Premier League? You’re having a laugh!

Posted on June 5th, 2010 | 134 Comments |

Awaiting fixture news..... and still waiting...
Awaiting fixture news..... and still waiting...
In less than two weeks time the new Premier League fixture list will be released, and it is at that point that we will officially become a Premier League club again.

Thursday 17th June is the date you should enter into your diaries, with 10am being the expected time of release. Where will we begin? Will we be at home or away? Will our first game be aganist a top team like Chelsea or Mnachester United? Will we get a game where we actually stand a decent chance of winning? All of that will soon be known, and naturally you can keep on top of the fixture news here on NUFCBlog.org.

From a personal point of view, I don’t care. The Premier League can take a run and jump for all it matters to me. Over the last few years the whole notion of the Premier League has moved away from being there for fans. I’m a fan, what about me? Money, money, money is what it’ all about. It’s the name of the game, well it isn’t really, it’s actually football but you all know what I meant, plus I wanted to squeeze another ABBA song title in there.

That is not to say I don’t want my team to be competing at the top level, and at the top of that top level, and I am glad we are up there again. But as a spectacle to someone like me who manages to scrape around ten or so games a season, more if I can, the Premier League has lost it’s way.

It was fantastic whilst we were in it, marvellous, and we had some wonderful times dotted throughout our 16-year tenure in the Premier League, but for the most part we were a mid-table team. We have the 8th highest points total if you look at the entire history of the Premier League, and that is a nothing position. No Europe, no nothing.

As a fan, I have much preferred it in The Championship in all honesty. In my opinion, we have much more in common with Championship fans. They don’t follow their team for the glory, they don’t jump on the bandwagon of a team that has had a meteoric rise through the football pyramid, you know, teams that were playing the Dog & Duck a few years back but have struck lucky and found a rich benefactor who wants to have his ego stroked and now come up against the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea etc etc.

I’ll be damned if I am going to get spoken down to from say, a Wigan fan. Where you when you were s**t? You pie-eating weirdos. I have much more respect for teams like Blackpool, a team that has earned the right to play against the best by playing football, and not from the benefit af a rich benefactor who fanices having his ego stroked.

From the outside looking into the Premier League, it is perhaps more obvious that it is a money obsessed league that rewards greed and percentage football, which is why Allardyce seems to ‘thrive’ in it, and why most clubs are saddled wih debt. There is a clutch of clubs that will be fighting for the top 8 places, with the rest just happy to grab the money and survive. Unfortuntely we look as though we will have to try and settle into the latter group of clubs for the time being.

For all it’s glitz and glamour, from my perspective it seems that all that glitters is not gold in the Premier League.

NUFCBlog Author: toonsy toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.

Related Posts:

Posted on by toonsy in category: General miscellany and Thoughts and reflections and Toonsy , with tags: ,
Comment on this post

134 Responses

  1. you see, the premier league is the most worldwide football league that overseas countries watches and maybe bet on it.

    Even my own country people hardly support our own league.

    Premier League as by its name,must have something to see other than just 20 guys battling with a rolling ball. There must be some crazy happening to draw spectators watching the league right? ;)

    if all clubs don’t have rich owners,and with transfer budget a few thousands. Can you imagine what will happen to the “Premier league”

    Every Clubs has its own proud history/Moment. The only true fans are those willing to stick by their local/favored club no matter what happens.

    I am waiting to see what is the future lies with liverpool now. ;)

  2. I personally think the premier league has lost its sparkle in recent years.

    The best period for me was around the early years of the new millenium when Bobby had us battling in and around the champions league spots.

    The clubs who were relegated between 01-02 and 03-04 were Derby, Leicester, Ipswich, West Ham, Sunderland, West Brom, Leeds, Leicester(again) and Wolves.

    All despite personal dislikes of the obvious few, Large football clubs.

    Some of the clubs playing in the top flight now are beyond a joke and the football is even worse.

  3. AngelOfDeath says:
    June 5, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    “you see, the premier league is the most worldwide football league that overseas countries watches and maybe bet on it.”

