Most goals per goal, don't you know..?

Well, Perch at LB is not an option, is it?

Nolan man ffs..

Where was Perch..?

Weird sub...

I think we'll see a lot of that this season. Stamina is a bit of a problem for both players. And may I say, for the first time this season, Shola is better than he's given credit for. How's that? ameobi's goal record last season was better than anyone in the division per goal Heh?