Percy Street

5-4 Fantastic. The daft personal memory was being in Inventions (now the Crow's Nest) on soft drinks after the game. I'd had a particularly pickled Christmas and I remember I stayed off the booze for 3 weeks (for clarity that doesn't mean I'm lying face down the days I'm on it - then or now (!) but I was on, for me , a serious fitness thing). My disbelieving mate said after the game "are you sure" you're not drinking?" "If we played like that every week I wouldn't need to" was my sober reply. And watching the crowd - we forget how much the old place rocked. I'm sure SJP will be up for tomorrow but I'd so love some sci fi timeslip where the mackems ran out to THAT St James' Park............Darren Bent running back down the tunnel, Lee Cattermole finding out he's not a hardman after all and Steve Bruce stumbling around saying "where is this place?"

Talksport is there purely to provoke a reaction and they are largely clueless about matters in the North East. The "biggest" derby is always your own I realise but SJP attendances dwarf anything in the midlands, Edinburgh or the South Coast. I imagine the "arrests" stats speak for themselves as well. As respected football expert Howman Heyman points out this was probably cobbled together in a hury by some southern research assistant.

Face pressed against our window all their lives. Even Father Dougall wouldn't need to ask "so why are they called sad, mackem bastards then...................?"

We rode out luck against Arsenal at times but could have been 2-0 up by half time. How we didn't beat United is beyond me, we couldn't have got anymore unlucky if we tried. And against City we played them off the park for at least 45 minutes and more than deserved the last minute winner, although we got super, super lucky with Tevez's miss. I'm expecting a positive result against Villa tomorrow too... And as the saying goes, form goes out of the window in derby games, so those stats mean nothing really do they? You seem a sensible and reasonable sort (despite your obvious flaw) but some of your mates on Ready to Go astound. Some good posters on there when i take a sneak peak but also some complete and utter tools without any sense of self awareness or irony. That we get some knackas on Newcastle boards I wouldn't argue for a second. I play football with mackems, go for a pint with some and would call the odd one a mate. I'm not being an arse here (at least not intentionally!). Sunday is a tough game and one we could easily lose - we could also easily win it as well. For me we have the better individual players, Sunderland the better defence. Where some of the mackem's shoutier (new word alert) confidence about humping us comes from I'm not sure. Sunderland's away form is awful and they are almost comically reliant on Darren Bent to score goals. If Sunderland were playing Wolves the pre match instructions from McCarthy to Karl Henry wouldn't require huge amounts of cynicism to imagine. Thru my biased eyes the MOTD highlights seemed to suggest the mackems used up two games worth of good fortune yesterday - here is hoping from the bottom of my twisted black and white heart. 2-1 to the North East's biggest club (and don't mackem's know that better than us - it eats the dafter ones constantly)

I may be corrected here but has anyone ever failed the "fit and proper persons"test? I don't think it has any credibility to be honest. I don't think the football authoritieshave the expertise or the power to make it meaningful. Sort of the point I was making. Sorry ewerk - not at the peak of my perceptive powers at midnight on a Friday - can't think why! Cheers Percy

I may be corrected here but has anyone ever failed the "fit and proper persons"test? I don't think it has any credibility to be honest. I don't think the football authoritieshave the expertise or the power to make it meaningful.

Lots of clubs sack managers after short bad runs and we have serial form for panic stricken decision making, doesn't make it right! The timing and the nature of dear old Bobby's departure was a shockingly bad piece of decision making - Doug Hall (his name rhymed with fuck all for a reason) - took the bow for that one I believe. Hughton still has a lot to prove after a great season last time out but I'm totally unconvinced that sacking him is the answer. One of the few real strengths we seem to have at the club is the team bond / spirit that Hughton has built in tandem with the players. Blowing that apart for someone else (and who ?) would seem to be a huge gamble. Newcastle cries out for stability and has huge inglorious form for hitting the panic button - the last thing we need right now is all change. Yes things could get worse lose the next two league games and CH may well not survive - I prefer to raise my half full glass to the do -able prospect of winning them both.

