Ronaldo

Shelvey's not shy, like. 15 mins in and he's already bollocked 3 of our players for either not giving him it or giving it to him at the wrong time.

We couldn't have handpicked better opponents for tonight, like. Awful side, very predictable going forward, not to mention the fact there's little to play for - they know they're not going to get top 6 and are probably only 4 wins away from survival.

That's fair. But on the whole I think his starting performances have been quite good, and even though Murphy has shown he is more than capable in this league I would still like to see Mitrovic. No disagreements here. But you can't drop Murphy when he's been playing so well. Honestly, though, if Rafa's here long term I don't think Mitrovic will be. Too much of a disparity in what Rafa wants from his striker and the way he plays.

I was there, he was poor. Not exactly terrible, but not his day at all.

There's more about Newcastle than any other club, tbh. Just get one from eBay for £5.

Nah, we were 11th (I think) when Hughton was sacked so it wasn't really a decision based on results - given that Pardew finishing in 12th was perfectly acceptable. Barton's autobiography offers pretty good insight into it, actually. In our Championship season Hughton was told who to play which created bad precedent with the players and as much as they liked him he didn't carry the weight (as Ashley and Llambias saw it) to convince them to accept the bonus-related pay scheme.

Starts what? Learning how to play football? I will be shocked if Murphy isn't back in. He's not that bad. Needs another chance, has been good every game he's started this season except Oxford and Blackburn. Need a run in the team, get his form and consistency up. Only young, played well whenever asked, superb scoring record, superb assist record, 100% effort, etc etc etc. He's s****. Do you disagree that he's played good when he's started except for the two games i mentioned? 5 goals and 2 assists in the 6 games he's started this season (i don't count the Birmingham game for obvious reasons). He played poorly at home to Cardiff. Got an assist early on then looked all over the shop for the rest of the game. I like Mitro but lets not rewrite history.

I made the point earlier that we basically had a PL side for the second half of that promotion season. We certainly don't now.

To make a decent go of it - which Rafa will want to ensure - we'll need 2 centre backs, 2 full backs, an attacking mid, a winger and a striker. That's if Krul returns, too.

You're responding the something nobody said. If Rafa's in charge next season and we're in the PL there's no way he'll aim just to the avoid the relegation fight. He's a winner, you won't find him targeting 12th like Pardew. Where do you think he'll aim for in the first season back up, where would you say is a realistic, decent finish and where would you expect us to finish considering Ashley etc al. I think his aim will be around 8th. I don't think, considering our finances and management, that is unrealistic given that West Brom are there now. Unfortunately this lot's modus operandi is trying to provide the minimum outlay required to keep the club ticking order, so to expect anything like that is unrealistic.

You're responding the something nobody said. If Rafa's in charge next season and we're in the PL there's no way he'll aim just to the avoid the relegation fight. He's a winner, you won't find him targeting 12th like Pardew.

You're basically the Trump fan of this forum, like. Rafa could walk tomorrow and you'd find a way to defend the club.

Hindu, ask your mate's dad. He seems to think he should've been tougher about what he wanted.

You might want to look back over the last decade, then. Even in the 2 previous windows you mention, one of them was shit and contributed to our relegation and the other saw a huge net profit achieved. Hardly evidence that the penny has dropped.

So it's either challenge at the top or be in a relegation battle? Is it beyond us to finish comfortably mid table like? Absolutely not. Setting mediocrity as the season's target is quite another concept, though.

Rafa Benitez doesn't have it in to him to spend a full season trying to avoid a relegation fight. He's far better than that.

Aye. I think you're having a laugh. So you're saying we'll get relegated should we go up? See Kanji's post. It should be pretty obvious, like.

Aye. I think you're having a laugh.

Rafa was confident about it happening this time yesterday. Clearly wasn't his decision.

Can anyone actually envision a summer in which we sign the 7 players (or so) needed to make us a PL side?

I think we will, yeah. I'm just far from certain of it. We could've pretty much eliminated the risk factor with a couple of additions (who'd also have been useful next season) in the window and we didn't.

If they are the strongest competition then it's pretty relevant Using Brighton and Hove Albion to defend the fact we've once again failed to sign players we needed. It's pathetic. They're up regardless, anyway. We'll have to wrap Shelvey and Gayle in cotton wool to join them and we shouldn't be putting ourselves in that position. And I know people will say 'oh but how many Championship clubs.....' bollocks. We got out of this league with ease last time because we basically (with a couple of exceptions) had a Premier League Xl for the second half of the season.

Oh good, Brighton brought up again to defend our failures.

Only Foluwashola would make that comparison.

Just like Kinnear, he's a putrid old bastard way past his sell-by date.