Would you swap Demba Ba for Andy Carroll?

[dbsweeney 0]

I said on twitter that I'd have preferred Cisse to Demba Ba in the summer, both of them are on another level to Carroll, ALTHOUGH that's not to say I'd be against him coming back. Hand on heart I think our best eleven is now better than Arsenal and Liverpool, not fucking about, I believe it.

 

I'm always the cautious pessimist ... let's wait at least 'til 1 Feb. to say the likes of that.

[toonotl 2980]

He's definitely changed tactics. He was killing us initially and that culminated in being relegated with a bunch of mercenary arseholes in tow. But since then through luck, a fluke, or otherwise we have been climbing slowly back towards where we all want the club to be. Its not mission accomplished yet and I wouldn't suggest anyone should declare Ashley as our great saviour, far from it. But I'm also not going to say he's the devil either. He's somewhere in between. And until yesterday the claim that Ashley was an unmitigated arsehole who was happy for the club to simply stay in the Premier League and it was through sheer luck that we were where we are was almost fair comment. But today things have changed a bit. They might change again tomorrow but I can't see the future so I'm not going to criticise the guy in advance. For now I'm pleased with where we are heading both on and off the pitch. And its fun and I think everyone should just enjoy it while they can.

[toonotl 2980]

Especially considering what we are up against in terms of the finances of some of the clubs around us.

 

Aye, the latter point theres just no sense in ignoring-it has to be acknowledged. I spose we could take the rigid view you get in £35 million on a sale and recycle it instantly on a £35 million spend, but that's likely to get you paying over the odds and possibly in situations where you're just buying to find a replacement for a position rather than a player you're particularly interested in from a team point of view. At the end of the day our money is going to have to go further than the likes of Man C/Chelsea/Liverpool/Man U if we want to push on. Obviously he could put his own coin in but he's not going to so that argument is just beyond pointless dealing with the reality of the matter.

 

As I say, I think we've had some fortune where we've seen too much austerity recently, but perhaps you get away with it more when the team spirit is there as the collective effort is greater to compensate for individual areas of weakness.

 

The one thing for certain is it gets a bit daft looking at it any other way than asking; are we progressing on the pitch? We have and we are.

 

Yep that is exactly it. When you're up against clubs with virtual bottomless pits of money you have to gain leverage somewhere and it comes in the form of making better and smarter decisions. That is not done in haste. So patience is the name of the game like it or not.

 

There's no doubt that the cost cutting measures could have backfired. But thanks to perhaps a lot of luck they didn't. So now that things look to be on the up there is no reason not to be positive. Until something bad happens of course.

[dbsweeney 0]

He's definitely changed tactics. He was killing us initially and that culminated in being relegated with a bunch of mercenary arseholes in tow. But since then through luck, a fluke, or otherwise we have been climbing slowly back towards where we all want the club to be. Its not mission accomplished yet and I wouldn't suggest anyone should declare Ashley as our great saviour, far from it. But I'm also not going to say he's the devil either. He's somewhere in between. And until yesterday the claim that Ashley was an unmitigated arsehole who was happy for the club to simply stay in the Premier League and it was through sheer luck that we were where we are was almost fair comment. But today things have changed a bit. They might change again tomorrow but I can't see the future so I'm not going to criticise the guy in advance. For now I'm pleased with where we are heading both on and off the pitch. And its fun and I think everyone should just enjoy it while they can.

 

A promising point to remember is how the Club behaved during the winter transfer period in our Championship season. We were looking healthy for an automatic promotion but needed to make sure that we made that little extra oush to make sure injuries didn't fuck it up.

 

I'm not gonna say that we got in anyone special (van Aanholt, Pancrate, Routledge etc.), but Ashley did seem to have the foresight to realise that extra bodies were needed ... so he provided.

[The Fish 10857]

Krul

 

Simpson Taylor Williamson Santon

 

HBA Cabaye Tiote Jonas

 

Cisse Ba

 

Me Likey

[toonotl 2980]

I said on twitter that I'd have preferred Cisse to Demba Ba in the summer, both of them are on another level to Carroll, ALTHOUGH that's not to say I'd be against him coming back. Hand on heart I think our best eleven is now better than Arsenal and Liverpool, not fucking about, I believe it.

