merlin

It takes a lot of guts and heart to come on a rival fans' forum when you've just had a plastering at their place - for what it's worth, many thanks for your comments and for people like you, I hope the Hammers manage to pull out of the drop - there are far worse clubs and lots of our fans would rather see them go instead of you guys. If its any consolation, I am one of the older guys on here, and I can remember us getting tanked at Upton Park back in the 60s when you had Moore, Hurst and Peters playing for you... the only consolation was that you beat our beloved neighbours 8-0 a year or two later..... Its all cyclical, you will have your days again. Good Luck for the rest of the season.

Barton has great ability - it has taken him a few years to really show that at SJP but he is producing now. As a player, he is very good, but you always fear that his dark side will re-emerge(as with Gamst Pedersen) and cost us points because he is suspended...also, refs are looking for him, whereas when other players commit similar offences, they get off Scot free. Right now, we need Barton and as long as he keeps his nose clean all well and good - if he steps out of line again it will be time to review the situation. Main attribute is his passing ; I still question his fitness/stamina over 90 mins. A player like Charlie Adam may be his replacement in due course, but then we would need a RW...as if we didn't already...

Financially, the club is in a much better position - this would be a major plus IF you could see progress being as good on the field and in the playing area generally. It appears that there is more concentration on bringing through younger talent, and some of the youngsters(like Ferguson)have done well when called on, but others, such as Ranger, clearly have temperament issues which are affecting their development. I don't blame Pardew one bit for trying to whip him back into line over things like lateness for training etc ; what do some of these guys think they are ? He is picking up good money for keeping fit and doing what most fans would do for far less, given the chance. I am no fan of Pardew and his appointment is yet another disappointing(and baffling)move by Ashley, but I reckon any manager worth his salt would take issue with sloppy and lazy behaviour by young players. Looking at first team developments, some signings have been good value(Tiote, HBA etc) but you have to say that there will always be a worry over Carroll's likely move - some of this is because everyone knows Ashley will sell for the right money but I don't think it will be a cheap fee when he does. The other problem is that with Ashley's tight rein on transfers/wages, there is a good chance that Carroll will see that he is only going to win things away from SJP...just as his predecessors(Gazza, Beardsley and Waddle)did before him. We cannot use Shearer as an opposing argument because he was almost 26 when he joined the club and had won a PL medal with Blackburn - Carroll is only 21 and has already realised his boyhood dreams by playing for NUFC since he was 18. So, in summary - good financial management, but a bad balance between that and necessary team building which means the club probably has a secure, but mediocre future IF we stay in the PL this season.

A point is the minimum required from this game, and 3 should be the target - had the side not been so prone to losing at home to teams they should beat, this would be cast as a def win. WHU have picked up of late though, and this will be far from easy - anything we get will have to be fought for and a win would ease the pressure for a while.

Don't want OR need this past-it over-hyped 'icon' - Barton is doing better in that position than the poser ever now could. No more circuses at SJP pls...

Warnock - head of the 'Know-nowt-about-it' dept....he could cause a row in an empty house.Pity he is not in the market for Shola, we might have got some much-needed dosh for him.

The result at Wigan is HALF the New Year job done ; West Ham now looms and at least a point is required from them, preferably 3. Those crowing about '10th place' should get real - Dave is spot on with his comments. A few bad results combined with good ones for opposing sides can put you right back in trouble again - I would have thought that a few years watching football would have taught people that.Before the 3 points for a win came in, it was possible to regard mid-table as pretty safe ; not any more.....NUFC need to keep picking up points and Blackpool's results have illustrated that no team is a cert for relegation because they are not a 'Big Club'. Deserved win at Wigan - Barton ran the M/F, Harper was a far more reassuring presence in goal than Krul who always looks as if he is on hot bricks. Harps hardly had a save to make, but did make one really good one early in the game. Coloccini was excellent at the back, he is far better against less physical forwards than big bustling ones. Simpson has improved far more than anyone expected and Jonas never stopped taking the game to them, esp late in the game when they were leaving gaps. Our desperate need for striking power was evident in this game - it should have been out of sight by midway through second half but poor control/lack of pace in the middle of the forward line meant we hardly looked like getting a second until Taylor rattled the bar with a header - the only other near miss came courtesy of Coloccini's great header in the first half...note that both efforts from defenders..... Shola got the goal from a rebound - there wasn't much else to say about his play that hasn't been said already.Enough said.....Tiote did his usual mammoth stint and if we stay up much of this will have been down to his work breaking up opposition attacks in M/F. A win against the Hammers and the club has some breathing space until if and when some new faces appear....hopefully.

Wouldn't mind Charlie Adam at all. On a different note, GM could you change your avatar it's really offensive to my delicate eyes :-[ Adam is a good shout - probably available in Summer but doubt Blackpool would sell until they are def safe. Adam would probably do for our m/f what Tommy Craig did in 75-76. Great left peg.

ALL previous boards have sold our best players - even KK under SJH sold Andy Cole, admittedly so he could sign Ferdinand later but Man U wanted Cole amd away he went. We did OK after he went, but we finished lower than in the previous season. Then you have Gazza, Beardsley, Waddle, Supermac, Pop Robson etc etc...some of these players wanted to go, but only because they couldn't see the club winning honours - has that changed now ? If the right offer comes in, Carroll will be off although I would still be surprised if it was before the summer. cole left midseason. I am well aware of that - are you saying that because he went in Jan 95 it didn't affect out final placing in May ? Otherwise, i don't see the point you are making. The issue under discussion was whether NUFC have sold their best players or not and the answer to that has been, apart from a few years in the mid 90s, an unequivocal YES ; even Fergie mentioned it in his book when he talked about the Cole transfer - his words were that 'Newcastle have never been able to keep their best players'. It riled me at the time, but he was right and has been ever since.