    When I was on holiday in Cambodia once, and the locals found out that both myself and my friend were English, I had to spend time practically every day helping them pick the results of Premier League games so they could bet on them.

  4. That is not good news for me in the Worky v Toonsy head to head prediction league ;)

  5. Money talks and shit walks! Same in every walk of life.

    It’s the food chain. The poor get poorer and the rich just prosper.

    PL is no different.

  6. toonsy says:
    June 5, 2010 at 5:16 pm

    “That is not good news for me in the Worky v Toonsy head to head prediction league”

    It’s a good job for betting shops that I don’t gamble, Toonsy. Last time Big Dave asked me to do a prediction I got the victory and the score correct. Time before that, ditto.

  8. Whats up man ?
    A really depressing rant.
    We are back where this club belongs, having spent more time in the top division, with the occasional drop to the second tier, something familiar to most top teams i might add, but certainly not unusual.
    Yeah we have a not quite competitive PL side, nothing a few good signings, would`nt cure (the base is there)
    Instead of sounding sorry we are escaping from a league with a standard proven to be poor (we only lost four games) i would have thought most fans would have expectations of some decent football and could`nt wait for the season to open.
    C`mon man lighten up !

  9. I said 96 I think? Sure I said 96?

    EDIT – I said 93 points to secure promotion, which turns out would have been enough to win the league anyway. So that was my expectation surpassed.

  10. Feck me, after how many weeks of being positive, being called an Ashley apoligist, being called all sorts of names under the sun for thinking we will be fine next season, I now get told to lighten up and stop being negative 8O

    Truly stunned.

  11. I believe this club belongs where the results dictate. None of the hype about trophies, players, money,huge fanbases matters, not one bit.

    We are back in the Premier League because we earnt the chance to be. Not because we have a god given right to be there. Just my opinion like.

  12. This blog/rant is spot on. It’s become a business and not a sport.

    I said the moment we got relegated that outside the finances and stuff – the Championship would be 10 times more fun than the Premiership. It was and it will be 10 times more fun than next season.

    At the end of the day – we are just fans and this is supposed to be mostly fun to us. How can anyone say the Premiership is fun?

    It’s only somewhat fun if you are neutral and even then, the fun is with the mid-table teams. The top teams either are boring or hammer smaller teams.

    It’s rubbish and the SPL gets raped for it – yet the EPL is the most exciting in the world because it has more foreign names in it.

  13. But the PL wasn’t like that at the start. If you look back at the squads of say 1992, 93, a larger percentage of the players were from the home countries.

    Also I remember the SPL used to get it’s share of coverage on Sky, and it’s probably the reason why I like the song ‘Inside’ by Stiltskin.

    It’s hard to pinpoint where it started going wrong for the Premier League, and why it became so popular. But it’s rise in popularity began before the influx of foreign players.

  14. C`mon don`t be so defensive, we all get depressed at some time or other.
    It`ll all be better when that whistle blows for the start of the first game and we have all four of our new signings in black and white rearing to strut there stuff in front of 52,000 roaring Geordies.

  15. Aye, suppose your right there Chuck.

    Good win for the USA today. Personally hope it ends there and starts again after Saturday ;)

  16. Instead of bemoaning the fact the EPL consists of many of the worlds top players, i would be gratefull for it.
    Because without them the EPL would consist of home grown players most of which are Championship level.
    Why does the EPL dominate the worlds tv audience ?
    Because it`s a game of skill played at a faster and more physical manner than in any other league.
    Not a cynical game as recently demonstrated by a Morinho team, defend for 90 mins., Sorry the most boring final ever.
    Hope he stays a Real !
    Of course we would`nt have this game available to us without the money from tv contracts.
    So please enough of the pissing and moaning, the EPL is simply the best brand of football from a spectator`s point of view and worldwide audiences back that up.

  17. It is if you want to sit on your arse and watch games on TV. Going to them is a different kettle of fish.

    Not every game is Man Utd v Chlesea. What about the Blackburn v Birmingham?

    It may be good from a TV perspective, but it mugs off the real people that supported the clubs for so long before Sky – the fans.

