oldtype

I refuse to say what I think about him 5 minute sbefore kickoff. I'll reserve that for the post match thread

jesus, what exactly has Enrique done wrong to be treated like this by two successive managers. Did he shag Ashley's dog or something?

Fucking hell, walking again would be an achievment after that, never mind playing. I feel really sorry for the bloke, looked like he was going to have an amazing career. Heck, this sort of injury, I'd still be sorry if it happened to Christiano. It's just that horrific.

alright alright fine, we can all just have a laugh. Can we just move on now?

Bad news, that falls under the category of 'game we should win against s*** team on a horrific run'. Guaranteed failure. Who knows, with some bad luck that could even be the day we go into the dropzone. I feel your pain Kager. My two home games so far have been Man City(06/07) and Liverpool(07/08). I've yet to see us scoring at SJP.

No need, as its already being worn by 'actual' s*** most of the time.

It's a sad day when people feel the need to make the same snide comment over and over again, thinking themselves clever to make it, despite the fact that I've said numerous times that this is not a justification of any sort. You know, I actually kind of regret posting this now. It didn't change anybody's mind and it's obviously had more of a divisive effect than anything.

well if you lived anywhere near newcastle you'd know. Every single conversation we have from now on is going to have to be about that, isn't it?

alright I'm lost. What is that?

I think you're overreacting myself, although it's an interesting debate and if you feel that strongly about it all, rant away as that's what the forum is here for. Myself, I wouldn't be bothered about it all, no foreign fan of NUFC has to justify their support. It's not a matter of us trying to justify our support (like I've just said, that's silly. Why should anyone have to do that?) It's a matter of us trying to convince those who would think less of us to think differently. Granted, that's probably a lot cause, but as you've said, ranting is what this forum is for.

thats the paranoia bit as the dismissive attitude was never aimed at you lot. (bloody foreigners,what they like eh ?) I think the bits that caused offense were pretty unambiguously aimed at us, among other people. As for you Madras, your argument (which I disagree with for completely different reasons than this) was mainly about England and applies less to those of us who have the option of supporting both our local club and NUFC, I don't think you need to feel a need to defend yourself. This wasn't really adressed at you.

missing the point a bit are we? I was never arguing for the "right" to support NUFC. That's a silly thing to argue, anyone can support whatever club they want. I was just pointing out that the dismissive attitude that's been proliferating in certain circles around here has been causing many of us varying degrees of discomfort/anger, and judging by the other international supporters who've replied to this thread I don't think I was alone in that assessment. Call me a drama queen if you want, but someobdy had to say this.

part-timers...you have to be born on the pitch DURING A MATCH to be troo I just imagined what it would be like if someone ran onto the pitch tomorrow while the match is in progress and gave birth. ...Would make the match more entertaining, at least.

honestly? If anyone was actually a "plastic fan" they wouldn't be wasting hours of their life on this forum discussing about a team that never actually wins. End of discussion, I guess.

yes and yes. you see,the reason those clubs rarely get bigger and make it to the championship is through lack of funds ie money/people through the gate,when often there are enough football supporters in the area to support a far bigger club.(it would also mean the already bigger clubs would have fewer supporters and would even the whole thing up a bit) That's a nice romantic idea, but just never going to happen. Big clubs are big clubs and will use their TV exposure and status to stay big. And the lower rungs will always be just that. The facilities and the product they offer just can't change that appeal. Only a few Big clubs will fall (Leeds etc) and only a few small clubs will rise (Reading etc), the rest will bob along in the division that suits them best with only a few surprise Yo-Yo's. To use an americanism.....some are major league, and some are minor league. For the most part, this will never change. But I think the issue was not why someone picked a Big Club to support over a small club. It's not even why they picked a club at the other end of the country just because they are winning. It's about them only having the connection because of the winning, and not a deep enough connection to survive a period when the winning ceases and suddenly other clubs are better looking. I agree, the idea is romantic but highly unrealistic. How far are you willing to go with this idea? Darlington or Hartlepool alright, but should people from Blyth not be allowed to follow Newcastle then? How about Gateshead? I imagine a significant amount of "local" supporters are actually from there. Are they to be condemned for not piling into the International Stadium? Hell, if you were born closer to Kingston Park than SJP, how dare you support NUFC instead of going to Newcastle Blue Star games? as in exiled's post you have major and minor league..we have league and non-league. it's not a plan,i'm not going to make it a law (though if i could!) do you not think if folk from cambridge supported cambridge and not arsenal football would be better off and those people might feel better about themselves and the game ? before you start when i got engaged to NUFC we were lower top division enigmatics,when we were married (when i started travelling away and going to games without my dad) we were lower 2nd league trash surviving on history and bravado Again, it would be better for the game but it's not realistic. It's just hard for people to get thrills out of supporting a team that will realistically never get to the top flight. The dividng line of league/non-league seems meaningless to me. Just because a team is in League 1/2 doesn't mean a bit of support will give them a realistic chance of ever getting into the Premiership. If anything, the gap between the top flight and League 1 is far larger than that of League 1 and the non-league. Moreover, you still get a lot of awkward situations even if you accept the league/non-league divide. Should everyone in Manchester who supports Man United despite living closer to the CoMS be condemned? As for yourself, can you honestly say that you would've still supported Newcastle if.. say, Blyth Spartans were in the Premiership at the exact same time?

