timeEd32

I’ve still yet to see an answer to the question of who could we have signed that could have guaranteed a top 4 position? And I assume this is ignored because the answer is no one. The fact is they were going to be taking a risk either way. There are two reasons I find a lot of the criticism hard to take: 1) It has a FM like quality to how acquiring players goes when the reality is very different. I assume we were active in January but the players we wanted at the prices we wanted weren’t available. Want to complain about not getting someone on loan? Fine, but I point back to the first question on who is really going to move the needle. 2) None of us know what the budget is and who the targets are for the summer, so we also don’t know how certain moves in January would have changed those plans. We do know that a big problem is we have half a squad of players who aren’t good enough on not insignificant wages and we shifted a couple of them. Supporters can live or die by each week’s results and there’s some justified complaining to do at the moment (I’d really like to see Eddie find another system we can play when we’re missing certain players for example), but thankfully the people in charge have longer term and bigger ideas.

I agree I think there may be a big surprise, but I'm not sure how moving it slightly NW would help due to St. James Terrace. Unless you mean moving into the park?

Each sport is different and it could be implemented in a hundred different ways. Baseball doesn't have a cap, just a luxury tax. Go over an amount and pay more fines. Stay over that limit in consecutive years and the fines escalate. The NBA has a cap, but it's known as a soft cap (kind of similar to a tax). The NFL and NHL have hard caps. No matter what is implemented there will be loopholes. The NFL basically has a separate sport of accounting gymnastics that takes place in spreadsheets. The thing that matters IMO is the punishment and how well it is enforced.

I can't say one way or another as I haven't been in awhile, but people notice the flaws in the places we know best (our own house, our town/city, etc). I'll say this -- when I first came to Newcastle I came for a football club and to visit my cousin (in that order) and I left having fallen in love with an entire city. The same is true for my wife, who couldn't care less about the football club.

Really wish I was coming over, but it's tough with three young kids and also just told the family we're not coming this summer. Might raise an eyebrow or two if I come for a cup final Debating bar vs. watching at home...

It's in Hope's article:

It's possible a small Gallowgate expansion is all that's possible / deemed warranted. But it's definitely also in play that something radical and incredible is unveiled at some point, which is exciting.

Making the Gallowgate a single tier stand feels like the best (only?) way to really maximize the number of new seats that can be added. I'm also wondering what options there are to move the pitch towards the Millburn stand and maybe remove some rows of seats from the Millburn in order to allow for a bigger footprint on the East Stand.

Really great news. Even if nothing is done for awhile this reverses one of the worst things Ashley did.

Fuck that would have been some assist.

Almiron absolutely refuses to use his right foot. Very frustrating.

He’s going to be shot out of a cannon if he comes on. Excited to see it.

I love how now that he’s gone Jonjo Shelvey, who has contributed absolutely nothing this season, is going to be our downfall. We lost our best player four days ago, plus the best option we had to change things up. It’s been poor, no question. The criticism is fine, it’s the sky is falling tone to it that’s exhausting given our current situation.

Was always the biggest risk in the whole team.

I wish we’d have Almiron and whomever is on the left swap sides sometimes.

If I had woken up from a coma and opened this thread I’d be certain we were in another relegation battle.

That would be some Newcastle luck.

Was 4:30p last year.

Maybe we can get it reduced to a game. Wouldn't really care if he only misses one.

Not so sure about that. Looked like he might have been out of it for a second when he went down.

Gallagher incoming ....?

Thought he had one before - surprised he stayed on.

Think it's 3 unless we appeal and it gets reduced. Playing Liverpool without him

Misses West Ham, Bournemouth, and LIverpool