Eddy Chibas

All the 'ballers' will be gone by the time the season starts. His fotbal philosophy shouldn't be allowed anywhere near 'ballers' like Bolasie anyway.

f***ing hell. I knew there was a good reason for avoiding this thread yesterday. Watching this bloke's ego manifest even more is funny tbh. This sideshow cunt in full flight, with the hero status extended to him at Palace, is comedy gold. Loved his little sulky, petulant face towards the end of the video.

Closer to the mark I think. I believe he's enjoyed gagging the city's sporting heartbeat, tearing the soul out of the place, after he was called naughty names & was told to sod off in the wake of Keegangate.

Created their own luck by appointing a football manager, not a bloke who is better suited to licking envelopes in the mail-room.

Pretty much this.

Should settle for a moonlighting postion (along with a coaching gig) of licking stamps, if the club ever want to pursue a more cost-effective way of lodging transfer bids by getting rid pf the fax machines etc. Posting bids in the mail would also make us conveniently slower than our rival suitors (who we can't compete with most of the time anyway) when 'trying' to sign players.

Another good piece by Edwards. His assessement of Mike Ashley's club, Sports Direct United, is spot on - it brings nothing to the competition.It merely exists as a promotional branch for business interests unrelated to football, with no ambition in winning silverware or achieving sporting success, and it's a whipping stick used against a supporter base whom the owner despises. The simple notion of 'trying' will always be the core fundamental in any sporting competition. So this business entity - I don't view it as a sporting club anymore - only deserves to drop like a stone. A healthy percentage of neutral purists won't miss Sport Direct United's annual presence at the lower half of the table either.

If there is no value behind Manyoo winning their last game this 'kid' ( the prospect of pinching him from a relegated club in a post-drop firesale) is a good enough reason for them to tank their final game against Hull. If I was in Van Gaal's boots I'd throw the game. It would be a handy game to lose. Interesting final day if Sports Direct United fail against QPR, and Arsenal lock-up 3rd position. Arsenal v Manyoo is important too this weekend, if SD United's fate partially rests in the hands of others (bailing them out of the shit ie. Manyoo)

Fletcher, Shepherd, Keegan & The Halls at least had a go. Ashley shoved it (the notion of ambition for success) back into a coffin, and nailed the lid shut from Day 1.

Yes Sports Direct United deserves a spell in the lower leagues.

He is by no means a hands-off & distant club owner. He sat over a think tank, come transfer window time, which has deliberately & consistently underbid for targets (to miss out on signings) to look after the bottom line. Bugger off Mike.

Pretty much bang-on. This anti-competitive club deserves a long stint in the sport's wilderness, aka the lower leagues.

Still remember when the fat prick performed a shit-stirring victory dance (was it the rumba?) in the faces of the Mackems' directors, after experiencing his first derby win. Admittedly it was a long time ago, but i've always thought that to face rub (with shit) a rival club invites a visitation from Fate in the form of a long overdue bitchslap. Hate to say this but there is something perversely funny about the prospect of Sunderland escaping the drop at the expense of Mike Ashley's Sports Direct United

Not gonna play for us again. HE LOVES DA TOON imo The goons in charge of the Toon don't love him though because he's running his retail value down. Yeah I think he will go maybe in the summer, it's all pretty annoying really. Keep him wrapped up in cotton wool, try and eek out a few million for the evil contract rebel who knocked back a long-term contract amounting to peanuts. Probably the party line atm. And a club, far from the mickey mouse one we are, will gamble on getting his fitness right, and sorting out his hamstring issue. Withhis ceiling of potential a few million is an educated gamble.

I'm sure what he actually means is that Garde thought the club was f***ing massive and should be challenging at the top of the league - they can't be appointing someone with those ridiculous notions! Ties in with this talk that all candidates were informed that finishing 8-17th is the annual target, and the top brass' definition of sporting success. Garde has been in the English game long enough to know we are massive one city club which is woven into the social fabric of the area. Statements like that would leave anyaambitious manager dumbfounded. Garde would left the meeting with the impression of how anti-competitive this club is in sporting terms.

To develop his game further, particularly the link-up play around the box (sharp one-twos etc), he should seek a move away in the Summer if Carver gets the gig. Such a shame seeing his potential wasted here.

