Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur match banter!

Posted on February 12th, 2014 | 253 Comments |

Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur.
Bantam cocks vs headless chickens at SJP this evening?
Hello, good evening and welcome to a rather impromptu ‘match banter’ post for this evening’s game, which sees the Magpies at home against Tottenham Hotspur.

I say “impromptu” because I thought I had already written the last blog on here for some time at least, and that the server this blog is hosted on would run out on 21st. Well, to get to the other reason for this blog, it is to keep all you regular readers informed that after intense late night discussions yesterday evening, it was decided between myself and Hugh that the server, including this site, could stay up after all! Things are still the same with myself, ie I’ve been doing stuff on here pretty much non-stop for well over four years now and I need a break to concentrate on other things. However, despite my previous information, the server will be staying up for the forseeable future, and Hugh might even have a bash at a few blogs if he can, although he is very challenged at the moment too so we’ll see.

So now you know!

As I’ve already mentioned, this is a very impromptu blog with an ulterior motive really, so for the second time, please accept my apologies for there not being a little more about this evening’s gane itself. I’m sure that you lot can make up for all that in the comments below!

Howay the lads!

Teams.

Newcastle United (4-4-2): Tim Krul (G); Mathieu Debuchy, Mike Williamson, Steven Taylor, Davide Santon; Yoan Gouffran, Moussa Sissoko (c), Vurnon Anita, Sammy Ameobi; Luuk de Jong, Papiss Cisse

Subs: Rob Elliot (G), Paul Dummett, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Dan Gosling, Sylvain Marveaux, Hatem Ben Arfa, Shola Ameobi.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3): Hugo Lloris; Kyle Walker, Younes Kaboul, Jan Vertonghen (c), Kyle Naughton; Nabil Bentaleb, Paulinho, Etienne Capoue; Aaron Lennon; Emmanuel Adebayor, Mousa Dembele

Subs: Brad Friedel (G), Michael Dawson, Nacer Chadli, Christian Eriksen, Andros Townsend, Harry Kane, Roberto Soldado.

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253 Responses

  2. I got a bad feeling about this side, not only concerning this game, but it’s my belief contrary to Pardeux’s expressed opinion, we will end up in the lower half of the league.
    The loss of Cabaye was massive to this side and to say we had to let him go was bullshit, more like Ashley couldn’t resist the pure profit.
    A decent replacement is, or should be our immediate goal, easy to say, but look how long it took us to find Cabaye, certainly there’s no one on the horizon available for just over four million quid, is there ?
    As for Spurs, cant figure out why they are not doing better, they have some terrific talent at the club.
    Must be same as at St.James’, decent players, lousy managers.

  3. chuck says:
    February 12, 2014 at 7:16 pm

    “As for Spurs, cant figure out why they are not doing better, they have some terrific talent at the club.”

    Chuck, you can’t just buy virtually a new team overnight and expect them to work together straight away.

  4. Worky, It’s like diving into new sheets on your bed lol

    Well i wonder if there will be a drop in the attendance tonight?
    I’m not expecting too much tonight in all honesty, All i can say is, I cannot see Spurs losing this one.
    The full Pardew treatment and his amazingly strong squad will be in full effect.
    I might be tempting fate, But i could do more damage myself to Tottenham’s defence with a feather duster!
    I think a draw will be the best we can hope for, Over to Mavis with the excuses at the ready!

  5. All the Pardeux bullshit about being in eighth place, well actually we just got overtaken by a side that fired it’s manager for not producing and for Pardeux to boast about an eighth place league (now ninth) when SBR was replaced for a fifth spot position, is just nonsense.

    With the sale of our main man, there appears to be little to inspire the side, they play like a bunch of robots lacking in either a game plan or any sense of urgency and it’s not likely to change, unless we bring in a decent manager, which is the only answer to the current malaise.
    That and some signings.
    It’s gonna be interesting, the final run in and I don’t expect it to be a lot different to the relegation season.

    Though obviously both Pardeux and Ashley are expecting more.

    We are now two years into the second five year plan and were we not promised (from the beginning) that Ashley would spend ten or fifteen million a season on building the side.

    A few hearty Boooooooooo’s in his direction would be much appreciated, combined with a few Pardeux out’s.

  6. WORKY

    Yeah true enough and going from Villas Boas to Sherwood is no doubt more than confusing, as is the fact they come from different leagues who play differing styles of football.
    However they are twenty five games into the season and have yet to really click, considering the available talent.
    Though they are steadily improving, more than anyone can suggest about NUFC, who have IMO hit their high water mark a few weeks ago and are now on the slide to where
    no one knows.

  8. chuck says:
    February 12, 2014 at 7:39 pm

    “A few hearty Boooooooooo’s in his direction would be much appreciated, combined with a few Pardeux out’s.”

    Chuck, I would tolerate the geographical innaccuracy of the ‘FCB’ song, though I still think it should be changed to ‘You Midlands / Home Counties bastard, get out of our club!’ It makes Geordies look like Yanks when it comes to geography :-)

    On the other thing, once you get over a certain amount, it does take longer to ‘gel’ as they say. Even Manchester City took years (and a few managers) before they won the Fa Cup. Spurs have had a really comprehensive overhaul all over the pitch.

  10. Worky

    We kna that just about anyone from south of Scotch Corner is classified as a Cockney, by most Geordies and to confuse the issue by mentioning other areas, just hasn’t got the same meaning or intensity as London Barra-boys.

  19. It’s only what anyone with any sense would have expected, obviously. Who in their right mind would sell their best player/playmaker in the middle of a season without a replacement?

    Wottastupidfatc**t.

  20. It’s only what anyone with any sense would have expected, obviously. Who in their right mind would sell their best player/playmaker in the middle of a season without a replacement?

    Wottastupidfattossa.

  21. See the thing with Spurs, to me, is that they’re a talented squad who play good football with spirit but have little in the way of goals in the team.

    Whereas we have a talented squad who are trained play turgid, laborious football for which they have no taste AND we also have few goals in the team.

  23. The link i have here has a warning going along the bottom, Is this to stop the pubs showing the games?

  27. It’s hard to know what to shout for.

    Every time there’s the slightest hint of an insurrection against chubs, we seem to get a spawny result that gets everybody singing in the pubs again and it all dies away.

    Depressing.

  28. We have had a go at times, But when the pace of this game drops we are going to be cattled!

  29. Our last results great huh?

    Chelsea
    3-0
    Newcastle
    Premier League
    Newcastle
    0-3
    Sunderland
    Premier League
    Norwich
    0-0
    Newcastle
    Premier League
    West Ham
    1-3
    Newcastle
    Premier League
    Newcastle
    0-2
    Man City
    FA Cup – Third Round
    Newcastle
    1-2
    West Brom
    1-0
    Newcastle
    Newcastle
    0-1
    Arsenal

  30. Makes me laugh to think of all the walk-outs and grumbling against Wenger from the Arsenal fans at the start of the season. We should be so lucky.

    Toon fans will turn up and sit through anything. Sheep. Zombies tonight by the looks of things.

  37. Darth-hey, I said 0-2…don’t jinx me, man! (doesn’t matter, no money on it)

    I knew we were screwed for sure tonite after I read Lawrenson’s prediction of a 2-1 win.

  39. Huh. BBC’s live match tracker thingy shows Ben Arfa coming on for both Santon and de Jong. We should be so lucky.

  41. Cant honestly say I expected any points from either Chelsea or Tottenham games. Am hopeful we can get something once we get Remy back along with our other injured “senior” players. Hopeful, but not confident!

  42. DT-I live in hope too and it will be nice to get back the only scoring threat in the squad BUT-it looks clear to me that apathy has set in following the Cabaye sale. I’m not sure what’s going to arrest that. Especially given the crap in the bottom half of the table who look unlikely to catch up to us in any case.

  46. @ 42: honestly, a lucky result is probably about the only thing we can hope for, an opposing side on worse form.

    I doubt Cabaye is second-guessing his move to gay Paris…

  48. Even when we get these players back Pardew couldn’t lift their lasses skirt.
    So much for Mavis saying we would have a good second half of the Season!
    I wonder what his excuses will be tonight, We wait with bated breath!
    And there is another one!

  50. @ 47: you know he’ll find some excuse…I honestly can’t imagine what he’ll come up with next.

    Squad too worried about the weather?

    Only one Ameobi to start?

    Adebayor’s militant beard too intimidating?

    He was expecting Krul to make 15 saves this time?

  53. Hope the sheep at the match enjoyed it they were the only ones that didn’t see it coming.
    Pardew is really breaking some records now!

  54. Yet still, many will be defending AshleyCo for “getting the books in order” – who cares about results, anyway?

    4 goals in the last 810 minutes (+ stoppages) of league football and 3 of those were in one match. A solid quarter of a season on not just relegation, but actually historically-bad-bottom-of-the-table form. There is no other explanation for AP’s continued presence than being Ashley’s yes man and crony. Even assuming that, good god, I can’t believe he doesn’t quit. Have some respect for yourself, man.

  56. He will no doubt put a positive spin on it, And say we created chances and on another day…
    His patter will probably start with, “Ah’ Fowt We Woz” and then launch into a load of bizarre untruths, Back Tracking and all round dishonesty.
    After saying we were going for the win tonight, He will now back track and cite injuries as the cause.
    He will then heap praise onto Spurs and say they are a top four side, And it was a big ask for us tonight.
    He will then say we will have all our players back for the Villa game, And we will be looking to bounce back with a win.

  57. Nutmag, According to Derek Llambias he is Newcastle’s answer to Alex Ferguson!
    I suppose if you continue to leave a dud manager in his position for far longer than he should have been, He may get the odd little run of results.
    This is really just reverting back to what we were last season.
    Even the players look disinterested and it’s his job to lift them
    If Pardew cannot galvanise a team in adversity then what good is he?

  58. That’s it! not a bad first half, but like I expected we are now well into that downward slide.
    Like the color commentator said, having ripped the heart and soul out of the side, they are just going through the motions.
    Some owners buy players to improve the side, others buy them as an investment, guess which kinda owner we got.

    He probably never understood the actual value of Cabaye.

    Not talking about his price, but his value as the midfield engine, both defensively and laying on the killer pass, but most of all his feisty game which was not unlike that of Keane in his hay-day and the inspiration that drove the rest of the side.

    But you can’t hope that Ashley will ever understand, only that the first thing he looks at is the bottom line.

    Just doesn’t get it, never will, that’s why we have been subjected to such experts as Wise, Llambias, Mort, Kinnear, and of course fecking Pardeux.

    Non of which could get a job anywhere but being they came cheap and were willing to kiss ass, were hired.
    The blind leading the blind.

  59. It’s a sorry state of affairs and will get worse as the season winds down, with nothing to look forward too perhaps now is as good a time to boycott the ground.

  60. @ 54: that just emphasizes that we should have had a real go at the cups…but hey, AP says we’re still in it for the “finish above the worst Manchester United side in years Trophy”…

    @ 55: joe-are you writing his stuff? How much does a job like that pay…lol

  61. I have been saying for some time that we need help on the back line, again, look at to-days game, four goals, the majority were scored from rebounds, with Krul getting absolutely no help.

    And to continue to pencil in such losers as Williamson tells you more about the Manager than anyone.

