Chris_R

I'm not overrating us, but we're a good team now and Man U are not what they once were. The gap has narrowed. Man U are favourites in my eyes, clearly, but we've the best odds going into it that we've probably ever had of getting something, and that means I'm going into the game quietly optimistic instead of resigned to a humping. Even if we get beat, which is fairly likely, that's a nice position to be in mentally going into such a game and actually be able to look forward to it.

Nah, not for 7th. I've historically always said I'd take Newcastle winning the League Cup over a World Cup win for England, but that's been based on Newcastle having no prospect of winning anything, ever. Now the weight has shifted and although we've still won sod-all, winning something is a realistic expectation now so the needle almost moves on preferring us to win the League Cup vs an England WC win. But not quite yet. But not for 7th place. That would be nothing new. We've been there and done that many times in my life, and it's quite likely to happen this year.

This. If we'd kept Allardyce, we'd have not been relegated in 2009. That said I'd have gouged my own eyes out at the football, but we'd have stayed up. He had a better points per game than any of Keegan, Kinnear, Hughton, or Shearer who came after him before we went down and I'm confident he'd have sustained this. However I remember watching us play Liverpool at St James' Park when they won 3-0 I think? We didn't have a shot of any description, nor a corner, until 70 minutes. I don't think I've ever sat as bored and disinterested in my entire life, and I'd paid to be there. It's hard to describe to people who didn't see Allardyce-ball just how utterly forlorn it was. I'd rather sit and stare at a wall for 2 hours.

I don't hate Dalglish, despite how far back we went under him. I think much of that wasn't his fault. He had to follow on from an utterly beloved manager who'd worked miracles. He apparently had not much money, with the club becoming a PLC. Sure he bought players, but he had to sell to buy. Those buys often weren't as good as what we sold, but he had the unenviable task of having to increase our squad depth whilst not decreasing our first team strength, whilst maintaining a very small net spend. That's almost impossible, and if you think back, was probably a big factor in why Keegan walked - I don't think he wanted to operate under those restraints himself. So yeah, Dalglish didn't cover himself in glory, but he was working under very hard conditions compared to the man who's reign he's so often compared to. I don't think there were many managers in world football who would have done a great job in those circumstances and I reserve infinitely more ire for the likes of Pardew and Bruce. For me, in increasing order of how I look at their time at Newcastle it's: HATE Bruce = Pardew Gullitt Allardyce DISLIKE/DISGUST Carver = Kinnear Souness Dalglish McClaren APATHY Shearer Roeder FONDNESS Hughton Benitez Howe ADORE Robson Keegan Howe is getting close to moving into that final group, just needs a bit more time and sustained good stuff. He's already there in my head for what he's done so far, I just think he needs more time at the club to be talked about in the same way as Keegan and Robson. Fuck me, looking at that list we've had more than our fair share of dogshit.

Cheap? Hang on, aren't most of theirs free? There was a stat a while back that their average spend including ticket, programme, cheesy chips and blue pop combined was under £10 per person. They can fuck off throwing "cheap tickets" at anyone or anything, ever.

The thread title "The miserable existence of Steve Bruce" doesn't sit well with me. This is a man who regularly gets paid millions to NOT do his job. I'd be fucking delighted, not miserable. I'd be walking round with a constant grin from ear to ear. What a life. Rich through incompetence.

Give it a few years, it'll be the other way round.

"Whatever happens above me is for other people to decide, I will carry on until I know different - I'm determined to turn the club around." That's literally the problem, you already have.

We'd tell them to get fucked.

No, because we'd tell them to get fucked.

Stop with the nonsense 'leaving' chat. We're not a selling club anymore.

Them sleeves will be so rolled that next week's kit will be vest tops.

I know you're not defending him, but it's about trajectories and that's the bit that always gets overlooked. Sure, he finished 13th and 12th which as you say look OK on paper. But he took over Benitez's team which was 7th in form the second half of his last season and even better in the last quarter of that season. We were playing expansive football, looking really good. Then he comes in and torpedoes it. Plus although the 13th placed season was a fair reflection of us, anyone who watched us the year after will remember how utterly dogshit we were but outperformed our XG massively by loads of flukey wins. There was no chance that was sustainable long-term, and the following season it all unravelled to the surprise of absolutely nobody at all. It was so fucking lazy (or disingenuous) when journalists would say "But they averaged about the same over a few years" when Rafa took over a dogshit team on the way down and turned us into a team that could go toe to toe with nearly anyone, then Bruce took over that team and turned us into one heading back down again. Yeah sure, the average is the same, but fucking hell factor in the start and end points of each of their reigns.

Tickets sold and given away.

Worse, he's desperate for his pay off

Spurs and arsenal fans? Remember how Botman was so desperate to join Milan, and wouldn't even contemplate going anywhere else because they were so great and we were so shit?

Come on, that's not on. There is a limit. Why the hell would you wish that on the horse?

Now has the same number of PL goals as Jack Grealish over this season and last combined. As others have said, I would love to see him improve his right foot a bit and use it for more than just standing on though. It's a learnable skill.

Nah, they'd spend from now until the end of time laughing about how we weren't rich any longer. Which kinda tells you everything.

That was astonishing from Almiron. Outrageous.

Primark have a 'Greggs' rail. Seriously.

From what I heard, the old "Shearer went for a trial at Newcastle and they put him in goal" story is funny, but only true on a technicality. Yes Shearer played for a while in goal, but so did everyone, because there wasn't anyone who was a dedicated goalie in that group. So they all took a turn, but just for a few minutes. Shearer played in his correct position for most of the trial.

If he stayed next door he wouldn't need such a large t-shirt.

No, it's what happened. The verb "to be Pardewed" became common parlance throughout his tenure on here, as promising players all started to look shit after a few months of his 'coaching'.

So what you're saying is we bought good players (mainly at the direction of Carr) then Pardew coached them for a few years, then they were never as good again? That's your defence of the man? Ok.