Toonpack

And that buying to compete worked ever so well didn't it (short period with SBR aside - and he fell into Shepherd's lap). We are built to improve steadily, we won't spunk cash on an instant hit, because whatever we did spunk would be trumped times 10 by the City's and Chelsea's etc.

Same issues but no replacements, Shepherd at least spunked our money on s***, Ashley doesn't even attempt that. I'd rather he didn't to be honest.

To 8th, 3 points behind last years Champions, but aye, this is the worst it's ever been. You must be mental if you are happy with our transfer activity. Not particularly happy, but happy not to spend for the sake of it. The "over time" transfer activity has genuinely improved us, to the point we're only 3 points behind a Champion winning squad, looking at the League table, the teams above us (bar Everton) have way more resources than us. Everton have the Lukaku effect in their favour we'll see where they end up.

To 8th, 3 points behind last years Champions, but aye, this is the worst it's ever been.

Maybe it's in their interests to get folks NOT to re-sign, especially those on the long deals, based on HF's post above he's paying about £25 a game. If they can get folks going "game by game" at more current prices, maybe they'll make more, lets face it, if the team was/is doing well they'll still fill the place near as damn it. #conspiracy

Journalist, also a Marseille fan iirc. His twitter says he's a Student and a genius, mutually exclusive methinks

It's being reported on some of their websites too but with no quotes or sources. We can still believe Until any fee was agreed he couldn't speak to us anyway, it'll all be bollocks.

What a sad pathetic pile of shite.

Well if anything should happen to Lukaku it's always handy to have a spare. It has, Lukaku is ferked for 4-6 weeks evidently.

I never said that, we actually created way more chances than WHU after the sub, between the 60th and 90th minutes, having created none between the 47th and 60th ergo we regained control having lost it.

No it didn't. By taking Anita off we started losing all the second balls in midfield. Yet we created more chances/attempts on goal than the period before the change, you want it to be a s**** sub but it wasn't. You're hilarious. No, I'm factual and rational. We were on the back foot, change was made and we regained pretty good control. That's what really happened.

It's not impossible at all. Of course some people are vehemently against him, but that doesn't mean everyone is and lumping everyone together with the strongest single viewpoint (and in many cases attributing statements that nobody at all have made) does nothing to advance the debate. In fact it's that kind of thing that drags it all down. Exactly, i'm in a postion of seeing better football, a definite plus point. But still seeing the same defensive mindset in 2nd halfs if we're winning, and virtually knowing we wont come from behind if we concede first, some thing we've had with him from the very start. In that it's more the never looking like coming back that irks me. Aligned with his constant talking down of the club and team, constant transfer talk bollocks, his 'lets win for Mike' disgraceful comment. It's not just one thing with him, it's more than just the football. Tbf to Toon Pack, he said he didn't care about that stuff as long we're winning. I can't agree with that point of view at all. But we have a theme on here of, you love him or hate him. No middle ground. I'm in the middle ground tbh I see signs of improvement, I see no current reason to change, other than for changes sake and that has served us (and other clubs) so well in the past hasn't it. I wanted his head on a spike after the mackems and Liverpool at home last season, I really thought there was no coming back from that, even Blyth bloody Spartans shouldn't lose 6-0 at home to a Liverpool without Suarez. This season says I was wrong.

No it didn't. By taking Anita off we started losing all the second balls in midfield. Yet we created more chances/attempts on goal than the period before the change, you want it to be a shite sub but it wasn't.

It's like Matt said, the crayon eating factory has disgorged itself onto the forum. We should be winning the league and every game five or six nowt you know. Criticism is fine, if it's balanced, it's just pitchforks and torches all the time. "Pardew's a witch burn him". You know you dont help yourself by being so confrontational, you're being a bit of a tit with s*** like this tbh. But sadly it's true, it's like a thread full of zealots. We are making progress and that is good.

It's like Matt said, the crayon eating factory has disgorged itself onto the forum. We should be winning the league and every game five or six nowt you know. Criticism is fine, if it's balanced, it's just pitchforks and torches all the time. "Pardew's a witch burn him".

