The Prophet

First half an hour was some of the best football we've played this season, was helped by Peterborough's statue-esque approach like. As expected we dropped the pace a bit and became a bit sloppy, consequently we ever so slightly let them back into the game. We need to come at them hard second half, kill them off.

At least half time is coming up.

Watford two up.

West Brom two up.

West Brom in front.

Jonas took it past about four players before slipping it past the keeper, clever finish. Carroll's was a header from a corner.

Starting to lose a bit of the urgency, to be expected though.

Helguson puts Watford in front against Preston.

Knobing them, surely only a matter of time if we keep this intensity up. Jonas playing like a man possesed.

Regarding last season. In any other situation he shouldn't have played. He was carrying an injury and was desperately short of confidence. I remember watching him step up to take the penalty against Arsenal and I just knew he was going to miss, he bottled it as soon he was given the ball. The problem was he was the only player that even vaguely looked creative going forward which meant there was an over reliance on him. Given the problems above and the fact he was hardly consistent at the best of times it's obvious to see how it ended in disaster.

He wasn't exactly a prolific goal scorer either.

When Obafemi Martins took the number nine shirt it is unlikely he realised the burden to be placed on his shoulders. Unknown to some and questioned by others it was disputed if he was the right man for the job, a question probably still worth asking. His potential was evident. Lightening pace, a powerful shot and a decent jump meant he was (relatively) quickly amongst the goals and as a consequence, swiftly became a fans favourite. However amongst the memories of goals against Spurs, Blackburn and the Mancs lay feelings of frustration. To quote Andy Gray, Martins was “the scorer of great goals” rather than a “great goal scorer”. Although it’s cliched it’s probably correct. In Martins we had a striker capable of unleashing a thirty yard screamer but also a striker capable of blazing over from a matter of yards. In our time of need we probably saw the latter too often for our own good. In his last season here we saw a forward woefully short of confidence. The need for his pace and unpredictability were evident in his absence and while his effort was appreciated his form was not. Unassisted by many of his team mates Martins left on the lowest note of all having been relegated in a team that badly lacked goals. Now at Wolfsburg you can’t help but feel his best years are ahead of him. Still a raw talent but performing with the confidence we saw in his earlier Newcastle years. Personally when I look back at his stint there are a lot of positives, but it can’t be denied his contributions last season left a bitter taste in the mouth. On his day he really is an unstoppable force but his day didn’t seem to dawn all that often in a black and white shirt.

I'm hardly complaining, the thirty-odd percent who said they weren't going to protest were asked why and I've given my reasons. Ashley is already comfortable, in his club statements he's said how much he regrets buying the club and how unhappy he is. If I felt something could be done to help remove him I would take part, a protest however will not. Ashley knows how angry we all are, he's hardly going to run at the first sight of a chanting crowd. Like I've said in my both my previous posts I hope I'm proved wrong. Good luck to all those who take part.

We all know what Ashley has done though. We don't need telling how bad things are and we don't condone the idiotic acts he's commited. Most supporters have had enough, they've been through the mill and it's shite. You don't think Ashley reads the papers or watches the TV? He'll be fully aware we've had enough, and he'll be fully aware he's a hate figure. He's been unhappy here for a while and he still hasn't budged, you think a daft, one off protest will change that? What bothers me is other so called "supporters" telling me how I should act and behave as a fellow supporter. So you go ahead have your protest, I hope I'm wrong and it's a success, but I'll be shocked if it does little more than give David Craig a change to earn his pay cheque for the week.

