Are you ready for the big kick-off?

Premier League football back on the agenda at SJP
In just a few days time we see the return of the Premier League. You can put the tools down, put the wife away, pat the kids on the head and get down to football for the next nine months!

Alright maybe it isn’t quite that extreme but the football season is close to the hearts of many fans of clubs up and down the country and, being realistic, we are no different.

So take this as a little preview of this season if you like. I won’t go into too much depth as Premandup has not long set me a more in depth at what he thinks could happen this season, so I’ll stick with being general about things and ask if you think we are prepared for the new season?

When you look at pre-season you would have to say that it was alright. Nothing spectacular, just alright. We played some good teams and some bad teams, we won games and lost games. Most importantly though a lot of players got a chance to impress and the majority of them took it with both hands and can be expected to be given further chances to impress in the coming weeks.

If there is one thing that is slapping me in the face like a bit wet fish though, it’s the lack of action some of our first team players have seen in our pre-season campaign. Yohan Cabaye has only played something daft like 18 minutes during pre-season, and others like Papiss Cisse and Hatem Ben Arfa haven’t played much more. Tiredness is a reason apparently, although I wonder if their exclusion has at least something to do with wrapping them up in cotton wool?

We shall soon find out I guess…

In terms of transfers in, I’m pretty sure I’m not alone when I say that I’d been hoping for more in through the door than we’ve seen so far. However it’s important to remember that we’ve not lost any of our big hitters so far and at the moment it looks like it is going to stay that way. Our first XI hasn’t been weakened although, much like last season, an injury or two in certain positions will leave us exposed although there is still time for these shortcomings to be addressed.

We have a very tough start to the season, not just in terms of opposition but also in terms of frequency of games. We have three games in the first week of the season, or five games in the first two weeks of the season if you prefer to look at it like that, which is likely to stretch our resources to the maximum early doors. I get the impression that the way our season pans out depends on how we come through the opening two weeks of the season.

Anyway, I’m ready for the new season and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do.

The question is, what do you think we can manage this season?

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

272 thoughts on “Are you ready for the big kick-off?

  1. B&B@149, it appears Ice said it mate. 😆 .
    I tend to just play the ‘agree to disagree’ card if an argument keeps going around in circles. I’ve never really liked arguing and try to avoid them. I’m too defensive. 😆

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  2. Ice – Spot on, fella. I don’t know how more people don’t see it. Can you imagine what its like when he’s had a drink?

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  3. Off topic, and I’m sure it’s been said before, but who the **** decided International friendlies 2 days before the Premier League starts was a good idea. What’s the point? I really don’t get it.

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  4. One thing I don’t understand….why do people want Europe only to focus virtually solely on the league? If there’s no real financial gain to Europe and people aren’t fussed about winning it as a cup, why even bother to finish top 6? Just for that extra 750k we get per place? 😯

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  5. Rodz-It’s so the national teams get the players when ideally they’re in decent shape, before they have the chance to get injured 😉

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  6. Rodz @153 – Dead right. What’s that about? The same person who thought it was a good idea to order that kids need to have the same colour tape to keep up their socks as the socks. Different colour, can’t play.

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  7. B&B, different colour tape to socks?!?! Why, that’s an OUTRAGE I say, an OOOOOOOOOOOOTRAGE 😈

    😆

    …all that ‘red tape’ for a pair of blue socks eh 😉 😯 🙂

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  8. I would expect us to finish top 10 , I think we will finish top 8, depending on injuries form new players in etc etc there is no reason why we cant attack the top 6 and top 4 again. But we will need a bit of luck and need 2 or 3 players in. We need our players to show their form from last year. Be tough but it can be done

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  9. Ice@161, no mate. Still waiting for the dumb farts at my insurance to get back to me over how much they’ll give me. Bloke who’s dealing with it is like the fkn Scarlet Pimpernel.

    I’m back mobile though, I got my other (older, about 1990) bike fixed at a frame builders over the weekend and it’s running like a dream again. Proper hand-built frame and forks with all the trimmings. I’m glad they nicked the Orange and not the good ol’ Saracen. Other one looked nicer, all shiny with disc brakes but was probably worth less. Needed a lot of work doing to it too and was a bit dangerous. I hope the ****** ended up under a bus. 😈

    …yeah I saw Batty’s one on eBay, that was a penny farthing though. Too big for me, I’m only 4ft 6.

