bealios

It just shows how poorly managed we were that year. A team with Coloccini, S Taylor, Jonas, Given, Martins, Owen, Duff, Jose Enrique, Nolan, N'Zogbia and Beye should be nowhere near the bottom 3.

Great find! Yes, that must be her. Bouncey bouncey sums it up.

There were two fit lasses in the east stand on Saturday near where I sit, although both of them are hidden from view on the picture. I checked before I even checked for myself. From where I was standing there also seemed to be a tidy girl in a tight pink top to the left of the Gallowgate goal, I noticed her jumping up and down vigorously after the first goal, a wonderful sight. Too scared to look for it now though as I will need to get my computer replaced again.

Ok, something wrong with that link. Managed to find myself, and then seconds later get a call from IT asking me to reset my computer immediately and switch it off, it has triggered some sort of high alert virus ticket in the states. Seconds later an engineer is at my desk removing my computer and replacing it. Just wasted a good couple of hours this morning. Although the fact I was trying to find my face in the crowd at work suggests that I could afford to

On my way the game, is there an away pub?

That quote from RAWK made me laugh for some reason.

Now we're almost in, best that Chelsea lose to Barca, would hate to finish 4th and then lose out on the CL spot

Posted in another thread, but position is as follows: If Chelsea win the Champions League and don't qualify in 4th, then they get a CL spot, but then England is given an extra place in the EL. We are in Europe unless Everton catch us in the league. Everton need to get 12 points more than Newcastle in the next 5 games. Everton's next game is away to Manchester United. If we get a better result than they do next weekend, Europe is guaranteed.

If Chelsea win the Champions League and don't qualify in 4th, then they get a CL spot, but then England is given an extra place in the EL. We are in Europe unless Everton catch us in the league. Everton need to get 12 points more than Newcastle in the next 5 games. Everton's next game is away to Manchester United. If we get a better result than they do next weekend, Europe is guaranteed.

Carroll sends us into Europe (well, almost) with a cross from Bellamy. Can this season get any better? Gutted for Everton to be fair, chairman seems a proper fan and decent bloke.

To be fair to the OP, this topic does actually have a greater amount of interest rather than just being solely negative, given Llambias' recent comments about the club being run on the basis that all players are for sale if the club's own valuation were met, but that they have a stand in for every single first team position if it came down to it. The numbers in the OP aren't a million miles from what I would say. If you use comparables such as the Downing or Henderson deals, then there is a good argument that Ben Arfa, Tiote and Cabaye are all £20M to £25m players (to take them away from us this summer). I couldn't see any of those being allowed to leave this summer for sub-£20m, particularly if we have a European challenge to look forward to. IMO only Tiote and Ba are risks this summer, unless Liverpool come back into the market with some daft bids.

If we make the UEFA Cup then it's pretty essential we keep hold of the likes of Guthrie, especially since we are losing Tiote to the African Cup of Nations next year (if he hasn't gone already.....) As long as we don't take the piss with the offer then I can see him staying as well, as I can't see the likes of the (current) top 5 coming in for him. Everton maybe.

He is a regular starter, and regardless of how limited many think he is, he has done a decent job and performed to a decent standard in a consistent top 6/7 team in the Premier League. To get him committed for another 2 years saves the club a shit load of cash that they would need to spend on fees/agents to replace him, so free that money up in theory for other players/contracts. Good news if you ask me.

He hasn't been brilliant, but then again neither was Jose in his first season. In fact I would say Santon has shown a little bit more in his early games than Jose did.

We're 5th in the table, a point of the Champions League spots, in a season where Perch, Best, Shola, Simpson, Ryan Taylor, Obertan and Lovenkrands have seen significant game time. Players who many on here had (and in some cases still have) written off as being good enough for the squad, let alone the first XI. If the job of the manager is to do the best with what you have, then Pardew is working wonders to be fair.

The "angling for a move" line about Bassong is a little hard to believe. Newcastle had a business plan long before relegation was confirmed that had set out how they would financially operate in the event of relegation, and the number one asset to be sold was Bassong (along with Martins). There was never any chance of him being kept by the club at all, regardless of whether he was willing to stay. That's not to say that he didn't try and convince others to come with him though...

The most likely departures were Tiote and Ba, and I can't see them being allowed to fly back next Tuesday to do a medical and sign for someone else. Colo isn't going anywhere in January either. I reckon it will be a quiet day next week on the outgoing front. Still holding out hope for last minute deals for defender and Ravel Morrison.

Not a chance that Raylor, Perch, Shola and Obertan will go this summer. And probably a correct decision as well, for reasons previously mentioned. Shola may however look to move on when its clear that he's 4th or 5th choice striker, depending on what happens with HBA (and assuming that we keep Ba beyond the summer....)

I'm pretty sure that the amount given in Court is supposed to be net of tax, and with the image rights element on top of that I reckon it is closer to between £8K - £10K per week, which seems about right for a player who joined us whilst we were still in the Premier League. Given that other clubs were after him and the fee was low, I can't imagine he would have signed for £4K a week, even then.

If there was ever an exception to giving players approaching 30 a long term deal then this man is it. He doesn't rely on pace, and is exactly the sort of player who imo will improve in his early 30's. He looks after himself, and is such a clever defender. The best central defender we have had at the club, certainly in the modern era, and that includes Woodgate.

As in it doesn't exist. Nob.

Demba has exactly the same release clause Owen had.

To be honest, I would take him missing the entire Christmas and New Year programme if it meant that he wasn't rushed back and risked making it worse for the rest of the year. Perch, Simpson and Kadar in the middle with Santon and Jonas as wing backs??!!

Slightly off topic, but it is worth mentioning that Alan Smith's contract expiry in June will free up wages for at least 4 "squad" players. I know this ignores transfer fees, but the way that the current regime is operating, I can't see significant transfer fees being expended to boost the squad in any event - it will be overall wages that will determine the size of our playing squad.

I was raging about this yesterday, but now that has passed, and I'm actually less bothered than I thought. Part of the modern game is unfortunately maximising commercial income, particularly now with the FFP rules, and in my view it will soon be the exception that stadium rights are not sold. Arsenal have done it, Man City have done it, Liverpool will do it if they move stadium. It isn't as if we are alone. I suppose what is different is that those examples are new stadiums that have no history, and it hits home a lot harder when you have a stadium that has been St. James' Park for 100 years. But they way I look at it is that the reason why it is such a special ground is that it is slap bang in the middle of one of the best city centres in the world, and if most away fans were honest it must be one of the best away trips. None of that will change, we will still have a fantastic ground in an amazing city centre location, not stuck on a retail park in the suburbs, generating that unique pre-match atmosphere in town on match day, and we will still all call it St. James' Park.