Neil

Don't talk such utter sh*te. It doesn't matter if Joe got on his knees and licked their boots - the b*st*rds will ALWAYS invent crap if it isn't already there to blow out of proportion. They've done it time and again in the past - they have never done any other. The only way is to treat them as they are - verminous snakes. INCLUDING so-called "geordies" like Shaun Custis. Alan "licks southern journos for free" Oliver too. Bob Cass less so, I would say. Embarrased he's upset the journos ? Jeebers, man..... If my manager did something like that, I'd at first have a "go on, get in!" mentality but really, I'd be effing embarassed. Personal opinion really.

In fairness, it'll be more nearer £300m, and a further £200m needed to buy their annual quota of unnecessary lightweight midfielders who won't settle into the team.

maybe it does actually. I agree it's totally unprofessional, but I'm on his side. If he doesn't stand up, it continues. And that's the best way. If they do it again, then there'll be trouble. As I've said, I think it's unprofessional in the extreme however I can imagine it's a good feeling that he's 'got one over' the media.

I hope you're not implying that I'm supporting the press. I'm saying that Kinnear has made a mistake in doing this, and flak is going to increase further upon anything Newcastle do wrong. I'm not saying it would be justified at all. Not being a Newcastle fan I imagine I don't appreciate the plus side of this all, i.e. having a right old go at the media, getting one over the "Southern toffs". And Edd, did Howard actually say that or was it extreme media manufacturing? And yes, I don't defend Cahill for his disrespect to the ref. I'd like to know however what on earth that's got to do with my opinion of Kinnear's actions.

Unprofessional in the extreme I'm afraid. At first it may seem as a "go on Joe, get in!" moment but really, it's an utter embarassment.

Since the draw was made still a bit peeved off that we automatically qualify for the UEFA Cup through a 5th place finish, and get the hardest draw possible, yet Man City for example, who got through by I'm not sure, being a nice team? They get FC No-One. Still, we're not playing anywhere near the standard of last season, so we're screwed.

Sigh. Mountain now.

You probably couldn't ask for a better game. Regardless of the result tonight, our fitness will be lower, and if we do end up losing then confidence will be especially low. Our defence is parting like the Red Sea, and whilst you shouldn't necessarily expect something, I'm (sadly) not going to be surprised if you get something from this. Be wary of our home form though. It's very, err, consistent.

Y'know how people often break their goalscoring ducks/break records against Everton..... Well.....

At first I thought you were joking, but SC could be tempted by the money, plus Ranger will be brought in to score his obligatory 4 goals per game.

Surely it's floodgates, how would it be viable to introuce technology for one element of the game when the others would still be lacking the added analysis? Hypothetically it'd be a farse if you could stop to see whether the ball crossed the line, yet penalty decisions were still for example being made wrongly. All or nothing imo. You wouldn't have a stop and see anything, that's my point. It'd be a piece of piss to install the necessary ball/post sensors to alert the referee instantly. It's a goal or it didn't go in. There's no analysis required. I agree that the sensor concept would be very simple and quick, however my point is I'd expect that people will be calling for other elements of the game to use the relevant technology, if the goalline technology proves to be successful. Just how I see it panning out, anyway. I do however accept the goalline sensor would in theory be very easy to manage.

Surely it's floodgates, how would it be viable to introuce technology for one element of the game when the others would still be lacking the added analysis? Hypothetically it'd be a farse if you could stop to see whether the ball crossed the line, yet penalty decisions were still for example being made wrongly. All or nothing imo.

Surely the lack of confidence in this thread must fill you with some hope?! Not really, we look equally as bad at the minute and have just put in the least spirited derby performance I've ever seen. You've got a new boss coming in that could give you an initial boost. Plus, Michael Owen is a t***. Maybe we'll just gift each other a few goals and draw 3-3 or something. Everyone's focussing on Newcastle's chaotic anarchy at the moment, but in the background our season is falling apart before its begun. Defence is shocking, UEFA group stages is more unlikely than likely, leaving us out of 2 competitions at the start of October. And Phil Neville is still in our first team. 1-1.

Not sure you have many sympathisers on here Not particularly defending Cahill's petulance, more highlighting the incompetence of the refereeing that he gave a red card for the tackle. And I can't see how Terry's role as England captain didn't influence the decision of this pathetic organisation that's supposed to be running football in this country. This so-called era of respect is a farse at the moment, respect first and foremost has to be earned, and that means referees sharpening up their game.

Apologies as this is a bit off topic, but I'm interested in people's thoughts on the Cahill dismissal at the weekend, and the subsequent failed appeal. Do you think it's double standards, as we're not in the Sky 4? (Referring to Terry's successful appeal for a similar offence). Do you think it was just crap refereeing? Or do you think Riley got it spot on? Personally I think it was Tim's reaction to it and him not going to the ref straight away that ultimately did the damage, but you can't help but feel the sweet FA once again are trying out their punishments on anyone other than the top 4 (e.g. the Moyes charge, what a joke).

