How do our full backs compare?

With most fans making it known they wanted a left back signed in January and the club seemingly trying to sign one, it would not do any harm to have a look in detail at our full back’s performance stats.

It is generally accepted that Daryl Janmaat is Newcastle United’s most accomplished full back, so he sets the bar in terms of fans’ expectations from the rest of out wide defenders. At 26-years-old, Janmaat has a bit more experience than Paul Dummett (24) and Massaido Haidara, who is still 23. However, neither of our full backs can claim to be ‘kids’ anymore and now is the time in their careers that they should be asserting themselves as Premier League level performers.

I have devised a little system whereby we look at each player’s performance stats and award the winner of each discipline 10 points with 2nd place getting 5 points. For every assist each players has, they gain 10 points. The same goes for every goal scored. However, for every mistake made that cost the Toon a goal, the players loses 10 points.

Unfortunately both Dummett and Haidara have had their injury problems this season and have missed games. Dummett has only featured in 15 games compared to Janmaat’s 24 and Haidara’s 7. In order to get a clearer understanding of each player’s respective stats over a set amount of time, I will need to include Haidara’s 15 games from last season, which brings him up to 22 overall. For Dummett, I will simply multiply his stats by a half, which brings him up to 22.5 games – both those numbers are comparable to Janmaat’s 24 then… However because Dummett and Haidara have failed to turn out as often as Janmaat, the latter begins with +10 points for reliability.

So first up is chances created. This is key passes that lead to a goal scoring opportunity. Janmaat runs away with this one with 19, which is more than the combined scores of Dummett (6) and Haidara (10). Whilst we are on the subject lets look at assists. As expected the attack minded Dutch International takes first place with 3, giving him a total of 50 points. Next up is the Frenchman with one for a total of 10 points and bringing up the rear is our Welsh full back with zero, leaving him still searching for his first points. Staying with attack stats, both Janmaat and Dummett have a goal each, whilst Haidara has none. So what about testing the opposition ‘keeper? Again Janmaat leads the way with 6 shots on target compared to the other two’s one each. On top of that, Janmaat is by far the most efficient of the 3 when taking shots – with 75% accuracy compared to 25% for Dummett and 16% for Haidara. 20 more points to Daryl.

In terms of taking the opposition on, Paul Dummett lags far behind the other two with only 9 successes. Massaido Haidara gets himself 5 points with 22. Janmaat (30) runs away with this one. So how many successful passes have our players made? Bringing up the rear is Haidara with 525. Dummett nets himself 5 points with 550 and Janmaat takes the victory again by some margin with 700.

You will be pleased to know that from near on a combined 75 games, our 3 full backs have only cost us 1 goal from a blatant defensive error. That honor goes to Paul Dummett, who loses 10 points as a consequence. So how about defensive actions such as interceptions, blocks and clearances that if not had been made would have likely cost us a goal? This is where Janmaat finally comes unstuck with only 5 to his name. Dummett gains 5 points with 9, whilst Haidara takes the day with 12.

In terms of fouls committed, Dummett gains 10 points with only 18. The other two have committed 21 each. Who is our best tackler then? Well in terms of successful tackles, Dummett takes top spot again with 52. Janmaat is not far behind with 48 but Haidara is seriously lacking with only 31. Finally, we look at successful headers. Again, Dummett is top dog by some margin with 45. Haidara takes 5 points with 25 whilst Janmaat brings up the rear with 21.

According to the above system, our best overall full back is Daryl Janmaat by a Country Mile – with 105 points. In second place is Paul Dummett with 50 points despite being deducted points for directly costing Newcastle a goal. Massaido Haidara is found wanting with 40 points.

Observations would be that whilst Janmaat is known for his forward play, his defensive play is not bad either. He puts in his fare share of successful tackles but what really lets him down is his strength in the air. Defensively Dummett is the better of the three, with more tackles and headers. That said he is pretty rubbish going forward, which is an important part of an effective full back. I’d argue that his stats suggest he should be a central defender. Haidara is a middle of the road defender, who is generally effective both going forward and back, but not particularly great in any area.

In conclusion, we definitely need a left back with a bit of class. The question is, do we let go of Dummett or Haidara? I’d say given Haidara’s stats, he’s not good enough at this level and his injury record does not help. However, is Dummett really suited to this position?

About Shamrock

Like everyone here, support Newcastle United. Not the easiest side to feel good about at times, but it's our side!

169 thoughts on “How do our full backs compare?

