Pardew in a pair spree?

Posted on December 20th, 2011 | 70 Comments |

Are the Toon interested in Douglas Franco Teixeira?
Douglas for the Toon?
Newcastle United are pursuing (at least) two centre-backs according to rumours and Alan Pardew insists that Taye Taiwo isn’t one of them.

The rumour-mill has been doing the usual stuff and the latest has Newcastle interested in a pair of defenders.

The first is Douglas Franco Teixeira who is a 6ft 4in, 23 year old Brazilian who – in the tradition of Brazilians – is simply known as ‘Douglas’. Why do they do that anyway? And why isn’t Wayne Rooney simply known as ‘Wayne’, for example?

Anyway, Douglas started his career with Joinville, which sounds like a cartoon place but, as I’m sure you know, it’s in the Santa Catarina State in the south of Brazil. However, he only played two senior games for them before being snapped up by FC Twente where he’s been ever since, netting 8 times in 108 appearances.

The rumour of our interest comes from ‘sources in Holland’ who also suggest that Aston Villa and QPR are interested too. Cheick Tiote will know Douglas from his time at FC Twente and that could work to our advantage if we are indeed looking to recruit him.

‘Transfermarkt’ estimates he’s worth about £7.5m, although I have no idea where they get their figures from.

The second rumour concerns a Brazilian defender who’s currently plying his trade a bit closer to home and that’s Chris Samba. The 6ft 4in, 27 year old has been at Blackburn since 2007 after moving there from Hertha Berlin.

Now this particular rumour immediately sounds wrong to me because he’s 28, which is a bit old for our usual recruits, and playing for a Premier League team, which again doesn’t fit our typical recruitment strategy. You never know though. Maybe for the right price we’d be interested.

Apparently Mike Ashley is pressing Alan Pardew to shore up the defence and last week Pardew said:

Mike has already asked me, ‘when are we going to get a centre-half?’

If that’s true then there’s clearly money set aside to deepen our shallow defence, which is good news. It remains to be seen whether either of these two be part of it.

Pardew has however killed of the alleged interest we had in AC Milan’s Taye Taiwo, saying:

There’s no interest. I don’t know anything more about that.

Remember it’s all gossip and rumours. Occasionally one turns out to be true but most are as likely as me discovering the Higgs Boson in my trouser pocket.

NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10). Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.

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70 Responses

  1. I am more concerned that we have to keep looking for other players like these as we are unable to hang on to our quality players. To me this is all an added headache teams know offer enough and NUFC will sell their best to you. It would be nice to be untouchable like the top teams, this will never happen if we cant keep a bedrock of players at the club. Pardew I think tries to keep it real he has come to expect that we will sell if it comes to it. He has no definative answers but has to be positive at the same time, hence the odd statements he gives at times.

    While NUFC is financially stable which is great there is an air of Russian Roulette at St James, i.e. who is next to go be it contracts or bidding wars. At least half of our team is shrouded in uncertainty and Who is to say we will keep BA if we are offered enough….

  2. hugh “Pardew in a pair spree” is there a prize for worst chrisie pun, cos we’ll have difficulty beating that one!

  3. ” ….. teams know offer enough and NUFC will sell their best to you.”

    I’m interested to know where this train of thought comes from. Other than Carroll, and for a figure which it would have been stupid to resist, and with cash down – no instalments, name anyone who has been sold in these circumstances in the last 2/3 years. The fact is that even those “untouchables” as you call them will sell at the right price. Arsenal – Fabregas, Nasri, Liverpool – Torres; Man U – Ronaldo. Shall I go on …..

  4. @Tony Toon.

    Ok thats a fair statement – So What will NUFC be offering for Rooney this transfer window? After all we need a striker? So Yeh players are untouchable to us, and I am not talking about the past 2/3 years I am talking about us potentially losing players in the short term. You tell me from the relegated squad who did any of the top teams buy from us?

