I started this blog on April 23rd of 2007, about 10 years ago (seems that long), and after over 55M hits, we are still going – yes I know it’s all very surprising.
Ed and Madeline Harrison
This shot was taken in High Heaton, Newcastle and yes the sun was shining!
We’d like to extend our best wishes to Newcastle fans everywhere, and all the very best in 2012, and let’s hope at the end of the year the lads are doing really well – and we’re in Europe too!
With any luck we’ll still be around next year at this time – here’s hoping.
256 comments so far
Dannyo
Jan 1, 2012 at 2:49 PM
Comment #41@toonarmydownsouth
Lol, a little of both?
We know we can be good at getting good deals, but trying for it too hard can also result to the fact that we shoot ourselves in the foot and get nothing from it.
Just trying to identify where our weakness in making signings are.
Tbh, i think we’ve all yet to question Pardews way of getting players.
Is he a Wenger type? Patient, values thoroughness in deals, not bothered with spending money?
Or does he actually want to remove several players and build from the ground up?
He has said we’re not getting the striker, it’s important to identify personality types, etc. etc, indicating that he’s a “Wenger type” manager when i comes to getting players.
He seems like a stubborn type and belives in his own ability quite allot.
Mancgeordie
Jan 1, 2012 at 2:51 PM
Comment #42I know its a long shot just hope ashley frees up 15-20m and llambias gets the players carr n pardew wants to give a chance of makin top 6-7
Mancgeordie
Jan 1, 2012 at 2:56 PM
Comment #43Toonmauritius what part of mauritius you from we have a house in prou d’or i think thats how its spelt? In the north we go every year for 10 years my father in law is mauritian only ever seen 1 toon fan though in the bird park
alex84
Jan 1, 2012 at 2:56 PM
Comment #44Well I’m really happy with his the season has gone so far…But…I’m really worried about this window, its obvious we only pulled out of the maiga deal coz of saylor’ s injury and we only wanted to bring in one player…which ain’t good as its plain as day we need 2-3 more players, even Krul has said today we need a few extra bodies , plus the main worry is Tiote etc being sold.
GeordieToon89
Jan 1, 2012 at 2:57 PM
Comment #45If we go out tomorrow and sign:
Nathaniel Clyne
Aly Cissokho
Luuk De Jong
Jan Vertonghen or The Monperllier dude
Sign them and we will defo get into Europe this year and he’d make his money back..
could even add younger cheapies like:
Jason Prior(if hes any good)
Emmanuel Mayuka
Then when it comes to the summer time we wont need to sign as many players for our european challenge all we’ll need is:
Hoillet
Jarvis
Rhodes
To go along with our then tremendous squad and we’ll win a cup next year for sure
whosyadaddy72
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:07 PM
Comment #46Happy new Year Ed! keep up the good work!
t00ntime
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:16 PM
Comment #47@toondownsouth I never said we were going to sell half our line up… u read worse then kingkev9
what I was pointing out was that if we did manage to qualify for europa we will have a much busier schedule so we wud need a bigger team and to get anywhere in europa we need some better players ( nothing dram queen about that just stating the obvious )
the point about us selling players… look at the earlier post from ed and read what pardew said:
”You never know – you just don’t know. You can’t predict it,” “We certainly haven’t done a deal yet. We’ve approached a couple of clubs for prices and that’s it.”
so you can see that there is a big chance people will be leaving if they have already checked for prices
the only 3 players I have heard of leaving are cabaye tiote and simpson but I have heard simpson wont be aloud to leave till the summer
so as you see i wasn’t being over dramatic I was using the process of elimination and this was the most logical
sorry if i was been to negative 😛 I’m actually quite optimistic about newcastle this year just I cant see us getting in to europa. going for 8th 😉
leazes upper ( moved to the gallowgate )
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:17 PM
Comment #48Hoillet rhodes and a good cb id be happy.if that cb was samba which is a long shot id be over the bloody moon.
davybtoon
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:23 PM
Comment #49Hoillet n Rhodes n cb wud b fantastic
Mancgeordie
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:23 PM
Comment #50Hoillett, yang mbia the guy from montpellier n mayuka i would be happy with n would’nt be overly expensive either
davybtoon
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:24 PM
Comment #51Billy sharp @1.85mill buy out clause has to b worth a punt a player who cud easy step up a level
alex84
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:26 PM
Comment #52Any more news on mayuka??
Dannyo
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:27 PM
Comment #53@davybtoon
I know very little about Billy Sharp, what u know about him? Position? Best traits? Age?
davybtoon
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:29 PM
Comment #54Striker at Doncaster only 23 very skillfull with a great finish on him
Tinman
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:30 PM
Comment #55Hey guys. I used to post on this blog quite a bit about 5 months ago, but in August i went to wrok in Botswana for a year and lost internet access.
Anyway. In Africa there is this lovely thing called DSTV, so i have watched every single Newcastle game except defeat to Blackburn in the cup.
