52 thoughts on “Oxford United v Newcastle United: Strawman arguments and other ramblings

  1. Well said. Agree 100%.

    On a side note. Palace have had a bid accepted for Van Aanholt. That’s their left side reworked and hopefully frees up Townsend to leave now.

      (Quote)

  2. Is Van Aanholt really worth £14m? That’s a big fee for an average full back. Surprised Sunderland are asset stripping already. They won’t get PL standard players in. Maybe they are just going to start buying good championship players now with a view to giving them Pl exposure and bedding them in to hit the ground running next season in the fizzy pop league.

      (Quote)

  3. Shamrock:
    Is Van Aanholt really worth £14m? That’s a big fee for an average full back. Surprised Sunderland are asset stripping already. They won’t get PL standard players in. Maybe they are just going to start buying good championship players now with a view to giving them Pl exposure and bedding them in to hit the ground running next season in the fizzy pop league.

    Sham – wow, no he’s not worth £14m imo. Talk they are getting Neil Taylor from Swansea for £3m – not bad business if that’s the case.
    They need to use the rest of the money to buy players though – a striker in particular. But I think even if they do their fate is already sealed – they are goners this season.

      (Quote)

  4. I heard the fee was £9m rising to £12m … and done deal now I think. Actually I think Van Aanholt was one of their best players along with Pickford and Defoe. They will find it very hard to replace him.

    Still hoping we can get Townsend in this window. Not sure about all these other names we’ve been linked with.

      (Quote)

  5. £14M is the going rate nowadays as there is so much money in thew game. The big advantage Sam has is that he knows what he’s getting so that reduces the risk but generally £14m for an attacking full back is ok I guess.

      (Quote)

  6. Andy – don’t know what’s happened with the site or even if it’s just me, but ever since that second round of sponsored ads appeared I’m having real difficulties navigating on the site. I’
    It’s forever waiting for this or that, processing, connecting etc It’s taken ten minutes to write this piece. I’ve been on here since the start but if this continues I’ll just give up. Mac user by the way

      (Quote)

  7. Okay mate. I’ll look into it – would you mind sending a screenshot to [email protected]?

    I know people are getting a little peed off with the ads, it’s just hard finding a balance with them paying so little these days. Newsnow seems to be on its knees now as well.

    What I can do in future is disable ads on main threads after a few hours when the usual rush has left and only the regulars are commenting.

    georgio:
    Andy – don’t know what’s happened with the site or even if it’s just me, but ever since that second round of sponsored ads appeared I’m having real difficulties navigating on the site. I’
    It’s forever waiting for this or that, processing, connecting etc It’s taken ten minutes to write this piece. I’ve been on here since the startbut if this continues I’ll just give up. Mac user by the way

      (Quote)

  8. Georgio, no it’s not just you mate. I said the other day I been having loads of problems. Slow to be able to type a post and submit it. And getting told I had already posted it when I haven’t 😕 It tends to happen when the threads been up a while or I come back to the site having left it up. I can have other tabs up which are fine, it’s just this site for some reason.

      (Quote)

  9. It’s the freezing that does my head in, followed by nufcblog not responding. I have to shut down and restart up to 6 times a day.

      (Quote)

  10. Andy – thanks mate. I’d echo Kim’s comments really. Seeing a screen shot would make no difference.

    Seems like the policy from Rafa is clear now – only signings for the rest of the season, thus only loan bids. Hard not to agree.

      (Quote)

  11. Benitez has today said he is still confident of getting 1 or 2 in. He also said he does like Andros but at the moment there is no news.

    That says to me;
    A) Rafa definitely wants signings this month.
    B) Rafa definitely wants Townsend.

    I’ll be disappointed if the club does not deliver what Rafa wants. If not Townsend, at least a player or two that he specifically wants.

      (Quote)

  12. Just to second and third Georgio and Kim;

    I get lag typing on this site. It’s happening right now.

    It has really slow load times.

    It freezes often and I have to shut chrome down and restart.

    I have 4G and good WiFi strength.

    Other sites are fine.

    Definitely a problem with this site and will definitely reduce site hits if not addressed ASAP.

      (Quote)

  13. I wonder if Mitro is match ready? If so, this seems like an ideal time to give him some playing time.

    Seems a bit late in the transfer window for the Chelsea link to Darlow to come to anything. He will probably renegotiate his contract on the back of it as I am sure he could double his money there. It would be a pity to lose him as after a shaky start he has been excellent. Elliot was as well and Krul has been a good servant except for a spell last season when he seemed to lose concentration.

    We will lose at least one ‘keeper and you never know, Selz might figure out the PL. He wouldn’t be the first to have a rough start. De Gea didn’t start off that great and there have been others. Going years back Grobelaar was a show pony for a few years before he realized he needed to get serious.