    Oh and as for Rooney and Torres moving on, that is ONE player from the club. We could lose a lot more than one player from our squad. Could you see Fergie depleting (by depleting I mean selling a lot more than 1 player from his squad for cash??)Count how many have left us in the last year.

    We have a talented squad of players, and it would be a pity to see them go to the highest bidder, dont be naive that this is not a destinct possibility.

  5. The fact that other clubs are reportedly (so says the papers) are after some of our players is a testament to how good our scouting network is and also how good our coaching is nowadays.

    If we continue to unearth gems like Tiote, Cabaye and Ba then we will continue to attract the attention of clubs looking on enviously.

  6. “We could lose a lot more than one player from our squad.”

    I suppose we could but my point is that there are no grounds for thinking that we will try to cash in by selling players. There is no history of selling off players for a profit, Carroll being the exceptional case I mentioned in my earlier reply.

    “Could you see Fergie depleting (by depleting I mean selling a lot more than 1 player from his squad for cash??)Count how many have left us in the last year.”

    Well Fergie sold 2 solid members of his squad to our neighbours down the road. As for Nolan, Barton and Enrique (Carroll is already explained) They all moved on for reasons other than profit. Only Enrique has had an adverse impact overall, but he was determined to leave.

    Again there is no obvious example of Ashley cashing in on a player just to make a few quid. I just don’t see that changing now except as Pardew says for a really ridiculous sum of money which in any business changes things.

  7. @Tony Toon

    Yeh maybe you are right. I just want the best as a fan and for the club. I appreciate what has been acomplished finiancially at the club. I just hope NUFC has ambition. At least we are not in the position Blackburn find themselves in today.

    To all a Merry Christams!

  8. Tony Toon says:
    December 20, 2011 at 12:18 pm

    “As for Nolan, Barton and Enrique (Carroll is already explained) They all moved on for reasons other than profit.”

    What were the reasons for them moving on Tony Toon?

  9. Thats better. Try looking on the bright side. There are too many doom mongers about in every walk of life. I just don’t want to get depressed about something that might not happen. Let’s just enjoy the upward curve our club is on at the moment and try, hard as it might be, to trust in the club hierarchy to bring some success to NUFC. Let’s be honest, they seem to have done alright recently. I honestly believe Ashley, who I’ve wished out of the club many times, has gradually been learning about what the club and it’s supporters are about and along with a firm business sense has a determination to put the club back where it should be. Tough love is what they call it. There are sure to be stumbles still but in the long term I feel more confident about the future than I have in years.

    Merry Christmas

  10. workyticket@9 How about unreasonable contract demands for a start stemming from their over inflated opinion of their value at the club.

  11. Lets just wait and see what happens in jan. As has happend before with ashley just as things are lookin bright he drops a bomb shell tht fcuks everything up. Am sittin on the fence about ashley he could be a true hero or a villian only time will tell.

    Merry christmas to all.

    HWTL

  12. Tony Toon says:
    December 20, 2011 at 2:29 pm

    “Let’s be honest, they seem to have done alright recently.”

    We’ve come 12th, been relegated in 18th amidst absolute chaos (and lost many millions in the process), won the Championship and got promoted again, then come 12th. For a team the size of Newcastle United, that isn’t really a great record Tony Toon. For all that the club has continued to lose all semblance of it’s dignity and pride. The owner and the Managing Director are compulsive liars who have no respect whatsoever in the football world and no top manager will touch them with a bargepole. The stadium is a joke with all it’s ghastly Sports Direct signs and it no longer has a name. Are we supposed to be pleased and thankful about that?

    Tony Toon says:
    December 20, 2011 at 2:36 pm

    “workyticket@9 How about unreasonable contract demands for a start stemming from their over inflated opinion of their value at the club.”

    Could you be more specific about these “unreasonable contract demands” Tony?

  13. Tony Toon
    How unreasonanle and inflated were their demands ? as they were snapped up quickly enough and given both the money and length of contract they were asking for.

    As for believing Ashley has had some kind of epiphany, guess you missed Llambias’s drunken rant in regard to the Carroll sale, NUFC are simply an adjunct to Sports Direct, an advertising board and it’s all about “money”
    Ashley does’nt give a rats ass about the fans.

