Stal

So was Abied. Aye but he was mates with HBA and we all know that's not allowed. I thought it was Cabaye he was mates with?

I always thought there should be more coaches. The manager explains how he wants the team to play and what he would like the coaches to work on and the coaches then go and work with the players in specific areas. It makes sense (well, to me at least) that a defensive coach could pass his knowledge onto the defenders in the squad etc. This way doesn't mean that the players get mixed messages, as the manager has already explained his philosophy to the coaching staff.

Just seen a story in the chronicle saying he refuses to look at signings in January when we are in a relegation fight. Surely that's the time we really need good players to come in? It's so transparent, he's just trying to lower/manage fan's expectations and further kill the club. I didn't want him, but with the backroom staff he brought in I started to have hope. He didn't clear the dead wood and not enough quality signings were made over the summer though and I started to think it would be a struggle. Carr also needs his share of blame for insisting on bringing him in when the club could have made a decision to make a big change with someone else (Garde, DeBoer etc) as does the inept lee ryder for cheerleading him (not on the carver ring licking scale, but still -apologies for Darth for the pre-lunch imagery), rather than championing someone who could have been a breath of fresh air. Anyway, point being he's just another pardew, just a less odious one.

"Do you want NUFC to be relegated?"...I'm now wondering if the players and/or mcclaren actually do. Not sure what mcclaren would gain from it, but I think it's a viable thing for the players. They'd still get moves to other top league clubs.

I am in no way a mcclaren fan, although I can see he's far better than pardew. I think new faces would have solved it IF they had been made in the summer. There is too much of a can't be arsed attitude which seems to permeate throughout the squad and you can see it affecting the good players we brought in. Get rid of those with real fight because they stood up to the regime and keep the yes man patsies. Colo is the absolute epitome of this. Never mind as a player, I believe this guy is a massive reason why the club have trouble moving on. Why would you motivate yourself with this as your captain? A bloke who has the odd good game in a blue moon, doesnt have any passion, thinks asking "how's your wife and kids?" is motivational when we're a goal behind and seems to also be sodding off back to Argentina every Christmas. Mcclaren had the chance when he took over to make a huge change, relieve the existing captain of his duties and give it to someone with drive who would inspire. He also should have insisted on a replacement for colo too. And I do say insisted because it was us (well, graham carr) desperately licking his ring to get him here in the first place, not him chasing us. I can understand to a degree him allowing abeid and kemen to go because he likely thought the centre midfield was full so I'll cut him some slack. But he needed to make sweeping changes to breathe life into a decaying corpse of a club and instead he kept it as it was. Not just about player selections for me, it was about having the balls to make the changes needed to make a statement. That change could have really driven us forward, taken us out of the bog of eternal hopelessness that was the pardew era and I believe that the players who are either being written off as cack or just aren't performing might actually be different players now. Ones who actually care. But if you keep the rot around then you're just putting a Kleenex over a pissy puddle and hoping the wet bits don't spread.

I noted that some folks on here seem to be wrestling fans, so thought I'd post this video of Neville giving his prediction on the game. Love his pardew comment too https://www.facebook.com/BBCMOTD/videos/10153797669985982/

I personally don't agree with this new set up, but it's been that way for a couple of years. It does seem to weaken your squad somewhat though and it must be worrying that if you're a young lad with a load of established players in the first team, then it's Stenhouse Muir, Yeovil, Gateshead and the Benfield Motors 5 a side team for your future.

You can have 3 outfield players as well as a goalkeeper over 21, if I am remembering the rules for what was the Reserves in old money.

I saw a poll in the chronicle asking if Mitrović and Ayoze should start against Man City. It was 99% for and I wondered who was the 1% vote against from? Cisse?

I think it's because it's a lie. Possibly a lie on the carver cup match scale of lies.

Seems they've got previous when it comes to having a quick slash on church grounds: http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/876126.fury_as_woman_spared_jail_for_grave_urination/ So on the basis that one idiot earned us the nickname 'horse-punchers', we now have twice as much reason to call them the....I dunno......Christpissers?? "Piss-tians"?