MKSC

Say hi to my Dad for me. 5'10", Glasses, Dark/Grey hair. More than likely have a camera with him and wearing a Blue Square jacket.

My old man is off to the game at the heed tonight as a guest of the chairman Graham Wood. He know's him from when he was chairman down at Hampton & Richmond. I might ask him to try and grab El Pedro's autograph for me. Not on a photo like, just a plain piece of paper. I don't want to scare the kids.

An experienced body to do a job at the back. Happy enough, but fully expecting it to go tits up.

MKSC >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The Rest. Or at least that is what Stu said in the PM he sent me.

Ray??

Didn't he get a considerable amount of splinterage over the last couple of years. I'm sure I recall him being dropped after a couple of shockers and Fulop getting some games.

We'll never know. Seems they only sign our rejects anyway. Aye, I guess not. But seriously, not one. How deluded can you get. You coould probably look at the majority of lower half premier league clubs and find at least one player who might improve our squad and I can't see them being any different.

I think so too, but it's going to be an almighty pile-up this year. I'd love Liverpool to miss out again as that would probably bankrupt them. Previously I would have agreed with this but I really want Roy Hodgson to turn them around, if only to prove beyond any doubt what a hopeless cretin Benitez was. I have a lot of time for old Woy and it would be a shame for him to end up on the scrapheap if it all goes belly up at Anfield. I'd prefer them to win the league than Manure or Chelsea again, and certainly before City with their ridiculous player collecting.

"There isn't a single Newcastle player that would get in our team."

;D

I think the inaugral "Colin Rance Victory Award" went to you, for finally breaking your duck! Congrats, here...have, er, a car freshener? I didn't realise I was giving out prizes. I'm more than happy to let Kezzie take the plaudits and enjoy this momentous occasion.

MKSC if you or anyone else needs a place to crash or anything like that I can sort something out Cheers Gaz, offers of somewhere to crash are always aplenty. You are all a really generous bunch and it's greatly appreciated. It's the travelling that costs the most. I stuck £50 in my car before leaving london and had to put another £80 in whilst in town and on the way back down. Neesy, The Regulars and QBG all chipped in but I was still well out of pocket. I reckon I'll be megabus-ing it up next time.

Just to clarify, I didn't say defending itself was a piece of piss, it isn't. Just that, for me, it's a hell of a lot easier than being a striker. I've played every position on the park and played to a pretty high standard through my youth and younger adulthood. I always found it a lot more frustrating playing up front and more often than not I felt I'd had a poor game unless I'd scored. Playing at the back is a lot simpler. The basics of it boil down to getting in the way of the ball and not allowing the striker time to settle or to get away from you. For sure your mistakes are a lot more magnified and more likely to result in a goal for the oppo but as I said, I can normally pick out a couple of mistakes made by forwards or midfielders before the ball got to me. I just find it a lot more straightforward being a Centre Back. Goals win games, and that's why being a Striker is, for me, the hardest job on the pitch.

I'm in. Provisionaly, of course. EDIT: Confirmation as early as possible please as travel will need to be sorted. Hopefully I'll get to stay out on the night if it's booked up early enough.

I concur with our toffee compadre, and I said as much in the pub yesterday. Defending is a piece of piss compared to being a striker. The responsibility on the shoulders of the front man is massive. If they play shite it effects the whole team's performance. You've got to get the touches right, hold the ball if needed and be ready to take what little scoring opportunity might come your way. And those opportunities can be few and far between. When I'm playing CB and we concede I can usually pick out 2 or 3 mistakes that have been made further up the pitch before it gets anywhere in my vicinity. And that's assuming the move/ball has come anywhere near me in the first place. When you are a forward and you get a scoring chance, it's normally because your team-mates have done everything well to get the ball to you in that position. If you fuck up it's squarely on your shoulders. That's why strikers have to be so selfish, single-minded and self-confident. It's a giganticly huge responsibility. If you want a run out up front I've got no problem with it though Yorkie. Everyone pays the money and is entitled to enjoy their game as much as the next man. Have you thought about right-midfield rather than right-back? There's slightly less pressure defensively and you can get forward. You need to be confident in your delivery though as losing the ball in good attacking positions really makes loud mouthed cockney centre back's very angry.

Where else do you see yourself playing??

Don't worry Stu, everyone plays bad passes every now and then. Everyone's been very complimentary about my game but I know I mis-placed passes on a few occasions and there was more than one instance (more like 5 or 6) of me nipping in to win a ball and it spooning off my toe straight to an opponent leaving me well out of position. I'm very harsh on people making simple mistakes with the basics of the game, and that includes myself.

For the non-believers, i.e. Colin, amongst us. There was nothing wrong with your goal yesterday mate. An excellent finish, although the 6 foot keeper standing in the six yard box should be a little disappointed with himself. However your pass to the regulars which deflected and somehow found it's way luckily to a team-mate and led to a goal, was an awful ball. You properly got away with it. I still love you though.

Not long been home. Absolutely shattered but, as always, it is absolutely worth it. I can't possibly explain how much I love being in Newcastle and playing footy with you guys. What a great bunch of lads (copyright C.Hughton 2009/10). Thanks for the positive comments about my performance. I thought I did well but there were some very good performances from a few players. Deano, KenDahl and Peter on our team were excellent in the second half. And Burnip, Kev and Heza gave our defence a hard time. I thought for most of the game it was quite even and very competitive. The ref went a bit silly with the foul throws, but some of them were truly awful efforts. Well done for Disco for spending so much time in the sticks, I thought you had a good game and there was little you could do with the goals you let in. Madras, what a legend. Some real ability, if not much mobility, and some great banter in the pub. Top bloke. All in all I had another great time in Newcastle. I wish I could have stayed out for the night but that wasn't a possibility this time. Next time I'm up it's a definite though. Look forward to seeing those of you playing against West Ham in a couple of weeks, it should be a good weekend. Vive les Bleus.

About to set off to pick up Neesy and The Regulars (and further up the country QBG). See you all in the morning.

Which topic is that? Appropriate footwear or Unfair teams?

I said this yesterday. As long as they aren't metal tipped you'll be fine.

No need to do Neesy in. His mere presence in the side has a negative impact on them. If he is injured they are a better team.

Are you still moaning man?? I guess when we see who actually turns up in the morning we can make an assessment of the equality of it all. I'm still not convinced that everyone who is supposed to turn up will tbh. Not moaning just enquiring. I wonder how much enquiring you'll be doing should the red team triumph tomorrow. Unlikely as it is to happen, obvs. Like I said, we'll see who actually turns up in the morning before we argue over the fairness of the teams.

Are you still moaning man?? I guess when we see who actually turns up in the morning we can make an assessment of the equality of it all. I'm still not convinced that everyone who is supposed to turn up will tbh.