  14. Obviously you have your opinion but i disagree totally on several points. But firstly I did in the quotation you have highlighted use the word “recently”. However since you are going back to relegation, we were then promoted with over 100 points. In our first season back everyone, yes, everyone said that we woulds be happy with 17th place. In fact had it not been for a late collapse in the final game of the season we would have finished 9th. Still 12th is considerably better than most had predicted and could so easily have been better. At the moment we are 7th in the EPL . By my reckoning I think it is safe to say that from the Championship to 7th in the Prem means that they have done alright recently!

    I am not forgetting relegation and the reasons for it but I believe lessons have been learned. Wise, Owen, Kinnear and their ilk are firmly in the past. Nolan, Barton and even Carroll gave us a springboard to where we are now. I remember when Keegan got us promoted and immediately replaced many of the promotion winning team with better. They had done their job and surprised as we, the fans, were, he was proved correct. Those players were not the future of Keegan’s side, merely a springboard to better things. Nolan and Barton fall into that samecategory. Do we have a better side than last year? You say that the club has lost any semblance of dignity and pride. Well from where I sit, Newcastle is now no longer a joke in the eyes of the nation and commands the type of respect from Journalists, pundits and rival clubs that we haven’t seen for a long time. NUFC are seen as a stable club financially and have lost their sensational/joke story image. After a tough run of games and bad luck with injuries we have lost momentum and that has brought out the doom mongers in force but I still see a team playing for each other, collectively playing attractive football with a lot of quality – a team which I enjoy watching, and one I am sure will consolidate it’s position in the top 6/7. That may still not be good enough for you for a club the size of NUFC but I still see a work in progress not a finished product so 6th/7th will do for now. The liars that we have at the top, as you say, are no doubt conservative with the truth but what right do we have to expect them to announce to all and sundry what they are planning. Tell me any business man who would. Imo many of the lies you refer to are no more than lazy journalists contradicting each other, unless it suits you to believe otherwise. As for the stadium – of course it has a name. It is St James’s Park, the home of Newcastle United F.C. the name football people everywhere recognise.

  15. Steve Bruce Heads To Korea! north that is, he will henceforth be known as the devine all powerful President Kim il Bruce – good luck mate, you’ll be better off there than on wearside, and the beer’s better than vaux!

  16. Tony Toon says – There are too many doom mongers about in every walk of life. I just don’t want to get depressed about something that might not happen.

    Tony bonny lad, I think we get depressed about what HAS happened – and look forward with 50% excitement & 50% caution about what MIGHT happen.

    You say “I still see a team playing for each other, collectively playing attractive football with a lot of quality – a team which I enjoy watching, and one I am sure will consolidate it’s position in the top 6/7”

    fair enough, but we are still 3 quality players short of a decent team that can produce results over a whole season, and everything depends on whether or not we can get them while keeping what we have. Do you trust NUFC top brass to do the obvious thing? Or will they cash in and muddle through in mid-table?

    My gut feeling is that I don’t trust them, cos their priorities are not based on geordie footballing glory.

    HWTL

  17. Tony Toon says:
    December 20, 2011 at 4:08 pm

    “In our first season back everyone, yes, everyone said that we woulds be happy with 17th place.”

    Everyone? Really? In an interview with ESPN, I said that we’d something like mid table with around 50 points, though obviously, Chris Hughton was still the manager when I was asked. Lot’s of other fans had different opinions as well, so that simply isn’t correct I’m afraid Tony.

    These are the results of a little poll we had on this site as to how well we’d do in our season after promotion. Forgive me if I’m hallucinating, but it seems to show that 49% were in agreement with my own view, ie that we would consolidate our position somewhere in the middle, with only 8% thinking that we would be relegated. That’s from a sample group of 2225 fans, which isn’t bad at all for getting a fairly accurate view.

