BREAKING : Eddie Howe has resigned as #NUFC manager,
Thanks Exmil for the league table. Well it certainly shows that I know nothing about football and what the Boro can achieve. I do hope they continue to prove me wrong.
Also disappointing is the weather in Southern Spain. We have had tremendous rain storms combined with a continuous deluge of sand from the Sahara covering everywhere. It’s true!! I have not seen it this bad in over twenty years.
The other phenomena is the spooky orange sky.
Pedro you have obviously been sending the weather up the coast to us as we have had the exact same conditions! 😂
Saturday was a dry day and I spent five hours hosing down and clearing away all the sand.
It has rained again for most of this week and it is nearly as bad again and will need another wash down.
The pool was nearly overflowing and I had to drop the level. We are expecting more heavy rain again today and over the weekend.
I agree that this is the worst weather we have experienced in the time we have been here.
No longer is it true to say the rain in Spain is mainly on the plain! 😎
County Durham? Have you moved already?
A different Palatine, I’m afraid. The one with the gaudy rose.
I did used to live in Co Durham, in Hett, a great little village between Durham and Spennymoor.
BREAKING : Eddie Howe has resigned as #NUFC manager,
OFB. Why and when? Nothing on main news sites. I assume your source is reliable? 😎
BREAKING : Eddie Howe has resigned as #NUFC manager,
OFB. Why and when? Nothing on main news sites. I assume your source is reliable? 😎
Nothing on NUFC website. A week early for an April fools joke?
Eddie Howe resigning sounds like it's one of those dodgy Twitter posts - apparently someone made a joke about Eddie Howe packing his bags on a Newcastle trip to Dubai and it got amplified into him resigning. Besides which manager these days resigns when they've still got over two years left of a lucrative contract?
I agree, Werder. Carry on even if things are going badly, in the sure knowledge that a big payday will come if sacked. For some (Bruce, Ranieri etc) it might even be considered a business model. Their bank managers will obviously be happy.
Ethically Howe's resignation would make sense. I couldn't work for a club owned like Newcastle. I would even stop supporting them if I had been their fan. Like Ukraine, one cannot accept all that is happening. Up the Boro!
BREAKING : Eddie Howe has resigned as #NUFC manager,
Nearly 1400 hrs and it still hasn’t hit even Sky Sports news.
Come on BORO.
I’m filing this in the same place as the recent rumours about Stuani coming back.
Ethically Howe's resignation would make sense. I couldn't work for a club owned like Newcastle. I would even stop supporting them if I had been their fan. Like Ukraine, one cannot accept all that is happening. Up the Boro!
If Eddie Howe would have been of that moral view then presumably he wouldn't have taken the job in the first place. It was interesting to hear Alan Shearer speaking recently on the new ownership where he said it was possible as a fan to separate supporting the team from supporting the club owners.
Although, just how you avoid the connection between seeing all those new players in your team and the source of the money that paid for them perhaps involves turning a blind eye every time you turn up to watch.
Though I don't recall many Chelsea fans complaining about the source of Abramovich's money and nor have the majority of Newcastle fans complained too loudly about taking the Saudi Shilling - in football money still talks and the human rights of those being trampled over by billionaire owners is not of primary concern.
Likewise, managers and players separate themselves from their owners morals and compartmentalise the 'job' as being adequately rewarded for their football ability in the market, which they choose not to connect with it being grossly inflated by increasingly dubious ruthless mega-rich owners.
As incredibly wealthy individuals freely use their wealth to buy, lie, cheat, bully, corrupt the legal system, including refusing to pay damages to their victims, and are not clapped in gaol, not forcibly marched to their bankers and have the damages payed to their victims, and carry on as normal. In view of the aforesaid behaviour I fail to see just why a Footballer should refuse colossal wealth in his pomp, just to keep you happy. he will one day be an ex player, and I am pretty sure some writer will earn a few Bob recounting his foolishness in refusing to accept what he is worth in a free market, and instead playing for nowhere United, and opening a newsagents shop when he gets the elbow.
About to watch England U21 match (on Sky) hoping Balogun gets a couple of goals to boost his confidence.
Come on BORO.
Balogun took 6 minutes to get on the score sheet.
Come on BORO.
Season card renewed for 22/23 today. I was going to wait until 12 April as I wouldn't have had to pay off the credit card until May but I thought about my cards not being accepted online when buying the Chelsea ticket and didn't want to risk missing the deadline. This time I didn't even get the screen to enter my credit card details before the renewal was rejected so I had to phone the ticket office again. Got renewal sorted after 30 minutes in phone queue.
