toonpete1892

Embarrasing and cringeworthy that it was allowed to be raised again within SJP. I've continued to support the club through the consequences that this banner enforced the first time, none which I thought was justified. These people had their vioces heard several months ago and I'm sure I'm not the only one who knows several months have been wasted by grown up kids spitting their dummies out. I came to terms that the club was up for sale and reluctantly forgot about the future dream that we should have been entering. Ashley's news came as a great late christmas present and I couldn't be happier about his decision. It's now time for those who celebrated their 'ashley out victory' to accept the new regime and get on with it, just like the rest of us had to do several months ago. Lessons will have been learnt and arising problems will be handled better, so its about time the fans came together to share the optimism we shared when ashley first announced he was buying the club. They were good times, please don't destroy it . . . . again!

Belted out lately?!?!? Try for f***ing years mate! A similar one that has had a good airing off and on in the past few seasons is, No silverware, no silverware But what the fuck do we care? We've won fuck all for ...... year But every week we'll still be there

Its amazing the amount of people sticking up for him because its stevie G and 'stevie G is a role model and would never hurt a fly'. It's only a matter of time before one of his tradmark challenges lands someone and they're out for a duration. Others are saying he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Funny that, because unless there were only 4 people in the place that night (the dj and the 3 thugs), I'm sure he could have walken away with the rest of the party goers and not got arrested. It'll be interesting how the police and FA see this one through considering the whole barton affair not so many months back.

There were a large crowd of us singing it continously immediately after half time at wigan for 10 minutes. My throat was destroyed afterwards but we definately need a song that is sung for a duration rather than a twenty second outbirst. TOON TOON / BLACK AND WHITE ARMY works well but as with the Blaydon Races, its speeds up to the point where you can't sing the words anymore. Nothing better than being sat in the ground when a chant like this starts off in one corner and slowly works itself around the ground. Even when it dies down, someone always continues to chant it, and it soon picks up again. It may not be the most lyrical chant ever but it does set up a cracking atmosphere and a foundation for the less known songs.

Many a time I picked up the paper and threw it down a minute later when I disagreed with the opening few sentences. Too many times it was like reading his column rather than the facts that he should have been reporting on. A person in Anals role, should be informing the public of the facts, stats and what happened rather than brain washing us with opinions. Suppose it'll only be a matter of time before the next journolist abuses the same role . . .

As I grew up in the 70s and experiencing 74 at the age of 10 and knowing about 69 I had a view of Newcastle United as a club with a proud history that could on occasion have a sniff of winning something without being a top, top club. After relegation and a few years of s**** as I stated going to the matches I'd accepted that the chances of that sniff had receded so concentrated on just having a good time at the matches where football almost became secondary - you could say an "Ashley" type viewpoint. John Hall and Kevin Keegan changed that attitude and stirred something in me and others that still burns - a desire to see us go beyond that attitude of the 70s and actually become a top club. Bobby Robson and yes Freddie Shepherd also shared that desire. Mike Ashley has never spoken about wanting any of that - he has never named a target or an aim beyond financial stability - it was left to Keegan again when he was appointed to talk about at least having a go at the top 4 or maybe winning a cup. What I see now is people arguing for going back to the defeatist attitude of the past where they talk about "enjoyment" and "stability" by which they mean not rattling any feathers or being scared of having a go because as far as I can see one club out of dozens who've tried have gone a bit tits up (Leeds). Even then they haven't folded - they could still come back but that's not good enough for the doom merchants who despite never having seen a "big" club fold for donkeys years seem to think we're heading there. I'm 44 and possibly having 20 or 30 years left I would like to see us win something and more importantly try and win something. That may sound selfish but I also want it to happen for people who are kids now so that the won't have memories based on trudging around Cambridge and Shrewsbury. I've said this before - given how much debt the top clubs have I'd rather the club was in debt (though manageable) and competing than being "stable" and seeing 10th as a good season. I'm only 21 and never attended any of the keegan games in the mid 90s due to being too young. This was the time we should have stood up and got something but for some reason, we wern't able to. I started to attended the games in the Dalgish era so have never personally witnessed the highs that keegan brought. Instead, I've supported the team through disappointing league campaigns and long cups runs: 98 FA cup final 99 FA cup final 00 FA cup semi final 04 Champions League st2 05 UEFA cup later stages 05 FA cup semi final Apart from the couple of years when we were sniffing around the champion league spots, we have been rubbish in the league, consistantly coming mid table or even worse. These were the times when we should have moved forward but instead we've found ourselves going backwards, both on the field and financially. Newcastle United is part of me and although we've never won anything, and may never do, I have the memories of attending league games all over england, visiting small lower league teams in cup games, seeing the sights and experiences that europe offers, attending the great european nights at SJP and feeling the disapointment of failed FA cup final/semi finals. I've spent hundreds if not thousands of pounds (birthday/christmas presents, part time jobs, pocket money, student loan etc) following the club, with no silverware to show. I'm not turning this into a competition of 'the better fan' but at the end of the day, I get mountains of grief off my uni mates for supporting this club and my simple response is 'I don't care'. A surprise victory will massively outweight a dissapointing lose at home, the excitment of travelling to a new place only to come away dissapointed then laughing and joking with like minded fans even when we suffer a stuffing. Get me talking about this club and I'll have stories upon stories to tell you. Thats what I love about it - there may not be any new additions to the trophy cabinet but I don't care: Newcastle United is what you want it to be!

