ianovthetoon

At least we'll be playing in Europe Next Year (Cardiff and Swansea away!)

Still think he's better than Fabio?

Martin O'Neil a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to field his under 11 squad on Sunday

Saw something on the ticker bar on Setanta Sports News earlier saying Wolves are interested in Butt. Perhaps there is a God after all

It's not the fans going to Villa Park we need worry about, it'll be the renta mong charvas gathering at St James outside Shearers burning effigies of Mike Ashley and behaving like complete dipshits, because it's nailed on Sky will be there to capture them in all their glory as well.

Or Uri Geller again

If I was the actual manager (Shearer), I'd be sorely tempted to give myself a squad number and play up front and show the fuckers how to do it!!!!!!! The club probably still hold his registration so why not, can't do any worse than the shower of shit we have playin there. Would make a fantastic story in years to come if he scored the winner

Seeing as how most mutterings from SJP seem to be about how bad things were under Kinnear (fitness, discipline etc), I don't think even Ashley is clueless enough to want to go back to that. If we go down, I would still expect Shearer to stay on, or at worst he will have some kind of input in to who should come in. I would imagine Shearer to be quite visionary, and have enough about him to keep players at the club for a stab at promotion first time around. The likes of Bassong, Beye, Guthrie and perhaps even Viduka(on a much reduced wage on a pay per play deal) should be around next season regardless, as I feel they actually give a shit and may feel it's their duty to stick around, although I think they'd get some sort of clause guaranteeing them a transfer should we not come straight back up. Ashley is known as a gambler, and I think he might listen to Shearer in that it's worth a gamble assembling a quality side to attempt promotion first time around. This way the loss in revenue is only restricted to one season, and hopefully selling the likes of Martins and Barton and getting rid of a few of the higher earners (Owen, Smith, Geremi etc) should be some kind of recompense angainst this. Their combined salaries should come in somewhere around £15M in savings, along with perhaps £10Mish for Barton and Martins. Add that to the parachute payment and we're not far away financially from where we'd be in the premiership. I know we'll lose out in other areas, but I really think as we'd be a big draw for the other teams in the championship, they'd bring some good away followings with them, and if we assemble a team capable of winning a la Keegan the last time we were down there, we'd do alright crowd wise. At that time we regularly pulled in 36,000 plus for games with many more locked outside the ground. Whilst not great, ONE season only in the Championship wouldn't be as damaging as many think. We aren't financially in the shit like Leeds were, and if we can retain Shearer, have someone who I believe could assemble a team that would do well down there. There are quite a few young players who we've been linked to as a premiership team (Ledley, Fox, Barnes etc), who wouldn't be beyond our grasp as we'd still be a big draw with a high profile manager. I know it's still not over, but as has been said many times we're not a relegation team on paper. There is some genuine quality through the team, but also some "couldn't give a shit" deadwood as well. Get rid of the deadwood, try and retain some of the quality for 12 months and add some of the better Championship players who are young and improving and it might well turn out for the best!!!

Although every man and his dog can see it was a goal, I can think of more than one game this season which has a more defining role in us being in the situation we're in. Stoke at home being the blatantly obvious one. Throwing away the lead like we did was horrendous. You never know the realisation of it being shit or bust on Sunday might bring out some big performances, and see us get what we need to stay up. I'm pretty much resigned to our fate now, although whilst we still have a game to go there is a glimmer of hope. We've had more than enough "winnable" games in recent weeks to pull us out of the mire, and quite simply we ain't good enough. I started going to watch Newcastle in 1987 and can remember some of the total shite we had to watch week in week out, and will be there next season come what may. If Ashley has any sense, he will look at the fact we have far better resources at our disposal than most in the fizzy pop league, and give whoever is in charge (Shearer I hope), the financial backing he will need to get us out of the mess he allowed others to get us in. So although I must admit I had a bit of a drunken rant about that "goal" on Saturday, I'm not going to dwell on it. If you look at the games we've been ahead in this season to end up drawing, look at these. One of those performances turned around slightly would have us 2 points better off and more than likely safe.

