Dear tf,
More shame should be heaped onto the board this week for some appalling statements from Llambias and shame should be heaped on our regional media for not challenging them. When they're not ignoring us they're either patronising us or insulting us.

Your True Faith conundrum sums it up well. Are we expected to hail Ashley as a hero now? After all he's done to our club and our heritage? Like all Newcastle fans (despite what sky sports news and armchair fans of other teams tell you) I don't expect success (as if after 50 years!) and all I want is for the club to be run competently within it's means (which are pretty vast with our support, 20th richest in the world) and hopefully some success relative will surely follow. Just being adequately run with common sense and some ambition and belief in our potential is all we're asking for. Not much is it? For Llambias to suggest we're being unreasonable is another flaming insult and is another exact demonstration of the complete arrogance and lack of understanding which boils our piss so much.

We all recognise that Ashley has put a massive amount of his own money in, well loaned it, unlike Shepherd, but he's lost that money through his own bad judgements, greed and incompetence whilst attacking our heritage and icons and insulting us. I've got no sympathy for him.

It's an absolute joke that they're still releasing statements saying they admit they've made mistakes and that the fans should cut him some slack and let's move forward together. He's said it all before and then screwed something else up and put the club on the market again. There's no guarantee that he won't try to sell again in the summer or any time something goes wrong. He has no plan to take us forward so how can we back him?

We will never have stability and forward planning as long as he is there in sole control of the club. If he won't sell he needs to take the Supporters Trust on board and sack Llambias to be replaced with someone who can do the job. If he believes in Houghton he needs to back him this summer and if not he needs to find a well established manager. I don't trust a word that comes out of the club and I don't have any faith that he'll be good for the future of NUFC.

I hope no supporters are swayed by these appalling and insulting statements from Llambias this week and lets show our anger at the home games.

Andy, Ashington.

Dear tf,

Can't believe the club have allowed Sky to shift the Plymouth game. Why not have a stand-off and win the moral argument? What can the football league do about it? Why didn't we refuse to move the game? Probably because our club is run by spineless, incompetent, money-grabbing prats who don't care about the supporters, think I just answered my own question.

We need nice loud choruses of;

'Sky TV is fucking shit!'

especially for the benefit of the live sky cameras and legions of armchair supporters around the country glued to the TV whilst insisting we 'aren't a big club'.

Good luck to anyone who does make it down there.

Andy, Ashington.

Dear tf,

Alreet Lads?

I'm exiled living and working in Bristol. A mate sent me this link to youtube - this lad's got an allotment show and, even though it's in Bristol he's a Geordie and even wears a toon hat in some of the video. This is one of the weirdest but funniest things I've ever seen.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXNe_aYeQro

Hope this gives you a laugh!

Tony Sumner

Dear tf,

Thought I would share this non-event with you.

I live in Oz and a couple of mornings ago, after staggering beery eyed out of bed, put Sky news on the box, Oz Sky news that is. At the bottom of the screen is a constant ticker tape of headlines, I looked up from my tea n toast and read from the ticker tape headlines ' Newcastle manager Chris Hughton charged with supplying ecstasy and cocaine'

I thought, fuck me, I have learnt from many years of following the Toon that 'expect the unexpected' was written especially for us, plus other sayings such as 'if it can go wrong it will', also applicable to the Toon. However, this one had me gob smacked, even cynical, glass is half empty type of person I am in regards to all things NUFC, I never could have seen this one coming.

So, the text finger came out to inform all expat Oz Geordies as to the latest fuck-up.

I then went interactive by pressing the red button ( yes, call me the Zen of technology) to put Sky UK on......nowt there, then on-line to Sky Sports and other UK media....again nowt, I was expecting TV crews outside SJP and the usual rent a grunts they interview.

All seemed strangely wrong before my eldest came in, checked the headlines on his PC thingy m'jig and told me that Chris Hughton of the Newcastle Knights is what the story was on about.

Now I'm sure you will all understand my misinterpretation, I was hungover, the ticker tape whatsit was speeding across the bottom of the screen and I read, Hughton, Newcastle, charged ecstasy n cocaine.

I'm sure there’s a lesson there somewhere but what I'm fucked if I know.

Keep the fine crack coming for us lonely, NUFC info starved expats who need to hear the 'real' crack from the fans.

Dale Down Under


Dear tf,

Was anyone else looking forward to possibly the best weekend fixture of the season, south coast mid April, top craic potential

Does anyone else have any fuckin idea how they’re going to get Plymouth and back without two days off work

The longest journey in league football…..who are these fuckin muppets, aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS sympathy to those that have already lost money on pre booked travel, I wonder if fat Mike will pay em out of his extra TV dosh, actually no I don’t, of course he won’t.

Richard Lightfoot