The Beard

19. Johnny Haynes?

8. Sol Campbell? 11. Trevor Cherry? 12. Ray Clemence?

I will be gobsmacked if I get one spot on. 1. The worlds longest river according to our source is the Nile. How long is it in miles.? About 4,000 miles 2. The worlds longest river according to our source is the Nile. How long is it in km.? Need a converter, so about 6,500 km 3. In 1990 what was the population of Tanzania.? 10 million 4. If you take 1 pound (lb) of cobwebs and spread them out in 1 straight line, how long will will they be in miles.? 25 miles 5. What is the distance between London England and Paris France, as the crow flies? About 200 miles 6. The World's second largest desert is the Australian Desert. How many square miles does it occupy.? 1.000 miles 7. What is the Earth's mean distance from the Sun in Miles.? 93 million miles, about 8. What is the maximum depth of the Atlantic Ocean in feet.? 30,000 feet 9. Queensland is the second largest state in Australia, how many square kilometres is it.? 500,000 10. How tall is Salisbury Cathedral`s spire from ground to tip in feet 300 feet[/quote

Well I will be totally gobsmacked if I get one spot on. 1. The worlds longest river according to our source is the Nile. How long is it in miles.? 2. The worlds longest river according to our source is the Nile. How long is it in km.? 3. In 1990 what was the population of Tanzania.? 4. If you take 1 pound (lb) of cobwebs and spread them out in 1 straight line, how long will will they be in miles.? 5. What is the distance between London England and Paris France, as the crow flies? 6. The World's second largest desert is the Australian Desert. How many square miles does it occupy.? 7. What is the Earth's mean distance from the Sun in Miles.? 8. What is the maximum depth of the Atlantic Ocean in feet.? 9. Queensland is the second largest state in Australia, how many square kilometres is it.? 10. How tall is Salisbury Cathedral`s spire from ground to tip in feet

1. Gymnastics? 6. Harness racing if not trotting 7. Diving? 8. Gaelic Football 9. Baseball

NOOOO the Santa Dash is before the Stoke game, complete with Blue outfit.

Oops number 8 has already been answered and I still got it wrong.

1. perform a Rudolph and a Randolph- Judo 2. Throw stones at houses- Curling 3. Use a mashie or niblick- They are golf clubs 4. Stand at silly point- Not the best cricket fielding position 5. Start at the south stake- Croquet 6. Sit in a sulky- Trotting, I think it's the little cab the jockey sits in 7. Employ the O'Brien shift- Triple Jump 8. Win the Sam McGuire Trophy- Rugby Union, I would have said Baseball 9. Abide by the Cartwright Rules- American Football 10. Trim your sheets- Sailing A couple of complete guesses there.

For what it's worth I'm marching on Saturday.

Oops my mistake Mike regarding Larwood and Jardine and Shane Warne sounds good, if correct, as he would probably do something like that as part of his overall make up. I know Tuffers enjoyed a drag so must be one of them.

As blue Sky says. There may be a small charge for the obligatory, necessary paperwork?

As an avid follower of Lancashire, celebrations this year, for the first time since 1937, I should get some of these. 1. Who is the Bodyline style bowling attributed to? Harold Larwood who got fast bowler Douglas Jardine to bowl at the body and down the leg-side, in the 1930's, i think. 2. In a One-Day match, if a team needed 8 to win from the last ball of the innings, what should the batter do? Hit a six and hope it's a no-ball or run four and hope they get four overthrows OR am I missing the obvious? 3. Which businessman turned cricket upside-down in 1977 when he lured many test cricketers away from test matches to play World Series Cricket? Kerry Packer 4. Who was the first batsman to score more than 500 runs in a single first-class innings? Brian Lara for Warwicks against Durham, I think. 5. Who was the first batsman to be given out 'obstructing the field' in test match cricket: MMM Graham Gooch was given out for handball, I presume that isn't the same? 6. With which spinner did Nicorette chewing gum manufacturers sign a four-month deal on condition that he did not smoke during that period? Phil Tuffnell was a smoker, have to say him. 7. When a bowler oversteps his mark, or is called for 'chucking', what would be the umpire's ruling? No Ball 8. Which team featured for the first time in the 1992, cricket World Cup. South Africa 9. Whose record did Len Hutton break when he set the record for the highest score ever made by an Englishman? W G grace or Wally Hammond 10. Which famous cricketer had a Test batting average of 99.94? (Clue: He was'nt English) Sir Donald Bradman, who was once out for a pair playing at Liverpool (Aigburth) 11. Which player was dropped from his team though he had scored a double century in the prior test match: Geoff Boycott, for being too slow. 12. Except for the fact that they are all Indian, what do K.S Ranjitsinghji, K.S Duleepsinghji, B.C Khanna, P.B Dutta, Swaranjit Singh, Santhosh Reddy and A.N Bhatia all have in common? All took 10 wickets in an innings OR all played for England as they had English passports, obviously many years ago?

