Village Idiot

On the Spanish telly, nice. This will be my first NUFC game since Stoke at home.

Benítez always buys a lot from Spain, I think he has a decent eye for the most part. He loves his workhorses; most of his best signings have always been players with little glam about them but a lot of determination. He turned Mista into La Liga's top scorer... Of course he has his duds, but when he goes to the market, he goes there with a plan. NUFC has had no plan when buying players these past years, besides "value for money".

Remembering a post from 9 years ago, I don't think I remember what I wrote last week

I'm preparing for possibly the greatest vertical drop on the emotional roller coaster we've ever had to experience. Still, while obviously tinged with an almost overwhelming shadow of relegation, and him buggering of before any sort of project even starts... it's nice to dream. I'm probably going to be more anxious about your run-in than ours, makes me feel weird

People are talking about winning 5 in 10, when the team has won 6 league games all season... I'm pretty sure the morale surge alone of signing Benítez will do a lot, but I'm really afraid that it will be too late. And IT WILL SUCK.

It's about winning the fucking games. I just can't get my head around that "used to relegation battles" business

I will resist my urges to mock Arsenal until after we play them this Wednesday. Oh, what the hell. http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/clubpenguinpookie/images/5/57/Nelson_haha.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140708210759

Doesn't look like Costa bit him. He opens his mouth as he gets up close and personal to whisper some stuff to him, but he doesn't look like actual biting. Barry would have made more of a deal of it, if that were the case. Still, Costa is a headcase.

Leon Best with the brace. Always liked that lad.

If he stays fit Thiago will go on to be one of the best midfielders in the world, still bitter about losing him. Fortunately, things haven't gone too bad for us since then. I wonder if he'll follow Pep to City.

Boro, Burnley, Sheff Wed. Boro and Sheff Wed were PL teams when I started following the competition in my teens, so I kinda want them there. One of my best English mates is a smoggie too.

Samper taking the field. Nice. Also, I hope we never have a penalty shootout in the CL. God how can we be so brilliant going forward and yet so awful at something so basic as taking pens?

Even wacko's back. Happy times.

A lot of managers do that if they haven't had time to work with the players. I'm pleased that Benítez doesn't care. As I said, he's always struck me as a no bullshit manager.

That said, Benítez made such average (but hardworking) midfielders like Albelda and Baraja look like world-beaters, so we'll see.

Aye, so true Aye, pretty sure I said that would never happen too. Somebody's gone and edited NUFC's current save.

We've spent the best part of £80 million to go backwards, spending the same to go forwards would be a no brainer. Charnley, Carr and Moncur have all screwed up and put their easy jobs at risk, screwing a good manager doesn't make sense and they will know that. I'll almost guarantee our defence is sorted in the summer if we do stay up. We'll not be buying more midfielders while we can't score or keep a clean sheet. Benitez is their potential get out of jail card and they'll know it so self preservation will tell them to back the manager. I agree. Small thing though; none of NUFC's current crop of midfielders strikes me as having what Benítez looks for in a midfielder (tactical discipline, good conditioning, not afraid of the ball, and then more tactical discipline) so they'll definitely will be in the market for one or two this summer.

Cmon Dave, paste the story man your slipping [emoji14] It's not up yet, just seen the back page from tomorrow. That's higher than any La Liga manager besides Lucho and Simeone (Zidane is on less than that, for example).

Yeh, totally noticed. What a refreshing change. The talk of a winner. No relegation experience...because he's a winner. Wants 3 points in every game...because he's a winner. If we lose trying to win, then fair enough. It's the losing while not trying that has been killing me for years. And losing before we even kick-off. Mr P's favourite approach. We have a proven winner leading us! He's also zero-bullshit in his interviews, which will make a far refreshing change from the recent incumbents. Note that this is not always a positive, since he's a bit tone-deaf from time to time. Just gets better Us lot will love that. My overall impression - going from his times at Valencia and Real Madrid - is that he just doesn't give a f*** about all the media circus, manager mind games, spinning stuff... He just cares about being a manager. This makes him a very easy target sometimes (and sometimes he doesn't help himself on that regard), but as said he doesn't give a f***.

Yeh, totally noticed. What a refreshing change. The talk of a winner. No relegation experience...because he's a winner. Wants 3 points in every game...because he's a winner. If we lose trying to win, then fair enough. It's the losing while not trying that has been killing me for years. And losing before we even kick-off. Mr P's favourite approach. We have a proven winner leading us! He's also zero-bullshit in his interviews, which will make a far refreshing change from the recent incumbents. Note that this is not always a positive, since he's a bit tone-deaf from time to time.

100 pages in 3 days. How long was HBA's thread at the same point in time?

Getting a lot of coverage in Spain. During his stint at Liverpool, Liverpool became Spain's most popular English team - wonder if you'll become a name again over here if things don't go pear shaped. I was here first in any case!

Also, I'm willing to give him a pass for being Real Madrid through and through and embrace the fact NUFC now have a Spanish manager

Please don't get fucking relegated now. NOT NOW.

"A matter of hours" according to As, although they just seem to be parroting other sources and not their own.