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I'd like to see Keegan at Sunderland just to confirm my belief that the world is officially insane.

Allardyce at Sunderland would be... exquisite. A match made in heaven.

Who, his aunt with balls?

I personally don't care that it's Tottenham, it's just that they were all amazing matches and they all happened to be against the same team.

is keano in the KKK or have i missed summit here? If you'd like to try to moderate every single thread on here so that each one stays on topic, be my guest. You can start in the Nile Ranger thread

"deeply ashamed" was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but you can't deny that there's an odd fixaiton on the part of many white Americans (I don't even know how African Americans entered into the discussion) to claim a linkage to some sort of European ethnic identity.

TBH I can't imagine how we could actually have literally "no money to spend." I can understand Ashley not wanting to invest any more of his own personal funds into the club. But if I remember correctly last summer was a net plus for us, and doesn't the club generate SOME sort of revenue? Fair enough it's Ashley's club and he can insist on pocketing all of that instead of spending it on transfers, but you'd think it'd make common sense to at least release the funds that the club is generating considering that we're in the thick of a relegation fight.

They could certainly do with a central defender. Probably a couple full backs as well. ...Cannavaro's fallen out with Real...

With infinite funds, I'm sure they could do a lot better than Isaksson. Our own Shay Given, for one. I love Shay with all my heart but if Man City comes in with 20m, I'd kiss him goodbye. And I'm sure that there are plenty of good up-and-coming keepers in Europe that I'm not aware about that they could pick up.

It makes you look like a joke. Devalues the club further in potential targets' eyes. But if you need a an experienced 'keeper, which they do, why not go for the best you can attain? The story might be a load of bollocks anyway, but if it's not all they did was sound out Casillas and his agent. It's not like they've released a statement saying: "WE'RE AFTER CASILLAS!" Because there is no way Real would ever sell Casillas for any sum of money, and there is no way Casillas would leave Real. A better idea would be to go for the best keeper who's not already in a top side in one of the top leagues. Ambitious, but also practical. Have you even read the article? If it's true (which it's probably not), it says that they offered his buy-out clause, so Real Madrid wouldn't have a say. I haven't. Should have considered that all Spanish players have buyout clauses because of the rules in their league. still applies though.

It makes you look like a joke. Devalues the club further in potential targets' eyes. But if you need a an experienced 'keeper, which they do, why not go for the best you can attain? The story might be a load of bollocks anyway, but if it's not all they did was sound out Casillas and his agent. It's not like they've released a statement saying: "WE'RE AFTER CASILLAS!" Because there is no way Real would ever sell Casillas for any sum of money, and there is no way Casillas would leave Real. A better idea would be to go for the best keeper who's not already in a top side in one of the top leagues. Ambitious, but also practical.

mackems.gif Really though, they need to slow down a bit. I know they're trying the Chelsea route but even Chelsea sort of "built up" a squad over 2~3 years. They can't just go out and put together a World XI in one window just because they have the cash to do so. It makes you look like a joke. Devalues the club further in potential targets' eyes.

Too right. It was a f***ing joke. I'm still not used to having actual first-team fullbacks, never mind backups. So somehow it doesn't feel as bad as it should.

The thing is, most white Americans are deeply ashamed of being "just American," so they insist on cooking up some sort of "second heritage" that links them with a country that's been around for more than just 300 years. Hence the odd identities that are Italian-American, Irish-American etc. (For the Americans on the board: Yes I know that's a bit of an exaggeration, but really not by much.)

I suppose Marcelino is comparable. Fumaca didn't cost money and was barely even here. More of a joke than an actual disgrace. We got some money back for Guiv'arch, Boumsong, and even Amdy Faye who'd be another strong candidate. Additionally, Boumsong was also really terrible for a season or so. Babayaro was here for three years, spending nearly all that time as first choice, and was always injured and completely outclassed by every winger in the Premiership when not injured. He was so bad, Sam Allardyce of all people decided that it would be better to just pay off his contract and be shot of him. He was so bad, LA Galaxy decided to cancel his deal after 45 minutes in an exhibition match. He was so bad, that he's STILL without a club, and probably will never find one.

