merlin

NUFC do not belong in the same league as clubs like Arsenal ; it seems like a dream that we once beat them in 2 cup finals and that we were a club they once respected...Charlie George actually walked out on to SJP after they won there during our relegation season( think he was with Derby by then)as he knew it would be the last time he played there, maybe for all time and said that a club with Newcastle's history and tradition did not belong in the (then) 2nd Div. Nowadays, we are viewed by most of their fans as cannon-fodder and an easy 6 points most seasons. Whatever happens on Saturday will not alter that and whilst they will always rank in the top 6 clubs in England, NUFC will be lucky to remain a yo-yo side for the foreseeable future,

Whoops. Absolutely this - WBA had far more shots on target and basically dominated play. Look at how other teams -bar Mackems and Villa - are starting to pick up points, like Norwich, and my relegationometer level of 8 is still rock-solid. It will be subject to review at the end of Jan...whether higher or lower depends almost totally on whether any meaningful INWARD transfer business takes place in crucial areas of the side.

..and for me too BG - as I said in the game thread, a team which cannot use home games v Villa and Everton to get 4 points is only headed one way. Lose to WBA and the klaxons will really start howling again.

Why not? We were awful attacking wise and they weren't. This - absolutely correct.

NUFC hardly had a kick in the first 20 mins and there was only 1 real chance(Mitrovic's header)in the whole of that half...Everton were by far the better footballing side and it was largely through a determined rear-guard action that we got to HT without conceding. Things improved in the second half with Mbemba outstanding for most of the game...if we had another decent CB we would have a central defence on a par with most. We had the upper hand for a while but Everton gradually came back into it...Mitrovic should have put us ahead but that miss proved very costly when they snatched it in the last minute of injury time - a blow which has negated our similar win at Spurs. No question that the better footballing side won, but heartbreaking for the defence which had battled manfully throughout the game and this result puts the pressure firmly back on with relegation back on the agenda. We have had 2 decent home games which should have yielded at least 4 points and ended up giving us 1..sides that cannot put a run together against teams like Villa and(with due respect)Everton at home are only headed one way...... Fat man must be getting twitchy now, with the Jan window looming large..!

My thoughts are with Pav & his family at this bad time - he was a great servant to NUFC and Lenny Hepple, Pop Robson's father-in-law who was a balance expert used by KK thought Pav was the most supple player on our books during KKs time. Always remember a save against Everton when he was going the wrong way because of a deflection and twisted in mid-air at almost ground level to make the save... Loves the club and the fans - hope he fights through it all.

And to think that Roland Rat(who runs the FA)told a Committee of MPs that the FA were going to back Platini as Blatter's replacement. Then again - that would be just Dyke's style...what a useless bunch of brown-nosing creeps as well as being corrupt.

Totally predictable tactics(Sissoko & Janmaat trying to beat teams on their own on our right side)made it easy for Villa to counter us. They got men on to our right so that Sissoko & Janmaat couldn't get into decent crossing positions and we were always struggling to create clear chances ; the left side of our attack is toothless so there was little alternative. Thauvin not worth his fee so far and we could have done with a proven left-sided midfielder to offer alternatives. Back to the usual fare and both Bournemouth and Norwich won difficult games ; Bournemouth are really putting a run together so the relegation spectre is still hovering....this was a must-win and we didn't.

Mourinho still has lots to offer top clubs...Chelsea have bought too many Prima donnas and now they are paying for it. Any talk of Mourinho coming to NUFC is total dreamland stuff because there is no way Ashley would let him run the club in the way he would want to - he is far from perfect, but will be a winner for many years yet and NUFC don't DO winners...

A great and totally unexpected result - a pity the guy that scored the winner is likely to join another, more ambitious, club in Jan or the summer....maybe even the one he scored against here..

We are now the favourites for a bottom 3 finish? You do know that Villa are 6 points off 19th already and 7 off ourselves? I thought 'bottom 3' meant that 3 go down....not just one. Does the fact that Villa are currently 7 points worse off than us make it any less likely that we will go down as well..?

Well, they've failed to show up for meetings over there in the past, and there have been rumours recently about asking prices being changed upwards after a sniff of interest, so it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. It's worth bearing in mind that anyone with even the loosest grasp of commercial nous would not let NUFC go. It is, quite simply, a money pot - money for nothing really, as long as we retain our premiership status or even go down again for a season or two. If I was not a supporter, I would certainly not let NUFC go for less than half a billion in cash up front, and this additionally so when we consider that other parts of MASH are performing relatively poorly - some very much so. We're stuck with him. I'd give good money he'll still be the owner in five years' time, more likely ten. Quite possible - but one thing is for sure...many of those who used to be ST holders and staunch supporters will not be there with him. I would never walk over the entrance to SJP whilst he is in charge.