    I notice he is still sent into the oppositions box, where he has never scored or even came close, is unbelievable, as it leaves us open to the counter, where he being so slow leaves him well behind the play.

    And if you care to go back over goals scored against, nine times outta ten, he is the one responsible.

    And to believe what we are constantly told, that the dressing room is filled with happy campers, how come they don’t reflect it on the field.

    It doesn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to figure that out and we may be lucky to hold onto such players as Gouffran and Sissoko, perhaps HBA, who I cant figure out why he isn’t a starter.

    Time to rebuild, keep Sissoko & Gouffran, Hba, Debuchy, Marveaux, Krul, Santon, Hiadara, Bigirimana, I would certainly like to see Remy stay, but DeJong remains a question?

    It should have been obvious by the attitudes of those
    signings we missed out on and their owners, who stated NUFC was a poor place to go, with a mediocre side.
    Resulting in outright rejection of whatever cheap ass bids that may have been made.

    Apparently we have achieved the dubious title in France of a cheapskate club, in which case we may have to expand our horizons between worky’s described area that covers the

  63. I have just finished watching the match choice on Sky Sports.
    Surprise Surprise, Pardew did not make an appearance, He must be running out of excuses or writing more into his little black book before fronting the media.
    Either that or that disgrace Wendy Taylor has barred him from speaking again!

  64. We must be the only club in the World who is in the top ten of their respected league, And still be in a crisis lol
    You couldn’t make it up!
    This is the topsy turvy World of Newcastle United where your most bitter of rivals are in the bottom three and still do the double over you!

  65. The cheeky cnut’s at it again.

    http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/alan-pardew-blasts-newcastle-united-6703875

    The owner couldn’t give a flying fcku about the fortunes of the team and Pardew doesn’t have the nuts to front him out but, apparently, our players (the ones we haven’t sold yet) should have given ‘life and limb’.

    “As a player, that’s what I gave; that’s what I expect my players to give in every moment in every game.” says the spineless jessie.

    The thing is – unlike our current squad, he probably didn’t have a clueless tw@t as a manager.

  66. Darth, Just caught him on MOTD and he looked a bit flummoxed to say the least.
    He did say it was unacceptable and Spurs played them off the park with a lot to spare.
    He said he told them in no uncertain terms what he expects from them!

  68. The man is completely and utterly worthless.

    I find it hard to believe that the players would accept a dressing down from such a spineless individual.

  69. yet again setting records for the wrong reasons.

    we all knew tonight would be a walkover for spurs.

    I now officially detach myself from anything toon until these muppets go!

    prick pardew and fat Ashley

    #getthef**koutofourclub

  70. chuck says:
    February 12, 2014 at 10:45 pm

    “I have been saying for some time that we need help on the back line, again, look at to-days game, four goals, the majority were scored from rebounds, with Krul getting absolutely no help.

    “And to continue to pencil in such losers as Williamson tells you more about the Manager than anyone.”

    Chuck, Taylor was our poorest defender even though Santon was pulled off by Pardew half way through. His (Taylor’s) positioning was just useless and he enabled Adebayor to do pretty much as he pleased. Iron Mike was actually the best of a not very good bunch, until Dummett came on perhaps as like Williamson, at least he wasn’t catastrophic.

    You just do not like Williamson because he is boring, English, old fashioned and not “modern,” came from Portsmouth, didn’t have a large price tag etc… It’s all about image with you because you are facile and superficial. I’ve said before, if his name was ‘Michel Guillaumefils’, he came from Marseilles instead of Stoke and he played in a beret, you’d be purring over how good he was.

  71. There are rumours doing the rounds that players walked out of the dressing room during his half time team talk.
    He’s off again trying to act tough and have them in for extra training sessions this morning at 9.45am sharp!

    It’s all empty words from Pardew in all honesty, If he cannot get his team up for a Derby game then what chance has he got full stop?
    There is no improvement in this squad going forward from last season.
    Lessons were not learned in the summer and we started badly again.
    We then managed to put a mini run together but the wheels started to come off around the xmas period.
    We are as bad as we ever were and all the excuses in the World are not going to cut it.

    Pardew has had more than enough time to show what he can do and although we have had the odd surprise result against the “Prem’s Elite” we have been poor for long periods.

    How many times are we going to have this man try to sweep his obvious failings under the carpet?
    He has had an easy time of it and the fans have showed the patience of a saint with him.
    Enough is enough though!, He has had his shot and it’s
    time to move on.

    There are a few fans commenting on his wearing of the scarf last night.
    Well it’s just more evidence of a man who is struggling for acceptance and has no real knowledge of the club, And is living in the Ashley bubble.
    He is completely out of step with the fans and he is nowhere the “Adopted Geordie” status he seems to think he has.
    People like Keegan, Robson etc didn’t have to do that because it comes natural with people with the affinity.

    Pardew in reality has become the victim of his own “Initial Success” and i use that term loosely.
    It was always going to be the best he was ever going to do, And it was nigh on impossible for him to repeat the feat, And he never will.
    This club is more likely to face another relegation with Pardew in charge.

    We are nearly safe for this season so Ashley should make the change now.
    The new stooge can have the rest of this season to assess what he has.
    We all know it will be another yes man who will come in, But at least Ashley could get a one who plays football in the right way!

  72. chuck says:
    February 12, 2014 at 10:46 pm

    “……area surrounding the French rail system.”

    Not quite. The Eurostar and associated routes also go through Belgium, skirt past the edge of Germany close to Luuk de Jong’s Mönchengladbach, past Tiote and de Jong’s FC Twente and up to Vurnon Anita’s Ajax in Amsterdam.

    Carr still lives in Northampton, so what does that mean for local players?

  74. Amen to that worky, Why would you pay someone to f**k up your looks.
    Why not go out to any city centre anywhere in the World and just pick a fight with someone?
    I’m sure they will oblige in pummeling your face to a pulp free of charge!

  77. If Shola is our most influential player, “WE ARE DOOMED”!

    Not really having a go ability wise, But he is not fit enough most of the time.
    So for him to come out on top in some stats says everything about the rest of our squad!

    We really are well and truly paggered!

  78. Just watched Pardews interview.
    Reminded if the saying thst a bad workman blames his tools. This supposed Manager just blamed the team and took no responsibility whatsoever for any part of what was another humiliating defeat.
    The man is full of nothing but lies, excuses and Cliches. Make no bones about it!

  79. You only have to look at Jackie Stallone, She looks like something that would fall from your member with a bad case of V.D.!

  80. Everyone was been blathering away about the new Premier League TV deal and thinking about Sky, BT, £60 million and all that.

    However the real ‘gamechanger’ (as they say nowadays) will be this Yank NBC deal which puts Premier League football on one of the American terrestrial big three (ABC, NBC and CBS).

    It won’t be the TV money itself though, the most important thing to the big clubs, the revenue stream which really separate the big clubs from the small ones is COMMERCIAL REVENUE. Commercial revenue figures were rising throught the stratosphere for the big six and this is taking them far higher still since Yanks are getting soccer on free tv.

    Of course, the Yanks are the world’s biggest consumers. They will consume absolutely anything, especially if it’s fattening and gross. Both Manchester United and Manchester City made over twice as much from commercial revenue as they did from TV back in 2012-13 and of course, we all know what a catasrophe commercial revenue has been at Newcastle, and yet it is the most important thing of all now. I’m glad I managed to alert some people to it before I gave up blogging.

  81. It is clear to me that Ashley has made his money from taking over and acquiring companies and brands. Then down grading and cheapening them to be sold at his tat empire. This has worked for him helped in no small part by the recession. Pound Shops, Cash Converters, Wonga and the rest of their ilk are doing really well feeding off the desperate and needy.
    No wonder he thought he could run a football club by the same rules cheap labour etc no hopers those waiting for something better to turn up. Helped by those that would be unemployable anywhere else (Pardew). With of course the odd comment that “everything is great brigade” when needed.(S Taylor Ameobi )
    This down grading will inevitably reach the supporters. He will then be left with the same desperate unquestioning sheep supporting his club as buy his cheap tat. I doubt this will worry him as long as the numbers stack up and those turning up don’t a mind a cheap mediocre game most of the time.
    No one with any ambition would employ the likes of Pardew and continue to run the club this way. Either demand better or as I have Stopped supporting after 67years. He will not change until you make him!

  82. joe hawkins says:
    February 13, 2014 at 2:05 pm

    “You only have to look at Jackie Stallone, She looks like something that would fall from your member with a bad case of V.D.!”

    Joe, Do you know why American singer Vic Damone and American actor Vin Diesel both gave themselves the initials ‘VD’ when they chose their respective stage names?

    And do you remember the ‘Bride of Wildenstein‘ and Donatella Versace’s gob job?

    Leslie Ash – Big improvement?

  83. Mike Ashley is well known for “Parking His Tank On Your Lawn”, But when he picked Geordies as his next mark, He f**ked up!
    It might not look like it at the moment, But we will run his a**e out of town, And make no mistake about it.
    We ran the Kray’s out of here, And we will bounce this toe rag out as well.
    No matter how long it takes!

  84. Worky, No i never thought about anything being in their stage names, So what’s the patter?

    That Dontella Versace looks like the cartoon character “Bucky O’hare”.
    Jocelyn Wilderstein looks utterly shocking as well, What’s wrong with growing old gracefully?
    Getting older doesn’t mean your going to look like a bag of s***e!
    The most shocking thing about it though, Is these people are actually handing over money to surgeons for the privilege ffs

    The results are disastrous and the recipients of these operations all end up looking the same.
    Micky Rourke looks like he could be related to the couple pictured above.
    I wonder if some of these characters will end up like the fictional one’s from “Escape From L.A”. Where these people are kidnapping people off the street, So they can have more work done?

    I am glad to see that more people in “La-La Land” are resisting the temptation to go under the knife, And according to Jackie Stallone, Hollywood is now embracing age finally!

  85. When I switched the news on this morning I half expected to see that Ashley had given Pardew the sack.

    A lot of pundits are saying we are safe from relegation this season but I just cannot see from where we are going to get the two wins that will probably still be needed.

    Safe my Ar$se!!

    Glad to see the blog might continue, I have to say I had lost a bit of interest with it’s possible demise on the horizon.

  86. Nutmag,

    Forgive me if I have bored you with this earlier. I may have wrote on here before about the only time I ever bought something from Sports Direct. I wanted a pair of jeans for decorating anyway so I tried a little experiment.

    I bought a pair of ‘Kangol’ jeans from Sports Direct. They were around £20, allegedly 70% reduced. Kangol were once quite a trendy name in hats and other accessories which were worn by the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and the Gallagher brothers, but they were taken over by Ashley.

    Anyway, after I’d bought my jeans, I took to a friend who was a pattern cutter at the top end of the fashion industry. She instantly dismissed them as worthless rags. I knew it already but she was the expert who knew everything about cloth and cutting, stitching etc. They were like £10 jeans from a market stall marked up as £50 jeans reduced to £20. If I’d just gone to M&S and bought an ordinary pair of their cheap £20 jeans which weren’t even reduced, I would have got a far better deal in reality.

    That was several years ago but very recently, I was looking at some of the new Firetrap gear in a Sports Direct in Haringey and it was pretty much pure market stall crap once again, made with inferior materials in inferior sweatshops compared with the previous Firetrap stuff. Exposing stuff like this is one way to really undermine Mike Ashley too.

