I'm worried about 4th place

[Superblue 6,370]

Realistically there is no positive to finishing outside the top four. It would create a host of problems and would, rightly, be considered a disaster.

I dunno, winning the Europa League might be a nice little confidence booster when we go back into the Champions League the following season. Probably not the european trophy Roman was after but hey ho...

[The Big Drog 1,110]

I dunno, winning the Europa League might be a nice little confidence booster when we go back into the Champions League the following season. Probably not the european trophy Roman was after but hey ho...

I don't think it would be consolation at all for Roman Abramovich considering how much less money to receive for playing in the Europa League compared to the Champions League, especially considering the delicate balancing act we are trying to perform financially with the financial fairplay rules on the horizon, it would be hit.

Also at a time when we are trying to build a new squad capable of challenging and winning the top trophies, it would be far more difficult to attract the names capable of doing such things when you are playing in the Europa League compared to the Champions League.

[Ollie 4,400]

after the first game of the season, Pulis' verdict on us. I think he got it wrong lol.

[Superblue 6,370]

I don't think it would be consolation at all for Roman Abramovich considering how much less money to receive for playing in the Europa League compared to the Champions League, especially considering the delicate balancing act we are trying to perform financially with the financial fairplay rules on the horizon, it would be hit.

Also at a time when we are trying to build a new squad capable of challenging and winning the top trophies, it would be far more difficult to attract the names capable of doing such things when you are playing in the Europa League compared to the Champions League.

There should have been a hint of sarcasm within my last post, I know it won't be any consolation whatsoever.

However on the subject of the FFP, it may force the club's hand to let some of the higher earners leave the club. The higher earners are the older players most of who need moving on. We have been much better negotiating wages over the last season or two (I believe Mata is only on about £60k pw) but whilst the 'old guard' still earn megabucks:

(1) we'll never stand a chance of breaking even

(2) we'll always struggle to keep other players happy, if they feel they're contributing more to the club yet being paid a fraction of what others are.

The likes of Arsenal and Spurs have always maintained strict wage budgets and I'm not saying drop completely down to their budgets but there is no reason why we can't have an excellent squad without extortionate wages. The signings of Cahill, David Luiz, Ramires and Mata have shown that.

[Blue Armour 4,286]

after the first game of the season, Pulis' verdict on us. I think he got it wrong lol.

Lol..like he said, we HAD the squad, where players like Anelka and Benayoun could come off the bench to make top 3.

Now we don't have them, and their potential replacements in the form of Kakuta, McEachran and DeBruyne are out on loan....

[Ollie 4,400]

"They'll be in the top 3 again this year"

We were very good that day tho, just went badly, badly wrong.

[Henrique 9,133]

AVB fucked with everything. We dont have a squad to win the PL, thats for sure, but we also dont have a squad to be in 5th position, 5 points behind the 4th place at this stage of the season.

It was weird that many fans were supporting the guy until his final moments, and there are some that still believe we did the wrong thing sacking him.

[Ollie 4,400]

Like with most things, there is a case to keep him and a case to get rid. But as Roman chose option B in the end, he clearly did it too late. It shoulda been after Wigan or Norwich.

[Spike 12,049]

It is still possible but we have to rely on Spur's idiocy and incompetence.

[English Freak 456]

Out of the 8 games left, we got Villa; Arsenal; Fulham & Liverpool away...and on current form, I don't see us picking up more than 6 points from those 4 games.

[Ollie 4,400]

We never win at Villa and we aint good enough to win at Arsenal. Oh and we never beat a Dalglish team either. Fulham is tricky, Newcastle at home is tricky, QPR and Blackburn will be fighting, Wigan just won at Anfield and will be fighting. There's not even a glimmer of hope. Tottenham need the mother of all fuck ups to happen to them.

[Kezza 1,965]

Just want this season to be done! Don't care if we don't win, just want the boys to actualy show up at each game and give it their all. If they come away with silverware, good fucking stuff, if they don't, oh well, as long as they try.

We aren't going to finish in the top 5 if we continue on with this attitude.

[Jase 43,479]

Out of the 8 games left, we got Villa; Arsenal; Fulham & Liverpool away...and on current form, I don't see us picking up more than 6 points from those 4 games.