I have little doubt we would be in/around champions league. the sad thing is KK couldnt work with the idiots Ashley put above him. what a shame. Keegan's second spell should show anyone we'd be more than likely be at the other end of the table tbh. P21 W6 D6 L9 He never really repeated his first spell with us anywhere. Did you see the state of West Ham yesterday? Yeah, drink that in - that's what he inherited from that fat f***ing fraud and had to turn around half way through a season. After the initial losing streak we actually went on a great fun, too. Look, I get it, Keegan's first spell was amazing, miraculous even, but the unadulterated man-love that persists is pathetic. Pardew is our manager for the foreseeable, the signs are good IMO, we are actually getting better. The once in a lifetime turnaround which was Keegan's first spell is not going to repeat itself, in fact it's rarely happened anywhere else (I can't even recall the like at all). You've missed my point completely, but then you probably meant to. I don't think we're getting, really, any better or considerably worse to be honest since Pardew was appointed. We've had a few good streaks under him and some abhorrent ones to boot. Our record in the derby and cup games under this clown is pathetic, and due to a combination of injuries, luck, 'science' or whatever we'll probably never be good enough to win anything or bad enough to go down with the players we seem to be getting. Keegan was a better manager and player than Pardew could ever hope to be. On one hand you have a guy who was out of the game for a while, inherited an under confident shambles of a squad from Sam f***ing Allardyce and within a couple of months started turning it onto it's head completely in terms of tactics and player confidence. Here we have a bloke that's been in charge for a few years, has a technically sound collection of international players and still resorts to throwing on Shola. f***ing. Ameobi and benching one of the most naturally gifted footballers in Europe. How you can ever say we're somehow getting better is beyond me like That substitution turned the game back in our favour, and we won, just because some hate Shola doesn't make bringing him on wrong, as was proven yesterday. Using that substitution yesterday as a negative example is moronic. We have more than competed with the top four this season head to head (apart from first game), we annihilated West Ham yesterday, away from home, and yet we're not getting better, Aye OK. Your desire to see us fail, because you don't like certain personalities, is not matched by the evidence. West Ham have been f***ing garbage this year, to say we annihilated them is a bit of a stretch. Forest annihilated them if you wanted a better example. I have no desire to see us fail whatsoever, I'm a f***ing supporter of this football club I can't help but wonder what the yardstick for improvement is for you though. Are you comparing this to last season? Because anything barring relegation can be considered an improvement to that season Where do you honestly see us in 2 years time? Do you think it's somehow taken this prick 3 years to learn how to play to his teams strengths and instil a confident, winning mentality within his players? My yardstick is 40+ years of watching this usually shower of shite club, with brief hiatus's in amongst the garbage with KK and SBR. Based on that I am accepting that progress will be slow (absent a sheik or oligarch) in my opinion, we appear to making aforesaid progress. We caught lightning in a bottle once, with KK (first time), it is unlikely to happen again. I am therefore quite happy with continuity and gradual development (in squad capability and manager). We were except for about 15 minutes start of second half, always in control yesterday, despite having my ingrained NUFC will fuck it up mind-set. If, regularly winning away, particularly in London, being bloody unlucky losing to Arsenal/City and beating Chelsea and Man U (at old Trafford) aren't positive signs compared to decades past, never mind seasons past, I don't know what you expect, but you're going to be disappointed. As for your 3 years comment, they were singing "Ferguson Out" at Old Trafford into his 3rd/4th year, he would have been fired long before that cup win in 1990 in todays game.