  18. i think we will see the same problems creeping into the premier league as what happened in italy’s boom and bust period.
    i remember when the italian league was the place to be,high wages,star players etc.the same things started to happen there as what we are seeing in the prem,attendances started dropping off,same teams winning the league,tight games where defences were always on top.
    then eventually a lot of corruption was uncovered within some of the clubs,junventus being relegated etc.
    i think football should be taken back to basics,when all players earn the same money,but win bonuses and goal scoring bonuses as incentives to get the best out of players.

  19. Toonsy… seems to me like you are bitter as we have zero chance of ever challenging for anything in the prem ever again. Its true though, really, what wil be regarded as a good season for us…. survival?? there can no fan deluded enough to think we will get anywhere near a europa spot so with this in mind, our only target… what the club are aiming for… is 17th position. Whatever happened to ashleys bold claims of top four club within four years. All our top players will leave on a free as they let their contracts run out. When they leave we do not have an owner with heart to back his own club so we will be worthless within about three years i should say. And IF/once we go down to CCC again and with no decent players of value left… its a road we will never come back from with this man as our owner. He has never backed us where it mattered to the fans most…on the pitch…the FOOTBALL….. what we go to see week in and week out. I dont go to hear him cry like a puff or read his naffing profit loss data that has been twisted and pulled in as many directions as posible to portray him as a saviour and not a destroyer. He may have pumped money in to keep us alive or he may not have, depends which camp you are in. I think everyone knows where i stand on that one. Thing is though, its his club and its his asset so why do we constantly hear him dripping like a sodding tap crying about how expensive it is etc. We are normal people and we earn normal money and we all have probably greater % outgoings in ratio to our salaries than ashely. Anyone who has a mortgage and home will testify that it is a bottomless pit when it comes to payments and keeping the house looking half decent, poll tax, utilities bills, repairs, insurance.. its just as big a list as mike ashleys. There is a major difference in us and him, we expect to spend most our money and have not that much left at the end of each month… its called overheads and it is life. If you are a member of a gym its a grand a year… out of your salary.. a huge %. It would appear that ashley wants to never have to pay for anything… he wants everything to be profit. Life is just not like that. By time you have paid off your mortgage its cost you twice what the fooking house is worth etc. Does anyone think that we should go to mike ashley and cry on his shoulder about our loss making homes and do you think he would give a monkeys? And then with what little money we have left what do we do…. we go to games to watch our once great club which is in a terminal state of decline under ashley. This promotion will mean nothing other than a few quid in ashleys pocket before a quick return to the ccc in all likelyhood. At best, like i say, our clubs ONLY agenda is 17th spot. Mike has set his stall out for a huge gamble on what we have with one or two free jobs. If he had a fraction of the heart and passion of just about any true geordie he would hang his head in shame. The finance is something we will never know the truth about, no matter what ashley prints. The only thing we do know is that the very soul and heart of nufc(sportsdirect@stjamesparkstadium) has been ripped out.
    Your article is bleak and dark toonsy….. i kinda agre though!

  20. Just reading where Citeh are about to offer 30m.
    for Milner, my mind boggles.

    Here is a player who`s only improvement has been to bulk up since he was a teenage up and commer at Leeds.

    Forced to play out of position a Newcastle on the wing,
    instead of a midfield role, could`nt put in a decent cross to save his life (same with Jonas)but 30,000m.no way !

    Face it theres a decided lack of talent among young home grown players and the suggested prices are ridicules.

    Oh for a Nobby and Robert, guys who could do it all (in Robert`s case forget defending)

    No wonder foreign players are taking over the league, half the price twice the talent.

  21. Craig – My article is also nowt to do with Ashley, or Newcastle really. It could equally apply to any club that is outside the top 6-8.

    Time for me to take a back seat on the writing articles side, as it seems no matter what the hell I write I comes back to Ashley, and it’s fecking annoying when I spend time trying to cobble together some original thoughts only for people to piss in the same direction on it.

    I’m out.

