UV

Bingo. KK will get as much as he requires which will come in the shape of significant funds. As for Mort, he's the typical cautious chairman, but it's Ashley who has final say and I guarantee he will back his man with cash and lots of it. Be happy people, we're ganning places. It did strike me as ironic if not downright hypocritical to accuse the old board of doing things to appease the fans after pulling the biggest crowd pleasing stunt since we signed Shearer. To the outside world the appointment looked exactly like the managerial equivalent of signing a past-it big name player out for one last payday (they're wrong like).

worth every penny Can you tell me this weeks lottery numbers too. ahh, you're saying that i'm using the benefit of hindsight and i couldnt possibly have known he would be worth every penny when he signed? is this correct? am i on the right lines? keep me right here i'm just not so sure that post made you look as clever as you intended it to If you weren't being sarcastic I sincerely appologise. haha, i was deadly serious, thats ok mate, have you got sigs turned off or something? i've been fighting his corner for years, incidentally i just won a 100 quid bet that he would come back from injury and be a major player for us, a bet i made with me mam! Ah, yes. Looking at your profile I see how stupid that looked. Yes I have sigs and avatars and as much crap as possible turned off.

That's the last one I could come up with that fitted the criteria you all seem to be assuming he means. He only cost £100,000 like. Duff, Owen, Luque, Boumsong, Rooney bid, Torres supposed bid, Casino plans, all things which arguably were signed to get season ticket sales going again, again there were questionalbe motives for most of those players, wouldnt go as far as saying they were all "statement signings" but maybe signings made with not he 1st teams best interests at heart.... Can't see many people rushing to renew their season tickets just because we bought Duff. When we bought Luque we'd already got Owen so they'd done enough to get the money in anyway if that was their only motive. Boumsong was a necessary (if over priced) signing who most were happy with at the time. Would you have turned your nose up at getting Torres and Rooney? Where the casino comes into it I've no idea. How could you possibly know that? All im saying, and i think you kindof agree to an extent, is that maybe they werent signings made with the best interest of the first team at heart, especially the Souness debacle when it was clear to everyone that season ticket sales were at there lowest, maybe he needed to stir up interest by going on the spree. Hell even Solano was resigned for the fans. It seemed that way too me, if you think that those signings or (attempted signings) were made 100% for the benefit of the fisrt team and only for the benefit of the fisrt team then that is upto you, ill take the cynical route i stick with my belief that maybe, just maybe they werent just signed for the benefit of the first team, but for the benefit of the finances and season ticket sales. To me the evidence during SBR final seasons suggest it, no money during summer, SBR wanting a CB (having sold one of our best ever), then when seaon ticket sales start to drop we find £25m from somewhere to bid on Torres and Rooney....theres my evidence and thats maybe what Mort is on about. Maybe im wrong. He's going on about signings that never happened? Dear me. Robson was old. He was going at the end of the season anyway. It made perfect sense to me to save up a pot of cash for the new manager to spend especially when Shearer was coming to the end of his career and we'd have to dig deep to replace him. It's just unfortunate that the person who got to spend that money was an arrogant fool, although I can't fault the signing of Owen.

worth every penny Can you tell me this weeks lottery numbers too. ahh, you're saying that i'm using the benefit of hindsight and i couldnt possibly have known he would be worth every penny when he signed? is this correct? am i on the right lines? keep me right here i'm just not so sure that post made you look as clever as you intended it to If you weren't being sarcastic I sincerely appologise.

worth every penny Can you tell me this weeks lottery numbers too.

That's the last one I could come up with that fitted the criteria you all seem to be assuming he means. He only cost £100,000 like. Duff, Owen, Luque, Boumsong, Rooney bid, Torres supposed bid, Casino plans, all things which arguably were signed to get season ticket sales going again, again there were questionalbe motives for most of those players, wouldnt go as far as saying they were all "statement signings" but maybe signings made with not he 1st teams best interests at heart.... Can't see many people rushing to renew their season tickets just because we bought Duff. When we bought Luque we'd already got Owen so they'd done enough to get the money in anyway if that was their only motive. Boumsong was a necessary (if over priced) signing who most were happy with at the time. Would you have turned your nose up at getting Torres and Rooney? Where the casino comes into it I've no idea.

I honestly can't believe that people think £16m was too much to pay for a 26 year old Michael Owen.

That's the last one I could come up with that fitted the criteria you all seem to be assuming he means. He only cost £100,000 like.

That's the way i read it too. Suppose now it is just a case of wait and see. I thought that was how everyone read it. So as we didn't do that in the past either his dig at the old board was ill informed and unjustified?

I think you might be right on that one. Interesting that he'll be going into contract negotiations (when he's not too busy doing PR interviews) with a player his manager desperately wants to keep, but who he thinks we shouldn't have signed in the first place. Of course if Owen doesn't stay it'll be because he's a mercenary. I'm surprised you were specifically pleased by those signings. What statement did they make to you? If it's those three, then they cost a total of £7m altogether. Hardly bank breaking stuff.