There will still be a few dotted around, I know a couple going. Thankfully I've got a ticket in our end (touch wood) so I will be fine. It is too early for a score prediction then? I'm going for a 0-1 away win. I'm not kidding myself either, it's going to be a hell of a battle but if we play our normal game for stretches of the game we should scrape it. I'm not highly confident by any means but it feels better going into this game with a decent chance of taking all 3 points, it's normally the other way around, an embarrassment at St. James' isn't easy to take. Was slightly worried about the aerial threat of Carroll at the start of the season but now I can't say I'm bothered. Bramble and Turner are superb in the air and have handled everyone so far with ease, Carroll looked extremely poor against a strong Stoke defence too. We've got pace on the break so that'll be handy against Williamson and co. How Enrique handles Elmohamady (sp) will be key, if Elmo gets his way with him you'll be in trouble, he's been superb this season. Fast as a rocket and has a wicked cross, glad we've got a permanent deal lined up for him at the end of the season as apparently other clubs have been sniffing around. So aye, 0-1 - Bent (34 mins). Predicting Bent as your goal threat - you didn't need to deal the Tarot cards to work that one out now did you? Probably be a typical nervy derby - the games you can only enjoy afterwards - sometimes. Still very sick that Hatem Benny won't be available but I think we've got enough. I'm a reasonable Mag as well. I've already sent Darren Bent a get well slowly card. And don't forget the wonders of the Shola system. Whatever his faults not scoring against the mackems isn't one of them. Home win over the undead on Halloween.

Spot on. The club's approach to communication reamains as bizarre and unhelpful as ever. That said the tediously negative knee jerk elsewhere on this thread probably depresses me more.

A good opening post on this thread. I've highlighted the reported comment as the sort of negativity that just does my head in. Elsewhere on here someone criticises Shola for scoring a poor quality hat trick - for fuck's sake man! Shola on reliable authority is a very good lad who lacks aggression from a standing start- people who ought to know tell me so! Has a lot of natural ability but lacks consistency, is injury prone and has underachieved hugely. Seen plenty of worse forwards but to be fair they didn't last anything like as long. For the club and his sake he probably should have been moved on a while back but............ ......there are many people on and off the pitch at SJP down the years far more deserving of the abuse that Shola cops. If he falls on his arse today I won't boo him and if he scores I will cheer because I'm not a miserable twat - I'm calm!

Couldn't agree more! And i don't accept this "injuries" risk either. If you are going to get an injury crisis you are going to get one - players can get fettled in pre season games and training - perhaps we shouldn't do those either! .............and don't accept our squad is that small either, dependant upon the next 24 hours perhaps. If Chelsea put a strong team out we also need to do so as well - an "Accrington" team would get mauled - no benefits to anyone in that.

I understand the logic in rotating for this one and that the gap between the sides should allow us to do it but............... .............I will hate it if we blow this by trying to take the piss and put out a team entirely made up of kids. Teams can be over cautious in "avoiding injuries" If your name is on an injury crisis you'll get one - players can get fettled in training. I'd love to see us make a go of a cup run. And there is plenty of scope in changing Sunday's team without making it a kindergarden. - Involve (from the off) Krul, Lovenkrands, Shola, Xisco, Raylor, Kadar , Guthrie (if fit) and surely Campbell can play here? Never bought into this "disregard the cups and concentrate on survival mentality" - it reeks of fear and small time thinking. A cup win is unlikely I realise (very unlikely if your name is NUFC) but in the last decade Boro and Portsmouth have shown its not impossible to break the stranglehold of the "big" (whatever number they are now). Winning the Carling cup would be Sunday's feelgood factor times 10 - madness not to give it a go.

Will not kid myself that I can do all 20 places but just to say.......... Nee surprises Blackpool simply must have a relegation place booked. Think they will be joined by Wigan who had horrendous defensive problems last season. After that well yes if things go wrong we could feature but I fancy us to spend the season in a relegation battle of varying degrees but ultimately to survive. We are miles behind the PL big hitters but I think that blinds too many people. So is at least half the division. Have half a feeling Wolves will go down with Wigan and Blackpool. Expect Stoke and Brum to do much worse this time around - just a hunch. At the top Liverpool's hand has been stengthened by swapping Rafa for Roy and Joe Cole for Benayoun although I do think the latter is a decent player. The scousers though still have some big problems (relative to their aspirations) The CL and Europa places are between eight teams and extremely hard to call.

