madras

I know I can't really back up this following statement, but in my opinion ... If Owen isn't captain and say Beye or even Butt was I believe we stay up. We missed staying up by one point. I believe a more vocal and instructive leader would have at least got one more point for us this season in one of the many close calls we had when we just needed that extra push. How demoralising it must have been to see the club captain so quiet, sour faced and dejected when were struggling. well beye or even butt should have a long hard look at themselves if they feel they need an arm band to be vocal and lead.

One of the better outfield displays as well - post season 01/02 as well. We resembled a football team with the required passing/build-up play & movement that wasn't seen since. Definitely had the better of Villa in two thirds of the paddock. Our back four simply imploded that aftenoon. Kluivert's first touch and link-up play across the central corridor complimented Bellamy's movement & pace in the wide channels. And Bellamy was becoming more of a threat through the middle, becoming more adept at reading the play and knowing when to ghost into the box off-the-ball. You can spot the this improvement with the increased number of bread & butter opportunities presented to him now, and prior to his departure here. Kluivert-Bellamy should've been allowed to flourish, as opposed to the resulting emergence of the crack-strikeforce that was Shearer'Shola ie. nil movement, two statues simply occupying space/providing no outlets and a less than 50/50 receiving option further up the park. indeed, and with that we saw a team who'd peviously finished in 5th go to 13th i was there, kluiverts touches were canny but his movemnet was worse than shearers, there was nothing between kluivert and bellamy to make me think there was a future for them together.. our midfield performed well when it had the ball but done nothing without it....plus ca change.

http://www.newcastle-online.org/nufcforum/index.php/topic,49786.msg1195207.html#msg1195207

it's what's known as the Newcastle effect. If what Taylor said has been true, that there's been no one-to-one training in the last 5 years, Except Kinnear yelling at Xisco for making bad runs. to greggs

Similar thing happened before with Kluivert and Bellamy looking a pretty promising partnership, only for a legless Shearer to walk straight back into the team and ensure that partnership never saw daylight. Keep finding myself looking back and shaking my head in disbelief at just what we've done here in the past half decade or so. Players long past their best not only not being moved on, but actually gauranteed a first team spot with the team even being built around them in some cases. "Inferior" teammates not being given a fair run in the team even when they've earnt it, how pathetic is that? "Troublemakers" treated like garbage, pissed off, dropped or played out of position for the aforementioned has-beens, then sold without any hesitation when they've lashed out - even though these players were our only source of creativity, or pace, or flair. don't fall for it folks...the bellamy kluivert partnership looked good on paper. never worked on the pitch.. as for troublemakers etc i can name plenty who have played out of position when needed and it's strange that that troublemaker didn't whinge when played out of position at his previous clubs, his international club or at liverpool.....strange that ?

it's what's known as the Newcastle effect. If what Taylor said has been true, that there's been no one-to-one training in the last 5 years, I think we have an answer to why almost every player who has come here since Sir Bobby left has ended up looking like crap. There have been so many opportunities for someone to take him aside and give him a few pointers on everything from the timing of his runs to finding space, Martins would have improved no end. Telling midfielders that it might be a good idea to try playing a few balls between the opposing defence and the opposing goalkeeper for the fast running guy to run on to might have helped too. It might also explain why most of our youth players graduate out of the academy only to see themselves stagnate when they reach the senior squad. as regards the youth players.....not many have left us to become regulars at prem level......i can think of one who left us and was a prem regular last season.

The Villa away lot were probably the best away fans I've seen barring our own, when I went to see them at Fulham. Fair enough but the tosser in the Observer must simply not be representative of other fans in general. Much fuss was made as soon as our crowds dropped below the 50k mark but we've been relegated with an average of 48,500 which is the highest average by a country mile (I believe ManU averaged 42k last time they dropped) and it speaks volumes about the support we have. No doubt all eyes will be on our attendance figures next season with predictable comments in the press and on 606, Talk-s**** etc Villa have had a decent average this season largely because they are one of the cheapest season tickets, they've had their best season in ages and everything in their garden is looking the rosiest it has in well over a decade now that Deadly Doug has stepped aside (great manager, chairman, promising young players etc). I'd love to see what other clubs would do in the face of such a farce of a season, I dare say a higher proportion of fans of any other club would have given up half way thru the season! i remember it being very easy to get tickets for anywhere at villa park mid nineties and the atmosphere was poor. however it has to be said that it picked up a ;ot even before deadly doug left

it continues....... "In other soccer news a Newcastle supporter is to become manager of the nearest professional club to Newcastle."

