pinkeye

Please let the Steve Bruce leaving rumour be true! That would make a pretty decent week even better............

Aye, great news - always liked Carver. He will do for me!!

It would be quite funny, if after all this talk and SMB meltdown, that the deal to Villa falls through, I heard on the radio this morning that Sun'lun are holding out for £20m minimum for Bent. How could he return to the club after this if they fail to do a deal for him over the next 14 or so days? Read on SMB that Bent is, apparently, a very sensitive man and takes personal critisism very badly. After reading some of their comments about him today he must be suicidal. I hope he isn't left on his own in that Birmingham hotel for too long...............

Latest RTG thread countthey are up to 15 related threads on the first page!!

Maybe the end of Heskey as well?

Four (4) separate threads running on RTG about this, Do they each think they are breaking the news? Really need to read what is already on there before adding more of the exact same........... Edit - make that 7 or 8 related threads?? Edit 2 - their server has gone into meltdown and kicked me out due to too many users currenty on-line!!

Very interesting insight into how our club is running. No doubt that while Ashley is making huge errors in judgement he is a pretty astute business man and has a clear plan to take this club out of deby, albeit most of the debt is now owed to him personally - the fact that this is interst free is helping the club recover from years of being run so badly. It is clear that without Ashley we would be as good as insolvent. The only way we could survive without this man at the helm is for some uber wealthy idiot to come along and plough in millions and I mean 100's of millions into the club in the vain hope of receiving some sort of entertainment in return. It will be quite some time, if ever at all before we are the type of club that attracts wealth in the same way as clubs like Man Utd and Chelsea can.

Tiote heard saying afterwards: "If he isn't gonna fuck ya, I will"

With or without Allardyce the words "attractive football" and Blackburn Rovers" just don't seem to go together!

Obvious to me that Mariner was intimidated by Chelsea and Drogba, to the point where I would say that he was not the man to handle matches with that team on the field. Howard or Webb would have booked Drogba for that without a second thought, while the pair of them are true cunts at least they have balls for the big decisions. It is insane that Drogba was allowed to continue without even a word from the ref following that dive. Follow that with at least two deliberate hand balls, one resulting in a goal that fortunately was disallowed (because the linesman saw it).

Retrospective refereeing corrections such as these that we have fallen foul of recently are all well and good, if something wrong has been done then a player should be punished for it especially if the referee missed it during the game. Or should I see only if a ref doesn't see it!! However, what if a referee gives a penalty for something he thinks he saw which afterwards is proved by TV evidence to be wrong they can hardly take the penalty away, or unsend someone off should the decision to do that be erroneous as well.... It is a complete crock of bullshit and I am completely furious about it. Biased, unfair and completely subjective - it would not happen to one of the bigger more successful teams in our league.

I have just gone through all of these again!! Absolutely legendary!

I have a shitty old phone and T Mobile and I have no problems in the ground with calls or texts either!

It is displaying a complete lack of regard for the thoughts and actions of the club though, and a person in the position of Calderwood should take the view of the club - especially in public - otherwise he should not be a part of the club. His comment could be used against Newcastle as part of any investiagtion by the FA into the part played by De Jong. Personally I think the fact that Atkinson didn't even see the attack on Ben Arfa as even meritting a free kick is a pretty clear indication on how the FA will view our request for action to be taken. This is probably more of a futile gesture by the club to demonstrate in some way the treatment that Newcastle United have been getting from referees this season so far! Every time I see the challenge on Shola (or the one on Nolan Vs Everton) I am insensed that we didn't get the penalty that clearly should have been awarded in both cases!!!!

Offering cheap tickets to fill the ground would severly piss off season ticket holders who have shelled out top money for their seat and also people who have spot bought a ticket for the same game at a higher price, that type of offer cannot be randomly brought in mid season, it would have to be a strategy that was adopted from the very start of a given season. You know how you feel when you buy something major from, say, Curry's and a week later they discount the same thing to £50 less than you paid (not a random example if I am honest, still fuming with the cunts!) I love it when the ground is full and the atmosphere is electric, sadly days like that are rare and will continue to be so for a long time as far as I can see. As others have said though, it isn't just Newcastle, it is every club. Even Man Utd have tickets for sale for all of their home games and no club has given their fans more success in recent years than them.