  22. Toonsy lighting up abit fella it could be worse ye could be a mackem :lol: But I can understand where yer coming from, its been touched on by already be Wickywoowoo I think for the football side I will miss the CCC its more like proper footie and proper Fans and to make it even better we only had to endure 4 defeats which will be a lot different in the Prem ;)

  23. sorry.. what are you on about “In less than two weeks time the new Premier League fixture list will be released, and it is at that point that we will officially become a Premier League club again”

    we officially became a premier league club when our promotion was guaranteed.

    you write some drivel sometimes

  26. Eastend – Wrong again sunshine.

    The fixtures haven’t rolled over yet so officially we are still in The Championship.

  27. oh shut up you moron.. just admit it, it was a stupid statement to make

  28. Craig,

    Toonsy isn’t bitter, but you are obviously very bitter about something, something that is much deeper and more profound than a disagreement about how Mike Ashley is running the club.

  32. Gan on Worky ;)

    I was tempted to do it earlier when he made me and Stuart agree on something 8O

    I knew then a line had been crossed :)

  33. worky. i am as much in one direction as you are in the other. you are as bad as me if not worse for causing stir. not that i am knocking it. jsut saying it as a fact. it is good you can stand your ground if anything. seems toonsy only likes having blogers on that agree though. i cant help it if i dont, what is the point of the blog???

  34. Craig – That isn’t the case at all, and we have had enough arguments to prove that right away.

    My point is that, whilst everyone was managing to discuss the merits (or lack of them) of the Premier League, a discusiion that had nowt to do with Ashley for a change headed straight back there, quick step.

    That is what annoyed me, because we had got away from Ashley (albeit probably only until tomorrow) for a bloody change :)

  35. toonsy,i myself have been critical of you in the past,but i think it was me getting frustrated with the blog,and i took .it out on you to some degree.
    so i hold up my hands,and apologise wholeheartedly.
    keep writing the articles man,people should realise there’s very little to write about at the moment.

  38. craig chisholm says:
    June 5, 2010 at 7:30 pm

    “worky. i am as much in one direction as you are in the other.”

    Craig, I am quite ambivalent towards Mike Ashley, depending on different issues surrounding the club, so that simply can’t be true.

  40. No, it’s the whole spectacle of it. The cliqueyness of the fans of other teams, the fact it is all about money and that it’s alienating the people who helped to make, ie the matchday fans.

    I had loads more fun going to games this year, not only because we were winning, but for, well, loads of reasons. How can anyone say the Prem is the best league in the world where more than half the teams play Allardyce type percentage football in the hope of surviving so they can get more money the next year?

    I only said we would fit into the group that isn’t top 8, and we will be mixing it up with the Blackburn’s and not the Villa’s.

  41. craig chisholm says:
    June 5, 2010 at 7:43 pm

    “so if so how come we never agree on a single thing newc. i even agree with toonsy sometimes”

    Craig, do you hate that Sports Direct sign at SJP?

  42. yes i do as it is tackless… if he had shown some heart and done it same everything but black and white then no pron dont like the mackem colours

  43. To be fair – I had one of the larger disagreements with toonsy that I can think of during the Play-Off final but even I can see this blog is spot on.

  44. Toonsy

    Have in fact enjoyed Birmingham vs. Blackburn games more than some so called top games, think that`s a bit of a put down of those clubs.
    I have also been bored to tears watching Arsenal passing the ball in tight triangles for an entire game, without accomplishing a thing.

    Fail to understand the following

    “it may be good from a tv perspective, but it MUGGS OFF the REAL PEOPLE that supported the club for so long before sky – the fans.

    Say what !

  45. Isn’t it red and blue? I’m sure that is what colour Sports Direct is? And aren’t the mackems red and black?

  47. I think you hit it on the head trojan, there really is nothing to talk about right now. Life has stopped for the moment. World Cup…..ummm ok but my eyes are on next season. The stoke has warn off and now its time to look at making an impact in the pl. Yeah we wont fininsh in the top 7 or 8 but we can make some noise next season. One step at a time. Lets at least start gunning for those dirty monkey mackems!! I really missed that last season.

  48. Just for you Toonsy,I’m the baldy ugly one……and bloody hell I need to lay off the pies for a bit ;-)

  49. Chuck – Before Sky came along, with their vast TV deals which rewarded that extra place in the league so generously with prize money.

