Interpolic

So they told Shearer what they were doing by email then claimed he had been consulted on it, surprise surprise.

I think Bigi will end up being one of the better ones if he keeps developing as you'd hope.

Possibly, it doesn't really matter to me what the number is as long as the players coming in are of the right standard. Which in general they have been. Not going to get into this tbh but we've left ourselves way too short in various transfer windows, therefore the point I'm making about balancing the books being paramount should matter to you and to every NUFC supporter. You can't argue with the quality we've brought in, I agree. However a good example of the thriftiness is how ridiculously hard we've pushed our luck in the forward and wide positions. People moaned about Cisse last year but if he got injured we'd have went down.

The net transfer spend since Ashley came in must be around zero, if that. It'll always hover around that level at best IMO.

Bloody hell.

You're definitely not determined to defend Ashley no matter what, yet you're on here defending the Kinnear appointment. I thought it was the first move of Ashley's that you couldn't in any way defend, but you've managed it pretty sharpish. You couldn't make it up.

What were they doing like, just generally being obnoxious pricks?

These luminous boots are fucking shit like, no idea why they're so in vogue.

Point-missing central in this thread. Did Shearer deserve a tribute in the first place? That's upto you. Does he suddenly not deserve one of any sort now?

He wants us to be Everton despite them being thoroughly skint and us having achieved far more in the Premier League than Everton ever will. Sorry Neil.

Just re: this point, he paid it off because he was forced to under the terms of the SJP mortgage agreement having not bothered doing due diligence. Only a fucking cretin could argue that his incompetence is somehow evidence of his benevolence. Well aye, fair enough. Even worse then. But we posted a profit last year, let's all toss ourselves off into oblivion.

Agree, Tahita are basically beaten at half time - embarrassing.

It's not just about what he's done well - explore every possible revenue stream (albeit to a fault), employing a good scout and backing his judgment and refusing to bow to pressure to overspend, pay off the club debt (that's not a skill or anything, but not every chairman would've done it), it's the things he hasn't done badly like mortgage our future. He's prioritised making us into a viable business over just about everything else, which at this point in our history is good. How do I explain him not seeing Carr as the main strength etc etc etc....? I don't. As I've said a few times, I think it's a totally daft decision and the first move of Ashley's that I can't in any way defend. I agree, Carr is the crown jewel. I'm all about bank balance + transfer policy = you will do good, and Carr is key to that. I think it's barking mad to piss off Carr and I think it's completely insane to employ Kinnear. You seem to think I'm determined to defend Ashley no matter what, but it should be obvious that I'm not. Well it is just about what he's done well, since that's the question I asked. I'd argue that the only major thing he's done well is recognising he had a good scout and basing our transfer policy around that. That goes hand in hand with the financial stuff since we largely only spend what we bring in (at best) on good-value players from the Continent. There is no excuse for the steps backwards we've made in terms of other sources of revenue, such as commercial, matchday, etc. Regarding your first paragraph, it could well be argued that's all for his own benefit. He paid off the debt to begin with because he had the cash. He's started taking the money back, £11m last year. That will continue happening I'd imagine. I don't see what the obsession is with the financial stuff when it's seen us going backwards in many respects. There can be a happy medium you know, and I don't understand a football fan who wanks over spreadsheets or the idea that we could be as big as Everton. Regarding your last point, I do think you'll defend him (almost) no matter what, it doesn't matter if you're coming back on here with a more softly-softly, moderate tone, you're actually pretty much a militant Ashley supporter from everything I've read from you. I know not one person who's anywhere near as big a fan of his as you are. Top and bottom of it is that we haven't progressed as a football club and the last 5 years have been littered with humilation as an NUFC fan.

Torres, you fucking mug.

The crowd are great here.

What has Ashley done well apart from employing a good scout and backing his judgement, and how do you explain him seemingly not seeing that as the main strength and thoroughly jeopardising it with an absolutely barking mad decision?

I don't see why it's so daft to question the symbolism of removing a reference to a club legend from the ground. A club with a bit of class would have replaced one tribute with another. It's hardly comparable to the shite we've encountered since Sunday but it's another case where something has been clumsily handled, so they've dug their own grave with the press and can't complain when it's jumped on. Honestly, a bit of tact and intelligence on the PR front would do the club the world of good.

I bet they try to win the game more than we do our next competitive game.

Cavani deemed too skinny.

JFK was referred to in one of the papers as a "xxxxxxxx grenade", can't remember what, but for me this is where the logic lies...it's the only thing that makes sense due to some fallout MA wants DL and AP gone so he's wheeled out a court jester to publicly ridicule and undermine AP at every turn...thrown him in like a grenade i'd say we're basically waiting to see if AP's pride is stronger than his desire to hang onto the wage packet/prestige job MA isn't this stupid, you don't make his type of money by being stupid, you just don't He's stupid to have got himself into this position in the first place, the manager should have been on a contract of no longer than 3 years, like every other manager in the country. As always though, he thinks he knows better.

Look at me, I'm Mike Ashley and I can do whatever I like so I'll employ my grossly under-qualified, fat, alcoholic mess of a mate to ruffle the feathers of 2 other twats I used to be mates with but have decided I don't like anymore. That's about it as far as logic goes.

I'd also trust his son with my wife. Proper pillars of society.

This. Expensive, luke warm beer and takes ages to get served. If it was called Fumaca's nobody would give a shit at all. That's sort of the point though isn't it, that it's a shame there won't be a bar called Shearers anymore as it was a nice touch and he's probably our most famous player across Europe. And he probably doesn't want his name associated with that shit hole. You asked him like? Why didn't they call the new place Shearers? I was being facetious man. Lowlights more like.