    Of course, you can’t do that in football though.

    Incidentally, another shite shed which is just about as bad as Sports Direct is TK Maxx. They are also just a complete and utter con from start to finish and should be illegal like Sports Direct.

  87. joe hawkins says:
    February 13, 2014 at 4:31 pm

    “We ran the Kray’s out of here, And we will bounce this toe rag out as well.
    “No matter how long it takes!”

    Typical Geordie spectacles man! :-)

    My parents were North East bingo and amusement moguls back in the days of Vince Landa and they knew him. He didn’t “run the Krays out of here” he put a phonecall in to the local Superintendant to get HIM to run him out. :-)

  88. WORKY @68#

    If I am as you stated, facile and superficial, then that leaves you stubborn or ignorant and it seems insults rather than explanations are your forte.

    If we can talk football here, I could and have already given my reasons constantly, slow as molasses, useless in the air, despite being well over six feet, goes to ground, constantly out of position, often trailing the play, easly beaten looking at times like he’s rooted to the ground.
    No! anyone trying to defend this guy is either so stubborn, or if sincere then we will have to conclude ignorant.
    The guy is pants , admit it!
    To then claim, that if his name ended with a vowel, I would be purring about how good he was, is something you may or may not believe, but I certainly don’t.
    You should realize by now, I call em like I see em, that’s all!

  89. WORKY @ 78#

    You sound like you just discovered something, when discussing Commercial Revenue.
    I have stated that on numerous occasions, that the difference between NUFC and those clubs with enormous revenues from the commercial side, are usually a well known brand name who have had more than their share
    of footballing success over time.
    Plus the fact this club has shown very little in that field, no real success and dealing with the likes of Wonga and Puma.
    There has been little in the way of attempting to expand the club as a brand name, settling on being an adjunct to Ashley’s main business, Sports Direct.
    Which begs the question, will NUFC continue to be run on the cheap, with no more than mid-table mediocrity their goal ?
    Yeah! Ashley, is an astute purveyor of junk, with once great brand names now on the way out, attached, but appears to have little interest in expanding the NUFC brand.
    Either that or has no clue how to go about expanding NUFC as a commercial brand.

  90. WORKY

    You mean they still make jeans that fit you ?

    Actually instead of buying some cheap-ass rip-off’s, why not just buy a pair of the standards that started the jeans craze, Levis, Lee’s or Wranglers, reasonably priced, quality and made the same way they always made em.
    Though I’m not sure whether they make them in size enormous.

  91. AS for TJ Max or TK Max as they are known in both the UK and ROI, what’s wrong with them ?

    All they are is an outlet for unsold brand names, from top Main St. retail stores who get rid of left over goods, which are renewed seasonally.

    One can find both clothing and shoes, selling for a quarter or less, of their original retail price.
    What’s the beef with that ?

  93. Interesting, that Paddy Powers, (the Bookie) who have been noted for their projected ad’s, the original I believe was displayed at or near Stamford Bridge and caused Chelsea some embarrassment.

    Have now turned their sights on NUFC projecting a display onto the actual outer walls of St. James’ Park.

    Relating to Joe Kinnear and his departure.

    Waiting to hear how Ashley and his Co-horts deal with this one.

    For a supposedly smart bloke, he appears to have annoyed a lotta people, apparently Paddy Powers crowd, the majority of the NUFC fans, the local newspaper and perhaps the national papers, any number of pundits……
    Why ?

  94. chuck says:
    February 13, 2014 at 7:43 pm

    “AS for TJ Max or TK Max as they are known in both the UK and ROI, what’s wrong with them ?”

    The recommended retail prices are completely made up, One thing they do is to get really cheap crap, put a phony designer name on it you’ve never heard of because it doesn;t exist, jack up the retail price, then give an allegedly highly reduced price which is still probably more than you should pay in the first place. Even the stuff with the designer names you have heard of, they almost certainly aren’t the same quality as the ones you will see in the designer’s shops. They’re different materials.

  95. chuck says:
    February 13, 2014 at 7:59 pm

    “For a supposedly smart bloke, he appears to have annoyed a lotta people, apparently Paddy Powers crowd”

    Who gives a flying f**k about Paddy Power parasites though? They’re a large betting company trying to exploit turmoil at Newcastle United for publicity and cash.

  96. tunyc

    Yeah ! I have to admit it’s a bit silly, but every time I criticize Williamson, Worky jumps in with both criticism and personal insult, to defend him.

    I know what it’s about, so does he, he in defending Williamson, has put himself in a position of declaring the guy a good player who deserves a spot in the NUFC lineup.

    And refuses to see his liabilities, which i would suspect has more to do with stubbornness, than football.

    And by doing so, puts himself in the same camp as Pardeux, resulting in a conundrum he cant explain.

  97. Worky

    You are missing my point, it’s no more than a bit of fun and I don’t see why you are getting so worked up about it.
    Plus during this nowt to look either backwards or forwards too season, a bit of teasing by PP is no cause to get all righteous about, relax my man!
    PP and his agency are just gaining a bit of publicity at the expense of Ashley and his cronies.

  99. Worky @92 #

    It’s obvious you have no idea of how the retail industry works.

    Normally High St. retailers restock following the end of a particular season, what’s left of the original supplied goods are then sold to outlets, at discounted price’s.

    Years ago the retailers in some cases had either sales, or an area where leftover stocks were sold usually at a discounted price.

    However it turns out that getting rid of everything from the particular season, was both easier and more profitable, than keeping a Felines Basement type of operation.

    And there are plenty of outlets, some differ from others, selling goods that have small flaws etc, but in general these box stores have neither the time or staff, to change labels or the desire to do so.

    I think you are a bit ignorant of what actually takes place and having been ripped off buying designer jeans, that turned out to be crap, may be a bit paranoid in regard to using outlets.

  101. worky
    Sorry, gave up watching cartoons while still a child.
    And have no idea, what you are on about, as far as the Simpsons are concerned.
    Having never watched on tv, or having any idea of what they are about.
    Unfortunately you seem to be a big fan “quelle surprise” !

  103. DissilusionedToon says:
    February 14, 2014 at 8:45 am

    “interesting article.”

    It’s just made up, DT.

    Martin Hardy probably got a kickback off Paddy Power for writing it if you look at all the mentions, including the odds on Joe Kinnear as next Newcastle United manager :-)

  104. chuck says:
    February 13, 2014 at 7:17 pm

    “You sound like you just discovered something, when discussing Commercial Revenue. I have stated that on numerous occasions…”

    I discovered years ago that Newcastle United’s commercial revenue figure were much lower than they should be, and it was mentioned on here. More recently (a few months ago), I also calculated that the commercial revenue for a club like Newcastle United if it was well run should be around £25 million but that the club was only getting under £14 million, not much over half of what it should be. This led to others picking up on it and amplifying it, just as they did with my long ball stories last season and other things. You know that really so don’t be such a old fraud.

  106. DissilusionedToon says:
    February 14, 2014 at 12:00 pm (Edit)

    “So where do we go for news that is not another fairy story?”

    DT, I know good journalists who I’ll read on a few different topics, however most Sports ‘Journalism’ is awful 99% of the time and I can’t think pf one I would wholeheatedly recommend.

    Even when you look at the quality newspapers, you have Louise Taylor as the North East Correspondent of the Guardian, Luke Edwards on the Torygraph etc. You have to actually buy George Caulkin in the Times as it’s behind a Murdoch pay wall online.

  107. Worky. Understand and agree that most news stories have to be taken with a large pinch of salt as there is often an axe to grind or a hidden agenda. Having said that, there is sometimes an element of truth.

    The trick is sorting out the wheat from the chaff and checking other sources for the parts that may be true.

    I dont pretend to be an expert on what is and is not true about Newcastle and have developed a cynicism / scepticism in almost all news stories.

    I spend long perods of time out of the country and away from internet so am often starved if any information at all. I would be interested to know though what sources of news you trust and which you distrust.

  109. chuck says:
    February 13, 2014 at 8:47 pm

    “Worky @92 #

    “It’s obvious you have no idea of how the retail industry works.”

    Er, well actually I do Chuck, but never mind. I often pop into Sports Direct when I’m at the Haringey Arena Sainsburys or up in Wood Green to see what tricks Fatty is up to, though I’ve never bought anything apart from those jeans to show my fashion friend. Last time, as I mentioned above, I was checking out how much Firetrap had deteriorated since ashley had taken over and lowered the production quality as I was reading about it online in a professional Journal about retail or marketing or some such thing. I might dig it out later if I get the time.

    Anyway, TK Maxx opened up right next door to Fatty’s in Harringay last year. I knew vaguely that it was another con just like SD so I had a look in and indeed, it had all the same type of cons going on.

    “In a possible breach of advertising rules, several examples were found of the retailer offering products with vastly exaggerated original selling prices.

    “A coat by the luxury fashion brand Rohmir, for example, was advertised with an RRP of £2,225, but the designer claimed the piece sold for £800.

    “A former designer at the fashion giant Nicole Farhi also revealed how the brand would produce items at a fraction of the cost for the retailer.

    “Nicole Farhi has since changed ownership, and the current brand owners say they have never made products for TK Maxx…

    “The own-label brands that appear in TK Maxx stores include Kenar, Arabella & Addison and Frederik Anderson of Copenhagen.

    “Some of the brand names were tracked to an industrial estate in Watford that is the UK headquarters for the retailer’s parent firm TJX Companies.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2520488/Does-TK-Maxx-mislead-shoppers-discounts-designer-goods.html

  111. DissilusionedToon says:
    February 14, 2014 at 12:27 pm

    “The trick is sorting out the wheat from the chaff and checking other sources for the parts that may be true.”

    I just tend to use the general principles I learned when I was studying. If some clown say says “a source close to the club has revealed” there’s over 90% chance the hack who wrote it was lying for a start, though not always. Derek Llambias used to feed negative stories about popular people they wanted to turn the fans against (Keegan, Hughton etc) under the guise of a very highly placed source at the club.

    If someone puts an actual quote in there, that is better, obviously, but it must be named and it is always better to see if there is an audio version somewhere just to check the author has transcribed the quote honestly without subtly nudging it a little to spice things up etc.

    Never, ever trust a sports hack, they are professional liars with no integrity whatsover. Always start from a default of cynicism but allow yourself to be persuaded by real evidence which can be substantiated.

  112. United And Wronga Shortlisted For Award

    “Newcastle United and its principal sponsor, Wonga.com, have been shortlisted for a prestigious BT Sport Industry Award alongside some of the UK’s biggest sporting institutions and brands.

    “The partnership between the Club and the digital finance company, which officially began in July 2013, has been nominated as part of the Best Sponsorship of a Team or Individual category following a wide range of activities across the last eight months.

    “As well as purchasing the stadium naming rights to return it to St. James’ Park, Wonga has invested £1.5million into the Club’s Academy to nurture the next generation of Tyneside’s footballing talent, and has continued to work closely with the Magpies and their supporters.”

    http://www.nufc.co.uk/articles/20140214/united-and-wonga-shortlisted-for-award_2281670_3669483

    If Wonga pays a total of £7.5 million per season in sposorship, with £6 million for shirts and £1.5 million for the Academy, then how much does that leave to pay for the stadium naming rights, and why won’t they ever give that figure?

