timeEd32

Physioroom has Perch and Guthrie as late fitness tests.

Conversely, more exposure for NUFC regardless of what country it's in can only be beneficial.

As many have said, the top isn't as strong as it once was. I think the season as a whole has been incredibly exciting though. I'm sure there's some bias since we're doing so well, but even if it was Everton in our spot I'd still be looking forward to the race for 3rd/4th. Much more interesting than the 3-4 year run of of Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool just shuffling around the top-4. Plus it's likely the relegation battle will go down to the final day. No complaints from me.

? Cleared cookies? No, phone and computer.

Voted twice.

Considering we got £6m from the richest club in the world for a proven, upper tier keeper (in January no less) I'd say it's fantastic.

Very.

Dear god.

Can't stand RvP.

I like Wigan's kit. They are more likeable in these.

I'm sorry Yorkie. I wasn't trying to be a dick.

This post makes zero sense from start to finish. Well i've already explained my point of view in previous posts so try reading back. I did - still doesn't. I agree it would take a lot to catch Arsenal, but it's not out of the question if they lose tonight. The "it doesn't even matter if we do" is the real head scratcher. 3rd is automatic to the group stages.

This post makes zero sense from start to finish.

That's exactly right. Oakland is perennially one of the lowest-attended, lowest-spending teams in baseball, so their General Manager Billy Beane tried to identify weaknesses in the market that would allow them to find undervalued players. Slight baseball aside - they used on-base percentage and walks to help figure out players who were more productive than their stats would have indicated, and they signed college players as opposed to high school prospects because they were more of a sure thing. What Ashley is doing isn't Moneyball in any sense other than finding players whose perceived value by Carr and the scouting staff exceeds their market value. That's not Moneyball, that's just smart buying. I suppose there is an element of Moneyball in focusing on leagues which continue to produce talent that's undervalued in the market, but that's not nearly the same thing. Incidentally, Oakland's strategy was found out, other teams started doing the same things they did, and they're back in the s***. If you have a scouting staff you believe in and an ability to sniff out bargains, that's all you need for Ashley's approach. Most teams have one but not the other - or neither at all. As oldtype says above, the concept of Moneyball has morphed into something much greater than recognizing on-base percentage. The bit in bold is key as well. No matter what happened on the field the A's, because of their market, were never going to be able to compete with the top teams once everyone copied their methods. As it pertains to Newcastle, the method isn't nearly as easy to copy (unless they steal Graham Carr), the right infrastructure is in place in terms of facilities, and the way football is setup gives a club a better chance of sustaining success once you get near the top (CL money, attracting higher profile players, etc.).

It really has been an amazing season starting with the brilliant radio commentary in the preseason game at Columbus (or was it KC?) An incredible two years really. Liverpool is my favorite game so far closely followed by Man Utd. I think the most entertaining game as far as level of play was Spurs at home.

I'm relatively happy with how things are, but I wouldn't be opposed to scrapping the League Cup and giving the FA Cup winner a CL place.

This is becoming far too common.

No, I weren't. I don't know about Nut, but I'm not making fun of you. I genuinely enjoyed it. I like the stream of consciousness posts. Anyway, I haven't seen much of Debuchy so don't have much to say. Sounds exciting though. Hazard's not happening.

I doubt Cole could pick out Pardew in a 30000 crowd so they probably said hello. Moot point anyway, the question is who at lille is being watched? Most likely Mathieu Debuchy. Could also be Aurélien Chedjou or Dimitri Payet. Or youngster Lucas Digne? But he has only started 8 games for Lille in the league this season. Idrissa Gueye? 21 games played (11 from the start), defensive midfielder and 21 years old. Doubt it's Eden Hazard. It's most likely Mathieu Debuchy. I've no idea why this post made me titter so much. It's like he answered the question, thinks out loud for a bit, then reconfirms his first instinct...Bingo. I was going to say something similar. Love it.

I love him.

I'm optimistic that with the time off we're going to see a different Ba against Stoke. The good Ba.

I could see this scenario unfolding... We finish 4th in dramatic fashion on the last day of the season. The board crashes amidst the delirium. We make some great summer signings. Excitement for next season is like nothing seen in the last decade-plus. We draw Valencia in the CL qualifying round. Lose 3-0 away and draw 1-1 at home. Out of the CL in two games. Dream over. Back to reality. More likely I think we'll finish 5th, which would be a remarkable achievement.

The reaction to that post is why I stuck to an American based NUFC board for quite awhile. I love this place.

He's definitely getting more comfortable. Great to see.