    How do you think Newcastle United will do next year in the Premiership? (2009/10)

    Mid table battlers? (49%, 1,090 Votes)
    Just scraping through? (35%, 773 Votes)
    Relegated? (8%, 175 Votes)
    Europa League? (5%, 104 Votes)
    Champion’s League? (3%, 83 Votes)

    Total Voters: 2,225

    So I’m afraid that simply isn’t correct Tony, and your attempt to write off all fans who have concerns about Ashley and Llambias as prophets of doom has failed.

    “Well from where I sit, Newcastle is now no longer a joke in the eyes of the nation”

    Aye, Mike Ashley’s stripping shennanigans, Derek Llambias’ pathetic potty mouthed bar bragging, revealing once again how “f**king horrible” he and Ashley can be. Lying to fans about the circumstances of Carroll’s move to Liverpool and making fans look like fools once again with the latest stadium renaming scam, the cheap tacky signs all over the ground which give the club as much class as Sports Direct itself, Sacking Hughton etc etc. You think these are the kind of things which enhance the reputation of Newcastle United Tony?

    I’m getting more jokes than ever from my friends taking the mickey out of the total lack of class that pair of hucksters have, and the way the club’s name has been traduced by their brand of tacky commercialism and their complete lack of dignity and honesty. I never, ever thought I would say this in a million years, but they’re even starting the Byker Beelzebub and Weaselface Hall jnr look good!

  18. Supermac says:
    December 20, 2011 at 5:52 pm

    “Steve Bruce Heads To Korea! north that is, he will henceforth be known as the devine all powerful President Kim il Bruce – good luck mate, you’ll be better off there than on wearside, and the beer’s better than vaux!”

    Supermac, I don’t think I’ve actually had any, but from what I’ve heard, it’s much, much better than Mackem Tramp water and is reknowned for it’s refreshing flavour!

    Taedonggang Beer is supposedly top notch and it’s less than 50p a pint if you just have it in an ordinary bar over there.

    I’ve been in SE Asia a bit and you nearly always get a decent beer out there. Tiger’s usually the dear one on the menu, but the others are hardly any different and very cheap and palatable! The one exception for me was that Everton beer, “Chang”. Once again, I don’t think I’ve had it here but I had it in Thailand, and possibly Vietnam or Cambodia and it tasted like muck. One I really do like is Chinese “Tsingdao” as a light, refreshing beer.

  19. Rumoured to be new South Korean manager Supermac!

    Getting back to North Kprea, have you ever seen their big stadium? It makes Wembley look like Blyth Spartans ground! 150,000, biggest in the world. It tends to be used for Commie spectaculars more than football though.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rungrado_May_Day_Stadium

    Did you also know that North Korean football team are currently the “Unofficial Football World Champions”?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unofficial_Football_World_Championships

  20. No ones got a lock on beer, El Presidente in the Dominican Republic, San Miguel in the Phillipines and of course Tsingtao in Shanghai.
    What do they have in common, the breweries were set up by German brewmasters and are surprisingly similar in taste.
    Of course there are claims from every part of the world as to who makes the best beer, hey! the best is what you like.
    Some strange facts surrounding beer, for instance, Guinness’s biggest market is Nigeria, where they sell an extra potent form of the brew.
    Wonder what they drink in The Workers Paradise of North Korea ?
    Gotta be some heady brew!

  21. chuck says:
    December 20, 2011 at 8:37 pm

    ” What do they have in common, the breweries were set up by German brewmasters and are surprisingly similar in taste.”

    The Czechs are the real brewmasters when it comes to lager and they developed the right strain of hops and barley etc. The classic lager beer is the “Beer of Kings”, Budweiser from Budweis in what is now Czech Republic, where it’s been brewed since the 13th Century.

    Of course, some Czech guy then emigrated to your side of the pond, nicked the name, reverses the slogan to “King of beers” makes many millions of gallons of absolute muck. Many years later, the original, which is still one of the great beers of the world has to put up with the shame and indignity of being constantly mistaken with the American version, then the copycat has the cheek to sue the original for using the “Budweiser” name when it’s from Budweis!

