merlin

Great player - saw him in the flesh during the friendly at SJP just after Supermac had signed for us in 1971. Not at his best by then, but still had a powerful shot and great skill. Always remember him overturning the N.Koreans after they were leading Portugal by 3 goals in '66...won the game on his own, they couldn't handle him. A sad day.

He's telling people what to think, as usual, some our educationally challenged will swallow it. There's quite a number in that 'educationally challenged' dept, Mick...

Tells you all you need to know when deciding whether to waste even more money on a ST...

That's the predominant view outside these forums. I guess we deserve to eat s*** as a result. Anderson is hardly in a position to judge - he's on a final pay day at a Radio Station which detests NUFC and he hardly covered himself with glory whilst a player at the club...swap for Debuchy, anyone..? Lets see how 'tremendous' Pardew does over the next 6 matches, shall we..? Odds on another thrashing from City and being turned over for the 3rd time by the mackems...?

Not unless they resurrect the Texaco....a tea bag stays in the cup longer than NUFC.

Who wouldn't...?

Ashley has roughly achieved what he wanted for Newcastle United - to be a cheap and prominent vehicle for his advertising of Sports Direct. He has no other use for the club than that and he will do as little as possible by way of spending on the club to achieve the status quo. We are, frankly, a laughing stock of a club - no wonder other clubs fans think NUFC fans are deluded because they turn up in massive numbers just to get their faces rubbed in failure season after season....they swallow the kind of blatant lying and hype that the management come out with and then. after exiting competitions like the FAC in the 3rd round every season, they turn up again the following August expecting better...crazy. There are obviously plenty who can afford to chuck away hundreds of pounds to an owner who laughs in their faces every year, makes it quite clear what his(lack of)ambitions are for the club and keeps a manager who is a blatant stooge because he couldn't get a job elsewhere in the PL and is cheap to keep... As Midds said - for next season , rinse and repeat ...so it will be until the club gets an owner who has more football ambition than Ashley so until fans boycott, there will be NO change. Watch results fall off now..

Carroll had his height and physique in his favour - some managers/teams will always want a big strong CF, even if he isn't the best in the skills dept although Carroll was not too bad in that respect ; Campbell is small and small forwards have to be really good to make an impact. KK himself went in for intensive body-building whilst at Scunthorpe as a teenager and even he is taller than Campbell is now.

I've already said before that the club have become expert at managing expectations and dumbing down...

This - great post that sums it all up perfectly.

Like most UK politicians, the club have become expert at manipulating people's expectations and dumbing people down...get used to it, many fans believe Pardew is the best we could get... Unfortunately, under Ashley he probably is......

Haven't seen the game and don't intend to watch it - we have had so many of this type of result/performances against sides like WBA over the years after a decent run that most of us who have followed the club for many years have come to expect it. I actually thought we would lose the next 2 PL games after Arsenal and it looks almost certain that we will. In addition, the absence of Colo and Debuchy is going to hit us hard over the succeeding weeks and games v Norwich & W.Ham will be far from easy with the set up we will have. Debuchy appears to have been stupid in getting sent off but he has been excellent over several weeks now whereas some players have consistently been average or worse over that period. I will not comment on HBA's part in the pen because I haven't seen it but I have my own views about the player although I would like to see him in a better side/playing for a better manager before I pass final judgement....I suspect that not too many top PL sides would sign him though - we shall see. We all knew it was a matter of time before the good run came to an end because the squad lacks vital quality in important positions and certainly strength in depth - this is not going to change any time soon for the reasons we know all too well so people had better get used to this sort of result coming along and probably, a run of poor results after a run of good ones...that is what happens with NUFC and has done over the years apart from under KK during promotion/PL seasons and SBR after he got the side sorted out. The FA Cup game is not going to be any easier either after Cardiff's determined performance against Arsenal and the likelihood of Solskjaer taking over as manager before then - again, we shall see......Pardew has form in FA Cup ties......

What's new ? That is the default setting.

Many managers get a percentage of any player sales if there is a certain amount of profit involved. I remember listening to a phone-in on Radio Newcastle the week before KK resigned in 1997 and a caller asked John Anderson and the programme host whether it was true that KK got a percentage of the fee for one of our promising players who had been recently sold ; the 2 programme hosts were VERY reluctant to affirm this and tried to get around the question by saying that it was KK's private business...the caller stated, correctly in my view, that if the sale of players was forming part of a manager's income, then he, as a supporter who was paying towards the club's income, had every right to know whether this was a fact or not. He further stated that he had it in good authority that Brian Clough had a similar agreement written into his contracts at his various clubs. I don't for a minute think that KK would have sold a player unless he thought the player was not going to break into the team, but then he was getting well paid by NUFC at the time ; we don't know if Pardew is being well paid by PL standards but we suspect not, so there may be a temptation to sell players if the sale would add to his income significantly. I guess we'll never really know, so you have to make your own judgement on it all.