    Ever since then, ticket prices, everthing, has gone up, and significantly. It never used to be like that. Take Germany as an example. You could probably get 3 Bundesliga games fro the prices of 1 Premier League ticket.

    If that was the case over here, then people would be able to go more. Because there is no competition for ticket pricing over here, it makes TV a much better proposition. Hence the TV is great for people who want to sit at home, or cant get to games.

    But if a clubs income was more dependant in getting fans in through the turnstiles, like it was before Sky rolled up, prices would drop again to a reasonable level. Meaning people who can go, and want to go to more games could afford to do so.

  50. craig chisholm says:
    June 5, 2010 at 7:48 pm

    “yes i do as it is tackless… if he had shown some heart and done it same everything but black and white then no pron dont like the mackem colours”

    So we DO agree on something then! :-)

    Whether you agree with Mike Ashley’s decisions or not, many of the things used to attack him have been based on deception, largely fed by the media. Even if I completely disagree with someone’s position, I would only attack them on what I felt to be valid points, I would not use lies in some kind of attempt to discredit someone, whoever they were. I also feel compelled to unravel some of the complete crap perpetrated in an attempt to discredit both him and the club. If that makes me seem like some kind of ‘Ashley lover’ to you, so be it, but I’m not.

  51. Loosing interest and running outta steam, things are turning sour, catch y`all in a better frame of mind.
    Later.

  53. Wickywoowoo – Again, much like I said to Trojan, it’s all water under the bridge.

  56. WWW – In central midfield maybe, where we can scrape by, albeit at a pace that is only moderately faster than an amble :D

  58. he’s me idol Big Dave,so ta very much ;-)
    Ya wouldn’t think I used to be a lean mean fighting machine,I’m hoping to get some work as Ashleys double,I just need a wig and £1bn in loose change :-)

  59. Big Dave says:
    June 5, 2010 at 8:04 pm

    “Richie ye need to lay of the pies mate as you are starting to look like Buster Bloodvessel”

    Buster Bloodvessel has laid off the pies for some time now, Dave. He’s a shadow of his former self, though he still runs a B&B called “Fatty Towers”, I think?

  61. Richie he was good mate many a time I done the old Ska dance in the old days :lol:
    Toonsy thats a cracker it just took me back to my Teens ;)

  63. Toonsy

    Yeah we would all like to live in a world of our own making, unfortunately we have to deal with what we have.
    I for one would`bt be willing to climb onto that fence that existed at the back of the east stand,in all kinds of weather, with no overhead protection, preferring a comfortable seat, in a state of the art stadium.
    All generated by tv funding.
    Tv. revenue will dominate professional football for the foreseeable future, it also brings games to expats. throughout the world and adds considerably to the coffers of the club, a necessary evil perhaps, but a reality that`s not going anywhere soon.

  64. Worky I seen him a couple of years ago and as you said he is a shadow of his former self, he actually looked real unwell and has aged a lot

  65. Toonsy :) I can remember them 1st coming out and still have one of the 1st VHS ones somewhere in my loft I can remember seeing someone on tv saying it would be a collectors item in years to come so maybe by the time I find it it might be worth a few quid ;)

  66. See Chuck, I would. I would love terracing back, to a point. It was fantasic at Peterborough standing in the terraces, and if they had to put seat in that stand then I bet there would only be half the number of people able to fit in there.

    I got by before without flashy stadiums, and would do it again. Unfortunately, tragic events elsewhere meant grounds were forced to change, and the money has helped that to a point. So why when there is so much money in the game from TV deals, is the matchday public still being squeezed at the pips?

  68. I wouldn’t wanna go back to the toilet facilities they had Peterboro though ;-) but the atmosphere in the stand was pure quality.

  69. agreed Toonsy. Standing in the away end with 5000 of the lads with a few beers on board all singing there hearts out for the cause is one of THE great experiences. Camaraderie big time. I used to love travelling to away games, great crack.

  72. Craig – Of course I wouldn’t turn my back on Newcastle. We have been in far deeper shit than what we are in now, and I supported them through it then. It is my home town team after all.

