The Fish

IF we get Rafa, I'm now demanding a result similar to the one we saw in Robson's first home game in charge

I hope they get Jonas and Ryan Taylor to tell Charnley he's gone over the phone.

Not so much Premier League, (although it's there in parts), but the idiots who still put stock in rather than be embarrassed by "firms". Steve Wraith is one of these idiots.

Aye, I expect this to stumble at the last and we'll end up with some cheap/shit alternative. Fucking deluded Geordies.

Aye they are, but that's not what you said earlier. You were bemoaning the lack of experienced Premier League players coming into Newcastle. Well that's not the problem, it's a lack of quality.

How many did Spurs? How many did West Ham? the vast majority come from abroad. Buying from foreign leagues isn't the problem, it's getting the right manager to buy the right players to fit the right system to get the right results

More podcasts than centre backs

Have you been drinking dear boy?

and gutless mercenaries

Assists are hardly a new thing though? Mind I'm biased, I love a good stat. They never tell the whole story, but they're brilliant when you want to support a point that isn't obvious. If someone plays on the wing, I expect them to have chalk on their boots and only 1 thing on their mind. If they play in wide areas I expect them to operate in a more roaming role.

Definitely. Also, Pardew was on buttons at that time and hadn't yet had his contract extended, right? Well that was the time to get the next level of boss in (or maybe a couple of levels, given how piss poor Pardew is), that in itself could have been enough to convince that lot to hang around, add a few bodies and fatten out the squad for the Euros and there you have it, the core of a top club for the foreseeable. Pochettino was available then, right?

I would have sent them to you, but we both know he was more in need of hope then, than you were. You can have 'em now if you're lonely. I don't need them anymore.

That's why I've never been put out by the idea of employing a Director of Football. It make sense to me to have someone in a position to guide the club towards a long term goal, who isn't bogged down in the day-to-day horseshittery. Who looks 1, 3 or 10 years down the line. Who holds back the spending in this summer because we're going to spend more on the youth team, who replaces a popular manager because to get to the next level will require a different animal, who fires an under-performing manager because this shit just won't fly. Obviously the *right* person will be rare. SBR would have been perfect, if he could have stomached being separated from the stuff he seemed to really love.

What's your beef with these? oh and isn't 1-3 just to signify whether you were at home or not?

So there's a good few successes in there for Wor Graham, The second para is key for me; I do believe the right manager and the right progression on the pitch could persuade players like Cabaye to stay until the end of the season, or whatever. So, say we've finished 5th, Cabaye wants off to PSG in the January window. Keep him until you've replaced him with Shelvey or Payet or whomever and fine. What you don't do is sell him without a replacement and then, instead of addressing the team's weakness, buy lads for positions that aren't as vital. I'm sure it's been posted before, but the team Newcastle could have had if we'd kept a hold of the players we've bought... it's ridiculous! And we wouldn't have needed to splash north of £70m in the last couple of windows to try and survive either.

It's too much to hope Charnley's on the way out too, isn't it?

His hair keeps getting in his eyes?

Those you've omitted that I'd include are; Sissoko - yes I know he's now a gutless arsehole, but a half decent coach would have got more the big man. Perez - can't believe you've left him out. Ben Arfa - arguably the most gifted footballer I've seen at St James' since Beardsley and for all his faults, he was a joy to watch and seemed to have a genuine affection for the fans & the club. Just not Alan Pardew. Tiote - in his pomp was the best DM in the league. Abeid - I thought he was a decent young player and the kind of bench warmer that improves the squad. I've said before the biggest issue is retention, not recruitment. Keep Cabaye, and you needn't sign de Jong, keep Ben Arfa and there's no need for Marveaux/Amalfitano Cabella, keep Cabella there's no need for Thauvin. Keep Ba and you don't waste money on Riviere.

Complains about recruiting foreigners, wants to keep 8 players, the majority of them foreign. /Scoobos

Less a particular word/phrase, more the repetition of untruths. Like Anfield being a cauldron of noise, the North East being a hotbed of football, Villa being a massive club, the "West Ham way" hasn't been played for decades, Bournemouth being plucky little upstarts, and so on

Aww, do you really mean it? Thanks You're a wonderful addition to the board.

?whassatthen?

It's not black and white though. I think he deserves criticism for not seeing the bigger picture. For example he should have been pushing the club to sign a couple of average/honest/grafting/workmanlike players to balance the team and your flair players will have more license to attack thereby increasing the likelihood that you'll see a profit. I think some of his suggestions have been obvious flops (Cabella/Thauvin chief amongst them). However, I think he's got more right than wrong, certainly when you consider that he's not buying th players just suggesting them. You may think Sissoko is a gutless cunt and it's hard to argue that you're wrong on that score, but he's definitely got quality, he was bought on the cheap and even now would be sold for >3 times his original value. Ben Arfa would, had Pardew not been a sackful of vomit, have been sold for a big profit too. Personally, I don't think we should be signing players because of their resale value, but on the whole I think Carr has done his job. He's not without his faults, but I can't blame him as much as you seem to. Ashley->Charnley->the manager->Carr->coaches->players->media->Adam Johnson--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> the deluded fans.

If you're saying the average 18-35 woman earns more than their male counterpart, I'd be very surprised. I'd be interested to see the figures on that, and wonder if that's in a specific sector? It could simply point at some job roles traditionally undertaken by women have a quick progression up to a point, but beyond which only dragons and fat white men exist. Also, when you say they choose to have children, it'll be rare that they make that choice on their own.