My point was that TaylorJ had questioned jacky on 'no one anywhere near' Green when he went down when all accounts, including the player's had indicated it was a bad tackle by Mel Blyth. Then jacky comes along and reiterates his original post. Fair enough..it was jackyj's version that I was really calling into question....when the player himself confirms that Blyth was to blame it seems cut and dried to me..

Hmm... so much for a horrific tackle by Mel Blyth. If you read the cuttings about Green on the earlier pages you will see that he himself blamed the tackle from Mel Blyth on his injury...I remember hearing about it on the day too and that was what the radio reporter said. Green might have tried to play on but if you read what he said were the extent of his injuries it is no wonder he went down in a heap...

Was the director who looked at him called Fenton Braithwaite? His name rings a bell for some reason. Braithwaite WAS a surgeon and he was on the board...it could have been him but the club had a reputation for not getting the best possible treatment for players in those days. However, Green had to acknowledge retirement in 1975 and it would be over 10 years until Cruciate ligament injuries - like those which afflicted Gazza and Shearer - were satisfactorily treated and enabled players to continue their careers. Brian Clough suffered one on Boxing Day when at Sunderland and he had to finish at the age of 29...the same age as Macdonald when he had to pack in.

I guess hope springs eternal.... Happy New Year to all.

I saw Milburn play in a testimonial when he was in his 50s and it is not true to say he was just about pace and shooting ; he was skilful on the ball and even at that age, could turn a defender beautifully. Looked to be more comfortable on the ball than Shearer but Shearer was better at shielding it and giving defenders as good as he got. Supermac was the most exciting CF I have seen wearing the B&W, the only CF we have had for many years who could lift the crowd out of their seats with excitement by his sheer pace when running on to a through ball. What was more, he was all left foot, pace and not much else when he first arrived aged 21, but he developed so much as an all-round player that although he wasn't very tall, defenders feared his heading ability as much as his pace - ask people who saw him score a great header against Bob Wilson/Arsenal back in 72...came back too quickly after a couple of cartilage ops when in his prime and I reckon that was why his career ended early. Could be arrogant and selfish but boy, what a player....would have been worth a huge sum today As for Tony Green, I have made my views about him clear before - fantastic player with electric pace over 1st 5 yards and a huge influence on a side. We were heading for relegation in late 71 until Joe Harvey signed him a few months later and he gave an immediate lift to the side. Tragically taken out by Mel Blyth at Crystal Palace in 73 and although he tried to return from cruciate ligament injury, it wasn't possible in those days. Still believe we would not have lost so easily to Liverpool - if at all - during the 74 Cup Final if Green had been playing. Another who would have been worth a fortune by today's standards and although Nasri isn't as good as Green was he was a similar type of player when at his best. Although TG only played 38 games for us, he had a big crowd for his testimonial which showed how highly he was rated by the fans. He always loved the club too and made that clear in the years after his retirement. We have had some great, great players but those days are long gone and unlikely to return because we wouldn't be in the hunt for these players today.

Keegan allowed Cole to go because he wanted Ferdinand and eventually, Shearer. It is not generally known that we made a bid for Shearer at the same time as Blackburn but they got him because a)they bid a bit more after our bid and b)Shearer wanted PL football which we couldn't offer him at the time because we were on the verge of our promotion season. KK once said that Newcastle were like the Mounties because they always got their man - and in his days, we usually did..... That ended when Fat Fred decided to - for his own reasons - 'keep his power dry' in the close season before we were due to play on qualifiers for the CL and we ended up with Bowyer on a free.

We are probably as high as we are going to be - we have 2 difficult PL games coming up, plus an FA Cup tie against a side who may have a new manager so none will be easy and the likelihood of suspensions/injuries is high. Very few expect us to remain as top 6 contenders unless we strengthen in a major way during January and that is unlikely. If we lose Cabaye, we could struggle even to get into 8th place unless he is satisfactorily replaced.... 8th IF we get some forward power AND keep Cabaye...below that otherwise. Don't forget, we played Arsenal when they were without 2 of their best players and Liverpool will have a goal-crazy Suarez when we next play them...we got thumped at City and at Everton and both could beat us again at SJP so any crowing about our performances v top sides should wait until all the fixtures have been played.