So much of what the Tories are doing is driven not by need but of their traditional dislike of the public sector and public sector unions. That the sons and daughters of Thatcher are being aided and abetted in their dirty deeds by so called bloody Liberals is one that party may want to ponder. And they may want to pnder it some more when , as I suspect, they get a kicking in the next local elections. Tory voters voted for this public sector hatchet job, I doubt Lib Dem voters did. This is not the 80's when the ice queen had a huge majority - Labour needs to get its act together and soon for when this marriage of career convenience heads for the divorce courts. Clegg's grab for office is the most shameless abandonment of doing the right thing since Blair crawled up George Bush's arse but I digress.

Voted for Nolan. Last season said the right things off the pitch and did plenty of right things on it. Think he likes it up here and is up for the fight. Will start more games than Smith, Barton doesn't deserve the arm band on his Toon career to date but live in hope he one day matches the brochure. Taylor wouldn't be the worst shout in some ways but would he unite the team? All points to Nolan for me.

I have crossed paths with Howman at various media launches and consulate luncheons. We know some of the same people in the bohemian Haymarket pavement cafe society. All Artists, actors and thinkers y'know. Aye' alright it was the Three Bulls on match day but I generally try never to drag the facts into anything. Oh. Howman, what was he like, great - if you can get past the minders and the hangers on (people he owes money and beer to) he was a very sound lad and proper Mag of many years standing but a mere puppy compared to mesel like.

I listened to about 10 seconds of that and couldn't listen anymore....shocking... In the midst of it all and however mad and ill judged it still shows Gazza's heart to be big and in the right place. But as for his judgment, his own well being and future prospects...............its just terribly sad.

I've just had a quick glance at those threads. I was going to say "unbelievable" but sadly its not. I know some mackems who at the end of it all are good lads, good fans and a good laugh. And then there are the completely shameless bell ends on those threads. So smug, so self assured that they are sorted and sussed and gloriously unaware that they are depressing, hate filled, shit heads.

I think public sector workers understand what cuts and job losses are funnily enough. Where do you imagine we come from? Add to that many of the greatest challenges posed to the public sector arise from areas of ingrained economic hardship / low aspirations - high crime, poor health, negative attitude to schools, etc. As I said earlier I understand the need for cuts but the Tories are loving this while crying crocodile tears. The bit that really kills me is that too many people just say "cut the public sector this or that" without thinking of the knock on. The cancelling of many school building contracts is going to hammer the construction industry. And where do people imagine that public sector workers (doing whatever) spend their wages? On one of Jupiter's moons?! No all across the private sector of course - hammer the public sector - and the Tories have started doing just that - and it's going to screw many private sector jobs as well.

agreed. the cuts, i think, have come hard and fast while the coalition is still in the honeymoon period. cameron was quite clever there - politically, he didn't want to still be cutting hard before the next election. typical tory cuts though, the poor suffering through the VAT rise. i hoped the libdems would be able to exert more influence here. it was galling to hear danny alexander defending cuts they radically opposed just a few weeks ago. they really have sold their soul for power. i thought it might lead to a more progressive coalition government but the the emergency budget really shows that most politicians are the same - they've no principles and they sell out as soon as they get into power. it's exactly the same with them giving ground to the tories over the trident nuclear weapons policy. labour under blair were exactly the same. i felt ashamed after i voted for blair and he followed bush into iraq. i feel just as disappointed with the lib dems now. i voted for them partly to protest over labour's failings but also for their social policies and the fact that they opposed spending billions on nuclear weapons we don't need when we've a record budget deficit to cut and they've let me down on both counts. I think a lot of Labour voters would agree with most of that post. The single biggest thing that pulls the rug from any attempted Labour march to the moral high ground in recent years is Blair's shameful sucking up to the utterly awful Bush and the equally awful decision to go to war in Iraq. I think many people rightly had a lot of time for the Lib Dems but now................still I suspect a lot of good people in their party as a whole. However, the leadership have sold their souls for power and I wouldn't be at all be surprised to see the Lib Dems take an absolute kicking in the next local elections just as the cuts are biting. And then watch the coalition start to crack big time...............

