Consortium of one

This sounds like a classic money saving move. Sign some guy that is mediocre at a lot of positions to provide cover. He can probably do ok at a number of positions for short periods of time. You just have to cross your fingers that injuries don't force him into the starting XI for an extended period of time.

The true story is that Ankaragücu was contemplating backing out of the deal when they realized Geremi's upper torso and head arrived in Turkey but his legs were going to arrive a day later...

Good on Joey Barton. I've fought my own demons and have gotten a few extra chances when I didn't deserve it. In the end I faced reality and made the changes that I could make and am a better person for it. He's saying all the right things and, quite frankly, that's the easy part. If he is making the changes in his life that he has to make, he'll be a better man for it. I wish him well.

Harewood looked like he couldn't be bothered for long periods of time. That has an effect on how the rest of the team looks because it Harewood helps kill the end product before it gets to the end so to speak. The club needs another creative midfielder to work off of Jonas' runs. I liked the long through balls that Jonas ran onto and they need to do more of that. Throw enough shit on the wall and some of it will stick I thought the back line was solid. Once again a weak Newcastle midfield put them under pressure. This year, they seem to operate better individually and as a team. Jose Enrique is fun to watch

nice starting XI

whats that??? An American thing-online broadband service that basically seems to show almost every televised worldwide match in most sports, including random lower league matches, and it's free for most people. Greatest thing ever, we generally get more televised Newcastle matches than you lot because of it (or at least as many), and don't have to pay anything. Of course, I'm at work now, and all video is blocked here, so I can't get it. Lucky fuckers Guess its not accessible from from Europe then.... Try it. At espn.com, you can get a link to it in America. The feed is somehow linked to your ISP, so not all Americans get it either. I'd go to the site and give a try, maybe you can get it. We don't get every Newcastle game here but this might be the 4th or 5th game I've seen on the service.

This game is on ESPN 360

This

How serious is Jonas' injury?

I've called Mike on numerous occasions to pass on some helpful tips.

Trackie Bottoms Park

Trackie Bottoms Park

Now I think you're right, it's all about putting the club in a position to be sold for a higher price. But I think this whole fiasco started because he wasn't treating it as a business, he was treating it as a toy. You could very well be right about that. Either way, incompetence played a big role

It's all business. Probably was all business right along. The problem is that Ashley looks to be a poor businessman. He'll sell the club when he gets his price. He'll not improve the club unless he feels it will ultimately lead him to get his price. Anything he does to increase revenue will be because he wants to get his price. Hughton has gotten results, is cheap and quite frankly could be let go by a new owner and not have too much money left on the hook. If Ashley thought he needed a real football man to come in and run the club so Ashley could get his price, Ashley would hire one. As it is, he thinks the current structure is enough to get Newcastle promoted so he can get his price. This is all about Ashley getting his price. Any move will be predicated on if it will help him get his price. Were he a shrewd businessman it would be easier to accept. Ashley has shown himself to be an incompetent bungler, though. In retrospect, he hasn't put a right foot even once.

Ashley could screw up a wet dream.

How bad was the first half? ESPN'sgamecast had us with 60% possession, more shots on goal, etc. Did we miss a bunch of sitters? Or maybe we just kicked the ball about a bit with no real build up?

Thanks for a very refreshing and articulate view from the other side of the pond. I'm here in Newcastle and I totally agree with you. Bollocks man. People are allowed to complain and form any opinion negative opinion of the back of a few poor results. It's not fickle and people certainly aren't taking pleasure from it. We can't just pussyfoot around topics and only pick out the positives. Prime example of taking a post to an extreme it wasn't meant to go to. I never said people shouldn't be allowed to complain or have negative opinions. I never said it was fickle. I never said anyone had to pussyfoot around anything and just pick out the positives. Read the freaking post. It's not black and white, either/or. All positive would be just as tedious as all negative. I'll not try to explain any further.

No, but it wasn't rehashed over and over like it can be on a website. It's like the negativity feeds on itself. I don't go to that basketball website much anymore and I have to say that I have enjoyed the games more since I stopped. I don't go to any New York Jets message boards any more either. Rooting for that team is hard enough. It's like having a bad case of depression and then going to hang out with a group of people that are just as depressed. It ain't gonna make you feel better. I just think, for myself, that siezing whatever positive is going to be better. and that doesn't mean the negatives have to be ignored, just that everything should be in a reasonable perspective. I mean, when it comes down to it only one team can be champion and only one teams fans will enjoy that sweet victory. The rest will be disappointed to some degree but still for most there will be some positives. The question is: which is more important to enjoying rooting for your club?

FWIW, fan pages of sports teams can be incredibly depressing unless things are going really, really well. In 2004, a fan website devoted to the UConn Mens NCAA basketball team gained notoriety in the press because of the vitriol and negativity about the team in general and one player in particular. The team wasn't playing bad but fans on the site were still disappointed for whatever reason and it got really nasty, almost to the point of embrassment. That team went on to win the national championship, it's second one in 5 years. That site has never been the same. What was once a genuine community never recovered and although still in use, is a shadow of what it once was. It's not just that site. I frequent a number of fan sites and they are all pretty much the same. Even when thing are going well, a gameday thread could be a cesspool of negativity. This player sucks, that one be shipped off. The manager is shit and anyone who likes that guy is an asshole. Honestly, if your not having fun rooting for your team, if it sucks so much that you feel compelled to constantly complain...why do you bother watching? It's OK to complain. It's OK to be disappointed. It's even OK to be outraged with the travesty of the teams we have to watch at times. But it its one thing to be disappointed or pissed off but its another to be contatly harping about this and complaining about that. Shut up already and suck it up. We get it. Do us all a favor and try being a good fan and look at the positive and root for the team. I swear, some people seem to take great joy in seeing their team go down in flames. It sucks for me because I've only been able to see a few games here in the states and even though the club is in a promotion spot right now, almost all the posts are negative. I've seen people ragging on Nolan and then he scores a goal and for a few minutes all is right with the world. We know that Ashley has fucked the club over. We know that Hughton is a weak manager. We know that the squad is thin, has some injuries and has some players that aren't very good. Can we just get past all that? Does it have to be posted over and over and over? try looking at the positives. They are there if you want to see them. They really are.

They claim to have pledges up to £20m, but only they know what conditions were attached to those pledges I called up to pledge what I've raised to date and when I said "about $18 thousand" the lad on the other end said, "About 18 million? Right. What was your name again?" I told him my name and he thanked me profusely before he hung up.

First off to IceManBlue, I made a post earlier that said that Keegan publicly denied asking for 25M. I was wrong it was an unnamed "aide" that was quoted, which was probably bullshit anyways. Secondly, what is wrong with going for 25M anyways. It's pretty much SOP to set the bar high for additional leverage and then settle or let the case run it's course. Finally what I find interesting is that supposedly Keegan walked away from 4M settlement from Ashley. I wonder if Keegan was given the opportunity to either a) accept 4M and keep it all private or b) take the 2M and have the decision be public.

yeah, I don't see why anyone couldn't feel like Keegan wasn't treated fairly but still feel disappointed and a little pissed off that he felt he had to walk away.

I find it interesting that Keegan denied seeking 25M in compensation and yet the ruling states that he did, although it was not awarded.

I think a few things are made clear. Keegan gets vindicated and Nacho was the straw that broke the camels back. Mort has enough integrity to fulfill his original commitment and then not extend that commitment because he saw what was going on. Mike Ashley, Dennis Wise, et al are rank amateurs.

Who has a what now? I'm not sure i understand the question.