I bet you lot loved that today and I don't blame you We were shocking and this isn't an excuse for that hopeless performance, but we were far from full strength. We did have 11 first team squad players on the pitch, but we had 3 defenders and 7 midfielders playing, We still have several first teamers out with Covid and even those of our fans who were celebrating us pulling a fast one are starting to suspect it was genuine. As for being Premier League Titans, we are relegation fodder with that team as the whole world saw today. Anyway, I'll pipe down and wish you all the best for the rest of the season (apart from against us where you won't need any best wishes as you will be up for it anyway).
Fair play mate. It's all been a bit daft (if quite entertaining in some senses). I still hope you go down though. Sorry.
I largely stay off social media but judging by what some of the lads on here report, your lot and ours are fully going at it with the handbags. Hope it all blows over soon, as like I posted yesterday I’ve always considered Newcastle fans as relatively down-to-Earth and decent. Anyway, you’ve got plenty of good times ahead no doubt so chin up mate.
Same. Always had a soft spot for Southampton as when I was a kid I always loved Mick Channons windmill celebration for some reason. Plus it's where we got Keegan from! Every club has twats on social media. We have more than our fair share sadly.
...and Shearer! Well, via Blackburn, but you know what I mean. Yeah, I have always had a soft spot for Newcastle, but some of the "banter" (from both sets of fans) has been pretty pathetic. I would never have wanted your mob to go down previously, but the way that postponement was dealt with did leave a sour taste, and I can't with any conscience back the Saudi regime. It's a conflicting one for the more reasonable Toon fan, I'm sure.
Very. I was extremely torn. Not going to lie, the idea of the investment in the team is exciting but it goes against what I think sport should be about. If anything, I was more excited about the potential investment in the area. I work at the Etihad a lot and seeing what Man City's owners have done to the whole area is amazing. It's quite a neglected part of the world up here in terms of investment so that did appeal. As for the regime there is no defending them as anything other than horrifiic. However, its a rock and a hard place when people like that buy your club. You don't choose who you support and it isn't something that can just go away. In the end we are all hypocrites in one form or another and I am a hypocrite on that matter. I can't stop supporting the team. There is no doubt their intentions are to sportswash their reputation. I can only hope hope that the washing works both ways as more people are exposed to the other side of things and that it facilitates some reforms - though that is not intended as an excuse to keep supporting Newcastle. I would do that anyway. I loved the club before they arrived and I will love it when they leave - which they will when they get bored and we don't serve a purpose anymore.
Oh you can never stop supporting your team. That would go against the grain. I take what you say about the development of the area too. I have a few friends that work in Saudi, and one who is the CEO of one of the PIF funded development schemes out there. It does seem that there's a willingness to change...to a degree...but it's still a really hard one. I'm not being a prissy Saints fan for saying this, but I'd rather have our mediocre success unearthing young gems, and building the club (as we were when Markus Liebherr was in charge) progressively, than chuck a wad of money at oven-ready superstars.
That's one of the other things that bothers me. Will I enjoy it if we win a trophy. **** yes! Will I enjoy it in the same way as I enjoyed seeing Imre Varadi smash a last minute worldie into the net to beat Luton Town 3-2 in a meaningless Division Two game - probably not. Every club that has had a decent amount of success has bought that success. Not even just in the Premier League era either. Sunderland used to be the bank of England club back in the early 20th century and were dominant. We weren't far behind and won the league 4 times in a short space of time (long long before my day). Between us, Sunderland and Newcastle have broken the world transfer record 6 time as hard as that would be to believe today. However, what is happening this century is different. The amounts of money are obscene now and getting spread between fewer clubs. I wish it was different. Back to being a hypocrite though. If someone has to have it then part of me wants it to be us. **** it's confusing!!
Well said. I don’t get the hate for Newcastle to be honest. The sport of football lost its morals and soul many years ago. I wouldn’t feel guilty about supporting the team. The big clubs that had an issue only had an issue because you’re now a threat to them. Every single billionaire owner has dark histories as far as I can tell. So as a fan just go with it, and ignore the hypocrisy.
This strikes me as a perfectly balanced approach, all things considered. Sport in general has grown to the point where you're lucky if your owner is merely an amoral businessperson, because that means that they aren't a war criminal. Newcastle didn't deserve Ashley, and they don't deserve the Saudis, even if the amount of money and results might contrast sharply. We're all just ultimately along for the ride.
I thought that Cambridge's victory at St James Park harked back to an earlier era when third Round cup upsets were far more common. As a big fan of the FA cup, I have to say this game far more represented what the competition was about that Saints playing behind closed doors in Swansea. The Third Round has always been one of the highlights of the football season and as a kid following football in the 70s and 80s, this was precisely the kind of result every team feared. No one wanted to be that round's laughing stock. From what I heard on the radio and saw on MofD, i am wondering just how quickly the Toon supports will turn on Eddie Howe. Under the stewardship they have gone from a team most supporters had a soft spot for and when they were managed by the great Sir Bobby Robson I would say they that this even broadened to affection. Everyone loved Sir Bobby. Ashley's tenure always seem comparible to a Premier League version of Portsmouth where a passionate fan base always seemed destined to mediocrity. With the club under Saudi owenership and the cancellation of the Saints game, they have re-emerged as a kind of pantomine villain who everyone now wants to beat. I have a nasty suspicion that the stellar signings will not arrive en masse and that Eddie Howe is going to experience the same issues he had at his last season at Bournemouth. Yesetrday's result will not have done him any favours and I wonder how quickly the fan base will turn agains him. I don't think it will end well.
The gossip pages a couple of days ago suggested Newcastle wanted a new “spine” and the list was: - Issa Diop - Todd Cantwell - One from Origi / Solanke / Nketiah I know those are just rumours but those are very much not what the fans would have been expecting. They also aren’t the type of signings to guarantee survival - albeit Burnley, Watford and Norwich look hopeless I admit i am partially basing the Diop comments on the hysterical reaction of West Ham fans to their defence in the game against us on Boxing Day It’s difficult to know who they have been linked with as the gossip columns have linked them with everyone. But there are suggestions that Digne, Botman and Coutinho turned them down. They are also refusing to pay actual money for Martial The Trippier thing confuses me as it did seem like Manchester United were an option. But maybe not after Solskjær left? Now this could all be premature and they could pull some amazing signings out. My point is some of the rumours have started to become more grounded and what seemed close to a full side for them lost to Cambridge either due to not being good enough or not being well coached by Howe or a combination of both
Danny Murphy mooted last night that it could be a short tenure for Howe at Newcastle. I agree that Burnely, Watford and Norwich look terrible. I think it will be 3 from 4 who will battle it out but you always suspect Burnley have it wthin themselves to turn things around, Looking at these 4 teams, you wonder what calibre of players they would be likely to recruit. My guess if that Norwich will invest for next season in the Championship whereas both Watford and Burnley will make genuine attempts to improve their quality. As far as Newcastle are concerned, I would not think that the cup exit has helped their cause regardless of the fact that Howe is not really an established name to make star players want to play under him. Newcastle always play over the odds for their players and were widely known as being a soft touch for agents in the 2000s. I would concur that the reality will fall well short of their fan's expectations.
Gabby Agbonlahor is on our side: https://www.hampshirelive.news/spor...er-league-southampton-newcastle-villa-6464671
