brummie

He's rambling on like a mentalist.

Just watching that interview on Sky, and that thing about Geordies wanting Geordies is the most worrying thing. Even those of us who aren't Geordies or Newcastle fans know that is a tired, stereotypical load of nonsense.

You're doing a great job of consoling us brummie.. Genuinely, the only thing I think you can take solace from is that this is clearly the action of a man who wants to force out his manager. So, Pardew doesn't put up with it - and, let's be honest, what manager with an ounce of pride would put up with this? - and resigns. Kinnear takes over and lasts weeks before doing a Houllier, and there you go, free to rebuild. I know that's poor, but I genuinely don't know what else to think. It is utterly, utterly bonkers. WTF? We have a billionaire owner and one of the lowest paid managers in the league. OK, so he has a 8 year contract; I'm sure Ashley could afford to sack him without appointing a senile dinosaur in a position that didn't exist since he last got us relegated through a catalogue of ownership blunders? I did say it was poor

You're doing a great job of consoling us brummie.. Genuinely, the only thing I think you can take solace from is that this is clearly the action of a man who wants to force out his manager. So, Pardew doesn't put up with it - and, let's be honest, what manager with an ounce of pride would put up with this? - and resigns. Kinnear takes over and lasts weeks before doing a Houllier, and there you go, free to rebuild. I know that's poor, but I genuinely don't know what else to think. It is utterly, utterly bonkers. WTF?

Honestly, even for us not as well versed as you are in the utter madness of Newcastle United, this is beyond believable. It is utterly staggering. It looks like someone has decided to set a course for disaster.

It's getting to the point where I'm thinking of replacing you as "other team whose forum I have thousands of posts on". It's just too depressing.

Even I feel angry. And I don't even support you.

On the bright side for you lot, no fucking way would any manager with a smidgen of pride put up with Joe Kinnear working above him on playing style and transfers, so I reckon Pardew will be offski.

Did he really say that? With regard to this DoF role? That must be for you like "it's because of who I used to manage" was for us with McFuck.

Have to say, I agree. Not so much that it is pretentious, but it drains every last ounce of enjoyment from the game by hugely over analysing it.

Entirely agree. It is a fantastic book.

Bacuna? Yes, both on the official site, so all done. Add Tonev who signed last week, and the fact that apparently Helenius is signing at the weekend and it looks suspiciously like someone has been doing their scouting for a few months now and decided exactly who they wanted. Somewhat different to MON frantically googling players in the last week of August.

That's different, as the author is a writer who spent time with the hooligans to write the book, rather than hooligans writing books about how they "ran" West Ham in the 1980s or whatever.

Have you watched us play lately? Bring back any of those memories for you? To be entirely honest, you weren't half as bad as we were, and even if you were, at least Pardew has managed the occasional season not playing like that. McLeish was just doing what he always does. It wasn't even ineptitude on his part. That was his thing, his MO, his way of doing things.

I have no idea whatsoever. As I understand it, he hasn't spoken about it, has he? What I do hope is true is that it turns out it really is his belief (if we can every really know, that is), rather than just an excuse to leave or screw more money out of the club. That would make it one of the more cynical, depressing demonstrations of what the modern footballer is. Have to say, I am suspicious, and wonder how the objection to money lending squares with playing in the Barclays PL (and indeed having that on his shirt, too).

Leffe, it'd have to be a work of unspeakable genius. I'm not sure shedding thousands of season ticket holders is what he was aiming for in the process, mind. I know people think I go on and on about it here, but mere words can't express just how horrifically depressing that season was. The way we played was so, so embarrassing. If i had been a fan of another club, I'd have wanted us to go down for it, it was that bad.

agree of course brummie, i brought these figures up to show the difference between the market spurs (for example) are operating in and our own (and yours, i'd guess). there's nothing to say we cant attack the top 4/5 spots, last season showed that, but if and when it happens it should be recognised for the achievement it is rather than seen as things being put right "finally" in spite of having laurel and hardy running the club It's sad, isn't it, when you look at the degree to which fourth place and above is the new silverware. I understand it all, but it's really so depressing. Look at Wenger's sheer relief at managing to keep Arsenal in the top four. If a club like Arsenal are that way, then really, it's all very sad indeed. I am so, so glad I am lucky enough to be old enough to have seen my team win the title and the EC, because anyone born only a few years after me is never going to have the chance to see Villa do that in their lifetimes, barring some sort of source of vast amounts of free money pouring investment into the club.

