jimmymag

Well no one thought that Shearer was the "credible" manager reported earlier in the week. I give Ashley a lot of credit for eventually realising the danger we are in, and getting one of the two people in the world to give the team, the fans and the region the lift we need to get ourselves out of the relegation zone.

Pissed myself laughing at that!!!

For Fucks Sake!!! Just got in from a few days away and I hear this news. UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE!!! I've gone from being totally convinced that we're going down, to totally convinced that we're staying up!

Well it looks like Joe isn't going to be back to "steady the ship" as a full time manager any time soon, but the report does say that a "credible" manager has been sounded out to step into the breach. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/mar/30/newcastleunited-mike-ashley If it's not Venables then who could it be? My money's on Curbishley.

As I've said before, offer Venables a £2 million bonus if he keeps us up and he'd be here tomorrow. Ashley is a gambler, surely it's worth punting £2 million in the hope of saving the £100 million his investment will plunge by if we go down.

As I feared, it seems Joe Kinnear will not be back as our full time manager until the Liverpool game on the 2nd May at the earliest. “Joe is desperate to come back, but we have to be sensible with him,” said Llambias. “If anything, we are going to have to hold him back at times because he’s so enthusiastic. We can’t have him leaping around on the touchline." “The good news, though, is he’s looking good and is feeling a lot stronger. I’ve been to see him this week and he was back to his old self really." “He goes for a load of tests on April 6 which is the big one for him. As long as the results come back ok he will be back at the training ground for a couple of days before the Stoke game and we’ll take it from there." “That might have to be how we do it for the first three games when he is back at work, a few days at the training ground in the build-up to the game and then a little involvement on the match-day itself." “We’ll have to wait and see; it will all depend on how he feels and what the doctors say to him after the tests. He’ll have everything he needs at his disposal though.” Don't Ashley and Llambias understand the seriousness of our situation? We are going down!!! We don't have time to allow Kinnear to break himself gently back into the job. The way they are running the club it's almost as if they want us to go down.

Anyone who had the experience of attending football matches when the fences were up knew this was a disaster waiting to happen. My worst experience was at Spurs in an FA cup quarter final that wasn't all ticket and people were getting crushed due to the sheer numbers of people pouring into the Geordie end. I remember some fans trying to climb up the fence and a policemen hitting them with his megaphone. So much for communication and police control eh!?

What if Kinnear isn't allowed to come back this season by his doctors??? Does anyone think that Ashley has a contingency plan if this happens, or is he going to allow Hughton to "manage" us straight into the fizzy pop league???

If the infamous "club insider" quotes are to be believed then Ashley seems happy to leave the management structure as it is and suffer the consequences. Even if Joe Kinnear came back tomorrow 100% fit then I think he'd have a job keeping us up, but to expect a man who is recovering from major heart surgery to come back into a highly stressful job 2, 3 or 4 weeks down the road is utter madness. We all know that Joe Kinnear isn't a softly softly type of manager who quietly goes about his business, he's a teacup throwing in your face type of manager who blows his top occasionally in order to relieve the pressure he is under. This was proven by his rant at his initial press conference and his numerous run ins with the FA and other managers. I think it is far from certain that Kinnear's doctors will sanction his return to the pressure cooker situation that is the Newcastle manager's job, as they would be putting themselves at risk of a negligence claim if Joe's health took a turn for the worse. Is Mike Ashley prepared to play Russian roulette with both Joe Kinnear's health and the Premiership survival of NUFC???

There were reports today that some players were calling for a "manager" to be brought in, if true then we've got no chance with Hughton in charge and Ashley must take decisive action NOW!