 

Yeh. I watched a few downloaded games of his when we were being linked the first time. He looked class. The best part is he's different to what we have. He's not like Ba. He won't come deep for the ball, he'll sit up top or drift wide or into the channels. Perfect player to get on the end of through balls. He moves around a shit load making all sorts of runs when his teammates have the ball and Ben Arfa and Cabaye are going to have lots of opportunities to put him through on goal. Having done so well in the Bundasliga where most teams play a similar style to the Premier League, fast paced, end to end, physical football. Its safe to say he will score goals in the Premier League absolutely no doubt.

 

My only criticisms of him would be I don't think he doesn't pass the ball all that well through the middle of the park, but he's not on the pitch to pass the ball so who the fuck cares. Also, I'm not so sure how he'll go aerially against bigger centre backs, but if the ball is being played on the deck as it should be with the attacking side we have now that's not a concern either.

 

On the first XI: Not Chelsea? They're not that great. Their defence is weak. Their midfield creates fuckall. And Torres, well we all know what he's like at the moment.

Edited January 18, 2012 by toonotl

[Christmas Tree 4725]

I'll stick in the obvious caveat 'at this juncture', given we're only half-way through January, but I'm more than happy with the transfer dealings of the club post-Carroll. We've progressed massively as a team since he left. Even letting Barton go for free seems like decent decision now. I wasn't arsed about Nolan going and he certainly isn't worth the deal West Ham gave him. We're short in a few areas (left-back / centre-half especially) of course.

 

but why are people, who are supposed to support the club, happy with 27m quid of what ought to be the managers transfer money, disappearing ?

 

Isn't this hindering progress ?

It hasn't disappeared. Chez's explained this to you far more eloquently than I could on several occasions. That's not a defence of the owner per se but it's the reality of the situation as I see it.

 

It's clearly progress as a team, that much is irrefutable, (it's just not progress at the rate Leazes wants iyam), but for a relegation tipped side we're doing well.

 

You're right about where we need to be strengthening yet (and retention is another matter altogether of course and every bit as important) but I think there was some telling stuff from casino boy who was going on about this sort of signing 'being ideal for the team Pardew's building'. I think that's just code for saying that we're not going to rush to buy a player unless the price is right. We'd been interested previously apparently but not prepared to pay £14 million. So I spose even if the 'Carroll money' was still ringfenced somewhere in a vault (not that it is) theres an argument for saying you dont just spend it immediately because you've got it, because you can end up with any old shit for mega money.

 

I think they drive that austerity too hard btw as no club should ever be left without a striker as we were after Carroll left and I think it was fortunate that didnt hit us harder, but we've now ended up with Ba and Cisse for circa £10 mill combined.

 

If the context is a club that hasnt won anything in the modern game, surely theres some sense in trying to progress steadily, particularly given our biggest asset, which is the apparent unity of the team. Perhaps different if you're a constant CL presence and cant afford one season out of it, maybe then you do go for broke, but that hasn't been us for the best part of a decade.

Yeah, spot on that. Agree with all of it tbh.

 

Yep. Pretty much accurate. It shows that the club are prepared to spend when it suits them and as much as I dislike Ashley I have no shame in admitting that it is a good strategy going forward. Especially considering what we are up against in terms of the finances of some of the clubs around us.

 

Aye, the latter point theres just no sense in ignoring-it has to be acknowledged. I spose we could take the rigid view you get in £35 million on a sale and recycle it instantly on a £35 million spend, but that's likely to get you paying over the odds and possibly in situations where you're just buying to find a replacement for a position rather than a player you're particularly interested in from a team point of view. At the end of the day our money is going to have to go further than the likes of Man C/Chelsea/Liverpool/Man U if we want to push on. Obviously he could put his own coin in but he's not going to so that argument is just beyond pointless dealing with the reality of the matter.

 

As I say, I think we've had some fortune where we've seen too much austerity recently, but perhaps you get away with it more when the team spirit is there as the collective effort is greater to compensate for individual areas of weakness.