    It just irks me that everything about the PL is about money, everything. But why when there is so much money coming into the game from elsewhere? Why is it the fan who has to fork out?

    I would never turn my back on my team, but I would turn my back on spending silly money to watch them.

    Soeaking of which, do you dtill think I am apologist for Ashley, Craig?

  76. your post @70 – well the good news is i think we will be back there soon enough so everyone is a winner!…thought you were referring to a quick return to the Championship mate

  77. The saddest thing about football at this level is that it’s a business more than it is a sport and a pastime. Top flight football sold most of it’s soul to the financial devil a long time ago.

  79. i think you dont care for him that much but i think too many people have lost sight of what we should be interested in.. just the football. thats it, nothing else. I do not give two wanks about ashley and his finances (like my previous post). i can not say in all honesty that i have enjoyed THE FOOTBALL side of newcastle ever while ashley has been in charge.

  80. Thats fair enough the. I was about to remind you that I stayed away from SJP last season in protest at Ashley, and only went to see us get promoted. Went to a fair amount of away games though.

    I know what your saying about the football, but in reality it hasn’t been that great since Bobby got booted out.

  81. toonsy – read OK to me pal. On that note, I’ll probably be stating the obvious but sometimes you’ve just got to let it go dude. I guess we’ve got to accept that everyone is in their own place right now regards the club and it’s immediate future. A daily routine is inevitable. Don’t always rise to the bait and choose the fight. Pick your discussions and the blog blossoms because of it. I would say that applies to a lot posters as well, although the standard is pretty decent on the whole.

  82. @76… thats exactly ehat i meant in my post you are right. I wasnt taking piss either as in all honestly it was nice winning some games for a change. I know in my heartv we will get battered in the prem and when we get done ever , every single paper is going to tear us a new hole cos of our clubs fine relationship with the press. No matter what ashelys intentions were, i think they will backfire massive next season.
    At the ende of the day… i am not that bothered about the prem myself… its a simple issue… do we support the pre or do we support newcastle? i support newcastle – not ashley though. i can not say i will ever be happy with him. way too much dragging of us thorugh the dirt in a short space of time.

  83. toonsy. if nothing else you godda agree i add a bit of fire and spice to your board. liek it or loathe it. would be a shite world if we all thought the same. would like stepford wives footy supporters!if anything it only highlights the passion we all share. even though different views

  84. Bowburn – ;)

    I have to admit I very much like getting involved in the comments. It just annoyed me a little because I was trying to create a serious (ish) footballing discussion, before the tide got turned back to that all to familiar ground.

    I respect others opinions, and they are welcome to them, of course they are. But if I have something to say then I generally say it.

    And yes, it has landed me in troble before :(

  85. I think the decline really started round the sametime as Abramovich started throwing money about like it was going out of fashion which coincides with the last year or 2 of SBR managing us :(

  86. you know what us loyal fans are dont you… we are like the long suffering wife. we get the odd decent day but generally speaking it is just one back hander after another.

  88. the real problem are the player wages.
    they are fcuked. we need a euro wide cap at around 70k a week. we might see more pride and passion from the players then as thjey will then ultimatley play for the team the want to, and not the one that gives 200k a week.

  89. Craig @ 86 – It’s not my board, I just post comments and write articles on it mate :)

  90. Not even bothered to read the comments yet.

    Toonsy, you managed to write down exactly what I feel. Bang on to the penny. Nicely.

  91. Even the long suffering wife gets a good seeing to, every now and again. Or at least a vibrator to make up for it.

    What do Newcastle fans get? 50+ years of nothing worth remembering.

    Where is our vibrator, that’s what I ask.