The team looks good imo, Rtaylor was a constant liability but granted created a few goals. Should definately be Santon in that position if he is as good as i think he is. Collo has been outstanding in almost every single game and Stevie T was just starting to look good, winning everything in the air, which complimented Collo very well. Simmo is average at best, sometimes he looks okay, but his crossing is appalling. I have seen two games where Obertan looked unstoppable, the kid could be great, but at the moment he is far far too inconsistent. Cabaye is class, puts in a surprising amount of dirty work, doesnt shirk a challenge, can score and really pulls the strings, he is key to our season. Tiote has not looked like he did last season, still played well and definately a key player, hopefully playing for his country will help to get him some form back! Gutti has been poor for me, when i seen Marveaux he has always brought something different to the game, hopefully the lad can get fit and have a run in the team. Ben Arfa has looked shite for nearly every game i have seen, he shows serious skills, but t the moment seems to take on one too many guys, im not sure but i would try him at left wing instead of Gutti, just an idea. Ba has looked good, the guy always looks like he is going to score.
I work with a Dutch guy who LOVES football and knows a great deal about european leagues. He has watched most games with me and says Collo is our best player along with Ba, cant argue with that. He also shares the opinion that Obertan could be class, but no way will it be this season, maybe not even the next and at the moment he is a shadow in games. The guy supports Ajax, says there best player is Vertonghen, I have seen him play about 8 times, he looks very very good. Too good for us i fear. He reckons he will be at Arsenal or Man U next season. He also says Luuk de Jong is Hollands next big striker, but is still two years off his best. He wants him to stay in Holland for another season at least as he aint ready for the prem just yet, but he has lots of potential.
Anyway, just thought i would share 🙂
Dannyo
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:31 PM
Comment #56@alex84
No mate, allot of Zambian people the last couple of days claiming that we had signed him and he’d be presented at the start of January.
I dunno what started that rumour, but i think that’s all it is mate, a rumour.
toonarmydownsouth
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:34 PM
Comment #57@danyo its hard to tell defo seems to like youth players and every manager inherits players they wouldnt normally buy so wouldnt be suprised to see players like simmo/loven and smith go as long as we got players in like clyne rhodes in to replace them dont mind be oatient and building a team with development platers but thats always a gamble
@toontime fair point mate ill admit i only scanned thru it just get fed up reading the same thing wen yge windows barely started! I understand the concerns but just have to keep faith that carr and co will always have some 1 lined up for worst case hopefully!!!
alex84
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:38 PM
Comment #58Cheers Dannyo…think its just a rumour.
toonarmydownsouth
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:39 PM
Comment #59@davytoon didnt know billy sharp had a buy out clause would def be worth a shout rate him more than long
davybtoon
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:39 PM
Comment #60dannyo heres a vid of the goal billy sharp scored just 2 days after his baby boy died n dedicated it to him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njP0cEGamn8
davybtoon
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:42 PM
Comment #61@59 i billy sharp has buy out clause of 1.85mill which kicks in from today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcLB7q9cs9c
heres vid of his goals for people
Dannyo
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:42 PM
Comment #62@davybtoon
Ahhh, that’s where i had the name from, just couldn’t seem to nail it to something.
Think he’d be a good buy? I know so little except that one goal.
leazes upper ( moved to the gallowgate )
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:42 PM
Comment #63Billy sharp 256 career apps 118 goals
kingkev9
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:44 PM
Comment #64T00ntime- finally back on after stating some ‘facts’ about me a few days ago all of which were rubbish.
I dont rate Obertan at all, never have, would like to be proved wrong but doubt it. You slated me for this yet you have just said he isn’t good enough!?
I said I don’t boo players and you tried to say I did!? When have I? I cheered Shola being took off once! Yeah too right after watching him play for 11 years and I’m still waiting for a 50th league goal!! Luckiest man alive, never booed him though.
And finally you said that I had stated that Cabeye and Tiote wouldn’t work together. I am still to be convinced otherwise. I rate both of them highly but neither for me are creators and neither will get enough goals. Both good but ideal partnership? Not for me.
And as for trying to be clever when I said I know a good player when I see one hmmm, season ticket holder for over 20 years and can’t remember getting many judgements wrong.
If you are sad enough to go over months worth of posts to then make irrelevant comments you must have far too much time in your hands.
toonarmydownsouth
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:45 PM
Comment #65@ dannyo lots of my nates support championship teams and most of them cant believe he hasnt been signed by top flight maybe scouts dont think he could make tge step up
Tinman
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:47 PM
Comment #66As far as I’m concerned, we go out buy a defender and a winger and we will get 7th no problem. Take a look at the teams below us, Stoke (-4), Villa (-7), Norwich (-8), WBA (-8), Everton (-9), Fulham (-10). Which one of those teams is going to overtake us then?