Every one of our last 5 league matches against Spurs have been amazing. I think it's been something like 3-1, 3-1, 3-2, 3-1, 4-1. And I remember screaming my throat out for every single one of them. The link-up leading up to the Bowyer Goal, Parker somehow splooshing it into the back of the net, Huntington's goal and Oba's screamer, Oba tearing Dawson a new one, and of course, the pure euphoria that was the 4-1. We've had our laugh at Sunderland, but to be completely honest, if the club came out tomorrow with a "Newcastle v. Tottenham, 2005-2008 compilation," I'd probably buy it.

Just a tad extreme! I've only been watching for the past decade so my knowledge is admittedly limited, but who's been worse than Baba?

What I'd give for a good 'ol 4-goal spanking. Something I'd be able to save on my computer and savor again and again like Spurs last year. Felt like I was in heaven for a whole week after that one, I could use a lift like that rigth about now.

He's arguably as good or better at his job than Owen is at his. Amazing how he's stayed with us for so long. If there's one player in our squad that's "too good for Newcastle," it's Shay Given, not Michael Owen.

Would be our worst signing ever if not for Babayaro. BTW, does anybody know what's happened with Baba? Last I heard he'd come down with malaria and is back home recuperating. (This is after his failed stint with LA Galaxy and the trial at Portsmouth) Random Babayaro Fact: The only 45 minutes he played in an LA Galaxy shirt was in an exhibition match with my local club FC Seoul in South Korea. And no, he's not any better against weaker opposition. Probably would've gotten murdered just the same as he was at NUFC if he went down to the Championship.

sounds so easy....if as has happened the keeper comes and doesn't reach it just once he is called a mug and any flick has the keeper out of the goal. watch the way stoke do it,there'll be at least one player in there who has no intenetion of going for the ball who just wants to stand in the way of the advancing keeper. Spot on. Keepers have tried to come out and command their box against stoke and have failed miserably because a. There are a bunch of huge lads are standing in front of them and b. any touch on anyone in the box while the ball flys in could flick the ball into the open goal, and c. The ball flies in low and fast so having extra reach isn't much of an advantage. If it was that easy teams would have figured it out by now. Personally I don't think having the keeper come out is a good solution. Think it's better for them to stand their ground and try their luck at saving it. (Especially for Shay)

We desperately need a quality CM. If they're not going to get us at least that they might as well not bother. After that its' probably LB, RW (neither Duff nor Zog look to be good enough. Flog the Zog, grab an RW, and move Jonas back to the left,) and another CM in order of importance. Long term we'll also need a striker (since we're losing Owen and Viduka) and a RB (since Beye will need replacing in 1~2 seasons. Those can hopefully be dealt with in the summer. Overall, we've got a lot of shopping to do.

We could always do what Windass did last Saturday I suppose.

It's not the first time he's done it though. He stormed off down the tunnel under Keegan one match too. EDIT - It was Birmingham away. Nowt wrong with it imo. But then i'm a Martins fanboy. Serioulsy though, i like his passion. When he kicks and stomps his feet and whatnot during the game, countless times i've seen him go on to score. Makes him want it even more. Villa is a good example. Don't people slag Duff off for doing the same thing? Dunno, don't think i ever have done. The thing is, Duff never scores.

For basically nothing over the summer, we acquired Jonas, Colo, and Bassong, all key parts of the squad now, Guthrie, who's playing decently with a lot of potential, Xisco, who came in with a great reputation and will hopefully be given a chance at some point, and , who looks to be the most promising youngster to come through the ranks in ages. Yes Ashley deserves the stick for not investing in the squad (how brilliant we'd be right now had he spent the cash for a central midfielder and a left back), but damn, we must have some amazing scouts. Certainly looking better than the fellas Keane got for 30m+ down the road...