UV

Is the right answer. The player is just trying to curry favour with the Baggies fans. He's not doing a very good job of it then - "If they had been sorted and not in turmoil then it might have been a different story but they weren’t, they were in dire straits so I came to Albion and I moved on." ie "I'd rather have gone to Newcastle, but they're in the shit so I came here instead, it'll have to do." Imagine if a player joined us and said something like that.

It's going to be a bit of a shit press conference tomorrow

Will the press conference be available online? Cnt wait *SOOO* excited!!!

I knew it was all Kath the tea lady's fault. We'll never be able to move forward until we stop living in the past and get in a young ambitious tea lady who doesn't actually know how to make tea yet. Keegan - a manager who has proven he can make a team perform above their ability, who has proven he has a good eye for players who will fit into a desired formation and tactics which are not only winning but attractive to watch, who has a track record of 3 out of 3 promotions as runaway champions in his first year in charge. Shearer - a complete unknown as a manager, but hey, at least supporters of other teams might not laugh at us and we're not "living in the past" Difficult, difficult choice. If I supported another team would I be allowed to prefer Keegan to Shearer without being accused of living in the past?

I can't believe people would want Keegan back after all s*** that has happened. I have been a Toon supporter long before Keegan was in charge. I didn't say everyone should want him back, just respect him for what he's done for the club. Imagine how much respect he'd have had last year had he just grinned and bared it, kept us up (which I've no doubt he would have done even with the very same squad), and then resigned this summer unhappy with how the club was run, but with us still in the Premiership? He'd have still been called a coward, bottler and a quitter. No, he'd have been criticised for his crap signings ("if he wasn't happy with the signings he'd have left last year man"), blamed for the poor performance of the team, accused of having no principals ("why did he stay all season if he wasn't happy"), and then called a coward, bottler and a quitter.

What does that mean? Name me 5 managers who have. How often do reigns end in something other than resignation or sacking? It's a maxim in football that a team's form dives when the players know their manager will be leaving at a defined time. If it helps, he probably could've turned England and us the second time around into sackings without too much difficulty. Arguably did with us, in fact - he was being steadily 'relieved of his duties'. Rafa, Moyes, Ferguson, Wenger have all seen out their initial contracts. Sure Southgate has as well, but sort of ruins any point i was going to make that the best and most successful mangers see out their deals From Wiki: These differences of opinion saw Benítez resign as Valencia coach in June 2004. He famously said "I asked for a table and they bought me a lampshade" in reference to the players he wanted the club to sign.

If you actually look into the circumstances behind each one though I wouldn't say he was a bottler. It sounds like a myth created by The Sun. There's always a reason for Keegan though, depends on how much you buy in to his excuses i suppose. from reading his autobiography he does tend to turn things into a "poor me" situation. with a different mentality he could have been an all time great manager. With a different mentality he'd probably have been just another ordinary manager as most of them are.

Let's have a list of managers who have seen out their contracts then to see the kind of manager you'd like.

on the bright side there must be a reason why he didnt do that weeks a go He's still collecting the money from season ticket sales. Season ticket money paying off loan to Ashley > 1 month of player wages taken from the overdraft I'm still not buying into the likelihood of administration, but... even though there's been hardly anything coming out of the club they've been quick off the mark recently to rubbish (or pre-empt) negative stories in the press with a club statement (Kinnear, low ST sales, Robson game), it will be interesting to see what they have to say about this. If they ignore it, it may be even more telling....

The verdict is disgraceful, but not surprising considering it was a jury trial at Liverpool Crown Court. I find the judges sycophantic and hypocritical summing up utterly disgusting though. Not even a hint of criticism for Gerrard's actions, he was merely an innocent bystander who was accidentally drawn into the fracas through no fault of his own. Yes it's perfectly reasonable when someone falls into you because they've been elbowed to give them a couple of upper cuts. Purely self defence. Shameful.

Spot the difference. Judge Henry Globe told him: "The verdict is a credible verdict on the full facts of this case, and you walk away from this court with your reputation intact." Judge Henry Globe, told the footballer he had committed "a violent and cowardly act". Judge Globe told him: "You have a high profile as a footballer and you know that draws attention to you. Yet you drank to excess and behaved in an aggressive, disgraceful manner."

With Barton, in every case he didn't go looking for trouble, he just way overreacted to provocation. He knows he has a problem and he gets treatment for it. He's now tea total I believe. I think he's honestly ashamed of the person he can become when provoked, and while I don't condone it in the slightest I have some sympathy for him. In this case with Gerrard, he started the argument, went away to brood on it, brought his mates over to back him up while he started on the bloke again, and then waded in once his mates had started hitting the bloke and kicking him on the ground. He then has the nerve to plead not guilty and says he was acting in self defence. I know which of the two I find the most morally distasteful.