In all seriousness though, a pre and post-match protest are limited in what they achieve. Ashley has been threatened, mocked, criticised and has stood firm throughout, although I agree with the sentiment it seems like a pointless exercise. Now I know no one who takes part in the protest actually thinks that alone will scare Mike away, they are merely venting their frustration and anger. Whether I or any fan agrees or disagrees they have a right as paying customers to do this. Now I've supported the club since I was a nipper. I felt the pain of relegation and I'm experiencing the humiliation that the regime is currently dragging us through, just like every other fan. If I really believed a protest or any other action would contribute to Ashley's demise I'd be there. However, he's is a hard nosed hate figure in this city and he damn well knows it, he will sell this club when he feels like it. With this in mind I feel like a lot of supporters there is just no point to this protest, it's just going to end with Sky broadcasting a load of drunkards and charvers running round with misspelt banners. I wish good look to all those attending and I hope I'm wrong, but this is effectively a massive waste of time.

Oh no, not this again...

It's just stupidity from the club. With the amount of money at stake in the modern game you'd think they'd have a specialist draftsman to clearly outline the significant points of the contract to both parties. That way if the contact is undermined by either party they have no one to blame but themselves.

I know what you mean but what be best for the greater good of the club? Getting rid of Ashley or the potential of a humiliating exit from the Premier League? The latter would probably damage our egos more than anything.

How old are you? If you don't like the topic don't fucking read it.

I missed that meeting. Link. It might just of been speculation but I can't be arsed to trawl the internet trying to confirm it. It's a thread based on specultion anyway. Ashley putting the club up for sale in the summer is a possability, which is essentially what the thread is about.

Thanks for your fantastic contributions to the thread. I apologies for trying to generate some discussion on a forum, I'm disgusted with myself. Edit: Not Dave.

Reading and listening to football opinions one of the most over used phrases is "big club". But what is a big club? What properties give it such a status?

Sitting top of the Championship is currently the only glimmer of light in a particularly cloudy sky. Sitting bored silly it's interesting to wonder what comes next for the club. Given the points return from the beginning of the season promotion is a real possibility but as much as we want to be back in the top flight will it hold any benefit for the long term future of the club? Ashley has already made it clear he'll make an attempt to sell should we earn promotion, a notion that doesn't bold well for our prospects. Come the New Year Hughton can expect a shoe-string budget while any attempt to sell up in the summer will see the squad neglected. Going into the Premiership with little change to the current crop is the stuff of nightmares, having togetherness and team spirit is one thing but it takes more than that to prevent a good hiding from the quality in the top flight. Even those able to charm the birds from the trees would struggle to shift a club saddled with a sizeable overdraft and a squad destined to be mired in a relegation scrap, let alone Ashley. Most self respecting business men will baulk at an inflated price, the only possibility another idiot with more money than sense. What if the masterful appointment of Hughton fails and we remain in the second tier? Will the club go up for sale or can we expect further asset stripping and minimal investment? It's difficult to speculate with such an unpredictable regime in charge but it's tough not to wonder what the future holds. Our best bet of removing Ashley could mean a humiliating relegation from the Premier League but many would argue it is a price worth paying. However given the squad depth and the man in charge of organising them we might not even get that far. It's just so difficult to be positive when all the answers are either shrouded in negativity or simply leave us posed with another question.

Although he isn't playing well it there may be more to it than meets the eye as it is obvious his style is lost in this division and in this team. You watch him at times and you sit and wonder how on earth he is in the Argentina squad, then when you look at his technique it makes sense. For Argentina he has Messi, Milito, Tevez, even bloody Palermo playing in front of him. None of these players are massive and all like the ball into feet. Last season there occassion where you saw Jonas sliding an intelligant through ball to Owen or Martins and for Argentina he can do this because of the movement and footballing ability of the players in front of him. Then you look at our forward line. Big strong forwards who can cause problems from a quality flighted delivery into the box. None of them have particualrly intelligant movement. They don't need someone who is going to slide balls through to them they need someone who is going to consitantly bang in quality deliveries from the flanks. His other asset, his dribbling is lost in the league. A lot of the time you do not get the time to run at people without a hefty challange coming in. Born in Argentina and playing his trade in Spain it's probably a new world to him, different to even the Premier League.