NJS

I thought we looked exactly like we did against Blackburn last year when Keegan had started to ge them playing but it hadn't clicked - you could see a bit more effort but unfortunately a cliche I hate "they've forgotten how to win" could not be truer - if we had somehow won I would have actually had hope we could stay up - now its too late. It's also a shame that Viduka is only just back - he made a big difference in providing what little chance we had.

If speed is what you want then binary newsgroups is the answer.

I've said before that while an individual person's death is always tragic, looking at the big picture the planet is overpopulated by humans. In that context a pandemic wouldn't necessarily be bad - though even 50m probably wouldn't be "enough" to make the situation viable. Losing all of the Americas would make life interesting.

I'll bet if there's a grain of truth in that, if he did sell for £120m, he'd keep the loan. Depending on who's allegedly interested and what their long term plans are I'd see this as a positive - don't forget that the Mackems walked the league with a modest spend under Keane. A year of going to different places but with an element of long term hope as a backdrop sounds better than another "let's finish 17th" season under Ashley.

The reason why I "forgive" his use of her death is the anniversary thing - I think about my Mam and Dad just about every day but it certainly affects me more around those times of the year.

This brings to mind Hall's bullshit scare tactics saying that Newcastle could go bust in 91 - Barclays would never have called the debt as their only chance of getting the money was for NUFC to continue. If the Chinese did "repossess" the UK who the fuck would they sell us to?

I can't stand the cunt but he's right that the anniversary of his Mam's death is a sombre occasion for him and it would certainly have been on his mind.

I have to say I have no respect for Barcelona's fans. The first time we played them they just didn't turn up and the second time they were more concerned with how Madrid were doing.

I know its bitterness brought on by all them defeats but I certainly won't shed any tears.

I remember watching the original Thing from outer space as a kid and being scared but then seeing it years later and realising it was a pretty typical 50s b movie - Carpenter's was certainly an improvement. I caught the start of Total Recall the other night and on looking it up on IMDb to find out what happened to Rachel Ticotin (not much) I saw that's up for a new version - don't think it will work without Arnie's unique talents.

Possibly but the point is would any government have prevented it? If as I said at any time in the last 5 or 10 years a rule had been mooted that only people in work and eatning more than say 30k and with a cast iron credit rating could get a mortgage, personal loan or credit card what would the reaction have been? I'm not saying that that should have been done btw but even "sensible" regulation like setting fractional reserve multipliers would have been met with cries of armageddon by the banks and as a consequence the public at large.

Ah yes - only the UK is affected so isn't it's its obvious the root cause is the FSA. How exactly would the BofE prevented this Danny? By doing what they are doing now after the horse has bolted. Stress testing, scrutinising bank risk profiles and exposures. I don't blame the FSA, they didn't have the expertise required to scrutinise the banks and their instruments in detail. The BOE didn't have the expertise either - the root cause of this goes back to Thatcher and Reagan - the market knows best philosophy compounded by later slackness and encouragement of consumer greed. If 5 or 10 years ago Labour had announced large scale regulation of the city and a huge clampdown on irresponsible lending via credit cards and mortgages what do you think the reaction would have been? It would have ranged from mild "Old labour stifling growth" jibes to outright rebellion and would certainly have lost them the last election. If Cameron or Duncan Smith had won on that basis do you think there would have been more chance of the Tories preventing the crunch or Newcastle winning a trophy?

The striker aren't the problem - we have a diabolical midfield - Torres or Drogbha wouldn't make that much difference.

Ah yes - only the UK is affected so isn't it's its obvious the root cause is the FSA. How exactly would the BofE prevented this Danny?

So instead of someone on 180k getting 18k of the last 30 they get 15k - I don't see that as evil. Income tax is the wrong target imo - I'd rather they repealed all the tax evasion laws and targetted inherited wealth.

If all those people turned down honours for the right reason (contempt for the notion) then I admire them greatly - including those who I despise for other reasons.

It's a bit chicken and egg imo - he denies the holocaust because he know how people will react to that denial - a bit like claiming Ameobi is a good footballer.

Rather him than Bennett or Styles imo.

Butt is another "victim" of our shitness in the sam way as Owen - I think he feels it's up to him to create (which he's shit at) as well as to destroy/get posession (which he's quite good at). If he had someone he could always drop it off to he'd look much better imo.

I'd do that although Barton might be struggling in which case I think I'd play Butt and have Barton on the bench (not ideal but I prefer the former to Nolan). I'd also play Steven Taylor at RB, Duff at LB and have Beye and Bassong in the middle. if barton is not fit can i advocate alan smith for the role instead of nicky butt and kevin, fat plodding bastard i am a footballer honestly nolan? i know alan smith is not ideal but he can move and attempts to get stuck in. not ideal like.... I know its heresy but I though Smith did okay on Sunday.

If the UN passes the new declaration which makes defamation of religion a breach of human rights I'd withdraw from the UN the next second.

Think you're being a little harsh on Beye for example, never been anything but a class defender and model pro for us. I just keep looking up and seeing Owen collecting the ball at the halfway line. Our midfield is so shite that he always has to track back to collect passes/loose balls and at this stage in his career he's not much more than a poacher, so that's not a good position for him. If Viduka can stay fit then I think we'll be seeing more of Owen. Beye is an excellent defender but I use "footballer" to describe somebody who has the brain required to use a ball well - not many defenders ever qualify even if I think they are worth having. Owen dropping deep to get the ball reminds me of Beardsley doing it in his first spell - a classic sign of a good player in an absolutely shit team.

He still looks too good for the team - he can actually play ten yard balls to a teammate in decent areas and make intelligent runs which unfortunately are never, ever going to be found with the midfield we have. It's a shame the only other footballer we have is Viduka. (Any one who suggests Guttierez can fuck right off)

I'm going to repeat what I said a couple of months ago in the context of this game - our only hope is the presence of Viduka and Martins in as many matches as possible.

Apart from Stoke and possibly Pompey probably making themselves clear, I'm not that disappointed overall - the Mackems are still catchable and I know Hull & Blackburn both have nasty games coming up. Don't get me wrong I still think we will go down but I still have a bit of hope.