Incognito

Fact is, had Keegan not resigned, we would almost certainly been one of the big 4.

More of the same 4 teams, yeah nice one.

Great post Crofty, I was at that game at Rushden too, and even though it was a pre season friendly, which I believe we won 4-1 but could be wrong, the positivity amongst us Toon fans was overwhelming. It was the first time that we saw Ginola in a Toon shirt. Hall backed Keegan and Keegan always produced. His sides always brought smiles and gasps of amazement with the sheer brilliance . He would never send out his side to sit on a lead , he would send them out to increase it and more often than not we would. As I've alluded to in another thread, I've been falling out of love with the game for years now,mainly for the reasons you talk about. The league is to all intents and purpose a 3 horse race at the start of each season, but its been like that for years. Sky and money is mainly to blame, it isn't the game I grew up with in the 70s and 80s , or the game that Keegan enhanced in the 90s.

I certainly can't remember another manager having had as much patience with the fans as Pardew has. It's hardly the main point, but if any jip aimed at him was obviously audible, we're bound to get branded impatient or ungrateful by the media bods. Which, as I say, hardly matters... but will be irritating all the same. LWLLWLDDWLDLDWDLLLLWLLWLLLDL. More fucking "L's" than a fucking Welsh Scrabble set.

He is. His dismal performance this season has gone above and beyond the summer's level of failure. He was appointed by the same cunts that refuse to invest in the team. We've been dying a death since the summer of 2007. We can forget about any sort of progress with current ownership. Hear hear.10,0000% this.

Even though it's blindingly obvious that it should happen, I just can't see Ashley showing Pardew the door.

Absolutely. Just about everything he has done this season has been terrible, however one of the trinkets of shit that has really got my goat is his ridiculously negative aura. Whether it's his press conferences, his post-game bullshit, his EL excuses, or his containment XIs... he's been utterly negative all season long and it has completely rubbed off on all of the squad. I've been of the opinion it be pointless sacking him cos we won't get anybody better in. However, we couldn't do any worse as it stands. Losing at home to fucking Reading after being 1-0 up. I'm struggling to remember a worse ever defeat at SJP. I can't think of one in the Premiership era for sure.

The only consolation is that Villa tend to follow good results with downright shockers.

He could hook us up with some good players.

Erm, we don't have any other defenders. Could have played Taylor or Perch today though the fact is we are short on central defenders. Whose fault that is we don't know, but it is either the owner or the manager.

Bear in mind though that Pardew's compo will probably decimate our transfer "warchest".

This this this this this this 100% this.

Taking off our 3 best players whilst they were running the show. It's as if he has some kind of affinity to Reading.

Not his fault he keeps getting selected. Just isn't good enough. Fish out of water.

We are behind purely because of the manager and his cowardly and negative tactics. Please go now and at least give us some hope.

PARDEW OUT.

Why have we stopped the cloak and dagger transfer approach that served us so well, and moved to a publicise everything scenario?

The one time you could be confident in Obertan consistently getting joy against his full back (the 54 year old Ian Harte), Pardew drops him.

It just seems like Ashley is playing a mega expensive game of Football Manager.

I agree, but when did Mike Ashley do common sense?

You obviously didn't read my post completely. I said the sale of our high profile players, Krul, Santon, Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Cisse and probably Anita would virtually cover the TV money. I also said the ease of our last promotion might coerce his thinking.

Fucking Bastia.

We would end up with a far weaker squad than last time and few if any of those left have the mentality of Nolan and co. Mind you the wage bill would plummet!! If we went down, unless we recruited well, I doubt we would come straight back up. I know that , you know that. But does Ashley ? I wouldn't anything past him bar the common sense approach.

I can remember him at Boro. He would have been a Colo type centre half for sure.

I liked John Bird, Keeley still probably still holds the title of best own goal I've ever seen. Nattrass was a good player and one of the best right backs I've seen here, David Craig was the best as far as I'm concerned. I'm probably tarring him with Keeley's brush. My Dad didn't like him mind. Didn't see David Craig but my Dad liked him though not as much as Nattrass.