themanupstairs

This 100%. Steve Watson and James Milner say hello to some of the guff being spouted around this thread.

Rafa Benitez is literally the only thing keeping me connected to football and to NUFC. I've already stopped watching PL football and I can't tell you who done what in last year's Champions League. He represents everything that got me following the game and supporting this club in the first place. If he goes, I literally will have no interest left in NUFC or football.

Not that I'm defending Ashley or his entourage, but how do you reckon one would "have a clue about football"? Is there a football university course for MD's and DoF's? Is that where the likes of Peter Kenyon graduated from? experience? Charnley has been employed by the club for how many years now? Surely he'll have learned a thing or two?

f*** me! These young prima donnas and their riders, eh! Heard from a mate in the club (very close to the horse's ass mouth, I mean mouth... Very, very close; say nowt Shhh!) That the Lejeune delay was nothing to do with cash. Turns out the cheeky f***er demanded a fresh bowl of Pomegranate flavoured Jelly Belly jelly beans be placed in his locker everyday. (Some minion eventually volunteered to pick them out: "Hoy, Lee you've left in a Juicy Pear! Useless c***"). Now we have structural reurbishment demands! Cheeky f***ers... Let's not buy any more of them. You're really weird bro. Partly predictive text, partly knackered. I was on about altarmullet mate

Not that I'm defending Ashley or his entourage, but how do you reckon one would "have a clue about football"? Is there a football university course for MD's and DoF's? Is that where the likes of Peter Kenyon graduated from?

f*** me! These young prima donnas and their riders, eh! Heard from a mate in the club (very close to the horse's ass mouth, I mean mouth... Very, very close; say nowt Shhh!) That the Lejeune delay was nothing to do with cash. Turns out the cheeky f***er demanded a fresh bowl of Pomegranate flavoured Jelly Belly jelly beans be placed in his locker everyday. (Some minion eventually volunteered to pick them out: "Hoy, Lee you've left in a Juicy Pear! Useless c***"). Now we have structural reurbishment demands! Cheeky f***ers... Let's not buy any more of them. You're really weird bro.

Giggs for me like. Seriously, I'd rather take Ryan Giggs out of retirement than have this twerp anywhere near this football club.

Yup. That's the main reason for not having a wage cap. Leave it as it is. Let the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and let there be a massive gulf between clubs such that the football and competition deteriorate to the point where the sport is no longer recognisable. Let it be more about Pogs and Lukaks dabbing and less about an exciting competitive league.

As I've mentioned with Figures, I'm sure if the players they bought were our market then we'd have spent that too. I could imagine this place if we'd spent £40m on what they've paid for. I wish I supported Huddersfield :'(

Pogba has to be one of the lamest fuckers going. I hope his career goes to shit.

Darlow was the best keeper in the championship last season His stats are very good played 34, conceded 32. 34 games and 13 clean sheets. Not many better according to the stats http://www.foxsports.com/soccer/stats?competition=23&season=20160&category=GOALKEEPING&pos=0&team=0&sort=6&sortOrder=1 This is a sarcastic post, right? Sarcastic stats ?................... are you for real ? More the fact they support the ridiculous suggestion that he was the best keeper in the league. If not Darlow then who ? Dummett.

They might all be fine as shot-stoppers, but none of them command their area too well nor can they organise a defence. I think the latter is the main reason Rafa wants an experienced big character keeper.

Maybe Darlow wasn't the outstanding bestest of the bestest keeper in the championship last season, but he was definitely one of the better ones. To laugh it off like it's some utter madness to rank him up there is.....laughable

Yup. It will be them. They will finish top 7 this season. Magnificent club, fantastic fans, superb stadium, scintillating football, and their handsome b****** of a manager knows Klopp. We are literally f***ed. Rattled marra Really jealous of them tbh. Rather have David Vanger than Rafa iyam. He plays like Klopp.

Yup. It will be them. They will finish top 7 this season. Magnificent club, fantastic fans, superb stadium, scintillating football, and their handsome bastard of a manager knows Klopp. We are literally fucked.

Yup. Think I've already spotted a spleen or two

If our targets to start in central midfield aren't worth us paying £12m for they probably shouldn't be targets. It's a nothing amount for a player in his prime with significant PL experience. I totally agree. Remains to be seen if we're really interested or if it's just paper/agent talk. Pretty sure we can afford 12M if we want him. We might be haggling because of his injury record, but not because we can't scrape together the money to pay for him.

So that's our spending done then? It quite clearly means we're struggling to agree that he's worth 12M and nothing to do with how much cash we have to spend.

Game of puns must end.

Shame

Loan or perm?

How massively underwhelming, guessing 2 loans and maybe a few million for Lawrence? We were more ambitious last summer, those 3 combined have pretty much zero top level football experience. Do you really think Benitez only wants to build a side for this season? Getting certain players on loan could potentially mean tying them down emotionally or even contractually in the future (loan with option to buy). Looking at the dearth of talent both Liverpool and Chelsea have in the respective positions of Ojo and RLC, we could be bringing those two with an eye on a future permanent transfer, the same way we did with Atsu. Rafa is a master strategist, and he'll definitely be looking at the future, and not just this season.

I'm of the same thinking tbh, then I remember Lascelles is captain and for some reason I can't see Rafa changing that so.. he'll be a starter? Rafa would drop his own mother if it meant getting the right line-up to win a match. (no offence Mrs. B)