Christmas Tree

Interesting to hear Pardews comments on Mike Ashley, however a bit undecided what they all meant??? "realises it's different to what he knows Has handed the main running over to Derek, me and Graham Carr WILL be happy once the club is self funding" Can't remember what else. Part of me felt good that he's letting them get on with it and part of me felt Ashley wasn't fully comitted??? Anyone read it any better / different?

Think we'll score 7 #headinthecloudsandlovingit

Keegan obv and Sir Bob ( I like honest, tell it like it is types)

:-( Never mind. Fantastic, honest, open hour. I don't care what anyone else thinks, I really like Pardew as our manager. Never try's to dodge the big questions and seems to really be getting the club and the area under his skin. I love the way he finds something good to say about everyone. Rapidly becoming one of my all time favourites.

Just a reminder. AP on in 10 mins.

WUM. Really? Not really sure what your issue is with it? Other than the main NUFC stuff, the current shop IS full with a load of chat. Surely it's better to rent out some of that space and increase the clubs turnover? I would have thought being able to buy proper boots and shin pads etc would appeal to quite a few. Can't see the downside really.

Don't think that's too bad an idea on the face of it. Each time I go into the shop there is so much boring crap everywhere so a bit of variety is always nice.

what phone in/ radio station/time?? Pards q and a on bbcradio Newcastle at 6.30

Well it's probably the most important answer I would like to hear from him tonight.

Anyone else sent in a question to Pardew for tonights phone in? Mine was basically begging with him to take the Blackburn cup game seriously and put out an almost first 11. I know not everyone will agree but I think this one game is our best chance in years of getting to Wembley. Intending to sink into a nice Radox bath with a bottle of Grolsh for this.

Half term full of Kids..... Should be a cracking atmosphere. Once went to watch Rocky 3 in London on a Saturday matinee. Was tremendous a full cinema booing the baddy and chanting rocky. 1500 free seats in the platinum with food and drink vouchers sounds interesting. Would also love to have a go at the cross bar challenge.

Thinking this should maybe have it's own thread. Please delete or merge if you think not. By Dan King - Newcastle United Club Reporter Newcastle United will open the doors of St. James' Park to fans free of charge this month as the club holds an open training session. There will be fun and games, entertainment and music - and most importantly, the chance to see Alan Pardew's squad being put through their paces by the manager and his coaching team. And for Magpies and Club Members there will also be a number of competitions, including the opportunity to take penalties against goalkeeper Tim Krul and compete in a special crossbar challenge with three Toon stars. The event will take place at the Magpies' famous stadium on Friday, October 28. Turnstiles open at 9.30am and training is expected to run from 10:30am to 12.30pm. The entire first-team squad will take part in the session, with manager Pardew and his coaching staff, John Carver, Steve Stone and Andy Woodman, all taking to the mic to talk supporters through some of the drills. Simon Esland, the club's Head of Customer Operations, said: "In previous years when we have held open training sessions, thousands of supporters have come through the turnstiles, but we think this is our biggest and best yet. "And with the team currently unbeaten and flying high in the Barclays Premier League, we hope more of them than ever will take advantage of the chance to see their heroes in training - and for a lucky few, to meet and even share a pitch with them. "We know some of our loyal supporters can't come and watch the team every week, so this is a chance for people of all ages to come along to see the team in action for free." Monty and Maggie, the club's popular Magpie mascots, will be in attendance and the Gallowgate Stand and the Gallowgate Stand West Corner will be open. The Milburn Stand's Platinum Club will also be available - but limited to 1,500 Club Members on a first-come first-served basis, who will be provided with food and drink vouchers. As well as the penalty shoot-out against Dutch international keeper Krul and the crossbar challenge, there will be a signing session at the ground for selected members. And a handful of Club Members will also be chosen to attend the pre-match press conference on the afternoon, allowing them to go behind the scenes and see Pardew face the media. The club's official website, nufc.co.uk, will be updated with announcements over the next few days about how to take part in these money-can't-buy, members-only competitions. Nice to take the bairns too.

Club have also announced today that they are going to hold an open training session at SJP in October. All good positive stuff IMO. Oct 28th 10.30 - 12.30 according to Lee Ryder.

I must confess it's starting to feel a touch tasty all the options we now seem to have outside the first 11. Of course there is still areas to improve but I struggle to remember the last time we had so many options. Hope little Fergie gets a go.