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  10. Johno, that’s it. It’s all riding on these 2 or 3 ins that everyone knows we need. Hopefully it’ll happen. I’m sure Charnley and Owlheed aren’t just stuffing their faces with custard creams in the boardroom.

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  11. About 10minutes into the england game, Adam Johnson proving again he’s the only englishman that can actually take on and beat a player…bar Rooney, when he’s not playing for England 😉

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  12. 😆 Fergie couldn’t get fit in pre season to impress so he goes and scores 7 minutes into an international 😆 well done lad, happy for him

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  13. Ice, I’ll have to meet up with him sometime then. Be nice to be the slapper rather than the slapee for a change. 😆

    …that sounded wrong actually. I don’t aspire to be a slapper.

    I’m not watching the Inglun game. Watching the Argie game.

    Jormins down to 10 men. Keeper sent off.
    Argie penalty………

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  14. I’m sure some point last season Messi had a stat where he’d missed 4 out of his last 8 pens or something ridiculous.

    Average player, he’s no Shearer like 😉

    Or Ameobi….. :mrgreen:

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  15. Newkie, it was one of those fucking ridiculous skippy-stally-namby-pamby-stoppy-starty side-foot bollocks efforts. They get on my tits.

    It’s a penalty FFS, just run at the ball and belt it! 😯 If the ‘keeper gets a hand to it he’s breaking his wrist.

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  16. Rod-Aye, that was my tactic as well :mrgreen:

    I mean, I guess Messi isn’t your typical build for *smashing it* and hurting anyone but at the end of the day, how he misses penalties is beyond me.

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  17. Rodzilla says:
    August 15, 2012 at 20:10
    Johno, that’s it. It’s all riding on these 2 or 3 ins that everyone knows we need. Hopefully it’ll happen. I’m sure Charnley and Owlheed aren’t just stuffing their faces with custard creams in the boardroom.

    If I was Managing Director of any company that is what I would do. And drink tea. And that is why Im not Managing Director of anything 😆

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  18. Yeah Newkie, he’s hardly low on confidence is he.
    …maybe that’s the problem. Too cocky.

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  19. In answer to the initial question. No I am not ready. No season ticket as yet. Haven’t bothered phoning the box office as I live 80 plus miles away and can’t collect anything till saturday. Has anyone had similar problems and contacted the box office. They are not renowned for their helpfulness

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  20. ….I thought they were illegal penalties anyway 😕
    I can remember watching a game a while back where the player got made to re-take his penalty 3 times. Can’t remember who it was but he scored all 4.

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  21. Johno, if I was MD they wouldn’t be Custard Creams, I’ll tell ye that for nowt! 😆
    …at least Penguins. Mebbees push the boat oot for Wagon Wheels. 😎

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  22. Rod- I think it’s illegal if you actually stop before you shoot, but if you just slow your running and fake it its allowed? Or summit daft..

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  23. Johno, I’m held in high regard in the biscuit world. 😉

    Bats, did you see why? Could’ve been tactical? (I.E. bullshit)

    …I’m sure Lille’s president wouldn’t want a wantaway transfer target getting injured. Or any potential club he’s moving to for that matter.

    TLR, that’s ***** how you ain’t got your season ticket yet. Talk about ‘putting your clients first’ and all that.

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  24. …Newks@185, yeah sumik like that I think, but how do you distinguish what’s a stop and what’s a slowing down of pace over 5 strides or so? Typical case of overcomplicating the rulebook. They tied themselves up in knots over offsides with the ‘daylight rule’ a while back.

    Whatever happened to common sense and the referees word being final in subjective conditions. You can’t ‘proceduralise’ everything and live by the book. There are always grey areas, and that’s why you hire a human being to give the final word.

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  25. 187-Aye exactly.

    But referees aren’t human beings. They seem to be strange looking imitations, with little to no common sense…

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  26. Don’t understand why RVP to Man Utd has happened at all. Obviously a class player, but where do they fit him in! 😯
    Very surprised Fergie went for him. He’s 29 and injury prone. Would’ve thought central midfield and central defence would be of much greater importance.

