gram

He was class yesterday also. Class? Not likely. Tried hard and did a job but a million miles from 'class'. Hard worker but far too slow and erratic.

Not even two weeks Gemmill. I'm a teacher. Broke up Wed and back on the 4th of Jan. How shit is that?

Never heard of it before. Think I need another shite though. Just feeling me guts churnin

I think Craig Moore does the same thing. Forgot about him

Except the opposition

Ring stinging shit of the Xmas hols. Hurt like fuck but glad its done though. Feel a bit lighter on me feet

Taylor isnt as slow as Ramage but he is lacking that real pace. Titus is actually fairly quick. Just very thick and very slow on the turn as you say. Its academic anyway. Think we need a clear out and fairly swiftly. Looking forward to tomorrows game: Given Solano Ramage Taylor Babayaro Dyer Butt Emre(or Parker) Duff (although would prefer Dyer in the centre) Sib Martins

Sorry Alex but not a cat in hells chance! Agree with the last point.

He has been OK. Just dont think he is a lower level Premiership standard player never mind a Newcastle standard player. Bramble despite his errors is twice the player Ramage will ever be. Neither are consistently good enough. We need 3 centre backs at a minimum in the summer. Taylor, despite his improved form for half a dozen games, still has a lot to prove too. We have seen some shockers from him in the past and all too often we have seen the likes of Titus have runs like the ones Taylor is on right now. Not sure he has the pace tbh Would prefer better than all 4 of them. How old is Bramble compared to Taylor though? And I think Bramble has talent and physique in his favour over Ramage but Bramble lacks concentration, goes into his shell when he drops a clanger (I don't think I've ever seen more of a 'confidence player' btw), doesn't/can't organise those around him and you know the next clanger is round the corner. I always used to defend him but I've given up on him now as he's proven to me he isn't good enough. I'm not saying Ramage is the answer but there's no way he and Taylor should be broken up as a partnership until some new players arrive imo. Agree with you. Still not convinced Taylor is the great white hope though. There are also too many players who seriously lack pace in the side despite their youth - e.g. Ramage and Milner. Neither will ever be good enough for the top end of the top flight for that very reason. Taylor isnt the quickest either for that matter. Neither Ramage or Bramble are good enough but Titus, sadly for us, is the only one at the back with any pace. Ramage has been OK but he sends shivers down my spine whenever he gets near having to look like a footballer. Depsite the upturn in the last few games we are seriously shite at the back. Todays game is so much more athletic than it used to be. We have improved since we got pace and confidence back. No real coincidence there. Those who dont have have it have to be exceptional. Our lot arent.

N'Zogbia has been very poor this season. Better than very poor isnt enough. In my view he is never gonna be anything other than a journeyman footballer. I think we deserve better. His crossing is generally appalling, lacks pace, doesnt contribute on the score sheet etc etc...Seriously though he just doesnt have the attributes to be a Newcastle player. we deserve those just short of top level and the odd one at the top level. Other clubs will cherry pick the very best. Milner wouldnt get a sniff in Arsenals Coca Cola team. That sums it up really. I disagree. I used to think exactly the same as you, but he's been one of our better players this season. Simply put, if he can sort out his often apalling crossing, we'd be laughing. at how slow he is?

N'Zogbia has been very poor this season. Better than very poor isnt enough. In my view he is never gonna be anything other than a journeyman footballer. I think we deserve better. His crossing is generally appalling, lacks pace, doesnt contribute on the score sheet etc etc...Seriously though he just doesnt have the attributes to be a Newcastle player. we deserve those just short of top level and the odd one at the top level. Other clubs will cherry pick the very best. Milner wouldnt get a sniff in Arsenals Coca Cola team. That sums it up really.