I think this without a doubt and he will be hearing it continuously from his meetings with Carr and Pardew. I'm pretty confident we are already beavering away on some of the weak links. The bottom line though is that he has given clear instructions that progress has to be achieved his way. By this I mean they will be looking at the wage bill / transfer kitty and insisting that Pardew might have to move some of the dead wood to bring players in. I'm also sure if Carr ( who is all powerful now) tells him he has found the next Tiote and we need the readies today, he will get them. While they are publicly talking about a top ten finish, I wouldn't mind betting there are some big bonus's on the table for getting into Europe. of course then we'll just all moan that we should be putting out weak teams because it's effect the league ;-)

Lets face it apart from the mistakes highlighted Ashley made quite a few when he first entered the world of football ownership. Drinking pints in the away end wasn't smart and the biggest mistake of all (and most expensive) was bringing Keegan back. There was a lot of naivety in his early decisions possibly motivated by a desire to be popular in his new role. But anyone who has built a £2bn business from nothing will have taken risks and made fuck ups along the way, he will however have learned quickly to become as successful as he has. Likewise in his maturing role of football owner he will have learned from those early errors and while not every decision from now on will be the right one I don't think we'll be seeing any more stupid ones. Thats not to say they'll all be popular either. Totally agree with that. He's now following a more familiar retail model that he knows well. Keep costs as low as possible and make sure you have an excellent buyer (scout) and buy the product (footballers) at the best deal possible. He also now had a pretty solid united staff in place from top to bottom.

I think they have hardly put a foot wrong since relegation and bearing in mind the spending power available to the top 3 / 4, I think our "plan" is very good. The behind the scenes stuff like under soil heating is very positive and the next sensible move would be to find a few more Graham Carrs ( the worlds a big place). I see only very good things ahead for us if we can keep this strategy going with some stability in key personell.

Pretty gutted. A period of stability would make a welcome change. Hope we keep on making small forward steps and Pardew stays for many years.

The good thing about our start is that it opens up so many doors for us. Currently we are 4th in the league and getting lots of excellent press world wide. It makes it easier to get players in, easier to extend contracts, easier to get sponsorship deals and dare I say.... easier to find a buyer. ( not that a new owner would necessarily be a good thing now that we are firing on all cylinders).

3 more sleeps!

Spot on. He's done himself a lot of credit this season.

Another piece here from Mark Douglas (journal) on the great start at all levels. AT pretty much every Press conference Alan Pardew gives, he will mention it. It rarely makes the final cut but the fact that Newcastle’s reserve and youth teams are performing just as creditably as the first team clearly brings satisfaction to the United boss. He mentioned it again last week, making the forcible point that a record of one defeat at all levels this season is not something to be sniffed at. At youth and reserve level sound foundations are being laid but, with apologies to Pardew, it is the remarkable start that the first team have enjoyed that is building credit and infusing Mike Ashley’s leadership with credibility. Quietly, this new generation United are closing in on the Entertainers’ record of 11 Premier League games without defeat. Having knocked down eight so far, they need to just avoid defeat against Wigan, Stoke and Everton to equal a run that few would have thought would be matched in their lifetimes. What’s more, they’ve done it with a bit of swagger. Perhaps not quite as much as Kevin Keegan’s class of 1994-95 but these are different times – there were no Arab royals funneling cash into the division back then and upstarts like Newcastle could afford to play without fear. That this lot are managing to do it says much for the foundations that Pardew has been building for the past 12 months. Work began on this blueprint almost immediately and, while in public the United boss continues to lament the loss of Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan, the truth is their departures have allowed the club to make a huge stylistic leap forward. The current midfield is a lip-smacking combination of Yohan Cabaye’s craft and Cheick Tioté’s immense presence. Even when Cabaye’s performance levels dip, as they did on Sunday, team-mates have negated the damage by stepping up themselves. Jonás Gutiérrez and Gabriel Obertan, for example, were both excellent against Spurs. When quizzed on what the team could achieve this season Pardew demurred. “We would have 19 points if we won on Saturday and that is halfway to safety,” was his answer to questions that implied a European push might not be as unrealistic as we’d all assumed. But there was a glint in his eye as he played it all down. The fact he’s even being asked with a straight face is proof that the club are heading in the right direction.

I'm not anti Obertan but I'm guessing he's getting a bit more leeway ? Because he was a Pardew deal and not a Carr deal.

This guy more than anyone is the fella I would like to see play in the first team. Just looks an all round class act.