  113. awards mean fa, worky-an avowed skeptic like yourself should know that…having “award-winning” attached to something is like a designer label, likely to be complete bs. They put out these publications over here, I know this because I work at a law firm, that purport to list a state’s/city’s/the nation’s “Top Lawyers” or “Top Acountants” or whatever. Read the fine print: they’re paid-for ads. They appear, however, as inserts in other publications with wide readership and many just don’t read the fine print. On the clothing trade-so much shadiness there it’s very very easy to be ripped off. For me, I have some brands I like but I’m not loyal to any. I judge articles based on observed quality. My mom was a high end seamstress in her working days and I know more than most about materials and construction of clothes. The observed quality thing-again, can be applied to journalists. The way I approach any story is to ask myself, regardless of what outlet’s carrying it, if I were told this story in the exact same form by a stranger on the train-would I believe it? That’s precisely where the anonymous source thing falls down for example. Most people wouldn’t accept that from anyone. Something changes for many people when they read it in the paper, though…

  114. Well it looks like Ashley and Llambias are mates again, They were photographed in a Leicester Square pub getting rat a**ed the day after the spurs defeat.
    He was probably out celebrating his team’s victory the fat barsteward!
    Well it looks like we know who are new MD or D.O.F or what ever else is going to be!
    The photograph has just popped up in “The Chronicle”

  116. joe hawkins says:
    February 14, 2014 at 3:23 pm

    “He was probably out celebrating his team’s victory the fat barsteward!”

    Ashley’s team is the one who thrashed us in the previous game, Joe, Chelsea. That came from Ashley’s mouth too, though of course, he always lies when he opens his mouth.

  117. Worky, I’ve been busy so i haven’t been on so i didn’t see it.
    I saw that thing in “The Chronicle” about the myths, But i have heard a different story altogether about what really happened with that.
    I couldn’t divulge any information on here for obvious reasons.

  118. I have also heard that Ashley is a Chelsea fan, And i have heard he is a Spurs fan.
    The trouble is nobody ever hears from him to see what the truth is.
    I have also heard he was Jewish, And then others say he isn’t.
    There is that much crap flies around about him, That i don’t know was is fact or fiction with him.

  119. joe hawkins says:
    February 14, 2014 at 4:15 pm

    “I have also heard that Ashley is a Chelsea fan, And i have heard he is a Spurs fan.
    “The trouble is nobody ever hears from him to see what the truth is.”

    Joe, as I mentioned above, he said himself that he was a Chelsea fan. I read it in the newspaper itself rather than online.

    The story about him being a Spurs fan is pathetic and ridiculous. All it is based on is Ashley’s association with Paul Kelmsley, who was on the board at Tottenham at the time. It’s an absurd story. If one very rich owner or director associates with a very rich owner or director of another side, he must be a fan of that team? It was obviously started by some stupid little urchin who has no clue whatsoever how things work.

    As for the Krays, the North East runs on bullshit like that, it would grind to a halt without it.

  120. Worky, I’ve heard about The George Landa stuff, But the story i know has nothing to do with them characters.

  121. tunyc says:
    February 14, 2014 at 3:07 pm

    “awards mean fa, worky-an avowed skeptic like yourself should know that…”

    Of course I do, ye daft get! :lol:

    Remember the story where the club announced they where the club proudly announced they were the first carbon neural club in the world, and everything was completely kosher of course?

    Well guess what? It wasn’t! It was all pure greenwash and the company who assessed it was a total fraud :lol:

    Didn’t you just know that already though? :lol:

    “For me, I have some brands I like but I’m not loyal to any. I judge articles based on observed quality.”

    Er, well that’s the whole point, isn’t it? You pay a bit more for something because it’s better quality and nicely designed? I don’t understand all the other bullshit, especially this idea that started in the 80s of wearing clothes with great big brand names on to show off. If I’ve paid alot of money for some clothes, why must I then be used as a walking advert?

  122. “If I’ve paid alot of money for some clothes, why must I then be used as a walking advert?”

    I used to think brand-identification as a matter of boosting one’s self worth was an adolescent phenomenon. Now I think that my parents’ generation just had better taste/weren’t subjected to so much marketing.

  123. joe hawkins says:
    February 14, 2014 at 5:07 pm

    “Worky, I’ve heard about The George Landa stuff, But the story i know has nothing to do with them characters.”

    Joe you mean ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly and Paddy Conroy? :lol:

    http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/krays-plot-conquer-newcastle-1400191

    I thought ‘Machine Gun Kelly’ was a Yank gangster from Chuck’s era (prohibition)? My brother knows the Conroys and the Sayers and maybe the others. The Kellys and the Tamms are two of the old traditional crime families up there.

    Steve Wraith is just a wannabe. He was down here hanging around Freddie ‘Costa del Crime’ Foreman, who was once an enforcer for the Krays incidentally. I could have asked him what happened but his son sold his pub to Guy Ritchie or something like that.

  124. tunyc says:
    February 14, 2014 at 6:37 pm

    “I used to think brand-identification as a matter of boosting one’s self worth was an adolescent phenomenon. Now I think that my parents’ generation just had better taste/weren’t subjected to so much marketing.”

    In the world of brands there’s usually the brand most people think are cool which are actually hideously uncool, like a big vulgar Rolex watch for instance. The man or woman of style would much rather wear a Patek Phillipe or an Adumars Piguet (I used to sell fine old watches of that ilk). You Yanks all used to love your Armani suits a while back too, but Brioni is the classic Italian suit, Armani’s just flashy like a Rolex.

  125. Had some concerns about the rest of the season, however I just read the headline,
    “Pardeux and Williamson vow to put things right”.

    Phew ! I was a bit concerned for a while, until being re-assured by our stalwart defender and our tactical genius
    of a manager.

  126. C’mon man !
    To insinuate Brioni as a better brand than Armani.
    To then claim Rolex is inferior to both Audemars Piguet
    and Patek Phillipe is laughable.

    Obviously again, you have little understanding of fashion or jewelry.

    Fashion changes, why you see those Narrow Waisted Suits on sale everywhere, just as Armani had control of fashion, with their loose fitting wide shoulder unconstructed suits of over a decade ago.
    As for watches, the fashions also change, they being accessories that best compliment ones choice of clothing.
    And of course to-days fashion in watches tend’s to-wards the oversized, in case you were unaware.
    But to classify a Rolex as hideously uncool by being big and vulgar, puts you in a category of your own.
    Plus I think you would have difficulty telling the difference between a Brioni and an Armani, unless the labels were visible.
    Stick with the cheap jeans!

  127. Why are most people like walking advertising boards.

    Because those who control the fashion industry have decided it’s the brand names that counts, that are all important.

    It’s a major factor in the production, of clothing or accessories, and with few objections from willing fans of the particular brand.

    The idea is to install brand loyalty, with the belief that particular brand is superior both in quality and styling.
    Which is tenuous at best, fashion relying on constant change.
    That and the fact that the brand is protected under international law, against pirating or those who would illegally manufacture copies of the product.
    Which has not been that successful, as one can find a copy of most labels, both in jewelry and other apparel, simply by walking on Canal St. near the Chinatown section
    of NY. and in most cases there is a fine line between what may have been manufactured a couple of blocks away
    and the real deal, apart from the price.

  128. So the site is staying up worky? Thank god! This the only site i have found that has a decent bit of banter during the games, plus your blogs are a great read, not the usual rehashed tripe from nufc.com like the other sites. I would offer to help but i would just ruin it lol, Does it cost money to keep the site going? You should add a paypal link i would donate to ya all the time and effort you put into doing this.

  129. Chuck says “Phew ! I was a bit concerned for a while, until being re-assured by our stalwart defender and our tactical genius of a manager.”

    I agree that pardew is completely clueless, but i don’t understand all the bashing of williamson, IMO he been one of our best defenders, yanga-mbiwa and debuchy are far more inconsistent

  132. workyticket says:
    February 14, 2014 at 11:51 pm

    “Aye, I can’t really do many / any blogs yet though Dokky.”

    Just recycle an old one, worky.

    Do a search in the archives for “pack of lies” “lack of ambition” “sold our best player” “shit manager”.

  134. Stop grizzling and let’s hear more about your fascinating insight into the world of fashion, Major.

    Or, maybe a few more lies about what you saw in the good old days :lol:

  135. I’m picturing a shriveled old cnut in a suit made out of Don Johnson’s old chintz curtains and a watch the size of an ashtray (hobbling around with a tennis ball walker, obviously).

    That about right?

  136. chuck says:
    February 14, 2014 at 9:28 pm

    “To then claim Rolex is inferior to both Audemars Piguet
    and Patek Phillipe is laughable.”

    Chuck, honestly, you really don’t have a clue. I don’t know why you argue and bullshit just for the sake of it and then accuse me of it. I used to sell classic watches and own them. Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Breguet and Vacheron Constantin are the four classic Swiss watch houses.

  137. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it appears if we are to believe it you are an expert on most things.

    I don’t care whether you dealt in retro watches or can come up with some (a grading classifications) of watches, that is simply based on personal choice and ignorance.

    You may get by with such nonsense (a case of bullshit baffles brains) like the claim, eating lunch at Fortnum and Mason, was the best deal in London FFS!

    And most of what you claim it appears , is usually from a dated perspective, perhaps you should try and get out more, see how things have progressed.

  138. Dark Brown

    Zat you still sucking up to Worky !

    Don’t worry about him, he’s got a big enough store of bullshit left to defend himself.

    It’s you I worry about, this series of insults are a good indication I’m becoming an obsession with you,
    not a healthy situation, settle boy!

  139. You left a little non-sequitur message for me at @131 grandpa. Remember? The obsession is yours.

    If anyone in your family cares enough, they ought to get you a nurse.

  140. Rumor has it HBA may be on the block, come summer.
    Yeah! at times he can appear to be a luxury player, but so was Robert in his time, who refused to track back.

    However SBR realized his worth as both a goal scorer and someone who could put in the perfectly weighted pass.

    As far as Pardeux is concerned he has no clue as where or how to use him, that goes for many of the players, who are being played out of position, in a side without a plan.

    He then has no qualms about directly blaming different individuals, in order to give the appearance it’s someone else’s fault.

    It would be interesting to see what a real manager could do with this present team, as there is talent here, but people will come and go at this club, without ever reaching their potential as long as this clown is still here, and Ashley will never know the difference.
    Slow learning curve.

  141. Dark Brown

    Yes you are being paranoid!
    As that I stated at 131# was directed to-
    wards Worky’s implication at 128#.
    See what I mean, calm! settle! relax!

  142. chump says

    “As that I stated at 131# was directed towards Worky’s implication at 128#.”

    No. You didn’t.

    But well done you at @138 for knocking out a sizable essay without mentioning Fortnam and Masons even once.

  143. So another rumor has Debuchy going to Bayern Munich, if I were Debuchy I would certainly like the sound of that.

    It seems there’s a great future ahead for our recently recruited Frenchmen, being, once placed in the NUFC window, they are snapped up by some of the wealthiest and successful clubs.

    Which bodes well, even for those two French midfielders,
    who along with their owners, rejected (or so we were told) our bids, talking bout Cabella and Grenier.

    Knowing once here in the EPL they will if they show they are capable, have no problem getting away, being the owner is in the business of selling anything or anyone if there’s sufficient profit involved.