We should go all out to buy Vertonghen and then look for a winger and striker (now or the summer), if the right deal comes.
toon tom
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:47 PM
Comment #67happy new year ed, and the same to all newcastle fans, all the best, howay the lads
kingkev9
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:49 PM
Comment #68Davey – Billy sharp has done ok at smaller clubs but when he moved to Sheffield United (when they were nearer top of div 1) he really struggled. I’m not convinced he can make the step up. Same for Maynard. But a £1m or £2m gamble could be worth it.
What about Lambert from Southampton? Big, strong, similar to Holt who has done well. Rhodes looks a good prospect too.
Tinman
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:50 PM
Comment #69Oh and people who say even if we qualify for Europe we will just get knocked out, you cant win the raffle if you dont buy a ticket.
I for one would much rather be in Europe and get knocked out than not be in at all…
toon tom
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:50 PM
Comment #70go after billy sharp, are you lot mad……how could we compete with the likes of norwich
davybtoon
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:57 PM
Comment #71toon tom – thats the problem here there fans who jus write off player as crap as soon as u say there from a lower league joke
kingkev9
Jan 1, 2012 at 3:59 PM
Comment #72Davey- going back to a post earlier from you.
I hold my hands up about Long, he was excellent against us.
But I disagree about us replacing players with better players.
Cabeye- excellent. Ba- superb.
The rest? Santon looks good but no one has seen enough of him. Same for Marveux.
Abeid- future prospect.
Elliott- doesn’t look good enough. Obertan- not good enough.
For me only Ba and Cabaye have been proved as good buys.
We have desperately missed Jose. Barton would walk into our team on the right. And although he wouldn’t start every game Nolan would have been a better option in some games than Best, Shola, Lovenkrands
Jail for Ashley
Jan 1, 2012 at 4:05 PM
Comment #73G89
I don’t think MA is prepared to invest enough to get us into and to sustain a europa league challenge, for a gambling man like Mike I don’t think the returns see high enough for the original stake, I’m convinced that he’s happy enough with the big money from sky, obviously the higher the better for placement money I don’t actually think he takes any pride from our acheivments just the bank balance
Marty-Toon
Jan 1, 2012 at 4:05 PM
Comment #74Happy new year Ed and all on here.
Wishing you all a healthy and prosperous new year ahead.
davybtoon
Jan 1, 2012 at 4:06 PM
Comment #75kingkev marveux was quality n would defo b in if fit over obertan n jonas who should b squad players, u can see santon is a class act but him at rb n jose lb would hav been class
dont agree on nolan n barton i wouldnt hav them in the team
ancientgeordie
Jan 1, 2012 at 4:07 PM
Comment #76Ed, fairly new boy here but thinking of you and your family at this time of year. 7 years ago I was diagnosed with cancer but got through and now dont even need check-ups. Chin up bonny lad
I saw Wor Jackie play so I have been with the TOON through thick and thin (mostly thin)
Happy New Year to all
kingkev9
Jan 1, 2012 at 4:09 PM
Comment #77Don’t think that Barton would offer more than Obertan!?
Nolan would get goals or create goals, even coming off the bench.
Marveaux and Santon look good but have hardly played unfortunately
ochytoon
Jan 1, 2012 at 4:09 PM
Comment #78Kingkev
I watch lambert play week in week out and he for very little for the team bar scoring. He walks back and often looks like he doesn’t care
toon tom
Jan 1, 2012 at 4:10 PM
Comment #79davybtoon, we have to look at the lower leagues, we are no man city and ashley will never spend big, so we have to find a few “gems” remember beardsley came from vancover whitecaps and waddle came from tow law
t00ntime
Jan 1, 2012 at 4:10 PM
Comment #80@kingkev9 for starters u say finally on all though am say something everyday…
I never said Obertan was good enough NOW, I said Obertan will be good enough in a season or 2. Before you say: so we have to have him as a starter for 2 seasons. NO like I keep saying Obertan is only covering for marveux, marveux has been 80% all season and then he got injured again but rest assured when he is 100% he will play over Obertan, and Obertan will make cameo’s.
I never said u booed players I said you made a post saying you cheer when Shola comes off, which is just as bad as booing.
As for the yet to be convinced over Cabaye and Tiote, well they put by sky and most papers as one of the best center midfield couples in the premier league, but hey what do they know. Also if they were that bad would Sir Alex Ferguson of praised them and said they looked great?
your a 20year long season ticket holder, thats nice and all but that doesnt mean you know how good a player can develop into does it? So I don’t understand what that has to do with anything.
You say I have too much time on my hands cause I went through soooo many pages… well we played arsenal on the 13th of August if I remember right, so you go to archives click on august and look for arsenal posts around that date… takes a whole of 2minutes…
then press ctrl + F and type in kingkev9 then u can find your posts in about 5/10 seconds…
So no time? It took a maximum of 10minutes…
I can’t remember why this started but what I do know is that Obertan is atm better then Jonas at going forward in terms of passes making it through etc so before we change Obertan we need to sort Jonas out. Thats simple enough put Santon on for Ryan and see if it improves Jonas’s attacking if it does problem solved and we can focus on Obertan