Godot

Well this is easy.

? From the Mackem forum transfer thread like. Should have double checked I assumed it was true as they seemed to be getting nearly all of the info from Sky and BBC. http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=437660&page=5 Might still be true like.

Newcastle United's Alan Smith will arrive at Bolton Wanderers training ground tomorrow to put pen to paper on a deal thought to be in the region of ¿2.5 million. The former Manchester United player had a medical in Newcastle just hours after turning out for the magpies.

Don't worry - Chopra loves us too much to score.

Applaud the way he's keeping his head down and just getting on with things, rather effectively at that.

Agree with most of that, people are being a bit nicey-nicey because we won. I'd give Nolan a 6 though.

Championship piss easy so far. Long may it continue for the rest of the season. (hope I haven't jinxed us) Hughton has impressed me so far by grinning & bearing the situation, just keeping his head down and getting on with it.

If we get no manager in and Hughton wins us promotion and hands over to a more experienced guy at the end of the season then I'm sure he'd earn all our respect. (most likely he's want a crack at the Prem then mind) Would be a bit like Sbragia's objective at Sunderland except ( hypothetically hopefully) a lot less stressful.

Wish I could've made it tonight. RTG in meltdown because our attendance beat the Mackems.

Pop quiz question: When was the last time we didn't have a single player in the first team squad from the Emerald Isle?

If we lose a few senior players (Duff, Jonas, Saylor et all) with replacing I'll feel a lot less confident obviously.

Decent save but I'd expect most Premier League 'keepers to save that. Meh, would have crept in the corner for a lot IMO.

Shay's save from Samba's header was stupidly good. Lightning quick reaction save.

How did Ryan Taylor become a footballer?

Thought we were going to be stuck with Ryan Taylor at right back for the whole season. I....I...I...I feel so overwhelmed with happiness.

http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport/Cats-return-to-Senderos.5555184.jp

Was decent at the Mackems. An improvement on Taylor although that's no mean feat.

Meanwhile...... http://www.slbenfica.pt/Informacao/Futebol/Noticias/CompraRedPass.asp?Adepto=Shola%20Ameobi

His competition for Ireland is Stephen Hunt and Aidan McGeady so his spot isn't guaranteed me thinks.

I've despised Duff most of the time but he was the one of the only players that showed bottle near the end of last season. Thought he did well at left back, the OG was quite unlucky. Injuries fucked him and he's now a pale shadow of the player he used to be. For £4m take the money. A huge 50k p/w off the wagebill and all.

-------------------Gordon Neill (?) - Ferdinand - Collins - McCartney Malbranque - Cattermole - Cana - Richardson ----------------Bent - Jones That's a decent team the slimey bastards have got. A decent central defender (will probs be Distin) and that's a top 10 team IMO.

Krul for Harper, Lua Lua for Jonas and Ranger for Ameobi please. Would sell my soul for a brand new right back. Raylor is utter dogshite.

Dodgy officials seem to have followed old Royston downfrom Mackemland.

Duff was absymal first half, improved second half though.

Been brilliant today like. Utter dross at PL level obviously.