PRL

I think a lot of people are, but since we've signed Routledge, Smith and Butt haven't had too much of a look in when Guthrie and Nolan have been fit, which was a major test for me, and one that he passed by showing the balls to stick them both on the bench.

Sums up my thoughts far more succinctly than I managed. Agree 100%

They are not wanted nor needed by the club Sorry like lads but if we want 52,000 ay every game they are wanted and needed, aye its a pisser they walked away BUT I bet they watched every TV game bet they all still love NUFC just still hate Ashley. So as soon as we're promoted the hate for Ashley that's somehow been keeping them away suddenly vanishes does it? SJP does not need these fair weathered fickle fans. Give me 40k that care over 52k who just want to see top flight football. Admirable, but those 12,000 people paying £25 a game for 19 games next season would give us an extra £5.7m in revenue. I'd rather have the fans there and have another £4.5m player earning £25-30k a week.

So all of his success this season is totally qualified yet last season's caretaker record isn't in any way misleading despite the fact the club was being absolutely ripped apart from every angle? We could have got Capello in as caretaker last season and he would have likely struggled such was the state of the club. As for complaining re the players selected, after ONE transfer window he has remedied that almost completely with most match day threads showing people are pretty content with the line up. With regards substitutes, we moan about this all the time, yet time and again the player we're all saying should be taken off scores / gets an assist. See Nolan last night as a nice recent example. Also, see Pancrate at half time in the game before at Peterborough. A change was needed and Hughton made it. I genuinely cannot believe we are having this debate. Promotion sealed with 6 games to go and yet still people aren't happy. I was one of the nay sayers right up until the Christmas / New Year period but he has won me over. He has signed the right players, got the right results and instilled the right attitude. f*** knows what more you expect. But you're right, lets get rid now, have our reputations as laughing stocks restored and continue with our policy of screwing up any stability the club has had to chase a possible short term solution that likely won't even work. Brilliant. Right coz that's what I said that I am not happy with what he has done this season. Well done Try to calm down and read the post again will ya Err... Your suggestion is essentially to replace him or usurp him, changing the structure and clearly making him look and feel like he isn't trusted to do the job. He's the manager, he's chosen his assistant and coaching staff, so with your suggestion Ashley goes in over his head and says 'sorry Chris, we know better than you and don't think you're upto this, so we're bringing in x to work with you / monitor you'. Exactly what part of that sounds like a reasonable plan that wouldn't cause a massive amount of disharmony throughout the club?

So all of his success this season is totally qualified yet last season's caretaker record isn't in any way misleading despite the fact the club was being absolutely ripped apart from every angle? We could have got Capello in as caretaker last season and he would have likely struggled such was the state of the club. As for complaining re the players selected, after ONE transfer window he has remedied that almost completely with most match day threads showing people are pretty content with the line up. With regards substitutes, we moan about this all the time, yet time and again the player we're all saying should be taken off scores / gets an assist. See Nolan last night as a nice recent example. Also, see Pancrate at half time in the game before at Peterborough. A change was needed and Hughton made it. I genuinely cannot believe we are having this debate. Promotion sealed with 6 games to go and yet still people aren't happy. I was one of the nay sayers right up until the Christmas / New Year period but he has won me over. He has signed the right players, got the right results and instilled the right attitude. Fuck knows what more you expect. But you're right, lets get rid now, have our reputations as laughing stocks restored and continue with our policy of screwing up any stability the club has had to chase a possible short term solution that likely won't even work. Brilliant.

For me the reason we've looked rubbish without them is precisely because our Central Midfield offers very little. If we can get a couple of good CMs then we could cope at times with just having 1 of our first choice wingers as we'd have creativity in other parts of the park. Admittedly, one back up would be useful, but to spend big on two 'good wingers' which we'd have to do, would be to blow a budget better spent in other areas. Full back and CM / CF are the areas I'd like to see most dealings taking part. I'd even be tempted, in the event Jonas was out of the team, to give Kadar a go at LB and move Jose up to LM.

Who said that?

this. Same fucking question a thousand different ways. Fuck off. That aside, the polar opposite to how I felt 11 or so months ago, to be honest a lot closer to tears of relief now than I ever was to tears then! Fucking come on!

On bbc as 5 minute separate highlight now... Shows just how dominant we were really. Forest get no more than a couple of attacking moments. Although I'm sure Forest fans think that's just the biased media and their 'Geordie love in' though...

For me it's Williamson and A N Other. I just think he'll make the step up like the Brum lads have. Nothing more than a feeling so can't really try and argue my corner on it, other than to say I think he is the most 'no nonsense' of the lot and I think that's what we will need next year. I also think he's the one that strikers will least look forward to playing, he's big, strong and brave (you could say the same of Taylor, but I think Williamson is more actions less talk, which gets under strikers skin more)

I still have a sneaky feeling Colo will get caught out next season. I really hope I'm wrong as I love the guy, think he cares about the club and has been awesome this season, I just think sometimes when he appears to dwell on the ball or bottles out of 50/50s he'll get shown up far more regularly next season. In fairness, the same will apply for all our defenders, I just think with Colo being 'forrin' it'll get highlighted a lot more in the media and he'll end up losing confidence, being dropped and heading back to Spain. As I say, I hope I'm wrong and he turns out to be a fucking rock. He, Jose and Jonas are without doubt my 3 favourite players at present.

