WhatTheFunk

He is not and never was captain material tbh. He may be the skipper on the pitch, but I think our real captain is Shay (at least I hope).

We reached these lows when we got rid of SBR, and failed to replace him with any professionals.

Why the fuck then did you not join them>?

Top Post.

Thank you. This is the point I was trying to make in the other thread. Roeder is clueless. Oh, and for the record, it's Roeder's comments in the press that I am against. Do all the supafans remember their reaction when Robert came out and put pressure on his teammates ahead of Lisbon? This is what Roeder is doing now. The cunt.

Aye that's right, less pressure on him to score in half an hour in front of 48,000 people most of whom need no further reason to hate him. More pressure in front of 2 or 3 thousand of our lot in Italy in a game we probably go into as underdogs tbh. Not the point. You're missing it. I'm talking about Roeder's comments "ball is in his court now, must show what he can do to stay in the team" etc.... Why make these comments? Just let him ****ing play is all i'm saying. I'm no defender of Luque, but I also think Roeder is a fool, and is failing miserably in dealing with underperforming players. Some of those replying to my post are only interested in continuously pointing out how shit an expensive Spanish import is, and that THEY can see it, but the "kids" can't etc.. etc.. were you around when Gordon fucked McKeag etc.. etc.. I'm only interested in our manager trying to win every game possible for this club. Nowt more, nowt less. Luque should have been given a chance, and a PROPER chance (like the countless chances Bramble, Dyer, Ameobi et al) have had under all the different managers.

Sorry, but Roeder is a cunt for making the comments he has made re Luque starting. He is throwing him into a game away at one of the most in-form sides in Europe, and putting the pressure on to perform. We are shit, disjointed, tactic-less, and shorn of confidence. Does he really expect him to perform? We should be bringing Luque on after 60 minutes of a scoreless game against Charlton at home, and not away to Palermo.

Luque isn't a striker, he's a wide player. Sorry but that's bollocks

Excellent signings all 5 of them. It's just that it's probably rubbish rumours

Personally my bout of apathy set in when GR was announced as the next full-time manager. Now I'm in the angry cycle again, as I see with every game that the man is a below average, mediocre manager.

Purely spin and propaganda (IMO). The empty seats have certainly hit them where it hurts. For once I look on in optimism that something will give, and we will go back to being a real football club once again. SHEPHERD OUT

I've tended to agree with you quite often lately (as I start to see all things NUFC a bit differently), but I must disagree with you on this one. As Dave said, he was putting those away for Villa, so it can't be Milner that's the problem. It's a problem with the team, the manager, and the gameplan he sets out. The key word here is confidence and awareness. That's what wins you games, cups and titles. Most players out there are almost equal in talent/fitness/technique on a grand scale. It's those who have the most awareness and confidence that tend to exhibit this talent more, and use it to effect on a consistent basis. Milner is a fine footballer, and is still very young. Haven't seen anything in him yet to tell me he absolutely cannot make it at the top. Quite the opposite actually. Not under managers like Souness and Roeder though, I'll tell you that much. However, considering the circumstances, I totally agree that in no way should Zoggy be sat on the bench during this run. If anyone can get us out of this slump it's him I have the most confidence in.

