No matter how hard you try.....

Hi there. My name is Simon although I generally use the name Toonsy when I adopt my internet persona.

There is nothing to it and it's merely a cross between my name (only my Mother calls me Simon when she is cross) and one of the nicknames of my beloved team. Toon for Newcastle United and Sy for, well, Simon.

Maybe it's the Jaegerbombs that have prompted this, or maybe it's an underlying feeling that I've had for a while. Who knows? What I do know is that there are a few facts that I'd like to get off my chest.

I'll be honest, this article was partly prompted by a guy who regularly posts on here under the name of AndrewT. He provided a link to another website which looked at the tactical setup for the Wolves game.

Now I must really stress at this point that I have nothing against anyone posting links to other sites. Those who are regulars will know that in fact I actively encourage such things. This is, after all, a community where we exchange views, ideas and opinions, which is contrary to what some bitter people who I've had conflicts with in the past will have you believe...

Anyway, getting back on point. AndrewT's link struck a chord with me. It made me wonder whether or not we offered enough as a site. I asked the question and he responded with a resounding "yes" which is fair enough. However I was left feeling disheartened despite the vote of confidence.

I was disheartened because this place was set up with the goal of being something original, something different, something that offered original thoughts to the general goings on at NUFC. To the best of my knowledge we've always offered that and it's something that I've always drummed into anyone that has shown a willingness to write for the site. Ask them and they will confirm this.

Maybe I was wrong? Maybe bespoke NUFC articles featuring real thoughts from fans who attend games is the wrong way to go? Perhaps every bit of news repackaged would prove to be more popular with folk?

This is not me saying that the site is dead. Never. A great way to gauge that is by the amount of comments we receive and, quite frankly, we are up there as one of the busiest in that particular area. What I really want to know is what people really want. Do we at .co.uk persist with our original aim, or do we get lazy and just rehash news every now and again?

Please help me because I'm becoming really disillusioned with having a team of writers spend their time thinking up original topics and different angles only to see rehashed news stories with little thought for readers dominate the headlines.

This place has always been about you guys, the readers, as it is you who makes the site. I may be dyslexic and I may not write the most lyrically spellbinding stuff, but everything I, and my team of match going writers publish, is straight from the heart.

I'll probably take some flack for this, but if I don't ask the question boldly and honesty, how will I ever know the answer to what makes your particular boat float?

Then again, I could have just covered an article in the paper instead of pouring my heart out....