  92. craig chisholm @ 86 that was real funny and spot on. My Lass often tells me that I spend more time on the blog than I do with her, but I told her that the mean difference is I dont have to read things if I dont want to, But its hard not to hear her ;)

  94. Craig – heart felt concerns mate. It’s probably always better to be top of the second division than bottom of the first, but I cannot say I would like to be back in the Championship cos we were winning games and things were better. The Prem is where it is happening, that’s where we belong. It’s a pity that you sound so disillusioned, keep the faith man, perhaps the new season won’t be too bad after all ! That the papers will rip into us, that’s just the sad state of affairs that we find ourselves in. Personally I just don’t read the crap, end of story. A bit of sticking the head in the sand I suppose, but that’s probably also an advantage of living abroad and not in the “goldfish bowl” on the Tyne – it’s possible to step back from it all . We’ll see what happens when the season starts, but the potential for us to go tits up is there, agreed, but lets see what CH can conjure up.

    Perhaps we’re disillusioned because there are no more Geordie messiahs or legends left ! SBR has sadly passed away, KK outahear, Shearer MIA, the cor blimeys in charge of wor club…where do we turn for our new Geordie saviour, one of our own ilk to pin our hopes on ?…Andy Carrol anyone ?

  95. toons – nah man, I didn’t mean to infer you shouldn’t fight your corner or have your say. I just meant I read the frustrations on the blog and think lads need to just breath deep and leave it alone (particularly if it’s the same old argument). I know it’s easier said than done. You getting involved so much is key to the success of the blog really, I was never able to do both towards the end to be honest, at least to that extent.

    But I reckon there’s always enough sensible chat about the stuff you right to get it back on track more or less.

  96. wickywoowoo says:
    June 5, 2010 at 9:22 pm

    “Where is our vibrator, that’s what I ask.”

    8O 8O 8O

  97. yeah they do go on a bit. wives that is. my missus will never grasp my addiction to newcastle united. recently, i have been asking myself the same question though. its like some kind of, ‘fcuked if you do and fcuked if you dont sort’ of situation with us under ashley. i love my team but i would be happy if he just evaporated overnight at the same time. its hard to love your team while at the same time you loathe the man that is ripping it appart. you go to a game so are you supporting the lads or ashleys pockets? catch 22 in every way.

  99. hey toonsy, very sorry if my posts are driving you to the edge of sanity man. no offense like. you can always twell me to do one if its really that bad.. i would respect that.

  102. We all follow the Toon,are we supposed to enjoy it??! ;-)

    For the majority of the 30 odd years I’ve been watching NUFC the quality of football hasn’t been great but you just wait for that next bit of skill,a flick,backheel,shimmy,a nutmeg to get you off your seat.You turn up to the game full of expectation and hope and often leave dissapointed knowing you’ll be back again full of the same hope and expectation.It’s the anticipation that you’ll see something great,something to excite you,something to talk to your mates about later in the pub.We go hoping to experience great games like Barcelona,humping Man utd 5 nowt,they happen rarely but the memory always stays with you and brings a smile to your face.Then there’s the banter,the craic the atmosphere,the laughs you have at the matches.There’s more lows than highs and its nearly always been so,but experiencing those rare highs make it all worthwhile and that’s why I’ll be there next year full of hope/anticipation/trepidation I love my club I love my team,roll on next season.Howay The Lads.

  107. There’s some sense on here today, spot on richietoon.

    By the way.. Isn’t Ashley a nob!?

  109. well its been a good couple of hours lads. i came on , caused chaos as usual, drove toonsy to despair again, got rid of worky, then it all calmed down, now its all mellow and we all love newcastle again! perfect.

  111. Craig – Don’t flatter yourself, driving me to despair is not an exclusive club ;)

    And Worky is still around ;)

  114. he is exactly as the name says dude… a workyticket. good for kicking it all off though i must admit.
    anyway…. are we any closer to any player of any description at all? i think loven should get 9 too and not carroll.

  115. Nah, Carroll should be 9 for me. And Highton reckons end of June before we get anyone ;)

  116. It brought a tear to my eye writing it lads,I’ve had many more bad times than good but when I think back it’s always the good that the old memory picks out.I can sort of compare it to my time in the army.I saw/experienced some bad crap but f*** me I had some fantastic times and they’re the ones I remember and I’d do it all again.

  117. i think both loven and carroll are prem quality as it goes. i just dont want to give it to carroll then see our 9 in the slammer for the rest of season.