I managed to get Stuart Broad and after establishing the link of England footballers and England cricketers I still got nowhere getting Graham Onions.

Second wind...... 6. A Sicko tailor- Alistair Cook 10. Hey! Meek lies- Emile Heskey 11. Y! one gay lush- Ashley Young

1. Roger Benter- Robert Green 2. Tom Rat R.I.P.- Matt Prior 3. Finer Android- Rio Ferdinand 4. Yore One yawn- Wayne Rooney 5. N. Liable- Ian Bell 7. Bar A Pavior- Ravi Bopara I'll let someone else have a go at the rest, my subtle way of saying I have come to a standstill.

8. Steve MacManaman?

May be so Mike but having the answer in front of you, albeit through a link, makes no appeal to me. Like I said, just my opinion.

Q. Whats the point of asking a question and for the recipients to be able to look at the answer before they think about it? A. None Just my opinion.

This.

Mike on one of the levels the balls got stuck at the drop allowing me to get a high score. I don't know if I did something right or it was a fluke.

That was probably Newcastles worst performance this season and they still had enough to beat us. Awful performance all round, just what does Moyes have to see before he changes things, so negative in his selections and 4-5-1 was found out years back but he still persists with it. We may have an 'easier' run of games coming up but I am beginning to worry about the future because nothing positive is coming from the club and when your manager states on match of the day " we felt coming up here we probably wouldn't get anything" hardly instills confidence. Things need changing and quick.

Rodwell just about for me in a poor performance, yet a draw may have been a fairer result . Newcastle probably played their worst so far this season and still got three points.

Regarding the season ticket sale, if you go on the site I did the q&a session they mention that they are moving fans closer to the away section, creating a larger space for the family section. This is where the higher allocation has come from. There are also comments that they can now get back up to the 50.000 crowds, so seems capacity was cut for whatever purpose.