Thanks SKY for inconveniently changing the Huddersfield and Cardiff time/date. I was looking forward to a relaxed Easter Sunday, just me and my Easter Eggs! The early Monday kickoff means I have to travel over on the Sunday though I will be able to travel home after the match. Fortunately I have been able to rearrange my hotel bookings for both games.
Season card renewed for 22/23 today. I was going to wait until 12 April as I wouldn't have had to pay off the credit card until May but I thought about my cards not being accepted online when buying the Chelsea ticket and didn't want to risk missing the deadline. This time I didn't even get the screen to enter my credit card details before the renewal was rejected so I had to phone the ticket office again. Got renewal sorted after 30 minutes in phone queue.
I have trying for a week with no luck whatsoever. Tried again today, failed, so tried ringing the ticket office. No chance. Very busy they say, but not clever enough like a lot of modern service driven companies that give you a number in the queue and a time indication.
In the end I sent a “disgruntled” email. Let’s see if that helps.
Am I the only person in the World that hates chocolate in any form? It all stems from being a baby in a pram. Apparently one well-intended person once put a chocolate in my mouth and I spat it out. My late wife loved chocolate but when she baked a chocolate cake I had to stay out of the kitchen as the smell almost made me puke, and the sight of chocolate fountains resembles a bout of diarrhoea to me. I even have to avert my eyes from the television when I see them advertised, as does the sight of chocolate ice cream. The thought of seeing people eating chocolate Easter eggs or youngsters with chocolate running down their mouths or chins I can’t bear to watch. Everyone who has known me from childhood knows how much I loathe the sight or smell of chocolate. When one so hates a particular food or drink, I’m one of those people who can’t understand how anyone else can possibly like them. However I’ve yet to find anyone else who dislikes chocolate, but I wonder if anyone else has such an aversion to a particular food as much as I do!
I fail to see just why a Footballer should refuse colossal wealth in his pomp, just to keep you happy. he will one day be an ex player, and I am pretty sure some writer will earn a few Bob recounting his foolishness in refusing to accept what he is worth in a free market, and instead playing for nowhere United, and opening a newsagents shop when he gets the elbow.
I think the days when ex-footballers will need to run a newsagents when they retire (if such shops will still exist given the move to online) is long gone. The average player with a top-eight club now earns between £5-9m a season before endorsements with other PL players picking up between £1-4m a season. Indeed, even the hard-up average Championship player will earn several million quid in his career with the average annual salary being around 200 grand a season with many earning considerably more if employed by clubs with parachute payments.
There's probably more chance of seeing Prince Charles running a newsagents rather than an ex-footballer these days - footballers are now among the most wealthy individuals in the country, with many seemingly still thinking they deserve even more because of what the so-called market values them at. Compared to the UK average yearly wage of under £25,000 they have little to complain about but no doubt few footballers have knowingly undersold their talents thanks to having agents who know how to squeeze the clubs to maximum effect.
Jordan Henderson commented today how the England players were shocked to hear about the conditions of workers in Qatar - not sure where they've been or have read in the last 5 years but it's not exactly news to many who have occasionally glanced at that country. Big bucks comes at price to someone somewhere as the average annual world salary is just over $10,000 - the question is whether it's market-driven of simply just a skewed rigged market looking for compliant workers.
I was number 93 in the queue when I phoned for the Chelsea ticket and it took 2 hours and 40 minutes to get to through. When I said I had been unable to make the payment online I was told that Lloyds Bank had upgraded their security but the Boro site hadn't yet been upgraded! (I don't know whether this applies to other bank cards.) As I couldn't even get to the screen on which to enter my credit card details when trying to renew the season card I assume the ticket office is too busy selling tickets to do the upgrade during working hours but surely the club risks losing more by forcing people to make a long phone call. I was number 12 in the queue for the half hour wait for the season card renewal.
I was number 93 in the queue when I phoned for the Chelsea ticket and it took 2 hours and 40 minutes to get to through. When I said I had been unable to make the payment online I was told that Lloyds Bank had upgraded their security but the Boro site hadn't yet been upgraded! (I don't know whether this applies to other bank cards.) As I couldn't even get to the screen on which to enter my credit card details when trying to renew the season card I assume the ticket office is too busy selling tickets to do the upgrade during working hours but surely the club risks losing more by forcing people to make a long phone call. I was number 12 in the queue for the half hour wait for the season card renewal.