    The original Pils, Pilsner Urquell is also from the Czech Republic in Pilzen, hence the name. The Czechs are the biggest beer drinkers in the world by a country mile and the Czech Republic really is beer central. That’s where the Sausagemunchers got it all from.

    Whether the far Easterners taught by German brewmasters or not, I don’t really find Tsingdao to be much like the average German. It’s a light, refreshing fairly subtle beer.

  22. worky,

    aye, in the town of Pilsner is where some of the best stuff comes from.
    Though i have a friend just over the border in Austria that can give ’em a run for their money.
    Voted 2nd in Austria up against the ‘big brewers’.
    Check out Neufeldner bier, if you’re ever there.
    Beautiful stuff, from a beautiful place.

  23. To my great regret I turned down a 1966 world cup ticket to see North Korea beat Italy 1-0 at Ayresome Park (we all thought it was a none-event) to reach the quarterfinals – then led Portugal 3-0 before a Eusebio-led fightback saw them beaten 5-3.
    But I did see the great match on TV. I suppose that most of you bloggers have never heard of it?

  24. supermac,

    there was a documentary about it recently & they ran a bunch of the game.

    The North Korean’s still had a warm affection for the area mate. Though a couple had grown a second heed from being in smogsville ower lang like.
    :)

  25. chuck says:
    December 20, 2011 at 8:37 pm

    “Some strange facts surrounding beer, for instance, Guinness’s biggest market is Nigeria, where they sell an extra potent form of the brew.”

    Aye, you can get the stronger African stuff all over London too Chuck, it’s about 7.5% like Tramp strength lager

    Supermac says:
    December 20, 2011 at 11:12 pm

    “To my great regret I turned down a 1966 world cup ticket to see North Korea beat Italy 1-0 at Ayresome Park”

    Supermac, to my great regret, my brother in law once turned down top tickets from your namesake for the ’74 Cup Final. I would’ve had ’em if he didn’t turn them down! He was Supermac’s landlord when he had his shop in the Newgate shopping arcade because he managed the hotel there when it was the Swallow.

  26. worky – that wasn’t a shop MacDonald had – it was a Boutique! and I bought a pair of purple flairs there, flash git that ah was.

    But I was at the ’75 final against city, a fairly equal game except for the makem Tueart’s classy overhead goal.

    And I remember export Guiness on the ships when I worked in Southampton in the late ’60s, in 50cc black cans, brewed in Dublin and as strong as hell.

  27. You can still get the Export over here lads. I’m sure you could get it on line somewhere.
    It is true though that Guinness’ top market is Nigeria. Thats why its readily available in North Africa and places like the Canaries.
    Mind you a visit to the famous Crown bar in Belfast (about 50 yards to my left as I type!)would lead you to believe that that stat is untrue!
    I only drink it because its Black and White!

  28. Clint – well said !
    When I was young I’d never seen a black person until my dad took me to the Haymarket in 1963 when geordies lined the streets to cheer the heavyweight champion of the world Sonny Liston. I was in awe of this giant of a man wearing a suit and bowler hat riding an enormous beautiful white S&N dray horse ! He was like a King.
    Years afterwards I learned that he was a dubious character, and cheered Cassius when he did the impossible by beating him
    – but I have spent my whole life not understanding how such incredible heroes as these could possibly be considered inferior by anyone – let alone the pathetic pondlife that delude themselves that they are so special.

  29. tattyheed – aahhhhh…..beer…… aahhhh…. women… aahhhh a win against West Brom
    who could ask for more

  30. supermac,

    here here mate.

    The sad thing is that liverpool are probably gonna appeal it!
    They don’t understand how a liverpool player can be banned by the fa, it’s not in the rules.
    :)
    terry should get the book hoyed at him too.
    There is no room for that crap in the game or the country.

    They should give him further games ban, if/when they lose the appeal too.