The armband will add a bit to the fee, during continued talks with Liverpool, or other potential suitors. Buying a top player with leadership qualities, and a club captain, will cost you. Janmaat deserves it..... although with a transfer window coming up - perfect timing by Carver/the club.

Aye mate of mine asked me about this yesterday " Newcastle wouldn't sell after one season would they? " I was like Yep, a "one & done" player, to borrow the college basketball term. We are quite the productive feeder club.

No Gallas........ Mmmmmmm

Hopefully Liverpool put us to the sword, and the goal difference between ourselves and 18th is all but dissolved. Another towelling bodes well for the boycott.

Thought for a while that EPL clubs who finish 16th and 17th should be dumped into the play-off pool (to retain their premiership status) with the championship sides looking to move up (outside the automatic qualifiers). Create a system where five teams can potentially go down every year. The likes of Ashley & Lerner should be faced with a greater prospect of relegation every year when their MO is to milk the FFP rules as an excuse not to invest & while riding the broadcast revenue gravy train, and having their respective clubs tread water in the top flight under the assumption there will always be three shittier performing outfits to save their skin. The top flight needs to be more cut throat & brutal at the bottom end of the table, where consistent lower mid-table clubs are concerned...... especially those who are sitting in a coma and are devoid of ambition. Unfortunately we fill this criteria.

I don't like how Colo & Williamson (the weakest and slowest central pairing in the league) match-up against the power & pace of Benteke/Agbonahor. Villa are worth a couple of goals this weekend.

Agreed - SBR was just as interested in money as KK ever was, hence the reason he turned SJH down when he was asked to take over from KK after he resigned in 97....SBR knew Barca were going to fire him and appoint LVG, but he wanted the pay-off. It was the second time he turned NUFC down as he was asked to be manager after Joe Harvey in 1975 when he was at Ipswich but refused again. He may have had good reasons but the fact that he turned us down twice takes away any claim he may have had to be on a par with KK ; SBR was a self-confessed fan from boyhood too but he was past his best as a manager by the time he joined us although he did a great job in stabilizing the ship after Gullit. He was almost as old as Harry Redknapp is now and nobody on here would dream of having Redknapp as manager. Was also waiting for an upstairs job at Barca too.

Fair play to the landlord (Hunter) for at least trying to prevent the recalcitrant debt dodger from fleeing the scene, like a thief in the night. So from reading all that, he's cut his empire's overheads by running a minor profit turning company into the ground, deliberately by pulling funding - including not paying warehouse rent? Ya, a business restructure alright. I hope the employees receive some of their entitlements. There are some stories out there about Ashley (back in his humble beginnings) ripping off suppliers, by resorting to strong arm tactics (preventing delivery trucks from leaving his shop premises) in order to alter previously agreed to terms. This guy does have thick skin, and seemingly no conscience either. Isn't he still the only sporting clothes mogul who refuses to sign to the anti-child/sweat shop labour treaty?

I think most of us are well prepared for that, Brummie - you would have to be an excessive optimist, even by NUFC standards, to expect anything else from the people running Newcastle United, especially at this stage of Ashley's ownership. He has said himself that he may sell in 2016 so he isn't going to break the piggy bank to get a decent manager now. I have followed the club for 50 years and I cannot recall so much mutual detestation between any of the previous regimes and the fans as there is currently. Ashley clearly treats the fans with contempt, views them that way and his feelings are returned with much higher interest than you can get even at a Bank in a Third World hell-hole. This is NOT a recipe for even a modicum of success and more likely to result in relegation. "Ashley clearly treats the fans with contempt" I've sometimes thought about if he sells up, and a hypothetical scenario of having two consortiums submitting offers that peek his interest. 1. A consortium whose interests lie in the business of football, and results - and harnessing the club's potential. 2. A hedge fund type (or investor) who may look at the club's profit margins, and view Ashley's way of running a club as a blue-print for success - sit on the television rights money, reap the returns, do enough to ensure top flight survival and give nothing back in return (hope) His grudge against Whelan was taken far. This spiteful individual would take a small loss on the chin to deliver option 2 to a supporter base he hates.