Sorry to hear about your problems David. I hope Boro get it sorted before I have to renew my Riverside Live subscription! 😎
A big match for Hartlepools this afternoon if they have any hope of reaching the playoffs. A statistic that quite staggers me is that 21 of the Cobblers 45 goals this season have come from dead ball situations, and Pools in particular haven’t got a good record at defending such situations. However Pools did win the home match 1-0, but a defeat today and any chance of reaching the playoffs will be dead in the water I’m afraid.
Werder it never ceases to amaze me, that so-called relatively intelligent people (I will include Jordan Henderson in that circle) come out with such drivel and platitudes about serious important humanitarian issues.
As you stated the corrupt Qatar World Cup fiasco has been around for many years and well documented. For a leading EPL footballer to come out with c**p like that is beyond belief. I won’t say any more because I am so angry.
Like Boro, Hartlepool missed so many chances to beat Northampton yesterday especially from Tom Crawford and David Ferguson. Pools are one of the most attractive teams to watch in Division Two since Graeme Lee took charge, but their nemesis is their lack of goals despite carving out so many goalscoring positions. Nevertheless I suppose their first task was to preserve their EFL status which they look certain to have achieved, but with better finishing they might well have reached the playoffs.
Darlington too now have an outside chance of reaching the playoffs after holding league leaders Buxton to a draw, winning at AFC Fylde and accumulating 20 points from their last 9 matches. Yesterday was non-League football day, yet one wouldn’t have been aware of it if you read the Gazette. With Boro gameless due to the International break, our local newspaper shows no inclination to report on our local non-League clubs. For example did you know that Redcar Athletic sponsors Sol Bamba and in turn he was yesterday encouraging the Steelmen fans to wear their Boro shirts for a reduced admission cost at yesterday’s match at Green Lane to turn it into a sea of red? I appreciate that Boro is the Gazette’s priority, but BBC’s Football Focus devoted its whole programme to non-League football with interesting reports about South Shields, Macclesfield Town, Bury and even the Isle of Man FC. England’s pyramid system is unique and the envy of the World, so well done to the BBC for bringing it to the ears of the nation.
Also has Sky more or less given up on most sports except football? True the occasional major events in golf are still covered, but unless they have the rights for cricket or the Rugby League Challenge Cup they hardly mention them in their sports summaries. It’s football, football and more football that seems to be their main concern. However their match highlights far outweigh anything that Quest can show which is often a disgrace as Colin Murray continues to irritate viewers with his opinions that some matches are quickly skimped over, whilst those that were televised on Sky tend to receive overexposure. One of Murray’s irritations is his use of the word ‘listen’ as if the show is all about him.
Maybe it’s me who has become more intolerant in my dotage! Surely not?
When I think of Boro’s next opponents my mind goes back to the mid 1950s when another Boro (Peterborough United) were the kings of the Midland League before the pyramid system was born. Not that Peterborough were ever called Boro; indeed they were always called ‘Posh’ in those days apparently because when they were founded in 1921 they went under the name of Fletton FC where the owner stated that he was looking for posh players for the fledgling club, and when eventually they became Peterborough and Fletton United for awhile before disbanding and the current club were founded some 13 years later as plain Peterborough United, the nickname ‘Posh’ stuck to this day.
However I always remember Peterborough as dominating the Midland League in the 1950s. Indeed they won that League in five successive seasons from 1955 to 1960 before being elected to Division Four of the Football League and what an entrance they made scoring a total of 134 goals in their first season with Terry Bly smashing the post war record with 54 goals and immediate promotion to Division Three. In 1965 they reached the Fifth Round of the FA Cup after beating Arsenal 2-1 before losing away to Swansea Town 0-2 in a replay. By then of course ‘The Doog’ the Northern Ireland centre forward Derek Dougan had been signed and he scored 46 goals in 90 appearances for the club.
Since then they have been a yo-yo club between the Championship and League One with their highest scorers being a certain Britt Assombalonga netting 33 goals in 58 appearances in 2013/14 and Ivan Toney scoring 49 times in 94 appearances between 2018 and 2020. Nevertheless once again ‘Posh’ find themselves fighting against relegation, a club like Rotherham United seemingly too good for League One but not good enough for the Championship but with an outside chance of avoiding relegation only because of the points deductions to Reading and Derby County, though the recent away win against Queens Park Rangers has given them some hope.
One would hope that Boro will win this encounter on Saturday, though I have that feeling that the match will end all square.