  31. Samba isn’t Brazilian he from the Congo, but the dance
    is Brazilian – perhaps we just need dancing lessons?

  32. Clint – its been a long long time since anyone really thought Liverpool were special – they just don’t realise it yet.
    Bit like us some might say?

  33. Worky, I’ve been thinking about your suggestions for improving the blog. Basically I agree with the sentiments that it’s ok as it is.

    However as Hoghwarts is in the Northumbrian Countryside, perhaps some magical input from one of their Geeky students could add something to influence our games. I dunno perhaps a form of predictive charm written into the blog, to block opposing shots on our goal but that draws our efforts unerringly into theirs.

    Hope this suggestion is helpfull

  34. F**K RACISM !!!!!, turn the lights off or close your eyes, then who are you going to hate?
    there’s good and bad in all people.
    to be honest it still exists, there was a march in newcastle yesterday, against rape and torture in the congo.
    people were banging on the bus windows, telling the demonstrators to f**k off back to their own country.
    i seen and heard this with my own eyes and ears, there is still a lack of understanding in newcastle, regardless of what some will say.

    there was a programme on the community channel the other week, about racism in football.
    the show was set in and around newcastle, and had shaka hislop talking about being racially abused by kids at a petrol station, opposite st james’ park.
    he said he had his wife and children in the car with him, and they surrounded the car with chants.
    it was only when they realised who he was, they stopped and asked for his autograph.

    john beresford was saying, him and his friends would indulge in casual racism at matches to put of opposing players, of a different backgrounds.
    he said, “it wasn’t as if we were inherently racist, it was just the done thing, in the 80’s…

  35. There’s a Alsace bar near me that sells over one hundred different beers, wheat beers etc.
    And i believe it’s actually the Belgians that are credited with the world’s largest beer consumption.
    Certainly the devour the most french fries (chips to you)

    As for Budweiser yeah i have tried it, bit heavy for my taste, also Pilsner Urquel, we wont get into the crap sold in the US and throughout the world as “The King of Beers” and was really surprised how many Brits actually drink that shit.
    Must be a fashion statement, long neck bottles and N.Y. Yankee caps, cause it aint about taste.

    I’m sure most are aware of my favorite, but i ‘m a big fan of Oranjeboom too, on tap i might add, a fine light brew, unfortunately unavailable for the most part in the US.

    Tsingtao ! was brewed originally in Shanghai by and for the German comunity there prior to WW 2, apparently the Chinese recognised a good thing and continued the operation, which is available in most of the worlds chinese restuarants.

    If Samba aint Brasilian, does that mean Tango aint an Argentino ?

  36. chuck,

    chips n’ mayo is what the Belgians go for, it’s a local delicacy.
    Dufel, there’s a canny Belgian beer, re-fermented in the bottle, apparently!
    Urquel is alright, Ostrava too.

    ;)

  37. Almost feel like i havent lived compared to you lot. Only beer i drink is a pint of john smiths. That does for me after a stressful day at work. then again im only young stil/ have plenty of time to try all these wonderful beers.

  38. Trojan,

    this is why it has to be routed out of football & society at large.
    The fa has to ALWAYS sanction, whom ever, where ever it rears it’s ugly head.

  39. glen,
    there’s a whole world of top beers out there mate, give some a try.
    You won’t look back!
    ;)

  40. I will do over this christmas period havin plenty pf time off work so hoprfully will be able to try but a few.

  41. too right clint, but do you reckon that cockney tosser terry, will get away with it, being london utd’s captain?
    it might cause too much of a stink, and effect londlands preparations for the euro championships.

  42. Trojan,

    i reckon that’s why it’s taking so long to ‘sort it’.
    His little ‘transgression’ happened before the suarat one, didn’t it?

    It stinks, i know that much.

    It’s obviously being ‘worked on’ into some monumental ‘swerve’.

    How predictable! (we can’t bust London Utd’s capt.-again!)

  43. glen,

    you’ve plenty of time to sit back & enjoy a few ‘new ones’ then.
    Enjoy mate!