You guys obviously missed a few games last season then... http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7788422.stm

This feels very similar to the annihilation we suffered to the scousers last year, every cross looks like Liverpool will score

firstly, other than the fact they had a fight, everything else is rumour, hot air and bullshit. if taylor has been a complete arsehole and carroll has snapped, that's a big difference to someone just attacking someone out of the blue. secondly, hughton's job is to get results for us. he could have got on his moral highhorse, banned carroll, and we'd not have beaten doncaster. or he could have played him as he's in red hot form, and watched him score the winner. which he did. good management. They represent the football club and are in a privelidged position, let's be honest, it's not the first time Carroll has spoken with his fists eh? Granted, Taylor might have been a prick but it doesn't mean Carroll had the right to chin him. It's nothing to do with Hughton getting on his 'moral highhorse', it's about him doing the right thing, you can't have the players scrapping with each other, whether it's off the pitch or not and getting away with it. I mean, the win at Donny was absolutely HUGE and I'm glad Carroll started, but he shouldn't have done given what had allegedly gone on. Besides, if he hadn't got the winner Leon Best would have. When Bobby was in charge did you think he should have been sacked because of ill-discipline within the camp? Plenty of that when Bellamy, Dyer et al were at the club. I was more than happy with the way he dealt with it behind the scenes and without the fuss. Alternatively there's the hard man Souness method. Remind me how that worked out for us again...

What is wrong with you? To not have faith in Hughton is one thing, but to suggest Mowbray as a better option is absolutely insane. His teams are never defensively sound and that will always be a major issue. Hell no! And at what point over the last 15 years has our team been defensively sound? Err, we've just kept our 19th clean sheet of the season and have the best defensive record in the league, with 2 of our defenders the top picks for fan's player of the year... So, this year?

The problem with the last line is that if Hughton fails, we either get relegated or then have to try to recruit a manager mid-season when the rules prevent you from poaching another club's manager - and the ones currently employed are most likely to be the best ones...... Eh? Have I totally missed a new rule being brought in that stops managers moving club mid season?

Yeah, I think to say Hughton is 'inept' at PL level is pretty harsh considering he's never actually been a PL manager. You cannot judge someone on a few games as caretaker, it's madness. I actually think Mowbray was treated harshly by Celtic, they should have given him this season to entirely bed in and judged him on next year, but that's football these days I guess.

I don't really care about 'liking' the way a team play in the Premiership if it means that they are going to get relegated as a consequence. You admit that our players wouldn't be capable of playing the football he'd try and get them to play and even when he had his 'own' team in the Premier League he was unable to keep them there. That sounds like an awful plan.

I have us on 98 them on 88. They'll go on a bad run from Reading away I reckon.

Bit gutted they've got rid of Johnson, they couldn't play any worse than they have the past few weeks. Getting twatted at home by Donny in their last match had me very confident, not so now. Will be at this one.

Yes, thanks Chris, and as a thank you we've given your job to someone else. I think if Hughton will be still here next season it will be as manager. If he isn't the manager he won't be here anymore. Joe Hart for example also went away from Portsmouth after being sacked and didn't go back to his former position. I think I'd rather keep nets for Brum than manage Portsmouth...

Slaven Bilic was rather decent on one of the shows the other day

The Beeb's official stats are fantastic reading. We only had 5 shots on target apparently 1 of the goals was a header. I think it's more a case of penalties not counting as a shot, still confused me initially when I glanced at them. Nor do headers, but were both probs right, with us having one shot on target that didn't go in. what? Of course headers count as shots on goal! What would make you think otherwise?

Shows they’re not fickle though doesn’t it? That they’re not going to start kissing his ring just because we win a few games in a league we wouldn’t even be in of it wasn't for the Ashley inspired disaster that was 08/09. Was there any need for Dekker to accuse them of not being proper supporters? I have my reservations about overall benefits of the signing section but they get behind the team game in game out. so not chanting about him is kissing his ring ? as for getting behind the team quite alot of it is taking the piss out of the oppositions fans and starting anti ashley stuff. i personally like the gallowgate east stand corberes response when the kids start with the anti ashley stuff.......they start chanting "newcastle newcastle newcastle" this was noticeable on the radio and made me smile. We're stuck with the guy, we are top of the league and we are winning 6-0. Not the time or the place. All that said I wish llambias would shut the fuck up, BBC, sky and program notes repeating same thing and clearly having a bit of a dig, all so tit for tat

sounds like we're the better team without creating much.