ChrisMcQuillan

Pretty sure there was for Harewood at least.

Ballymena is the Helmand Province of N. Ireland.

Surely we can't throw two new signings in with one days training, especially Williamson. Routledge I could just about understand.

Look, Healy wants to be snapped up. Let's take him. Quality finisher when he's playing often. We could really do with a good right winger, but Hughton won't do that cause of Pancrate. We need a good CM but he won't displace Butt/Smith/Nolan. So bring Healy in, bring in a decent defender (get a Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal prospect or something) and pray Taylor's injury's not too bad.

So they're not even ruling him out yet for the official site. Maybe will only be a few weeks. Please let it only be that.

I don't think we can afford to lose the Jonas/Enrique left side if we have any chance of out-scoring them. So Tavernier gets my vote.

Na. Will never understand that. It's the third best int'l tournament. CIV 1-0 and just had a legitimate penalty claim turned away. In what ways? The Euro Championships, World Cup and Copa America are all of a better standard imo and more exciting. The standard of football in the ACN is poor and so is the officiating. Also being every 2 years dilutes the appeal imo. Better officiating than the Championship, though.

If Taylor is out, and we don't bring in a replacement, we'll be scrapping in the Play-Offs for promotion, simple as.

You could cripple their left winger, stick him on a mobility scooter, and he'd still outpace Butt on the flank.

Jeez. I'd say Tavernier, tbh. Best play someone who at least has some kind of experience... I think.

If you'd asked nicely he might have let you. ;D

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/8205360.stm

For what reason? Because you're further away? Because there's less pressure on you? If these officials are gonna bow into all the pressure of the crowd and the players then they're not good enough.

Krul wonder save apparently.

This.

Not particularly. I know the ref was supposed to be awful today, but I haven't seen the highlights so I can't judge. However, watching games on the tele from PL and Championship, and also from what I'm seeing at SJP just suggests a nonsense quality of ref. I watched Jonas get rugby tackled to the ground right in front of me at St James and the ref gave nothing.

If we're gonna lose, let's get trounced. 8-1 or something. Might wake the board up that we need some new fucking players, and a new manager at that.

It seems to be falling drastically, across the board. The other week at SJP I brought along a friend of mine, a uni student who's a qualified ref and has refereeed Man United reserve matches for one thing. He got every call right, even though they looked wrong to me. He saw everything the actual referee couldn't. So the question is, how are these incompetent morons getting to ref these matches? They're ruining the game for everyone. Decisions lately have been utterly woeful, and not just for us. The Bellamy penalty the other night is a prime example. It's a fucking disgrace, like.

WTf did he do?

Olsson would have to destroy Ameobi with an anti-tank missile before we'd be awarded a penalty these days.

Hasn't our bad run coincided with Harewood leaving? He got goals, scrappy ones quite often. We need that. We need to try and get him back here tbh.

Oh, we're saved.

Radio Newcastle still think he's playing, I reckon it must be a late injury for him to be not even on the bench. Late tackle from Smith more than likely.

Butt does NOT play. NUFC: Tim Krul, Ryan Taylor, Tamas Kadar, Fabricio Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Fabrice Pancrate, Danny Guthrie, Alan Smith ©, Jonas Gutierrez, Kevin Nolan, Andy Carroll Subs: Steve Harper, Shola Ameobi, Kazenga LuaLua, Nile Ranger, Ben Tozer, Shane Ferguson, Ryan Donaldson

Unless Taylor's torn a cruciate, or torn a medial ligament, I can't see him being out for the season He took a knock, yes, and could have strained ligaments. So that'd be what, normally about 8 weeks?