 

The one thing for certain is it gets a bit daft looking at it any other way than asking; are we progressing on the pitch? We have and we are.

 

The thing is 99.999999999% of fans agree with this, 0.000000001% dont.

[Guest alex]

Krul

 

Simpson Taylor Williamson Santon

 

HBA Cabaye Tiote Jonas

 

Cisse Ba

 

Me Likey

Put Colo in there and it'd be even better

[toonotl 2980]

You're right CT its not exactly Earth shattering news is it? Well it is to some. In the realist sense.

[McFaul 35]

I said on twitter that I'd have preferred Cisse to Demba Ba in the summer, both of them are on another level to Carroll, ALTHOUGH that's not to say I'd be against him coming back. Hand on heart I think our best eleven is now better than Arsenal and Liverpool, not fucking about, I believe it.

When would you say we last had a side this good Stevie?

1997. Our midfield was quicker in Robson's day, and we had Shearer and Bellamy but I guarantee we will get just as many goals, and the average age is great now.

[McFaul 35]

Also the standard of the sides is better now I think, maybe not at the top cos Man Utd and Arsenal were so much better than anyone else, but genuinely 2nd to 7th there's not a vast chasm. Even Man Utd have scored 1 goal in 3 games against us, they hold no fear for us at this moment in time. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to be accused of being deluded, but this kid we've signed in my opinion will be our greatest buy for over a decade.

[LeazesMag 0]

I'll stick in the obvious caveat 'at this juncture', given we're only half-way through January, but I'm more than happy with the transfer dealings of the club post-Carroll. We've progressed massively as a team since he left. Even letting Barton go for free seems like decent decision now. I wasn't arsed about Nolan going and he certainly isn't worth the deal West Ham gave him. We're short in a few areas (left-back / centre-half especially) of course.

 

but why are people, who are supposed to support the club, happy with 27m quid of what ought to be the managers transfer money, disappearing ?

 

Isn't this hindering progress ?

It hasn't disappeared. Chez's explained this to you far more eloquently than I could on several occasions. That's not a defence of the owner per se but it's the reality of the situation as I see it.

 

how much more revenue do you need, further to 14th biggest in football, to not have to sidetrack money from sales to other areas of the club and back your managers ? Or pocket it. However it disappears........

 

What's the odds someone else will be sold for big money again, and the scenario continues.

Well, in an ideal world more money would be available, maybe it is tbh - I live in hope. I haven't done the maths but I think it's fair to assume not all of the Carroll money has gone directly into player recruitment. But then again, the club was running at a massive loss when we went down. Now, that's Ashley's fault (relegation at least) but I make the point because the Carroll sale can't be taken in isolation - i.e. to ignore all that went before and demand the full £35m goes on transfers just isn't realistic. I mean you haven't even figured in the £6m-ish spent on Ben Arfa in the same window Carroll left. s that fair? I'm all for criticising Ashley when I think it's due but the criticism has to be fair otherwise it'll just be shown up for what it is - bias. I still don't like or trust him btw, before you accuse me of fallatio

 

the ultimate proof will be when he starts to keep the core of best players, and start to build and improve, rather than sell and replace. This is what Toonpack hoped/thought he would do last summer, when he said for ages he would "revise his opinion of Mike Ashley after the deadline" then scuttled into his hole when it didn't happen.

 

We all HOPE this will happen, but it won't. I stand by what I've always said. This is the point, he will not build properly. He is happy with using the club as a vehicle for Sports Direct, making small profits and will sell a player if this is not achieved, because its easier than gambling on Champions League qualification. I'm not knocking this approach from his point of view, just saying what he will do, and saying that this is not what I as a supporter of the club want.

 

I don't know why people get so defensive about this, its as if they simply can't bring themselves to admit it or something ie the fact he will NEVER do as well as his predecessors. As i said yesterday, its a blind spot they seem to have, but its a fact whether it suits them or not.