    ;)

  44. chuck says:
    December 21, 2011 at 2:34 pm

    ” And i believe it’s actually the Belgians that are credited with the world’s largest beer consumption.”

    The Czechs are still way out in front Chuck, then of course, the Irish, then come the Germans and the Austrians according to this chart.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_beer_consumption_per_capita

    I got into my first ever proper fight over racism. I was only a little bairn. I used to live on a posh street in Durham and an African doctor’s family moved in. I took a shine to their daughter who was about the same age as me and she was my first little “girlfriend”. I seem to recall that her hair had all those African “cornrows” done up in loops until they looked like a big doughnut, or a fancy TV aerial on her heed and she looked very exotic and strange to me at the time. However all my mates in the same street objected for some reason so I clobbered them all and fell out with them over it. It was real “puppylove”! I wonder what happened to her.

    Another thing I (vaguely) recall from those days of casual racism was that chocolate brown often used to be referred to as “n****r” brown, which wasn’t very nice.

  45. So then west brom tonight. any1 got any news on teams ect.

    3points on the cards tonight. Surley we will turn them over.

  46. glentoon says:
    December 21, 2011 at 3:46 pm

    “So then west brom tonight. any1 got any news on teams ect. ”

    Sorry I didn’t do a match preview this time Glen. I was gannin’ to put something in the “match banter” post if I get the time. Better crack on with that now!

  47. Sorry worky wasnt tryin to put you under any pressure ino everyone has alot to do. Was trying to start bit of post match banter on here.

    Clint. I no theres no easy games but this is one we need to look at winning, surely. Need to neat teams like west brom any1 that is below is.

    If we play with the same flair as we did against swansea we souldnt have to much trouble.would like to see HBA start in place of either obertan ot best

  48. Glen nee botha.

    Lifted from the BBC.

    “Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye serves a one-match ban for accumulating five bookings.

    Dan Gosling remains suspended and Ryan Taylor and Danny Guthrie are doubts with ankle and groin injuries.

    James Morrison misses out for West Brom with a hamstring problem, while Youssouf Mulumbu and Paul Scharner face fitness tests.

    George Thorne, Gonzalo Jara and Marc-Antoine Fortune have been recalled from loan spells.”

  49. glen,

    agreed mate.
    We do have to beat these kinda teams.

    So long as we get a bit better luck with the woodwork, hey?

  50. Glentoon
    Do we have to be surley about it, just as soon beat em in a happy mood.

    Hmmm ! guess my report on Belgian beer quaffing is a bit outta date.
    See where both the Indians and Chinese show room for improvement, dont know how things are now but certain Indian states had prohibition, (which could be considered a handicap in the stakes) if my memory does’nt deceive me.

    So any votes for the worst beer anyone has ever tasted,
    my vote goes to the probably now defunct 333 beer of what was once South Vietnam.

    Racism ?
    It’s alive and well throughout Europe and the world, strange there was never any real overt racism in history, before European colonialism and the slavery that accompanied it.
    A justification for slavery, think of Africans as a form of sub human etc. and it’s easier to justify.
    In fact xenophobia probably plays a major role too.

  51. chuck,

    aye, dehumanize the ‘enemy’, is the order of the day.
    That’s how the military have gotten the % of ‘killers’ in armies up from 2% to closer to 50% these days.

  52. Workey
    Errrmmm ! what exactly is ment by the Chzechs are still way out in front, “then of course the Irish”
    Is there some kind of insinuation there ?

  53. Belfast Toon says:
    December 21, 2011 at 6:33 pm

    “2nd!!!! I’m moving!!!!”

    That’s just beer Belfast, they don’t count Whisky and Poitin. ;-)

  54. Poitin, Fuisce, or Uisce, same stuff except the latter two are thrice distilled and both smoother and less alcohol, but also cheaper.

  55. Chuck says:
    December 21, 2011 at 8:25 pm

    “Clint, you missed it, I was just jerking Workeys PC chain.”

    Chuck, I’m not a racist and my politics are very radical, but I will never, ever be “PC”! ;-)