Ok lads I had a tremendous response to the lads and lassess at nufc-forum and here is a cross section of their replies. All the answers can be seen in full by following the link in post one of this thread Forget about who you have or have not played so far, a 10 game unbeaten run at anytime is not to be sniffed at, even better at the start of a season to instill confidence, so, what has changed at the club to bring about this start to the season and how long will it last? toontumazA manager who knows what he is doing and some quality players brought in. We also have a youth team brimming with lads knocking on the first team door. We've avoided the top 3 and Liverpool but we've still played Arsenal and Spurs and not been beaten. Its down to being solid defensively and having plenty of pace on the break. Niffoc88 I believe its to do with Barton Carroll and Nolan going to be honest. They were characters to say the least. But them going may have caused others more likeable to step up. and now they have alot of team spirit. NATHNUFC Won't last much longer, quietly confident of beating you on Saturday, although it will be a tough game, then after that we have City away, Man U away and Chelsea home there has been big changes at the club, from the backroom staff, to the manager, to the players. Bit of a gamble, but it's paying off, so far..... GatesheadMaga lot of togetherness in my opinion, as much stick as the board have got from fans (myself included) they seem to be making strives to try to put things right at the moment....other than that your guess is as good as ours not one Newcastle fan was expecting this start TT Think the lads have become a unit,given the fact the new boys have settled in great...hope it lasts against you toffees like relegation season A steady ship is the order of the day at NUFC these days, a solid work ethic and a team playing for each other has helped, along with a couple of quality signings NCBAY - pardew ? we play as a unit, so far strong at the back, good quality new players and spirit. more than one game plan. if it was hughton still in charge everyone would say its entirely down to him so credit where credits due. GeordieT We have been fortunate with injuries and suspensions, allowing us to have kept a fairly settled team, particularly at the back. People forget as well we were playing decent football last season and should have finished in the top half; with several top signings - Ba and Cabaye most noteworthy and Pardew having a pre-season to dictate the style of football he wants us to play its all come together nicely. How long will it last? Well I would be disappointed if we were to lose at the weekend, but accept that we will almost certainly lose at City in a few weeks time. So in other words, probably one more game. Aspri We have always had a team ethic since the championship season it did wonders for us, and I think we have added a lot of creative quality at budget prices similar to when a customer purchases adidas clothing from sports direct, top notch at low prices! toonbarmy I'm not sure how many would agree with me but the main reason why we got relegated a few seasons back was simply because of the chairman. If you go around sitting with the fans, acting like a prat saying whatever you like, showing how your nights end in the newspaper then what do you expect, do you honestly believe the players that you employee will play professionally and have respect for you, no. Since relegation I believe he's had a wake up call and thought back to how he built his business (sports direct) and probably remembered what he did to get their and since that season in the championship, we as a team have played with more professionalism and more passion for the club. I have to give credit to Ashley even though we as fans haven't fully forgiven him, were hopefully on our way. Scoot Who knows how long it will last. After you's we have 3 horrible games so i have a feeling it might end very soon. Was Alan Pardew at the top of your list as a your next manager and has this changed, even taking into account the start to the season? sambWell, of course he wasnt at the top. I doubt he was at the top of anyone's list. I didnt even have a list, because Hughton was manager! But that's for another day haha. Erm, with our form and how we've been playing, of course my view on him has changed. I don't see how it couldnt have. He seems like a top bloke too, actually. Seems to have a good relationship with the players, they all want to play for him and it looks like he's got some good banter with them. Have to say, I'm impressed. GatesheadMagnowhere near, I was actually devostated when he was announced, 'job for the boys' and all that....but i'm happy for him to make me eat my words...which he's doing in a big way at the moment. Stoke last night being a prime example, got everything absolutely spot on with his tactics NCBAY far from it - somewhere near the bottom for 99.9% of nufc supporters. however he is winning everyone around. see the last answer. its early doors and its only fair to judge him after a full season but he does appear to be a tactically aware manager, he's also honest with the media and he's got a smile to die for. cant fault him so far this season. GeordieT I was simply disgusted with the appointment at the time, not so much on reflection of Pardew but the way we sacked Hughton and replaced him with a manager, who I believed was not significantly better as to have got rid of one of the most popular managers we have ever had. But away from that, you can't fault his appointment, very pleased with this start and largely pleased with what he did last year. Benny Definitely not but what the bloke has done so far really cant be sniffed at. Tactically he's been sound and the signings that he's made, whilst not setting the world alight at the time, have mostly come good chris_tyne I don't think many people had a major problem with Pardew himself, but were more disappointed with the way Hughton