I agree about hanging onto the players like. It's a concern because there's only a handful of players been here more than a couple of seasons. Until that trend is reversed the accusations of us being a selling club etc. won't go away. There's also the wage ceiling which is problematic to say the least once a 'more ambitious' club comes knocking. However, I was specifically talking about what's happened post-Carroll ('cherry picking' if you like ) so while I'm cynical about the longer term, I'm at least happy to give some credit where it's due. You surely must be happy about the players we've brought in recently (on the whole). To reiterate, it's on the pitch that matters, no?

 

I can see that you are still hopeful that he will start to retain and build, rather than sell and replace. unfortunately, I'm 100% it isn't going to happen and saying so. I've said for over 4 years this was the aim so I'm not changing my stance now.

 

It's fine to be cautious, which is what alex is saying. But to maintain that things that are no longer true HAVE to be true because you've spent the last 4 years saying they are..... Well that's just stupidity.

 

it's stupid to say things are changing when they are still sitting on 27m of pocketed cash from sales. We will see who leaves the club in the next window or two, shall we ?

[The Fish 10857]

Krul

 

Simpson Taylor Williamson Santon

 

HBA Cabaye Tiote Jonas

 

Cisse Ba

 

Me Likey

Put Colo in there and it'd be even better

 

Hah, yeah.. no excuses. I should go.

[LeazesMag 0]

I'll stick in the obvious caveat 'at this juncture', given we're only half-way through January, but I'm more than happy with the transfer dealings of the club post-Carroll. We've progressed massively as a team since he left. Even letting Barton go for free seems like decent decision now. I wasn't arsed about Nolan going and he certainly isn't worth the deal West Ham gave him. We're short in a few areas (left-back / centre-half especially) of course.

 

but why are people, who are supposed to support the club, happy with 27m quid of what ought to be the managers transfer money, disappearing ?

 

Isn't this hindering progress ?

It hasn't disappeared. Chez's explained this to you far more eloquently than I could on several occasions. That's not a defence of the owner per se but it's the reality of the situation as I see it.

 

It's clearly progress as a team, that much is irrefutable, (it's just not progress at the rate Leazes wants iyam), but for a relegation tipped side we're doing well.

 

You're right about where we need to be strengthening yet (and retention is another matter altogether of course and every bit as important) but I think there was some telling stuff from casino boy who was going on about this sort of signing 'being ideal for the team Pardew's building'. I think that's just code for saying that we're not going to rush to buy a player unless the price is right. We'd been interested previously apparently but not prepared to pay £14 million. So I spose even if the 'Carroll money' was still ringfenced somewhere in a vault (not that it is) theres an argument for saying you dont just spend it immediately because you've got it, because you can end up with any old shit for mega money.

 

I think they drive that austerity too hard btw as no club should ever be left without a striker as we were after Carroll left and I think it was fortunate that didnt hit us harder, but we've now ended up with Ba and Cisse for circa £10 mill combined.

 

If the context is a club that hasnt won anything in the modern game, surely theres some sense in trying to progress steadily, particularly given our biggest asset, which is the apparent unity of the team. Perhaps different if you're a constant CL presence and cant afford one season out of it, maybe then you do go for broke, but that hasn't been us for the best part of a decade.

Yeah, spot on that. Agree with all of it tbh.

 

Yep. Pretty much accurate. It shows that the club are prepared to spend when it suits them and as much as I dislike Ashley I have no shame in admitting that it is a good strategy going forward. Especially considering what we are up against in terms of the finances of some of the clubs around us.

 

Aye, the latter point theres just no sense in ignoring-it has to be acknowledged. I spose we could take the rigid view you get in £35 million on a sale and recycle it instantly on a £35 million spend, but that's likely to get you paying over the odds and possibly in situations where you're just buying to find a replacement for a position rather than a player you're particularly interested in from a team point of view. At the end of the day our money is going to have to go further than the likes of Man C/Chelsea/Liverpool/Man U if we want to push on. Obviously he could put his own coin in but he's not going to so that argument is just beyond pointless dealing with the reality of the matter.

 

As I say, I think we've had some fortune where we've seen too much austerity recently, but perhaps you get away with it more when the team spirit is there as the collective effort is greater to compensate for individual areas of weakness.