Maybe instead of Graeme Danby prancing round the pitch we should just have Don't Stop Believing by Journey blasting out when the lads are on the pitch. Quite apt really

3 May 2009 McClaren is cool for Black Cats Alan Oliver Former England boss Steve McClaren is a surprise candidate to manage Sunderland next season. People Sport can reveal that McClaren is way ahead of his England predecessor Sven Goran Eriksson in the pecking order at the Stadium of Light. As a result Eriksson is now likely to take over at German club FC Schalke. Advertisement McClaren's brilliant season in Holland with FC Twente has not gone unnoticed by Sunderland's Dutch international business development director Chris Woerts. The Black Cats' hierarchy of Woerts, major shareholder Ellis Short and chairman Niall Quinn are aware McClaren would not be popular with everyone on Wearside. That's because of his failure with England and the fact that he managed rivals Middlesbrough. But McClaren has big supporters like his former Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson after his relative success at the Riverside Stadium, Derby and Manchester United. It's no secret that Short would like a top foreign coach to allow current manager Ricky Sbragia to return to what he does best - coaching - next season. But a big-name coach who has done well on the continent would be considered and McClaren certainly fits that bill. Despite having limited funds McClaren has taken FC Twente into second spot behind new champions AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie and into the final of the Dutch Cup. Az coach Louis van Gaal is also on the Sunderland shopping list but would be unlikely to swop Champions League football next season for Wearside. McClaren is halfway through a two-year contract with FC Twente. They were shocked when they went to sign a player last week, only to be told by his agent he would not come because McClaren would not be there next season. Mike Baldwin and the tramps - a match made in heaven. Wonder if he would start doing interviews with a Mackem Twang. His interview with the dutch accent was comedy gold!!

TRANSFER GOSSIP Manchester City have made John Terry their number one summer transfer target, and will bid £20m for the Chelsea skipper. (Sunday Mirror) Arsenal are ready to offload striker Emmanuel Adebayor to AC Milan this summer. (News of the World) Manchester City's wealthy owners are lining up a stunning double swoop for Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho and Barcelona winger Lionel Messi. (The People) Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has turned down a £40m offer to become Real manager and will sign a new deal with the Gunners. (News of the World) Arsenal left-back Gael Clichy is set to become the subject of a £15m bid from Real Madrid. (The People) Middlesbrough wing Stewart Downing is back on Liverpool's wanted list, and could move to Anfield for £12m. (News of the World) Arsenal are chasing 19-year-old defender Mamadou Sakho, who is currently playing for Paris St Germain. (Sunday Express) Tottenham are ready to make a £9m bid for Lille midfielder Michel Bastos. (News of the World) Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins will be offered a deal with Inter Milan should the Magpies suffer relegation from the Premier League. (The People) Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure is a £25m target for Manchester City. (News of the World) Manchester City defender Micah Richards will be the biggest name in Mark Hughes' summer clear-out, with Joe Hart, Darius Vassell and Benjani also included. (News of the World) Aston Villa are again poised to bid for Richards as boss Martin O'Neill looks to replace Martin Laursen. (Sunday Mirror) Villa will make a £10m bid for Fulham defender Brede Hangeland. (News of the World) Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo has denied speculation that he is off to Real Madrid in the summer. (Sunday Mirror) Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas is wanted by Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan. (News of the World) Tottenham midfielder Tom Huddlestone could be on his way to German side Bayern Munich, who are set to name former Spurs boss Martin Jol as their new manager. (The People) Newcastle are keen on West Brom midfielder James Morrison. (News of the World) Bolton are ready to snap up Lyon striker Sidney Govou, who has refused a new contract with the French club. (Sunday Mirror, News of the World) Everton are one of the clubs interested in signing Dynamo Kiev striker Ismael Bangoura. (News of the World) Wigan are tracking Getafe winger Joffre Guerron as a replacement for Luis Antonio Valencia. (The People) OTHER GOSSIP Former England manager Steve McClaren is a leading candidate for the Sunderland manager's job. (The People, Sunday Express) Liverpool striker Fernando Torres is set to be rested for the vital clash with Newcastle after picking up a hamstring injury during the week. (Various) Newcastle forward Michael Owen will be dropped to the bench for the game with Liverpool even though manager Alan Shearer will play three strikers at Anfield. (News of the World) Birmingham manager Alex McLeish will quit the club whether they win promotion or not. (The People) Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne will be offered a new four-year deal in the summer. (News of the World) Former Barcelona manager Louis van Gaal has revealed to his AZ Alkmaar bosses that Sunderland want him to replace Ricky Sbragia. (Mail on Sunday) Portsmouth will appoint Paul Hart as their full-time manager after he guided the club to Premier League safety. (News of the World) AND FINALLY It is nearly 10 years since goalkeeper Jimmy Glass scored the goal that kept Carlisle in the football league and a lot has changed for the now 35-year-old. After spending time as a computer salesman and moving to France, he is now a taxi driver in Poole but admits he has left the world of football behind. "Most of my Saturdays now are spent running little old ladies from their care homes to the hairdressers." (The Independent)