Sorry but that's crap - given the mediocrity of the squad, "steady progress" in the form of 2 or 3 slightly better players coming in to replace those leaving would have seen no tangible difference to season after season of mid-table averageness at best. I didn't want money wasted on overrated players as you state - I just wanted the money raised from STs and TV to be spent, possibly with some investment, on a few decent players with the aim of actually challenging. Would you be happy for your grandkids to be watching at team that has won nothing for 60 or 70 years? Ashley bought a failing club, and is trying to sell a failing club (a better off but still a failing club). The club had a plan but fans didn't appreciate how much shit the club was in. Massive changes needed to be made and this wasn't going to happen overnight. Debts had to be cancelled out, current sponsorship money intended for such transfer activity had already been wasted meaning long term financial plans needed to be drawn up and tried out. True enough Ashley has his own personal millions but he also has other financial commitments. In time he may have given NUFC his full backing but the club needed security first personal insurance that Ashley could continue to live a happy life that he had worked hard to build up - he is a human afterall. We are newcastle united, we are not chelsea/man utd/arsenal! These are teams that are years if not decades ahead of us, and we are never going to compete. Success may only come from a cup campaign but in the meantime I much rather live the highs and lows of yet another below average premiership season, rather than sitting in my house wishing I had a club to support. Thats just my view, and one that I'll stick by. If fans want other things, then perhaps they should look elsewhere . . . .

A strong barrier in midfield must be in place to stop them moving forward but they must push forward when the game is in our hands - owen is not much use dropping back as we will need his pace against a tall portsmouth defence. I can see this being a good battle with either team winning, the only difference being the ability to finish chances. I'll happily take a draw going into the game, with eager anticipation of which newcastle united show up!

I was going to write paragraphs upon paragraphs about this statement/interview but I can't see the point to be honest, as I would only get mobbed. What I will say is, Ashley firstly wanted a stable club that was sustainable and would survive for many years to come, with increasing amount of funds becoming available for the team once finanaces off the field were sorted WHILST 'fans' wanted money money money, to give over-rated players over-rated transfer fees and over the top contracts - the club would be bust and folded within ten years (Portsmouth were suffering after only one year). I would love see the club succeed in the short run, but I'd much rather have a club to take my kids and grandkids to.

As far as I see it, Kinnear was the only manager out there who had the balls to stand up and have a go at what was a quickly sinking ship. He's managed to gain some consistancy, even if its below what the vast majority of fans think we should be achieveing. We could have quite easily been at rock bottom with a large percentage of the players wanting out as soon as the January window came along. True enough he has made some bad decisions but as much as I would want to manage the club, there would be no way I would have taken the role when he did. He was destined for failure, with only a tiny slither of light available for any sort of success. People have got to remember that we have a thin squad of average players and that mid table was the very best we were ever going to achieve this season (even if, dare I say it, the walking talking messiah was still here). Theres still a lot of anger around the place after the events at the beginnning of the season and this was bound to come out as soon as a few bad results came our way. The team and men making the decisions at this very tricky stage in the clubs history need the support because the last we need is further changes. We are starting to gain some consistancy again and results will come eventually. Theres still half the season left and we are far from being 'left behind'. I'd much rather be in the scenario we have now than back when the club was in TOTAL freefall only a few months ago. Kinnear will at least have my support until the end of the season!