  1. But he should certainly be staying away from anyone that young just to be clear – whatever advances he faces. Although I doubt if he reported them to the police or their familes they wouldn’t be reprimanded in the leas – whch is wrong!

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  2. I know she is intellectually and emotionally underdeveloped because she is 15 years old Stu – and the law is very specific in this area for good reason.

    As for the comparison between the ages of 3 and 15 – you are quite right that the sentencing should be different – aggravating circumstances and culpabity is taken into account when passing sentence which generally means you will rarely see a person given the same sentence for committing the same offence wording against a 3 year old and 15 year respectively.

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  3. Yes I accept that 15 and 16 year olds will throw themselves at footballers, but these footballers are not children and have a responsibility to make sure they are not using children for their own sexual agendas. There is a genuine defense for the incidents where a guy picks up a girl in a club and genuinely does not know the girl is underage. Under those circumstances they would not be guilty – but this is not what happened to Johnson. He knew what he was doing and went through with it anyway knowing she was a kid. End of story.

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  4. Not having that, Sham I am afraid. Impossible to say every 15 year old is underdeveloped. It’s like saying all 70 year olds are senile!

    It is clear he has done wrong and has admitted kissing the girl but I think it’s wise to wait for the final result before having him hung, drawn and quartered.

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  5. Shamrock
    February 10, 2016 at 16:14

    Try telling Graham Rix that you get found not guilty for not knowing the age of the girl you met in a club.

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  6. Ben Arfa says be feels loved at Nice and they saved him. In the same breath he talks about leaving g the door open to any club interested in him lol. Glad he’s saying well but he could not stick it at PL level in the long run and that was proved with 2 separate clubs. He was a lazy sod – but he’s got a he’ll of a dribble on him!

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  7. Everyone forgets Jimmy Page kidnapped a 14 year old girl and kept her indoors for a while so he wouldn’t arrested. Once she was older she stayed with him for a few more years! He never even got arrested for it!

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  8. I’m completely with SHAMROCK in this case. Completely disagree with your perspective STUART. And he won’t get the same sentence as a man who abused a 3 year old. But he’s a predatory sex offender to groom a 15 year old for sexual acts. I used to date a woman who worked for the Met Police as an analyst dealing with nasty stuff like this. If he’s going to groom a 15 year old, what next? An 11 year old?

    He’s messed up in the head. No normal guy in his late 20s grooms a 15 year old girl online, let alone a guy who is a multi-millionaire, has undergone all sorts of training regarding how to behave as a famous footballer and by virtue of being a footballer has a huge amount of options to get laid. The fact he chose to groom a 15 year old online rather than finding a WOMAN to have sex with shows me that he’s messed up in the head.

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  9. It’s not impossible Stu. Its the law and for good reason. And what you are repeatedly missing is that he did not merely kiss a girl. He sexually kissed and touched a child he knew was underage. Completely wrong in every sense. All the trial is going to show us now is just how far he went/intended to go. Either way the bear minimum is completely unacceptable and not understandable whichever way his sympathisers try to dress it up.

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  10. I know very few girls who gave up there virginity under age willingly. Mostly they did it to please their boyfriends or be like their mates ( not be the odd one out ) 🙄 Truth is, the level of maturity does vary with each girl but crushes are often confused with love I’m afraid and that’s a recipe for disaster in more ways than one. If a guy has genuine feelings for a girl he’ll wait. Most my friends, myself included wished we waited for the REAL right one rather than a fleeting crush.

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  11. STUART

    What happened and may have been ignored in the 70s, is not relevant to what happens these days. In 1972 it was often socially acceptable to discriminate against people for being female, non-white or homosexual. None of those things should have been acceptable then and they’re certainly not now.

    Imagine if this was your impressionable 15 year old daughter…

    And it doesn’t matter about rumours ok the £100k thing. This could just as easily be smear tactics from Johnson’s lawyers or the offer could have come from them in the first place.

    She was a child and protected under our law. Simple as that.

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  12. You are not sexually mature at 15 Stu, yep you can feel turned on and do it but it doesn’t mean it’s right because more often than not you will regret it. That’s a female perspective though obviously. I would say only this, if all he did was kiss her, why then did her dad kick off big time? And why have the CPS taken it so far?

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  13. Kim – He has admitted to kissing her. That we know he did because he has admitted it. The rest is accusations at this stage. We don’t know if he has touched her because he has denied charges of sexual activity on a more serious level to kissing.