Wasn't sure where to stick this. Lee Ryders latest blog. Forget fourth place, forget unbeaten starts, the biggest success Alan Pardew has achieved is making Newcastle United fun to watch again. For the first time since Kevin Keegan’s brief return as manager in 2008 – a largely unspectacular nine month reign that ended in an acrimonious departure and an explosion of supporter animosity to owner Mike Ashley – everyone is enjoying themselves at St James’s Park. Before Keegan, you would have go to back to the Sir Bobby Robson years (1999-2004) – although even the end of those were soured by bitterness and resentment as an ageing support grew disillusioned by the constant near-misses under the grand old knight. For the first time in years, Ashley and his right hand man Derek Llambias can come to games without hearing chants asking them to leave – although obviously in rather less polite terms – supporters can come to games with belief in their side and players can enjoy playing in an arena which has few rivals for atmosphere when it gets going. Newcastle are never more dangerous than when their long suffering support sense they have something worth supporting again. They are not unique in that, of course, but it had been forgotten for too long at St James’s Park. There are so many clichés that can be used, but I’ll go with the most simple. When Newcastle fans are at their partisan best, they really are like an extra man on the pitch. When they roar and they scream, sing and they shout. Anyone who has played there knows how intimidating and intense it is, the only problem is that intensity has weighed too heavily on the shoulders of home, rather than visiting, players in recent times. Newcastle United were constantly in danger of becoming victims of friendly fire. Things have changed this season. Even when Newcastle fell behind against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, there were no signs of disgruntlement in the stands, merely a desire to help lift the players. By the end, after Shola Ameobi had pegged Spurs back for a second time, the stadium on the hill overlooking the city crackled with energy that fuelled Newcastle’s players as they went in search of a winner. It is to Tottenham’s credit that they did not wilt because they were clinging on for a point and were mightily relieved to head home with one. That is what Newcastle’s support can do to you – just ask Arsenal. That magnificent, memorable clash back in February was perhaps the moment those fans remembered how important they are. At 4-0 at half-time, Arsenal were strutting peacocks, masters of all they surveyed, but they were shivering wrecks 45 minutes later. I will never forget the confused faces on the Arsenal players as the home crowd cheered a corner and rose to urge the players on. Once one goal went in, Arsenal’s cockiness was replaced by fear. The game ended in a 4-4 draw and earned instant acclaim as one of the Premier League’s best. That sort of support in such an apparently hopeless position was alien to so many in the Arsenal ranks, as it had been to most Newcastle players in recent years. But on that day something changed for the better. For the last few years, even during the successful promotion campaign from the Championship, opposition sides have known it does not take much to make the crowd turn on their own on Tyneside. Newcastle United were anything but. If you could get Newcastle’s support to turn. If you could get them at each other’s throats, half the battle was won, but visitors to St James’s Park are once again more worried about getting their throats ripped out these days. Few would have anticipated it in the summer, particularly once the window shut and Andy Carroll’s replacement still hadn’t been signed, but there is a feel good factor on Tyneside which has brought unity as well as momentum. Results have been good, but more significantly in trying to explain the current mood, they have been unexpectedly so. As well as being hard to beat, Newcastle have a threat going forward. They have natural width and pace and should Modibo Maiga, as expected, sign in January, they should have another player to put the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis alongside Demba Ba, who has notched five in his last three appearances. The squad is small and unlikely to be able to handle injuries and suspensions, European qualification may well be beyond them because of it, but that cannot disguise the fact Pardew has built a team – with the help of chief scout Graham Carr – that plays with enterprise, spirit, speed and skill. That’s good enough for most who follow them. There is a buzz around the city there has not been since Robson led them into the Champions League. You can feel it, sense it and I’m not even a Newcastle supporter (it will always be Leyton Orient for me). Even during these times of financial uncertainty – the North East has the highest unemployment rate in the country – Newcastle United have done what they are supposed to do – they have made the city feel good about itself again. Long may it continue, not just for Newcastle, but for the vibrancy and entertainment of the Premier League. In these days of billionaire owners, English football needs the rest to make the most of the strengths they have. Newcastle United’s supporters are their gift and their curse. They can be too demanding, too expectant and they can crush those who do not provide them with what they want. At the moment, they are a gift to Pardew and players who are thriving in the positive atmosphere they generate. The longer it lasts the longer Newcastle will maintain their challenge for Europe.