gallowgate_pete

Chelsea make the first of their two cup exits this week against Arsenal in the League Cup semi final...

Gracia confirmed

Be careful what you wish for, eh? Honestly, I'll take my chances. Unfortunately I doubt I can ever give NUFC up but I hate being a zombie club

It would be one of the most incredible things in club history ever if Rafa Benitez is still at the club at the end of the 16 months left on his contract. Sadly I just can't see it. I suppose therefore I should enjoy having a competent manager while it lasts. Hopefully Rafa will keep a squad chock full of Championship players up this season. He's blatantly not going to get any investment. Mike Ashley is done with the club altogether now, much like Randy Lerner was at Villa and like Ellis Short down the road at the mackems. Thankfully there are a lot of poor sides in the lower reaches of the PL again this season, and our GD remains reasonably OK. We've shown enough glimpses to suggest we'll scrape by but screwed up a few home games. It'll be touch-and-go, and I don't think we have the quality to make it to 40 points. Maybe high-30s and a decent GD will be good enough. Even if we stay up and Rafa still leaves, though, we will again have missed a huge chance to move on and improve as a club. Our first chance, it feels, in quite a few years. It's all a bit depressing really.

Wasn't that game shot after shot from us though? Been nothing of the sort here. Aye, 42 shots or something daft like that, I think.

24 successful passes in 22 minutes?

Canny enough 3pm KO results for us. We can go 10th with a win hahahahaha

Indeed. Was thinking Leicester must be close to Burnley in the table. They're above them on GD.

Didn't cut the mustard, tonight. Unlike Norwich.

Apparently supports Altrincham or something, so it's okay. Apparently...

How many times has Ritchie hit the woodwork? Leicester recently and West Ham today. Sure there have been others, though.

West Ham lead at Stoke so we've just gone into the bottom three.

The Thames isn’t on the way back to Newcastle He'll take a diversion?

Poor b******...even though ive never seen us win nothing in 40 years them years from 93 to 97 and 2001 to 2003 I just wouldn't swap for anything...... Aye, the Robson years for me especially. I was a student in the early noughties and we were playing every three days, sometimes against the best in Europe. Constantly on the drink. Very fond memories.

1988-89 has FA Cup winning goalkeeper Beasant (terrible for us), as well as Liam O'Brien, John Hendrie, and Mirandinha (who turned to s*** after a good decent enough 1987-88). They played horribly at a club which had an unfinished stand and a boardroom needing to be forced out. Some similarities, in terms of the boardroom, but I would argue 1988-89 actually had more options than Benitez has. 1990-91 was a horrible squad - but, in terms of the top flight, the only recent one which gets close imo is 2006-07 (Ramage, Huntingdon etc.), and even that was only shown up by being injury-ravaged. Anyway, 0-4 today, lads Joselu with all 4. Haha here's hoping Nah, just my habit to put the Newcastle score first, regardless of whether we're home or away.

Youre very fortunate not to have witnessed 90/91 and 91/92..... At the same time, I think the lad (HaydnNUFC) is just 16 so can't remember Keegan I or even Robson! He's seen nowt but us under Ashley...

1988-89 has FA Cup winning goalkeeper Beasant (terrible for us), as well as Liam O'Brien, John Hendrie, and Mirandinha (who turned to s*** after a decent enough 1987-88). They played horribly at a club which had an unfinished stand and a boardroom needing to be forced out. Some similarities, in terms of the boardroom, but I would argue 1988-89 actually had more options than Benitez has. 1990-91 was a horrible squad - but, in terms of the top flight, the only recent one which gets close imo is 2006-07 (Ramage, Huntingdon etc.), and even that was only shown up by being injury-ravaged. Anyway, 0-4 today, lads

Aye, Entertainers era in 1993/94. Hooper had a particularly terrible game in goal down there.

Not totally against that - but just worried that Ritchie's form is colouring people's opinion of him. He has still got plenty of assists this season, and - paired with a competent defender on his side - I think he still adds value to the team. He's a horrendous defender but it's not really his role. My main criticism of him as an attacker is that he lacks pace but I find Atsu's decision-making frustrating at times.

Darlow Yedlin - Clark - Lascelles - Dummett Murphy - Shelvey - Hayden - Ritchie Merino Gayle* *or Mitrovic (depending on oppo) If everyone was fit?...

Indeed. Really enjoyed the songbook today.

Exactly. He's just totally unsuited to being a LB.

As much of a grafter that he is, Ritchie cannot be trusted at LB (or even as an auxiliary LB).