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  27. Solano-Simple, they put him as their striker sitting ahead of Rooney. He’s better than Welbeck, Hernandez and Berbatov, no question. Meanwhile those youngsters can be impact subs and get rotated, never really thought much of the Welbeck/Rooney partnership.

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  28. Axel, interesting concept there.

    The Jaffa Cake theory would suggest to me they’re dipping their mucky paws into the half-time energy biscuit supply; the same biscuit stockpile which is supposed to be used on players. 😡

    😆

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  29. I can’t believe they let him go for 24mil though…I mean, 1year left okay, oldish okay, some injury problems sure…but in terms of quality…best finisher in the league.

    Bar Cisse :mrgreen:

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  30. RVP’s gone then? I missed that. Too busy talking about biscuits.
    Story of my life. 🙄 Better check newsnoo……..

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  31. Axel I like your thinking, its that sort of thinking that could get you a seat on the board of directors 😆

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  32. @B&B

    I’m sure you find this tiresome as it must be awful getting pulled up for misquoting others and twisting opinions. Personally, this is a breath of fresh air and I’m finally able to gather hard evidence against you.

    First of all you state;

    You say “twisting quotes again”. No twisting quotes, fella. Everything in quotes is your words; cut and pasted, pal.

    Let’s get this in order. I set out 5 questions and you have set your post out as if it’s a conundrum and I have to guess which answer is linked to the questions I pose.

    In order of questions i posed to you .
    Q.1. Please can you produce the quote where I said I want all the Carroll money spent?
    Your answer in the middle of the jumble;

    B&B – We are still waiting for the Carroll money to be spent”
    – was a clear criticism of the regime.
    If you do not want all the Carroll money to be spent, why do you say you are still waiting for the Carroll money to be spent?

    You conveniently miss out where I’ve repeatedly stated throughout and from the outset that the money should be made available to Pardew when he wanted a CB. This is the main thread throughout and I have reiterated that at no time do I expect all the cash to be spent but made available when required.
    Post 375 13.12hrs I state;
    I believe a great deal of the cash could have been invested over the period since Carroll was sold. I trust the judgement of Pards and Carr to identify players and they repeatedly have done so. Pards is still waiting for his CB.
    This is the first example of a twisted quote.

    Q.2 Who is the CB that you believe is up to the standard to step in the first team now which is what we need?
    (this was in response to you telling me a centre Back had been bought and may be the best in the team by Xmas)

    B&B- You keep saying Pards has been denied a centre back to the detriment of the club. If Pards wants a centreback as a priority, why is the club using what money there is to capture another midfielder? Be patient, stop criticising, and we will get a centre back.

    STRANGE COS YOU ACTUALLY SAID WE BOUGHT ONE?
    Why didn’t you answer the question correctly?
    Even for instance if you hadn’t mentioned the imaginary CB, have you conveniently forgot that Pardew stated he was after a centre back. I know you have criticised the club for not getting aCB in and I would enjoy it if you say I’m misrepresenting you on this issue.

    Q.3 why did you ask me a question that we knew the answer to at the very first post I sent you over 48hrs ago?
    (this was in response to you asking me how we could spend it when Llambias had used all the money)

    You provide a quite long dialogue stating I’ve changed my stance substantially. A total mismatch of twisted thoughts.

    I have always maintained that Ashley stated at the point of sale that all the cash would be used for the team. I have always maintained the same figures throughout. IRO £55m sales £25m purchased.
    My stance has never changed never mind substantially. You don’t provide any evidence in your post to say its changed.

    You try and muddy the waters again by mentioning a bet I had which I won and never had anything to do with the subject we are talking about. Why bring that up? Absolute desperation.

    Q4 . I wanted to know what you thought was wrong with my opinion that money from the surplus transfer cash should not have been made available for a CB.

    The only answer I can find in your jumble is this one ; If Pards wants a centreback as a priority, why is the club using what money there is to capture another midfielder? Be patient, stop criticising, and we will get a centre back.

    Again, you have stated over a considerable period a CB was a priority. Pardew made it known throughout last summer it was.
    Are you really suggesting it mustn’t have been?
    It was a priority last summer and nothing’s changed. I’ve maintained throughout the money should have been made available. If one comes, it’s a year too late.

    Q5. I ask why you accused me of misquoting people and asked you to name those I had. I even explained the circumstances to you in that JJ had accused me and neither Wellington nor me accused each other.