Hard to believe Rooney is only 25 - looks(and now plays)as if he were 10 years older. If he doesn't pick up his form soon, and that means general play rather than just goals, he WILL be on a major decline. Not convinced we have heard the last of his personal/marriage issues yet either. Right now, I wouldn't put a tenner on him being the player he was a year or so ago - odds are on him ending up as the new Gazza rather than the new Shearer. Will lose his England place to Carroll within 2 years if he doesn't get his act together. Living testimony to overpaid and under-intelligent footballers.... if Bentley would benefit by a move away from London, Rooney would doubly-benefit by a move away from England - IF he has the intelligence to make the most of it.

This post is just... wrong on so many levels. Well the bit about Bentley emulating Routledge's career is bilge for a start, yeah. Both around same age(Bentley actually older) ; both wingers who have been allowed to move on to other clubs after 3 spells with Prem sides ; both regarded as great talents when young ; both have been at Spurs ; both look like ending up at NUFC....enough there ?

This post is just... wrong on so many levels. We'll see....IF he signs.

This - less than 4 points is a problem as it will spur of the sides we are playing and others genuinely in fear of relegation. If we lose both games, we are well and truly in the relegation scrap proper.

WBA desperately unlucky against Man U - they look a far better team than we do and if they had Carroll I reckon they'd finish mid-table without a problem. Even Fergie had to admit Man U had to battle to get a result and the missed penalty was probably the turning point of the game. You have to give credit to Di Matteo - he has made some shrewd signings and got them playing good controlled football. They might still go down, but with more money spent in Jan they would not be a relegation side in my view.

ALL previous boards have sold our best players - even KK under SJH sold Andy Cole, admittedly so he could sign Ferdinand later but Man U wanted Cole amd away he went. We did OK after he went, but we finished lower than in the previous season. Then you have Gazza, Beardsley, Waddle, Supermac, Pop Robson etc etc...some of these players wanted to go, but only because they couldn't see the club winning honours - has that changed now ? If the right offer comes in, Carroll will be off although I would still be surprised if it was before the summer.

In many ways, Bentley is a typical Newcastle player - not consistent, will probably love the quayside etc, and has had a number of Prem clubs who basically think he is surplus to requirements. Capable of producing a great cross or free kick but lacks genuine pace(in my view, a must for a proper winger in the PL). Probably more end product than Jonas and Routledge(whose career he has emulated to an eerie degree), but does not have the pace that SWP has. Phillips is better at beating full-backs on the outside, Bentley is a better crosser of the ball and better at dead balls. Overall, I agree with kingdawson(and he has seen more of the player than any Newcastle fan) - given the choice I would take Phillips but that is unlikely for several reasons.Bentley is also younger. Would be disappointed id the club paid more than 5m for him and I am surprised that they are prepared to match his wages - nevertheless, an improvement on what we have and may give Carroll some decent crosses - as long as Carroll is still there to aim for...!! If this boy is a makeweight in any deal for Carroll, I would not be at all happy ; we shouldn't be selling Carroll yet anyway, but if the club were determined to sell him to Spurs, the only player I would want as part of the deal would be Pavyluchenko...for obvious reasons and that is never going to happen.

Until I see Forster in action in PL games, I am not even convinced that Krul is the default No 2 Keeper, never mind first choice. He has made a few decent saves, but he has also had some very lucky escapes where goals could easily have been conceded due to his poor command of the area. He has no right to be considered first choice until he comes out on top in direct competition to BOTH Harper and Forster - and we won't know that until next season at least.

This - absolutely. Do we REALLY need another thread about Shola ? Proved himself a CCC striker(and no better) a long time ago. Odd flash of brilliance interspersed with long periods of shambolic mediocrity. If NUFC are relying on Shola and Ranger for goals over the next month, my Relegationometer rating will jump from 7.5 to 8.5.....

Yes, the rest of the PL will be trembling in their boots.....

The news about Carroll is the worst possible start to 2011 ; hope it isn't a serious or long term injury or things are going to get very sticky indeed. Just shows the folly of Ashley's policy re ; transfers in our first season back in the PL - this could cost him almost as dearly as his 'brilliant' punt on B&B during the Financial crisis.

Careful - you'll get accused of being 'negative' next.........! Reality is something many find difficult to face...

There is nothing positive about being in the club's position - as Big Geordie said, one win in 8 games...are you positive about that ? Also, it WILL be a long wait before the club can compete with Spurs...is THAT positive ? Was I wrong about many other clubs being in a similar position of requiring at least 3 players to be a decent side and that some of them will spend where NUFC won't....right or wrong ? The club has a first 11 that are OK - results over a season depend on more than just 11 decent players. Let's see if its still as funny after we play W.Ham and Wigan...and if Carroll is injured......

Woah.. I did agree with all of that however we are a long, long way from being top 5 side. This is still, for the most part, the team that had got us relegated after all. No this isn't the same team that got us relagated,the attitude has changed,they play as a team and for the shirt,more than could be said for Duff,Martins and Owen. But we are still 2-3 players away from being a top 5 side. So are the likes of Villa, Blackburn, Birmingham - even, dare we say it, our nearest and dearest neighbours....are we going to spend the money on those 3 players(and that's the MINIMUM we need, by the way), and will they come to SJP even if Ashley has a brainstorm and stumps up the cash...

You'll have a long wait........

They're playing Man U tbf. Yes, and look at the result....