  118. you right richietoon… i have been sat diving in the oil indusrty since i was a nipper. even though its mostly like doing time, i have some great memories too. And you are right, its what keeps me diving and its what keeps me at nufc.

  119. Richie I meant to ask a few times who you served with, and you are dead right the mind is a funny old thing with time it tends to forget the bad but makes the good bits even clearer.

  120. I was REME Big Dave,attached to 35 engr regt twice,1 rha,1 rtr and 2 rtr.
    It’s a bit like the great SBR’s team in the world cup,everybody looks back and says how good we were and got to the semis when in my opinion we played poorly and infact the game where we played our best footy was the one we lost.The game v Germany in the semis was our best performance of the tournament,we were poor against Cameroon and Belgium and lucky to progress past them…but hey thats football.

  122. Can’t wait to be back in the big time….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
    Wake me up when it’s over please :)

  124. Aye there’s been a few good lads lost and more this week Craig.It goes with the job,I’d still recommend it to anyone though mate,been trying to get my son to enlist with no luck.Biggest mistake I made,getting out.

  125. SJT raises another interesting point that I hate about the PL, cliched comments like that from commentators.

    Andy Gray :mad:

  126. just about every commentator is wa*ker. that tosser redknapp is one of the worst, can not stand the bloke. whould knob his missus though i have to admit!

  130. Yid…cheers mate,you can keep Jenas and Keane is out of our price range….we only shop in the car boot sales at the moment ;-)

  131. @129……last time I heard ‘inselaffe’…..it caused a ruck in Celle ;-)

  132. richietoon couldn’t agree more.My wife bless her did a car boot last week.No one wanted our shit and she came back with the shit no one else wanted.Sounds like NUFC’s transfer window.

  133. richietoon and inselaffe, nice one ! Don’t get to hear the term too often here in Munich to be honest, but it odes exist of course ! http://forum.dict.cc/forum-questions/detail-91411-Inselaffen.html

    Craigchisolm – Sat diver, nice one mate, respect ! I come from the oil industry too, but from engineering.

    The transfer speculation for the new season is driving me
    mental, how about some new themes lads ?

    Here’s my suggestion for a blog theme, or two, following along on the “whatever happened to the East Stand Kenny Everett” theme, which I thought was fantastic by the way !

    “What are your first memories of following the toon”..

    and

    “what does Newcastle United mean to you”

    “remember the Champions League and G18 ?” – not with this owner !

    I’m sure that’ll prompt a few responses !…

  134. Great article, well done. Loving the comments journey from furor to teary-eyed reconciliation! lol

    Seems to me Toonsy has summed up how more and more genuine supporters are starting to feel about the Prem. I (unfortunately!) have a lot of ManU supporting mates and even they recognise (pre-Glazer debt too I might add) how over-commercialisation was bloating the game to galling levels, despite constantly winning everything under the sun and the club having built up over the years without a rich benefactor.

    It could be considered that the Prem is in its own financial bubble and recent events show how they ultimately and inevitably end. We are seeing more overly indebted clubs start to fall and there could be a bank-like contagion across the league at some stage. I would add though that the Prem is not entirely to blame for this situation and could well be less culpable than the Champions league. Since being expanded to the runners-up spots and ‘doing a Premier League’ with the TV ‘brand’ exercise attracting huge cash, it has taken the disproportionate distribution of prize money to another level beyond what the Sky cash did. At least when the Prem was founded it was agreed that for sporting principles the TV deal had to be negotiated for the league as a whole and then apportioned to clubs via league placings, rather than allow the daft situation as in Spain whereby Barca and Real negotiate their own TV deals thus reaping by far the lion’s share of the cash available to clubs and further maintaining their domination. The Champions League now represents such a leap in finance from 5th to 4th place that it dwarfs the Sky cash impact and further exxagerates an unfair monopoly for the top clubs that most often qualify. Over time this divergence across the league just becomes worse and worse. Business principles have perverted sporting principles, hopefully the new financial rules coming through will only be the start in trying to turn back that tide.

    Even so I still can’t shake the horrific flashbacks to Partizan Belgrade! Better to be IN the cartel than OUT :(