Exactly - people who are happy with the club ought to remember those stats.... Think how they would read if we had people with real ambition running the place...and if SJH's plan for the new stadium hadn't been over-ruled by that fat, brainless idiot, Prescott.

This game illustrated why we are going to be also-rans again. They were slightly better on the ball, more composed all round and were without Podolski and Ozil ; imagine how we would have performed without Cabaye and Tiote..... We made a great effort and as BG says, we had the best player on the pitch in Debuchy who was superb yesterday. Unfortunately, they were better in most other positions and had far too much nous for us - the fact that Wenger was prepared to concede as much ground in the final 20 mins(through his subs)showed that he was confident they could keep us out because we had reverted to bringing on Shola and lumping the ball long in desperation. HBA showed why he will always be a player who divides supporters...those who like flashes of brilliance and entertainment will always want him in the side and those who want a player who thinks more about what his team-mates are doing will find him totally frustrating. The greatest players, such as Cruyff, could beat a man AND set up chances for their team-mates as well as looking good on the eye. We were, as everyone knew, lacking up front and unless decent money is spent, this failing is going to cost us over the season. Krul had a poor game by his standards and he is currently using up all the credits from his display against Spurs. I thought he should have been better positioned for their goal and it was hardly coming at him from a hidden position or at Warp factor 9. He looked shaky on other occasions too and his kicking was mediocre although Seczeny nearly stole the show there with his brainless clearance that hit Remy and almost rebounded into goal. Overall, a brave effort but not enough REAL chances created and this will remain the case unless and until we get reinforcements up front - we face a couple of difficult games too, with WBA away and Man C at SJP soon. City will surely be more difficult opponents than Arsenal were yesterday too, and WBA have shown they can score goals....Anelka just loves playing against us..!

This is true Dave - I have stood many times at a packed SJP/Gallowgate/Leazes End and never once did I feel in danger, even during the Fairs Cup Final in 1969 when we could sway down several terraces after a goal was scored. Hillsborough should not have been used to wipe out standing and why should the views of one club - Liverpool - be allowed to dictate to the rest of football? I have my own views about what happened there and isn't it interesting that Liverpool afficionados, like the BBC etc, never mention their fans' part in the debacle v Juventus in 1985 which was 4 years prior to Hillsborough...? If that had been NUFC fans, we'd never have heard the last of it - some in the media still drag up the pitch invasion v Forest during the FA Cup tie in 1974 even though nobody was seriously injured, as a club to beat NUFC fans with... Unfortunately, the world is now run for the benefit of Human Rights Lawyers and those who make a living chasing ambulances to sign up damages claimants so they clubs are unlikely to want standing areas returned, just in case..... I broadly agree, but you're being a bit paranoid about the 1974 pitch invasion . I think that very few, if any, younger non-Newcastle United fans will have heard of it, whereas many will know about Heysel. Not that there isn't a solid pro-Liverpool bias in the media in general. It's sad that even someone as long-standing a supporter as Dave can say that he hasn't stood at St James' Park. We're heading towards a time when two whole generations will be able to say that, and I think it's a real pity. It was a completely different experience, and I feel incredibly lucky to have experienced it. We should be able to do so again. The 1974 pitch invasion at SJP was even mentioned in David Peace's recent book, 'Red or Dead' about Bill Shankly's time at Liverpool and his life afterwards; despite the writer surely having some knowledge about both Heysel and Hillsborough, he still mentioned this and even stated that one of the Forest players was injured, which is exaggeration to say the least. The insinuation was clearly that NUFC had no right to be in the Semis because had the 'invasion' not happened, they would have lost to Forest - it may be true, it may not but he still saw fit to bring it up..

Marveaux is a good footballer with a good eye for a defence splitting pass...his creation of goal chances is very good when compared to his appearances. The problem is that he is a bit one-paced and doesn't relish the cut and thrust of PL football so Pardew would naturally be reluctant to play him, especially in games against physical sides. Obertan has pace, but no football brain....of the two, I would prefer to have Marveaux who could be used as a late sub in games where we are winning to hold the ball and possibly create chances on the break where the opposition are pushing for an equalizer and stretched. You can say that Obertan's pace is also useful in that situation, but it is almost a certainty that he would fail to pick out a colleague at the end of his run..he would be trying to beat another defender. Neither are a good fit in the first team at present because we rely heavily on Remy's pace and Gouffran's work ethic to get results and neither Marveaux or Obertan are as useful.