merlin

Agree with this - the side looks like a relegation side in everything it does and the players couldn't give a stuff. Virtually NO chance of any meaningful change which would stave off what looks increasingly like a return to the Championship - and the club deserves no better because it is run with no ambition by people who either don't care or are out of their depth. Definitely an 8 and will get worse as the weeks go by - Ranieri has made a huge difference to what was a workmanlike Leicester side....what had McClaren done with NUFC...?

Really, man? I´ve watched worse this season Really..? Would you mind enlightening us as to who and where...?

Really, man? I´ve watched worse this season Cracks me up whenever people say "this is the worst I've ever seen us play" when every single person here knows for a fact that isn't true You speak for yourself mate - How do YOU know that 'every single person knows it isn't true'...? I said it like I saw it, and to quote another poster on a different site , 'a social club side could have played better'. They were total and utter rubbish, and if you and everyone else thinks not, you are either easily satisfied or taken in by Ashley's brainwashing regime.

Look at Leicester under Ranieri and then tell me its not the manager who makes a big difference - McClaren has got one of the most difficult jobs in the game and nobody in their right mind would work for Charnley/Ashley unless they were desperate for dosh, but I still reckon someone like Ranieri would have got the side playing better than we are. Then again, Leicester were more motivated player for player than the shambles we have last season...

I have seen many awful games whilst following NUFC for over 50 years, but this was probably the worst - we witnessed what was, in my opinion, the most disorganized, disinterested and demotivated Newcastle side I can remember watching. There have been teams with less ability, but none which was as totally outplayed by a side who were one of the bookies' favourites for the drop before the season started and who have been hammered by the likes of Spurs - AWAY from home. It is hard to pinpoint one player who deserved his win bonus, maybe Perez for the goal, but even that was a bit fortunate and he had a poor game generally, Tiote and Anita excelled at passing...to the opposition ; the meaningless punts up from the defence on the odd occasion we managed to win possession(Bournemouth had 76% in the second half)were reminiscent of Pardew at his best, executed by Williamson and had Elliott not had a most rare blinder, we would have lost handsomely although Bournemouth couldn't finish a s--g with Rihanna. If they had a half decent striker, such as Austin, we would have been dead and buried before HT. The only crumb of comfort anyone could derive from this shambles is that I have in the past seen shambolic performances from Newcastle teams under new management, but then suddenly it all clicked(i.e. under Lee in 75-76)and they started doing well ; however, that was when we had a side of mostly decent players and this side is FAR from that in this league. Mitrovic looked cumbersome and slow, NONE of the m/f could keep the ball for more than a few seconds and the full backs looked exposed every time Bournemouth attacked down the flanks although most of the PL will be aware of THIS failing by now..only Elliott earned his corn, the rest were rubbish and clearly, there is SO much dissention in the squad that only a clear-out will resolve the problem - and we all know THAT aint going to happen. Far from being encouraged by this result, I am now more than ever concerned at the ability of this team to stay out of the relegation zone - we can only hope that they get their heads out of their collective ar--s and use it as a spring board to better things but I reckon one bad hammering would see the club back in relegation trouble with a vengeance. McClaren is NOT proving to be a success, but his hands are well and truly tied anyway. What a disgrace to the name this club has become - those guys who travelled 350 miles to see such a display must either have hearts like lions or be Stone-mad because I wouldn't step over the garden gate to watch this lot and I got so sick of it I turned off the TV in second half and went to bed(it was 10.45pm over here).

Have to agree with the basic thread of your post, Brummie - look at the pasting NUFC got at Man C and even the Sunderland game was a hammering in terms of goals conceded, so you are right to say that you haven't lost by many goals in your defeats because its something to build on. As far as I'm concerned, NUFC have far more serious issues, esp in defence after signing Coloccini on another contract instead of replacing him with a top class CB - he is going to get worse as time goes on and we shall be exposed by his lack of pace and no amount of coaching can improve THAT.... In addition, Garde has a slightly better environment in which to work than has McClaren because Charnley will be making all the decisions in terms of buying players in Jan, along with Carr whilst McClaren will have little input. If Villa show any improvement over the next few games, they have just as much chance of escaping the drop as NUFC - maybe even more. Time will tell.....