    I forsee a constantly changing side, that could be interesting, but I would prefer not to be a selling club and take a shot at winning something instead.
    But that will never happen until we get rid of that clown Pardeux, and see a willingness on the part of our owner, to attempt to gain some silverware.

  144. chuck says:
    February 15, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    “Yeah, yeah, yeah, it appears if we are to believe it you are an expert on most things.

    “I don’t care whether you dealt in retro watches or can come up with some (a grading classifications) of watches, that is simply based on personal choice and ignorance.”

    Personal choice? It’s a well known thing if you’ve dealt with fine watches, which I have and you haven’t. So, what’s the pont in arguing when I know far more about it than you ever will?

    Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Breguet and Vacheron Constantin are considered to be the most prestigious top four Swiss watch makers. :lol:

    http://voices.yahoo.com/guide-most-popular-luxury-watches-3276044.html?cat=46

    http://www.watchprosite.com/show-nblog.post/fi-662/ti-344067/t-/

    http://luxehighlife.com/watches/top-10-premium-swiss-watch-brands

  145. chuck says:
    February 15, 2014 at 7:17 pm

    “So another rumor has Debuchy going to Bayern Munich, if I were Debuchy I would certainly like the sound of that.”

    Aye, sitting on the bench most of the time watching Philip Lahm show him how it’s done.

  146. Great news about the blog, Worky and Hugh. It made my day to read it would be continuing. As people have said before, the diversity of subject matter really make it the best. Thanks for your efforts!

  147. Worky

    Nah! I gotta say Debuchy is class and works hard, wouldn’t be out of place in the best of clubs.
    whereas Lahm is getting on, to acquire Debuchy would be great cover for Bayerns Championship schedule.
    Rather we keep him, he makes good decisions and up and down that wing all day.
    Not afraid to put his foot in who could give us a better balanced back line.

  148. jimisol says:
    February 16, 2014 at 12:40 am

    “Great news about the blog, Worky and Hugh. It made my day to read it would be continuing.”

    Cheers jimisol but remember, all I said it wasn’t going offline on the 21st as it was due to originally. I didn’t say anymore than that and as you can see for yourself, it’s hardly worth the effort of carrying on when you look at what others are contributing.

  149. Ah! the joy’s of being a NUFC fan.

    Latest rumors have Ashley selling the club, using the premise, he is in the process of liquidating some of it’s prime assets, with Cabaye gone and Debuchy about to follow.

    I doubt it very much, as there’s no way Ashley will get rid of this cash cow, with the present tv millions available to those clubs who survive the relegation race.

    Pardeux sacked ?
    Even at the present 2/1 odds on his going, very much doubt it, he’s doing the job he was hired to do, avoid relegation.

    Yep ! that’s the new policy it appears, no risk taking, no ambition, just a top ten finish.

    Well actually any spot in the league, as long as it’s above seventeenth.

    The return of Llambias has also been mooted, with Ashley running things who knows and considering the present situation, who cares.

    Coming up seven years of continual chaos, never a season without major drama, with the detested Ashley and the bunch of losers he has hired, with more drama than Coronation St. & Eastenders combined.

    But as Pardeux puts it, if I’m honest, it’s always been a tight-ass and a selling club.

    Hopefully though the fans have by now given up on their particular hero worshiping of the no. 9 # super striker.

    As I wouldn’t bet the farm on DeJong being the answer.

    I would say there’s a 50/50 shot at remy staying, gonna cost more than Ashley will like, but good stuff is always costly.
    That is of course if he’s not offered a London club, and who would blame him.

  152. Chuck @ 149: “Yep ! that’s the new policy it appears, no risk taking, no ambition, just a top ten finish.”

    I’m not sure that Ashley’s even bothered with top ten (in fact, given he’s “promised” a bonus for a top ten position), I reckon he’d be happier if we were somewhere between 17th and 11th.

  153. chuck says:
    February 16, 2014 at 5:04 pm

    “Yep ! that’s the new policy it appears, no risk taking, no ambition, just a top ten finish.”

    No risk taking? Ashley is a gambling addict and SJP is one of his roulette tables.

    We were relegated under Ashley for the first time since 1990 back in 2009. We were almost relegated last season too. That’s Newcastle relegated and nearly relegated under Ashley in five seasons because of the most ridiculous risk taking. None of that ever happened under either John Hall or Freddy Shepherd. Newcastle United weren’t a club who got relegated until Mike Ashley bought the club.

  154. George Clooney is as daft as Chuck, wading into things he knows absolutely nothing about.

    He has called for the UK to return something called the ‘Eljin’ marbles to Greece. This was to promote his latest movie about how the Yanks singlehandedly rescued all of Europe’s art treasures during the war. :lol:

    Perhaps he’s referring to the ElGin marbles, which were rescued by Lord Elgin?

    He has also demanded that a painting called the ‘Mona Leeza’ be returned to a country called ‘Idaly.’

    If the United States did something similar with their museums, WTF would be left? Actually, why don’t they return their whole country back to the previous inhabitants? What a stupid, uneducated hypocrite.

  155. Why are you associating me with something George Cloony, may have said or done.

    Nowt to do with me!

    And what exactly are the “ElGin Marbles, you are as bad as Cloony in that respect FFS!

    I suppose we will be subjected to a lecture on how Lord Elgin, removed the marbles, an act of vandalism, under the excuse they were subject to being vandalized.

    And he was right, as he had already fixed an envious eye on them and it was he who turned out to be the vandal.

    Not satisfied with two hundred years of having them on display, the UK (British Museum) has added insult to injury, by refusing to restore them to their rightful owners.

    Being Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time and having no say in the matter, not as if the people of Greece had ever given permission, to chisel these priceless works from the Parthenon.

    However I’m sure you will attempt to find an excuse for this thieving vandalism, plus an excuse as to why they shouldn’t be returned.

    Being you are THE self proclaimed expert on everything, a bit delusional I know, but hey!

  156. I will take the Cloony rant as both an anti US diatribe, combined with taking a shot at myself.
    Yeah! I realize it’s tough to go from being an empire to a small Island off the coast of mainland Europe, but hey, you got surpassed, so try not to be too envious.

  157. On the matter of risk taking, I was referring to our quick elimination from all competitions, having learned a painful lesson during the clubs European completion.
    A situation that exposed our lack of depth and quality plus the fact the competition brought in little in the way of profit, with travelling expenses, the wages of those normally out on loan, etc. not to mention the
    effect on the side in the league games.
    But it was the fear of another relegation, that drove Ashley to bring in the five or so Frenchmen.
    There’s not that same urgency this season, the side sitting in the top ten appear to be in a position that can avoid the drop, even with a poor second half
    performance.
    Though I would be concerned about the selling of our top players, think how we would look, without HBA, Remy, Debuchy, Marveaux, C

  158. …….Cisse and others.
    And yeah, this club needs a re-evaluation of who should stay and who should go, a rebuilding.
    But not with Pardew at the helm, time for Ashley to hire a real manager, or things will just continue to deteriorate.

  161. DarthBroon says:
    February 17, 2014 at 9:23 pm

    “Christ, worky.

    “Do you have to keep setting the daft old devil off?”

    You rattle his cage more than I do, Darth.

  162. No I don’t, worky. I’ve never deliberately provoked anyone on this blog – or any other blog for that matter.

    I may have reacted energetically to the odd provocation aimed in my direction ;-)

  163. Worky and Dark Brown,

    What is this, some kind of joint get on chucks case situation, joining forces are we ?

    One, who knows everything, with an ego that only a mediocrity would be proud of, but believes otherwise, the other like one of those car chasing dogs, just the least bit annoying.

    So, I have noticed neither one of you has dared to state an opinion on whether the marbles should be returned to their original owners.

    Or what the Brit’s are using to justify keeping them.

    The fact the British Museum payed a skint Lord Elgin (the one who vandalized the marbles)
    thirty five thousand quid for them, justifies the museums keeping them.

    Sure!

  164. Foghorn Leghorn says:
    February 18, 2014 at 4:11 am

    “So, I have noticed neither one of you has dared to state an opinion on whether the marbles should be returned to their original owners.”.

    I have an opinion, chuff, but it’s none of your damned business. It’s reserved for fellow Brits. And this is a football site after all.

    Try a taking your own advice and ignore posts you don’t like. Or maybe just f**k yourself.

  166. Chuckles, back in the those days, the Parthenon and the rest of the Acropolis weren’t revered buildings on a world heritage list. Greece was in the hands of the Ottoman Turks and had been for centuries, bits were falling off, being hacked off and broken down. The Turks used to break up the stone to make lime mortar and use it for target practice, the Venetians tried to knock the shit out of it.

    Elgin probably saved them you uncultured fool. Oh! and what is the American empire going to do about all the terrible damage they caused to Babylonian treasures in Iraq? Their treatment of local treasures and theor protection of the museums was f**king scandalous for a so called ‘civilised’ nation, though personally, I don’t count countries with a death penalty as civilised. When the US returns all of it’s treasures in it’s museums to their countries of origin, and then returns the US to it’s previous inhabitants, then you can start chuntering. :-)

    And finally, the fact is that the UK Government COULDN’T return them even if they wanted to. They belong to British Museum and they have a full legal title to them, as did lord Elgin.

  167. joe hawkins says:
    February 18, 2014 at 10:55 am

    “I want “The Lindisfarne Gospels” returned to Northumbria away from them Southern cnuts!”

    It’s just down the road from me down Kings Cross way so it’s very handy for me, Joe. :-) You could probably blame Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and the dissolution of the monasteries for it gannin’ but I don’t think that’s certain.

  168. It’s alright if you live down London and you can see them, But i think it’s only fair that the people of the North East can see them on a regular basis.
    It’s ironic that another big fat bloke is responsible for our misery.
    Although i think Mike Ashley looks a safer bet than “Vince Mcmahon”!
    I see the story about him doing the rounds, Although i’m nearly sure this story was kicking around a few years ago.

  170. Joe, ok, did you go and see them when they were in Durham? How many times have you been to see the Durham Gospels?

    Did you know that if you got on a train at Newcastle station, the train will actually throw you out at the door of the British library a couple of hours later?

  171. Worky, I seen them last year for the first time, But there were massive queues to see them.

    I seen the Durham Gospels about 20 years ago when me and a few lads went for an interview to work on the Cathedral.
    I remember the high ceilings and huge wooden book shelves like something out of Harry Potter.

  172. joe hawkins says:
    February 18, 2014 at 1:03 pm

    “Worky, I seen them last year for the first time, But there were massive queues to see them.”

    So it might have been easier for you to come down to that London to see them. :-)

    When a Geordie gets off the train in Cockneyland he will see three great big Cockney buildings, Kings Cross, St Pancras and the British Library with the Lindisfarne Gospels.

  173. avatar DarthBroon says:
    February 17, 2014 at 10:01 pm

    “George C. Looney wants those Eljin Marbles returned to – get this – the PANTHEON!”

    F*ck me he did! The Pantheon’s in Rome, not Athens, and he said he’d done his homework. :lol:

  175. I’ve got a Seiko sports watch around here somewhere…

    @ 154: George Clooney is an amazingly smug person who has decided that since people listen to him when talks about anything, he is an expert on everything.