I have little doubt we would be in/around champions league. the sad thing is KK couldnt work with the idiots Ashley put above him. what a shame. Keegan's second spell should show anyone we'd be more than likely be at the other end of the table tbh. P21 W6 D6 L9 He never really repeated his first spell with us anywhere. Bit unfair to just ignore the squad/form he had to work with and the circumstances off the pitch. Yet Pardew gets no such leeway. It's a results business Pardew knew the circumstances hence why he took the job as a failed manager of a League 1 club. Keegan was lied to. And you cant even begin to compare the state of the team Keegan had to the far superior squad Pardew has. In short, you're wrong. Of course I'm wrong I'm not an anti-Pardew zealot No, only about the comparisons with Keegan. Pardew on other things would be slightly different. I can't stand the defensive second half s*** we always do. But you would have to be blind not to praise the first half, and our second goal was the best we've scored since the two breakaway goals at W.B.A. two seasons ago. We didn't go defensive, see my post way above, we were put on the back foot, it happens in virtually all premiership games every team has a "spell", manager changed it and we were the most dangerous of the two teams again and we won again. I am ingrained as a decades old Newcastle fan to expect us to cock it up from winning/being the better team positions but we're actually getting better at not doing it. The view that the Anita/Shola substitution was a defensive step is nonsense, the game I watched just doesn't back that up, WHU had a couple of chances but apart from the 47th - 60th minute we were in pretty damn good control and continued to be the most threatening. The manager is getting better, as is the team/squad. Change would be for changes sake. You need to have seen some of my previous post to know my view on this. While i bore everyone else i explain it again for you. We do get pushed back, now it's a combination of things. The opposition coming out fired up, using a different system or tactics. And that show major flaws in Pardew's management. If it happened now and again as it does to most teams you wouldn't say much, but it happens to us time and time again. Pardew doesn't know how to deal with it, poor substitiutions that give up more possession and ground are now the norm. The point people make is, it's not the fact it happens, it's the fact it happens time and time again. Also you seem to looking at just the results. This is just my opinion but a manager who constantly talks the club and the team down, constantly talks of losing players. Says 'lets win for Mike'. Tells us it's our fault we lost a game, or the fact not enough turned up are the reason we lost a game, among many of his pathetic excuses. Sorry if i'm not exactly estactic that he's the manager of the club i love. But he made good substitutions yesterday, changed the game back in our favour, he's getting better it would appear. I couldn't are less if he ate babies for tea if he continues to improve and we continue to play like we did yesterday. How is a good first half and a dreadful second half classed as an improvement? How can bringing Ameobi off the bench for Anita be hailed as a good substitution? Did you see the game We'd lost our stranglehold, he changed it with that substitution, and we were on top again, simples - match stats for the periods in question support that as well.

I have little doubt we would be in/around champions league. the sad thing is KK couldnt work with the idiots Ashley put above him. what a shame. Keegan's second spell should show anyone we'd be more than likely be at the other end of the table tbh. P21 W6 D6 L9 He never really repeated his first spell with us anywhere. Did you see the state of West Ham yesterday? Yeah, drink that in - that's what he inherited from that fat f***ing fraud and had to turn around half way through a season. After the initial losing streak we actually went on a great fun, too. Look, I get it, Keegan's first spell was amazing, miraculous even, but the unadulterated man-love that persists is pathetic. Pardew is our manager for the foreseeable, the signs are good IMO, we are actually getting better. The once in a lifetime turnaround which was Keegan's first spell is not going to repeat itself, in fact it's rarely happened anywhere else (I can't even recall the like at all). You've missed my point completely, but then you probably meant to. I don't think we're getting, really, any better or considerably worse to be honest since Pardew was appointed. We've had a few good streaks under him and some abhorrent ones to boot. Our record in the derby and cup games under this clown is pathetic, and due to a combination of injuries, luck, 'science' or whatever we'll probably never be good enough to win anything or bad enough to go down with the players we seem to be getting. Keegan was a better manager and player than Pardew could ever hope to be. On one hand you have a guy who was out of the game for a while, inherited an under confident shambles of a squad from Sam f***ing Allardyce and within a couple of months started turning it onto it's head completely in terms of tactics and player confidence. Here we have a bloke that's been in charge for a few years, has a technically sound collection of international players and still resorts to throwing on Shola. f***ing. Ameobi and benching one of the most naturally gifted footballers in Europe. How you can ever say we're somehow getting better is beyond me like That substitution turned the game back in our favour, and we won, just because some hate Shola doesn't make bringing him on wrong, as was proven yesterday. Using that substitution yesterday as a negative example is moronic. We have more than competed with the top four this season head to head (apart from first game), we annihilated West Ham yesterday, away from home, and yet we're not getting better, Aye OK. Your desire to see us fail, because you don't like certain personalities, is not matched by the evidence.

