Tsunami

That squad offers very little variety, at some point you'd expect that we'll need something from the bench with 20 minutes or so left and what we'll have is a variant of who has been substituted. I'd have taken Townsend and I'd gave also taken Carroll. Assuming everyone stays fit Rashford will not get a game and Sturridge being the lazy selfish git that he is would operate best up top by himself with Rooney having to do his donkey work behind him. I can see Vardy being used as the something different from the bench being asked to play wider to a more central Kane or Sturridge. Hodgson is lining himself up for a shit load of criticism if we go out due an inability to change games.

What was the point of picking him in the first place? Sterling hasn't exactly set the world alight and Townsend was given 15 minutes or so to stake his claim. I wouldn't be surprised if he was used in training to give our full backs some defensive training and that was his sole purpose. He'd have every right to be pissed off.

I'll be amazed if he stays.

Getting booed on classy

He looks a forlorn figure in the dug out there.

Unless he gets the last 30 minutes here he may as well jump in his car and head home.

Defoe has been the difference between the Mackems staying up or going down but his England days are long gone.

Making too many good decisions; when's Ashley going to drop the bomb shell?

Taken from The Hilton Gateshead?

I'd expect him to really struggle in a poor to average PL side; I'd expect him to have a bit of a field day in a good Championship side. If he had a choice between us and 'boro I'd be a bit disappointed if he chose them; he'd achieve nowt but possibly helping them stay up. I could see him being a Rafa type of player.

That game against Spurs was the turning point for Rafa. I've little doubt that Rafa intended to leave, with regrets and that Spurs game could have gone horribly wrong. As it was, the fans were magnificent, the result was fantastic and everything that Nufc could be was there for Rafa (and perhaps as importantly, for Ashley) to see. His heart has ruled his head and Ashley witnessed first hand the mood of the fans, had Ashley not been at that game he may not have been so willing to keep Rafa. The feel good factor has to be maintained. I can still feel the positivity and depth of the support from that Spurs game. Well done the fans, you made the difference and well done to Rafa, he's nobody's fool but he's formed a connection with the fans and he's managed to agree terms which he'll believe will allow him to succeed. There must be a part of Rafa which is still saying that he can't believe he's agreed to stay. Hopefully we'll be talking about that Spurs game in years to come as being a turning point in much the same way we talk about David Kelly's goal against Portsmouth.

Check out the big brain on Brett! He's a smart motherfucker that's right, we got relegated because we lost too many games. We'd have stayed up if we had got more points. We'd have finished 14th on 43 points if the officials had done their jobs properly according to a league table in one of the National papers yesterday. Mackems would have been relegated with Norwich and Villa. Say what? Do such hypothetical standings exist? If so, how would it have affected every other team? http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/7167792/Revealed-Real-Premier-League-table-shows-Arsenal-should-be-champions-and-Leicester-runners-up.html I think he's talking about this article. So, I open that expecting to see Leicester's offside goal against us and Wes Morgan's handball (against us and others) but they weren't there. Nice to see they've done their homework. Didn't bother reading it.

Well done Morpeth

It already looks like Kasper's work.

What a hit that was

Yes

Oh dear

Bloody hell, he was lucky. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36340327

Just need Clattenburg give Man U a penalty and send Pards to the stands.

Tyne Tees reporting heart attack; hoping they're just behind the times.

Hope it's nowt serious whatever it is.

They'll try a Father Ted on us. "Please welcome our manager, Rafa Benitez", "but that's Neil Warnock", "no, it's Rafa, we'd never dare to sign Neil Warnock would we?", "no, I guess not". Everyone goes outside to see a giant portrait of Warnock draped down the outside of The Gallowgate.

Nowt wrong with that goal, played in by a Lpool player

Lpool can't keep the work rate up and getting picked off

Pardew given the Lpool ht team talk?