merlin

I will be surprised - but pleased - if Ben Arfa settles into the PL quickly. Most foreigners take a while to step up the pace and as a player who likes to use the ball he will find his time allowed on it to be much less than he is used to. We have only heard tales about his temperament so none of us know how he will react to players that set out to whack him...as in the Wolves game. He needs to play games to adjust, but the club's results some first, esp against teams where we need to pick up the points so I would be tempted to give the current side a go for the first half and, if they have a comfortable lead at HT, to put him in then. Whether Nolan is a favoured player or not should be immaterial - the team has to improve and that means managers taking difficult decisions with selection.

Perhaps, perhaps not. NUFC was in major decline before KK signed. The ground was falling to bits and crowds were dwindling away to nowt. I’m fairly certain the season before KK signed we recorded our lowest ever average league attendance, there were certainly plenty of games when we were only getting 10-11k coming through the turnstiles. Keegan restored the clubs believe. Harvey didn’t have that obstacle to overcome? Wrong - NUFC weren't QUITE in such a state as were LIverpool when Shanks joined them, but they WERE in a mess..Harvey had to rebuild the side to get promotion from Div 2 and then rebuild it again to survive. After he brought through the FA Youth Cup winning youngsters in Moncur, David Craig etc.he established the base of the 69 Fairs Cup winning team. KK had money from SJH when he became manager, but Joe had to wheel and deal because NUFC were skint. There had just been the minimum wage debacle with George Eastham and that cost the club Eastham's services as well as leaving a bad taste, so Joe had a tough job. He wasn't perhaps as intense as KK and also relied on his coaches quite heavily(esp Keith Burkinshaw in the 70s), but he had a great eye for a player. He and Stan Seymour Snr were mainly responsible for pushing the club so strongly into signing Supermac from Luton in competition with Man U. Harvey also wanted to sign Andy Gray when he was a 17 yr old with Dundee Utd, but the board wouldn't give him more than 100,000 and Dundee Utd wanted 110,000.

It was a fantastic coup and we were all stunned but delighted. Wasn't as surprised as some because he had always mentioned his Dad's affection for NUFC as the family came from the NE, but to sign him when he was still England captain was fantastic. The noise at his debut, esp when he scored against QPR, had to be heard to be believed. He was a great signing and a great influence on the club and its young players but once the job was done, he was quite happy to leave when he realised Arthur Cox was not going to get much funding from the board....I think he had had enough for a while anyway because he retired to Spain for 8 years until he came back as manager in Feb 92. His return then was just as important because it established the club as a Premiership force within 2 years and made us punch our weight although he wouldn't have returned if the old board had been in place. Will always be a major figure in the club's history for what he achieved but in terms of trophies, you have to say that Joe Harvey was more influential ; he won silverware with the club as both player and manager. There is no way you can equate what KK did at NUFC in the same level as Shankly did for Liverpool or Brian Clough for Derby and Forest because Shanks built(and left)a dynasty whereas KK's side were on the verge of major surgery when he resigned. Also, Bob Paisley was able to take over at Liverpool and lead them to better things whereas NUFC went backwards...and it wasn't all Dalglish's fault either.... Interestingly, Peter Robinson, Liverpool's legendary Chief exec under Shanks and Paisley once said that they also had considered KK to be a decent future manager....

This will all die a death like the Beckham/Rebecca Loos story back in 2003....like Posh, Colleen has the 'Brand Rooney' to think about. He was stupid if he took her around night clubs where he could be recognized, but I reckon he'll pay in the future - get the impression that Colleen is a girl who probably likes her revenge dish served cold.....

Merlin Speaking of Glen Keeley and that 3-3 at Boro. I was at that game and Keeley scored a superb diving header..................................straight into his own goal. We left at 1-3 down with two minutes to go. The game was at the old Ayresome Park and as we were leaving, we heard a couple of roars and thought we must have conceded a couple of more goals. Imagine our shock when we switched on the car radio to find out that both our full backs, Kennedy and Nattrass scored twice in the final few minutes to get a 3-3 draw. I was livid. but we had been told by the driver of the car to go early because he had to get home for an anniversary dinner. I was there too Macca, but fortunately, I waited until the end....! The Boro fans were so pi---d off it wasn't true...they had never beaten us since coming up to Div 1 in 1974 and they thought they had done it when Maddren put them 3-1 up after Keeley's wonderful(!) strike. The deflation had to be seen to be believed when Nattrass put us level right at the end after Kennedy made it 3-2. We tormented them as we walked back to the cars, they were saying how lucky we had been and we asked them if they knew that a football match actually lasts for 90 minutes !! The result against Derby merely rubbed salt into the wound as they were anticipating having a laugh at our expense when we threw a 2 goal lead away,only to snatch a winner at the death - great days !