A much better home performance than any apart from Norwich(which was mainly down to the result), with Perez and Mitrovic causing far more problems for opposition defenders than the dross we played up front under Pardew and Carver....they play well off each other and it forces the opposition to keep more players in their own half because they have twice as many problems to deal with. This meant that we got far more possession in m/f as the opposition haven't got as many free players to contest loose balls. However, despite the hype about Butland, who was good but made the saves you would expect any decent keeper to make, we squandered possession and failed to take chances - had Mbemba's header gone on, we would have won the game with the defence looking better for Dummet's presence and Stoke barely tested us seriously at the back. Nevertheless, better on the eye that the performance was, it was a failure to win a game which a reasonable PL side should expect to win at home. Possession doesn't win games although it should create more chances to do so and we are still in dire straits. The game at Bournemouth now becomes even more vital and a loss of 3 points there will have the writing glowing on the wall in the dark... Its not looking good.

This is total nonsense as is your assertion about the English running the game - and also, in cricket, there is TV examination of disputed calls, something which your corrupt heroes in FIFA have done everything to try to avoid - have you been reading the Grauniad guide to Political Correctness..!? For a start, cricket only allows 10 countries to play the full version of the sport, possibly one of the most ridiculous restrictions in any sport anywhere in the world. Then for the World Cup, a tournament by its very nature should least make an attempt to be inclusive and give the game to a greater audience, they've pulled the drawbridge up for associate nations meaning there'll probably not be any of them at the next competition. Last year the big 3 countries literally changed the voting system within the ICC to give themselves more power than everybody else, and made sure to secure that 62% of all revenue will go directly to those 3 countries. Cricket is a sport that revels in its colonial past and the fact that its a sport played by only a handful of countries. And that's why it'll always remain a joke compared to football which has expanded and grown continually since its beginnings. Video refereeing in football would be absolutely dreadful. Evidence: rugby being f***ing unwatchable, stop-start bollocks. I thought answering this post but then I realized it would be a waste of my time...you are clearly beyond help and should apply for a job with the Iranian propaganda Ministry.

It's more than a bit fanciful to use the high level corruption at FIFA to suggest that referees in the Premier League are bent, and that this could have influenced decisions on Sunday. If that's not what you're suggesting, then the Blatter-Platini-Dyke bit - however interesting - is in the wrong thread. Nevertheless, read my last sentence ...this is absolutely as I was told.

Coloccini has had one good game all season - at OT. Since then he has been mediocre or poor and he should have been gone 2 years ago...would have been under KK.

It has always been a global game. What them c***s have done is turn it into a corrupt game where the likes of Qatar get to host a World Cup. Meanwhile the Premier League, ran by the English, is the runaway success of modern football... Before Havelange there was only one spot in the "World Cup" for Africa and Asia combined Could this have been because their sides weren't good enough at that stage..? Many Third World countries have seen lots of money poured into their football development since the 70s because their economies were picking up due to mining etc and when that happens you get an improvement in standards...they were also able to appoint better coaches from Europe. There was a time when England had never lost to Germany, and that only ended in 1968...people need to see past Leftist dogma before making decisions about things....

This is total nonsense as is your assertion about the English running the game - and also, in cricket, there is TV examination of disputed calls, something which your corrupt heroes in FIFA have done everything to try to avoid - have you been reading the Grauniad guide to Political Correctness..!?

The revelations on Sky News last night, where an uncomfortable and visibly twisting Dyke was grilled by an MPs Committee after it had been revealed that FIFA had already decided to give Russia the WC in 2018 long before the bidding process, added to the fact that Platini had got Blatter to change the 2022 venue from the US to Qatar after a lunch with the Qatari prince, show only too clearly how the game is corrupt from the top and adds further to my conviction that this runs right through from FIFA to national FAs. One MP grilled Dyke about taxpayers' money, used in the 2018 bidding process and claimed that Dyke should attempt to recover the money as the venue had already been decided...he also nailed Dyke about the FAs support for Platini which had apparently been given without any affirmation as to what - if any - reforms Platini intended to make to FIFA ; Dyke was really uncomfortable about this one and the MP insisted that he inform the committee whether the FA would now look at another candidate to back. The whole thing stinks to high heaven and although this might appear removed from NUFC and the PL, a fish rots from the head down and nothing would surprise me about corruption in the game - there have been scandals in Italy and Germany in the past but the FA sneaked under the radar, probably because the media etc. have little interest in pursuing any suspicions as they would suffer by non-access to people within the game from club level upwards. I KNOW that games in English football have been manipulated to put it kindly and this was told to me by a former coach of Newcastle United back in 1974......

When it comes to this game, we are now back in the 'must win' category, both for the club and McClaren ; lose this and we are well rooted to the bottom, esp if the Mackems manage a point. Any impetus gained by the freaky Norwich result has been neutered by the shambles at the SOS and a loss to Stoke would compound the problem 100%. Its going to be very interesting....

