Wallace

Coloccini turned up to watch Whickham play the other week.

I don't why this thread has now evolved into become a discussion about Barton demanding a bigger salary as that does not seem to be the case at all. No-one knows what the club has offered him but all the indications are that he is willing to accept a pay cut albeit not a ridiculously large one. If the club offer him a contract which he says he will sign and they then change it (whether that is the length of the contract or the salary), well I think it is fair enough for him to defer it for the time being. The player is happy here and does not want to leave so I am sure a compromise can be reached in due course.

The club stopped bonus payments for the players a while back.

I was there last night and he came across very well. With regards to the new contract, he said that he had been offered one a third of his current one which was turned down but the club did come back with an improved one which he had agreed in principle but they then moved the goalposts so it has now been put back until the end of the season. He did say he has no intention of leaving but then I guess he may not have much say about that in the end. The Puma strip bit was funny - came from a question from the audience about the way he wears his shorts. He seemed positive about Pardew which I found reassuring.

Pardew pretty much said that he did not see Routledge as part of his longterm plans for NUFC so it was better for him to play elsewhere. I think it might have been in the interview he did with Radio Newcastle.

There's been too many false dawns so far so I cannot get enthusiastic about a takeover until it becomes obvious it is genuine.

On Radio Newcastle tonight, they had an interview with Pardew which I think was done today. I wasn't listening that closely but the talk afterwards seemed to be that what Pardew had said implied that Ireland would not make the Stoke game.

I'm not disputing that, but whilst others disagree I would never turn down such an offer for a player. In the end though, he chose to leave and he signed a document saying he wanted to leave - how can he then turn around and say he didn't want to leave? You agree the club wanted the money. What position does that put him in as a pro, at a club where the owners don't want you. Wanting the money doesn't mean "the owners don't want you" - that's inevitably what Carroll thought and so he left. I'd sell my telly if I needed/wanted the money, but it doesn't mean I don't want it. You hear players say all the time that once a club have said they have accepted an offer for you that there is no point in staying even if you don't want to leave. And it is very rare that you hear of a player refusing to move in such cases unless they are aware of other clubs that are interested.

What's he supposed to say? It was OK but I've played in better atmospheres at Newcastle. That won't win him many friends in Liverpool. He is going to be be playing there for the next 5 years so he has no choice but to embrace his new surroundings and the supporters there. Our players come out with enough guff like that and most of the time they are just saying what they think the fans want to hear. It doesn't mean anything - it's their career and it makes life easier if they keep the supporters onside - especially in cities like Newcastle and Liverpool.

What transfer request? The club put him on the transfer list and told Sky Sports before they told the player.

Agreed. It was gutting to actually see him playing but I wish him well. Still very upset that we sold him. 3 months ago, Liverpool looked in a right old mess and now they are much improved whereas as I am not quite sure where we are heading.

The thing is we need 4-5 at the moment but then if players leave in the Summer, you could easily be talking of needing 10 players.

It says in the article that it was not the nationals who were speculating that he had refused to play therefore implying it was local. If that was the case, everyone would be gossiping about it all over Tyneside and I've not heard anything until those quotes appeared today. Anyway, didn't Barton sit on the bench last weekend which he wouldn't have done if there had been a falling out.

Guess we indirectly contributed to this seeing as McLeish said he was going to studu our game against Arsenal.

Even if he wants to leave, I don't get his recent attitude. He needs to continue performing to attract attention (unless he has already agreed a deal elsewhere) and the fans are continuing to be supportive.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/02/26/nufc-coaches-just-the-job-for-alan-pardew-72703-28240535/ Pardew also revealed he is learning from his experiences as boss. He added: “As a younger manager at West Ham and Reading, I changed a lot of staff. “In hindsight, while it worked well, I did not need to do that. “The staff here are great. I am not looking to change anything with the staff here.” Pleased to hear this. I don't see why new managers always want to bring in all their own staff. They might have a great relationship with them but maybe that ends up being too cosy and familiar and so they don't get so much opportunity to embrace new ideas or different coaching techniques.

Tiote seems pretty grounded to me and I always thought that unless the club decided to sell him that he would be content to stay for another year or two because he would think there was still a lot to learn before stepping up to one of the big 4. He is a fixture in this team where he might not be at a club with a big squad. However I would be amazed if he was still here in 7 years time but I am fairly confident now that he will be here next season and thereafter it will depend on how the club progresses.

Aye, like many fans not a clue what they are talking about when it comes to NUFC. We were stone last in Div 1 and that was the atmosphere. Have a look at the YouTube videos of the Cup match at Liverpool in 1984 when we were beaten 4-0 to see the support we had in those days.

October 1972 away to Stoke. We lost 2-0. We had gone for my brothers birthday and I had been pleading for ages to go to a game but was not allowed (my brother's first game had been 2-3 years earlier). My main recollection was my Dad deciding to take us into the seats and complaining about how much it cost.

The local journalists were expecting the club to announce that he had signed the contract on 31st January but the events of that day took over. If that was due to happen then I wonder if the club have changed the length of the contract because at that time everyone seemed to think there would be no hitches. I think Joey is quite high maintenance as a player and I am sure I recall reading or hearing that he can take some getting used to as a teammate but he is now one of the lads at Newcastle. I think it is probably better for him to stay put rather than move to another club and have to start all over again.

Should go on longer really because it is not as if he is going to lose much pace.

They've had plenty of criticism for not talking to the media enough. i know that, but they just talk too much s*** for my liking what kind of f***ing prep work saw us 0-4 down at home to arsenal like? or maybe it was the analysis that got us 4 goals back? I think he talks too much as well. New managers are always saying how they are improving things on the predecessor and start off talking a good game. I think he is trying to hard to say the right things - whether that is to impress or put over an image the club wants to promote, we will find out in due course. Next season will tell us more. Will he manage to hold onto the key players in the Summer and what kind of signings will he make? Once he has moulded his own team, we will see if he is as good as he keeps telling us.

pretty sure we were linked to williamson the same window as when he moved to watford, though we are of course linked to lots of players every window. maybe it was just paper talk. Nowt on .com's rumour pages from Nov/Dec 08 or Jan 09 about him like. Edit: Wullie Pretty certain we were interested in Williamson at the time he signed for Portsmouth which must have been around August 2009.

Not sure what is the norm but someone I know booked 4 away tickets recently and they all arrived separately.

Looks like we've already got the Nolan one to this tune The Nolan version was being sung a lot at Birmingham. Liverpool also have a version for Suarez.