I'm interested to hear who other people think are the "statement signings" Mort is referring to that we've made in the past, the likes of which we wont be making under Mort. I put up my list before (Shearer, Woodgate, Owen, Rooney attempt), and I forgot Viana who I'd add to that as the young european player of the year at the time, I think that was a "statement", and was a a signing I imagine everyone was chuffed to bits with. I don't think the likes of Luque or Robert were personally (as they were relative unknowns unless you followed the leagues they were in), and I don't think Duff was, I think that just looked like a bargain for a good player (certainly worth as much of a punt as Smith or Barton). Who were you appeased by? I wonder what Ferguson thinks of Mort's opinion that "statement signings" are not the way to develop long term success?

As was Bentley...... As were 100 other players who are STILL Johnny averages. It's all well and good getting in a bunch of promising young players, but you have to live with the reality that only a small percentage of them will actually become players who will get you into the top 4. You need quality players to get you there, so you can either buy them off the shelf or buy players who you hope will develop into a quality player in 2 or 3 seasons. Of course, if they do develop into a top player you then have to be able to keep them rather than have them move to a team where THEY can get the immediate CL football they will want. You wont easily be able to do that if all you do each year is buy promising young talent as chances are they'll develop at different times and the best will just get impatient and, cajoled by their agents, move on elsewhere. For example Richards at Man City will stay there because they are showing ambition and buying players who can make a difference NOW and probably will have a realistic chance of getting into the CL next year, whereas Bentley at Blackburn, who are at a similar level as City at the moment, will probably move because they are not willing or able to back their manager to the same level as those clubs around them which would enable them to make that step up. Do you think we'll be able to persuade Owen to sign a new contract (when the chairman can be bothered to get around to trying) if all we propose to do this Summer is buy prospects? Do you think the likes of Owen, Martins, N'Zogbia, etc will be happy to just whittle away a couple of seasons out of their short careers in mid table while these prospects (hopefully) develop. I don't. People are asking for estimates of the amount of cash we'll be spending, but it's not about absolutes it's about matching and bettering your opponents. If we spend £10m this Summer, then I'm sure there would be those who will say "well that's what the old board spent on average over the last 10 years", but times have moved on and there is a lot more money floating about now than there was 12 years ago when even then we could afford to spend £15 on a "statement signing". I wouldn't be surprised if £10-£20m was the average spent this year by the teams outside the CL. If that's the case, we should be bettering that. If Spurs, Man City, Portsmouth, West Ham, etc are spending £20-£30 we should be bettering that. Obviously what you do with the money is just as important (maybe more so) as how much you get, but having more makes life so much easier; it lowers the risk factor if instead of buying that £5m 19 year old promising player you buy that £15m 22 year old who has shown they will not just fade into obscurity. Where has he said we will only sign prospects in the Summer rather than quality players? His comments to me suggest that he doesn't want the club spending big on players in their 30's as it's only a short term solution, his comments about building a team and looking to develop the club over the next few years suggests he wants players who can have a long term future at the club and players like Bentley and Jones fall into that category. "Historically, the club has looked to please the fans by making a 'statement signing' every now and again," Mort said. "Looking back, I'm just not sure if that's the way to develop long-term success." This is what he said. Which signings in the past have we spent big on who were over 30 to make you think that is what he meant by that statement? The players I would say who were "statement signings" under the old board are Shearer, Woodgate and Owen (plus the attempted signing of Rooney). Players who were all young enough at the time to have a long term future with the club. Quality players that most other clubs would have loved to have signed & showed other players (which is far more relevant than showing the supporters) that we meant business making it easier to attract decent players from other clubs.. Signing quality young players, players who are developed enough to go straight into the first team and make a significant difference, players who are wanted by other top clubs is what I would call a "statement signing", and he is ruling that out (I'm not specifically talking about Jones & Bentley here). Edit: A lot of what I said was not specifically addressing what I think Mort meant but rather what others have inferred that Mort meant, if that make sense.

Hope you refused it and said you didn't want to be appeased with a one-off drink.

He'd be off like a shot if one of the big four came in for him and I genuinly believe that's what he's ideally hoping for despite his obvious happiness, hence his reluctance to commit himself publicly for the time being. He'll see what's what in the summer before signing, i.e. who shows an interest in him if any and what we do ourselves in the transfer market. I think he'll sign btw. Well which of our players wouldn't? Not many. Fact is he's the only player we have that any of the top 4 would be remotely interested in. Why would he commit himself publicly to anything when the chairman hasn't even spoken to him about it yet?