 

The one thing for certain is it gets a bit daft looking at it any other way than asking; are we progressing on the pitch? We have and we are.

 

The thing is 99.999999999% of fans agree with this, 0.000000001% dont.

 

do you mean match-goers or out of towners ?

[jaythesouthernmag 0]

I said on twitter that I'd have preferred Cisse to Demba Ba in the summer, both of them are on another level to Carroll, ALTHOUGH that's not to say I'd be against him coming back. Hand on heart I think our best eleven is now better than Arsenal and Liverpool, not fucking about, I believe it.

When would you say we last had a side this good Stevie?

1997. Our midfield was quicker in Robson's day, and we had Shearer and Bellamy but I guarantee we will get just as many goals, and the average age is great now.

Yeah, I was looking back through the old teams. I think the back 5 is very strong as a unit, we have a central midfield pairing that would get into most sides, we know Demba is awesome and Cisse looks and sounds the real deal. If Pardew can blend Ben Arfas talent onto this side then I think we are looking at some very good times ahead. I really hope this has been sold to the players and we end up tieing up Colo as a view of intent

[Holden McGroin 6587]

The best signing this window would be Colo extending his contract. I'd genuinely be gutted if he left which means it will probably happen.

[jaythesouthernmag 0]

I'll stick in the obvious caveat 'at this juncture', given we're only half-way through January, but I'm more than happy with the transfer dealings of the club post-Carroll. We've progressed massively as a team since he left. Even letting Barton go for free seems like decent decision now. I wasn't arsed about Nolan going and he certainly isn't worth the deal West Ham gave him. We're short in a few areas (left-back / centre-half especially) of course.

 

but why are people, who are supposed to support the club, happy with 27m quid of what ought to be the managers transfer money, disappearing ?

 

Isn't this hindering progress ?

It hasn't disappeared. Chez's explained this to you far more eloquently than I could on several occasions. That's not a defence of the owner per se but it's the reality of the situation as I see it.

 

It's clearly progress as a team, that much is irrefutable, (it's just not progress at the rate Leazes wants iyam), but for a relegation tipped side we're doing well.

 

You're right about where we need to be strengthening yet (and retention is another matter altogether of course and every bit as important) but I think there was some telling stuff from casino boy who was going on about this sort of signing 'being ideal for the team Pardew's building'. I think that's just code for saying that we're not going to rush to buy a player unless the price is right. We'd been interested previously apparently but not prepared to pay £14 million. So I spose even if the 'Carroll money' was still ringfenced somewhere in a vault (not that it is) theres an argument for saying you dont just spend it immediately because you've got it, because you can end up with any old shit for mega money.

 

I think they drive that austerity too hard btw as no club should ever be left without a striker as we were after Carroll left and I think it was fortunate that didnt hit us harder, but we've now ended up with Ba and Cisse for circa £10 mill combined.

 

If the context is a club that hasnt won anything in the modern game, surely theres some sense in trying to progress steadily, particularly given our biggest asset, which is the apparent unity of the team. Perhaps different if you're a constant CL presence and cant afford one season out of it, maybe then you do go for broke, but that hasn't been us for the best part of a decade.

Yeah, spot on that. Agree with all of it tbh.

 

Yep. Pretty much accurate. It shows that the club are prepared to spend when it suits them and as much as I dislike Ashley I have no shame in admitting that it is a good strategy going forward. Especially considering what we are up against in terms of the finances of some of the clubs around us.

 

Aye, the latter point theres just no sense in ignoring-it has to be acknowledged. I spose we could take the rigid view you get in £35 million on a sale and recycle it instantly on a £35 million spend, but that's likely to get you paying over the odds and possibly in situations where you're just buying to find a replacement for a position rather than a player you're particularly interested in from a team point of view. At the end of the day our money is going to have to go further than the likes of Man C/Chelsea/Liverpool/Man U if we want to push on. Obviously he could put his own coin in but he's not going to so that argument is just beyond pointless dealing with the reality of the matter.

