Alright lads. Obviously, you lot have become my second team since the pure class you showed a couple of years ago when we got promoted, I've even been to one of your games when down visiting family, toon shirt and all, and enjoyed it massively. Just wanted to gather your thoughts on your current situation, as I understand it things are sorting themselves out for you now? Great to see you back from the brink and ready to push back up the divisions. Excellent win today aswell
Welcome TopTierToon, we seem to have been adopted by fans from loads of other clubs and regularly have visits from them at HP or they come and stand with us at away games .... until our troubles I didn't appreciate how many other club fans were willing us to stay in the league The fan base are divided at the moment over our manager's abilities some are calling for his head, and others are saying to give him more time .... it depends on whether we have won or lost as to which side most are on lol. I look out for your scores to after that night when you gained promotion and we were relegated ....... both sets of fans will always remember that night for totally different reasons lol. Its good to see you are holding your own in the Prem, and hope its not too long until both sets of fans get to meet up again !
Welcome from me also TopeTeirToon. Don't take any notice of Gat she's a dizzy blonde 20 year old who know nothing about kicking balls. She seems to want you relegated if she longs for us to meet again. Not very friendly is it. Gat is right about the Manager though. I am more leaning to get rid and bring in somebody with more experience and contacts. Nothing against Fletcher who is the Manager as I think he is a nice guy but nice guys aren't often winners. We are in a much better place than we were a year ago. Last season was a dogfight and nobody was sure if we had enough to stay in the league. After the first 9 games we had one point. All season it was one step forward and another back in following weeks and we weren't safe until the last couple of matches. This season we were expecting better. Out of Admin and with a support following twice most other clubs in this league. There is a wage cap of 55% of turnover in this league so numbers matter. However we have not set anything on fire so far although today's win was pretty decent away from home. We have no consistency is the problem. I think we will be ok this season but it would have been nice to have been up there pushing for promotion rather than in the lower end of the league. Therein lies the complaint with the manager. Mind you a season without the prospects of relegation would be a welcome relief in itself. I also have a little look at Newcastle's results these days. You are doing quite well it seems. Hope it continues and best of luuck with the season to come.
TTT nice to hear from a real footie fan. Stark facts are we dodged a bullet, sold our squad and picked up what we could for nowt, or as good as. Got a good few kids coming through and hopefully a few free gems. In a few years time, minimum 6, will be at the real Saint James Park playing you in the Prem, hey u gotta dream. Hope you guys have a good season always been a fan, father was boro born so had to wind him up for his Argyle slurs, but full respect to the lads for your support in our times of need.
I think your own experience with Pardew is a lesson for Argyle fans TopTier. From what we read, many up there weren't happy with his appointment but now you're looking strong behind the over-spenders and playing some pretty thrilling stuff too at times. Patience is the key: we've been resuscitated from a near-death experience. After some dour last-ditch football last season which just dragged us clear of relegation, the manager's trying to play better stuff with a squad that's stronger on youth & promise than it is on experience. Given where we left off last season, football wise and financially, we're only half a dozen places off the best I'd thought we'd be likely to achieve this season i.e. mid table. Others may have had totally unrealistic expectations..... I'm sure there are amongst Newcastle fans who will be disappointed if you don't win the Premiership. Looking at it from the outside, whilst the likes of Man City and Chelsea are spending money they don't have, that's not likely, unfortunately, as we'd be nearly as pleased as you would if you did win it. Maybe the FA or League Cup and a place in the Europa League is more realistic, but still challenging. That's where we are: some seem to think we should shoot straight through to win this league with over 100 points like we did 10 years ago. More realistically, I want that next year!
Newcastle 6th, Argyle 12th this seasonis realistic NDG as long as the Toon keep their strikers fit, back up is weak, and we can keep anyone fit!!! The bloody tea lady has a hamstring tweaking at HP at the moment.
Just one quick thing to add in answer to notdistant and his promotion point. ALL supporters want promotion EVERY season. It's the nature of the beast. I don't really take that much interest in the Premiership if I'm honest although as said I do look at results for one or two. Most supporters outside of the top flight would probably love to see anyone win that league other than the usual suspects that have dominated it over the last 10 years or so. I find it tedious and like a number of leagues elsewhere where only a handful or even just a couple stand a chance. At least in the lower leagues there is a fight for success and in the main it isn't just about bank balance.
Unfortunately, sensible, it is starting to look like promotion from the Championship is largely about money - usually 'parachute' payments... Still, League football is generally much more competitive and you meet a better class of fan as a rule!
How many clubs bounce back immediately irrespective of parachutes? There are quite a few still in the Championship that have come down reletively recently. It is not a cake walk to get out of for any of them. Money counts of course but it isn't only to do with that.
It's not the parachute payments I object to so much - without those, we'd have several clubs going bust each season. What I object to is people like the Man City & Chelsea owners who pump amounts of money into their clubs which are not only completely unrelated to the earning power of the club but won't be sustained in the long term, running the risk of a major name collapsing. This bids up the cost of playing football for everyone and prevents decent clubs like Newcastle fulfilling their potential properly. Fans shouldn't be wishing that their club had a sugar daddy - they should wish the others didn't.