Bournemouth showing all the signs of a club mounting a genuine escape bid...their heads are up despite losing to us(undeservedly)at home and they have since beaten 2 good sides - at least, better than us. Norwich managed a point against Everton yesterday so all the pressure is FIRMLY on NUFC - we are in my opinion, now the favourites to take one of the 3 relegation places, especially if there is a heavy defeat against Spurs today because morale will once again be rock-bottom. If we lose at Spurs and fail to beat Villa, my bottom 3 will be NUFC, Villa and possibly Norwich.

He's a total chancer - what do you expect ?

The FA couldn't give 2 stuffs about NUFC...they are totally in bed with the 'accepted' top names in English football and also in thrall to the PL who think similarly ; don't expect ANY help or approbation from that quarter. Never forget Scudamore saying it wouldn't affect the PL one jot if NUFC were relegated, back in 2009. The 2 outfits are run by a bunch of self-seeking, politically correct creeps.

This result shows why I never forecast results...esp with NUFC. Suspect Sissoko pulled his pudding out because he was playing against a side he would like to sign him and in any case, he would show other top sides what he could do when in the mood..Gini is always likely to get a goal and he also is going to be a target for top sides after producing a decent number in his first PL season. I suspect things may well return to normal service next week, but it is always satisfying to see the media(who love Liverpool with a passion)and the smug pundits get their noses rubbed in it. A brief oasis in a season of total desert.....

Whether people want the club to be relegated or not really doesn't matter now because the harsh truth is that the club is GOING to be relegated unless major changes occur and the sort of changes required are NOT going to happen. Clearly, Ashley is going to stick with his useless management team for as long as he possibly can and while that happens the club is heading for Championship football. It isn't only McClaren who needs to go, Charnley and Carr have BOTH proved themselves either useless and out of their depth, or yesterday's men and the players know this...they can turn in crap performances week in, week out safe in the knowledge that they won't be displaced in the side. The foul stench of apathy and failure hangs over the club like a blight and Ashley is probably incapable - and certainly unwilling - to rectify this. Whilst this situation prevails, the club is dropping like a stone.

There are no words fit to describe this individual - nothing could come close to summing him up as far as NUFC is concerned. As I have said before, there is NO way I would pay ANYTHING towards the club or his organization whilst he owns and runs NUFC, even if I never crossed the SJP gates again....NUFC have had their share of my time and money for the last 50+ years.

Ashley is simply laughable - he is a chancer, purely and simply, allied to a malevolent streak.

3? I'm struggling to think of one worse, villa maybe but I'd bet on them getting better as time goes on and they still look like they have some fight left in them This - they have more chance of making decent signings in Jan too.

Up to a 9 now, and gathering speed faster than a free-faller...clearly McClaren and the players are at loggerheads and the manager knows he cannot do anything to motivate them as they know Ashley won't replace them..and its too late even if he wanted to as no decent players would join the club in January. Another hammering beckons next week and to be honest, this would do us a favour, esp if the crowd decide to make some form of protest although I won't be holding my breath on THAT one, even less so on the chances of a mini-boycott. KK could not have made it any plainer than he did when he said the fans need to stay away, but there are some very cranially-challenged people who claim to be NUFC supporters and they are meat and drink for a parasite like Ashley. Prepare for Championship football next season and for several years after that...

If you had to bet your house on it, which of these two alternatives would you put it on..? Almost certainly the latter...when was the last time we 'bought well'...?? Cabaye ?

Sadly, KKs words will fall on deaf ears and after losing to him in that court case, Ashley is even more likely to continue his awful stewardship of the club if he reads all this. KK is totally correct, but whilst there are people like these players and McClaren, who know they are on a good thing or in the last chance saloon are still with the club, nothing will change.

This - in spades....an empty, or partially empty stadium would embarrass even this rhino-skinned con-man.

Yes, all true and all this stuff about 'playing teams at the wrong time' is just pure excuse-making and must make Ashley ROFL - he has been outstandingly successful at getting NUFC fans to accept both his philosophy and his projection that the club is just a 'make up numbers' outfit.. Funny how other teams nearly always used to come up against us 'at the wrong time' when KK(especially)and SBR were running things - but then, NUFC fans have always found an excuse to justify their continuing to turn up to watch rubbishy sides...