Nice to see us performing and fighting for the full game rather than panicking around the 70 minute mark. Villa looked strong and were onto our backs everytime we received the ball but the difference was we continued to fight when they looked very threatening on the break. 2 goals (even if slightly against the overall run of play) = 3 points and thousands of happy geordies! I can go to bed a happy lad tonight :-)

That second half left my shaking more from nerves than from the cold! Despite the weak passes and lost balls, the first half was a joy to watch. Running forward with the ball and passing the ball into space was something that hasn't been seen so far this season. A bad second half of tactics and player nerves was very difficult to bare but 3 points in the bag is all that counts. It just shows how much we need our first choice 11 and a strong bench in order to climb the table. A defeat for spurs/fellow strugglers tomorrow and the disappointment of only 2 points from the everton, man citeh and the sh*te game is reduced. Fingers crossed to this being the confidence boost that we so desperately need!

Am I the only one whos a bit confused with how this defeat is Ashley's fault? In the 2 months since KKs walk/sacking we could have gone one of two ways: 1. A new manager is brought in within a few weeks and the team is back on track going into October. Problems off the field are sorted out and although a large percentage of fans are unhappy over the KK affair, the team finds itself in the middle of the table. OR 2. Bedsheet holding fans protest and Ashley reluctantly gets the message. He automatically puts the club up for sale and is listening to potential new owners. He manages to brings in a short term manager to manage the club over this sale period who knows exactly where he stands and what hes at the club to do. There is some stability and motivation within the team for a few weeks. Advance a month or so and the sale has gone through and a new owner is in place. Time is needed to find a new manager and for him to settle. Before you know, its Christmas and half the season has gone! I'll leave it at that.

Interesting to see if the guy writing this was actually at the game because most of it is exaggering past the point of bullshit. 1. 'Geordie fans met them and the two sets of fans fought on the pitch' - Incorrect. One, or two nobheads at a push, jumped out from our end but no more. 2. 'Riot police stuck in the middle of the away section' - because this was where the riots and rule breakers were . . . . again no. 3. 'pitch invasion at full-time by hundreds of supporters from both sides' - unless there were geordies jumping up and down wearing red and white shite, this is again lies. 4. 'after Barton had to be ushered back to the Newcastle dugout by police ' - he was told to move away from a particular area which he did by his own accord. 5. 'Seats were ripped out and hurled on the pitch' - again no evidence of this. 6. I got bored of going through the article . . . . . . . . Now I'm not saying the away support was well behaved and did nothing wrong, but the SAFC stewarding was weak and the homeless were allowed to get away with . . . . again. The amount of coins, bottles and other objects thrown at the box to the left of our support (by the unwashed) during our goal celebrations was a repeat of when Ant and Dec sat up there during the 4-1 victory - again this goes unmentioned and hasnt been acted upon. And where were the stewards at the end of the game either around the pitch or pushing their fans out of the exits? It took over 15-20 mins to get the group of orphans to the left of us towards the exit and even then, they were allowed to confront our fans face to face (seperated by a metre high railing and a handful of female / older police members). The amount of trouble could have easily escalated dramatcally if we weren't too busy laughing at their 'cup final' celebrations. Yet again we came away from the SoS laughing at their expense - we didn't need to humiliate them on the field as they did enough to humliate themselves. Lets all laugh at sunderland!!!