      (Quote)

  14. I’m surprised begovic is so desparate to leave already. He must have known when he joined that he would be a bit part player.

      (Quote)

  15. Going back to ads. The PC/Chromebook site doesn’t have many but the mobile site has quite a few. I have disabled adblocker as I know the site owners have to make money somewhere.

    All of the “free” sites seem to be hurting. The Telegraph and The Guardian are asking for donations even. I don’t know how much longer this can go on because there is only so much advertising money to go around. The locals papers must be hurting as well because places like Craigslist took away the classifieds business.

    Something has to give, which will probably mean staff cuts. Can I nominate Lee Ryder 🙂 Seriously, people will not pay for news so something has to give.

      (Quote)

  16. Right, cheers for the info. The site seems to run fine on my mobile – I’m on it right now and it’s working razor sharp (although I’m on wifi).

    Kim are you still getting problems now even though the ads have been disabled? Has this been happening for a while or just recently? Could be down to something I’ve installed on it. I’m right to assume Sham, Kim and Georgio are browsing from the UK or Ireland?

    Going on from what Eric said, a friend of mine works at the Guardian and he says ad rates online have tanked recently. To couple with that, Newsnow is no longer the biggest source of traffic for the site, social media is.

      (Quote)

  17. Andy, Yes mate I am in Bristol, virgin media super fast broadband package and the problems started a few months back I think. Windows 7 using internet explorer as I like it but problem happens with Chrome also.

      (Quote)

  18. That last post took around 40 seconds to load ( I counted ) yours is the only tab I have open. post always used to load really quickly before.

      (Quote)

  19. Was just reading the website Football365 that has a letters to the editor section twice a day. I cannot believe what the Man U fans are saying; that there is a referee conspiracy against Jose and their team. Yes, that Man U, the one of Fergie time, the one that got like one penalty awarded against them in about 3 years at Old Trafford. I knew they had a sense of entitlement but now they have a persecution complex as well. Unbelievable. As if I needed another reason to dislike the arrogant, plastic sheep.

    Try losing to a **** team by having 2 red cards that were rescinded in the same game! We should get a replay.

      (Quote)

  20. And Jose says Man Us unbeaten run did not end even though they got beat 2-1. They won over 2 legs so the run is still intact. YCMIU. They were made for each other.

      (Quote)

  21. Sorry to bring up Man U. It is just that they call NUFC supporters delusional. I am also living in a Trump world now where they say there was voter fraud without evidence, where they are serious about building a Great Wall of Mexico and they are presenting “alternative facts” saying crowds were twice or 3 times the size of official estimates at the inauguration (some would call them lies, but who am I to judge). The number 5 book on Amazon over here is “1984” as a whole new generation gets to know the terms “newspeak” and “doublethink”. And this is only the beginning….

      (Quote)

  22. And just when you thought the world couldn’t get any more unfair, we have the Keys and Gray Show starting in a few minutes. Yes, the misogynist boys are back from sunny Dubai, not having skipped a beat and bantering with Daily Mirror lackey and all round ***, John Cross. Andy is getting fatter and browner with every passing day on the golf course and will turn into a human Scottish sausage if not careful. God they are smug and every interview is an **** licking contest between them and their guest.

    Alright, got that off my chest 🙂

      (Quote)

  23. Fighting relegation and Palace are going to spend over £10 on a Van Aanholt?! What does Allardyce think he will do? 😆 Palace fans you are toast, it was good while it lasted but now back to where you belong I’m afraid. 🙂 😆

      (Quote)

  24. And don’t get me started on Paul Merson… everything he ever says is either wrong or stupid. It is like having Troy Stavers on your television.

      (Quote)

  25. Tick, Tock. Waiting for Troy to admit he was wrong on everything. Remember when Troy used to come on here? That was his favourite way to address anyone who disagreed with him. Woo hoo, where is he now, tick, tock. Running away from his predictions, that’s where.

      (Quote)

  26. Eric, good to have a rant mate, get it off your chest I say. This time last week I was livid over my bloody house move and my language would of shamed a docker as we say in Bristol. Anyway a week later, two and a half grand poorer, 16 weeks of stress and no new home later I am just calming down.
    Oh and I predict a win tomorrow.

      (Quote)

  27. Kimtoon: I am not particularly bothered about much of this stuff like Keys and Gray, I just think they are symptomatic of the way football has gone. I think Trump will be trouble though because he is nuts. He will soup up the economy and that usually leads to excess and a massive hangover when it ends. Someone else will have to pick up the pieces because that is always the way this **** works. And I am just seeing if I can shame Troy enough to get him on 🙂

    Sorry to hear about the house falling through.

    We need to get back to the PL so I can see a few more games and comment on actual NUFC games instead of newsnow stuff. They are showing reruns on NUFC TV so I might check them out, but it is never the same as live.

