toonpete1892

yep, its got no weight on it at all, that early shot from ronaldo was swerving all over the place. The ball can't weigh any less than balls several years ago due to FIFA regulations but will move around more due to the decrease in seam stability and increased sphericity. Imagine a golf ball without any dimples. Ahh, its all so clear to me now. Or a table tennis ball hit at the same speed as a golf ball (apart from the obvious problem with the table tennis ball shattering if you hit it with a golf club).

yep, its got no weight on it at all, that early shot from ronaldo was swerving all over the place. The ball can't weigh any less than balls several years ago due to FIFA regulations but will move around more due to the decrease in seam stability and increased sphericity. Imagine a golf ball without any dimples.

I'm glad, it was starting to annoy me. I spoke too soon ...

I'm glad, it was starting to annoy me.

Anyone else missing the score/clock on Itv?

Agent talk?

Can you elaborate on the part about people needing to swallow their pride and stick with the club, then saying all we done is simply turned up for games? It's quite hard as well to support the people who you feel have completely ripped the heart out of your own club. As far as I see it, the club is made up of the fans and the players. The players need the fans for support, and the fans need the players so theres a club to support. A lot of people made those 2-3 months very unpleasant and focused on protesting rather than getting behind the lads. I'd appreciate that people weren't happy, I wasn't smiling from ear to ear, but there was a time and a place to do these things. As soon as we were in the ground, it should have been support til the moment we left. If people were more focused on removing Ashley than the team, why attend the games? The players needed reassurance but instead got muted stadiums full of anger, aggression and criticism.

Ashley's "make do and mend" policy is in danger of backfiring completely and the value of his club is plummeting as a result. It wasn't the fans who stopped him buying decent players in the last few transfer windows. I agree with you regarding the lack of players brought in but why fork out millions in fees and wages if the manager is not going to be there a month down the line. We've fallen in this trap for seasons hence our squad of over rated, over paid and over aged mismatches of previous manager regimes. Despite being a little thin, I would rather have our squad over the likes of Wigan's, West Ham's and Fulham's. Another arguement is what do we offer players? We know that we are cutting back the wage bill and therefore we can't waver the cash about like the big boys. In January for example, we had a temp manager, a owner that was 'leaving', fans on the war path, a long injury list, huge amount of pressure to perform etc etc. Would you have signed up?

I'll probably get shot down for some of this but ... I blame a lot of the this situation on the protestors around the time of the Keegan leaving/sacking/walking/parting period and the 2-3 months that followed - they eventually 'won' with Wise leaving but other than that what did they achieve? No-one was happy with the decisions made at this time and few had faith in the hierarchy but I wonder how many of those will be around come mid August IF we go down. I'd agree people we're pissed off but we didn't and still don't know the reasons behind KK leaving. All they did was stop any movement to fill the managers spot with a long term manager. Instead, they got what they thought they wanted with the club being put up for sale. Months later, we had a owner who had given in, no manager, no direction, no drive and no forward thinking - at this stage Ashley was gone so how is this his fault? The players still knew they had a job to do on the field and despite the lack of coaching a majority of them are international stars. Put 11 of us on the pitch and I'm sure we could organise ourselves! Ashley decided to at least head the ship again and chose Kinnear as the man to lead the team short term as he tried to either sell or get a bigger man in. At this stage the club was at a total mess and no right minded potential owner, manager, coach, player etc would ever come close. The transfer window came and went and although we didn't buy any world beaters, we bought a couple of flexible players that could patch up our battered squad. Again there is some blame here but the club was a sorry state. Kinnear was kept on and although he got the squad together to play something resembling a team, he was unable to turn draws into wins. A lack of coaching ability or poor players, who knows? More bad luck and a slow reaction from Ashley at the beginning of Kinnear's absence meant we again found ourselves 'lost'. By now the damage had been done and anything achieved was simply damage limitation. Now I'm not solely blaming the protestors as I also feel Ashley could have done better in the 2/3s of the season he has been in charge, but things could have been a lot better had some people swallowed their pride and stuck with the club. We simply turned up for the games in this time and waited for another person to come in - the middle of the season WAS NOT the time to do this!!!! Had we waited until now for this, I honestly feel that we would be mid table and a much brighter proposition to potential buyers, investors, owners, players, managers or whatever. We're now nearing the end of the 'season that was' and despite where we end up at the beginning of next season, I for one can't fucking wait for next season to begin! I'm just happy that the club I support and live is actually still existant because, if strong rumors are believed to be true, it almost wasn't. We've faced it all this year, keep the faith

