Shays Given Tim Flowers

This club

this thread is no picnic. Can we get back on topic?

I understand the sentiment expressed here and I agree with you on the self-victimisation point. However first of all Wonga is essentially a Shylock business. If you went to a mate because you were desperate and they offered you the same terms you would think they were a terrible human being. Secondly a significant proportion of the people who find themselves reliant on these services don't possess competent skills of judgement in the first place and therefore any business that takes advantage of that is pretty shameful. In my personal experience the background checks performed are negligible too. There is a point to be made about the inequality of bargaining power as regards to whats fair. That being said we are talking about football sponsorship. There is a fair bit of moral bankruptcy present in football. Wonga's proposed sponsorship is a drop in the Ocean compared to all the other things that are wrong in the game. Also its capitalism at the end of the day. Most business make their money through exploitation. Im certain that a lot of what I am wearing right now has come from people who were exploited. We just choose to shut our eyes to it and pick up on little bits and pieces once in a while, like a little virtuous valve that says we're still good people. At the end of the day its a rubbish name that will look bad on shirts and as football fans that's all we ought to be bothered about.

nous allons organiser un boycott

We've played well tonight. An enjoyable watch.

Iron Mike is having a decent game today.

Watching us at times is like f***ing an ugly girl on a regular basis. at least we're getting sex.

Not really. I'd rather be racially abused than assaulted. He hardly knocked the other player out. We've seen violent conduct loads of times and the ban hasn't been anywhere near 12 games. He already had had a red card earlier in the season, which means his first straight red for violent conduct is a four game ban. Then he gets himself another violent conduct seconds after, which technically could be his second red card that game, and should be a five game ban, and then he tries to start several fights on his way out from the pitch, which I assume is where the other three games comes in to it. If anything, he was lucky to get away with 12. The question should surely be why Suarez got twice as many games as Terry, not why Barton got the punishment he did? The Fa's judgment made specific reference to suarez being given an 8 game ban for repeated racial abuse (IIRC it was a 4 match ban that was specifically doubled to reflect the repetition). At the time I felt like this was the FA preparing themselves for potentially having to ban the England Captain rather than a hard stance on racism. May be cynical but anyway, as Malcom X once said 'Chickens coming home to roost never made me sad, Chickens coming home to roost always made me glad.'

You're welcome. top work

Shola Ameobi - All 72 goals for newcastle on a popular video hosting website. Such a wonderful way to spend 11 minutes.

One of the funniest performances I have ever seen. You have to wonder what he's like a person. Still chuckling away about it now. He was actually like the Hulk today with Rick James' penchant for flamboyance.

I don't think he is ever going to sort himself out enough to the point where he can take the team that finished 5th last season forward. On that basis he isn't really good enough IMO. I will stick with him whilst he is here and hope he can a) prove me wrong or b) become a more effective player for us. I think his best effect for the team lies in coming on from the bench around 70-80 minutes. Possibly better to bring him on in games we are chasing as I think Shola is a better out ball if we are winning. I would say however that he has started to use his raw pace more recently. If he can keep that part of his game simple he will get around 5 chances per match to put a ball in to a decent area. Only need one to come off and that's a good contribution. Thought he didn't look particularly up for it today either not so much in his offensive play just a couple of times when he wasn't pressing anywhere near enough.

Simpson is better though.

It was like watching Taken. Where was his head at today, mental.

When you actually get to see him play i.e. live at the ground close enough to see what he does up close, he is phenomenally talented. Has such good touch with both feet. A seriously gifted footballer who does a lot of the simple things very well.

Santon is so good at headers.

Solid point away from home (could have won), with the stiffs playing. Good result. Extra-days rest for the first XI (except Santon and Saylor). Added bonus of not having any first team players injured. Far and away the most sensible approach Pards could have taken IMO. Imagine the misery on here if we'd have gone with a couple of first team player's and someone like Cabaye or Cisse got injured. If its a case of 1 point at Maritimo and 3 at home against Norwich then its a good job all round (something of a false dichotomy I know). As fans its always frustrating to watch 0-0 draws, but at this stage of the competition its really not the end of the world. Also some young talented players got some match experience. As an aside I would really like to see us target the domestic cups this year. We are good enough to beat any team out there. If we can put in good performances I think we have a decent chance. Certainly should be aiming for last 4-8 in both (I accept its draw dependant to a certain degree).

Maybe Im just a bit tired. Also I have been cooking a cheese omlette so I might have missed the moments of brightness.

Sammy has been poor.

Shola and Campbell up top :cheesy:

Sometimes its actually ok not to be cynical. If ever there is a time to give someone the benefit of the doubt it's when they are talking about the suicide of a dear friend. http://i3.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article1313746.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Craig+Bellamy+and+Gary+Speed

Only as the mysterious 'boot naar nergens'.

His involvement on match days ought to do us a big favour should we decide to recruit younger players from lower domestic leagues too.