LoveItIfWeBeatU

Pardew interview: - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/9370662.stm

I'd prefer a Man City win or at worst a draw. Keep Aston Villa down well below us. Also their fans enjoyed our relegation so they can 'enjoy' going through the threat of relegation.

Trouble is that very few teams would allow a transfer for a goal scoring striker in January. We couldn't give Xisco away. I think with Ameobi, Ranger, Best, Lovenkrands and Carroll we should have enough to stay up and look for a striker in the Summer.

He reminds me of Lua Lua. Able to create something from nothing but then makes the 'easy part' look difficult.

To be fair to our squad, most of them have played every game all season. Tottenham players have probably been rotated a lot more. I wouldn't say anyone had a bad game. It also went to show team spirit and graft can counter so called better players on the day. At the start of the thread a lot of people thought we were going to get hammered. To be pissed off with a draw shows how we played.

Did you not see Shola's curled shot or Best's effort off the bar? Ranger could have passed to Perch for a tap in. They all spurned chances.

If we hadn't been relegated I doubt Carroll would have got his chance. If we'd stayed up, Owen would have left at the end of his contract (good riddance) and Viduka wouldn't have got a new contract (good riddance too). That would have left us with Martins, Ameobi and Carroll. Most fans would have wanted us to go out and buy an established replacement for Owen/Viduka (however unlikely that would have been under Ashley).

I'm assuming whoever sanctioned this loan (with possible transfer clause activated if QPR get promoted) is pretty damn sure NUFC aren't going to get relegated. If we got relegated again I could imagine Routledge would have come in very handy next season considering most of our better players wouldn't hang around for another promotion campaign. Who knows if one of our kids can make the step up to cover for Routledge. It has to be said though, we wouldn't have 'discovered' Carroll if NUFC hadn't been in the shit money-wise. The fans would have demanded we bought a £10m striker rather than play a local, unproven kid.

Haven't Sunderland got 4 players on loan (Mensah, Onuoha, Welbeck and someone else)? People talk about them using the money from selling Bent to strengthen their squad. Technically, if they bought the 4 players they've currently got on loan they could only be classed as standing still and it would cost them loads to sign them.

Really strange that he'd go to Villa considering their current predicament. Sunderland fans seem to think they'll now have a chance of buying Welbeck. I don't see why Man U would sell him. They need to replace their older players and he seems like he could.

I'm not fan of Smith but an injury isn't good as we can't sell him now. As for yesterday, how come Bardsley twice trying to stamp on Smith while he was on the ground wasn't worth a card (or a trial by TV)?

Forget about the vendetta bullshit. None of us know what really goes on at the club. If he was called John Smith rather than Nile Ranger, didn't have a twitter account and wasn't "gangsta" I bet most people would barely give a toss about him. Having said that, well done on the hat-trick. He needs to make sure he goes all out in training to impress the staff and other players. That's how to make the first team. He's just signed a 5 and a half year contract. Plenty of time for him to make it (if he puts the effort in).

Same arrangement as this season. Loan out Krul or Forster and keep Harper. I remember reading an interview with Harper earlier in the season where he said he wouldn't want to stand in the way of Krul or Forster long term. He may retire at the end of next season. Is the SPL a decent test of Forster? When you consider he is playing for one of the top 2 teams in a 2 team race? It says a lot that one of our reserve keepers can become Celtic's first choice keeper when previously he had only played reserve games for NUFC and League 1 games for Norwich.

I must admit I liked this response from Steve Bruce about rumours of Sunderland wanting to buy Michael Owen. http://sport.uk.msn.com/football/news/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=155877156

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9362292.stm

Unless we had a new out and out winger 100% signed I don't see why we'd let him go, especially on loan. He's not great but we don't have any natural replacement for him in the squad.

If nothing else he's made us less predictable from set pieces.

Why does everyone want Blackpool to equalise? That would take them above us in the table. As it stands we are still 8 points off bottom and 7 points off 18th which is where we started the day.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9361588.stm

I'd rather have Guthrie than Smith. I got that when I saw your XI. I would rather play a different formation than either of them starting or as I say go 441. I really think we should play 11 players from the start. 441 is what 451 ends up being when Smith is in the side.

Spoiled for choice. The positive is he's talking about starting with two strikers rather than just one. Considering who we have fit I'd much rather go 4 - 4 - 2. 4 - 5 - 1 could mean a start for Smith which would be bad.

Pardew says on the official site that he is looking to start two strikers from Ameobi, Best and Lovenkrands against Sunderland. He also says Gosling will be on the bench.

Ashley had a '17 Alan Smith' shirt because he considers 17 to be his lucky number. Apparently he won money in a casino betting on 17. I highly doubt he is an avid Alan Smith fan, especially considering he indirectly pays Smith's massive weekly wage for negligible on the pitch return. Due to Alan Smith I doubt Ashley considers 17 to be his lucky number any more.

I think we may not be told if Carroll is fit or not until the match day squad is announced. Play that card close to our chest. If he is fit it will be a big morale boost. If he isn't it gives Sunderland a boost. Either way it makes sense to keep it quiet until the last minute.

I wonder which clubs he thinks will be after him in the Summer that are better than Newcastle or Birmingham? Maybe he's just thinking it will be the same sort of clubs but he'll get a bigger signing on fee and wages if he's a Bosman free?