AyeDubbleYoo

"The octopus miracle"

Hughton probably never intended to hoy him straight in as much as he's had to.

I'm not a sports scientist or an expert in fitness, but rugby players that are 6'3" and built like tanks can batter their way through 80 minutes of high-speed action. There might be a slight reduction in stamina compared to the build of a distance runner, but football is a game of sprints, not a marathon. I would much rather have a team of Enriques than any other build. Yank football has a ridiculously low amount of actual playing time, I seem to recall it was little over 10 minutes with all the stoppage. Plus given that you play two different squads depending if you are in offence or defence, at the end players only need to exert themselves for low amounts of time. On the other hand, an average football player runs over 10km in a match. Yeah, but the majority of American footballers aren't built like sprinters, they're built like massive blocks of flesh. Only the running backs and wide receivers are properly explosive from what I've seen. A footballer might run 10km, but a lot of that is relatively light jogging. Also it isn't very far anyway. I really think the high-intensity intervals aspect of the game is much more important. Look at Christiano Ronaldo, he's very much in the mould of a sprinter. Anyway, as I said, I don't have any actual evidence or expert knowledge to back this up!

It's class how he says he'll be back fit soon. How many times can he say that with a straight face? He hasn't managed a prolonged period of fitness for about 7 years.

Class image!

I'm not a sports scientist or an expert in fitness, but rugby players that are 6'3" and built like tanks can batter their way through 80 minutes of high-speed action. There might be a slight reduction in stamina compared to the build of a distance runner, but football is a game of sprints, not a marathon. I would much rather have a team of Enriques than any other build.

He looks like he needs a good dinner for a start - but I suppose its a fine balance between retaining your speed and increasing your strength Building lean muscle and reducing body fat shouldn't reduce your speed though. Sprinters are generally heavily built. Enrique himself was close to becoming a sprinter, according to his Wiki page.

BEN BEN BEN ARFA, did you support Newcastle before Hatem arrived?

Well no, it's about whether (hypothetically given the choice now) you would accept 17th place or prefer to take your chances with relegation. It's also not about being 'happy' about 17th, or 'aiming for 17th'. It's a subtle distinction I'll admit

Met quite a few southern mags at the Chelsea game the other week, it's always a bit weird but we managed to generate a decent atmosphere on that night.

Nobody said anything about being pleased with 17th. That's not the point.

I really think he's our best bet at RB.

I doubt we'll be buying a new RB with Taylor, Perch, Taylor and Simpson on the books. Yes, they're all poor, but justifying a new signing in that position will be next to impossible IMO. Unless one or two of them leave.

There are a lot of second generation mags born out of the North East with north eastern family roots due to the migration south over the decades of uprooted communities looking for work. They are as proud of their team and their roots as you, and you show your ignorance of this in your post. The atmospere was passionate and support for the team terrific as it always is away from home. How do you qualify for the label Cockney mag by the way, Is it South of Leeds, Birmingham, or Luton. Remember, some of those fans probably travel a lot further than you just to get to a home game. You should'nt knock your own fans, leave that to the press and the other teams fans, they are happy to do it without your help. (ps Iwas at the game and I live in Warwickshire. that is not in London) Kapow.

Next newsflash - Hughton says "sky is blue". FWIW I don't really buy into the idea of dropping players for the cups, but it seems to be the accepted norm now. Nobody who bought tickets for Arsenal could have expected a full-strength team.

Never once have I been less than proud to be a Newcastle United supporter, nor embarrassed. Being a Toon fan is the best thing in the world outside of family and friends. Love it! Unfortunately, there have been plenty of times over the last few years when I've felt embarrassed. Ever since Sir Bob left, we seem to have stumbled through a whole series of crises and poor decisions on and off the field which have left few in credit. This season feels like a re-birth. In his quiet, steady way, Hughton has actually moulded the club in his own image, or at least got everyone to buy into it. It feels like we're headed in the right direction, however long that might take. This is really what I meant. Obviously we'll always be proud to be Newcastle fans in an abstract way... but the actions of the club had increasingly embarrassed us and made us a figure of fun.

Obviously Arsenal are big favourites, nothing to be depressed about there. But then again, so were Chelsea and we managed a result. Just hoping for a decent performance, avoid a hammering, maybe get a win!

Yeah, the topic is about right now, but it wasn't based on the West Ham game. I was going to post it after Wigan actually, but decided against it! It's more about how we feel about the team in general, despite results.

I think it feels pretty good. I know I'm posting this after a win, but I think for the first time in ages I'm starting to remember what it's like to support a team you can really get behind. For a while we've all been less than proud to be Newcastle fans, putting up with all sorts of embarrassing shit from Ashley and Shepherd before him. Not to mention the sorry excuse for a squad that took us down to the Championship. The Sports Direct signs are a bit of a blip, and we all know it could go wrong at any time with Mike, but just thought it was worth saying that it's great to be a fan of a "group of lads" that seem to really care about their game... from Hughton down. Even the players I don't rate that much (step forward Kevin) are decent characters who are doing their best.

The way he responded to the hammering in the Wolves game was a big day for him IMO. It was the first concrete thing he did to show that he might have finally done what he's been saying he's done for ages - grown up.

I would be prepared to offer him the first ever 20 year deal TBH. With guaranteed OBE at the end of it.

I really like his interviews... people might say he's boring but for me he's just a down-to-earth guy doing the best job he can.

Not really, if you're aiming to win the league you can fall short and still have done well. If you're aiming to stay up and fall short it's a fucking disaster.

Wow, that post got a lot of flak.

300 shots on target would be impressive mind.