Hughesy

Did you think Hughton was going to come out and say that we'd had a bad window and that the squad was crap?? Especially if he knew that he wouldn't get any extra money as a result of saying that? That would be stupidly counterproductive.

It wasn't our tactic against West Ham, Sunderland or Arsenal. So not sure if we can now be labelled as a team that uses the same tactics as Allardyce??

Well yes. But also having sufficiently developed leg muscles.

One thing I've noticed about Krul's kicking is that he doesn't seem to be able to kick the ball very far. Needs to get down the gym I think..

How much would a striker like Kevin Gameiro go for (directed to any French football experts)?

Booing nationwide does seem to have increased quite a lot over the last 2 or 3 seasons. It now seems that any team that is losing at home gets booed off.

I did read the OP and the posts that followed it. It was more a reference to the posts that followed rather than your post - so your rather precious response is a bit surprising.

in a way i'd be happier had we beat blackpool, wigan etc and lost at arsenal and everton as being a newcastle fan i'm more likely to think that our good away form is very temporary and that the poor home performances are where we are actually at. sorry but it's years of supporting this club that has conditioned me this way. I would rather be winning the matches against Blackpool, Wigan etc as we are giving 3 points to our relegation rivals. Although beating Arsenal was great, I'd rather give them 3 points and have taken 3 off a lower half team.

Are people not in danger here of looking back on the past with rose tinted spectacles on? You can't expect the atmosphere at every single match to be exceptional. It never has been like that so I don't see any reason it should be now. I absolutely love it when SJP is bouncing - utterly fantastic to behold and it does add an element to the match day and I do like the atmosphere that goes with away games. But.. and I know I will get slated for this.. I am there fundamentally to watch the football, not to sit back and watch people sing. I'd take a good performance and 3 points over a good atmosphere...

In fairness the Chelsea defence did pretty much part straight down the middle... good goal - but goal of season?? More importantly why do Henderson and Cattermole wear their shorts so high?

Tragic we sold him tbh. Nah utility player at best, would not get into our back line currently You utter moron.

That's brought back some memories. Have to disagree with your analysis of Brock. Brock was quite good.. Dillon was absolute turd though. Awful player.

Because there is no way that he is currently good enough??? And Johnson is? Well - yes. Johnson is a much better RB than Simpson. Have you ever actually seen Johnson play? He's f***ing s***! He's decent going forward but defensively he's an absolute disaster. Of course I've seen Johnson play. I think you would be in the minority if you continue to insist that Danny Simpson is better than Johnson. Remember that we are talking about Danny Simpson, who the majority of Newcastle fans were convinced was not good enough for the Premiership last season. He has played ok in the handful of games that he is played this season and you reckon he should now be playing England???

Because there is no way that he is currently good enough??? And Johnson is? Well - yes. Johnson is a much better RB than Simpson.

This exactly. People can't just pass off dangerous and reckless tackles as part of the game. It really annoys me when you get fans and pros banging on about how it's a man's game and it should be physical. Yes, it should be physical, but putting in leg breaking tackles isn't tough or manly. It's cowardly and the referees should do something about. Show a few more red cards and it will stop soon enough.

Elmander would be a signing I would like us to go for in January.

Because there is no way that he is currently good enough???

Heard that get a brief outing at the Arsenal game near me.

showing my ignorance here, but I used to know most of the France squad. None of those in bold I've ever heard of. You clearly need to start playing football manager...!!

Horrible feeling we'll batter them for 75 mins and lose 1-0.

Agreed. In Korea I never saw anyone wearing those shirts. A good few people wearing Arsenal jackets, who to my knowledge have never had a Korean player. I never saw Celtic shirts worn in Korea or Japan either, despite Nakamura, Ki Sung Yong and Cha Du Ri. Wearing football shirts is not that common in East Asia, and I don't imagine it brings in much revenue at all. Those clubs with Korean players are always on TV in Korea, so perhaps there is some TV money but I don't imagine it amounts to much for the British clubs. Many games are often on at stupid-o-clock in East Asia due to the time difference. Park Ji Sung was signed simply because he's a good player, as was Lee Chung Yong. I'm aware that proven Premiership players don't come cheap and I agree Ashley would be unlikely to release the kind of funds necessary, but I put his name forward as the kind of player the club should aspire to sign if we want to build for the future (as is Ashley's stated aim). He is exactly the sort of player we need, a young talented right winger who will also work hard for the team. He adapted very quickly to English football and I still think we are a bigger draw for players than Bolton. It's not a ridiculous suggestion, though I agree he wouldn't be cheap. If we stabilise in the Premiership this season we'll be looking to improve our first team which means looking at players like him or cheaper unproven foreigners. We may land another Tiote or fluke another Williamson on the cheap but to improve on your first team you generally have to spend a bit, espescially when you're in the Premiership. A point I've made during the summer that still holds true. While we've been doing an excellent job digging up relative unknowns from the UK and Western Europe, the "global reach" of our scouting team seems to be non-existant. I've been saying the same thing for years as well and been hammered for it. Tiote is the perfect example of the kind of player at the right kind of price that we should be looking for.

Yeah - can't see any way in which that wasn't a red to be honest.

Whereabouts were you standing? I assume you must have been near the front?

Thought the atmosphere was ok to be honest. I was standing right at the back on the right hand side - so away from the 'louder' Arsenal fans behind the goal - but the noise seemed pretty good. Atmosphere seemed to take a bit of a dip at beginning of second half but I think that was because: a) people were starting to take in the fact we were winning; and b) people were pretty nervous.

Absolutely brilliant performance from Colo on Sunday. Just brilliant - really seems to have improved in the air since even last season.