AyeDubbleYoo

Someone like Ranger? Yep.

Glad to see he's showing some potential to be really useful, I'd just love to see someone up alongside him with decent pace and movement.

I think this is an important misconception that is a major reason we aren't happy with being top of the league. Football doesn't work like this. It's 11 against 11 and nobody has the right to beat anyone else, even the rubbish teams have physical attributes and movement that can make things difficult for us. It's interesting that we're able to simultaneously complain about how few good players we've got and also expect to win every game. I dont complain about how few good players we have. Our team is better than every other team in this division. Our players in the majority of positions are individually better than anything else in this division. What surprises me is how good fans and pundits make this league out to be. When we got relegated a lot of championship supporting friends suggested it was a tough league with loads of quality and not far away from the Premiership. They were wrong. I honestly think that the difference in our quality and the rest of the league on paper makes it like shooting fish in a barrel. Its funny to watch Ameobi waltzing through a defence, but at the same time I know deep down thats hes just not that good and thats what deflates it for me that tiny bit. It would be so much better to see it against the very best rather than the current bunch of crap we face week in week out. Our rapid demise also contributes to this. We all freshly remember European victories and being up there in the top 3 or 4. To go from that to this in a space of 5 or so years gives me that feeling of its fun but just not quite as good. You will argue against this no doubt and make some very valid points, but I just can not believe how rubbish some of the football is in this league. Don't disagree much really, you're right our rapid decline means it is harder to enjoy what is a fairly minor period of semi-success. The main thing that keeps me going is that we expected to be really poor this season, some people even predicted another relegation, so it's good to know it's not as bad as all that.

I think we're lucky that nobody else seems to realise how good Enrique is. You see it every week, teams seem to target him and wingers take him on, but he just gets ahead of them and gets the ball back easily. I still hear commentators and pundits saying he has been disappointing, it's mental.

I think this is an important misconception that is a major reason we aren't happy with being top of the league. Football doesn't work like this. It's 11 against 11 and nobody has the right to beat anyone else, even the rubbish teams have physical attributes and movement that can make things difficult for us. It's interesting that we're able to simultaneously complain about how few good players we've got and also expect to win every game.

So do you actually not want to go up then Chez? Only if we spend 40m between now and the start of the season on decent players. How likely does that seem? Impossible obviously, it's not going to happen. We're bound to have a fairly tough time in the Premiership when we return, but surely getting there is our only chance of any measure of progress?

So do you actually not want to go up then Chez?

Neither was Michael Owen, but that was the past. I'd have him as well though, at the right price.

First Jonathon, now Marlon, you can't keep these Kings off the sex offenders register.

I don't think protests will affect potential buyers really - except maybe "look what happens when you piss off the Geordie fans". The main worry is how they will affect the players and management.

Free transfer and the wages of a championship player, welcome on board Sol. A backhander/bonus for signing on and £40k a week, thanks but no thanks.

So what have we learned here children? If you score more goals than you concede you win the match. Now remember that.

A line has to be drawn somewhere though, doesn't it bob? I mean, we could rename the club, or move to another city... if history doesn't matter at all.

As long as we have that back four fit we shouldn't have many problems in this division IMO.

The thing about the naming rights is that it's an issue that we might have a chance to effect. It depends on external companies (potential sponsors) who will not want to enter a hostile atmosphere. I don't think it makes us look bad in the tabloids at all... I think it's getting to the point now where they mainly feel sorry for us.

I know that, but it's not just small clubs who sell the rights. Ohmelads point seemed to be he didn't like the tackiness of it and that it was a small club thing, but much bigger clubs than us do it. Fair enough, you're probably right. Did Bayern sell the rights to an existing ground BTW? No idea.

New stadiums are different though, they don't have an existing name or any history.

That doesn't make sense though, he isn't making any money from NUFC, or 'draining anything out'... he's losing millions.

TU, I would remove the 'or may not' have heard, may have heard covers both possibilities anyway, that's what it means. I would refer to Ashley as 'Mike Ashley', makes it seem more professional IMO. I would go for 'tradition and identity in the city of Newcastle'.

That's a sexy team, best I've read so far.

Don't you understand that nobody has said it wasn't a disaster? Keegan should have been backed and allowed to manage the team. He wasn't and that's why we are as s**** as we are now. Now can you work out for yourself why it went wrong? Huh? You seemed to be saying it wasn't an ill thought out decision. I just took that to mean you thought it was a good idea... sorry if not. I'm fully aware why it went wrong, that's why I'm saying it was a mistake.

Can't see how anyone can disagree, in hindsight, that the Keegan situation was a disaster. At the time I was a bit carried away with the hype though, must admit.

Improve the scouting network to actually find some good players at decent prices. Seems we're the only club that never finds any players without forking out millions.

Is there anything you wouldn't sell then, money is the only thing that matters?

Jayson, I think your post is basically correct about Ashley still wanting to sell. The only part that's probably wrong is the bit about spending money in January... I see no reason to believe that he won't gamble on getting us up without spending, he's gambled on our future plenty of times before.