oldtype

Surely at least we can all agree that sacking him out of the blue this summer would be absurd and that at least giving him a chance would be the best course of action for the club? We're all entitled to our own opinions about how likely he is to succeed, none of which can be proved 100% at this point, but I think it's pretty clear that ditching him for a 'proper' manager at this point is a recepie for disaster

Just to cover my semi-annual Korean player plug, Ki Sung-Yong at Celtic is out in the cold at the moment and would solve our creative midfielder problem instantly

Watching Match of the Day again. No stupid questions from ignorant plastic Man Utd fans about our relegation. The chance for one of our lads to end Michael Owen's career. (If he hasn't gone off to Qatar or something by that point.)

I disagree. The management structure at the club right now needs exactly one thing: no change. If Hughton fails then sack him then and get someone who'll do better. No need to exhume an idea that's already failed spectacularly in the mean time.

Probably bollocks. Surely not even Mike Ashley is thick enough to make that same mistake again.

well you know what to do, forget the gf and get to newcastle, priorities man Haha, normally I'd agree but what I meant that I don't get to be with my girlfriend OR at SJP tonight. Sometimes being in the service really, really sucks

What I would give to be transported to Newcastle for just a day. Tomorrow is simultaneously the day we get promoted and my girlfriend's birthday. I'm unable to be there for both.

Goes against every rational explanation known to man, but that song makes me feel all mushy inside.

Yeah I bet they felt silly. They looked like cheesy chip loving hooligans! How jammy though, their first match in years and they get on telly straight away! That reminds me... Can't believe I haven't told this story on N-O before. Happened after my second trip to SJP (spring of 2008 I think), I had an extra day in London after the match (an unfortunate 3-0 pasting against Liverpool) and decided I'd head over to Upton Park to catch West Ham vs. Spurs, partly because I wanted to see Nobby in action and partly because I had nothing better to do with my time. Since this was a spur of the moment thing, I didn't have a ticket on me which left me circling the ground in search of a tout... Turns out these aren't all that easy to find in England and I was just about to head elsewhere when I found a bloke who offered me a ticket for 2x face value. Helluva lot of cash to drop on watching a match as a neutral... But what the hell, I don't get to go to England that often. So I grab my ticket and run over to the ground, hoping to see Spurs get a good pasting... And that's when I notice that my ticket is in the away section. The god damn first row of the away section. The minute I sit down two rather nice looking (and large) blokes from either side clap me on the back and ask me whereabouts I'm from, and I don't have the heart (or balls) to tell them that I'm a neutral (worse yet, a Newcastle fan.) So I play along and try to stay as quiet as possible... And West Ham score first off a beautiful assist from Solano. It takes everything I've got to feign mild disappointment. When Michael Dawson scores a late equalizer, the blokes on either side of me are all over me jumping up and down and I muster every last molecule of acting skill in my body to appear happy. So that was that, I chalk it off as an unusual experience and head home. A few days later, I'm browsing match reports on the net when I find this. http://img.todaystory.net/img/030daf9aef8d58d1cf916865a218715b.jpg Yup, the only time I've ever been caught on camera in fifteen years of watching footy... And it had to be while I was sitting with Tottenham away fans in Upton Park.

fuck this, it's time to bump the relegationometer again.

Kind of ironic how we've gotten to the point where those who don't like hughton can claim to be the "enlightened minority"

Look at Boro. Then try to tell me with a straight face that the manager doesn't matter because this league is so piss poor.

Fuck yeah, go do this right after I move away from the east coast, come home, and join the air force

Yeah, look at Hull last season. The perfect example actually. Started out brilliantly and trailed off once the team started falling apart as a unit.

We have a team now. Remember how we used to say newly promoted teams had an advantage against us in a relegation battle because they had better mentality/teamwork? That's us now. Man for man we may be weaker than 08-09 but as a team there's no comparison. I'd actually be looking to add just 2 quality players or so to the first team rather than making wholesale changes. Changing too much could actually backfire.

You can kind of sympathize with Taylor in this imo... He'd probably get a lot more support from the fans if he wasn't injured and off the pitch at the moment. He's obviously not really well-liked in the locker room and he's just realized that his "Geordie Hero" position with the fans has been usurped by Carroll as well. Yeah, he's being an idiot. But I can sort of understand why he's acting like one.

RB is certainly a priority... I think out of our current XI Simpson is the one I have the least faith in to make the step up. Possibly even moreso than Kevin Nolan (gasp)

It feels surreal to me that this might already be an 'unrealistic' signing, but.. Lee Chung-Yong

His performance in the premiership last season. Are a few matches lost as caretaker in an untenable situation with demoralized players sufficient to deem him unsuitable for Premiership management for all eternity? No. It's a decent bit of evidence he probably isn't good enough though, I was answering your post. The situation wasn't ideal but he was much worse than Kinnear. So in your opinion Kinnear would have achieved equal or better than Hughton if he were in charge this season? No. You seem to be having some sort of problem with either reading or understanding my posts. To be fair, I'd have an easier time if your position made any sense in the first place.

His performance in the premiership last season. Are a few matches lost as caretaker in an untenable situation with demoralized players sufficient to deem him unsuitable for Premiership management for all eternity? No. It's a decent bit of evidence he probably isn't good enough though, I was answering your post. The situation wasn't ideal but he was much worse than Kinnear. So in your opinion Kinnear would have achieved equal or better than Hughton if he were in charge this season?

His performance in the premiership last season. Are a few matches lost as caretaker in an untenable situation with demoralized players sufficient to deem him unsuitable for Premiership management for all eternity?

Come on, let's be honest. Is there a single shred of evidence of any sort that makes you think Hughton will fail in the Premiership other than the fact that he's Chris Hughton?

Here's an interesting question: if push came to shove and we had to get rid of either Taylor or Carroll, who would you keep?

Lovenkrands was pretty decent even while we were getting relegated last year. Getting on a bit but he'd certainly make my squad.

I never loved him, but I rated him and feel bad for him now. Going from one sinking ship to another... Parker's problem was that he wasn't good enough for a top premiership side, and that while he was here some fans were yet to realize that we were not a top premiership side.