brummie

Not a bit early for that kinda prediction mate?! Certainly leaves the relegation fight looking interesting now, West Ham got Bolton (H) and Man U (A)... I wont write all the other teams fix down, but Wigan have the easist run in, wouldnt be suprised if its Watford, Charlton and Fulham down. Tbh he does have the right to feel optimistic . Agbonlahor, Young, Carew, Barry, Maloney, Petrov, Mellberg, Bouma, Berger and Laursen are all good players. If they could just add a goalscorer, some centre midfielders , full backs and maybe a good goalkeeper (dont rate Sorensen) they could make top 6. Just like all NUFC has to do it buy 4 class defenders, a new striker and an attacking CM... Manager? Chairman? Although in fairness, I think a lot of people outside Newcastle are underestimating the fact that you'll have Martns and Owen up front next season. If they can play together.

Black armbands down here, too, the blueshite up too.

Surely the problem now is that Roeder has not done badly enough to be a guaranteed sacking, and the UEFA run has effectively made him look good enough to survive another year? I don't know the intricacies of FS's psyche, but I'd have thought he has a lot of personal stock riding on Roeder's appointment being a good one, and he has to give him the chance to prove that - meaning that fewer points and a closer flirtation with relegation would actually have turned out much better for you, giving you the justification to lose Roeder and grab Allardyce (who, dodgy or not, you've got to say has shown he knows his shit) while you can.

If the biggest criticism you can make against O'Neill is that we didn't beat you at your place, then you might also want to take into account the fact that you were extremely lucky to get anything from that game ...

^^^^ tell me about it, that was the day I realised we weren't going to win the league, the fucking cheats ^^^^

Swapping one very good goalkeeper for another one? I'd suspect he was doing it for the sake of it, building a cabal of players he has worked with before. We wouldn't stand for that at our place. Oh, hang on a minute .....

I don't buy this Sunderland hype, Keane is overhyped and their resources are probably overhyped aswell. Watch the confidence drop when they step up a division! mackems are one of the biggest fanbases in the country Jon. They would piss all over s**** little club like Spurs for instance if they get their act together. Brummie - aren't birmingham owned by 2 of the richest men in the UK why don't they have ambition for the club ? Sullivan was complaining in the local press recently, "I've spent 10 million pounds at this club". That says it all really. They're a vile, piss pot outfit, tbh. The pornodwarf and they are a match made in heaven.

It is possible, but MON says no. I dunno really, I hope not, but in fairness, he started the season looking shagged from last year.

Not a bit early for that kinda prediction mate?! Certainly leaves the relegation fight looking interesting now, West Ham got Bolton (H) and Man U (A)... I wont write all the other teams fix down, but Wigan have the easist run in, wouldnt be suprised if its Watford, Charlton and Fulham down. Tbh he does have the right to feel optimistic . Agbonlahor, Young, Carew, Barry, Maloney, Petrov, Mellberg, Bouma, Berger and Laursen are all good players. If they could just add a goalscorer, some centre midfielders , full backs and maybe a good goalkeeper (dont rate Sorensen) they could make top 6. Goalkeeper, holding mdifield player, goal scorer, right back at the least. I'd also expect Davis to play a bigger role next year, don't forget Gary Cahill (who will play for England one day, I guarantee you) and Craig Gardener looks promising. Just need some experience.

You've kind of got to give it to them for getting themselves into the position where they've got a fighting chance, though.

Not a bit early for that kinda prediction mate?! Certainly leaves the relegation fight looking interesting now, West Ham got Bolton (H) and Man U (A)... I wont write all the other teams fix down, but Wigan have the easist run in, wouldnt be suprised if its Watford, Charlton and Fulham down. I'm talking slow evolution, step by step. We've got some excellent youngsters, if we can get the experience in, then it will be interesting. Relegation fight is looking really, really interesting. I can't believe West Ham have given themselves a fighting chance.

Should be interesting next week when they come to our place, then. I hope they stay up (obv not at the expense of a result for us). Third away win on the run for us today. Things are looking good for next season.

Lazy? Anti-premiership? Moaning? Slimeball? What exactly has he done wrong except accept the contract the Newcastle United offered him? 6 league starts isn't really enough to judge a player, surely? (i am lighting the blue touchpaper and retreating as i type this)

Who ever you want that we want isn't going to Tottenham, that's just the way of the jungle I'm afraid, monkeys are lower down the food chain than lions. I think Barnes and Davies could be on our list so unlucky. Be careful what you wish for, though, last time that theory was tested, didn't you end up with Duff?

I've got a feeling we might end up with him. I'm a bit undecided about him, tbh. Agbonlahor played alongside Carew could probably do just as good a job in time. He's shown hints of it in recent games. I think you may well be right. Whatever people say about his limitations, and there are a few, he is the most natural goalscorer at WHL. What he needs more than anything is to be trusted and with MJ using him as 2nd choice to Keane isn't doing his self belief any good. SGE with Walcott for the WC and McLaren since then have done him no favours either. No doubt imo he will score goals in the right environment. That environment isn't at WHL. Think he could do good for you under MON. As I said, I think he'd do well alongside Carew (who is one of the most physical but intelligent players ive ever seen), but I dunno, Agbonlahor plays well there and it is his natural position. I'd take him but not if it were at the cost of strengthening more pressing positions elsewhere. Have you got any holding midfielders or right backs going spare?