I took out the 3 year deal (3 years ago) and I can honestly say I hope they offer it again because I would take it up, I like paying monthly for my ticket, it takes the big lump of cash required to renew a few weeks after the season finishes away! Regardless what they do or offer I still will be renewing in the East Stand, not because I feel like an elite but, because I like going to the match. It is something I look forward to - this season feels strange, we have only had three home games so far, this time last year I bet I had been to eight.... I will say, though, if that excitement or anticipation of going to the game ever stops I will seriously consider giving my ticket up but, I am mid forties now and still get all the same feelings I used to get when I went to the match as a lad, from standing in the Gallowgate Corner, singing my heart out, to standing in the Milburn Paddock when they started to put seats in the ground right up to getting my ticket where I am now - I love it and personally I think anyone who doesn't go because they feel like they are punishing Ashley or in some other sort of protest really are only punishing themselves. I truly feel for those who genuinely can't afford it.

The East Stand is the only stand that is always sold out though.... My season ticket is in the East and I wouldn't swap it for a level 7 seat if that seat was free. Saying you can't stand the fuckers in the East stand is a bit harsh, the atmosphere is decent where I sit, I am around some very decent people and have made some good friends at the match.

The problem is the colour scheme of the Sports Direct logo is awful and looks properly cheap!! Our stadium looks superb as you approach from any angle but, with that gaudy signage all across the Gallowgate it will look disgusting!!! The mock up photos remind me of the outside of some Div 3 ground, Bradford City have something like Coral Windows splashed over their most prominent side (in terms of view from the main road) and that is what ours reminded me of straightaway, very poor!! However, it doesn't change anything to anyone, it is still St James' and always will be.

You know what, you're right. As an effective striker it is crazy that I don't rate him. I just don't, never have. Everything else positive said about Bent is also true, I say positive things about him in terms of his record and if that is all that a footballer lives and dies by then he has nothing to worry about. Don't think Ol' 'Arry thought too much of him either though while he was a spuds player!!

This post is kind of embarrassing. I know he plays for Sunderland and everything, but this is just ridiculous. What's wrong with it? Bent is a limited player, but a good one nonetheless. He does his job very well. Bent is fast and does a very good job of making the runs to get in behind defences. He is somewhat limited as this is indeed all he really does do. He doesn't really do much with the ball outside of the box i.e. his hold up play is pretty average and he won't run at defenders either. He does finish well though, and consistently too, and doesn't scuff every goal he scores as was insinuated in the first post. Just though the initial post was a bit petty. Watch him play, I have never seen him cleanly hit the ball when I have watched Sunderland on MoTD his shots, although effective and regularly goal bound are not hit with the power and crispness that other players strike the ball with. Plus, whatever you feel about the players pace, I personally think he is average paced, his running style is poor - very small strides that do not look graceful or comfortable. We have players like that, Shola for example has a strange style of running that looks lazy but, he really covers the ground. I don't think that Bent does. Whatever you think - embarrassing post? or otherwise - I am telling people my opinion. Not all will agree. You go on to say that you think he is quick, fine, you also say he doesn't do much in link play or in build up play, again fine. I agree with you. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Mine is that I don't particularly rate Bent. I didn't when he was at Charlton or at Spuds and nothing has changed since.

Not too much wrong with Barton's dead ball play this season so far, at least his corners get past the first defender! Not like our "deadball expert" Ryan Taylor who barely gets the ball over 4 ft from the floor and straight to the first defender!

Anyone who has an iota of football sense about them will know that the axing of Nolan is imminent unless he miraculously gets himself fit. That is so true, he was clearly struggling on Saturday - especially in the second half and I am sure at one point I saw him gesture to the bench to be subbed, that rolling hands movement..... Anyone who, like me, is a bit older but, still trying to play football with younger players will know how tough it is and how quickly you tire. That is what it is like for Nolan I recon, he is just too old to play at the sort of pace expected in the Premier League today.

The reality check I was referring to in the post match thread was for Hughton to maybe realised that he needs to drop Nolan and Smith to replace them with his new signings. But, in reality I think there will always be a place for Nolan in the starting 11 as long as Hughton is picking the team.

Perch was booked again making it four bookings in as many matches. He is basically one booking away from a suspension. Options at right back are kind of limited........... R.Taylor would probably be the likely shoe in but, is he any better? I don't think so........