Hughesy

Bloody irritating - wish they would announce these in advance - if only so you can plan your travel and weekends a bit better. Arsenal probably works out ok for me, but getting up for the Liverpool and Sunderland games is now much harder.

An accurate analysis.

That's just embarrassing.

Agree. Shola was poor - but pumping the ball up to him as a lone striker against Hangeland is brainless.

The balls (10+ in the first half alone) were played to him at chest height for a reason; when they go to his feet the ball ends up out of play. Actually most of the time the ball was played to his feet, he didn't have any options on. Movement around him was bad.

Undoubtedly poor today, but would have helped if he'd had more than 5 balls played anywhere near him for 90 mins. Most of the balls up to him were abysmal.

I posted this in a previous thread on the subject - but you do hear comments at away matches still. Guy behind me at Portsmouth a few years ago was hurling all sorts of racist abuse at Lua-Lua.

I'll never get the whole 'stigma' around asking the ref if something is worthy of a yellow or red card. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less if someone asks for a red card or not. It's like the massive stigma against diving, but it being ok and 'part and parcel' of the game to clatter someone into the advertising hoardings with a reckless challenge.

I never quite understand this desperation to get a pint at half time - but fair enough I suppose if that's what people want/need to do.

I could give you plenty of championship and league 1 strikers who can hold up the ball decently. Go on then. Then also tell me how many of them have scored goals in the Premiership and how their goalscoring record compares to Shola's in the Championship. Jon Parkin, Jason Scotland, Marvin Emnes etc How many premiership goals? I'd bet they get more than 4 a season which Shola averages (he average's 3.9 a season currently). Shola has been the luckiest footballer to have ever played in the premiership as I can bet 90% of other teams would have gotten rid and he'd be playing in lower championship which is his level. That list completely invalidates any point you had. The point you made in the first was cringeworthy anycase. Eh? That I said that holding the ball is a skill? Or asking you to actually back up your wild assertions about League 1 and Championship strikers being better than Ameobi with actual names? And then watching you flounder around and name Jon Parkin et al?

I could give you plenty of championship and league 1 strikers who can hold up the ball decently. Go on then. Then also tell me how many of them have scored goals in the Premiership and how their goalscoring record compares to Shola's in the Championship. Jon Parkin, Jason Scotland, Marvin Emnes etc How many premiership goals? I'd bet they get more than 4 a season which Shola averages (he average's 3.9 a season currently). Shola has been the luckiest footballer to have ever played in the premiership as I can bet 90% of other teams would have gotten rid and he'd be playing in lower championship which is his level. That list completely invalidates any point you had.

I could give you plenty of championship and league 1 strikers who can hold up the ball decently. Go on then. Then also tell me how many of them have scored goals in the Premiership and how their goalscoring record compares to Shola's in the Championship.

Not quite sure people are downplaying the ability to hold the ball up well. It's a skill and not a skill that all players have - so all this talk of it being the bare minimum we should expect is, quite frankly, nonsense.

Why not? All profit is profit and Ba held all the cards when he moved here when he could've gone anywhere. If true and I've no idea if it is it was probably one of the key reasons he accepted the relatively low wage/performance based contract that he did. For example - http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/West-Ham-transfer-news-Demba-Ba-contract-demands-of-4million-per-year-putting-off-Everton-Sunderland-and-Newcastle-article744417.html Don't think Ba did hold all the cards to be honest. No-one was going pay him anywhere near what he wanted with his knee - any contract he would have got in the summer would have been heavily performance related. I just don't think that we would have agreed to give him c.35% of a minimum fee release clause and pay him quite a hefty wage into the bargain.

I don't really believe it to be honest: We paid his agent £2 million. We gave him a clause meaning he could leave for £7million. We gave him a clause meaning that he would get £2.5 million of that £7 milion. He is on £35k a week basic with a £20k appearance fee. Doesn't sound like an Ashley deal to me. Can't believe that he would have held that much negotiating power.

Factor in the £2million in agent's fees and we are left with... not very much.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/newcastle-united/9003471/Manchester-United-and-Tottenham-Hotspur-lead-chase-for-Newcastle-Uniteds-in-form-striker-Demba-Ba.html?

I remember going to Portsmouth when Lua Lua was playing for them and heard some disgusting racist abuse aimed at Lua Lua from 2 guys behind me. I turned round and kept staring at them (with hindsight it would have been easier to say something, but never mind). One of them kept asking me if I had a problem and becoming pretty 'threatening'. Once I pointed out the nearby police officers they quickly stopped, but it wasn't great having them behind me for the rest of the match.

Robert's against Southampton was pretty spectacular.

Even better free kick than Solano's against Leeds I reckon.

Dwight Yorke's punditry was a disgrace. He just won't admit that it should have been a penalty despite all the evidence showing that it was. Something about Ferdinand being favourite to getting the ball and therefore it couldn't be a foul...?

Played well today.

Looked great tonight.

No lose situation for them really. Everyone will forget if we do well. If we do bad, they can enjoy it and give it 'told you so'. Pathetic. Are yee for f***ing real? Yep. genuinely feel sorry for you if that's all you can feel after a huge win. what a clown. Think this was Pardew's biggest win so far - we've not seen the huge kind of performances we saw under Hughton with Pardew as boss - so it's great to finally see us come out of the blocks at 100mph, put in a massive performance and intimidate the bigger team. Eh?? I'm delighted about it. Not sure how that makes me a clown. Also love seeing Pardew shut some people up who seem out to denigrate him at every chance.

No lose situation for them really. Everyone will forget if we do well. If we do bad, they can enjoy it and give it 'told you so'. Pathetic. Are yee for f***ing real? Yep.