The Fish

Ok, so it's a too many cooks kinda thing? Too many competing agendas, too many egos? I can see why that would be a concern. However, if they've outsourced the recruitment of a short-term fixer, who they're using to out source player recruitment, does it really strike you that they're going to be interfering and foisting a Nacho Gonzalez onto Eddie Howe? This guy, Ashworth, from Brighton. He's not a massive name, so they're not approaching him for the headlines that getting someone like Emenalo would produce. It's a sensible appointment as he's got a record of building a strategy for the club. He's credited with transforming Brighton from PL whipping boys to something more progressive, more sustainable. All we need is to replace some shite with some better-than-shite. The margin for error isn't so tight that one misstep would confirm our relegation. Getting 2 CBs, a FB, a CM and a CF that all hit the ground running is the dream, but if the CM we get means that Schar and Lascelles aren't as exposed, or the CF means we've still got a goal threat when Wilson gets injured, that's fine too. It doesn't have to work first time, with no mistakes. Ultimately if we go down, frankly, who gives a shit? The owners aren't fucking us off after half a season, they want to use our club to soften the perception of their murderous regime. They're not giving up because we're out of the top flight for a season. There is still real estate to build, sponsorship deals to be struck, 'Visit Riyadh' signs to have broadcast into every country on the planet. If we go down, it'll be a speed bump, not the end of the road. Our owners have more cash available than anyone else in the league, including Man City. Success is pretty much a foregone conclusion. It might take 5yrs to see a trophy, it might take 10. But barring some seismic shift in the capitalist structure of the football landscape, this much money will get you results.

So your argument is simply "Bad transfers can happen"?

No, dingbat. I haven't lived in Seaton Sluice for... about 20yrs? Born Ashington, Seaton Sluice until 2003 ( I think), Headingly, Leeds, West London, East London, South London, Altrincham, Bramhall. We all caught up?

I think simply having better players at the back should be enough to reduce the individual errors we've seen thus far (not just Clark). Cheaper than a striker, too.

Steve Bruce used to live here too. And the Schmeichels. AND Yvette Fielding!

Ahh, c'mon, IammRazul has never steered us wrong before.

Bet you wouldn't try this bullshit with Diego. Diego, with his suave demeanor and debonair fashion. WE CAN'T ALL BE MEDITERRANEAN, Y'KNOW! I know it's not football manager, that's why I'm not mentioning Nianzou, Badiashile, Weigl, or Raul Moro. The ones I mentioned are realistic, reasonable, gettable players, that are all improvements on Clark. I've read the last sentence a dozen times, and I've still no fucking clue what you're trying to say.

1. All managers have hit & miss transfer records, overall, I'd say Howe's is decent. Certainly good enough to see the gaps in our squad and plug 'em with sufficient quality to make a difference. Replacing Clark with a garden shed, e.g. 2. Eh? Why would a short term appointment have an agenda that, at all, strays from addressing the short term problem of keeping Newcastle in the Premier League? 3. I'd assume he'd have the kind of input that he's had at Brighton. Shaping the overarching strategy for recruitment and coaching, then delivering it. 4. I don't follow this point. The board have fumbled a few things, no doubt. They are naive and they've made mistakes, the hope is that they learn from them. In appointing a company to find the right men for the job is a tacit admission that they are happy to rely on people who know more about it than they do. Which is an evolutionary lightyear from Ashley's ignorance and arrogance. Get players like Clark, Lascelles, Ritchie, Manquillo* away from the first team squad is the first step. Replacing them with, at worst, Premier League standard options in their position is the second. I think you could throw a dart at a board of the linked defenders and you're guaranteed to hit a better CB than Clark; Ake, Botman, Grillitsch, Tarkowski. *might be harsh on Manquillo.

Which teams do they have to face? Spurs, Watford and Villa. They could easily come out of those 3 with 0pts, especially as they'll be played in a congested run of fixtures. End of the day, we're 3pts off safety with 1/2 the season to go. We should strengthen significantly in the window. Our performances are improving and but for individual errors we'd have another 2-3 points already. Who knows, had Ederson been sent off we could have clung on for a draw, had we got a penalty against Liverpool we could maybe have got a draw there too. We're not going to get 45pts and the comfort of midtable, but I do think that this squad + January additions has enough to survive.

Why, do postponed games magically transform into 3-0 wins?

But only one of them lives in the same village as me, so...

Well, Bowyer's retired from playing, Michael Tonge too... so I'm afraid you'll have to make-do with the namby-pamby dandies we have.

I will defend the creative mavericks. I will get excited about Comic Book movies. I will laugh at farts. I will never give up my inner child.

I wonder if he had faith in his teammates to do anything, he'd be more willing to pass. e.g. that 4 man break, where all he had to do was slide the ball left to Fraser (I think), if it was Wilson, I'd have fancied him to square it. If he can get used to the more fluid attacking unit he could be great. The goal we scored against Spurs was because he drew 2 players, Manquillo had a free overlap and put in a great ball for Wilson. That is eminently repeatable.

I'll get around to that one after I finish this one called "Dealing with online abuse from mean mean boys".

I was the opposite end and as the ball was dropping must have been the only dickhead saying "don't shoot". Further proof Diego knows more than me

They all come after the January window opens, mind you. Hopefully we'll have strengthened at the beginning of the window with some better quality defenders, and a central midfielder of sufficient quality. Centre back is the absolute priority. I think we could get away with Schar/Fernandez + someone of real ability. Right and Left back. Again, I think a quality right back would be enough. We could get away with Lewis on the left. Central midfield. Boubacar Kamara from Marseille would be good.

Dunno like, that's a fine jawline he's got there. I have to fake mine with facial hair.

I like Shola's consolation one where it bobbles off his shin past the Man Utd 'keeper. Definitely stands up against Robert's volleys, Shearer's blasties or Berdsley's shimmies.

More Paul Dalglish.

Basically a three horse race between HBA, Robert and Shearer.

I see Diego like Les saw Shearer, he's only going to make me raise my game.

De rien.