 

As I say, I think we've had some fortune where we've seen too much austerity recently, but perhaps you get away with it more when the team spirit is there as the collective effort is greater to compensate for individual areas of weakness.

 

The one thing for certain is it gets a bit daft looking at it any other way than asking; are we progressing on the pitch? We have and we are.

 

The thing is 99.999999999% of fans agree with this, 0.000000001% dont.

 

do you mean match-goers or out of towners ?

Leazes, go find another 6 people on here that agree you are 100% right

[hostile_statue 0]

I said on twitter that I'd have preferred Cisse to Demba Ba in the summer, both of them are on another level to Carroll, ALTHOUGH that's not to say I'd be against him coming back. Hand on heart I think our best eleven is now better than Arsenal and Liverpool, not fucking about, I believe it.

When would you say we last had a side this good Stevie?

1997. Our midfield was quicker in Robson's day, and we had Shearer and Bellamy but I guarantee we will get just as many goals, and the average age is great now.

Yeah, I was looking back through the old teams. I think the back 5 is very strong as a unit, we have a central midfield pairing that would get into most sides, we know Demba is awesome and Cisse looks and sounds the real deal. If Pardew can blend Ben Arfas talent onto this side then I think we are looking at some very good times ahead. I really hope this has been sold to the players and we end up tieing up Colo as a view of intent

 

I'd say the team at the moment is of the same quality as in the Robson years. Our current back four is better, back then we were depending on a crock (Woodgate) rather than Colo who's never injured (touch wood). We had a better midfield then, definitely. The Ba-Cissé strikeforce has the potential to be better than Shearer-Bellamy. But, we had a better manager back then...

[ChezGiven 0]

There's no way Ashley is employing the same strategy he was four years ago. He had Dennis Wise scouting and signing the likes of Xisco rather than Graham Carr bringing in the likes of Cabaye and Tiote. His changing behaviour towards the club needs constant reappraisal imo.

Ta-dah!

bI would further argue that major decisions also need to be re-appraised as time goes on, as the narratives catch up with reality. Now we've spent money on a striker in January, the decision not to buy one in the summer was not about 'lying to the fans' and 'pocketing the Carroll money' but was either prudent stewardship of club resources or the money to do that deal truly was not there, for whatever reason. The insight from this deal is that there a willingness to do business if it can be done, in short a lot of what the club has said publicly recently about value and working within our means is true.

 

I just was to say that if you add in increased wages against a limited budget (7% of the wage bill), agent's fees, Obertan's transfer and the difference between Nolan (1.5m and rising) vs Cabaye (4.7m), previous annual losses and this Cisse deal, then you have accounted for the Carroll money.

[trophyshy 7083]

In business Ashley has shown he can learn, adapt, grow, compete, dominate and make money. There is no evidence as far as I know that he has made any money directly from Newcastle. I think he has demonstrated the first three, we are approaching the fourth.

 

As a sequel to the 'glory' years the start of his reign has been poor. I think he is figuring out how to do it his way (after receiving some terrible advice from dickheads like Wise), because that's who he is. There is room to hope he wants Newcastle to be successful as much as he wants to be successful himself, there is for me anyway, that's my choice.

 

Maybe in his own quiet way he believes he will win us over in the end.

[@yourservice 67]

[toonotl 2980]

[Howay 12496]

Also the standard of the sides is better now I think, maybe not at the top cos Man Utd and Arsenal were so much better than anyone else, but genuinely 2nd to 7th there's not a vast chasm. Even Man Utd have scored 1 goal in 3 games against us, they hold no fear for us at this moment in time. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to be accused of being deluded, but this kid we've signed in my opinion will be our greatest buy for over a decade.

Good post this, exactly what I was saying to my mate in all. I think Mike is a gambler and has seen the great start we've had and the position we're in, particularly with the poor form of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, now he's seeing a good shot at a European spot with improvements to the team and he's pulled the trigger.

We've got a talented young side capable of scoring against anyone as well as closing games out (Man Utd away was a defensive masterclass), I'll always be a bit wary of Mike as you and I have both (I'm sure others have too) stated that no one knows this blokes aims and goals for the club and that will always make people wary of his intentions.