There is NO way FIFA or any football organization at the top level, want this bringing into the game - it would stop them interfering with results....I would take your point further and demand that they also have TV reviews of disputed Offsides where a goal results, but they don't want that either..!

How many times, especially under Ferguson, have Man U players, usually led by Keane, surrounded a referee and just about assaulted him, let alone protested...? Were Man U ever censored for such behaviour..?? I said before that the rulers of the game are corrupt and I stand by that absolutely - totally ridiculous and childish riposte by an organization that believes itself beyond question.

Charnley is just plain useless - if ever a man was promoted beyond his capabilities, he is the prime example. We will always struggle while he runs the show.

The problem we face when discussing managerial change is that NUFC is NOT run like any other PL club and because of the ludicrous way the people at the top make an attempt to run things we are unlikely ever to attract a really decent manager under this regime, so its a waste of time trying to replace McClaren ; he is probably as good as we'd get under Ashley so no point in talking about sacking him. Who on earth would want to have Charnley deciding which players he can have if he has a proven record as a top manager ?? That doesn't mean I think he's the right manager for an NUFC run as it should be but we are where we are and stuck with it for now - only a bottom place at the end of December is likely to force Ashley into either buying some top defenders and a striker, or replacing McClaren if he thinks he can get a similar stooge.

Although Coloccini should have been replaced 2 seasons ago, he was NOT guilty of conceding a penalty yesterday...football should be a contact sport within the rules and always has been, but the art of defending has been sacrificed to continental tip-tap with the willing acquiescence of the FA/PL. Nobody wants to see over-the-top tackles or spitting etc but Colo's shouldering of his opponent yesterday WITHOUT grabbing him was not and never should be, a penalty. This awful and possibly malicious decision by the referee could end up costing the club millions by causing relegation at the end of the season. Nobody can do anything if referees - who I believe are now a law unto themselves with the active participation of the PL and FA - make clearly wrong decisions which affect matches. The game's ruling authorities are being exposed as open to corruption and I shall never forget Maradona's handball which put England out of the WC and yet was treated as a joke by FIFA... Politics is now endemic in the game......

After being away for 3 weeks this was the first NUFC action I have seen since beginning of October and even then, only highlights ; the penalty/sending off was a total disgrace and I am more than ever now convinced that many games and refs decisions are fixed. I would be the first to point fingers at bad decisions by NUFC and unprofessional running of the club but there is NOTHING the club can do about things like this. Last weeks' games saw a clear holding offence by Schweinsteiger on an Arsenal player in the box which went totally unpunished and was far and away a more definite pen than Coloccini's shouldering in the box yesterday but then, Man U often get away with things like this. I did have doubts about our ability to compete physically with the Mackems, esp under Allardyce, but we were clearly robbed yesterday by a shocking decision which even commentators thought was wrong. Just as it looked as if some sort of recovery and gradual escape from the relegation trapdoor looked as if it may be possible, this result will now set the club back to where it was and with Villa likely to appoint a new manager soon, we needed this like a hole in the head...relegation will be back on the agenda with a vengeance from now on and it will take a herculean effort to escape.

Cisse is finished as a footballer We're 2-0 down and in the past he's proved he's our best goalscorer The words 'in the past' tell you all you need to know about Cisse - should have been sold and replaced a year ago.

Sissoko has given up on the club after seeing others like Cabaye/Debuchy go for decent fees and to better clubs - only a change of owner is likely to alter his attitude now and as this is unlikely for the best part of 18 months, it would be better for all concerned if he was sold ASAP....trouble is we are unlikely to realise a big fee for him the way he is playing.

Too soon to pass a meaningful judgment on Thauvin yet....when he has been at the club for 3 months we might get a better idea how valuable he will be - or otherwise. He is still finding his feet in a new country and a league which is much tougher to play in although that doesn't seem to have affected Martial's start with Man U. Time will tell.

Yes, and they offer all round value-for-money, with affordable ticket prices and usually, plenty of goals scored. More local players too, being coached properly. Best league in Europe for me, may not have the stellar combination of Real Madrid or Barca but streets ahead in terms of the majority of sides - same applies to the PL.

A point was deserved by virtue of a first half performance which was a vast improvement over the last few weeks' rubbish but there was no doubting that Chelsea were the better side by a mile in the second half once Mourinho made subs which let them dominate m/f. Krul to blame for the second goal, allowed it to drift past him into the corner, wrong-footed by Ramirez' run but Chelsea deserved a point. Wijnaldum more involved in this game and took his goal well, leaving his marker for dead...Mbabu was a revelation and the defence looked better as a result but we will still concede in games where Colo cannot be a---d. Unexpected point, but lets hope things get better - will take more than this to convince me though..!