OTF

Get one of them off even. Best it is.. that little bit of 'play' in the corner should have sealed his fate.

Get one of our useless strikers on and bring someone in to shield the defense in midfield. It's going to be one of those games.

How they didn't score there is beyond me. We've actually defied the odds and come out worse in the second half.

Best's touch has been horrible. We need to go out there at the start of the second half and avoid committing any fouls. As it was we committed so many early on that later in the half everything we did was being called even if it was at Best borderline. No real options from the bench it's going to be frustrating in the second half unless Pardew can somehow pep them up.

This is horrible to watch. It's like the spirit of Sam Allardyce has posessed us the way we're constantly fouling for no apparent reason.

Suspected fractured cheekbone. FFS.

Got 10 minutes out of the best striker at the club. Leon Best is now the best forward we have available.

...because that's what you do if you want to hold onto a valued employee. I'd like to take this back. I had a minor lapse in brain function. Whilst this might be true in regular workplace negotiations it does not apply here. Andy Carroll should not know what Liverpool are offering wage wise until the club gives Liverpool permission to talk terms with him. Ergo, they should have told Andy Carroll that he wasn't getting an improved contract just yet, and that it would be reviewed at the end of the season* if he continued to perform on and off the field. No doubt because of the shady involvement of agents and the like, Carroll would have been well aware of what Liverpool were offering before the club gave permission to them to talk to him. Regardless of this, he was contracted to the club and so they would have had the final say. * - Just like Hughton's

...because that's what you do if you want to hold onto a valued employee.

If people are keen I'll play some of mine tomorrow morning immediately before the Newcastle game? From say 7:00PM your time (6:00AM over here).

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Battlecats, M.A.S.K., Super Ted, Count Duckula, Inspector Gadget, Dinoriders, TMNT, Duck Tales, Roger Ramjet, Gummy Bears, Smurfs .. to name but a few!

If we offered him the same, or similar wages he would have stayed I reckon. Though his agent would have been pushing for a move.

...including the wages of the current players no doubt. So will probably have spent the Carroll money in full by the time summer rolls around with enough left in the 'kitty' to pick up someone from the Championship for 1M. There's never straightforward communication from the club, it's always double speak that's intentionally ambiguous. Our wages would currently be at the lowest point they've been in the last 6+ years, that's not takign into account inflation or the fact that footballers wages have increased exponentially in that time. We're well and truly being left behind on all fronts.

That's like say my dogs better at chasing his tail than my fish Unfortunately. Doesn't mean it's not the truth though.

...as for people thinking that Ashley is going to reinvest the money what the fuck will it take for you to realise that it's not going to happen? Where's the money from Milner? Martins? Bassong? He's going to buy cheap and ultimately poor players who will barely (if at all) improve the team. He's a fucking cunt and he doesn't give a fuck about anyone with a genuine interest in the side, least of all the supporters who he has treated with absolute contempt on numerous occasions.

Nothing is set in stone. The big teams are dropping more points which means there's more on offer for the lower ranked sides. There's not that many points between us and the drop zone. I don't think we'll be in danger, but if the wheels do fall off and heads drop a couple of wins for a few of the bottom sides and we'll be looking over our shoulders...

"The messages were sent to Steve Wraith, editor of fanzine Toon Talk, which Carroll has agreed to have published. They were sent between noon and 4pm yesterday, the striker having reported for training totally unaware that Liverpool had tabled an initial £30m bid. Text One: “They have kind of said we don’t want u but want me to say I wanna go. And I said I don’t wanna go.” Text Two: “I don’t know mate. Gutted tho.” (In reply to question: what’s happening?”) Text Three: “They said they wanted the money” Text Four: “Gutted to be leaving but I was kind of pushed out the door” Text Five: “Just what I’ve just said really. Gutted to be leaving my home club but I was practically told to go. Don’t want to leave. that’s why I signed 5 year deal.” Wraith, who has known Carroll since he was a teenager, said: “I was in touch with Andy all day. “We went for a drink a couple of weeks ago when he told me how happy he was to have signed a five-year contract and fully intended to honour it. “Now he wants the fans to know the truth. He is quite happy for them to see the texts because he’d hate them to think he’d been lying to them."

Paints a pretty accurate picture. The wages have also dropped off substantially over that period (spare some of the earlier signings).

Don't think anyone does really blame him. There might be a bit of anger and bitterness towards him, but that will subside.

Carroll's transfer request was merely a formality in his departure. Don't be blinded into thinking a transfer request from Carroll obligated the club to sell him. That's not the way it works. It's much more likely that the club pressured Carroll into submitting a transfer request as it will have negated any loyalty payments that Carroll may have been due as part of his existing contract with us (if he was sold without the transfer request these would have had to be paid to Carroll by Ashley on his departure). The double benefit to the club was that they could hope that people would think that Carroll did legitimately put in a transfer request because he wanted to go somewhat limiting the blame some people would assign to them. This is not the case, so don't for a second buy into the nonsense.

Selling Carroll for 35M+ in isolation is not necessarily bad. Selling him without a replacement lined up at the very end of a transfer window whilst maintaining all along that he wasn't for sale is deplorable and shows a complete and utter lack of concern for the welfare of the club. If Carroll's departure results in the end of the generally strong team spirit that we've had since Hughton galvanised the team in the Championship, then the 35m is a mere drop in the ocean when you consider that we also lost a seemingly 20 goal a season striker. If Enrique leaves as part of that the devestation will be even worse, and the message will be even more clear and on the wall than it is now. We're a selling club - like one of our players and they can be yours if the price is right.

Unfortunately Shola'a not going to suddenly cut it after 10+ years in the Newcastle first team. Certainly capable of moments of brilliance and some quality goals, but inconsistent as and unfortunately the bad games outweigh the good. BTW - Where's your video of goals from this season?

They're offering you wages of 100K+ a week, plus incentives.

We've sent him to Liverpool to see a specialist. Expect a prognosis back in 5 and a half years. Don't think Ireland is fit so cant see him playing a part therefore we'll foreseeably be starting with the same lineup we did against Tottenham, though there is a concern about Guthrie fitness as well I think.

Give Vuckic a crack. He's a big lad, stick a pony tail on him and we can pretend he's Carroll.