Mattoon

I'm happy with that progress. We finished 8 points from 8th last year and were absolutely s****. Anything over 50 points and you're pretty much odds on as you're really only the best of a bad bunch. It's only progress if we maintain it and/or improve upon it though. And Pardew showed last year that he's hardly reliably in that respect, especially without investment. We just need to steady the ship after the relegation battle last season, get some confidence instilled back around the city, our team is slowly building into something special we just need to keep trying to add little bits of quality here and there as we are never going to splash at big style like some teams do. We've came a long way already from the days of Barton/Nolan, we just need to keep pushing on. New owners and a new fancy manager would be nice but that’s not likely to happen anytime soon. Adding ANY quality (of a permanent stature) would be a start.

aaah yes, i did say that, and you're right to pull me up on it tbf...i don't think we'll finish above them but yeah we might not be a million miles away from them, it's not beyond the realms of possibility anyway as stated you can have your bet if you factor the points swing for europe against swansea 'You can have your bets as long as I make the odds heavily weighted in my favour, rather than use the bookmakers'.' i'm factoring in alan pardew my friend, playing in europe has nothing but a crippling effect on teams and reduces them to a shadow of their former selves ergo swansea will soon fall to pieces only fair no? I knew it wasn't just me that was partial to an ergo

Because it shows a pattern of behaviour doomed to repeat itself. "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" If Pardew ever drops into the relegation places i'll say enough is enough and we need the new manager bounce that another mediocre, unispiring appointment would bring temporarily. As he's not done that yet, I'll continue to support him and the team rather than booing and raising the tension levels around the place. so now people are insane for wanting Pardew out? That's a new low, even for you HF! Pardew is a waster, to "advocate" his removal is not "insane" it's perfectly reasonable. Infrastructure-wise we are one of the biggest clubs in England, why should we settle for mediocrity on and off the pitch? It's this negative, deflated, stagnant attitude that will see us stay in the doldrums for years to come. We are fast losing our reputation in the footballing world with our tatty SD plugging, our penny pinching attitude and our uninspiring football. We were once a proud footballing club and we're losing self respect as well as respect from others, you sound like a battered wife "Well he's trying his best, I could be worse without him." Admittedly Pardew is part of the cancer in this club, cutting him out would only be a temporary measure but it's a step in the right direction, realistically we need a long, strong dose if chemo to remove the likes of Ashley and his cronies. However to suggest people are insane to want Pardew out and hope that things get better? Nothing but pseudointellectual bullshit! For some it's only the hope that's left, that's not insane, that's love for NUFC.

The problem is Pardews reliance on him, he's undoubtably our best player by a million miles, when he's on form we look amazing but have an off day and there's no plan B. His lack of contribution to the team shouldn't mean we collapse like a house of cards, but it does! He was shite today, ergo the whole team was. He takes the flak for his performance but Pardew needs to take the flak for the teams performance and ultimately the loss.

First on every team sheet, we should be playing to his strengths and building our team around him. I think Remy will give most oppositions more to worry about now and we won't see HBA crowded off the ball as much.

Not a defence, just an observation. Rangers got very similar crowds to us and look what happened, plus they gotten Champions League money and probably have a bigger fanbase worldwide. Err because they were fiddling their taxes. Irrelevance because of the above but what's the SPL TV deal worth? Our situation and Rangers are vastly different, incomparable. I wouldn't bet on it, pleading poverty whilst having zero expenditure? Something's not right.

How can a business with a skeleton crew, who's transaction revenue gives a positive margin, is not paying any imediate debt, be bordering on an overdraft? The figures don't add up, full accounts disclosure should be demanded. Smells like something's off here, just like a well known high street coffee retailer, selling products to itself at over inflated prices so it can claim a loss every year thus dodging taxes, is NUFC MA's little tax haven?