Wise goes to the shop to get some items he needed. Hilarious. Honest.

Aren't the games picked before the season starts?

Come on people, Young is developing into an excellent player, but don't get carried away. More exciting than most players? Yes. Love to have him in my team? Yes. A world beater? No, but there's time. And I wouldn't call Arteta a typical winger, more a creative midfielder who's stuck out wide because he doesn't have the physical attributes to compete in the middle. Which makes me think, would I rather have Arteta or Young in my team? I feel so sorry for Arteta in that team of eejits at the moment... the only one with some composure and real technical quality.

you just need to play us and you'll be back on track. Tbh Dinho, although you may well play crap against us next week, I'd be surprised if we had the basic ability to take advantage of it. Whilst Newcastle are looking shambolically bad, we're just plain bog-standard-out-of-any-ideas-hump-it-upfield bad.

Depressing to be an Evertonian today, awful performance. Absolutely no positives, to take Roy Keane's words.

With all due respect, there are very few managers who'd have the sheer sanity to take charge, even for a month. Just be glad you got someone, and get behind him.

It's the attitudes towards football that's changed. People generally don't seem to get excited about it like they used to. All the talk through the first few days of the week was about endlessly picking out the weaknesses, the strengths, the main areas for improvement, of the previous performance. Then, as Thursday and Friday arrive, the buzz of going to your club's ground for a 3pm kick off. Nope. For a start, be damn pleased if your side actually plays at 3pm on a Saturday. Or should that be, 5.30 on Sultana? Midweek games also take the excitement out of the previously iconic Saturday game. We all say we don't like how the media (TV) is taking the soul out of football. However, people pay for the new super duper mega sports channel pack that will guarantee them 25,000 games per day, with incisive buffoons such as Jamie Redknapp pretending he knows tactics. So, we're told "go to the game then". Simple. I'll just crack out that spare 40 quid I have for a decent seat every week, or what, 500-600 for a season ticket? Not sure about exact figures tbh. People like myself would love nothing more than getting to every game for my club. Sadly, I've been totally priced out of it. And so we're left with a sorry state of affairs. But, for me, I still love it. It's a possibly irrational but still clear love of the game, and my club. But I live with every ooh, every aah, every oh-so-close. I love the banter, I love when we score goals, and I love the game itself. Go on. You know you do too.

For anyone who saw the Everton game... just a few thoughts I posted on another forum. Opinions welcome. It's a shock to the system really, the one thing in the past 24 months I've been used to is relatively solid defending from the backline and last night couldn't have been further from the truth. Like most of our games, the most worrying aspect was not just the goals conceded which were both horiffic defending/communication, but the manner of their attacks. Every attack, they looked like scoring. Is it the defence turning into a shower of shite, or is it the lack of real protection from a new-look central midfield? I'm not sure personally, but please sort it out DM! Whilst the 2nd goal was obviously a breakdown in communication, I'm more concerned about the 1st. Lescott was at fault yes, but the ball was an excellent one. My beef is with the 3 other defenders, none of which had the basic intelligence to spot the man sprinting towards where the ball was obviously going to go. Now that's concerning. I feel sorry for Arteta sometimes. Whilst he's obviously technically superior to the rest of the squad, I'm unsure what's hard about passing the ball 10 yards, that stumps Osman, Jagielka etc. Simple things like giving people options, and playing quick simple passes, were not on show last night. Nothing particularly amazing required, just some intelligence and movement. With regards to the second leg, we're certainly not in a good position however, I fear the day that Everton Football Club would find a trip to (with all due respect) Standard Liege daunting. They're a decent side yes, but IMO we made them look better than they were due to our, at times, non-existent defending. With the defence of last year, I'd fancy our chances of going over there and doing the business. And the way things are going, don't rule out a 3-3 draw!

General odds, Ajax, CSKA Moscow, Hamburg and Benfica all 25's or 33s!

He would have to prove that Guthrie assaulted him though and it was not just a very poor challenge wouldn't he? My law is more than a bit rusty, but I'm fairly sure that you cannot sue for an injury ocurring from normal play in football (you remove the duty of care argument as you are agreeing to take part in an activity with a good chance of injury), and a mistimed/misplaced challenge would be deemed to be 'normal play'. I'm sure someone on here has a better grasp of the Personal Injury aspect here and will correct me if I'm wrong You pretty much have it in a nutshell, Fagan would be unsuccessful as there's a reasonably foreeseeable chance of injury in a game like football.