Legod Third Coming

In fairness, I didn't know they'd won the European Cup!! The others I did, which is bizarre... I know it's not a great anaolgy but this is the Champions' league we're talking about. Can you name another club more like us who have won it? Nor can I! When I say like us - I mean size of population!!

I think this is a good call - we need to be able to soak pressure because there are other good teams in this league. That said, we are suspect at the back on occasion. That's something we can fix with a settled back four playing together every week. Since inividually, they are all good players.

Aye, my point was more that it is not impossible for teams outside those you expect (AC Milan, Barca, United, etc) to win the Champion's league.

Porto - under the special one is your example. Could Adkins be a new special one...

Actually, I think you and I are paying his wages... But otherwise I concur with your assessment.

Aye, kinda self-fulfilling that teams we beat are going to be below us when we're top, and after 7 games... Better to look at what odds those clubs were for promotion at the start of the season. What's clear is the two best teams in the league right now are us and Boro.

In 2003, you would have been saying the same about Rupert Lowe... A legacy is left behind not halfway through. After all, we're already looking at 2 managers in 3 years. That has Rupert written all over it...

WTF has he done to his head???!!

We don't really know why Cortese introduced Markus to the club. Was it because he saw an investment opportunity (long term) or because he saw that Markus had a lot of time and money on his hands, and thought it would give him something to build - a legacy if you will. I like Cortese - despite not agreeing with everything he does. But if he is is a half decent banker, he won't be thinking only about selling the club to an individual necessarily, he could be thinking about an IPO or sale to a hedge fund, or to a another wealthy investor/group (along the Arab Citeh lines). I hope that NC and the Liebherrs are in this the same way the Russian is in it at Chelsea. Time will tell. (Oh and I'm not paranoid and I am enjoying every moment of our current climb - but it's in the nature of mankind to wonder what his future holds...)

Ok, let's not get ahead of ourselves here, but have you given any thought to what the strategy for NC and co is when we reach the hallowed land of the Premiership?? If you were an investment banker what would you do?? The obvious answer is sell your investment for at least double your initial capital expenditure - what's a well-run, solvent Premiership club with potential valued at these days - £100m? Not something we should be losing sleep over but I do wonder...

Not if you murdered your boss. Which would also creat a kerfuffle which might enable you to sneak away unspotted for a day or two...

Agreed. He was a young lad who was no better or worse than say Blackstock. To take pleasure in seeing another human being fail is a bit petty in my view...

Hahahaha. I think you'll find that's gender stereotyping. Quite a different crime altogether...

He looks lean and sharp this year - much more so than at any time for us. I think he's raised his game and good on him. He's a class player and I would be very sorry if he were to go.

People say Lambo couldn't play in the Prem but Toon have LEON BEST up front. And last time I checked he couldn't hit a cow with a barn door... So like Nike tell you, nothing is impossible these days...

I imagine he runs a kebab shop, which can be beneficial of a Saturday night...

oh dear. how humiliating for them

You're right, my bad. I quoted you but was aiming a comment elsewhere. Apols.

Naturally. Although you should refer to the link below. After 22 games we were 10 points off the play-offs (our deduction) - and not the 6 you imagine. If you don't think that the form (Chamionship winning from then on) is good enough from a manager, I suggest your standards will never be met... http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/league-one/2009-2010/table/2009-12-19

You can read what I thought about the following pre-season above. What's clear is that you don't rate Pardew. That's fine. Don't dress it up as anything else.

You don't think a pre-season is needed then? Just like that, buy a few players in and hey presto you can win football matches. Feck me, why isn't every team top of the league in August? I shall have to go back and re-assess my 35 years of following football after that bombshell...

Pardew turned around a club on its knees and gave us a winning mentality. Adkins took over a club in a promising position and did a superb job motivating a good squad and establishing it playing excellent, attractive football. It is possible to appreciate that both managers are bloody good at what they do.

When I was playing (badly) our manager used to make us run around the pitch if we hit the ball above waist height and over 25 yards... For a while it did my head in as I could pick a bloke out on the wing 50 yards away with a cracking ball over the top... Then I realised that bloke couldn't trap cement anyway...

That's a rather fatuous argument. A season is over a season. At that point we then had something like 7 games from 9 away from home to top half teams... The idea that because a manager did a great job and nearly achieved something incredible he somehow failed is bizarre in the extreme. Before Pardew arrived we were one of the worst teams in English football. How quickly people forget...

Agreed - but we do also score a lot of goals - more United than Arsenal right now. BUT - we have fans who are intent on seeing players get it forward ALL the time and they need to stop shouting for players to belt it forward every time we might go sideways or even backwards. The best pass is the % pass - not a hoof with a likelihood of giving it away. If the opening is not immediately obvious there is nothing wrong with patience. One thing is a FACT. The opposition cannot score while we have the ball... Where I think we differ from Arsenal and must continue to do so is by having a strong spine and players who are not afraid to get stuck in when it's needed or put their laces through it when it's called for...