Gemmill

He wants to be class for £10m. Good news though. Get him in the team for Thursday, Glennis.

When she was 'on form' she was miles better than her rivals so (with hindsight) she was a bit suss. And she's been looking like her old self of late. Still some way short of Flo-Jo though, who prematurely died of 'natural causes'. The sport is in disarray at the moment but it's nothing new. The testing is more sophisticated than ever though. 182518[/snapback] Aye I remember Steve Cram's commentary on one of her Olympic medals as she was whopping everyone: "This is the Olympic games, you're not supposed to win by this much!" . You wonder how much of a difference the drugs can make though, and whether she could have still been a medallist without them, given how much better she was than everyone when she was allegedly taking them. She turned to shit when she was having to lay low after her hubby got caught, didn't she? Now the dust's settled on that she all of a sudden starts improving again. Hmmmmm.... Flo Jo always looked like a dodgy one like, and was pretty much confirmed when she pegged it.

Aye they did something last week about the ref for Wigan whose name was Martin with a "Martin for the Toon" type headline. Proper bunch of knobheads tbh.

Another one that's a bit of a shame after Gatlin. It seems pretty much anyone that's any good is up to no good.

I quite like that in a no brain comedy way. But then again I think I'm in a minority who usually enjoys Grants films. 182499[/snapback] I think admitting to it puts you in the minority;) I enjoyed certain parts of 'Sirens' though. 182500[/snapback] Aye, the parts where the lasses have got their chebs out.

The bit where Hugh Grant is trying to speak with a gangster type accent is excruciating. And not in a fish-out-of-water intentionally awkward way, just in a piss-off-Grant-you-complete-prick way.

Hard to argue with his form of late, and when he picks the ball up wide on the edge of the box, he seems to have worked out how to harness his legs a bit more, and beat a man. He did class for the first goal at the weekend. His finishing has improved too - a couple of seasons ago his body shape would have been all wrong to take the chance he took against Wigan for instance. I'm starting to wonder whether he mightn't be about to have a pretty good season for us - injury permitting. We just have to learn to accept how he looks on the ball sometimes, and also the fact that he isn't Shearer, doesn't play like Shearer, and never will play like Shearer. Of course part of that acceptance has to come from his teammates - Given and Bramble HAVE to stop pumping the ball long to him as winning a ball in the air with his back to goal isn't a strength of his.

Sky Plus dahhhhlink. Video is sooooo 80s.

Isegrim was saying that Bremen want to keep him another season and that the likelihood is that he'll leave next year I think. There's apparently talk of him signing another contract with a sensible minimum release clause in or something - to protect his and the club's interests. 182436[/snapback] Isegrim knows German football like we all know English football. Wouldn't listen too long and hard to him 182468[/snapback] He knows the German language better than me though, and some of the above was based on interviews conducted in German, so I'll defer to him on them.

Re: Or a meringue? Picked it up off the SMB and hadn't used it for ages til just there. Play on words for "Or am I wrong?" - geordie/mackem version = "Or am ah wrang?" = "Or a meringue?". I don't know where it came from but that's where I saw it used first. Lesson over. Class dismissed.

Aye, just a thought of things to come. It'll be fine for a few months yet though!

I'd forgotten all about how miserable the cold Thursday nights against shit European opposition are like. We're in no position to turn our nose up at the UEFA Cup, and the poor standard of a lot of the teams is great for someone like us, but try telling me that at 8:45 when it's baltic and I'm settling in to my seat for the second half.

Talking Heads have completely passed me by tbh. I've always had them down as a dull 80s band. Or a meringue?

Hope he plays on Thursday to brighten up what will otherwise probably be another dreary European night. Hopefully anyway - we don't need any shocks.

If N-O goes down again, we could have a mong surge at any point in the day. I'll go for 1:03pm.

Isegrim was saying that Bremen want to keep him another season and that the likelihood is that he'll leave next year I think. There's apparently talk of him signing another contract with a sensible minimum release clause in or something - to protect his and the club's interests.

He doesn't mention them in the interview, but I suppose anything's possible.

I don't think there's any chance at all of us getting Klose, but it would be class if we did.

Belgravia Group targets Newcastle United By James Wilson and Malini Guha Published: August 22 2006 03:00 | Last updated: August 22 2006 03:00 Newcastle United has become the latest English Premiership football club to attract investor interest, with a Jersey-based investment company admitting that it is considering an offer. Shares in Newcastle jumped almost 10 per cent yesterday after the Belgravia Group, alittle-known private company, confirmed it was "examining the potential opportunity" of acquiring the club. Sir John Hall, the local entrepreneur who controls about 28.8 per cent of Newcastle United, has previously indicated that he would like to sell his stake and in June he revealed talks with Polygon, a US hedge fund. However Freddy Shepherd, Newcastle's chairman, also owns about 29 per cent and is understood to be reluctant to sell. Earlier this month Randy Lerner, a US businessman, had a £62.6m offer accepted for Aston Villa - like Newcastle, a well-supported club that has failed to achieve success on the pitch for many years. Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lans-down stockbrokers - who last week predicted that the more marketable brand of Newcastle was likely to be one of the next acquisition targets - said the sector had come back in vogue this year for a number of reasons. Mr Hunter said: "There is a perception that players' wages have started to plateau, record television football rights have been negotiated and the World Cup has generated interest." In its most recent full-year results for the year to July 2005 Newcastle made a small pre-tax profit of £16,000 on turnover of £87m. However, the company is expected to report a loss this year after its failure last year to qualify for lucrative European competitions. Belgravia, which also has offices in London, is backed by a group of wealthy investors and chaired by Duncan Hickman, formerly a fund manager at Liberty Ermitage. The company has investments in telecommunications, marketing and management services, as well as an asset management subsidiary. Shares in Newcastle closed at 67p, giving the company a market capitalisation of £89m. The company floated in 1997 at 135p, valuing it at £193m. Wealthy businessmen have poured hundreds of millions into British football assets in recent years. The money has inflated salaries and transfer fees but successful returns have been elusive, even for the richest clubs. Last year Newcastle United finished seventh in the domestic league and has now qualified for European competition this year. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006

Talking of the Talksport loons, have you ever heard Gab Marcotti rave about Obafemi Martins ? Its practically a jizz-fest. 182251[/snapback] Haven't heard it Jimbo. He's usually got nowt nice to say about us though, so it'll make a change him having to compliment one of our players!

I think they are just following their legal obligation to disclose the quantity/value of the shares. 182244[/snapback] Aye, that's what it is. It's a stock exchange requirement signifying that a bid is about to/has been made, I think.

By the way, I know he reads on here, so can I just say in advance how much I'm looking forward to HTT's page-long parochial cobblers about how a Geordie should always run the club.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let it be true I want the club to be a rich Arabs plaything, I've waited 40 years, watching shite (with a few exceptions) so a few years of high "loads a money" drama (please)and then we can be crap again for eternity as far as I'm concerned 182234[/snapback] Exactly. We're at the footballing roulette table, spin the fucking wheel. Always bet on sheik.

I think I'll listen to the assorted luminaries on Talksport talk shit about this on my way home tonight. I do hope it's someone particularly stupid like Jason Cundy or Patrick Kinghorn.

If it's not a Sheik now I'm gonna be a bit disappointed tbh. Belgravia's representatives are pretty much gonna have to put towels on their heads to placate me.