oldtype

Normally I would be against dropping Simpson for Raylor, but he needs the jolt. Feels like he's getting complacent.

I'll frighten my children with stories of Joe Kinnear when they're being naughty.

Very few teams actually "dominate" the majority of their games. It's a pretty competitive league. I mean, I know everyone says that Wolves or Blackburn or QPR or basically everyone in the bottom half is utter shit and everything, but they're still not bad enough that you should have the expectation that we "dominate." This isn't like the SPL where Celtic can just show up and beat everyone 5-0 every week. Obviously I'd like to see some more 6-0s or 5-1s, but in this league those matches are always going to be exceptions rather than the norm.

I doubt anyone is genuinely "not bothered" about this. I mean, I can understand the thinking and motivations behind this and how it benefits people (not us,) but I still find it heavily disturbing.

Ehem, in summary... If "great player" for you is being remembered for far beyond your time and being mentioned in the same breath as Pele and Maradona, Messi won't be there until he does well at a World Cup. If "great player" for you is displaying great technical ability, he's already there so fuck it.

He has a club career that pisses all over both of them though

I don't agree. The biggest stage on club football absolutely pales in historical significance compared to the World Cup. The only reason we're even having this conversation at all is because we're hardcore football junkies. The general public doesn't give a s*** about the Champions League, and small sample size as it might be, the World Cup is undeniably a key factor in determining a player's legacy. Then the general public is in no position to be judging the greatest players of all time. f*** the general public. I like to think that the truly "great" players (the word itself is quite overused) have a historical and cultural significance that goes far beyond just football fans. Pele stopped a civil war ffs. Maradona also kept the entire economy of Bolivia and Colombia afloat. Yeah, that's exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about. Gaining influence that goes far beyond the pitch through your skills and achievements. Ryan Giggs is a great player and probably has the most illustrious club career ever, but he's not going to be remembered for very long by people who don't follow football religiously. In about three decades he'll probably be a footnote for most people who aren't Manchester United fans. Maldini? I guess? That's a whole different debate that I don't feel qualified to get into.

So does Ryan Giggs', but he's not the one who's going to be remembered for far beyond both our lifetimes.

It matters man

If your standard of "great player" is based solely on demonstrating a high level of technical skill for a statistically significant period then I suppose that's fair. For me it's more about the player's legacy.

I don't agree. The biggest stage on club football absolutely pales in historical significance compared to the World Cup. The only reason we're even having this conversation at all is because we're hardcore football junkies. The general public doesn't give a shit about the Champions League, and small sample size as it might be, the World Cup is undeniably a key factor in determining a player's legacy. Then the general public is in no position to be judging the greatest players of all time. Fuck the general public. I like to think that the truly "great" players (the word itself is quite overused) have a historical and cultural significance that goes far beyond just football fans. Pele stopped a civil war ffs. Maradona also kept the entire economy of Bolivia and Colombia afloat. Yeah, that's exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about. Gaining influence that goes far beyond the pitch through your skills and achievements. Ryan Giggs is a great player and probably has the most illustrious club career ever, but he's not going to be remembered for very long by people who don't follow football religiously. In about three decades he'll probably be a footnote for most people who aren't Manchester United fans.

I don't agree. The biggest stage on club football absolutely pales in historical significance compared to the World Cup. The only reason we're even having this conversation at all is because we're hardcore football junkies. The general public doesn't give a shit about the Champions League, and small sample size as it might be, the World Cup is undeniably a key factor in determining a player's legacy. Then the general public is in no position to be judging the greatest players of all time. Fuck the general public. I like to think that the truly "great" players (the word itself is quite overused) have a historical and cultural significance that goes far beyond just football fans. Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Pele, that's the kind of iconic status I'm talking about.

I don't agree. The biggest stage on club football absolutely pales in historical significance compared to the World Cup. The only reason we're even having this conversation at all is because we're hardcore football junkies. The general public doesn't give a shit about the Champions League, and small sample size as it might be, the World Cup is undeniably a key factor in determining a player's legacy.

It's only the most significant sporting event in all of human civilization, of course it's an important part of judging a player's legacy. Big players rise for big occasions.

Wish they'd go for hughton but wor Chrissy is probably to nice of a guy to leave Brum mid-season

This is true actually, we're almost guaranteed to love anyone who buys the naming rights just because they're not sports direct. Imagine if somebody went one step further and renamed it st James park. Ashley would make a pot of gold out of thin air and the company in question would have a whole bunch of loyal customers for life.

Is there any other kind?

I'm kind of glad we're second best. I'd been getting used to thirteenth-best or eighteenth-best.

Hiddink apparently going to Anzhi. Ugh.

The managers who have failed here have done so because they weren't up to the job, that has nothing to do with the fans who have stuck by the club through 43 trophyless seasons. Obviously they failed because they weren't "up to the job," just like you or I wouldn't be "up to the job" if we failed miserably at ours. Don't think it's too much of a stretch to acknowledge that this job is significantly more difficult than most jobs in football though, and the fans expectations, justly or unjustly, is a massive part of that.

As much as we criticize the media for pandering to the "rather lose 4-3 than win 1-0" stereotype about Newcastle fans, we are certainly very, very demanding as a group of supporters. Can see why so many managers have failed to adjust to life here over the years, and I'd really rather not get rid of the one guy who has.

Shhhhhh. It's actually annoying me how badly they clash I mean, signage is going to happen, might as well make it look good. Just a big ass piece of oak tag. Maybe he's deliberately putting up cheap-ass signs in anticipation of having to change them again when a new sponsor comes in?

Wait a second, when and why did Beardsley leave the reserves? I missed this somehow.

At least they're just banners and not nailed onto the walls or anything. Easy to take down when we can.

http://clien.career.co.kr/cs2/data/file/park/1328027368_XLRjbuyF_201201311738203200_1.jpg