loki679

I saw us play Norwich years and years ago with a Norwich supporting friend in their end. At some grounds it might be a bit dodgy but the Norwich fans are canny and there weren't any problems. I didn't exactly keep quiet, it was obvious who I supported, but I kept it within the bounds of politeness and guest etiquette and had some good fun with their fans around us.

If Obertan is playing he needs to be on the left in my opinion. He's looked much better on that side.

We got Debuchy after Ba left so his fee was largely covered by Demba's departure. Maybe they're waiting to see if another player can be sold to cover the Remy fee.

I hope this is going to be filmed for those that can't attend

Absolutely. There just weren't any CBs available anywhere for the last two years. Nothing to do with Simpson's contract either of course. Oh wow you have produced yet another flippant non-post. I don't have a prize for you unfortunately. It's difficult not to when you constantly post such obvious tripe.

Absolutely. There just weren't any CBs available anywhere for the last two years. Nothing to do with Simpson's contract either of course.

It's an awful point and I'm sick of reading it. There's ONE example of that working. I don't have the time right now to go trawling for examples but are you suggesting that David Moyes is the only example of a club being rewarded for sticking with a manager through difficult times? Because it looks like that's what you're suggesting. There's as many examples (probably more) of clubs being damaged by sticking with the wrong man for too long. The key factor isn't the amount of time given to the manager, it's the manager's ability.

Did you know at the time that Moyes was as good as he has proved to be or are you talking with the benefit of hindsight? I don't think many, if any, picked Moyes out to be a potential star during the lean years. Moyes (and Ferguson who is the other one usually rolled out to support this specious argument) had a record of success at their previous clubs which is why they were given the job. What in Pardew's record suggests that he will turn this around and bring this club success?

We don't need another midfielder. CB and striker plz. Unless we can get all three in which case go for it.

The 4-3-3 thing is pissing me off. We stumbled upon a really good formula last season in Ba -- Cisse -- HBA and yet I can't remember us trying it once this season. When he has gone with that formation it's been some fucked up version with HBA on the left or Cisse wide right.

We do this same with the youth players. He's not a kid, he's 23. If he's not showing enough to get a game against Brighton in this 'injury crisis' then what's he here for? Count how many players out of all of them who made it that weren't playing first team football after the age of 20.

After relegation we had a net transfer income of £24m (according to transfer league). Combined with the parachute payment that income should have largely offset the negative financial implications of relegation. Indeed, if you check the accounts we actually posted a smaller operating loss in the championship than in the premier league the previous season (£33.3m vs £37m). Undoubtedly this was due to correcting some of the mismanagement by the previous regime and the club is now in a much leaner state. Selling off the crown jewels again if we go down would cover some of the losses but I very much doubt we'd raise enough to cover the loss of income from the improved TV deal. That new TV deal is a game changer in my opinion, nobody will risk missing out on that.

I don't think our current lot will be looking at things in terms of footballing success though. They'll be looking to bring in the maximum revenue for the minimum expenditure. It wouldn't surprise me if they've looked at the finances and worked out the optimum finishing position to maximise the revenue vs spend ratio. Each place in the PL is worth about £800k according to the latest data I could find. Obviously positions 18-20 need to be taken out of the equation since relegation would not be profitable. The difference in just merit payments between 8th and 17th is therefore around £7m. In this example a net transfer spend of £6m would give increased revenues of £1m if it resulted in an 8th placed finish rather than 17th. Obviously this is just an example and I don't even know if that level of net spend would result in the improvement in league placings required but it illustrates that there should be a point of inflection on the graph of net spend vs revenue where income is at the optimum level. You would also need to take into account increased gates (not so much for us, our crowds are usually around a similar level) and extra TV money since more successful teams would be selected for TV matches more often. It's hard to get an idea from the last five seasons or so as the relegation clearout and the Carroll transfer distorts the picture. Bit disturbing looking a transferleague.co.uk though, over the last five seasons it has us at a net transfer income of about £38m I would suspect our hierarchy have looked at this and decided where they want us to finish each season and this position will have nothing to do with footballing success. If 15th is the optimum position then I think they'd be just as happy for us to finish there as 5th. As long as Pardew keeps us in the PL I think his job will be safe and he'll be given an amount to spend based on that optimum revenue raising position.

Obviously we'll improve with some of our better players back (we couldn't get any worse) but there's a nagging doubt at the back of my mind. Yes, we have injuries now but what about games like Swansea or West Ham or any number of games earlier in the season? We didn't have too many injuries then and yet we still played shite and got beat off teams we should be putting away at home. Hoping for a result, as always, but can't see it right now. Hoots 3 - 1 Pardiola.

I'd just like to see us win a f***ing trophy before I die, and we've got a way better shot at the FA Cup than we do at winning the league title any time soon. This. Very much this. Let's enter the Johnstones Paint Trophy next season just to get something in the cabinet that isn't in black and white.

Oh, aye, if my boss offered me £40k a week i'd be furious like. What a slap in the face. How can anyone be expected to live on just £2m a year, fucking outrageous.

But you think we'll get better when our better players come back? NO s*** SHERLOCK Idiot p*ssed off we are poor without them but its Pardew's fault. A decent manager can get any bunch of individuals to look like a team and set up some tactics. We've seen nothing of that from us in recent weeks, that is down to the manager. What about our set pieces, why are they so bad? [Aggressive] Whars that your FM mantra [Calm] What's your mantra? [Assertive] Let us get relegated? fyp

Haha. As if you're an NUFC fan. At as late as 5am in the morning it sure seems like I'm watching/listening to the games for some reason (almost every game for over 20 years). Not like those soft types in the north east of England who have to wait until daylight to watch a game of football. Wouldn't you rather get up at 5am for a cup final, pet? Sure would.... but Division 2 doesn't get broadcast. So I'd rather get to watch/listen to seasons worth of games from the Premier League than only 6 games from the FA Cup. Oh, yeah, I read about that. They changed the rules so cup winners now get the cup, prize money, a europa league spot and relegated.

But who would we get in? Who cares? Susan Boyle couldn't do any worse. graham carr No. Changing for the sake of change is stupid. It's what got this club into the position it's in today. Ok, we could ge the bloke from Lille. We could get Solskjaer. We could go for Martinez. Bilic, hell, even Ketsbaia. Don't know anything about the bloke from Lille, Bilic or Solskjaer. Martinez is very inconsistant in my opinion. Ketsbaia has done well, but would there be any point in firing him at this point in the season? We're not going to achieve anything in the league other than survival (which I think we'll do under Pardew anyway). What gain is there in rocking the boat now other than for a truly outstanding candidate? Because the boat's got a big fucking hole in it and is in danger of becoming a submarine.

We're painting our bedsheets first.

But who would we get in? Who cares? Susan Boyle couldn't do any worse. graham carr No. Changing for the sake of change is stupid. It's what got this club into the position it's in today. Ok, we could ge the bloke from Lille. We could get Solskjaer. We could go for Martinez. Bilic, hell, even Ketsbaia.

That was decided at the same meeting when it was confirmed you can only either spend fuck all or bankrupt the club. I think you'd nipped out for a sly one in the toilets when we had the vote.

But who would we get in? Who cares? Susan Boyle couldn't do any worse.

I'd prefer to stay in the PL and win a cup. For a club our size that shouldn't be beyond us. In terms of your slightly silly choice though, i'd rather win a cup and go down.

What's the fucking point then? We're not going to win the league so you'd be happy just staying in the PL each season for another go at winning fuck all? A team like us should be focusing on the cups as it's our best chance of actually winning something. You know, winning things, the point of the game.