was treat by the board. It was he who created the team spirit last season which saw us finish higher than most of us expected. Pardew has done extremely well to not only keep it in place, but improve the team spirit that exists within our squad. I like Pardew, his training methods are apparently second to none in recent years out our club and the players seem to like him to, which is most important Killswitch He wasn't even on my radar and my opinion of him has always been mixed , i thought he'd done a good job previously in some difficult circumstances ( some of his own making) . My opinion currently is that he's our manager more because he's got less backbone than Chris Hughton and Ashley wants a coach not a manager because Nufc is his toy and nobody else can play with it That said he appears to be a class coach Your two leading scorers from last season have since left the club, and your chairman Mr Ashley appears less prominent in the general media, is this any co-incidence with the new found form and unbeaten league run GeordieDazYes and No, if a chairman is doing his job he should be seen and not heard, so Ashley (and by that i mean Derek Llambias the Managing Director as Ashley never speaks directly to anyone ) keeping quiet and letting the team get on with things is definitly a plus, as regard to leading scorers leaving, nobody wanted Carroll to leave as he was class for us, not so for Liverpool...so far, Nolan scored all but 2 of his goals pre January, this is no coincidence as Carroll knocking them down for him to run on to wasnt uncommon, however this season almost every fan had Nolan starting on the bench, so him going wasnt a major loss for us, the form of Best (not maybe in goals scored but in workrate etc) and Ba (is it 8 in 4 games now?) means we arent shy in front of goal either and we also have Cabaye cropping up with a few too. odog Carroll and Nolan done really well for us and were a vital part of us ending up midtable but we seem to have replaced them with better footballers and formed a stronger overall team and way of playing. Nolan's major benefits were his goals and influence but in games he can go missing due to lack of pace, fitness levels and not being very mobile. Cabaye has took over his rule and i'm sure you can appreciate what a good footballer he is. Benny Mike Ashley started off at the club with a reputation as a shrewd businessman and a bit of a recluse, this all changed and mistakes seemed to be being made everywhere, now it seems he's gone back to being what he's known for, working well behind the scenes. His decisions in regards to Carroll, Nolan, Barton and Pardew have all proved correct so far so I'd say there was no coincidence at all. Doyler88 Carroll and Nolan did a great job and i respect them for that, Unfortunately for Nolan his legs were wearing out so it was time for him to leave with his head held high and i am still gutted about Carroll to be honest as i really thought he would stay for his whole career, Ashley is and always will be a hindrance to this club, Carroll would still be here if he gave him the money he wanted, but he is getting better and hopefully if he gives Colo a new contract and we sign a good striker then i may change my opinion. Aspri Andy Carroll is good but promotes a crappy style of hoof football, we are better off without him especially at 35million.. And Nolan wouldn't of made the team this season anyways. invisiblehand - Good question! Nolan was a big personality in our dressing-room, perhaps too much so at times. This is not to deny that he served us wonderfully so far as his on-field performance is concerned, but he was not going to maintain that level for much longer in any case and, with the wonders of hindsight once more, it looks like decent business that he moved on when he did (his fee and the reduction of our wage bill). The ponytailed one now residing with your rivals was more difficult to swallow, irrespective of that huge cash-in, because I think we were starting to believe we had finally found a worthy bearer of our hallowed no.9 burden who would serve the club for life. I'm not suggesting the two cases are wholly analogous but I think there might well be shades of your sale of a certain Mr Rooney in there. Had he still been here I think we would be in an equally strong position, though perhaps his personal life would have always cast doubts about his attitude, doubts which (bar Nile Ranger's perpetual self-destruct button-pushing) we appear free of at present. That's been a refreshing change and it adds to the positive atmosphere at the club. And here's hoping that Ashley has decided to take up and remain in a back-seat in terms of staff interventions... andyeswecan Not so much Ashley (although I did hear Stevie Taylor say that the owner has been less hands on, so perhaps it is a factor), but getting rid of Nolan and Carroll has allowed us to completely change our style. In the past, we looked for Carroll and Nolan thrived on knock-downs, whereas now we tend to keep possession and play a more technical game Apart from the obvious form of Demba Ba, who else has contributed in a major way so far this season? toontumazJonas is by far the biggest performer for us so far this season. Colocinni has also been fantastic but Jonas is the star man for me this season. Works hard defending, always willing to drive the ball forward and his crosses are much improved since when he first arrived NCBAY- the whole 'spine' of the team ie krul, staylor, colo, tiote, cabaye have been excellant. not forgetting jonas whose work rate is second to none. theres been very few negatives so far from anyone to be honest and we've got a few chomping at the bit - ben arfa, marveaux and some of the younger players like vuckic waiting for their chance relegation season There's been a good few, Collo, Cabaye, Jonas has found his crossing boots, I think the team spirit has done more for us than previous seasons GeordieT Cabaye is the signing of the season. His