One that matches the City 3-4 game(but was better because we won..!)was the game with Derby in February 1976. Derby were in the running for the title and we had qualified for the LC Final a few days earlier by beating Spurs at SJP. We were in the middle of a good run and scoring goals for fun and had just come back from 3-1 down at Boro to draw 3-3 in added time...! The game had a fairly good start, but it was an own goal from former Mackem Colin Todd that gave us the lead. They equalized through Powell but we eventually got into a 3-1 lead after Nulty scored with a header and Tommy Craig was tripped in the box. Craig took the pen himself and blasted it home and we thought that was that although Derby continued to pour forward - they were a good side, with Charlie George and the likes of Bruce Rioch in their team They came back and scored twice to equalize(bad defensive mistake from Keeley was responsible for one of their goals I think) with only a few minutes to go so we thought we had chucked 2 points away. Supermac had other ideas....we attacked them for a final time and forced a corner ; Craig bent it in but a Derby defender headed it out, only to see the ball played back into the area as the derby defence all ran out to catch us Offside - Macdonald judged his run back perfectly and beat the trap, being played on by that big lanky forward they had (can't remember his name but they signed him from Non-league Burton and he was a decent player, also played for Spurs). Supermac headed the ball powerfully past their keeper and we all went absolutely berserk !! There was 5 minutes left, and they nearly got another with one of their shots being cleared off the line, although we could also point at a lovely chip from Tommy Craig that bounced off their bar with the keeper beaten. It was a fantastic match, brilliantly exciting and typical of that great season, and we had some high scoring games after Christmas.

Respect isn't the word I'd use. People my age (28) and above remember and respect us as a throwback from the 90s but younger fans have no idea about our history. We've not been on most people's radars for nearly a decade now. Plus, being known in France and Spain is one thing, the rest of the world is something else. The term "big club" for me is akin to "McBrand" and we don't come close to competing with the real big boys worldwide - from Manchester United to Real Madrid to Barca to Bayern. In any event, I wish people would stop using the term, as it gets under everyone's skin and I'm fairly sure that commentators only use it to wind up the fans. On the nail...

our fans can argue over this till the cows come home....what do you mean by a big club, does winning a trophy count towards this status? etc etc the majority of non nufc fans would say no - i would agree, we arent a big club as compared to Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, and recentley (tin hat on ) Chelsea still piss on the makems though Agree with this - we are POTENTIALLY one of the biggest clubs in England, perhaps in Europe, but we will not be considered as such until we REGULARLY win trophies. That is the defining point in my view.We have a much bigger fan base than the likes of Boro, Leicester etc who have won trophies far more recently than we have, but even if we had won the title in 96 then faded away, we would have been judged to be similar to Blackburn, themselves one season wonders. You have to win things at least every 5 years or so to be considered a big club by the football world, whether we like it or not. We have always been a 'nearly' club and until we start winning silverware or competing in the CL on a regular basis, we will remain one.

This. Was amazing to be a part of it (I was in the Scoreboard that day) This was another reason why Ned was such a major player for us in his 2 year stay. Saved us with that goal v Pompey, then scored well over 20 in the promotion season that followed. A really good lad to have around the dressing room, and never stopped running. Also went to see us play at Coventry in the first season in the PL, even though he had been sold to Wolves.

Jackie scored a crucial goal against Rangers in the SF at SJP which set us on our way to the final. Sad day for all, esp those of us old enough to remember his playing days. RIP

Winning the Fairs Cup in '69 ; nobody gave us a hope against Ujpest Dosza in the final because they had previously knocked out Leeds comfortably - Leeds were the best team in the country then. First leg at SJP was amazing - 60,000 crammed in, I was in the Gallowgate end where all the goals were scored. Looked as if we were not going to score until Moncur belted one in from a corner. Then he came up again and swapped passes with(I think) Benny Arentoft and stuck one across their keeper into the far corner. Each time a goal was scored, you were swept forward by about 20 feet with the movement of the crowd and you could hardly hear anything anyone said to you. Jimmy Scott topped it all off with a brave run and lob over the keeper for No 3 and we were in dreamland. Voice had just about gone by the time we got out at the end. The second leg in Hungary was much tougher and they pounded us in the first half, scoring twice, but Moncur did it again, and they collapsed. Foggon scored a memorable goal, racing into their half, smashing the ball against the bar, then hitting the rebound in for our 3rd. First trophy since 1955 and to date, the last major silverware we have won. The team were far from the most skilled, but had huge hearts. Big Wyn scared continentals to death with his huge leaps and Robson scored some great goals and an absolute belter from 30 yds against Sporting Lisbon after a Wyn knock-down. Defence were probably the best we've had as a unit in the past 40 years. The Man U 5-0 was brill but ultimately, it didn't mean anything...if we had done them like that at SJP the previous season we may have won the title as they would have been shell-shocked.

