Chris_R

Indeed. I'm incredibly confident that if we played those 4 again, with the team as motivated, fit and well-drilled as Howe has them now, we'd get a lot more points.

We're currently 13 points clear of the drop. Howe's kept us up by a massive margin, and we'd have been safe as houses even if he'd have taken us over on 0 points. Which is frankly fucking ludicrous.

We'd just have Bruno, Trippier, Burn and Targett in along with 7 of theirs, but they'd caveat it by saying the first three don't count because of Saudi blood money and Targett isn't ours anyway.

He's a livewire as a goalkeeper, agile and good with his feet. He's not terrible. But he's massively over-rated in other respects because he doesn't have the reach needed to be a top keeper, and he's a massive chav.

Would happily watch Dubravka repeatedly throw the ball in his own net to give Burnley the win if it sent Everton down.

You're almost certainly correct, but I'll not get carried away. My wishes are modest, so anything more is a bonus, therefore I'm more than happy to just wait and see what happens.

Love everything about this team right now. Howe has given me pride back in supporting Newcastle. Results of course are a big part of that, but just the way he conducts himself, the way he talks to the press and the way he constantly drives everyone to improvement are all just so welcome after Bruce, Pardew, Kinnear, Carver etc. That it also now seems we have owners who are not determined just to asset strip the club and trouser as much as they can whilst neglecting every facet of the operation is a massive bonus too, of course.

I can imagine them all joylessly crunching their way through their dessicated Yorkshire puddings, mouths as dry as the Sahara. Sunday dinners must be fucking delightful on Wearside.

I was at the ground on Wednesday for the first time in probably a decade, and I'd like to take the reverse stance on Hey Jude and the PA system generally. I thought it really added to the atmosphere in a way that simply wouldn't have happened organically. The alternative to Hey Jude belting out at full time and 3/4 of the ground staying back to sing along and wave flags isn't some great wall of spontaneous human noise and chanting that people seem to think would replace it, it's everyone just filing out slowly and silently. Maybe it could be turned down a notch or 2, I dunno, but the volume didn't bother me at all either. Personally I thought it was great and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Tonight was the first time I'd set foot in St James' Park for a decade. Part of that is geographical, I live on the south coast now, part Mike Ashley. I must say I loved it. Went with the wife and nephew, at 9 it was his first ever match and to see his face and hear him talk tonight has been amazing. The atmosphere was generally very good, loved the flag displays which looked great in person. First half we bossed it but second half we just retreated and let them play on front of us. No idea how much that was planned and how much was Palace just playing better but although it wasn't fun to watch I rarely felt worried they'd score which says so much about this team and what Howe's done here. Such an incredible turn around since new year.

40 goals and counting in (probable) League-winning Fulham suggest he's really not.

Carver and Kinnear were worse than Bruce or Pardew, but we always knew that Carver and Kinnear wouldn't last very long. Bruce and Pardew were shit but not going anywhere, the club's acceptance of their mediocrity was so indicative of what we'd become and accordingly they became focuses of our hate, the unsackable public faces of is just existing to enrich Ashley. I hated them both, still do. Fairly equally really, but probably Pardew more because that was the first time we became nothing. It hurt with Bruce, but we'd already been there before. We knew the drill.

34 won't be enough so we need 3 more points to - IMO - guarantee safety. We can do it at the weekend. Actually fancy us to beat these.

Dunno about cheesy chips and blue pop, when it comes to food whenever I read a Nun Tumblers post, all I can smell is burnt toast.

If you're not subbed off, we wait If you are subbed off, the replacement takes it If all the subs have been used and you are not fit to continue, the captain takes it and you are barred from rejoining play if you make a miraculous recovery after

That's since Match Day 20, or in other words the second half of the season. Top 4 form. Absolutely incredible. Sure, we've spent. But Bruno who is about half our record outlay didn't even get in the side for ages and Trippier, our other marquee signing has been out for ages along with our best goalscorer in Wilson. Wood, the remaining large chunk of what we spent, has largely (and incorrectly IMO) been lambasted by many as a massively overpriced waste of money leaving just Dan Burn who cost about what, £10-12m and loanee Targett? Basically, once Howe managed to get his ideas across and got a couple of key bodies in, we're absolutely flying. Insane stuff.

And yes if it was the other way I'd be saying the same. There was contact, it's a penalty. If this was given against us, I'd be raging at Dubravka or whoever was in goal for being so stupid but I'd assign very minimal blame to the striker, if any at all. I'd be annoyed, yes, but that's different. I'm annoyed every time we concede a goal.

It should be, but they're never given. Hence why Wood was absolutely right to go down.

That's not how it works. If the first one wasn't offside and had stood, everything after that point would have happened differently.

Glad to see he stuck to his word and shifted the weight. Nobody's calling him fat now.

Clearly he doesn't yet have the achievements but Howe joins the likes of Keegan, Robson and Benitez in that when they speak about football, you just want to stop and listen because you just know it'll be worth listening to. Just talks so well and no matter how things turn out I can't imagine ever screaming at the TV in frustration like I did whenever Pardew, Bruce and Carver ever stood in front of the cameras.

Immense. Could play for us for the next decade, too.

Massive pair of stones on him taking that penalty, and fair play to him to put it away. Thought he played fine. Wins balls, holds things up, couple of key passes. Pleased for him.

There's a good player somewhere in Almiron. I'm desperate to see him come good.

Drop ASM for Ritchie, ffs. Was that posted by Ritchie's mum? Gotta be the only person who'd think that's sensible and even she could probably be talked round.