I gave up on a takeover ages ago tbh. I think probably the only serious bidders were the Shepherd group, and they were offering way below what Ashley wanted. If he was going to sell we'd know who he was selling to by now, there's no way multiple bidders are still haggling over a price IMO, they'd have put a deadline on their bids, and that deadline would have passed a while ago. Having given up on a takeover at this point, the only question for me now is how Ashley is going to approach next season - either go into it with as many of the current squad as he can keep, or have a fire sale of the most saleable players in the squad and use the limited time available as an excuse for poor replacements. Obviously I'd prefer the first option as it gives us the best chance of promotion, and even though the club would lose a lot of money next season, it will come straight out of Ashley's pocket. I've not given up hope that he'll chose that option as promotion gives him the best chance of getting his money back. It's a gamble, but he likes gambling, and if it pays off and we get promoted he'll be redeemed and back to being a hero in many people's eyes. Going with those assumptions, then every day nothing happens is another day closer to having a decent squad for next season, and the first option looks more and more plausible. The current in-limbo scenario is probably the best way of going about keeping the squad together. With no manager to talk to, and with a "transfer embargo" due to the supposed sale, the players have noone to go to to agitate for a move and are forced to just wait it out, and other clubs cannot put in an offer and talk to the players. Probably just wishful thinking though.

It's a person's "opinion". Get it?? For the love of God!! Again, calm down. If opinions can't be challenged then there seems to be no point to message boards at all. I'm not saying opinions can't be challenged, I just don't agree with put downs or slagging off when people's opinions differ. Heading down that route only leads to people morphing into the people who disagreed with NE5! FYP

Without qualifying it, that's as ridiculous a statement as there's been in the thread. Even the most cold hearted and logical people find it hard not to let emotions and irrationality factor into their decision making. Ashley gambles large amounts of money on roulette, and you're trying to make out that every decision he makes is based on sound financial thinking.

Shamrock Rovers 0 - 1 Real Madrid Taylor, Shola & Ranger >>> Ronaldo & Raul We're gonna win the Champion's League man.

Spot on s'all in the semantics. were the bids of 100mill window price but we'll give you nowt for the debt etc. the press haven't helped in the lack of clarity in their reporting whilst the fans have jumped on every word as a literal truth (when it suits). "The Board of Newcastle United can today confirm that the club is for sale at the price of £100m." "There have been more than two bids at £100m." Yes, I can see how the press have been confusing matters.

Everything is just speculation though, we don't know how much he would have taken and there's no real evidence of any offers being made for the club at any time. I think the most there's ever been was City's owner saying they were interested in the PL and looked at us, Liverpool & Arsenal as well as City. The story that Ashley turned down an offer for £Xm from him was just made up from that. There is a quote somewhere where they said they offered 200m, but Ashley was asking 400m. I'll try and find it. I stand corrected if you can find it, I don't remember any actual quotes but I think I was on holiday at the time so may have missed it (if it's a quote by Ashley or Mort though don't bother).

Everything is just speculation though, we don't know how much he would have taken and there's no real evidence of any offers being made for the club at any time. I think the most there's ever been was City's owner saying they were interested in the PL and looked at us, Liverpool & Arsenal as well as City. The story that Ashley turned down an offer for £Xm from him was just made up from that.

If Ashley stays, at least we can get some consistency and stability, with the club being run responsibly on a sound financial footing, and have someone who cares about the club in charge. July 08 - There is absolutely no truth in the rumours of an outright sale. Sept 08 - I am putting the club up for sale.... I am very conscious of the responsibility that I bear in owning Newcastle United. Tough decisions have to be made in business and I will not shy away from doing what I consider to be in the best interests of the club.....If I can't sell the club to someone who will give the fans what they want then I shall continue to ensure that Newcastle is run on a business and football model that is sustainable. I care too much about the club merely to abandon it. I have the interests of Newcastle United at heart. Dec 08 - 2009 will be the year in which we drive the Club forward together... I gave you my word that as long as I remain owner, this Club would continue to be run responsibly at all levels. I hope you will accept that I have stood by that pledge. Feb 09 - We’re not selling, we’re trying to stabilise our team and we’re back on track with our business plan. In five years’ time I would hope we would be challenging for everything. We’re not selling, there is no point selling it. May 09 - Now I want to sell it as soon as I can . . . advisers will be appointed shortly. July 09 - ? ? ? ?