And how about all the mongs with bedsheets? We had 2 months that we wasted. People wanted him gone and he tried. Despite Wise moving on (eventually) what did the protests do?! Fuck all As much as the injuries/players/owners/managements/no shows have hurt us, some of the fans have as much blame as anyone else!

I'd prefer to think about it as 'no more nails' from the inside. Nothing but our own downfall

If that gallowgate post doesn't spur us on, nothing will! Saying we had a corner in the last minute of injury time, would you allow Harper up the pitch?

Agreed. I'm strangely calm about this, because there are no excuses left. It's Pompey at home FFS. If you can't do it then, you deserve what you get. As much as I had pre-match nerves and jitters I now feel completely senseless and numb. The damage was done months ago, this is merely damage limitation in a way. However, I'm not admitting defeat yet!

jonas!!!

It was always the problem with these three last home games ...

I went to the game by train by myself last year and got off at Witton Station - only about 10 mins and an extra couple of quid from New St. Got there a couple of hours before kickoff so went into the Cap and Gown as its on route from the station to the ground. Not the largest of places and it was a couple of quid to get in but there was a decent atmosphere and no trouble at all. The Villa side of the pub was fairly quiet in numbers and as it was mainly the older generations we had a good little laugh through the doorway. The beer was fairly priced and there were enough people serving that didn't have to wait hours. The toilets however . . . . I would recommend it if there are a couple of you but would probably suggest the city centre if there was more.

And we complain about our defending? Both sides (at least on the goals) look shite!

He made a very large impact yesterday as he helped wake up a pretty quiet midefiled. We stopped playing the long balls that were easily picked up by their bully back 4 but started to run at them from midfield. Instead of 2 defenders challenging shola for a long ball, we had 2 defenders closing the runner which helped create room for the rest of the team to run into - we even started using the the wings as outlets! He may not have put balls into the box but he opened the game up yesterday and helped to generate not only pressure but chances. His performance yesterday was summed up when he switched a pin-point ball from the right wing across the the left and was suddenly there to offer himself for the easy return ball. Even when he didn't receive the ball, he redirected his run and was automatically unmarked in a new position. The forward momentum he helped to generate (even if it doesnt work half the time) is something that will give us a fighting chance of staying up! Whether this would work for the full 90 mins is anyones guess but its definately an option we can't shy away from.

I'd say credit to Ashley for this move. Not only has he brought in the man who has turned us down many times already (when the offer seemed a lot more inviting), but he has got rid of Wise. It seems as though hes accepting the problems that were evident in the whole KK era and although the move may have come a little bit too late, hes helped restore some optimisim back into the club. Hopefully this will give us the much needed boost that the playing/coaching staff need. Shearer has claimed before that he would never work under the regime but obviously something HAS changed for him to come in, even if it is just for a couple of months. At the moment he won't get to see a transfer window but even if we do go down, he has his foot in the door and it will take some effort to remove him. It may be a slightly different role but I can't see him cleanly walking away in the summer - football is an addicting thing! Obviously there have been errors but can we at least pull together and enjoy the last few months of the season? Forget what has happened in this very strange and eventful season and help the team remain in the top flight.

I'll stick to with my views that I had this time yesterday morning (probably and an additional point or two) which is its going to go down to Villa with us needing at least something to stay up and them needing something for Europe. I've still got some realistic hope!

I almost spat out my Frosties when I heard this. It clearly shows that these 'reporters' know fuck all and get their stories from other reporter's opinions and written vomit.