i'm sure he could do that with less than 50kpw (if true)

we'll come straight back....... ....after taking maybe 2 or 3 or more seasons in the champonship...... .......or lower..... ........after coming back from the administrators

titus ?

you'll have to explain that one again to me ?

we can for lots of things but not for whom the club was sold to.

not really as ashley could put as much of his own cash in as he wants.

camus-esque Sartre. i know but camus was also famed for his love of football. decent keeper aswell by all accounts.

you sound like most people all the way through,no problem with manageable debt......the last patragraph would have seen NE5 explode though

then he would have very little chance of getting anything back.

thats what i mean brummie. i know loads of people now looking to go to aways,people who haven't been to a game in a decade or more, they want away from "sky" football. i posted somewhere earlier that i want my club to be the best in the world but i want to go to oakwell not old trafford.

Change Premiership to Champions League and that is pretty much how Shepherd ran the club when he was here. No bloody way we should go back to doing that. depends what the debts are when the new owner comes in. there is nothing wrong with borrowing to try and improve. the problem comes when you've borrowed and haven't improved then borrow again and don't improve.

The man's a legend. We know. Also see under : Messiah, God, Prodigal Son, Lazarus, Allah, Prophet, King, Prince. Christ sake. buddha ? or koresh ?

i'm pretty sure in the game when liverppol beat us 5-1 i could pick out bits to say "ooh if that had been 2ft to the right it could have went in" and "if gerrard had slipped a tad like terry did on that pen he probably wouldn't have scored" hey we could have got a point out of it.

missed those chances. marginals ? the teams and players who are good convert those marginals, yes a couple of bounces/decisions could have kept us up, and whoever went down instead of us would have said the same thing.

camus-esque

Isn't the problem that people want an owner that will be able to put money into the club (i.e not Ashley or Freddy), wouldn't a fans' consortium do just the opposite? We wouldn't be able to plug the club with money if needed, which it probably would. I don't see the parachute payment and the money from player sales being enough to stablise us. Yeah, I know and I agree. The hypothetical Real/Barca scenario would be more beneficial in the long-run. Even if we are condemned to the Championship for a couple of years, if we can become financially stable and viable, then promotion into the Premiership will mean that we can actually spend money too because of our fanbase. We're not like other teams who need someone to shoulder their spending sprees. The infrastructure at the club is still very strong. We've got a short-run financial problem. If this can be solved, then a Real/Barca style ownership is possible. The Barca model is fine, if you're a club with the money printing ability of Barca. The fan ownership model is an ideal, and it is hard to pick at the principles behind it, it would be a beacon for the rst of football in many ways. But, you;d still be competing against clubs bankrolled by rich owners. 10k average extra punters through the door over your competitors makes little difference these days. That's why football is intrinsically f***ed. Manchester City, 250m transfer budgets, buying everything on the planet capable of standing up, etc etc etc. Honestly, what's the point? footy or an existensial interjection ?

Nah. English football is about as local as McDonalds or Visa, and it is never coming back, unfortunately. How many industries can you see extremely rich people investing massive chunks of money only to find that someone else considerably richer than them has washed up, prepared to invest even more than you can, and thereby blow a massive chunk in your plans. The whole thing now is about as much a sporting event as Britain's Got Talent, and concepts like a Barca style membership scheme, though incredibly noble, just will not work. it may just be people i know but more are going to non league...theres a group from work (nufc and safc) who go to hartlepool now and again. i think people are pissed off with the top being cemented the way it is. (it's also part of a wider philosophical thing.....allotments are hard to come by as people try to get back to some roots and tents are flying off the shelves not only because of the economy there is a localness and return to roots afoot.........i think and hope football may have it's own return to its roots and localness)