I think a lot of Labour voters would agree with most of that post. The single biggest thing that pulls the rug from any attempted Labour march to the moral high ground in recent years is Blair's shameful sucking up to the utterly awful Bush and the equally awful decision to go to war in Iraq. I think many people rightly had a lot of time for the Lib Dems but now................still I suspect a lot of good people in their party as a whole. However, the leadership have sold their souls for power and I wouldn't be at all be surprised to see the Lib Dems take an absolute kicking in the next local elections just as the cuts are biting. And then watch the coalition start to crack big time............... agreed. the cuts, i think, have come hard and fast while the coalition is still in the honeymoon period. cameron was quite clever there - politically, he didn't want to still be cutting hard before the next election. typical tory cuts though, the poor suffering through the VAT rise. i hoped the libdems would be able to exert more influence here. it was galling to hear danny alexander defending cuts they radically opposed just a few weeks ago. they really have sold their soul for power. i thought it might lead to a more progressive coalition government but the the emergency budget really shows that most politicians are the same - they've no principles and they sell out as soon as they get into power. it's exactly the same with them giving ground to the tories over the trident nuclear weapons policy. labour under blair were exactly the same. i felt ashamed after i voted for blair and he followed bush into iraq. i feel just as disappointed with the lib dems now. i voted for them partly to protest over labour's failings but also for their social policies and the fact that they opposed spending billions on nuclear weapons we don't need when we've a record budget deficit to cut and they've let me down on both counts.

Nobody disputes the need for spending cuts as such. Pragmatic cuts done gradually and reluctantly would be a neccessary evil we could all wrap our heads around. However, the Tories are intent on taking a fire axe to the public sector and see the recession as the ideal political cover under which to do so. In amongst all the blether everywhere a couple of weks ago I read a perfect weary summing up - apologies I forget where. "This economic crisis wasn't caused by Dustman's pensions in Leeds". Quite. It was caused by greed and incompetence in the global banking system - which is why nearly all the main economies are up shit creek to one degree or another. We can put up VAT but not income tax, why? Because we have a Tory Government that favours regressive taxes (VAT hits rich and poor with very unequal force) whereas as progressive hikes like income tax would relatively speaking spare the poor and make the better off pay. And why can't the banks who caused the mess tip up more? There was plenty wrong with the last Labour government but as many of us suspected the new Tories are the sons and daughters of Thatcher (you're catching on I don't think that's a good thing) and underneath the cleverer PR they are sadly little better.

Now I'm no lawyer (funnily enough) but....................whatever the truth or otherwise of allegations about Gerrard or anyone else a judge wouldn't agree to a gagging order to protect the FA when it wasn't the FA in the dock. That just doesn't ring true, so if that bit is made up...............................

Nowt wrong with a rattling tin / bucket - and the people doing that will be volunteers. Got to agree with the charity workers - "chuggers" is a new one on this old git - but they seem to be total wankers - all this fake cheery matey stuff. Go stick your head somewhere you patronising little bastards. Then again what might any of us be doing for a living shortly if the Bullingdon club stay in power................ Buy the big issue fairly regularly and would have to say based upon my experience in Newcastle have never had a problem with a seller. There was one lad who used to be regularly in the bookies mind which did beg me to question "how vulnerable ?!" but generally the poor buggers don t have a lot - certainly not the lad I regularly buy from.

Remember years ago walking away from some twat in the Irish club who just didn't seem to get I was less than impressed by his discussion with his mate about "what's the most he ever got for a ticket". We can't ever say never, we're not Mother Teresa on here any us I doubt but I would have thought it would take impending financial doom for any proper supporter to rip off a fellow sufferer. Never done it. I could live with someone who needed to pay a final demand or something but not those tossers I mentioned at the start casually boasting about it. St Percy of Street .....actually while typing this I've remembered something! Couldn't get a ticket for Arsenal in 98 but had a ticket for Man U in 99. At our local there was this bloke who seemed dead canny, proper Geordie but who had been in away round the world on the ships or something for a long time (no he hadn't been inside, pretty sure!)and was ready to offer me something daft - a couple of hundred or so for my ticket. Didn't take it. Thought about that when we got beat by a Man U team who could have left their training bibs on and I missed my coach (all the life affirming moments at once eh?!) but I'm still pleased I said no!