If Carroll picks up a long term injury - yes, definitely. If he stays fit and keeps playing well we can do a bit better, maybe 14th.Higher if another striker comes in in Jan.

This - balanced squad in most areas but LB and striking positions remain a concern if either of the first choices get injured OR have a loss of form. The lack of another decent striker is a concern because we are now too dependent on Carroll. Its a big ask of a 21 year old to carry the goals responsibility for at least half a season.

A really good post, prophet. I agree with all you have said. Relegation should not have been necessary to sort out the club and it has undoubtedly set back the club's reputation. We do not know how many players may have been put off from joining the club because we are a 'newly promoted' side - this will definitely apply to young foreign players. It is a good thing that the team spirit seems to have benefited from going down but that will soon dissipate if we start to struggle or any of the new players don't fit in with the squad. We are painfully lightweight up front and heaven help us if Carroll is out for a long period so I will be disappointed if we don't get another forward in before the window closes today. The team did well to come straight back up and everyone at the club deserves a pat on the back for that, but relegation wasn't a necessity. We might not be as lucky if it happens again......

This game has not come at the best of times because from what I saw in their match with Fulham, Blackpool are still playing on adrenaline. This often happens with unrated newly promoted teams..there have been plenty of examples over the years. Inevitably, the reality kicks in later in the season, but right now, it will be a bad mistake to underestimate Blackpool. They will get stuck in and the likes of Ben Arfa may well get far less time on the ball than they are used to so it could be a rude awakening for him. If we score first and early, we should win fairly comfortably, but if they happen to grab an early goal and we go in at HT a goal down, we will struggle because they will run all day to defend it. All the games we have played so far were against teams who were considered better(or equal)to us, and the pressure was off the players to a degree. In this match, we are expected to win, and win comfortably...football is not always like that and NUFC has a history of falling at the easy hurdles. No prediction on the score, but as I said, unless we get an early goal it could be tougher than many think.

I have seen most of the combinations in the title of this thread(even I am not old enough to have had a really good look at Milburn & Robledo..!)and you have missed out the best one in terms of goals scored. It only happened for 1 season, but Macdonald and Gowling got the biggest haul as a pair in 75/76. Supermac always got far more than Tudor although the latter's unselfish running contributed to many of Super's goals. The same applies to Cole and Beardsley although PB was far more skilled than Tudor. Andy Carroll needs a decent strike partner...Keane might well do the trick, just a pity Beardsley isn't 20 years younger...! If Owen had been fit and younger, I reckon he and Carroll would have been dynamite if Owen had been committed.

If Carroll keeps his sense of proportion and keeps working at his game, there isn't a club in Britain(OR Europe) that won't want to sign him. He is the classic English CF, but is polishing his skills on the ground to the degree that he would be the ideal target man for any club. When he was involved in all the off-field problems last season, I said then that he can either get himself sorted out big-time, or be another wasted talent. I HOPE that he has done the former, certainly the signs are good, but, like Duncan Ferguson before him, he will be a target of wind-up merchants off the field. he resembles Ferguson on many ways but, good as he was, the problems DF had off the field stopped him from really realizing his potential. Provided he keeps out of trouble AND avoids serious injury, he will one day be subject of a huge transfer fee. I just hope that, by then, NUFC have demonstrated enough ambition and progress to keep him at the club until he is at least 28. Vital to our survival this season, esp if we fail to sign another striker. Fingers crossed, but could be as big a home-grown legend as Gazza was.

Exactly - that is why i would really like to see Keane arrive. We could struggle badly for goals without Carroll.

The club is on an even keel right now and financially, we are in better shape than many.They get credit for that and for backing Hughton to a point but I will wait until the season's end before giving a final verdict. If they keep the club going in the right direction(which it certainly wasn't before Ashley arrived)you cannot ask more of them. A 'Wait and see'....