I think Sunderland will be next season's Reading. In Keane they have a winner and a motivator, some of it is bound to rub off on the players. Strikes me he is getting wonders from shite players. They're going to need to spend big.

Serious question - does Sunderland's renaissance worry you? Be honest. We've got the same thing with Birmingham potentially coming up, but in that case it is different, as they're always going to be a badly run grotty parks team. Sunderland seem to have some money and momentum behind them.

I've got a feeling we might end up with him. I'm a bit undecided about him, tbh. Agbonlahor played alongside Carew could probably do just as good a job in time. He's shown hints of it in recent games. Defoe is a good player. Would do well next to a clever big man. I agree, I just doubt the wisdom of spending that much money on him, when we've got an extremely promising player who can play that role already. Couldnt you just switch agbonlahor to right mid in order to accomodate defoe? . Then again where will Young play. Agbonlahor is wasted out wide, his natural position is up front in the middle. And as you said, Young will be playing out there, which is why I'm not sure if Defoe is the player we need.

I've got a feeling we might end up with him. I'm a bit undecided about him, tbh. Agbonlahor played alongside Carew could probably do just as good a job in time. He's shown hints of it in recent games. Defoe is a good player. Would do well next to a clever big man. I agree, I just doubt the wisdom of spending that much money on him, when we've got an extremely promising player who can play that role already.

I've got a feeling we might end up with him. I'm a bit undecided about him, tbh. Agbonlahor played alongside Carew could probably do just as good a job in time. He's shown hints of it in recent games.

I didn't say a refund, but some form of credit for unused tickets - obviously, if it were a refund, you could theoretically buy a ST, watch the games against the big four, then get refunds on the rest, and hey presto, you've watched the four games you want at ST holder rates. You're right, it does get very complex, and apparently there are a lot of issues to still be ironed out, but to be honest, I'm surprised it has taken so long for clubs to get round to using swipe cards. They're not stupid, if you check the small print for your current ST book I am sure it will say it is non-transferrable. They know people obviously lend them to friends and such. Theoretically, swipe cards could make this much, much harder to do, but they seem to have realised they're going to have to make some concession to the fact that for a lot of people, if they can't "transfer" their ticket to a friend for a match, they're not going to buy one in the first place.

His volley from a tight angle against Villa wasn't too bad either. Meh. He was a fantastic player, any team would be feeling his absence.

Is your objection to the swipe card the fact that it makes it harder to lend to people? I don't know what the situation with Newcastle is, but we've had these trialled in parts of the ground this year, and everyone gets them next year. Apparently they *will* be transferrable at our place, so I wouldn't be surprised to find out that yours will be too. Basically, for the cup games I missed through work/travel, and 2 league games, my mate sold the tickets to people he knows in the club or whatever. Once or twice I didn't know the person, but he did, for a lower price though. A couple of games went unsold. Next season as we aren't in europe it probably is irrelevant there will only be a handful of cup games unless we have a good run in one of the cups, so I suppose I could renew. But I'm just pissed off at losing out so don't really want to waste even one ticket next season. To answer your question, or ask further, what do you mean by "transferable" ?? My mate actually sold one ticket for me outside the turnstile. Obviously it was to someone who "looked" OK and anyway he sat next to him and he was "OK" ... I meant transferrable as in usable by someone else. My situation is like yours, in that i work in London, so night matches are a problem for me. This season, I've given my ticket to friends when I couldn't make it and it hasn't been a problem. But, here's a scenario - if say my sister had her ST next to me, and couldn't make it to a match, so lent it to my brother. On entering with a ST book, nobody bats an eyelid. On entering with a swipe card, the flunky there watching people come in notices that the card flashes up my sister's name, only for him to see some hairy bloke coming in. In that case, it becomes much harder than before to transfer your ST to someone else. Not even getting into the subject of selling it on. What we've been told for next season is that we CAN transfer the ticket to someone else for the day (apparently it is a legal minefield getting the wording of this correct), and not only that, they're going to be introducing a system whereby if you can't use your ST for a certain match, you get some form of credit back - possibly not a direct refund, but something approaching it. The idea is also that you'll be able to charge things to your card, ie charge it up with cash, and use it to pay for stuff at the food and drink outlets in teh ground / the club shop (apparently Reading already have this system). I'm normally the first one to raise an eyebrow at infringements of civil liberties, and I'm naturally suspicious of anything that holds more info about us than it needs to, but I think swipe cards aren't a bad idea. Of course, it makes you harder to sell your ticket for the day.

Is your objection to the swipe card the fact that it makes it harder to lend to people? I don't know what the situation with Newcastle is, but we've had these trialled in parts of the ground this year, and everyone gets them next year. Apparently they *will* be transferrable at our place, so I wouldn't be surprised to find out that yours will be too.

Yup, he's not allowed to play tomorrow, apparently.