I think that may have a lot to do with who signed him! I've never really rated him either. I couldn't see what the fuss was about in his first year, and he's done little to convince me of his worth as a player or captain. I suspect people like him because he gives so much effort, but technically I just don't think he's good enough. He doesn't score, holds play up too much, and it's simply a fact we play better without him in the team. If he plays on Saturday, I don't think we'll win. Agree that too many people are easily pleased by a bit of effort. We continue to see it with real substandard players like Milner and Ramage. I always worry about players when fans bring out daft stats. Watching either of them its fairly obvious that they are lacking. Neither are good enough for the club which is something I wouldnt label Parker with. He's not my favourite and certainly isnt as good as many would have us believe but thats football fans. However, depends what you mean 'technically'. Hear everyone say it (more so after some newspaper uttered the words 'technically inept') and never sure if the people saying it actually understand what it means. If it means his ability to control and pass a ball then I will disagree if its some mystical thing that I dont understand then I will accept that. Not a dig by the way Renton. Just curious as to what it means. If he plays then I suspect we will be fine. It depends on the combination though. If we go back to the Arsenal game then Butt and Parker did very well together. If its Parker and Emre than I am less sure. I havent seen the facts that say we are a better team without him. Those games coincided with a bit of pace and confidence coming back into the side and he was part of that at the beginning. If we had a full squad and we saw all the complimenting players able to play together then I think thats a better indication than a few games where a once hated player has done very well. Having said all of that I would play Dyer and Butt there. OK, I probably used the wrong word when I said technically, because I agree with your definition. I would clarify then that he is limited and he is not an intelligent football player, despite being at his prime now (unlike Milner or Ramage). It may be a cliche, but rarely has headless chicken been more appropriate to describe a player. If we are going to build our team around him then that is a major cause for concern imo. Yeah I agree he isnt one to build a team around. Hes not a bad (squad) player though. Nb: Parker is light years ahead of the other two which is worrying

He has been OK. Just dont think he is a lower level Premiership standard player never mind a Newcastle standard player. Bramble despite his errors is twice the player Ramage will ever be. Neither are consistently good enough. We need 3 centre backs at a minimum in the summer. Taylor, despite his improved form for half a dozen games, still has a lot to prove too. We have seen some shockers from him in the past and all too often we have seen the likes of Titus have runs like the ones Taylor is on right now. Not sure he has the pace tbh Would prefer better than all 4 of them.

I think that may have a lot to do with who signed him! I've never really rated him either. I couldn't see what the fuss was about in his first year, and he's done little to convince me of his worth as a player or captain. I suspect people like him because he gives so much effort, but technically I just don't think he's good enough. He doesn't score, holds play up too much, and it's simply a fact we play better without him in the team. If he plays on Saturday, I don't think we'll win. Agree that too many people are easily pleased by a bit of effort. We continue to see it with real substandard players like Milner and Ramage. I always worry about players when fans bring out daft stats. Watching either of them its fairly obvious that they are lacking. Neither are good enough for the club which is something I wouldnt label Parker with. He's not my favourite and certainly isnt as good as many would have us believe but thats football fans. However, depends what you mean 'technically'. Hear everyone say it (more so after some newspaper uttered the words 'technically inept') and never sure if the people saying it actually understand what it means. If it means his ability to control and pass a ball then I will disagree if its some mystical thing that I dont understand then I will accept that. Not a dig by the way Renton. Just curious as to what it means. If he plays then I suspect we will be fine. It depends on the combination though. If we go back to the Arsenal game then Butt and Parker did very well together. If its Parker and Emre than I am less sure. I havent seen the facts that say we are a better team without him. Those games coincided with a bit of pace and confidence coming back into the side and he was part of that at the beginning. If we had a full squad and we saw all the complimenting players able to play together then I think thats a better indication than a few games where a once hated player has done very well. Having said all of that I would play Dyer and Butt there.

I think that may have a lot to do with who signed him!

This Parker thing has gone right over the top. The bairns and the loons (Leazes mates presumably) on NO are incredible. He is still a good player and still does a good job for us. Agree that its about the team but the way people have turned is staggering. Does tend to make them look a bit daft. I understand that half of them are still at school and the other half look like they still should be but.....

Any of the following: Pint of guinness with a couple of whiskies hoyed in Whisky with nowt else. Baileys and Jameson is very good Tequila slammers (never right to just have one) Margharita Mojita