I find this attitude baffling if I'm honest. I believe you are also one of the few who still think we aren't in serious trouble of getting relegated (or were up until not so long ago)? With Kinnear not being up to the job both in terms of health or quality, we will be looking for a new manager regardlesss sooner or later. As far as I am concerned we have already lost precious months to rectify this wrong, but the only worse thing than doing the right thing late is not doing it at all. Besides, what is "too late"..? Too late to avoid relegation? Well, maybe it is. Then again, maybe it isn't. Worth the gamble if you ask me, especially as we need to start building for the future, be it in the Premiership or the Championship, and Kinnear should not be our future under any circumstance. I think there are various dimensions to this problem that people are just not facing up to. I can't see anyone of any great reputation wanting to come into this club at the present time, either on a temporary or permanent basis. If you're doing well in your current position, then you won't want to abandon it at this point for us, and your current employer won't want to release you. If you're not doing well, or you're out of a job, odds are you won't do any better than Kinnear. The only remotely sensible suggestion I've read here is Venables, and he's already said that he'd only take the job on a permanent basis. The odds at him even accepting a permanent job now with so little time available to avoid relegation are very long, I'd say. Rather than subject the players to any more turmoil and uncertainty, I think we've no choice but to stick with what we've got. Offer Venables a £2 million bonus if he keeps us up and he'd be here tomorrow!

Kinnear's hoping to be back for the Spurs game but that is dependant on his doctors giving him the OK. If he does get the OK there's no way Kinnear's going to be firing on all cylinders, tearing into the players, other managers and the press. IMO Kinnear is not going to save us, we need a manager NOW!

Wouldn't you look "a bit panicky" with that defence in front of you?! As someone else said Harper's the least of our worries, I think he's more than up to the job.

I think it's last chance saloon time for Mike Ashley to take decisive action and get a manager in now. My preference is for Venables who's experience and character would give the players the short term lift that normally occurs after a managerial appointment. That could be enough to kickstart the revival we need. If we go into the Chelsea game with the same set up I think we will go down.

Well I thought he was surprisingly bad yesterday....... Your gloating really pisses me off. You call yourself "Gallowgate End" like you're a supporter, well we can do without "supporters" like you.

You sound confused, pissed or both. I agree, Gooners are the most obnoxious "fans" I've ever come across. My advice is have another drink mate.

Proven again by his indecision to sub Taylor immediately or, at least, organise cover on the pitch whilst Taylor was receiving treatment. A fucking pub side would be better organised in a similar situation. Time is running out Mr Ashley. If you wait 4 weeks for Kinnear to get back it'll be too late, and your £250 million investment will be halved. Offer Venables a £2 million bonus if he keeps us up, it'll be money well spent.

You sir, are talking absolute bollocks!!!!

I honestly think there's more chance of Arsenal scoring more past us with us playing 5 in the middle than 4. If Martins plays on his own up front and is isolated and receives poor service the ball will just keep coming back at us over and over. A centre-forward who's hit-and-miss when it comes to his hold up play up-front on his own, with a probable midfield three of Nolan, Butt & Smith to back him up...wonderful stuff. It scared the s*** out of the Mancs for half and hour and we could easily have been 2-0 up! Have you a better idea??? 4-4-2 with two centre-forwards up front would be a masterstroke... Is that Martins and Owen upfront, which wouldn't work with the midfield we have, or play Shola or Carrol as a target man??? I prefer DD's idea of dropping Owen to midfield as KK did last season. Now that was a masterstroke.

I honestly think there's more chance of Arsenal scoring more past us with us playing 5 in the middle than 4. If Martins plays on his own up front and is isolated and receives poor service the ball will just keep coming back at us over and over. A centre-forward who's hit-and-miss when it comes to his hold up play up-front on his own, with a probable midfield three of Nolan, Butt & Smith to back him up...wonderful stuff. It scared the shit out of the Mancs for half and hour and we could easily have been 2-0 up! Have you a better idea???

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1163561/Owen-shock-Hughton-drops-Newcastle-striker-key-battle.html?ITO=1490 A report from some arsehole saying that Owen is out for "today's" crucial game against Arsenal. If true it's one game too late Hughton!!!

Are you old and senile?

Great news that Walcott is out. He's a player I really rate and he looked to have come back in good nick. I'll bet Enrique wasn't looking to facing him so should make his day a little easier.

What a pathetic question! And some cretins actually prefer relegation!

I get a strong feeling them c***s might keep us up. They are now in freefall. Cisse and Jones looking like couldn't give a s***, Malwank looking exactly that. Sbragia shot to pieces tactically (probably worse than our clueless c***s). Man City and WHU (a) then Man U (h) there next three games. I would love nowt more than to see those pikey cunts go down! 15/2 the Mackems for the drop. Looks like a canny bet to me!