    Just for balance I am still to see any evidence that he actually knew her age to be honest.

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  14. KIM

    That’s not even the point. What the hell was he doing grooming a 15 year old girl online??? In what way does that seem like normal male sexual behaviour? I did online dating in my 20s and when I found out a girl was too young, my mindset changed to thinking of her as a child and entirely non-sexually. Then I politely got myself out of the conversation and didn’t talk to her again. That’s normal behaviour.

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  15. Right we have all had our two penneth worth. Shall we move on?!

    A lot of talk today of us going in for Michael Carrick this summer. Don’t know where that has come from. Isn’t he 35ish?

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  16. For absolute clarity; If it turns out that he knew her age, chased her by continually contacting her with the objective of having sex with her and actually did have sex with her knowing her age then he is stupid and deserves to be punished. I just hope there are some mitigating circumstances as it will leave a very sour taste if a pro footballer has blatently done this.

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  17. STU

    He admitted he knew her age. Read the quote I posted. Was in the Independent I think. No idea why you’re defending him…

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  18. He has admitted to kissing and touching her. Both sexually and both when he knew she was underage. He has also admitted to grooming her, again knowing she was underage. He did this for 2 months.

    “But after some legal argument this morning, two of the charges were put to him again and he has admitted them.”

    Brunt added that although few details are known about the sex charge he has pleaded guilty to, it did involve the kissing and touching of his victim on 30 January 2015.

    Johnson has admitted to knowing that the girl was under 16.

    The grooming charge relates to a period between 30 December 2014 and 26 February 2015.

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  19. STU

    Please tell me that you’ve read and digested my posts. I know a fair bit about this because my ex worked for the Met Police. I know you often ignore what I write about football matter but it’s pretty important to get your facts right on this issue…

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  20. Stu, We’ll have to wait for the trial, I’m sure more will come out, CPS wouldn’t take it this far for a kiss surely. You know a girl can look over 16 or older but her behaviour and general conversation will inevitably give her true age away. I find it almost impossible to believe in all his online conversations with her that her real age wasn’t apparent, didn’t he ask her what job she did or what Uni or college she went too?

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  21. SHAM

    I’d like to move on too. Several of us have presented the facts as they are and it’s a little disturbing that someone is just bypassing them completely.

    Would rather talk about less serious matters on here too…Carrick? Sure. I’d love it if he wants to wind down with his hometown club. Would be a great role model for our kids, great captain choice too if his legs will last.

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  22. TDS – That was the charge he pleaded guilty to I agree. I am just wondering if he pleaded guilty because whether he knew her age or not he was going to get found guilty in the eys of the law. Maybe he thinks it will help him as he was going to be guilty regardless.

    I am not defending, I am simply giving a bit of perspective as I reckon we will find out that all is not what it seems.

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  23. I don’t see Carrick playing every week to warrant being Captain. Think that spot is reserved for Shelvey, but maybe he’d be good back up for Shelvey for a year or so.

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  24. STU

    People didn’t want to believe that a kids TV presenter could be a paedophile either so they made excuses for them and they got away with it…time to stop making excuses. Any man in his late 20s who grooms a 15 year old girl online while knowing her age is messed up in the head. I suggest reading up on it before commenting more.

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  25. kimtoon
    February 10, 2016 at 16:42

    The CPS are a pathetic, useless and down right PR driven department. They have put more innocent celebrities through the ringer in the last few years it’s beyond belief! When you finally get to see the evidence it is incredible that they thought it should go to court. Yet when they get really good evidence against retired politicians for abusing young boys they don’t think it warrants a charge and don’t think it’s in the public interest! They really are a joke!

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  26. Kim I reckon the story is a load of rubbish too given his age, but a small part of me believes maybe the board has realised that sticking rigidly to their policy does not work and it is a balance of experience and potential that we need…..

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  27. I don’t think Shelvey is mature enough for captain. Gini? Janmaat?

    Depends on Carrick’s contract status and how much he would cost. He might be a bit too similar to Shelvey mind you.

    Only really being linked because he’s a Geordie. Just like Carroll.

    Let’s not forget, priorities need to be left back, centre back and striker

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  28. Stop being so fucking patronising, TDS. Having an ex girl friend who was a police officer does not make you an expert.

    I don’t defend him, if he has done all this as blatently as you say then he deserves everything he gets but at this stage you really have absolutely no idea – just like everybody else, yet that hasn’t stopped you exptrapulating it.