Me too. If we "Did a Leeds" they could theoretically be playing us in two years with another couple of back to back promotions!!

Gateshead 1 up at half time, looking good for the conference

Complete with sports direct logo on the back if we're in the championship - nailed on. You might even get it done free with your toon top in your local Sports Direct http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/1408/newkitback.jpg

In recent years we haven't played these 3 teams in a sequence that is so important either........ If the crowd get behind the lads from the start, hopefully they'll turn out to be that elusive "12th man" With so much at stake in these 3 "must win" games, previous years' form counts for sod all really

This. Whilst Kinnear has played his part in our current demise it shouldn't be forgotten he was the only one with the bollocks to take the job when no one else wanted it, and Ashley will want to reward him in some way. Maybe he could stand next to the dugout like that old fella in the early 90s

Mind in Keegan's promotion season to the PL we were getting 36,000, and there was people being locked out the ground, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that we'd get big crowds IF we're doing as well as we did back then. Problem is now that there are so many teams desperate for promotion to the PL it's a much harder division to get out of than it was back then

Curbishley may be a grade A twat but he does have experience of saving teams from relegation, might not be a bad, short term shout, however if the fat prick went for him and we stayed up, we'd no doubt end up saddled with him!!!

From the Daily Mirror....... Nicky Butt has called for a complete summer overhaul of Newcastle - admitting the Geordies have "gone backwards" in the last few seasons. The former England midfielder has given an honest appraisal of what he believes is needed at St James' Park, as the club bids to escape relegation and rebuild. "What do Newcastle need? Right now we need to be professional and perform," said Butt. "We need to put this season to bed and kick on next season. You seem to say that a lot at Newcastle. "We need someone to come in and change the whole club." Advertisement - article continues below » Newcastle are facing the drop after just five wins in 26 games since Joe Kinnear took over. He was then struck down with heart trouble, leaving Chris Hughton in charge. Asked how much Newcastle have missed Kinnear since his triple bypass operation, Butt said: "It has not helped. When you have a manager at the helm, it is someone to look to and that is important. "The manager was not one for doing great coaching sessions day to day with the players. He comes in to his own on the day of a game. He was very much a man-manager on match day and that's the bit we have missed. "We have gone backwards in the last few years and we are under no illusions about what we must do. We have massive games ahead. We have to keep this club in the Premier League." Looks like even the players are saying isn't the answer. Hopefully they'll be saying this to Ashley on a daily basis

Gateshead is "Tyne & Wear", but that's most definitely on the Tyne. Worst comparison ever I'm just saying the fact Washington appears as "Tyne & Wear" doesn't necessarily mean it's both Tyne and Wear, because like I said, Gateshead also appears as Tyne & Wear but is certainly on the Tyne. Interestingly . . "Tyne & Wear" when used in an address, is ONE place, not two. So, being in 'both' is not a relevant thing to say. Tyne & Wear refers to Tyne & Wear County , which is one place. It was going to be called 'Greater Newcastle' - as the new Metropolitan County was in Manchester (Greater Manchester) and London (Greater London) but we ended up being called the hideous T & W instead! A mistake on so many levels. How that would have boiled the piss of our Mackem friends, The postal address of Sunderland, Greater Newcastle. Maybe they could have changed the name of their club to Newcastle City too like their inferior counterparts in Manchester!!

Wonder who he was looking at Roberto Martinez with a bit of luck

My first ever away match!

Not a lot in there that wasn't in last night's Ronnie really

Let's hope he doesn't literally take a "Wise" decision!!!