On current form, I don't even think we can pick more than 2 points from those games! We have only won 1 of our last 8 PL away games and trips to Arsenal & Liverpool are already generally tough. Craven Cottage is always a tricky place to go and Villa Park is our bogey ground, no guarantee we'll win there despite how rubbish Villa are under Alex McLeish.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Consider where we have been this season, and where we are.

Now consider us winning the FA Cup, getting to the last four of the UCL and finishing fifth in the league. Would you take that?

[neel 257]

with current form no body expected us to thrashed napoli. I have still hope that we can make it. Even if we can't make it that will not be as disastrous as people here anticipate. We are not in financially turmoil situation. We can still attract talents. For next few years only two Manchester clubs can guarantee the CL spots. Remaining two spots are open for us arsenal and spurs. And I can not believe that we will fail to secure CL spot again.

[Justin_3d 1,140]

AVB fucked with everything. We dont have a squad to win the PL, thats for sure, but we also dont have a squad to be in 5th position, 5 points behind the 4th place at this stage of the season.

It was weird that many fans were supporting the guy until his final moments, and there are some that still believe we did the wrong thing sacking him.

Funny you said that. Well let's look at another club that has a squad and how they are doing:

The attacking trio of Demba Ba, Hatem Ben Arfa and Papiss Cisse which put West Brom to the sword at The Hawthorns yesterday cost a total of just £11 million. At £9m Cisse accounts for the vast majority of that, while Ba didn't cost a penny in transfer fees. Elsewhere in the side there is Cheick Tiote (£3.5m) and Yohan Cabaye (£4.8m), who have both helped transform the midfield and left few on Tyneside pining for Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton.

Compare that spending to the main signings of Chelsea over the same period — Oriol Romeu (£4.5m), Juan Mata (£23.5m), Romelu Lukaku (£18m), Fernando Torres (£50m), Ramires (£19m) and David Luiz (£21m) — and the Londoners should feel embarrassed that they are currently level with Newcastle and in the only guaranteed Europa League spot on goal difference.

As for Liverpool, their own major purchases over the past three transfer windows — Charlie Adam (£8m), Stewart Downing (£20m), Jordan Henderson (£16m), Jose Enrique (£5m), Luis Suarez (£23m) and Andy Carroll (£35m) — may have won them the Carling Cup but have not gained them many admirers outside of Anfield, where they lost to Wigan on Saturday.

In a way, Newcastle's transfer policy since their return to the top flight is not really much of a policy at all. Refusing to overspend on transfer fees and signing your best players to long-term contracts is exactly how football clubs should handle their affairs. The fact that a club — and Newcastle, of all clubs — is earning praise for such an approach probably shows just how poorly managed the sport of football is as a whole.

The basis of Newcastle's current success is not exclusively down to this new model, of course. Pardew has inadvertently benefited from the former excesses of the Wise-led 'Cockney Mafia'. Players such as Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez stayed on Tyneside despite the club's drop to the Championship in 2009, at least in part because the lack of relegation clauses in their contracts kept them on Premier League wages in the second tier. Newcastle may still be in with a shout of the Champions League with eight games left to play, but you can bet that any new contracts signed these days are far more thoroughly prepared.

A lot of credit too must go to Pardew, whose personality and ambition surely plays a major part in convincing players of the potential of the project on Tyneside. Most, if not all, of his signings could surely have earned more money elsewhere.

Brendan Rodgers and Paul Lambert may be the top candidates for the Premier League's Manger of the Year award, but Pardew can certainly lay claim to being the best of the division's English coaches. Sure, that's from a shortlist of him, Harry Redknapp, Roy Hodgson and Terry Connor, but the point still holds that he has done a great job since he replaced Chris Hughton last season.

If Newcastle can continue their run of shrewd signings this summer and keep hold of their own star men, then it will not be a surprise if they are at least skirting the top four this time next season.

So we keep blaming the coaches? It was Carlo fault? AVB fault? RDM fault?

Wake up and smell the coffee, there is a club that came from relegation and is putting our administration into shame!

And do you think they care? Do you think they will do any better?

[capriccioso 2,545]

What's genuinely scary about Newcastle is they've done all that with that clown Ashley in ownership of the club.

[Krypt 241]

Consider where we have been this season, and where we are.

Now consider us winning the FA Cup, getting to the last four of the UCL and finishing fifth in the league. Would you take that?

I would take that , i always hold the FA cup with high regard. either way if we didn't qualify for even the Europa league i would still be here next season watching this team. having a shit season puts things in preservative really of what really matters in football.