      (Quote)

  28. Oh FFS: Keys and Gray are doing a Wembley special. Andy just prised an anecdote out of Keys of how he, Keys, was instrumental in getting the statue of Bobby Moore put up outside the stadium. They are standing in front of the statue of course and apparently some years ago Keys rang some advertising exec saying there should be a statue of Bobby Moore outside the new Wembley. This ad man was later appointed to the Wembley Board and of course Keys is taking all of the credit. It is just so typical of these 2 wankers and of course it wasn’t a set up 🙂 Andy had to really try hard to get Richard to tell us the story.

    Does Richard Keys have any teeth? He never smiles and his jaw and cheekbones look like one of gurners.

      (Quote)

  29. Good article Andy mate. Who would you field against Oxford United. You want us to have a good FA cup run but we have 4 games in 2 weeks coming up after that. Would you field a strong side? I’m thinking of what injuries to key players might do to us, especially if we get nobody in.

      (Quote)

  30. Ice: lend Toad of Toad Hall MBemba. That would seal the Mackems’ fate.

    I don’t like Fat Sam but if it meant the Mackems going down at the hands of the man that kept them up it would be comedy gold, Jerry. Comedy gold.

      (Quote)

  31. i remember we tried to sign
    GRENIER a few times but got injured hes now joined Roma,pity he looked a good prospect at one point think we went and signed Benny

      (Quote)

  32. Allegedly Palace have asked for Mbemba as part of a sea for Townsend. What do people think about that then? Personally think we’re well stocked at centre back and he’s obviously not on Rafa’s wave length as he hardly plays.

      (Quote)

  33. I think we might regret letting Mbemba go. Don’t mind him going on loan but would not agree a permanent transfer at any time. Think he has a great future.

      (Quote)

  34. Groucho:
    I think we might regret letting Mbemba go. Don’t mind him going on loan but would not agree a permanent transfer at any time. Think he has a great future.

    i agree one of best defenders in the PL for the toon at that time,at the price he cost )cheap) no way would i sell him

      (Quote)

  35. I would try to sell Palace on Steve Taylor instead of Mbemba. Of course if they say yes we would have to get Steve back in time to pull the deal off. A loan of Mbemba yes but outright sale of him? Nay I say.

      (Quote)

  36. How much money are Palace asking for Townsend if we throw in Mbemba? I don’t like it if it’s more than 15 pounds 50p.

      (Quote)

  37. What has happened with Mbemba anyway? It’s surprising to me he hasn’t had more playing time. Seven league matches and one EFL cup game. Here’s a shocker. Transfer Markt value him at 10 M pounds! Astounding no?

      (Quote)

  38. Don’t everyone try to comment at the same time now. It could extremely backed up on here. I’m just saying I think we could afford to bring back Saylor to give to Palace in part exchange for Townsend. It’s fair and it’s the right thing to do. 😯

      (Quote)

  39. It could get extremely backed up is what I mean. And you all know it’s the right thing to do. I’ll let you decide Andy mate…..

      (Quote)

  40. Rodz would know what to do at a time like this. I’ll try establishing psychic contact…… Come in Rodz……**** it we need you man!!!

      (Quote)

  41. President Donald J. Trump has today signed an executive order mandating the use of leftover spaghetti in place of reinforced concrete in all Manhattan highrises. To facilitate this new initiative he has authorized the new building commissioner, Donald Jr., to exercise eminent domain on all Brooklyn Italian eateries that will henceforth be known as Trump Pasta Industries. The new Minister of Alternative Facts, Sean Hannity, said that pasta had long been used as a building material in Italy in such structures as the Tower of Piza, that there was no risk to the public of the buildings falling over and that it would provide much needed employment for Italian Americans taking photos of tourists with their arms outstretched pretending to hold the buildings up.

      (Quote)

  42. Just on the site speed etc… it works fine for me on my phone and pc. Not sure if it is a site issue so much? Maybe IP issue?

      (Quote)

  43. Chief Executive of Trump Pasta Industries, Baron Trump, 12, commented: Juan Hernandez took my lunch money at the 42nd Street Y today, can we build a wall around him Dad? Er… I mean, this innovative new building material will help make America great again.

      (Quote)

  44. If Rafa doesn’t feel Mbemba is getting his instructions by now then I say go with the swap for Townsend.
    I agree with Stu, we are pretty well covered in defenders now and Dummett & Findlay are there, Hayden can cover at CB if things go really wrong.
    We’ll get promoted scoring goals & Townsend would contribute to that in my opinion.
    Might feel different if Rafa had been using Mbemba more, but his lack of game time suggests he’s not in Rafas plans.

      (Quote)

  45. Sharpy, I am inclined to agree mate. I do like Mbemba and thought he looked like a future star for us but as you say he hardly gets a game now so as we have back up we may as well loan him BUT only if they loan Townsend .

      (Quote)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *