Archive for category: Twitter/Facebook.

Doth We Protest Too Much?

August 4th, 2011 | 63 Comments |

Will protest oust Ashley and Llambias from Newcastle United?
Do they care about fan protests?
The Joey Barton escapade continues to rumble at Newcastle United with some fans asking whether or not some sort of protest would help.

It is very difficult to avoid this Joey Barton situation at the moment. A good 90%+ of the Newcastle United coverage for the last few days had been about him and his infernal Twitter machine, which has depressed me and made me wonder if it was worth chewing through the leather straps to get on here and post this morning.

Ironic, then, that I’m going to post about it too.

Joey seems to have induced an air of protest amongst many Toon fans, such as that suggested by my esteemed fellow writer. But I must say I have my reservations and since we don’t have such things as editorial policies on this ‘blog, I’ll bore you with my views on the subject.

I think any protest needs to be designed as an effective step towards some clear end result or it merely serves as a disjointed expression of anger. Some people might feel better from the emotional release it affords but it may not achieve anything towards the actual goal. (more…)


Let’s all do The Poznan?

August 3rd, 2011 | 109 Comments |

Let's all do The Poznan
City fans inspired by Lech Poznan
A group of fans have hit upon a way to protest against Ashley, without damaging the team. It has garnered a fair support so far with the likes of United for Newcastle (NOT to be confused with NUSC) taking an active role in spreading the word and it may be worth considering if you’re interested in protesting against the board.

Recent events have shown that our owner and “provider”, Mike Ashley, appears to be very worried about a little known thing such as “player power”. The general gist of this is to show Ashley that his priorities are woefully wrong and that it is us, the fans, who truly hold the power.

It was the fans who kept singing despite being 0-4 down at home to Arsenal that gave the players that extra strength to kick it up a notch. It was the fans who showed up time and time again to matches in the Championship, giving us the third highest average attendance of the season in English Football and it was the fans who signaled to Mike Ashley after relegation to sell up – admittedly, there were no offers but the point remains that we got our message through to him.

The statement on the Facebook page reads as follows:

I’ve had enough, we’ve had enough. So what do we do now? Try something new: (more…)


Barton and Enrique departures – will they be replaced?

August 3rd, 2011 | 41 Comments |

Liverpool allegedly taking Enrique for £10m.
New left-back needed at the Toon
Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton fires off some parting shots as he heads for the exit along with left-back Jose Enrique. The club must now look at how these players will be replaced (if indeed they will at all).

Joey Barton was given a two-week fine for his renegade Twittering yesterday, which probably comes as no surprise to anyone. It certainly didn’t surprise Barton himself who said:

Ha ha the inevitable, 2 weeks wages fine has just arrived. Needless to say it shall be appealed forthwith.

Barton also accused the club of releasing ‘false reports’ about the situation to the press, saying:

Everyone here knows I speak the truth.

I also have too much respect for my teammates and the fans to get in a tit for tat war with them. I have too much self-worth and dignity.

He was also apparently quoting both Orwell and The Smiths on Twitter but this particular debacle is beginning to get on my nerves now so I won’t bother with the quotes. Barton was made to train alone yesterday and I reckon his inevitable exit will come quite soon. (more…)


Is ‘player power’ tantamount to ‘one bad apple’?

August 1st, 2011 | 44 Comments |

Spot the ball.
Is Barton a bad apple?
Joey Barton’s tirades on Twitter has been very well publicised, as have many other players comments on the social networking sites. Jose Enrique, Wayne Routledge and countless others from teams across the UK. This has prompted the Premier League to consider rules and regulations for the popular website.

Of course, everybody is entitled to their opinion and that does not differ because of your profession. Joey Barton, however, has taken it above and beyond “opinion” and turned the popular website into a media circus.

Just to get one thing straight: I don’t necessarily disagree with what he has to say. I do, however, think that somebody such as Barton should hold themselves with a little more tact, dignity and most importantly with a hell of a lot more professionalism.

Barton goes on about how much he loves the fans, the club and how he wears our famous strips with honour and pride – so why did he hold out on the contract back in January? Andy Carroll was sold on the last day and Barton himself had mentioned that he’d like to see his career out here – discussions were going on before then, presumably. (more…)


Barton finally shown the door by Newcastle United.

August 1st, 2011 | 34 Comments |

Barton: Goodbye?
Joey Barton - Goodbye
In one of the most anticipated Tweets in human history, Newcastle United dissident, Joey Barton, has been on his Twitta page again. He once promised on there that he would “I will tell all when the time is right.” Earlier today on his Twitter page, he made a series of Tweets, saying first, somewhat mysteriously:

“I’ve seen this happen, in other people’s lives and now its happening in mine………..”The Smiths…….

Then the mundane:

“Training done for the day, off to buy some books and have a coffee.”

Later he then tweeted:

“I wont be commenting on situation at Newcastle again, as I feel it helps nobody and serves no purpose. Hope u all understand.”

And around an hour later at around 3PM: (more…)