unfortunate but who's been better ? Faye, Beye, Cacapa, Taylor, N'Zogbia, Martins, Owen, Viduka off the top of my head. Milner has been shocking all season and the only decent game he's had was against Villa. righto (give you beye actaually) I've said this before but, has Zog actually had an impact on any games beyond maybe the first 4 of the season? I mean, he's had some decent runs but hasn't actually produced anything, much like Milner.

yes, it should be noted that the vast majority of people on this board have had nothing but respect for us. Just thought this sort of thing needed to be said at some point.

I've been on these boards a bit more than a year now, and for the most part the posters here have been nothing but reasonable and respectful. However, recently there seems to be a growingly vocal minority of posters that believe that it's unacceptable for foreigners to support Newcastle United; that an American, or a Swede, or a Korean could never be a true fan; that the recruitment drive of the Toon Army should extend no further than the city limits of Newcastle-on-Tyne. Let me make something clear before I move on. I'm the precise dictionary definition of a glory hunter (or I would be if there was any glory to hunt with this club.) I was born and raised in South Korea and am currently attending college in the United States. Like many of my countrymen, I started tuning in to the best league in the world after my love affair with football was ignited by the 2002 World Cup. There were a variety of reasons I was drawn to Newcastle United, there was the exciting football, the "best fans in the world," to be completely honest the fact that it wasn't Manchester United also probably played a big part in my decision (the amount of red shirters walking the streets of my home city is... disturbing, to say the least.) More than anything I was enamored by the loyalty and local pride shown by Alan Shearer and Sir Bobby Robson. I loved how Shearer had turned down Man United to come back to his hometown club, and how Sir Bobby had come back from managing the best clubs in Europe because he wanted to be at "his dad's club." I wondered what kind of club it was that could inspire such passion in its players, its gaffer, and its fans. I wanted to be a part of that passion. Since then I've been through all the ups (not enough) and downs (too many) of this club throughout the years. I catch a broadcast of every game of the season as long as it's humanly possible to do so. Once I had enough money, I've made it a point to visit the city at least once a year. Just as all of you do, I fondly remember the thrills of the Champion's League, the moments of devastating disappointment, and the nagging fear of relegation that's been surrounding us far too often in recent years. Just as all of you did, I was jumping up and down like a madman when Martins scored his screamer at WHL last year, filling my heart with foolish hope after or murder of Bolton at the beginning of this season, and wiping tears from my eyes after our trip to Old Trafford. I'm writing this because I'd like to deliver a message, one that I think all of our international supporters would agree with, to the small minority local fans that would like to see us gone. We acknowledge that you were born supporting the club, we acknowledge that you've developed your relationship for a far longer time than we've had a chance to. But know this: what we may lack in experience, we certainly do not lack in passion. We stay up at awkward hours just to see the matches from different time zones, we buy from the club shop paying exhorbiant dispatch fees while waiting anxiously for over a month for our new shirt to arrive at our door, we spend as much money as you do on a season ticket just to travel to Newcastle once a year, just so we can sit with you in the stands and cheer the lads on. So please. Don't you dare question our passion, committment, and love for this club. Because when we see someone doing so we feel the exact same thing you would feel if someone challenged your legitimacy as a fan: outrage. A thoughtful poster on here once commented to me that 'we may be an army, but we don't divide ranks," and that has never been more true than now. With the challenges this club faces on and off the pitch, now is not the time to be turning glances of distrust amongst ourselves, or to declare a significant section of our own supporters "unworthy." No, now is the time for us to stand together. We want this club to succeed just as much as you do, and we would all be singing with you in the Gallowgate week in week out if we could. You support a club that usually has a grand total of one Geordie on the pitch, managed by a man from Doncaster, and captained by either a Cameroonian or a Scouser depending on who's actually getting the job permanently. Is it a surprise that the diversity of our squad is reflected in our fan base? In the twenty-first century, Newcastle United "unites" far more than just Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It unites every single person across the world who would bleed black and white. So lets forget about this messy business of legitimacy and get behind the lads on saturday. ...And of course, get on their backs post-match. PS: I'm sorry I've written this as though as I'm speaking for all the international supporters on here. Feel free to comment and tear me a new one if you don't necessarily agree with what I'm saying!