Gary the sheep to be the new Chairman. He's not keen on Shearer though from what I hear.

10 days ago there were at least 3 bids which had met the £100m asking price according to Llambias. Since then we have heard absolutely nothing more. Any takeover needs to be done ASAP. As I see it there are 3 possibilities: 1) Llambias was lying 2) Ashley is asking for significantly more than £100m, an unrealistic price for a Championship club with our liabilities 3) Ashley is playing the bidders off each other to get the best possible deal for himself, but harming the club by delaying the takeover In any of those scenarios I think we have a right as supporters to be pissed off at Ashley, do we not? Are you saying we should be sitting back and patiently waiting (which is what everyone is doing IRL tbh) and not even expressing our concern on an internet message board? How dare we! So using the same logic, do you also blame Robson for kicking up a fuss when it was announced his contract wouldn't be renewed in the Summer of 2005? Do you blame him for poor results in the 04-05 season because he took the club to court over his settlement? Do you blame him for increasing the subsequent supporter dissatisfaction with the old board (thus causing a downturn in results I assume) by not only doing nothing to alleviate it, but by releasing his book and inflaming the situation? Again, using the same logic, are the supporters to blame for Robson being sacked (booing the players off the pitch when we only finished 5th)? Was it actually the supporters fault we employed Souness? Would we have achieved higher league positions post Robson if there had been no websites dedicated to criticising the board, and no protests like the one after Sheff Utd in 06, only one of many? Maybe we should rewrite the history books and bump the team up a couple of places in the league under the old board considering the adverse effect the supporters had on performances? Noone ever demanded that, it was typically just a hope expressed mostly by avid Ashley supporters The debt was included in the cost of buying the club, but why would it affect a new owner's transfer policy one way or another? What was the club's stated policy? Link to quotes please. If you find one, try and explain how a 26 year old defender from a foreign league for £12.5m and high wages fits into it. Did anyone even suggest this was likely while Ashley owner? Not sure what this point is about tbh I imagine you were arguing the same when we'd finished 7th, were in Europe, and the call was "Shepherd out!!!111"? Oh no. Yes, all the protests after he took the club off the market and announced "2009 will be the year in which we drive the Club forward together" make your point vividly. What do you say? There weren't any? Can't be true we're all so demanding and unrealistic. Still 2009 btw isn't it, what's happened to Ashley's heartfelt desire to run the club "responsibly at all levels"? Soon evaporated once we got relegated that didn't it. I guess he had to put it back on the market after all those protests at the end of the season. What? There still weren't any protests? Strange, what's forcing him to sell now? He didn't before the 1 week of angry phone calls to talk shows, a banner, and a couple of protests, he didn't after. Didn't make any difference. See top of post. What's the hold up now? Either say there's no-one near what he wants and start to run the club as a going concern, or if there are bids which are close to acceptable, pick the best offer on the table and start the transfer of ownership, finalising any smallprint later. We could at least get a manager in. I'm going to need a link to those claims, I could do with a good laugh. I agree with you that a lot of supporters have had unrealistic expectations from the owners of the club for a long while now. I haven't seen many that were voiced against Ashley though, unless you believe letting the supporters know what's going on at their club as an unrealistic expectation. PS Sorry everyone, I've probably set the team back 10 points next season, and the image of Newcastle supporters 20 years with this post.

If indeed there are any offers on the table you can be certain any delay is not down to Ashley making sure we "get the right people in".

i honestly think putting the club up then was a publicity exercise and he deliberatly put a ridiculous price so either, he sells at a stupid price or he ends up keeping it which he wanted. as has been said a few times on here i think his plan was to stop up with minimum investment till he could get shot of the high wage earners then invest through the clubs earnings and sustainable debt. Nah, that theory doesn't hold water at all. He'd have got a full time manager in (until the end of the season at least) from the start. The only reason we ended up with Kinnear is because noone else would take the job for only a month. If he never intended to sell he wouldn't have limited himself like that, nor would he have abandoned his DoF structure. i think he'd have abandoned the DoF to keep shearer if we'd stopped up. the kinnear point could be right though. Appointing Shearer temporarily as a last ditch attempt to stay up last season I can understand, but I really can't see Ashley ever giving Shearer the job permanently. He'd be putting himself in exactly the same position with Shearer as he was with Keegan - a demanding manager with the supporters on his side. I think Shearer would be every bit as likely to walk as Keegan if he didn't get what he was promised, and I don't think he'd have taken the job in the Premiership unless he was promised significant funds.