    That said many museums, yes even those in the U.S.-country of neanderthals that has NOTHING in common with the U.K.-have participated in recent years in exchanges/returns of cultural artifacts to the nations where they were created. Often it’s symbolic; the Met here has officially handed over many artifacts to have them immediately loaned back for display. I’m not big on trophy-taking myself going all the way back to the first westerners who did it: Romans warlords trying to convince people they were cultured by stealing Greek shit and displaying it tackily. I’ve never heard anything to justify NOT returning the Elgins that goes beyond colonialism, cultural bias or “finders keepers”…

    Many Americans have been vocal in criticizing the US gov’t & military’s gross irresponsibility when it comes to safeguarding cultural treasures in the countries we invade. You guys are aware that governments, even in purported democracies, do things without consulting most of us, right? I mean, I can’t get my government to care about my complaints about the thousands and thousands of people we’ve killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. I wish they cared about my perspective on destroying culture. (Is the UK government much more responsive? I doubt it.)

    Chuck-are you American? I’m honestly confused at this point.

  176. tunyc

    Sez, “Chuck are you American” ?

    What makes you ask such a question ?

    Actually I know from what you say on this blog you are some kind of Mid-Westerner.
    I think I am the one who should be asking that question, but calling your country a land of neanderthals, is not what I would expect from any normal American.

  177. chuck says:
    February 18, 2014 at 8:15 pm

    “Actually I know from what you say on this blog you are some kind of Mid-Westerner.
    I think I am the one who should be asking that question, but calling your country a land of neanderthals, is not what I would expect from any normal American.”

    We’re getting into some real inter-American shit now, Chuckles :lol:

    Carry on… I don’t know about tunyc but I could do with a laugh.

  178. Back to the marbles and let’s get things clear about their removal from the Parthenon ?

    Was it something that was done legally?

    Lord Elgin, his real name was (Thomas Bruce) claims he had permission from local authorities in the local Ottoman administration, to remove the marbles.

    However no written trace of that authority has ever been produced at any time and something this important would certainly have remained in the Ottoman Archives, as lesser local events during that time period are readily available.

    In which case the question of an authorized removal is moot at best.

    There are those who consider this a case of outright looting, combined with vandalism.

    Later when lord Elgin, was short of a few bob, he sold them to the British Government, who in turn, turned them over to the British Museum, to be displayed there.

    In which case if they were taken by Elgin and can’t produce anything to justify there being removed in the first place, then Elgin should have been arrested for looting of both a display of art and the desecration of the Parthenon.

    And the British government guilty of buying looted artifacts, Elgin being unable to justify his ownership.

    Look this is not some isolated case of shipping various historical artifacts to the center of The (then) Empire, there are many, Cleopatra’s needle’s are others, one in London, one in Paris the other in New York.

    Does anyone believe the Egyptian people were happy to give them away, I think not, but sometimes it’s unavoidable, when might is right.

  179. Dark Broon

    Fact is the Marbles are a desecration of the Parthenon, they can never be returned to place, but the Greek authorities have built an erea where they can be displayed, in the Acropolis.
    It also appears that there is great support among many to return these national treasures, but unfortunately, the British Government’s attitude is they were acquired legally and they have no interest in returning them. !
    Give em back FFS!

  181. Reading bout Vince McMahon of the WWE and his possible taking over the club.
    Be careful what you wish for.
    I actually don’t expect that to happen and I don’t see Ashley as someone who want’s out, why would he, a fifty thousand seater state of the art stadium, with an almost filled stadium every other week, plus all that dosh for simply surviving relegation.
    Why sell ?
    Get used to him being here, he’s not about to sell now, not with the tremendous amounts of tv revenue expected.
    And worse yet, he will keep our tactical genius of a manager, until he gets us relegated, lets hope that’s soon.

  182. WORKY
    I see where you state the British Government cannot return the marbles because the British Museum owns them.

    Oh yeah ! when did the purchase take place?

    Once again you are wrong, as the British government remains the owner of the marbles and the British Museum is only the showcase.

    But an owner without title, because there is no legal documentation from Elgin, describing his right of ownership or permission to loot.

    Better to get your facts straight, rather than making a fool of yourself.

  183. chuck says:
    February 18, 2014 at 9:49 pm

    “Better to get your facts straight, rather than making a fool of yourself.”

    Oh that really makes me laugh Chuckles, coming from you of all people.

  184. Ashley’s banned the Sunday Diana from SJP now!

    A statement from the club:

    “The Club feels it necessary to respond to the article published in the Sunday Express newspaper, headlined ‘Pardew’s One Game From Sack – Beat Villa or it’s the Bullet’, and claimed as an ‘exclusive’ by the paper. The article was written by John Richardson.

    “We consider it extremely poor practice for a newspaper to print such an article without first seeking comment or clarification from the Club. The article was completely untrue and we can only assume published for commercial reasons or as an attempt to unsettle and disrupt.

    “The article also created subsequent ill-informed and damaging coverage in other media outlets and across social media.

    “To publish an article of such nature gives the profession of journalism a bad name. Journalists and newspapers which print such wholly inaccurate stories should be aware that there will be consequences for their actions.

    “Newcastle United will not accept false, misleading, mischievous or inflammatory reporting such as this and will take appropriate action as and when necessary. To this end, Newcastle United can confirm that the Sunday Express is banned with immediate effect. This ban does not extend to the paper’s sister publications, including the Daily Star, who made contact with the Club to check the validity of the story and accordingly did not publish it.”

  185. After reading some of the stories in sports direct news. Think this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. !

  186. chuck:

    1. Thanks for the vote of, err, confidence.

    2. I pride myself on not being a typical American (or typical anything). I also thought the sarcasm there was fairly obvious (NOTHING in common with the UK…?).

    3. You took the McMahon thing seriously? It’s completely unsourced and from a site of no credibility. It’s clearly made up.

    As far as the Elgins-a symbolic recognition that they are Greek cultural treasures would likely go a long way. That government (and the notoriously corrupt Greek Archaeological Service) would almost certainly agree to loan them back immediately and not suggest changing the location where they’re displayed…for a nominal fee!

  187. @ 184 & 185: what I take away from it is the club’s perspective on who’s opinions are important.

    A large portion of NUFC’s supporters say they’re sure our club is being run into the ground via some combination of greed, spite and incompetence. That gets no response. Some paper says the manager might get fired if we continue our run of not-just-relegation-but-historically-bad-bottom-of-table form? THAT must be rebutted.

    Saw a funny comment on The Mag that mentioned SD news carrying a story claiming Ba is returning-he said that better be right, or they should just go ahead and ban themselves.

  190. chuck says:
    February 18, 2014 at 9:49 pm

    “Once again you are wrong, as the British government remains the owner of the marbles and the British Museum is only the showcase.

    “But an owner without title, because there is no legal documentation from Elgin, describing his right of ownership or permission to loot.”

    Chuck, you know about as much as George Looney (ie nothing) about the British Government, the British Museum’s Board of Trustees, Elgin’s title to the marbles, the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Ottoman occupation of Greece or anything else about the issue. You are just driven hither and thither around Google desperately looking for facts, or failing that, opinions which might support your pathetic prejudice against the UK on whatever issue. You have no real understanding or context though.

    Actually, truth be told, it WOULD a highly debateable case if it wasn’t with the perfectly insufferable Greeks (the poor old Jerries know all about that after Eurogate), though it is also a case which would set a precedent which would turn the museum world on it’s head. Of course, the US would undoubtedly be one of the biggest losers of all as you don’t have much history of your own over there and would be left with just an Elvis museum and ‘Dollywood!’if you’re lucky! :-)

  191. tunyc says:
    February 19, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    “That government (and the notoriously corrupt Greek Archaeological Service) would almost certainly agree to loan them back immediately and not suggest changing the location where they’re displayed…for a nominal fee!”

    I think it’s time for you to come clean, tunyc. I’ve had suspicions about you for some time. Are you, or have you ever been a member of the academic professions? a classicist perhaps?

    BTW, there’s no point in doing the Bubble and Squeaks any favours. As I suggested above, German taxpayers had to bail their country out to the tune of many billions of euros. As a little thankyou, the Greeks called them all Nazis and burned Nazi flags as a little thankyou.

  192. WORKY

    You stated the British Museum legally own the marbles, and has legal title to them (which is as you have subsequently found out to be untrue, the so called legally title belonging to the British Government).

    However you try to bluster and name call your way out of an embarrassing situation.

    It would be better to comment on something you may happen to know something about, instead of jumping in head first and making a fool of yourself.

    I have to say I had to laugh at your repeat of Elgins Excuse that he was only interested in saving the marbles from vandalism, then proceeded to chisel them from a historical master piece, which if not vandalism and without permission (where is the legal paper work) is in fact a clear case of looting.

    Perhaps you should research the facts, and instead of simple bluster, stating nothing but “Ah! you don’t know what you are talking about” come up with a counter argument.

    And then to blame the (perfectly insufferable Greeks) “the victims” and trying to tie it in with the recent EU situation between Greece and Germany, plus drag in the US and it’s museums is obfuscation of the finest kind.
    If all you can raise as an anti return argument is hot air and bluster, then don’t bother.
    And yes there is a purpose built building, which was recently completed to both house the marbles and put them on display in a protected area, being there’s no way they can be re-attached to their original setting.
    Lord Elgin or if you prefer Tommy Bruce, made sure of that.

  193. Plus it’s not very becoming to call people names like “Jerries” and “bubble and squeeks”, etc.

    Shows a lack of sensibility and manners, so precious to the English.

    Plus I doubt if you really understand the crux of the economics, resulting in the recent economic and currency problems.

    But it seems through not raising wages and prices over the last ten years the Germans have directly achieved the economic domination of the present EU.

    Something two world wars failed to achieve I might add and if you had a better understanding of events, you may not be so quick as to blame everything on the Greeks.
    Who again may be called the victims of the situation.

  194. clunk says:
    February 19, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    “Plus it’s not very becoming to call people names like “Jerries” and “bubble and squeeks”, etc.”

    But it’s OK to use words like “Kraut” in reference to Germans, is it? Something you’ve done on numerous occasions on this blog.

    Blustering old fraud.

  195. tunyc

    If you understood the situation in regards to the so called Elgin Marbles, you would realize that The Greeks, in general, want a return of looted art works, not to have them recognized as being Greek, but to actually have them returned to their original site.

    Even building a place within the Acropolis to both protect and display them.

    Why would they agree to let those who plundered the articles continue to claim ownership and continue to display them.

    When it’s the duty of the Greek government to bring about their return.

    I suppose you can credit your claim that the Greek Archeological Service, is notoriously corrupt, being you often visit Greece, or deal with them.

    Look claims are easy to make, but are not fact’s until proven.

    As for George Clooney being singled out as some kind of idiot, hey I don’t know the guy or much about him, he’s a mediocre actor according to his acting roles, but I would (unlike WORKY) be loath call anyone an idiot without knowing more about them and I would venture WORKY knows little more than his name.

    And again NO! I never for a minute expected any action on this front, talking bout McManus here, something that has been previously mooted on the media.

    If you read what I stated about McManus, you will note I said “I don’t expect this to happen”…..

  197. Dark Broon

    Hey guy, I warned you this is becoming an obsession with you, talking bout your continual lack of contributing anything of interest other than personal abuse.
    Try to be less obsessive buddy as it’s not really worth the effort, makes you bitter and depressed.