This.

yes and yes. you see,the reason those clubs rarely get bigger and make it to the championship is through lack of funds ie money/people through the gate,when often there are enough football supporters in the area to support a far bigger club.(it would also mean the already bigger clubs would have fewer supporters and would even the whole thing up a bit) That's a nice romantic idea, but just never going to happen. Big clubs are big clubs and will use their TV exposure and status to stay big. And the lower rungs will always be just that. The facilities and the product they offer just can't change that appeal. Only a few Big clubs will fall (Leeds etc) and only a few small clubs will rise (Reading etc), the rest will bob along in the division that suits them best with only a few surprise Yo-Yo's. To use an americanism.....some are major league, and some are minor league. For the most part, this will never change. But I think the issue was not why someone picked a Big Club to support over a small club. It's not even why they picked a club at the other end of the country just because they are winning. It's about them only having the connection because of the winning, and not a deep enough connection to survive a period when the winning ceases and suddenly other clubs are better looking. I agree, the idea is romantic but highly unrealistic. How far are you willing to go with this idea? Darlington or Hartlepool alright, but should people from Blyth not be allowed to follow Newcastle then? How about Gateshead? I imagine a significant amount of "local" supporters are actually from there. Are they to be condemned for not piling into the International Stadium? Hell, if you were born closer to Kingston Park than SJP, how dare you support NUFC instead of going to Newcastle Blue Star games?

I've always thought Taylor was pretty damn fast for a CB, for what it's worth.

Very disturbed about the general dismissive attitude towards Milner. Two main factors contribute I think: the fact that he's not a pacy player and the rise to prominence of David Bentley and Ashley Young. People are on his back all the time about being slow but while Pace may be a major part of today's game, not everyone on the team has to be an Olympic level sprinter. There is still certainly a place for wingers with a good work rate and technique who can offer a lot of coverage down one side and occasionally beat the last man with a feint. Aside from that, he's also got a damn good shot and a creative element to his game that our other players are sorely lacking (as previous posters have mentioned.) Milner's also had horrible luck in having to come up alongside a whole host of talented young right wingers, such as Bentley, Young, and Lennon to a lesser extent. Is he in the same class as Bentley or Young? probably not. But he's a decent asset for any side and it is just foolish of us to turn our nose up to him considering the state we're in. The fact that Brummie has mentioned a couple of times that he'd have Milner back at Villa in a shot says it all really. Overall he's a decent above-average player who definitely contributes to our squad. What he's done for the club so far alone should be enough to make him a hero (if the Viduka-Milner deal had went through in 2006, it'd be us that Roeder and Clarkie would be guiding to promotion in the Championship.) Who knows, he still may have some untapped potential that could make him a very good player one day. He's certainly not ever going to tap into it if our "fans" keep trying to chase him out. Considering who we're playing I'd think I'd rather have the big ups.

Both arguments are true actually, the idea that Taylor gets a lot of slack for being a Geordie and the idea that we treat our players horribly. By virtue of being a Geordie, Taylor is merely treated badly by our fans as opposed to being completely brutalized like Milner is.

The same 'Robbo' you wanked yourself silly over when you first came on here? Not sure if we're the ones to be needling others about having fickle opinions about their first choice goalkeeper

It's already been rather widely accepted that Wheater is looking a good bit more promising than Taylor.