As was Bentley...... As were 100 other players who are STILL Johnny averages. It's all well and good getting in a bunch of promising young players, but you have to live with the reality that only a small percentage of them will actually become players who will get you into the top 4. You need quality players to get you there, so you can either buy them off the shelf or buy players who you hope will develop into a quality player in 2 or 3 seasons. Of course, if they do develop into a top player you then have to be able to keep them rather than have them move to a team where THEY can get the immediate CL football they will want. You wont easily be able to do that if all you do each year is buy promising young talent as chances are they'll develop at different times and the best will just get impatient and, cajoled by their agents, move on elsewhere. For example Richards at Man City will stay there because they are showing ambition and buying players who can make a difference NOW and probably will have a realistic chance of getting into the CL next year, whereas Bentley at Blackburn, who are at a similar level as City at the moment, will probably move because they are not willing or able to back their manager to the same level as those clubs around them which would enable them to make that step up. Do you think we'll be able to persuade Owen to sign a new contract (when the chairman can be bothered to get around to trying) if all we propose to do this Summer is buy prospects? Do you think the likes of Owen, Martins, N'Zogbia, etc will be happy to just whittle away a couple of seasons out of their short careers in mid table while these prospects (hopefully) develop. I don't. People are asking for estimates of the amount of cash we'll be spending, but it's not about absolutes it's about matching and bettering your opponents. If we spend £10m this Summer, then I'm sure there would be those who will say "well that's what the old board spent on average over the last 10 years", but times have moved on and there is a lot more money floating about now than there was 12 years ago when even then we could afford to spend £15 on a "statement signing". I wouldn't be surprised if £10-£20m was the average spent this year by the teams outside the CL. If that's the case, we should be bettering that. If Spurs, Man City, Portsmouth, West Ham, etc are spending £20-£30 we should be bettering that. Obviously what you do with the money is just as important (maybe more so) as how much you get, but having more makes life so much easier; it lowers the risk factor if instead of buying that £5m 19 year old promising player you buy that £15m 22 year old who has shown they will not just fade into obscurity.

Best post I ever read. Appalling analogy. Plus you do realise we've never been in the old 3rd division don't you? TBF Mort started it once again & seems obsessed with harping back to what the old board did. I'm not sure I can remember him giving an interview where he hasn't had a dig at the old board; he managed 2 in this one. Thank goodness we wont be making any more 'statement signings' like Shearer or Owen though.

http://www.nobodysmiling.com/forum/customavatars/avatar20372_11.gifhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/content/images/2006/01/23/dennis_wise_lead_203x152.jpg

OMG they're bribing admins of other websites as well!!! That's it, I'm never entering another one of their free competitions!!!!1!!! It's quite simple really. If you live in the North East you can get your NUFC fix from local papers, TV, and radio; in fact you probably can't get away from it. If you live outside the North East you have to resort to getting most of your news from the internet. It wouldn't surprise me at all if most of their readership was from outside the region.

I'm not really sure how "We will look at it at the end of the season and assess the club and the people involved." instantly translates to "I'm going to sack Sven, the useless, underachieving tit " for some people. There's no way he's going to get rid of Eriksson. I would however be worried if I were a City fan by comments like "We'll probably have to sell some players and buy some new ones. We need some defenders, midfielders - midfielders are the key." Which suggest 1) he doesn't know what he's talking about and 2) he may try to influence/interfere with transfer policy.

His judgement was backed with numerous players, probably most players he wanted on the face of it, some were great successes, some were not. I agree with you, re backing the manager, but you have to accept that sometimes it may not be financially possible otherwise you have to accept that NOT accepting this means you can't then complain if the club "overspends" ? Do you see the point ? I see the point, you are saying the club as a whole has to count it's beans accordingly. Obviously we, as a club with an ambitious board needed to employ bean-counters to work out which players we could afford. Even though Man City were an inferior club, they could afford to pay a few peanuts more, for which I commend them. If we offered to pay him in beans and he wanted paying in peanuts it's no wonder he signed for Man City. City are by no means an inferior club, they are a similar sized club to us with similar support base and similar potential. Yet they have spent nowhere near what we have in the Premiership until last year when we both got new owners/chairmen. They were in a far bigger financial hole before their takeover than we were before ours. The fact that you are commending their previous financial dealings says a lot about the worth of your opinions on such matters.

Do you have stairs in your house?

They brought in a lot of players that year obviously on large wages to attract them away from more fashionable clubs, and it's paid off this season in results and where they'll probably make a profit, and also next year if they get into Europe. Speculate to accumulate or wallow in mid-table/relegation scraps.

Does he just sit in the crowd swearing at the ref these days like?

what is a high brow transfer rumour ? Joleon Lescott

Which would you rather see at St James Park? A bunch of cockerney tossers jumping up and down in the stands while their overly overly paid players celebrate and pour champagne over themselves (handily provided by Dennis Wise). OR A bunch of cockerney tossers crying over their broken tinfoil trophies while Fat Frank is sat on the ground with his head in his hands, Ashley Cole is wandering around aimlessly blubbing his eyes out and England's Brave John Terry continues to shout at the ref about the penalty he didn't give when Drogba fell over a blade of grass 10 yards outside the box.