you may be right, but believe me a far worse scenario is having a board who have no ambition or courage to compete with the other big clubs. I have tried to point this out - this is not directed at you mind just a general reply within the thread. When you have a board who is like this they can appoint managers until doomsday and if they are good we will lose them and we will never succeed. I don't consider regular european football to be shit application by the way. Until Souness, the previous 3 managers were all appointments that a majority of fans were happy with, quite a lot of fans would have chosen those managers themselves in fact. Don't expect me to back a change to people who may not have ambition or the good of the club at heart, this would be a nightmare scenario and unfortunately you yourself, despite a pretty decent post, also seem to be unaware that is it highly possible - at least that is how I read your comment about "shit application". What I meant by "shit application" is the following: To run the massive business that is NUFC in the past decade, you need high levels of consistency, professionalism, credibility, and a hell of a lot of good PR. This is where Shepherd falls short. He's been inconsistent for example, when it comes to spending (2003/GS), treatment of SBR (you don't sack SBR/sacked him) He's been unprofessional at the wrong times He's put his creditibility in question with comments about smaller clubs, Rooney, top 8 jobs in the world etc.. Do I really need to comment about bad PR? He may be an ambitious fish, with the club's interest at heart, but he's too small a fish for the vast ocean that is running a football business these days. I'm not saying he's never done anything right. It's just that he's gone and fucked things up at the wrong times, when it really mattered. I can assure you now that an ambitious board/chairman who run the club and put the money up for the manager but makes an odd daft statement in public is a damn sight better than a gentleman who runs the club like a modern scrooge, and lacks the vision and enterprise to tap the support of a football club. You don't need to look around at our own past, look around at other big city clubs that we have overtaken and have attracted nothing like our results, european qualifications and support. The sad thing is - and again I don't mean you - is that there are people out there who STILL don't understand that we could easily, very easily, replace the current board with one like this. I very much agree with you in that replacing the current chairman with another, could end up being disastrous for us, and could have the total opposite effect than that which we all hope for. However, look at it this way...Roeder let's say is a decent manager, who will guarantee us a top 8 finish every year, with the odd fantastic team performance and european qualification every now and then. It is a damn sight better than where we were headed under Souness. But do we stick with Roeder simply because we might get a worse manager? The club needs a change. Like someone said earlier, the Hall/Shepherd era ended the day Shearer retired. They based all of their plans on what was to come after signing him. We've failed to use the best damn English centreforward in modern times (and a Geordie at that!) as a conduit to the success we've been starved of, and have waited for all those years. We came close, but not close enough. We need a new plan and a new direction, and just hope that things will get even better.

you may be right, but believe me a far worse scenario is having a board who have no ambition or courage to compete with the other big clubs. I have tried to point this out - this is not directed at you mind just a general reply within the thread. When you have a board who is like this they can appoint managers until doomsday and if they are good we will lose them and we will never succeed. I don't consider regular european football to be shit application by the way. Until Souness, the previous 3 managers were all appointments that a majority of fans were happy with, quite a lot of fans would have chosen those managers themselves in fact. Don't expect me to back a change to people who may not have ambition or the good of the club at heart, this would be a nightmare scenario and unfortunately you yourself, despite a pretty decent post, also seem to be unaware that is it highly possible - at least that is how I read your comment about "shit application". What I meant by "shit application" is the following: To run the massive business that is NUFC in the past decade, you need high levels of consistency, professionalism, credibility, and a hell of a lot of good PR. This is where Shepherd falls short. He's been inconsistent for example, when it comes to spending (2003/GS), treatment of SBR (you don't sack SBR/sacked him) He's been unprofessional at the wrong times He's put his creditibility in question with comments about smaller clubs, Rooney, top 8 jobs in the world etc.. Do I really need to comment about bad PR? He may be an ambitious fish, with the club's interest at heart, but he's too small a fish for the vast ocean that is running a football business these days. I'm not saying he's never done anything right. It's just that he's gone and fucked things up at the wrong times, when it really mattered.

(Strangely) I agree. People have their moments. Bob Murray can be justifiably proud of getting sunlun out of Roker Park and into the SoL. It was a great thing Sor any chairmna to achieve, he did it in a cost effective way and left a good home for the club. He was demonstrobaly not the person to take the club forward from there. He stayed with a small town manager for too long, he had no vision of where the club could go, he was just wrong. At Newcastle there was a director on the board, Russel Jones whose sole remit was to manage the ground develepment. Clearly he did his job well. The ground grew at a good pace, and ultimately ended up as good as it could be managed in its location. He was a Hall appointee having been key in the whole growth of Cameron Hall. He left in 2002 when the need for his skills was passed. We now have only two paid directors running the club in Freddy Shepherd and Douglas Hall. It is a struggle to see what they bring to their roles. What key skills they possess that moves us forward, Douglas Hall is in a role that means he is responsible for international marketing of the club. I'm happy that someone should be doing this, not convinced he has the skills, and not convinced that he warrants his £500,000 per year pay package for what he does. If you look at his recent CV then all it has on it is Cameron Hall which has all but gone bust under his leadership. The key role of the chairman is to make appointments to key positions that make the business move forward. He has not done this well. The board is purely Hall and Shepherd family, with only Tim Revill who lives and works in Gibralatar as an independent voice. The only other two senior managers are listed as being Russel Cushing and Ken Slater. Cushing has been with the club for 35 years, and Slater for 34 years. Great servants but not under any stretch of the imagination likely to either stand up to their bosses, not to have some great worldly input to the running of the business. I think the harsh lable would be that they are "yes men". (I have no personal axe to grind with either Cushing, who seems to be a very good administrator, nor Slater who I have no knowledge of). A business that is runnign with a turnover of £80m needs more professional leadership. There should be a Finance Director who understands football financial requirements. Who can spot when spending is not acceptable, who creates a budget for the business and ensures we that it is stuck to. There should be a Marketing Director who leads us into new areas, projects us well within England and on to the European stage. There should be a Director of Football who can lead the direction of the footballing part of the busines, who works with the team manager, but is more responsible for making sure that all the football parts of the business fit together. (We all have different views on the what omes uneder the label of "Director of Football" but it has to be accepted that without one the de facto one is Shepherd or Wilie Mackay). The role of the chairman should be to co-ordinate all these board members to move the whole thing foward. How would we pay for all these directors ? Well back in 2001 was the last time we had a non Hall/Sheperd as a paid director int he shape of David Stonehouse. He was CEO of the company, and he was paid £150,000 per year, lets say £200,000 is required by that sort of person now. So five directors at that rate would cost £1m per year would cost us £1m, which is exactly the amount we are paying the board at the moment. So no extra cost, but far more talent on board. Of course the only flaw in my argument is that the recruitment of these key appointments would normally be done through the chairman. Top post. But why is it strange that you agree with me? :confused:

NE5, the board (or chairman rather) has shown the desire and intention to take the club forwards and upwards, and make it one of the most successful in Europe. Regardless of the past, he's done a good job of fucking things up when it really mattered (spending owt 2003, manner of sacking of SBR, hiring GS, backing GS, Rooneygate, NOTW, this transfer window, hiring GR, etc...). Now, you can have all the desire and intention in the world, but if you're shit at application, then you will be found out, and you will ultimately fail to reach your goal. IMO, these are the grounds that Shepherd should part with the club on. It has nothing to do with the past, when you look at it this way. He's set out to achieve goals, and failed. Simple as. We should applaud Mr. Shepherd, and say thanks for some wonderful memories, but thats all. It's time to move on, as we have come as far (up or down) as we can go under his tenure.

Unless it's a load of bollocks. It may be a load of bollocks to you, but it's no reason to slate it. Debate. I suppose we could compliment him on his spelling. THAT'S the spirit!!

Unless it's a load of bollocks. It may be a load of bollocks to you, but it's no reason to slate it. Debate.

OMFG! HAS THE GEMMILLATOR BROKEN DOWN? it IS a soft centre afterall eh?!

Well, I don't know if any of your post is directed at mine just above it, but all I was saying is that I totally disagree with NE5's view of the board and their handling of the club, yet the article was still a good read, and the effort he's put into getting his point across shouldn't be countered by "unsporting" comments. People should lighten up and just accept that others may see things differently. For the record, I do think that the notion that you need to be a ST holder to voice an opinion. I am not a ST holder because I don't even live in England. Doesn't make my view of the situation any more or less valid than people who "go to games". Unsporting comments? What is this, a debating chamber? Have you read all of NE5's posts subsequent to the article in this thread? Have you read his posts prior to writing the article in other threads? Have you EVER seen NE5 "accept that others may see things differently"? Yeah I know! Seemed funny to me as well, but it was the only word I could think of!! Yes I have read NE5's responses on this thread, but some of the replies he got for the article were "unsporting". I'm thinking...fuckin hell, let a bloke write an article, read it, enjoy it (or not), and then debate! I think it was natural for NE5 to lose the "cool" he displayed ever-so-well in the article, as he got ripped into straight from the off!

Of course it is! But I was talking about views on the running of the club, views about the board, manager tactics, etc...

Well, I don't know if any of your post is directed at mine just above it, but all I was saying is that I totally disagree with NE5's view of the board and their handling of the club, yet the article was still a good read, and the effort he's put into getting his point across shouldn't be countered by "unsporting" comments. People should lighten up and just accept that others may see things differently. For the record, I do think that the notion that you need to be a ST holder to voice an opinion. I am not a ST holder because I don't even live in England. Doesn't make my view of the situation any more or less valid than people who "go to games".

Tremendous effort NE5 in writing all that, and getting your point accross. It pisses me off when people take others' differing opinions as "wrong", and I think a few have been at NE5's throat for this, and it's unsporting. I have to say although I completely disagree with NE5 in that I think Shepherd and the current board are useless and we definitely need change, I quite enjoyed reading that, and it makes a decent read on here for a change. (Too many bloody polls!!)

You forgot to mention "chairman" as well.