Cheers for that Renton

Who appointed Roeder? We have to wait for the right manager? How long? We should plan for that. Since the appallingingly unprofessional manner in which we dealt with Bobby we have had a couple of years to find someone who will meet with the aspirations of the club and the fans. Liverpool managed to appoint Benitez through careful planning. We were neck and neck with them. They knew their manager was going to leave and FS made a decision that summer that indicated that Bobby was leaving - i.e. that it would be his last year. In doing so he should have been planning for the future. We are now light years away from where we were. You fail to grasp that strategic planning (which in business parlance means long term) includes appointing the right people not just having pine doors. That includes new searching for new funding as we see Liverpool doing right now and long term searches for the right manager. Reacting in a business like this isnt the way forward. Proactive management is essential and we havent seen it on the playing side have we? Who is ultimately responsible for that? The head in the sand approach you adopt is commendable Leazes but its ill-thought out. We may have bought players for huge fees. However, they have included Boumsong, Luque et al. Throwing money at a dodgy manager was a ludicrous decision. How can you ever justify Freddie's management then? There is endless empirical evidence of him fucking up and making us look like a bunch of parochial tossers. Thats why I am bothered when he opens his mouth. How can you justify his last two appointments? I will be staggered if FS has the foresight to be looking for a suitable contender for the managers chair right now. I am fairly sure the majority on this board will share my thoughts on that matter. Its fair enough to say Freddie has done some reasonable things but my ambition for this club and yours seem to be diametrically opposed. I want consistent challenges in the top 6 not yo-yoing up and down the league. The league placing trend tells you more about us than the 'fifth best' nonsense you pedal. The top clubs tend to stay at the top. The rest tend to swap places. Thats where we are and if we want to be a stable club at the top then we need change either in the management style or the personnel at the top. Have a good xmas.

Well, we have qualified regularly for europe, including a Champions League run, and bought England players, so if you think that is stagnant I suppose its correct. But its far from rubbish or medioce, or a joke to other fans and other clubs, if you think that then you have a problem, because you wouldn't know real mediocrity if it hit you on the head with a hammer. Oh sweet lordy dear! Which England players have we bought? the 'Keeper? nope, A defender? no sir, eeer....... Woodgate ? Well, how about telling us how many England players we bought before the Halls and Shepherd ? Answer = we sold them instead, and they were local lads who wanted to go. Why am I surprised that you didn't know this or even consider it. Well when the Milburn stand was built - with the proceeds of selling an England player - the chairman at the time proudly announced that it would be like Watfords. As i said, you wouldn't understand mediocrity if it hit you on the head with a hammer, pal. The board is the same major shareholders since 1992. The only difference is during its first few years they got the best manager, or the manager who was the right one for the club, as he had no track record to speak of. This was nothing to do with the chairman at the time, appointing him was not his idea. These things are board decisions, not one persons. it is the same board. We do not have a divine right to stay 2nd in the league. Qualifying for europe regularly over a period of a decade has been done on merit. If the board had not retained its ambition and the backing of the managers, we would have done far worse. We have played regularly in europe. If you think this is shit - or stagnation/mediocrity - then , again, you have no idea of mediocrity. We do not have a divine right to stay 2nd or do better, why do you think it is so simple ? As for buying big name/quality players, the day you don't do that is the day you stagnate, so if you don't want to do this, then OK. I don't give a toss what he says if he goes to a brothel or what he says to the press. If you think he employs the wrong managers, please explain what your criteria would be if proven trophy winning managers are not on your agenda as suitable candidates ? You should give a toss what he says in the media. Chairmen have responsibilities that you clearly dont understand. If you did then you wouldnt be so keen to absolve him of the blame for the current predicament. Equally I am beginning to have serious doubts about your knowledge of football. If you think Glenn Roeder is the man to take us where we want to be then you need your head read. He was employed by Shepherd. Not by committee. FS himself accepts that the 'buck stops' with him. You have dug a hole that youre not willing to get out of as it will make you look daft. The irony is that you end up writing this shite and making yourself look a complete prat. Shame cos your heart is in the right place. Disclaimer: I watched Newcastle well before 1992

How many people does it take to make Leazes see the obvious?

Just a quick point about your use of the English language. To be honest I am procrastinating here rather than marking exam papers. However, I do feel it needs to be said. Could you use expand your vocabulary just a little bit? Something other than other than 'stuck in' in the match reports? Mind you full marks for not describing the other two as Ramagey and Taylory. Haway the Toon

haha.......you call me a cretin. Go back and see where I said to that rentboy chum of yours that the team is showing signs of improving [before the last 2 or 3 recent results] and he rubbished it. What a fucking wanker you are lad. Still think we need defenders more than forwards ? Which is precisely what you meant and said. You may say we had 6 defenders or whatever but the only forwards we had were Luque and Ameobi, when I pointed that out you still said we need defenders. Double fucking wanker lad. You won't admit you were wrong.........and guess what, I am right - again ...

No Love Lost - The Rifles

fuckwits have said we don't and haven't appointed big name/trophy/proven managers. Fact. We have appointed these sort of managers. Fact. 5th best over a period of a decade = Fact. Take it or leave it. Still think we aren't improving ?