  199. chuck says:
    February 19, 2014 at 8:29 pm

    “tunyc

    “If you understood the situation in regards to the so called Elgin Marbles”

    And you do, Chuckles? :lol:

    I think tunyc understands things far better than you do.

    OK, I’m off!

  201. I’M obsessed!? :lol:

    Read you’re own googled essay’s back you daft old devil. Count the lines. Count the words. Consider whether all of that bitter, argumentative blustering could possibly be the actions of a person in the best of mental health.

    Now, forget the blustering deflection and answer the question: It’s bad to use the word “jerries”, but it’s OK to use words like “Kraut” in reference to Germans?

  202. @ 191: I studied classics/ancient history. I couldn’t jump through the hoops to complete the PhD. So I took my research skills to a law firm. It’s actually worked out alright. I still read ancient Greek occasionally to maintain my skills, though you couldn’t pay me to endure one more sentence of Thucydides or Callimachus.

    As for the Greeks-I know that they embody certain stereotypes about Mediterranean cultures to a T (I live in a very Greek neighborhood-ever get out to Astoria, Chuck?)…to blame their broken economy on anyone but their own tax-dodging capitalist class and international finance would be too cynical even for me.

    When did you become such a fan of the Teutons, anyway? I thought hating on them was a requirement in England…lol

    @ 195: and that may be part of their problem, legitimately. The GAS is a horrible organization, rife with cronyism and nepotism and it has a very bad track record of taking care of what it already has.*

    *My knowledge of the GAS comes from looking into them after it was suggested I should do so to see what they’re all about by my undergraduate advisor, a noted scholar of ancient history who, while still under 50, has a list of published works longer than my arm. None of the other classicists with whom I worked ever disagreed with that evaluation and it came up a lot.

    worky-enjoy your date. I hope she’s not crazy like a lot of attractive women…

  203. tunyc

    Sure I’m somewhat familiar with Astoria, my son lived there following graduation.
    And one of my best suppliers lived there.
    Look if you produce evidence of the GAS being all you described them, then o’k.
    But I just don’t fold to un-evidenced theories and here- say.
    Anyway ! it was never the point.

    The real point is, were the marbles obtained legally.

    Would it be described as desecration and theft to remove any article just as Elgin did, to-day?

    Did the Greeks under Ottoman rule, have any say in the matter.

    If The British Government has no more than a bill of sale from Elgin, who apparently had none himself, nor were there any records of such a transaction taking place.

    Curious as many minor happenings of that same time period are readily available in the Ottoman archives.

    On the other hand, the Greeks and the British have been ally’s, the Marbles belong to the Greeks, they should be returned as a token of mutual respect, to-wards one another.

  204. Dark Brown

    It’s obviously becoming more than an obsession, I see where you are searching the archives to find out what I may have said at some previous time.

    Now folks , I ask you ? is that getting close to being
    extra angry and obsessive.

    Now I suggest you try and forget about all this and have a happy life, bye!

  205. It’s obvious that Debuchy now wants to join his boyfriend at PSG. Right back is possibly the area where PSG are weakest and as well as that, they want a fairly French based team. Debuchy and his people will know both of those things. Just wait ’til the next transfer window.

  206. chump says:
    February 20, 2014 at 4:10 am

    “I see where you are searching the archives to find out what I may have said at some previous time.”

    What you MAY have said!? Dissembling hypocrite! I remember because I called you out the last time you used the word (‘krout’ as you insist on spelling it). Not all of us posting here have Alzheimer’s.

    And everyone’s free to read your raging rants if they need a lesson in what obsession looks like. It’s pathetic – worky throws you a stick and off you go, tearing off after it like the daft old mut you are. Works every time :lol:

  207. DarthBroon says:
    February 20, 2014 at 10:08 am

    “worky throws you a stick and off you go, tearing off after it like the daft old mut you are. Works every time”

    I don’t have to throw sticks for him, Darth.

  208. The Laudrup vs Swansea soap is bubbling along nicely, Denmark has now officially declared war on Swansea and Garry Monk for being insufficiently respectful to the great Dane after the great Dane declared that he was sacked by e.mail and Monk said he couldn’t see the reason for the press conference where Laudrup revealed how he was sacked. The whole of the Denmark is currently giving Swansea a very stern, unforgiving Scandinavian look which will slowly sap their spirits and eventually make them lose the will to live.

  209. @ 205: so incredibly predictable; I mentioned he’d be off soon the day Cabaye left. Frankly I’ve been less than impressed with Debuchy but FB is a position where we are shockingly shorthanded if you take a look. That’s especially true now that Anita is unavailable to fill in. Right now we have three FBs available for selection and AP has recently told us one of them is actually a really good midfielder (nevermind that he LOOKED like a chicken with his head cut off).

    Remember when AshleyCo stupidly left Simpson leave because he wanted standard PL starter wages? Yeah, I do too.

  211. tunyc says:
    February 19, 2014 at 9:16 pm

    “@ 191: I studied classics/ancient history.”

    Aye, I thought so from when you have piped up about classical matters before. My introduction to the Classics came at Prep school in Durham City. Mr Hoskins, our Classics teacher was about 103 and completely barmy. He was very big as well, he’d been a fine specimen in his time and despite his considerable age, he used to gymnastics all over the classroom as he taught. Most of the teachers at that school were old enough to teach the classics from first hand experience and had all gone completely bonkers.

    I remember Greek landlords well:

    “Ah, I trust you, you trust me, I treat you like a son. We have no need of rent book or receipt, you just pay me cash, yeah?”

    Yeah, you’re a tax dodger who is refusing to give me any proof whatsoever that I’ve paid the rent. I will trust you implicitly and feel like your son. :lol:

    They even fiddled their own books to get into the Euro, which kicked off the whole Euro mess with Greece and the other Mediterraneans.

    “When did you become such a fan of the Teutons, anyway? I thought hating on them was a requirement in England…lol”

    Er, mostly we ARE Germans. Angela Merkel is no more German than our Queen, Elizabeth Saxe-Coburg Gotha.

    “So I took my research skills to a law firm.”

    Well I suppose research skills are possibly the most important thing we take from higher education into life whatever the ‘subject’ we major in.

  212. tunyc says:
    February 20, 2014 at 3:05 pm

    “@ 208: I’m still asking myself “who the f is Garry Monk?!”

    He’s Swansea’s 30odd year old captain and now coach. Even though he’s still the captain, he hasn’t really been good enough to feature much in Swansea’s first team for years, he’s more of a remnant from their lower league days but now he seems to be getting really cocky as coach.

  213. Soh!

    Looks like at least two present starters are due to leave, during the summer.

    It appears PSG & Bayern are both interested in Debuchy and why not, he’s a very good player capable of earning a spot in the best of sides.

    Plus all they have to do is add a couple of million to the price they bought him for and Ashley will grab it, NUFC being a selling club.

    And of course Marveaux , having been benched for months on end,(apparently the reason being, he refused to take a wage cut)?

    So instead of dumping useless players like Obertan, Williamson, Gosling, R.Taylor etc. we sell only those who could make this club into a competitive side.

    Though I believe at this time, there is not the contented dressing room situation, that we are continually hearing about and there may be others who want out of this crazy set up.
    Where ignorance and greed rule.

  214. WORKY
    So apparently you may have been screwed by some Greek landlord at some time, does that mean all Greeks are
    alike as far as you are concerned, because you certainly have made it obvious they are not exactly to be trusted in general.

  215. worky-rent book? Official records? Haha-here’s a true story. My landlord had to cut a doorway between my apartment and the studio adjacent for a day and then re-seal it. The building was to be inspected prior to renovation of the downstairs units and the studio on the second floor is not accounted for on the certificate of occupancy. So the inspector comes and looks around, chuckling to himself at the obvious evidence of recent drywall/plaster work, relocated fusebox and fresh paint. He signs off on the form saying the second floor is a single unit.

    I missed the part that involved an envelope full of cash.

    Then again, sometimes the landlord doesn’t get around to collecting rent for most of a month and we’re paying well below the market so…

    To be fair, the Greeks have a very mediterranean ethic when it comes to corruption and your landlord probably would/does treat his actual son exactly the same.

    The German thing was typed with my tongue firmly in cheek.

  216. tunyc

    Yeah I realize you live in a very diverse neighborhood, one with a dominant Greek population.
    But that same story could be written about any ethnic group in the NY area, and has been.
    It has absolutely no significance as far as Greeks are concerned and did you not say, you have a deal that allows you to pay well below the market rate.
    So what’s your beef?

  217. WORKY

    you know it’s becoming a full time job correcting your claims.

    Your recent claim of, ” mostly we are German”
    Couldn’t be further from the truth.

    Fact is according to a recent book by Stephen Oppenheimer, “Myths of British Ancestry”.

    The result of a significant gene study, revealed that well over eighty percent of those residing in the UK, were of Celtic as opposed to Germanic origins.

    C’mon guy get it right just once, ffs

  218. Chuck says:
    February 20, 2014 at 9:04 pm

    “WORKY

    “you know it’s becoming a full time job correcting your claims.

    “Your recent claim of, ” mostly we are German”
    Couldn’t be further from the truth.”

    Chuck. We’re Germans, the Welsh are the real Britons but who would want to be Welsh anyway? The Sausagemunchers flooded in once the Romans buggered off.

    Time for a bit of Sauerkraut mit Bratwurst und Kartoffeln! Hmmm! Lecker! I think I’ll invade Poland later. :-)

    Maybe one day you’ll get one right. :lol:

  220. Chuck says:
    February 20, 2014 at 7:22 pm

    WORKY
    “So apparently you may have been screwed by some Greek landlord at some time, does that mean all Greeks are
    alike as far as you are concerned,”

    No Chuck, I wasn’t screwed by a Greek landlord. The Greek landlord I mentioned WAS screwed though, by his Greek agent.

    The agent just took his money and did f**k all. He never told him he needed to have a gas safety certificate and several other things which he was being paid for. This could’ve got the landlord in serious shite legally so I always had good blackmail material. I’m a devious English German c*nt who had been a landlord and a property developer.

    Like tunyc, I paid a good rent which was below the market rate.

  221. @ 216: ah but my current landlords are actually Albanian. And the last were Germans. I really have no beef. I was just wondering…and if anything, poking fun at Manhattan-based NYers who never go anywhere outside their borough except maybe some overrated spots in Brooklyn.

    We’re all Africans, ultimately…lol…

  222. tunyc, don’t you feel a little squashed in over there? I used to think that London was crowded but over in that huge country you have over there, New York is twice as compact as London, but still full of opinionated old grouches like Chuck chuntering away all day. It must drive you crazy?

  223. @ 208: I’m still asking myself “who the f is Garry Monk?!”

    its his first stab at managing but he knows swansea like the back of his hand, captain for ages, been managed by many with same style swnsea have played for years so he would have learned hell of a lot.
    cantract is for the foreseeable future but I can see him doing well and landed the job

  224. bifftoon says:
    February 21, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    “its his first stab at managing but he knows swansea like the back of his hand, captain for ages, been managed by many with same style swnsea have played for years so he would have learned hell of a lot.”

    biff, what did all that do for Alan Shearer when he was Newcastle manager? What’s it done for Peter Beardsley and John Carver in their stellar coaching careers at Newcastle? On the other hand, Bobby Robson never had f-all to do with Newcastle United and Kevin Keegan had only played for one season before they were Toon managers.

