Dr Gloom

i think if we can keep taylor, bassong and beye, we'll have a good nucleus of defenders that can perform at championship level. can we afford heir wages though? i presume it's the attackers that are all on the massive wedge and they can all fuck off tbf

don't really care who wins but hope it's more of a spectacle than most cup finals. they tend to be massive bores

i thought strachan was nailed on. doubt he'll ever come here now then

Me too as long as 3 of our four across midfield wasn't nolan, butt and smith and barton

I agree tbh I know he's only had 8 games and all but i've seen no sign at all that he's going to be a good manager. Most of the time he just sits on his arse and lets Dowie do the work. If we had even a remote chance of getting Martinez in, I'd be far more open to that than Shearer staying on. it's sad but true but shearer is the only man for the job now. yes he has zero experience and everything to prove but he has all of the public support and ashley knows that. shearer is the only man who can offer the club any stability right now, assuming he signs a contract. say he gives martinez the job (and he's daft enough to take it) - fans would be on his back if we're not in the top 6 by xmas. shearer will be given time to get it right. that's what the club needs right now - some continuity. also, shearer is likely to command a lot more control and respect from ashley than any other managerial appointment (despite his lack of credentials) precisely because ashley knows the fans back him to the hilt. i don't think anyone bar sky sports and the red tops are saying he's the messaiah. but most of us recognise he's the only man out for the job in the current circumstances

the amount of time it's all taking shows shearer is obviously demanding ashley gives him total control over the playing staff and a healthy transfer budget to get us back up. this is good news. he's got ashley back into a corner - if he doesn't give al what he wants and he walks, fans will stay away in thousands and give him hell. his only other option will be to sell up. if i was a neutral, i'd be fascinated watching to see how it pans out. as a fan, i'm shitting it

if we can hang on to beye and taylor we've got half a back 4 that can do a job in the championship. lovenkrads can fuck right off tbf

ashley says sorry to fans for mistakes made this season and says talks with shearer are ongoing - ssn

get kanu in

get someone like kanu in up front and a younger lad with some pace alongside him

if shearer stays, i can see us pulling in some decent championship-standard players. the trick is to get in a couple of experienced old heads in and surround them with some pacy, younger players. sol campbell is a good shout. him and taylor at the back would do a job. nicky butt can probably mix it in the championship. someone like paul merson or teddy sheringham up front too - they were both different class when they helped take pompey up.

a few more fun away days too. surely we're going to win more than the two we managed away from home this season

Aye, another 3 years. Testimonial time soon for the Fenham Pele! on the plus side, the championship is probably his level so he's maybe worth keeping. i doubt he's on massive wages Aye I thought that about the Championship, but then it was pointed out to me that he was as shit at Stoke as he is here. he's destined to be warming the bench then regardless of what division we drop into. may as well offer him a contract for life

Aye, another 3 years. Testimonial time soon for the Fenham Pele! on the plus side, the championship is probably his level so he's maybe worth keeping. i doubt he's on massive wages

after owen, viduka and martins all make their inevitable edxits, shola will be our senior striker. i'm sure we'll keep him....didn't he just get a new contract too?

does anyone know what are our projected home gates for next season....or is anyone willing to guess? i imagine that our hardcore is around 35k - anyone know how many season tickets we've sold for next season? i suspect that although there will be more empty seats around the ground than we've seen for years, the atmosphere may improve as it will be the true hardcore support that continue to turn out every week. perhaps a return to pre-level 7 extension noise levels...

putting an optimistic hat on, i'm hoping that we enjoy a season challenging for a top 2 or play off spot. a decent season in a competitive league might make supporting newcastle fun again. it would be great to enjoy next season instead of dreading match days like i have for the last 18 months or so. i'm struggling to remember a season in recent years that i enjoyed more than the promotion year when cole and kelly were banging them in.

tbf, shola will probably do a decent job int he championship and is worth keeping nowl.

every cloud....

exactly second half sums up the whole season. pathetic.

horrible pictures

fuck sake

they'll all be up for sale if we go down. relegation is going to cost the club about £100m so the wage bill will have to be slashed plus bassong is one of our few saleable assets. i'm sure we'd get mroe for him than collocini

i'm pretty much given up hope of us staying up too. can't see us getting a draw. and yet this is going to hurt more than relegation in the 80s because we have more to lose this time. we genuinely have the potential and the facilities now to compete at the top of the premier league but conversely, going down - because of the financial implications these days - could hurt us even more than last time. i wish it was all just over

harsh but funny