Pardew for me is deliberately saying this sort of crap to irritate fans on behalf of Fat c*nt. In my view he is complicit in ALL of the sh*te thats presently going on. Thanking Ashley (and Derek) for getting signings over the line (what other bosses do that?), saying how grateful we should be that we still have a footy club because of "Mike", saying how glad he was we didn't qualify for Europe again because it makes our precious players too tired, saying we cant compete financially with fuckin Swansea, not giving a f*ck if we lost at home to Arsenal, touting our best players for sale at fattys behest in his media interviews blah blah blah. How much longer will some people give this smarmy c*nt before it sinks in what a complete cock womble he is. I used to think the same and he probably did just that for a while but now I think he's saying the things he does to put pressure on Ashley and Co. He is or was complicit in a lot of things I agree and I'm in now way defending him here but its clear to me anyway, that everyone at NUFC is pulling in different directions and its basically become a free for all. Pardew's nose has been put right out of joint first with the appointment of Kinnear, secondly with the resignation of Llambias and thirdly with zero investment into the playing squad which to be fair to Pardew he has been strong in saying needs to happen, all summer and that he was confident it would. He's been made to look like a bit of a muppet, especially by Kinnear/with his appointment and although Pardew's been in on the inside in the past, it appears he's now on the outside. He won't resign or say anything to upset Ashley because he's not going to give up on his cushy number. But he knows he has a good rapport with the fans and the media in general so can say these things, in the hope it gets to fans and with it cranks up any pressure on Ashley and Co. Speaking to many people away from here and Pardew has been shat on and undermined by Ashley and Kinnear. Pardew's very media savvy and doesn't just trot out s*** here and there for the sake of it, he's very calculated in what he says. The overdraft thing won't have the general fan on the street questioning him or sticking the boot into him, but Ashley, a billionaire whose company has just reached the FTSE100 with huge increases in profits in a season where we get a big TV windfall. He's complicit in it all man. I don't think he is myself, not to that extent anyway or the extent he used to be. They are all c***s and need to f*** off ASAP though. I can see what you're saying HTT but if he's that savvy he surely wouldn't want Ashley to get the kind of stick that may make him sell up? Guaranteed he would be the first out of the door in the event of new ownership, him and Kinneer could car share to the job centre!

Ultimately he's going to live off the mantra that he's saving money and cutting costs to reduce the debt on the club and we should be so grateful that he saved us from a fate worse than death whilst syphening off club profits through his SD empire thus never clearing the debt. We're just a billboard to his real passion and we'll never be anything but an extension to his cash cow.

There's a lot of scrutiny gaining pace on Ashley, the NUFC accounts and the unholy union with SD, the mainstream media are already picking up on it and I can really see this snowballing. This summer has really bit him on the arse, it was a gamble but I don't think he anticipated this level of backlash. Probably expected a few chants and dummy spits but not the scrutiny.

Thats likely to be the only way we'll spend sadly. Rock and a hard place, lets aspire to be at the bottom so we can get some players. Fantastic shortsightedness!

Could have been worse, we could have had Pardew.

Exactly what I was eluding to, Shephard's tenure mad it look much less sharp in our downfall as he royally fucked up in a lot of ways but when you see it without that, as a pure contrast it's damning and depressing how much we've changed and all for the worse.

Should we not be looking at a loan to buy option rather that Europes unwanted flops? Or has the loan window closed?

We will see the passion again, it's just near impossible to imagine, let alone happen, under Ashley. We as supporters will never lose the passion, no matter how hard the fat bastard tries, it's the club that worries me, it's a whole different animal to most clubs, being what it is. Freddie Shephard started our downward spiral and Ashley has taken it to a whole new level! We need a new owner who will let the right people run the club as it should be, trust the right people to do the right job and bring in another Keegan/Robson who knows the region and can restore the pride in our club. As you say that seems a million miles away right now. Any window licking, crayon eating, Ashley appologist should be made to watch that video and realise what we were and what we are, if they're still in support of him then they should be dragged out into the street and shot!

Keegan and Shearers passion and pride is what's sorely missing from us today, it's heart watming to watch that again after so many years but it just drives it even further home how far we have fallen. The club is an empty shell of a corperate nightmare, there's no soul, no pride, no heart. I fear we'll never get that back.

How did no one touch that?

Hope Lambert gets another, he deserves it, not many get in the team on merit!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/newcastle-united/10291632/-...-if-only-Mike-Ashley-would-go-too.html A good piece in the telegraph, not sure if its been mentioned already?

Anybody see this? Sorry if Giggs: http://nothingbutnewcastle.com/2013/09/blogs/picture-the-ultimate-insult-to-hatem-ben-arfa It seems JFK has been relegated to shirt making now!

Although I agree in sentiment, a tie against Leeds is hardly going to set the media alight or cause enough rumblings at boardroom level. However to suggest us avoiding this match would be embarrassing? I would argue that is exponentially less embarrassing than all that has proceeded it, we lurch from one embarrassment to another with a 5th place finish just adding a little shine to the turd that Ashley's legacy has flung at us.

Just wish the mainstream media would pick up on it and print it nationwide. Ashley has so far walked out of this unscathed and is having an easy ride.

Hmm I just realised I used pseudointellectual and mackem in the same sentence

Just got in in time for that piece, excellent read and encapsulates most feelings perfectly, I see there was one window licker on there, pseudointellectually defending JFK without substance. He's either a mackem or JFK himself.

Excellent post, it's the frustration of it all that is hurting the most. However this mantra is unsustainable, we've already seen unrest in the squad with Cabaye, who can blame him? We DO have a talented squad, wasted on a talentless manager but without investment and intent of improvement in the managerial postition we won't keep this talented squad together and never get the best from them. Short term all is not lost, we have the players and the ability for a decent campaign, but with Pardew in charge? No! With a new manager but the same lack of investment? No! This flimsy bubble will burst and sooner rather than later.