I have little doubt we would be in/around champions league. the sad thing is KK couldnt work with the idiots Ashley put above him. what a shame. Keegan's second spell should show anyone we'd be more than likely be at the other end of the table tbh. P21 W6 D6 L9 He never really repeated his first spell with us anywhere. Bit unfair to just ignore the squad/form he had to work with and the circumstances off the pitch. Yet Pardew gets no such leeway. It's a results business Pardew knew the circumstances hence why he took the job as a failed manager of a League 1 club. Keegan was lied to. And you cant even begin to compare the state of the team Keegan had to the far superior squad Pardew has. In short, you're wrong. Of course I'm wrong I'm not an anti-Pardew zealot No, only about the comparisons with Keegan. Pardew on other things would be slightly different. I can't stand the defensive second half s*** we always do. But you would have to be blind not to praise the first half, and our second goal was the best we've scored since the two breakaway goals at W.B.A. two seasons ago. We didn't go defensive, see my post way above, we were put on the back foot, it happens in virtually all premiership games every team has a "spell", manager changed it and we were the most dangerous of the two teams again and we won again. I am ingrained as a decades old Newcastle fan to expect us to cock it up from winning/being the better team positions but we're actually getting better at not doing it. The view that the Anita/Shola substitution was a defensive step is nonsense, the game I watched just doesn't back that up, WHU had a couple of chances but apart from the 47th - 60th minute we were in pretty damn good control and continued to be the most threatening. The manager is getting better, as is the team/squad. Change would be for changes sake. You need to have seen some of my previous post to know my view on this. While i bore everyone else i explain it again for you. We do get pushed back, now it's a combination of things. The opposition coming out fired up, using a different system or tactics. And that show major flaws in Pardew's management. If it happened now and again as it does to most teams you wouldn't say much, but it happens to us time and time again. Pardew doesn't know how to deal with it, poor substitiutions that give up more possession and ground are now the norm. The point people make is, it's not the fact it happens, it's the fact it happens time and time again. Also you seem to looking at just the results. This is just my opinion but a manager who constantly talks the club and the team down, constantly talks of losing players. Says 'lets win for Mike'. Tells us it's our fault we lost a game, or the fact not enough turned up are the reason we lost a game, among many of his pathetic excuses. Sorry if i'm not exactly estactic that he's the manager of the club i love. But he made good substitutions yesterday, changed the game back in our favour, he's getting better it would appear. I couldn't are less if he ate babies for tea if he continues to improve and we continue to play like we did yesterday.

If a manager isn't able to juggle 2 games a week, then he has some serious short comings. Laudrup

Agreed, like it was Pellegrini's fault the goal wasn't given. Pardew is an embarrassment. Lucky you didn't support Man U during the Fergie years then, you'd have been mortified by the behaviour of your manager.

He didn't do that yesterday, you believe he will/want him to, ergo it's a fact, it's actually bollocks.

Has Laudrup regressed

We had that mentality yesterday

I have little doubt we would be in/around champions league. the sad thing is KK couldnt work with the idiots Ashley put above him. what a shame. Keegan's second spell should show anyone we'd be more than likely be at the other end of the table tbh. P21 W6 D6 L9 He never really repeated his first spell with us anywhere. Bit unfair to just ignore the squad/form he had to work with and the circumstances off the pitch. Yet Pardew gets no such leeway. It's a results business I might be in the minority here but that's not how I view football. I'm with you, performances and how football is played are important to me. It's an entertainment business as well. I dont even look at it like that either (i know that's true mind). I'm the same from kids football to the very top. Football should be about passing it, movement, good to watch stuff. Which we did first half yesterday. I really have no idea how anyone can enjoy what West Ham did second half, and what we did for most of last season. There's a place for a long pass in football, not a long hopeful punt imo. Why are you comparing last season to this, we're light-years better this season and have been since last January when the reinforcements arrived, we're bottom of the long ball table. We are improving all the time. It's just my view about long ball, but twist it to suit your own point. We neither statistically nor visually play hoofball. I just don't see why this nonsense is perpetuated. (well I do because of the ingrained agenda on here). I am totally ambivalent towards Pardew, but I believe he's getting better and certainly results, and latterly performances, would support that.