Forgetting the whole Shearer thing for a minute, this game is a perfect oppurtinity to kick start our run in. We need to go into the Stoke game with a bit of confidence and even a draw would give us that. Chelsea will try and stop the flow we showed against Man Utd and Arsenal but if we take half of the chances we had in those games, winning is not an impossibility, even if we do conceed. Obviously the atmosphere will be electric but it is not all about Shearer - there will be 11 players on the pitch who need our support. Either way, I am really looking forward to the game now despite the relegation battle that is STILL happening!

I think your missing the bigger picture man! Why blame one man when there were 11 (+3) players on the pitch the other day who couldn't give a toss after 64 mins on Saturday? Then a coaching staff unable to motivate or encourage. I agree that Ashley could and should done more in the window but our squad is under achieving massively AND that includes more than just one or two experienced international players! The club has problems throughout and not all of it is down to Ashley. The people that can start to turn things around are the ones we look at on match day and unless they pull their fingers out, we're sinking fast. Talk to the papers as much as possible saying 'we're not going down', 'this club is too big', 'the fans are great' but I'd much rather have 3 points than more bollocks and broken promises on the back pages. Off the field is a completely different story to on it, and on it is where we're going to stay up! Ashley can change every aspect of the club! He is responsible completely since September. Ashley can appoint the manager, set transfer budgets, renewal contracts, positive press statements and more important SHOW HE CARES. Again I agree but only to a certain extent. We wasted two/three months after KKs departure when the a large percentage of fans got what they wanted and the club was up for sale. Ashley CAN'T be blamed for anything in this time as people wanted him gone and he did what was wanted. Now for one reason or another, the club wasn't sold and therefore Ashley has come back and HAS been changing things. However, some people will always be blind to these actions because of their views. We have had a shocking season with injuries/other reasons for not being able to select players and this would have been the case if we had had a world class manager in place. For those asking the questions to why this person and that person weren't brought in, they should ask themselves what we offered? 1/4 of a squad able to play, no cup competitions, no Europe, a mess of a club structural system, the constant pressure of fans etc. Who would walk into that? Now I'm not saying I'm a fan of the current manager/coaching team but thats what we have and unless they start to perform as one, its not going to get any better. I do believe that we have a strong squad and that we should be playing a lot better now that we have all but a few back. Theres been plenty of promising moments in recent matches (the majority of the Man Utd game and the 1st half the other day for example) but questions have to be asked to why these can't last the full 90 minutes. Too much of time they stand around when we're on the back foot and wait for guidance but no-one has the balls to stand up and be counted. What do you want Ashley to do? Pull on his shorts and play up front? Bark orders from the bench? Stand in goal so that we can't concede? As for caring, he is a very brave man to come back to the hatrid he was faced with back in October/Novemeber. Some of the things said on message boards and insults at matches were bang out of order and I wouldn't have ever thought of even stepping back in Newcastle if it was me, let alone attending a match. He is trying to change things but he will be the first to admit that he doesn't know football. We have had and are having a very tough season but if it wasn't for Ashley coming in, we would have most likely been in administration and facing point deductions. I'm not fully behind Ashley but I believe he can do good for us if given the chance. Unfortunately I think his time has been ruined by the reaction of many to KKs departure and something many will never let him forget, despite whatever he achieves. Thats just my opinion, shoot me down for stating it but thats what I think!

Lets answer one question at a time: 1) Are there any investors out there? If yes, would they ever touch the HATRID that is Newcastle United? 2) and 3) are therefore not worth answering.

I think your missing the bigger picture man! Why blame one man when there were 11 (+3) players on the pitch the other day who couldn't give a toss after 64 mins on Saturday? Then a coaching staff unable to motivate or encourage. I agree that Ashley could and should done more in the window but our squad is under achieving massively AND that includes more than just one or two experienced international players! The club has problems throughout and not all of it is down to Ashley. The people that can start to turn things around are the ones we look at on match day and unless they pull their fingers out, we're sinking fast. Talk to the papers as much as possible saying 'we're not going down', 'this club is too big', 'the fans are great' but I'd much rather have 3 points than more bollocks and broken promises on the back pages. Off the field is a completely different story to on it, and on it is where we're going to stay up!