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  29. STU

    You’re going way off topic now. I’d like to politely suggest we drop this topic before someone gets really offended.

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  30. So Noncyboy has a double case of getting sent doon this year. What an absolute shambles of a man. He knew she was young but still pursued it and denied all charges until now. noncy ****.

    Sunderland are also a disgrace for playing noncyboy

    Regardless of her actions, he’s a grown bloke that should of knew better..

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  31. Last comment after that!

    STUART

    My ex worked for the Met Police in the Sex Crimes Prevention unit. Just just a beat copper for ****’s sake! I even said that earlier. The **** she saw on a daily basis would make your toes curl. Her job was to spot habits of groomers and try to stop them before they rape someone’s 10 year old daughter. That’s what she did. Studied the habits of paedophiles to try and stop other paedophiles BEFORE they messed up some young kid’s life.

    And I’m only dealing with the facts. The facts that are reported as such and he had pled guilty to. I’m not going beyond those facts but for you to be making excuses for him and making out that the girl needs to accept responsibility is **** insulting, rude and backward.

    Don’t get involved in a conversation you know so little about, unless you’re prepared to listen and learn from someone who knows more. I’ll gladly bow to your expertise if you know more.

    Don’t care if this seems patronising. You didn’t seem to grasp the basic concepts of what people have been saying to you.

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  32. Worked with the probation service specifically dealing with child porn offenders. Trust me they know what they are doing. It is nothing to do with dates going too far. Given the wording in this casethere is no sympathy to be had for the footballer. Kickbacks are a red herring. I am firmly with TDS on this. Sorry Stu but you are arguing a poor case.

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  33. I don’t want to defend Sunderland for anything but if that fool told them he was innocent and was pleading such, they have to work off that.

    Was it right they lifted the suspension? That’s personal opinion I guess but the club can only act off what he has told them. They don’t have a camera on him 24/7.

    Not sure why I felt the need to say that but I’ve already seen places online talk about punishments to Sunderland for playing him. I’d love a points deduction as it helps our cause but not if it relates to this case. They aren’t mind readers.

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  34. FJ I agree. Sunderland will not have been given any info on the case by the CPS or Police as it breaches data protection. They can only go off what Johnson tells them and given that he has lied all the way through the process until he admitted some of it today, it’s fair to assume he has also lied to his employers.

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  35. FUNKYJESUS

    I’m with you. If a Toon player flatly denied accusations, I’d expect the club to stick with them. Innocent until proven guilty and all that. I expect they’re not too happy now…

    It will be seriously damaging for their squad though. He’s going to end up suspended at least, but quite possibly sacked. I bet a lot of his teammates feel gutted that he lied. Not good being let down by one of your mates that you work so closely with.

    Big test for Big Sam to work on their team spirit…

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  36. Sorry Shamrock! Hoped to find some time this weekend to do some research. If I knocked that one up now, it would be half baked and full of holes. I’ll have a think tonight to see if I can come up with something else I could write off the cuff though.

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  37. I’ll throw something together tomorrow if needs be.

    Hopefully the Scum.dressing room will be shattered and they don’t lick up another point this season!

    No doubt they won’t play him now, so they are missing a key Ayer from their starting line up and one of the best players. I feel a bit sorry for them really.

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  38. So people can read the facts, they appear to be laid out here: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/adam-johnson-trial-live-sunderland-10866665

    Important news, but I think no more need to go into any more discussions on this blog. I hope… 😯

    Another nasty fact. His child with his current partner was born in January 2015. This incident occurred in December 2014 and January 2015. Horrible little man.

    Just laying out the facts. Not looking for a debate.

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  39. SHAM

    I have said for a while that I think Villa, Sunderland and Norwich will go down. This just reinforces my opinion with regards to Sunderland. Though I also agree, no team deserves to be let down like that by one of their members.

    Villa have been on a resurgence though…that would be a miraculous escape! I do wonder if a club like Swansea or West Brom slide into the relegation zone…

    Oh, I wonder what happens to Berahino’s value if West Brom go down… 😆

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  40. Have to agree. Johnson should be out of football permanently. He needs psychiatric help as well. Whether such people can recover and lead normal lives is hugely debatable.

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  41. Now everybody has finished being an expert on UK law lets talk football. I won’t want any apologies when it turns out not to be as it seems like so often in the last few years with celebrity sex assault cases.

    WBA seem convinced Berahino’s value won’t go down in the summer. Although I would love to see them go down. Only because the owner seems to have a personal agenda.

