gjohnson

I'd be happy with some sort of compromise: "Take the kid to meet Zaha, have a chat, give the kid a lesson in humanity and build bridges" and then at the end Zaha gets to dig the kid as hard as he likes in the solar plexus. There is a point where you have to ignore liberal leftism and just say 'this person is a twat' and deserves some punishment rather than trying to make everything better so it looks good on facebook

This....had massive pace and strength but never looked like he was running fast. Forgotten how many wingers has thought they'd beaten him just for him to suddenly be there and casually take the ball off them. Some of the stuff he did with Colo from the back to escape was practically pornographic too

Well there's a head f**k and a half before you even start on the Chinese ?

Ferguson was too similar to Shearer personality wise to have ever lasted here. Paul Dalglish only ever got here because of his dad (see Alex Bruce) And Speed was crap on the left so deserved all he got. Took a couple of years to be appreciated, and I think we'd all love a midfielder of his ability in our team now

Recall being pretty gutted we didn't get Zenden at the time...Laurent more than made up for it

Never really appreciated Speed until 02/03 as he'd been wasted on left wing a lot. Even then I thought Viana should have been starting ahead of him in the centre. History makes me look like a mug, but I seem to recall Hugo being more highly rated than a certain Ronaldo at the time....and worse we could have chosen either of them

Did think the was better than Speed at the time, just a totally unheralded and underwhelming signing at the time. Was just like he showed up one day and was told to play...think he said same in an interview a few days ago

Des Hamilton....now there was a massive let down. England U-21 international, pretty good reputation, comes here and made Fumaca look good. Clarence Acuna was a total mystery though. I think of him a bit like Sibierski....no one that arsed with him signing, no fan-fare or hype, slight disappointment that a better player wasn't signed.....Pretty decent when he did play, just never really seemed to be able to fix a starting place. Would walk into the current side though. Plus he got busted while driving dressed as a pirate so that's instant cult hero stuff.

For some reason you sound surprised at the clubs current ineptitude. I'd guess Charnley is still planning on being in charge for a bit, and having been so subservient to Ashley for so long, thinks that saving money by giving Carroll a contract instead of finding a capable striker is cheaper and therefore better. Which to be fair it is...a player that is always injured on a pay as you play contract will always cost less . Alternatively this could be the spiteful action of a man who knows he has no long term future at the club and just wants to make things difficult for his successor, and i don't care what people say about professionalism...this does happen, and Charnley hasn't shown himself to be the best professional going.

Dubs doesn't like playing against these though. No matter...watching this will be like watching prime Barcelona playing against Gateshead

This has an annoying Bruce fluke win written all over it. Logic should say Nufc have nothing to play for, and Spurs have a chance for Europe, so comfortable win for them. This will be an absolute battering football wise, but Dubravka will single handedly save everything while we score with our one shot on target

Tomasson too...looked really special in pre season, then totally lost his nerve after missing an easy chance in the first league game. Yes circumstances were against him but seeing how good he got later always made me a bit sad

Distin...now there's one that we really let slip through fingers

Geoegiadis was terrible, Maric was too, but he just never really settled and should have been much better. Domi was good for us, just didn't like the city and took the first chance to get back to Paris. Odd that he rocked up in Leeds a few years later

So many players I really liked but can't remember how good/shit they were. Helder being one of them. Pistone - Had a mixed time, a lot spent injured, but then was good for a few games, then dire for a few more. He was starting to come good again when sold to Everton. Similar to Santon in a lot of ways. Bassedas - Injured in a preseaon game and never really got going. Never really did anything standout, but was never terrible either Gavilan - Should have been brilliant, and had some good games just could never really handle the physicality. Similar story to Viana really, just had better players in his preferred position Cordone - A couple of memorable goals, but other than that just seemed to run around a bit and look scary without doing much Glass - Another one ruined by injuries in his time here. Gouffran reminded me of him a bit

Could be anyone. PIF own 70% of Saudi Telecom, so it could be them as well. A telecom company would be a lot better than an oil company. You aren’t getting people buying oil because they saw an advert, but you’ll get someone in Saudi Arabia getting a phone because they saw an advert on a Newcastle shirt. It could also be the Saudi airline as well. Would suspect the airline, or possibly Sabic

He was a success and we wanted to sign him after the loan deal, but couldn't agree a deal. Think Robson was actually quite a bit more ruthless with players back then too. Piss him off and out the door, there weren't many that survived his wrath back then...only Solano comes to mind with his international duties, and he was talented enough to get away with it. Dumas, Domi, Cordone, Goma, Marcelino despite being (mostly) decent players were shipped out at the first sign of discontent whatever it was. Didn't Domi want to leave as he thought Newcastle was too decadent for his religious lifestyle or something

Northern Powerhouse, levelling up, etc. A Northumberland based Conservative MP did say the local Labour MPs should be hoping the takeover goes through purely for the investment it will bring to the area. It's a difficult political tightrope to walk as an MP having morals about where money comes from which will improve the lives and local area you serve. MPs don't have morals where money is concerned...Labour/Tory whoever....if makes them look ok the money could come from Satan himself

Isn't that why all of Sheffield, Birmingham and a small bit of London hate him too

And our highlight is Steven Taylor

So you say it's either/or, then? Probably done by next week...? It's on until someone who actually knows says it's not....and they aren't talking

Never known anything football related to be so stone cold silent regardless of any NDAs....someone always leaks as people can't help themselves. What's been heard over last few months..Masters saying things will take as long as they take, and various parties objecting in pure self interest?? So a few possibilities.... 1) All parties have become massively professional and are adhering perfectly to the NDA 1.1 - If true then no journalist or self promoter GC and SW know anything at all and their tidbits every now and then are to generate interest 1.2 - Too much interest in this from all involved (us included) for a decision either way not to be announced by someone 2) The PL has suddenly developed a conscience* (as we all know, that's about as likely as Hell freezing over) 2.1 The PL wants the money but doesn't want to look bad 2.2 The PL wants the money, but still wants to look like it's tough on piracy (in order to get more money) 3) Nothing is actually happening at present 3.1 Possible given that Staveley is currently being hauled over the coals/insulted by Barclays in court 3.2 This is a tiny investment for PIF and more than likely not one of their priorities 3.3 PL have more pressing issues to deal with (long shot, but they do still have finite resources, and can only deal with so much at a time) 4) Waiting on Lawyers and Law firms 4.1 Seems feasible. Ever tried buying a house through a solicitor? Never understood how it can take a month to write a 4 line letter, but they manage it, and charge thousands for the privilege even when there's no complex investigation 5) PL don't want this to happen 5.1 Can see why most PL teams would object 5.2 PL are so invested with keeping status quo the same to protect immediate revenue. A successful Newcastle might take a couple of years to generate they income they currently get from the 'big' clubs, and they don't want to see a hit in the accounts that might occur until kids from abroad want to wear a Newcastle shirt rather than a Liverpool one

Pretty much the definitive Newcastle kit. If the designers ignored the latest 'trends, styles, and research' and just flung out a copy of this every other year (as much as sponsor allows) they'd make plenty of cash, and no-one would be complaining of how crap it is. Could probably shoehorn "Fun88" into a blue star with a bit of creativity without losing their identity

Just had a quick look on his insta and yes he’s pretty much living the dream. Good on him. Still only the second coolest Frenchman we've had playing for us.

Pretty much the definitive Newcastle kit. If the designers ignored the latest 'trends, styles, and research' and just flung out a copy of this every other year (as much as sponsor allows) they'd make plenty of cash, and no-one would be complaining of how crap it is.