passing is a joy to watch. Alongside Tiote we are solid in the centre of the park, those two just work so well. Killswitch For me Cabaye complimenting Tiote perfectly adding and Ryan Taylor's been great as a stand in left back . Krul has stepped up in goal and Collocini seems to bring the best out of organising our defence leading by example What is your opinion of Everton's start to the season and where do you think they will finish come May? relegation season I think your squad spends its summer hols in the Amsterdam hash cafes! daft starts then steady away as the season goes on, your sorted now. toonbarmy Apart from the loss against QPR(not an easy side as we know) you've done incredibly well. The top 5 are always tough and too get a point is a very good result. I definitely think you guy's are going to give everything on sat. odog You's always seem to start a little slow but put together decent runs throughout the season. A good solid team who have done well especially considering your financial situation. Not seen much of your live games to be honest so not clued up on how well you's are playing but heard you could have got something out of Manure. I see you's finishing top 8. Good manager in Moyes. chris_tyne I was very worried for you toffees going into the season, especially after losing Arteta and without a great deal of investment. I have a lot of time for Everton, so I like to see you doing well. It hasn't been the best of starts, but you have had a VERY tough run against the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, City and Man Utd. So looking at who you have played, form isn't important in my opinion. Drenthe looks like a quality player, and will impress a lot of people this year, I just hope he doesn't have his shooting boots on come Saturday, as he looks like he can get a goal from nothing. I think you'll finish around mid table, hopefully in the top end. NATHNUFC Had some tricky games, not being able to play on the opening weekend wasn't ideal and then I believe you lost at home to QPR following a bit of fan unrest and concerns about the club and lack of funds. You've had a fairly testing start, looked unlucky against Man U and Rodwell never should have been sent off against liverpool. Even taking all that into account, I'm surprised to see you 16th in the table, although it's still very early days. samb As usual Everton have had their slow start to the season. I have no idea why, but it always seems to happen! You're a solid team though, and obviously relegation should be an issue. Top 10 again, I'd say. Better hope Drenthe doesnt get called back to Madrid though, eh? What in your opinion will be the tactics of both sides on Saturday and who might the matchwinners be? toonbarmy Very very cautious first half, trying to figure one another out but I think Cabaye and maybe Ben Arfa coming off the bench should get us home. GeordieDaz We should be 4-4-2, same team/formation that beat Stoke, with perhaps Tiote coming in for Guthrie if he's fit (should be) it's what we've done most of the season with some 4-5-1 changes, i'm not sure what formation you guys go for, but the battle as always will be in midfield, this is our strong point especially with Tiote playing, so matchwinners for us will be Tiote as he bosses all, Cabaye for his technical gifts and Jonas as he tracks back and defends brilliantly but also runs all days and takes people on, if these 3 have good games (which they have been) then we'll win...i believe. Doyler88 I think we will dominate the possesion and you will play on the counter, Baines down the left and drenthe will probably be key for you if they play? Gut and Ba for us will cause the most threat for you chris_tyne I think it'll be a decent game if I'm honest. You'll be desperate for a win and we'll be desperate to keep this unbeaten run going. I'm hoping Tiote plays, because Rodwell and Felliani are very physical and may cause us a lot of problems. That said, we coped with Stoke without Tiote. I think Drenthe will show his class, but I'm also expecting Cabaye to have another solid game to. My prediction, is a 2-0 win, with Best and Ba on the scoresheet. invisiblehand I can't see Pardew changing too much so far as we're concerned, the only 'problem' being whether to replace Guthrie (who had his best game for us against Stoke) with Tiote, but I suspect he will if the latter is back to full fitness. My concern is your side's ability to pack the midfield, so it may be that Hatem Ben Arfa (remember him? ) comes in for Best or something similar, but again it seems that changes will be limited. It's hard to say who our matchwinners are at the moment because they're all chipping in, in different ways. Best and Ba are obvious threats, but watch out for Gutierrez too - he's going through a purple patch at the moment in all aspects of his game. As for Everton, Cahill has a good record against us and hasn't scored for a while so is sure to on Saturday and Drenthe's form is excellent so marshalling those two will be our priority. I'll mirror what others have said and conclude that whoever wins the midfield battle will win this game andyeswecan I think the game will be won or lost in midfield. In our last home game against Wigan, we were largely stifled as an attacking threat and outnumbered a bit in midfield. In fact, we seem to have struggled most this season against the 4-5-1 formation. It depends largely, as well, on which Everton side turns up. I'm expecting a tough game. Everton rarely give anything away with ease. Your score prediction GatesheadMag heart: 2 - 0 head: 1-1 TT Heed says 2-1 Toon.....heart say a draw(would still w@nk over this GeordieDaz You guys are a good team and I'm sure our unbeaten run is going to end very soon, but I dont think it will be on saturday, 2-0 win to the Toon. Doyler88 2-1 to us Scoot 2-1 to Newcastle Niffoc88 2-2 There you have a cross section of some replies as I mentionesd earleir a great response so go see all replies in full The Beard