  225. WORKY

    Sorry to disappoint you, being you appear to want to be German (looking at their history, I cant imagine why)
    Truth of the matter is, those that came before the Angles , Saxes and in general those from what is now Holland and the coastal Germans next door, were Germanic
    as were the Vikings who followed them to the Islnds.
    However those who arrived through a number of migrations/invasions over thousands of years before the so called Anglo Saxon and Viking invasions/ settlements
    were considered Celtic.
    There

  226. …. are arguments as to from where, with most agreeing the early migrants arrived following the receding ice age and from the Iberian peninsula.

    And it wasn’t until the post Roman era that any Germanic peoples arrived.

    By this time the population was somewhere in the region of three million, a number that was never matched by any subsequent invasion/settlement of Germanic peoples, no matter how you look at it.

    They would have had to be fornicating day and night for centuries, to match the existing population.

    We are talking about the most recent studies, which included genetic’s.

    Sorry to disappoint you but the odd’s on you being of
    Germanic stock, which is less than one in twenty.

    Are small and no amount of your usual bluster will change that.

  227. tunyc @221#

    True enough, not many of the people who live in the city as opposed to the outer boroughs, travel there.
    I have to admit for the most part they remain terra incognita, to me.
    Though I have to admit Astoria, is close, plus it’s a strange mixture of cultures, probably a great place to find interesting food, if you are into it.
    Nah! seldom have any reason to go outside the city, as one can find most of what one needs right here.
    Plus I go with the old adage, if you are outta NY, you are outta town.

  228. @ 222: the low point for me is the commute home. I try to tamp down my misanthropy with sensory deprivation. Crowding is why I wouldn’t live in Manhattan even if I could afford it. I’m in a part of Queens now that is-for better and worse-positively suburban. Most of my block is single-family homes with (admittedly small) yards. I even have to walk a few blocks to get to a bodega. I have to admit that last thing has been annoying in recent arctic conditions.

    Chuck-there are plenty admirable things about German culture and history, as with all peoples. Didn’t you recently scold me about unsupported assertions?

  229. @ 227: Astoria is the only neighborhood outside Manhattan worth going to for restaurants. You should find time for a meal at Taverna Kyklades on Ditmars (at the end of the line on the N/Q; beware-no reservations & high demand)-as I gather you’re into seafood.

  231. tunyc

    Yeah I have a good friend who is Greek and has been a resident for a long time.
    Greeks in general, appear to gather in certain areas, much like other Southern European immigrant groups.
    Normally centered around their churches, which also provide a certain social structure, which expands into restaurants, shops and other businesse’s.
    I have ate in one or two (greek) places and yes, have to say, they are the real deal.
    As good as any in the Plaka district of Athens, or that famous place overlooking the picturesque harbor of Mikrolimano, in Piraeus, also known as Turku Limanu.

  232. tunyc

    Ermm, I think you may find some disagreement on where to eat in the nearby burbs my Chinese friend claims that Flushing has the best Asiean food in the NY area.

    Plus the Williamsburg hip crowd, will no doubt swear, they have some of the best places t

  233. … to eat.
    Of course there any number of Brooklynites, who claim everybody knows the best Pizza in town is from Dumbo or somewhere in Bensonhurst.

    But the fact is, both “Patsy’s” and “John’s”, on 1st and 118th. st. and Bleeker st. off seventh ave. respectively are where it’s at.

    And for any prospective visitor, if you are looking for decent Chinese, forget about Chinatown.

    Sixth st. or lower Lexington ave, for Indian.

    Just about every block has a sushi joint.

    And Ramen joints appear to be very popular.

    At least one thing you can be certain of, you aint gonna be hungry in NY

  234. tunyc says:
    February 21, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    “Chuck-there are plenty admirable things about German culture and history”

    We English are supposed to be the ones who are good at understatement, tunyc. German Protestantism was the engine of the modern world.

  235. Flushing/Whitestone is legit with the Asian food, that’s true. But it is sort of one-dimensional. Astoria has very good Japanese cuisine as well as Greek, Turkish, Afghan, Egyptian, various subtypes of American, French, Italian and Italian-American as well as many very good places for seafood in a broad sense and even pretty good BBQ all in a fairly compact neighborhood (that last part also isn’t true of Flushing, which is suprisingly sprawl-y).

    I’ve never been very impressed with any of the restaurants I’ve been to in Billyburg and the surrounding wannabe areas. Plus they’re absurdly overpriced compared to Astoria.

  236. Chuck-Paty’s & John’s are the real deal for sure but Sac’s in Astoria again serves the same quality for significantly less. What can I say, I’m cheap. Really we’ve got an embarassment of riches here when it comes to pizza. I really don’t mess with it anywhere else, maybe if I get to Italy but anywhere else…nah, it’s just not right.

  237. Alan Pardew says he isn’t jealous of Sunderland, but who is jealous of Sunderland FFS? Even if the team do well (18th), it’s still Sunderland.

  238. Ah ! a nice combination of stuffed calamari’s and white clam sauce, with some garlick bread, mmmm!

    Satisfies the average Friday night beer drinker and is
    readily available.

    Yep, delicious but I’m sure there are those who would
    prefer a feed of fish n’ chips, or a pastie from Greg’s

    One can’t explain taste.

  239. The truth of the matter is, Pizza is an American dish.

    Though first produced by those areas, that had Greek influences, Cicily and Naples.

    It’s real influence was due to the US market.

    It’s popularity expanded back to Italy, where various
    versions have been produced, like those same dumb-ass
    pies, whic

  240. …..which encludes, pineapple, and other crap.

    While I remain someone who only goes for the original combination of quality ingredients, a thin crusted pie, , with cheese and tomatoes.

  241. WORKY
    Who gives a rats ass about the Germans?
    They were no more than tribal forest dwellers during the
    the beginning of the early first millennium, who considered themselves a warrior race and subsequently
    refused to live in settled areas, lest they be considered
    soft.
    They have caused more grief than most ethnic groups and are now running the EU.
    And that’s the type of genetic descendant you consider
    yourse

  243. Mr. Potter says:
    February 22, 2014 at 4:38 am

    “Ah ! a nice combination of stuffed calamari’s and white clam sauce, with some garlick bread, mmmm!”

    I’d have thought a greasy old cheeseburger or a sloppy joe would be more your style, seppo (one simply can’t explain taste!). WTF is ‘garlick’ by the way? Is it anything like garlic? As for the phrase “I have ate[sic] in one or two…” :lol:

    And FIVE posts in a row? Chucky no mates! Can’t find a pal on your own side of the Atlantic? You’re just OBSESSED with us Brits :lol:

  244. chuck says:
    February 22, 2014 at 5:19 am

    “WORKY
    “Who gives a rats ass about the Germans?
    “They were no more than tribal forest dwellers during the
    the beginning of the early first millennium, who considered themselves a warrior race and subsequently
    refused to live in settled areas, lest they be considered
    soft.
    “They have caused more grief than most ethnic groups and are now running the EU.
    And that’s the type of genetic descendant you consider
    yourse”

    Who gives a rats ass about yanks though, Chuck? Arrogant, morbidly obese, stupid, greedy, ignorant, uneducated, uncultured, vulgar, gross, war criminals, parasites of the world, insufferably boring, self obsessed loudmouths, violent, odious, no history, built on stolen land, genocide and slavery…

    It works both ways, Chuck ;-)

  246. @ 237: well the question was about their cup success, no?

    Given what we’ve heard from the fans forum, either he honestly doesn’t envy Sunlun’s cup form or he’s in the wrong position.

    chuck-The Romans-who brought cities to Germania-now THEY were a warrior culture who have largely duped their cultural/linguistic progeny into believing they were deep thinkers who appreciated literature and the arts…basically by pretending to be Greeks!

  247. A lot being said today about Pardew bragging about the size of his kitty.
    In the words of Kevin Keegan, “You are not going to get any of that money Alan”!
    More sound bytes from the knacker to sell season tickets?

  248. Joe, I think we’ll have to buy some players this summer. We’ve already lost Cabaye and we could easily lose Remy, Tiote, HBA and Debuchy in the summer. Unless Ashley’s planning to pull on some voluminous shorts and turn out to play, he’ll have to spend some money on players.

  249. Hugh, How much money are we talking about though?
    Will we be trawling the bargain basement for the odd 600,000 grand a la Gouffran sort of stamp, Or having our cards marked by Pardew on agents fees for yet more loan players and how expensive they are?

    I honestly cannot see Ashley forking out decent wedge for players of a Remy Caballa standard for instance due to their shortsighted obsession with s***e French players!

  250. joe hawkins says:
    February 24, 2014 at 10:40 pm

    “Hugh, How much money are we talking about though?”

    Who are we competing with, Joe? We have slipped behind Everton in terms of our squad, especially post Cabaye. Ashley would need to spend the £20 million Cabaye booty, then spend about another £20 million. However, it’s the top six after that, Tottenham, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea and Manchester City. We were once on the same level as Totttenham but we have fallen way behind now. It’s a massive gulf to cross and would require well over £100 million of spending, though it is small beer really to Ashley the triple billionaire and one of the richest owners in the Premier League.

  251. tunyc says:
    February 24, 2014 at 4:59 pm

    “@ 237: well the question was about their cup success, no?”

    Aye I think it was but even if they won the world cup, I still wouldn’t be jealous of Sunderland because I’ve been there.

  252. Worky, That’s what we are looking at, Quite a bit of spending by Ashley to have us competitive again.
    That being said, We all know he will be shopping in the bargain basement for Gouffran stamp players.
    Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Gouffran and he gives his all every time he crosses the white line.
    He is an absolute steal for us at the price we paid for him and is value for money.

    The trouble is you can only get a Gouffran every now and again, And some of our other signings haven’t worked out.
    Whether that is down to players being “Pardewed” which seems to be a saying doing the rounds.
    Or whether it’s graham Carr being vastly overrated, Our recruitment which was being lauded only a couple of years back, Now looks flawed.

    It looks like Ben Arfa could be on his way which is a shame.

    Gosling has done nowt and has been injury prone, And now looks like a poor signing.

    Sissoko looked like a World beater when he first turned up, But now looks like a shadow of his former self.

    Yanga Mbiwa has looked like a liability at times, And has cost us.

    Cisse was scoring for fun when he first arrived, But is a poor all round footballer, And if you take the goals away from him he offers little else.

    Marveaux was f**ked off by Liverpool for something they didn’t like the look of.
    He has predictably been injury prone and has been unable to establish himself.

    Santon was bought as a defender but doesn’t seem able to defend, And looks more like a dodgy winger.

    Haidara well the jury is still out on him, So he still has time.

    The old saying is “You Get What You Pay For”, The worry now is we all know Ashley will never change, So will he just carry on in the same fashion?
    Personally i cannot see him forking out for good players, And he will just look for cheap options like he always has!

  253. @ 251: understood, but as someone who has run pub teams and thoroughly enjoyed winning meaningless competitions, I certainly could envy the position of SAFC’s manager, currently…

    @ 252: “You get what you pay for” is one of the truest adages ever, maybe the single truest.