TheBrownBottle

I mean, that all makes sense to me - the only question is the vaguery around which ‘senior figures’ prefer a new stadium. Senior figures at the club - or at PIF?

Funnily enough the match which sticks out from my mind as a kid in 88/89 is Kenny Wharton’s testimonial - mainly for the Newcastle vs Sunderland match with the old players before it. I remember it most for my old man getting excited by Pop Robson - I’d never seen him that happy before at the match (tbf it was 88/89). It’s also still the only time I ever sat in the posh seats in the East Stand - the view of the ground from that angle and the noise was incredible to me.

I’ll have to put my hands up and say that for at least a season or so I thought playing BDB at LB was the right call In terms of the Ba / Cisse comparison, it’s more the shuffling about to accommodate and seeing at least one of the players losing form. I agree that you play where you’re asked and give everything you can.

Dare I say it - it felt like Cisse / Ba under a previous manager, who is not to be compared to the present man in the dug out …

Got you - I think I can see the logic

And that’s it Bobby - that’s your theory?

Sorry, Newcastle United won’t win the league next season because I don’t think they will? I’m not Uri Gellar ye knaa, my thoughts aren’t that powerful

Not sure I read that right - Howe should keep his position, but failure to win the league next season should mean he’s sacked? I think the fairest thing would be to sack him now if that’s the case. We’re not winning the title next season even if Pep decides he fancies living in Northumberland

The ‘individual errors’ thing that Howe is trotting out a lot is likely to be causing problems in the dressing room, as well as being a failure to be introspective on what’s going wrong. ‘It’s nothing to do with me or what I’m doing - these daft cunts keep making mistakes. My plan was perfect, they’ve made an arse of it again’.

That’s a more generous account than mine, I’ll grant you - but I don’t think Howe is the type of manager who lets anything out he doesn’t want out.

Great stuff I don’t think I can ever burn the memory of the Gallowgate bogs from my memory banks. To this day I’ve never smelt owt like it outside of the occasional visit to a farm

‘I can’t force a player’ is pretty much saying that he did for all intents and purposes. Howe kicked him right under the bus on that one.

I don’t think Woltemade has necessarily helped himself at times, but fuck me did the lack of Isak expose just how limited our wingers are

I don't think Anthony enjoys playing on the right. I think Harvey is a lot more open to it and quite enjoys the freedom that the position gives him with our way of playing. Of course, that doesn't mean I can't play Anthony out there but if a player doesn't really want to play in that position I think it's a difficult one to force a player to do it because I don't think you'll get the same kind of performances. Howe, Edward - 5th Jan 2026

I can remember that one of the things everyone used to say about Asprilla is that you never knew what he was going to do (KK claimed Tino didn’t know either). With Gordon, he’s as blandly predictable as a half-decent inverted winger can be. Teams actively allow him to cut in on his right, knowing that the inevitably poorly-struck curled effort to the far corner isn’t going to trouble the keeper. The high regard some have for him is an absolute mystery to me - I could name a half a dozen better and more effective LW for NUFC without squeezing a single brain cell for memory.

I’m glad ‘Paul’ from Magpie 24/7 has the inside scoop on the thoughts of YAR. Some would think this unlikely, typing this up as he does in his mam’s spare bedroom in Bensham - but those naysayers don’t know how connected ‘Paul’ is

My favourite is ‘challenging for the women’s PL by 2030’. They’re not hampered by PSR in the women’s game - they could have done this already …

Great - but where are these quotes coming from?

Aye, I think there’s money left on the table - but I can’t see the prices changing for the better in the UK (why would they charge less than Sky?), and all the games are already available outside of the UK in any case - so I don’t see why the UK deal (which is where the money would be) would suddenly produce 5x as much money

Oof - Optus had the rights up until this season here in Oz, and I was paying the equivalent of 9SGD per month for all PL matches. I’m not all that sure that there’s hoardes of people out there who aren’t paying for PL football, but if they go to direct broadcast the money will just come tumbling out of their bank accounts.

One of those where it isn’t even worth the effort of any type of emotion other than complete indifference - I’m not even all that sure he’s any better today than the player we signed from Everton. Watching his obvious dummy-spit because Howe has working eyes and won’t play him as a CF was the writing on the wall - the lad is delusional about his own qualities tbh; a player who’s lack of technical gifts were previously covered over by a supreme workrate; a workrate which disappeared about 18 months ago. Happily, Tuchel’s utterly bizarre selections mean he’s still an England international which pushes the value up nicely. Would be good if we could sell him abroad too, so that his two league goals per calendar aren’t (inevitably) against us.

The DTC model in France didn’t reap the promised rewards - and I doubt the PL would offer the service at that sort of pricing. The likelihood is that the rights are worth more than what the PL is paid, though they take on none of the overheads (and risk). Additionally, there is every chance the usual suspects would use DTC to either sell their own individual rights or take an even greater chunk of the income, crystallising the current structure further.

Yep - Mitrovic was effectively fourth choice behind Gayle, Murphy and Perez

Not sure where the TV money calcs are coming from - and the ease of pirating will gobble lots of that up. And there’s still absolutely diddly squat over a new stadium after five years.