Happy Face

You lend financial & vocal support at the stadium, you're a supporter. You don't, you're a fan. Works on the basis of what words mean as far as I'm concerned.

Dalgliesh has adopted the Anfield cat. Named it after the dog in The Dambusters.

embarrassing. How much have you paid in the last 4 years, and the next 3 to "see the team lose every week". Coming from someone who is a self proclaimed smart lad, that is incredibly desperate and juvenile. am I less of a supporter because I dont attend matches? ridiculous position for an argument tbh You're not a supporter at all. You're a fan.

The problem with sticking with his current crop of players is, as you suggest, they won't stick with Sunderland. If Mclean and Sessegnon keep up this form they'll not last the summer and even if O'Neil were happy to replce them cheap the fans won't be.

Pretty sure they sold Jones before they bought Gyan tbf. They've also still spent something like £50 million+ net in the last 5 years too. So that supports the approach, sell Jones for £8m, sign Gyan for £13m have a canny season. Sell Gyan without a replacement having sold Bent and Jones already, it goes to shit. Mclean has been O'Neils best player and he cost £350k. So i'm not daft enought o follow LM's line of thought that it's all about spending more than you pull in, but a clubs approach to transfers defines their whole outlook before a ball is kicked. What good will Ashley has built up goes out the window in the summer if he sells Colo, Tiote and Ba.

Leazes might make too much of it and lack nuance, but I thinnk a huge factor in the Mackems fall was the sale of Bent, Gyan, Henderson and Jones amongst other to pull in £45m, but then only spending £17m to replace them with a championship kid and a few Man U rejects. O'Neil has got the feel good factor back and a new manager bounce, but that feel good factor is very precarious and can go out the window quick. If they sold Sessegnon and Mclean for example, it'd piss people off.

That's why I linked to the table of % stadiums are filled. The mackems have the worst for a top half club. We have the second worst. Similarly positioned clubs with comparable stadiums (dippers, Arsenal, Chelsea) aren't having the same trouble. Think it's more than the across the board drop off you mention, more the latter reasons. If current results and half price tickets aren't going to bring them fans back, hope we can push on more to entice them.

The OP was off the back of our lowest attendance in 5 or so games, but the question was more about the average attendance. Still not recovered much past the relegation average, despite our best league performance in many more years. I'd have hoped more people would be enticed back by results and cut price tickets. 05/06 - 52,032 06/07 - 50,686 07/08 - 51,320 08/09 - 48,749 09/10 - 43,383 10/11 - 47,498 11/12 - 48,924

Surely because they failed to build on their early season form? Which is why I said we've got 14 games to see how much we've progressed. I'd say the next 14 games won't prove anything either way. I don't think finishing 5th or whatever will mean everything is right at the club (it won't shut Leazes up, I'm sure), and I don't think a poor run in means all the good work of the past year was for nought.

Obviously it went better than some previous windows, but I don't think he was 'backed'. To sell players offers have to come in. It's not like we were knocking back huge money to retain our best players. And they failed to secure Pardew a centre back which he wanted. Aye, well I was being slightly facetious, which you may have picked up on. Net result was he was, in effect, 'backed' though imo. I did wonder like, cos you agreed with me last week that it wasn't a particularly inspiring window.

Is ESPN still free for virgin viewers for this game?

Obviously it went better than some previous windows, but I don't think he was 'backed'. To sell players offers have to come in. It's not like we were knocking back huge money to retain our best players. And they failed to secure Pardew a centre back which he wanted.

I love the wording of that too. As if Souness would get a cheque in the post tomorrow, just for him to spend on his own Highland Toffee and a bothie, if Gemmill was running the show.

It comes with age and bitter experience. How old are you son? A whole 7 years younger than you, old man. In 7 years time, when we've still won nowt, you'll be as resigned to it as me then ma boy.

"hey Gemmill, are you still backing throwing money at Souness?" "if you really think that you can be successful without backing your manager, you seriously need help." Do you recognise the cognitive dissonance Leazes? Please say you do and this is a comedy 'bit'.

One swallow doesn't mean blowjobs for life like. The Mackems were 6th at the start of Feb last season, and they ended up sacking their manager within the year.

Pretty similar reasons under both Ashley and Hall. I hope you aren't going to start saying the first reign of Keegan was a waste of time etc like Toonpack and a few others do ? Only you could make that illogical leap

Pretty similar reasons under both Ashley and Hall.

While we're all being daft and giving serious consideration to 4th, why not 3rd? If we can pull a result out of the bag, it's very possible for Spurs to lose their next 3 games (dippers, us, Arsenal), and for us to win ours (Spurs, Wolves, Mackems).

Stat attack just for Stevie.... Spurs haven't beaten anyone in the top 5 this season, losing 3 and drawing 2.

Oi statto pipe down with your miserable pish a bit yeah? "Shite crowd, no hope etc... " We've lost 2 in London in the last 12 so pipe down yeah? My miserblism has served the club well the past 6 months. I'm not stopping now ye fooka. If we're sat 4th on the final day, 3 points clear of 5th and 15 up on goal difference, I'm predicting 5th.

I personally enjoyed the promotion season a great deal. I really like being in the corner.

It comes with age and bitter experience. How old are you son?

Kevin Keegan's never said the previous owners could or would do a better job. The previous owners have said the previous owners couldn't and wouldn't do a better job. Ashley is always open to offers for the club and the man you say would be doing better isn't interested, even at a price lower than he was bought out for, cos he knows he can't do any better if he were to invest or find others to support him in trying. We agree Ashley will always be a shit but the game has moved on since the 90's as everyone but you realise. Just criticise Ashley on his own terms. I can imagine your da telling you how shit the halls and Shepherd are because they never matched the trophy haul of the Westwoods.

Freddy Shepherd... "I am still a massive Newcastle fan. True to say Mike and I have not always seen eye to eye but you’ve got to give him some of the credit for what is happening this season.” “I think it’s time for the fans to get fully behind him and give him a chance. After all, no one really owns Newcastle because it’s simply a football institution.” “Maybe he is right in his policy and I was wrong. Maybe we gave our managers too much money to spend in the transfer market. I reckon we spent around £300M on players like Alan Shearer, David Ginola, Les Ferdinand, Tino Asprilla and Michael Owen.” “Though we never won anything, it was still a great adventure for everyone connected with Newcastle. We were known all over the world. I have a photo of the day they pulled down Saddam Hussein’s statue in Iraq – there was a guy with a Toon shirt beside it.” “The fans are now clearly behind Alan Pardew and the team, and if they get behind the directors the only way they can go is up.” “I am a Geordie. You can change your bank, your accountant, your wife, but you can’t change your football team.” If you can't do it for us Leazes, do it for Freddy the great.