Any team managed by McCarthy is going to be physical - that is why I was hoping Tiote would be picked for this match because he would have taken some of the attention away from Barton. Wolves were second best for most of the game and didn't deserve to win although Perch was VERY fortunate with his challenge on Jarvis in the box. When you saw the replay from another angle, he most definitely caught the player and it should have been a pen. Overall, though, we were the better side with more possession. On chances created in the second half, we should have won the match so a draw is probably a fair result. Wolves wouldn't get away with that sort of approach at SJP, so hopefully they can be given their just desserts in the return game. The accumulation of yellow cards is going to cause problems later in the season and I hope Taylor isn't sold because we may well need him once suspensions start kicking in...metaphorically, of course....! Much more effective performance from Routledge whose runs and crossing caused them trouble. Great header from Carroll, not as easy as it looked because he got great height AND direction on it after a good diagonal run in the box. Would like to see what effect Keane's runs would have in terms of creating even more chances for Carroll. He would be a good signing in my opinion and will be needed to change our pattern of play because the better sides will soon suss out Nolan playing off Carroll...he isn't mobile enough against better defenders. Overall a satisfactory result and one I would have taken before the game. Disappointed we didn't snatch it though because Wigan and Blackpool also picked up points...Wigan's win at Spurs was a real shocker and shows you can't take anything for granted in the PL....we need a good win next week.

Not bothered about the LC this season...if we stay up, we can get involved in things like that next year. We don't need injuries from this competition.

Clubs are going to have to be self financing due to UEFA rules, we're not going to be able to spend what we don't earn. Every team in Europe is going to have to be run that way so we are doing the right thing by not spending as if money is going out of fashion. We are reducing our wage bill now and have been for a while so we should be strongly placed to take advantage of our prudence as long as we don’t try to do too much too soon on the cost cutting. Teams like Stoke and Wigan will not be able to compete with us if we can fill the ground, something which we couldn't do against Villa when we had around 9,000 empty seats. In answer to the question “Are we on the up, as a club?” We are at the minute while we’re still capable of shooting ourselves in the foot so it’s too early to get carried away. Agree with most of this Mick - the need for clubs to depend more on their own resources WILL be beneficial to NUFC . I have said this in other threads because only a few clubs in the PL can compete with Newcastle when it comes to crowd support. However, as you say, there is plenty of potential for foot-shooting so this is no time to be complacent. The better season we have, the more confidence will build among both players and fans so we must hope things keep ticking over. Unless something comes out of the blue, I cannot see the club being sold until at least Spring next year.

All that can be said at this point is that the club is restoring its reputation - nothing more, nothing less. We have a LONG way to go to even reach the levels we achieved under SBR, let alone KKs first stint. As ever, many NUFC fans have a fatal tendency to go over the top about the club's standing because of a couple of decent results. We could easily be back to square 1 today if we lose convincingly at Wolves and then there would be more doom and gloom. We have a small squad and as ever with NUFC over the years, a few injuries at the same time could decimate our season. We don't know what effect the new players will have on team spirit or whether they will adapt quickly to the PL and some of them who have played in the PL before are not even available. Hopefully most of the new signings will adapt OK and fit in, but we don't know yet. If they do, we could have a REASONABLE season, which means not being seriously threatened by relegation and I would accept that like a shot if offered now. If we do this, then the club will have shut some critics up and laid the foundations to move to the next level in successive seasons. Not until we are seriously competing for Euro places or having decent Cup runs can it be said that the club is on the up...we have made progress, nothing more or less and that is all that can be expected. Anything else is a bonus.

I think the biggest reason we have got Ben Arfa here is because for some insane reason he had his heart set on coming here. For our part we put in an offer and kept our fingers crossed he wouldn't go anywhere else. Dunno why people keep saying that. I think it's more he had his heart set on leaving Marseille, and at the time his Newcastle quotes came out we were the only club who he'd spoken to or who had made an offer. I don't for one second think he's forced this through out of any burning desire to play for us. Agree - he has probably heard about the fans etc from Ginola or Robert and that NUFC are a big club but not so big that he would face a problem getting into the side as at Madrid. Likes the idea of being big fish in a small pond where he can put himself into the shop window for the top PL sides. All the hype about Hughton etc is just fairy-land stuff - all players think about is themselves and their pockets...he's French and owes no loyalty to NUFC.

If this guy is as tough and competitive as his hype, then I hope his WP is through in time for him to play at Wolves..this is exactly the sort of game in which those qualities will be needed and a result there would be as big a boost as the Villa one in my opinion.