pinkeye

It said on the radio yesterday that Martin Jol had been seen walking into St James's Park. I couldn't help myself but, to laugh out loud in my car. What? Just wandered in from the street? Anyone who the club is going to talk to will be met in secret locations so as to avoid speculation, once appointed the club will make a statement! Everyone is entitled to think what they want and have opinions on who it is going to be but, only 2 people really know!

If you have followed the betting trends and paper talk it is clear that no-one has a bloody clue as to what is going on!! There have been three dead certainties already and other contenders' odds have drastically shortened or indeed lengthened depending on what SSN or the papers have just reported. Let's get this clear, no-one except Ashley and Mort know what they are going to do and everything else is nothing more than opinion and speculation.

Read that this morning and thought exactly the same, the media are loving this!!

Not exactly a groundswell of enthusiasm then for this game.............. I expect that all we will be able to hear throughout the match will be the Stoke supporters singing songs about how clever they are for getting Big Sam the sack! (That's if they can imagine a few up!) Not really looking forward to it, plus I'm off the booze for a month so I'll have to watch the game sober!!

Personally I doubt whether we will hear anything believable before Monday next week.

I guessed that we might struggle to get to 20k for this game, I also thought the Stoke fans are likely to beat us in terms of support. I just wondered whether the change in circumstances has made a few who would not normally bother to think twice and turn out for the team.............

Is Stoke on Wednesday next week, I paid for my ticket yesterday morning before the news broke. Has the change in circumstances made you less or more likely to want to go to the match? What do you think the atmosphere will be like? The Stoke fans think that they got Sam the sack and I would guess that they are coming up in big numbers!!

Ashley must have someone lined up unless Allardyce has driven this himself. If the club has suggested he leaves then only 6 months into his contract it will be bloody expensive. All that I can find on the news is that it is by mutual agreement, that could mean anything but, almost certainly means he has been paid up to go! Just hope Ashley pulls a rabbit out of the hat, would be delighted if it was Jose!

Quite frankly i am shocked and appalled. In the middle of a transfer window, just 6 months into his reign as our manager......... Who is going to want to take the job on, it will be like the England job up here before long in that no one wants to take us on! God I hope it isn't McLaren.

I favour the "V" salute anyway, if it is slightly crooked then all the better!

Just seen on Sky Sports that Fulham are supposed to be interested in Boumsong. Can I just ask why?

I think that when your luck is down it is really down. There wasn't hardly a worse draw to be had out of that hat and for us to come out second as the away opponents to Arsenal did not really surprise me at all. I am going to the Emerates in 29th Jan, not sure if I can stretch to a second trip down there in the same week though!!

I read that aticle this morning and quite frankly couldn't believe what I was reading. The amount of disrespect that is shown to Newcastle United and the fans of our club by National journalists is unbelievable.

Think Ashton is a player who would do well at Newcastle, shame he didn't come when Shearer was still playing because he could have made him into something quite special.

BBC news report he is out on bail. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7169108.stm Woops, already been posted earlier, sorry gents!!

For what it is worth I think it is a worthy question, the clues all point to it being potentially a signing etc. Even though it is early days in the transfer window, by now a couple of rumours should have surfaced but, I have not heard anything!!

That is my point, why would the captain be withdrawn for a tactical change? Could you see Shearer being taken off so that the manager could bring on a different striker? Not very often!! I don't think Geremi is fit or very confident as a footballer, he makes a lot of mistakes and plays some ridiculous passes. The players need (or deserve) a captain who has the respect and admiration of the team. Short term it is hard to pick one player who has those qualities but, Nicky Butt is the closest and Habib Beye is certainly getting there.

This is definately the game to bring Enrique back into the first team, I doubt whether he would be particularly stretched by Derby's romps upfield. The perfect game to introduce the stable 4 4 2 formation and grab us a few goals to make the fans happy. The above post from Supertoon has a very balanced team that would do very well against Derby in my opinion (as well as his!)

It seems very strange that Geremi is captain of the team and is often the first to be withdrawn for a substitution. You would have thought that the team captain would not be the one to be sacrificed for a formation change. Longer term I would like to see Stephen Taylor take the armband.

Anyone who saw Liverpool v Man Utd on Sunday will have seen 2 teams playing far better against each other than they normally play. It is the same with us (Usually) we tend to play a little better against the better quality teams, see Arsenal on 5th Dec for a recent example.

FYP. I accept that.

Show me just a couple of these many people please, I'd like to laugh at what else they say. I've seen it said on this(and other)fans' Websites several times over the past few years... Many times obviously as you said. You won't have any trouble finding a few examples then will you. Seriously, everyone on this forum would rather win an ugly 1 - 0 game and take three points. The media would like to portray us all as simple folk who love their football and don't mind winning or losing, load of bollocks - I'll take the win every time. I can accept a defeat if the team has given 100% on the field though.

Should be a few tickets for sale for this less than glamour fixture if anyone is local and fancies coming along to cheer the lads on before Xmas.............

I can remember watching a particularly long unbeaten (in fact 100%) run ending at St James's Park with a 0 - 1 score against Grimsby. Not sure of the year but, I was standing in the Milburn Paddock at the time at the Gallowgate end of the Milburn stand, I think the Gallowgate was being developed at the time.