    You still comeback and state; You say, “As far as Wellington goes. I can only assume you haven’t read his post either? If you have then no one was accusing anyone of misquoting.” What did Wellington mean @411 when, following your quote, he says “This is false.”?

    Have you actually read his post and link he provided? Have you read the post I returned. He doesn’t accuse me of misquoting anyone. He refers to his opinion what Ashley meant by stating the cash would be invested in the team. It was an interpretation what it meant.

    You then state CC pulled me up about a quote;
    CC @319 questions your Llambias quote and you say @359, “(Sorry I said Llambias instead of saying Pardew who was quoting Llambias’ boss. )” Really!

    I responded to his post and stated I got it wrong, it wasn’t Llambias it was Ashley who told Pardew.

    How desperate are you looking now. I got the quote correct but the name wrong but it was beneficial to me as it was Llambias’ boss that said it.

    I see you fail to mention JJ. ? Why? You even stated that you thought I had misquoted JJ. You talk about me not getting anything correct.
    All my posts are done on a mobile phone and don’t have the benefit of reviewing the post thoroughly.

    JJ apologised today for misquoting me btw. 😉

    You say Munich Mag had me in knots at 227.
    Really? He is simply questioned a Quote which was addressed to you and if he had been following the debate between us he would easily have recognised I missed out Carroll in the sentence.
    He questions what the word IRO means which is an abbreviation of In Region Of – which is commonly used when talking of figures particularly selling mags.
    Wow! In knots?
    You really are struggling fella.

    My stance remains the same throughout this debate.
    You try and bring underhand issues such as irrelevant bets, misquotes which you have failed to substantiate and twisting my words.

    Grandad Les whispered to me on his deathbed.
    ” watch out for Brownlie kidda, he will misquote and misrepresent you. Don’t let him get away with it”:-)

    Anyway, tell me where most if not all that Carroll money disappeared to.
    I’m still waiting. 😉

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  33. You have your priorities right Rod! **** Man u and Arsenal 🙂

    Tell Mr kipling I want him in the board room in the morning 😆

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  34. I see you’re moving up in the world Johno, at a rapid rate at that! 😯
    As for Mr Kipling, I’m afraid he’s been arrested and detained in custardy for peddling tarts.
    🙂

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  35. Just heard that Garrabalddi has left the club , staiting their was no room left for Italian biscuits at the club . He claims the scottish shortbreads are taking over with help from the Rich teas .

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  36. Hopefully Arsenal have already bought the players they’re planning on using to replace RVP….Giroud and Podolski? We can compete with that 😉

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  37. Troy, I bet you always used to camel-bite B&B as a kid when Granda Les wasn’t looking, then get him grounded when he retaliated. 😆
    …could the accused Mr B&B please step forward. What have you got to say in your defence……….?

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  38. Axel-you heard wrong mate, the Scottish shortbreads are running out of business. Ashley invested 10% into them for personal use though, so they might come through….

    Great goal by Defoe. Pull a hammy…pull a fecking hammy… 😕

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  39. …well that’s 50 quid in the bag for me with an Argie win. Knew watching the England game would be fruitless. 😎

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  40. NEWKIE i think one or two of these new players at diff clubs will get a bit of a shock in PL and take a while to settle imo,we have been very lucky in that respect giroud and hazzard at chelsea come to mind

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  41. I reckon Sir Alex chucked a twinpack of bourbons in on the deal to clinch it for RVP ,all makes sense now like.

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  42. Axel, I heard Garibaldi had been Hobnobbing with the big cheeses in the biscuit world, so it comes as no surprise really. He was always a Breakaway type player.

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  43. Ice-Agreed..would be nice for Giroud to end up like Chamakh, but he’s got a bit more about him I think.

    Podolski though…even if he “adjusts” it shouldn’t matter too much, really overrated player imo although he plays well for his “country” and Germany always do well so people here rate him.

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  44. Ice, I have a feeling Hazard will get a shock like. I’m not too sure about him.

    …it is mental though, how the big I.E. super rich clubs, don’t seem confident about buying players unless they cost more than 10m.

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  45. Rod-I think its a fan thing as well. Everyone knows about Hazard. Mainly from football manager…but they know, makes them feel confident that they’re a real footballer and makes them feel like they’re real fans….*cough glory hunters* 😉

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