Spurs are always going to make more money per head by virtue of the fact they're in London. They're not making it because they sell more food and drink to those 36k punters, they're making it because their tickets are significantly more expensive and so are their corporate packages (which they can sell far easier). I honestly don't think it is possible to compete for the title without an artificial source of huge amounts of money. It doesn't really matter how much you generate yourselves, if someone comes along like the Man City people, then you're just not going to be able to match them. Look at Arsenal, one of the most profitable clubs in the world, and they can't compete at the top level. They've become the Wigan of the CL places. I think a lot of owners have realised it's not worth it now. They can invest tens of millions of pounds of their own money, and for what? to finish 8th instead of 10th? Where is the incentive for anyone (who isnt Man City rich or Abrahmovich rich and Abrahmovich crazy) to invest that sort of extra money in someone like Everton? What are they ultimately trying to do? Get into the Champions League? And then what? How much more money do you need to invest to compete well in the CL and to stay in it? It must be great to be one of the mentally monied clubs these days, but if I were Ashley or Lerner or Coates or whichever club owner, I wouldn't be pouring huge amounts of my own money into a club, either, because however much you put in, it is almost certainly not going to be enough. Money has been hugely important in the English game for years now, that's not new, but I do think that the really, really big changing point was when out of nowhere, the Man City owners appeared and took the spending to a whole new level. That was the point at which having a billionaire owner wasn't enough, you now needed a multi-billionaire.

Many people would consider Wonga to be usurious. All Western banks violate Islam by charging interest, but the excessive interest charged by Wonga may simply be more egregious. Islam doesn't do breaking the rules by degree's, the law is the law. It'd be like an Imam saying hey it's OK having a pint a day but don't get p*ssed and only one bacon butty a week, mind. We all know that religious people pick and choose how to interpret their scripture all the time. Islam is no different to any other religion in that way. This has to be a notable occasion because I agree with you for once..! I was once in Malaysia, a Muslim country in the main, and our guide informed us that a certain road was a bad spot for being stopped by Police for a breathalyser ; needless to say, I queried this by saying I thought Muslims didn't touch alcohol, whereupon he replied ; 'Yes - but we are MODERN Muslims...!' Quite right. It's not just picking the bits they like, it is also about how observant they are in general, and islam is really no different from any other religion in that respect. I've got a Jewish mate who eats as much bacon as I do, and muslim friends who like to go out on the lash as much as I do. The issue with islam in this country is that a relatively tiny number of either ultra-observant muslims, or muslims who twist the religion to suit their own agendas, who get way more media coverage than they deserve - either through actual acts against the state, or, like Anjem Choudary, because they're gobshites the news like to get on at every opportunity. People then assume, mistakenly, that that's just what islam is like, when it isn't, muslims can be every bit as non-observant of their religion as the rest of us.

These signings could easily all flop, and I am still worried that we need more experience, so it could just as well turn into another season of toil. I genuinely think, though, that the McLeish year was like a kick in the arse to us - to remind us just how miserable football can be. I remember the Graham Turner dismantling of the European Cup side, the awful Billy McNeill season, 86-87 where we actually did get relegated, and I can honestly say, the McLeish year was more depressing than either of them. After that, it's much easier to enjoy things.

Im not sure brummie uses a gym mate. The last time I used a gym was about the time of the match he's talking about ;-) Can't really remember if i was there. Stands a chance. That was the year before i went to Newcastle for college, so I was probably at pretty much all the home matches.

A Life Too Short - The Tragedy of Robert Enke is easily the most touching football book I have ever read. It's a beautifully sad book.

All those fucking hooligan books, what a load of cunts, really. I totally understand the role of hooligan culture in English football, i was around and doing away matches in the 80s, you can't do that and not get it, but really, they're just a bunch of people who really, really need to grow up. These hagiographies are pathetic.

He needs to teach us how to defend, really, really quickly, I know that much. One thing i will say is that last season was one of the weirdest ever. At times, I could barely watch us without doing so through my fingers. We put together some abysmal statistics. We managed to complete a run of four home wins in almost two years. Loads and loads of things were awful. We looked like a bunch of young players being asked to do too much, and sometimes (most memorably second leg LC QF at home to Bradford), we got things embarassingly tactically wrong. But then again, despite all the bad results and statistics, the fans never, ever lost it with Lambert, which is pretty strange. At various points in the season you could easily say he'd done enough to get sacked, but the crowd stuck with him. In large part because we'd seen what it's like when things go badly and you really don't like what the manager is trying to do, as per last year under McLeish. It sounds utterly mental when you've just finished 15th, but I, and just about every Villa fan I know, really, despite all the shit, massively enjoyed last season. It was totally nuts in parts - summed up by losing 3-0 at home to Wigan, but also thinking about the third goal at Stoke, and seeing five Villa players through with just the keeper to beat. Absolutely mental highs and lows. Not only that, but I am looking forward to next season to a massive degree. I can't wait. I have no idea how it'll go, but I really do believe in the course the manager is taking. More than anything, I know that however badly it does or doesn't go, it absolutely won't be boring. That's the main thing,

Seen at the training ground today, with Lambert, apparently. Not all done or owt yet, but it looks like it may happen. Regardless of whether it does or doesn't, though, I am just taken aback by the evidence that we've looked all over Europe for promise and value, have thought about it before the window opens, and are trying to get them as soon as we can.