IF we sign Aly Cissokho (I don't think we will) our first 11 would be - Krul, Santon, Taylor (ana), Colo, Cissokho, Ben Arfa, Tiote, Cabaye, Jonas, Cisse, Ba, without injuries that's a top 6 side imo I honestly believe that side on paper is better than Liverpool's. We lose out to the 'top' sides because of our depth but again this is the gambler side in Ashley wanting to hit the highs without having much besides youth as cover, which allows us to have a good first 11 and then have back-ups that wont cost much as opposed to say Chelsea who's back-ups are on more money than our 1st teamers.

I'm not 'won over' by Ashley but, this is where I apologise to lads like Chez, the guy has been ruthless and smart in his transfer movements recently. I was worried when we lost Enrique, Barton and Nolan (I now don't blame him after hearing all the articles about how they were trying to basically run the team and demand things) but he had no choice with Enrique and to be honest with hindsight the Carroll deal was genius, the team we have now would embarrass the team we had in our 1st season up and whether he's looking to 'cash in' or not doesn't matter if we keep bringing in these very good transfers (I know it's tough to keep finding the Tiote's but he's done it so far which one of us when Enrique went for £5m thought he'd take the £5m and get a player who really isn't too far behind him). It's good to see the team 'buying smart' for instance as much of a wankfest the scousers have over Suarez we have brought in Cisse, Ba, Cabaye, Tiote and Santon for around the same £23m fee (not to mention the comparison we could make with Carroll ).

Now I'm still in the camp of sceptics with Ant and Stevie that I worry about this blokes actual intentions but as we keep progressing I'm more and more at ease, we've all said we needed a striker before Carroll went and when he left we wanted two, now we've got two (who,like Stevie says, are a big improvement on Carroll) aye it took a year to get them both but this is Businessman Ashley not wanting to pay over the odds and he's bided his time and when the players his staff have told him they want have come available at a good price he's pulled the trigger. Overall we maybe have 'rode out luck' at times and got lucky with situations (i.e. Ba's release clause from West Ham and Freiburg capitulating) but it's what you need sometimes, it's obvious he trusts Pardew more than any manager we've had under him previously which can only be a good thing. As Alex mentioned earlier the guy has obviously learnt and changed tact from when we had the Wise etc debacles and if the Dekka quotes from a few day ago are true about how they see the Wise, Vetre etc appointments as massive mistakes this is further progress tbh.

Sorry for the mental post but it's good to finally be able to look a bit more positively at things (not in your camp just yet CT but I'm more understanding) and be excited for our future once again as it's been quite a while since I was.

(p.s this whole post is null and void if we sell Tiote and Colo as the window shuts )

[Christmas Tree 4725]

Also the standard of the sides is better now I think, maybe not at the top cos Man Utd and Arsenal were so much better than anyone else, but genuinely 2nd to 7th there's not a vast chasm. Even Man Utd have scored 1 goal in 3 games against us, they hold no fear for us at this moment in time. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to be accused of being deluded, but this kid we've signed in my opinion will be our greatest buy for over a decade.

 

Sorry for the mental post but it's good to finally be able to look a bit more positively at things (not in your camp just yet CT but I'm more understanding) and be excited for our future once again as it's been quite a while since I was.

 

 

The camps have all been flattened. We are now just one big happy family. Team Carpe Diem tbf

[Howay 12496]

Also the standard of the sides is better now I think, maybe not at the top cos Man Utd and Arsenal were so much better than anyone else, but genuinely 2nd to 7th there's not a vast chasm. Even Man Utd have scored 1 goal in 3 games against us, they hold no fear for us at this moment in time. I don't want to say too much because I don't want to be accused of being deluded, but this kid we've signed in my opinion will be our greatest buy for over a decade.

 

Sorry for the mental post but it's good to finally be able to look a bit more positively at things (not in your camp just yet CT but I'm more understanding) and be excited for our future once again as it's been quite a while since I was.

 

 

The camps have all been flattened. We are now just one big happy family. Team Carpe Diem tbf

Aye it's there or there about.