brummie

Why's that then? Why, say, is 1991 any more than one year less relevant? If you take it that way, then Liverpool are a bit of a nothing club too, as they haven't won the "new" league. That's the problem with the entire "big club" argument, everyone has their own criteria, everyone has their own time limitations, everyone has their own interpretation. Personally, i just want my club to be successful.

Not entirely sure that the big four is "press created". Since the Premier League began in 1992, English clubs have won 66 trophies, using the widest definition of the word (so including Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield, Champions League, UEFA Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and European Supercup). Of those 66 trophies: Manchester United have won 20. Arsenal have won 14. Chelsea have won 11. Liverpool have won 11. Everone else combined have won 10, as follows: Aston Villa 2 (League Cups) Blackburn Rovers 2 (Premier League, League Cup) Everton 2 (FA Cup, Community Shield) Leicester City 2 (League Cups) Middlesborough 1 (League Cup) Tottenham Hotspurs 1 (League Cup) so if people want to talk about "bigness" by virtue of what they win, nobody outside the big four has a leg to stand on. Also, if we're using this criteria, the second tier of English football consists of Blackburn, Everton, Villa and Leicester. That's assuming you accept the day Sky got the rights as the day football was invented, of course.

Nail / head interface.

Anybody who doesn't think we're a bigger club than them, is a total w***, simple as that really. You're doing it again, Stevie. That whole "we're a big club nonesense". PLEase god don't base it on stadium size again. I base it on many, many things. Infinitely bigger fanbase, infinitely better resources over a 15 year period, a recent history of competing seriously for Champions League places, a larger wage pool to attract new players, a far bigger turnover over a long period, far better facilities, only an idiot could doubt we're a bigger club. Everton ramshackle of a ground, top 5 once in 15 years, Tottenham, have their best side since 1991 and are still no where near the Champions League, it's a ridiculous argument. Nicely chosen criteria, Stevie. This whole "we're a bigger club than X" thing is so fucking small time. Surely the best criteria to be a big club is that big clubs WIN THINGS. That's the one criteria you mysteriously left out, though. Funny that. I wonder how the big 4 feel as they're mopping up the trophies year after year, and the second tranche of clubs are involved in petty point scoring and bickering about stuff that really does not matter. They'll be pissing themselves laughing, one imagines .... "ooh, they've seriously competed for CL places 10 years ago, how nice" whilst they go back to polishing their trophies.

It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if he did have a release contract with a (relatively) low figure in his contract, the general opinion when he came back being that he didn't really want to be at Newcastle in the first place, it was just being in England prior to the WC that counted. Given what has happened since, though, if he exercises it, then he's a total cunt of the highest order. I doubt it'd be to go to Spurs, though. Much more believable if it was Man United.

I think that'd be a very risky move. You've got to get (well, FS has got to get) this appointment right. So why take a chance on a foreign manger who, although he may have an excellent record in the very, very different environment of the Primera Liga, may very well fail to settle in the UK and fail to adapt to our game, regardless of his ability. For every Arsene Wenger there are plenty of Jo Venglos's. Allardyce is imho the right appointment - he's proven, he's available, and he'd take the job. But I get the impression reading through here that he's seen by many as somehow not quite "glam" enough.

No offence, but i suggest you go and get your head examined then. If Newcastle got Van Gaal as their manager, it would be an eyebrow-raising coup to say the very least.

Sven's club record is absolutely up there with the best. His England record (as in games won) is almost the best, and let's be honest, that job is a graveyard for most managers.

I just edited the post slightly too late, but yes.

Oooh. Good shout.

In the past there have always been certain mangagers who, when a vacancy becomes available, supporters of the club in question dread to think will get the job. I'm talking Howard Wilkinson and Souness, for example. Which of the currently feasible managers would you most NOT want to get the job? If I were you, I'd be worrying about, say, Gordon Strachan getting linked. EDIT and Steve Bruce, that's another one. In the local media earlier today, he was talking about Sunderland's achievements and managed to shoe-horn in a reference to him being Newcastle through and through. It sounded suspiciously like a 'come and get me' plea.

This is absolutely the best time to do it - the new manager gets the entire summer transfer window and the pre-season to put things in place. We changed ours two weeks before the start of the season, which is infinitely worse. Give FS his due on this one, he's got shot at the best possible time. If he goes after SA and gets knocked back, then his own situation will surely look untenable?

Terry Mac, for me as an outsider, signifies a lot of that which is fucked up about Newcastle. He's like a fucking cockroach, indestructable, always survives, always there doing fuck knows what

Why resign rather than let them sack you and get your contract paid off

What about this world cup winning, extreme left wing, bearded 1970s (and 80s) icon (and losing 1982 European Cup finalist, mind): http://www.planetworldcup.com/LEGENDS/breitner.jpg

I'm an Aston Villa supporter, I just wondered if you had been at the match. It was the first match for our new coach, who is very popular on this message board.

Surely part of being overrated is that someone rates you in the first place, which rules Dyer out (McLaren excepted).

Paulschen, did you attend your pre-season friendly against the mightly Aston Villa last summer?

The weekend papers said he was coming to Everton We're moving into a brand new training complex/academy in the summer which is supposed to be one of the largest and best equipped in Europe. Could be a big draw for signing kids like that. As for Leeds- Ken Bates is shrewd. He'll buy the club back for next to nothing having shed the high earners and debt and they'll be ok. We're opening ours tomorrow. 13 million pounds worth. The walls are made of solid GOLD, errm, probably. But it will still have that shit new badge outside it. I agree on Leeds, this is the only way they are ever going to survive.

What about Milner? He must be worth 4 or 5m?

Jesus Christ, is that really West Hams new sponsor? How appropriate is that going to be if they sign Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink next season?

How has it gone down? That zebra stripey dealie on the side looks minging IMO. City's kit not out for a while. All I know is, Le Coq. Everyone is complaining about having Umbro. And I agree really, they're s***. Even Derby bloody County have got Adidas now. Though I think next seasons kit is an improvement on the current one, at least the neck is symmetrical and I like the slight bit of yellow trim. The zebra stripe things are rubbish but they're on nearly all the new Umbro kits. Umbro kits are quite nice. We're moving from Hummel (the absolute f****** worst) to Nike, which is supposedly prestigious, but for my money, Nike kits look dull. Hummel is niiice! i heart hummel. The brummie is right Hummel are the worst. Who could ever forget that Sunderland shirt in the 92 Cup Final? Not only do they look shit, they are dreadful quality. Ours have a tendency to lose most of the sponsor logo on their first wash. I think someone, possibly Hearts, were taking them to court over the awful quality of theirs this season.

You know exactly what is going to happen when Luque moves elsewhere, don't you? Prolific. It is writ in the stars.

Any pics of it? No, sorry....... Reading are always the last to launch their new kits....... Cause we're a tin pot club we always get last place on the factory production lines. The manufacturers are in always in a hurry to get the big selling Spurs Puma kits out before they worry about our strip! Thats why we resorted to using Kit@ a few seasons ago, to get a faster launch date. But nowadays we go with Puma. If i had to stop following the Villa and choose another team to watch, I think I'd go and watch Reading. Nice football, doing well, nice stadium, growing lah-di-dah catchment area, no great history so done nothing to piss me off, all in all a decent package.

Yes, apparently it is all mixed in with some new massive "branding" strategy. In fairness, although i start to make the sign of the cross and throw garlic at anyone who speaks about "branding", the club under Ellis was run like a corner shop, so it does need rejigging. Just not with that shite badge.