A video ref is not the only thing you need. For one thing you will need several cameras around the pitch to ensure that every angle of an incident is visible. Goal line technology may not use cameras but in this case, something else will be required. All this technology is fine in the premiership but the FA have come out and said many times that they don't want to introduce it because it cant be included in all leagues, nevermind cup competitions when the big dogs meet an unknown. Even with video replays, goal line and touch line technology a lot of decisions still rely on personal judgement. Home fans will think differently to away fans, whilst neutral spectators will support the team they want to win. Take the scenario in the rugby world cup, even with various video replays, a try wasn't given to England despite millions claiming it should have stood - someone will always say its incorrect. I do agree goal line and touch line technology should start to be included into the game. The technology is there and unlike many saying, 'we will still need video replays', why not use a light like they use in ice hockey. I personally know the technology for this existed over 5 years ago but the top footballing bodies declined it due to the fact the game would not be consistent through from top flight international games to amateur sunday league. At the end of the day, these decisions can go one of two ways, and depending on who you support, decisions normally level themselves out over the season.

We could have had a world class manager in but the masses got what they wanted and that was for ashley to leave. Live with the consequences . . . . . . and remember its only a short term solution!

A month ago we went into a game against arsenal when everything appeared fine. Arsenal played us off the park but there was still thousands of smiling faces in the away end, including a beer gulping owner. 4 weeks on and nothing can raise even a grin. Theres no hiding that there was problems but I honestly feel these could have been sorted (comprimises made) by all the parties involved. Instead, we got mass media coverage and thousands of fans jumping on keegans back to offer his support. I don't disgree with this but to come out and slag the owner just to prove a point is childish - there was some major spitting out of dummies. Ashley was new to the football owner scheme and although errors had and were being made, a lot was progressing nicely and results were starting to be seen. We now to come to the morning after the spurs disappointment and we can't fall much deeper into this pit, surely there must be a bottom to break our necks on. A month on from a seemously happy club, we now have a club in absolute turmoil, with no direction, drive or ambhition. The thousands of bed sheet holding 'fans' who wanted to make a stand succeeded in doing so. But what have they succeeded in doing so? Alright ashley has been scared and agreed to sell up, but the 'cockey mafia' are still fully here, keegan has not been reinstated, the players performances have dropped dramatically and the support for the team is quite frankly a piss take. We are now out of the carling cup and joint bottom of the league with joke spurs, when we could quite of easily been playing poorly in the middle of the league under a new manager. To those fans who thought a mere protest would just see ashley and wise gone, i hope you're fucking proud of yourselves. I hope you soon turn your back on the club and piss off for good because newcastle united doesn't need impatient fans with bed sheets. You protested and 'won', newcastle united have in the meantime and in the mere furutre have lost out dramatically.

It shows how much the club value taylor when they offer him a bumper contract and sell milner for being cheeky. Milner had a good mind to kick up a fuss and try and get the same deal, after all both were great in England 21s, both have a high work commitment (normally), both are seen as team players and motivators, both can change a game if in the right frame of mind and both had been loyal to the club for many a year. Too much focus is put on local players and management despite most of the time them turning out to be distinctly average.

. . . we would have given a better performance than what we did tonight. At half time I would have put so much fear into the minds of the players that they wouldn't want to return to the dressing room if we were not safely through. A little bit of geordie passion and loyalty to the club would go a long way!

The amount of times he played other players into trouble today was ridiculous. Not only would he play the simple ball time after time but he would hammer the ball at them so they would have to take two touches just to control it. He needs to take a lead off edgar, who got the ball today and looked up for an option other than the man to the left or the right of him. Even if he lost the ball looking for a difficult ball once in a while, it would show it had some balls. Even brambles long balls paid off once in a while! And before people say, this isnt a kneejerk. Its true that hes been one of the better defenders at the club in recent years but look who hes been comapred to - bramble, ramage, boumsong, roz.

Another game and another howler - thats 3 or 4 games in a row his errors have resulted in goals. But hes a local lad so . . . . . . . . . . . taylor for manager!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've hit a new low! I was so close to turning my back on a game (even if I was sitting in a pub in Blackburn) but didnt because it means too much. Words cant describe the pain, torture, frustration, anger etc running through my body right now. Any remaining hope its being riped out of my body.

Please no! Same trap as appointing shearer - when he leaves/gets the boot it will be mayhem!

on the contrary, i dont expect anything anymore. Unfortunately I think thats what a majority of fans are saying (myself included) but deep down, I strongly doubt thats what a majority of fans are actually thinking (myself included).

I would personally like to have the club to support in 5 years rather than over paid/rated players now.