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  42. Wish this Johnson thing would be banned on this blog,OK state the storey,which is bad enough but going on and on is to much I’ve have just stayed away from the site,don’t think there’s a Queens Council on this blog to know all the points of law,we have had our say,so lads and lasses just let the scum get what’s he due and a bit more and get back to footy or a laugh
    Ritchtoon is a big miss on here for a laugh and footy talk if anyone knew the footy rules re-the toon he’s the boy

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  43. On a football related matter – as much as I don’t like Liverpool – congratulations to their fans for their successful protests.
    Liverpool board have backtracked on the decision – which just goes to show that if fans are united & it gets the right sort of coverage, it can make the difference.

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  44. Shame Garfield the Bolton owner has died at 63 as much as I dislike Big Sam he kept them in the PL bled them dry like doing it with boring footy

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  45. castrate the mackem ******* using 2 half bricks – that’ll teach the **** a lesson.

    you can’t beat a milf or an old banger for your entertainment.

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  46. Yes I agree with, Sharpy. Fair play Liverpool. Although you do wonder what these owners will make of all this protesting over prices.

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  47. I can definately see sunderland going down without Johnson. Strange decision to offload fletcher. You would of thought they would of signed a winger knowing Johnston was going to court. Their new centerhalf half looks ****. They are solely relying on defoe 😳

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  48. Talking full backs I remember Frank Clark left back for the toon,he was the only player I ever saw that could run faster going backwards than forwards and yet went on to win the big prize with Clough,go rekon

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  49. They’re run as huge businesses these days. The average fan who wants to every game is not a big asset like it used to be.

    It might have improved the monetary value of the sport, but it’s definitely not improving the value to the communities. Sadly everything goes this way eventually…

    Wouldn’t be surprised to see some NUFC fans form their own local club at some point, along the lines of FC United and MK Dons.

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  50. GASHLEY

    It was £77 for certain tickets. I heard the Chief Executive (or whatever his title was) come out and say that the fans had misunderstood the price increases and that it would only target certain people. If they want to charge more for the corporate ‘fans’, I’m all for that! Fans who sing and chant should get cheap season tickets!

    I reckon the Liverpool fans are making more out of it to be honest, but fair play for making a stand on principle anyway, because clubs are pricing die-hard working class fans out of games. And those are often the ones who create the atmosphere

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  51. Cheers TDS

    I agree. I sat in the platinum club recently and the atmosphere was shocking. Around £90 a ticket 😯
    I’d much rather pay an average price but enjoy the atmosphere of a singing section… Ashley loved the singing section lol

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  52. Yeah, I’ve done corporate for various sports and it’s great when you can both watch sport, have a few drinks and do some work. But for the best match experience…sit with the proper fans! Done it with away Toon fans more than home, though I occasionally got a season ticket seat from someone when I lived up there.

    Also was with the Barmy Army when England retained the Ashes in Melbourne. Proper atmosphere there too!

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  53. Going away to games is truely mental. Brilliant laugh.

    If some fans want to go to a game and do some work 😯 they deserve to be charged £90 a game… 😆 It’s 90 mins to relax and forget everyday pressures… Work?? 😯

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  54. GASHLEY

    I closed a deal by virtue of taking a potential client to a Newcastle game. Was good fun and made me some money. But my company paid for the tickets… 🙂

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  55. Lol we were obviously playing someone decent as nobody travels and gives away company fortunes to see the toon 😉

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  56. Anybody watching Peterboro v Westbrom ? I am and can’t see how in hell Berhino is worth 20 million . Peterboro have made Wba look like the division 1 Side.

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  57. AXEL looks to me he doesn’t want to play for them,he’s just strolling around doesn’t give a monkeys

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  58. Berahino has just missed an absolute sitter in the last minute! Good – I hope he winked at that ****** Peace too!

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  59. Axel/Ice – I’ve been watching it and if I were a WBA fan I’d be so pissed at Pullis like. He set up with 5 at the back and then Gardener, Fletcher and Jacob in midfield – none are really attacking and haven’t given no supply to the front 2 you mention.
    I think we got away with not paying £22m for Berahino but I think he’s a lot better than he’s being allowed to show in this team.

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  60. Berahino has a very good conversion rate and would be a good signing for us, if he sorted his attitude out. I understand he feels hard done by, but it’s WBA’s right to keep hold of him and they are paying him handsomely. He should be professional every minute of every game until he gets his move.

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