BottledDog

Good positive statement. Let the manager and players deal with getting results on the pitch, invest in the academy, and see the club stabilised and ready to move forward within a reasonable time frame.

Nah, Icelandic.

95/96 innit?

Butt if they do come out and say 'nothing's changing, the manager, the players, the owner are all working towards next season etc etc' then the shite speculation and uncertainty that most of us could do without will at least dampen somewhat. I'll be grateful for that at least. Besides, maybe I'm on me tod here but I like the club to come out with positive nothings, even Llambias' bland programme utterances are something. Makes me feel all safe and warm.

The club are about £200m in debt, of which about £150m is owed to Mike Ashley. If he wants his money back Newcastle will be run like Happy Shopper for the foreseeable future. He could wipe the debt by using it's value to purchase new shares in the club, but hasn't. http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt79/englishmuse/ScarJo_popcorn.gif

Still impressed that, unlike the majority of owners including Gibson and Learner, no interest has been charged by Ashley so far on the money he's lent the club.

Do those figures include the early season ticket renewals for next season? No.

If any money has then it will be shown in the accounts. Even if it has, its his club he can damn well take as much or as little as he likes to be honest. I agree that he can take as much money as he wants out. Call me ignorant if you like but i WILL NEVER believe he has anything other than his own interests at heart, regardless of what the "numbers" show. If he hasn't milked the club dry this year, then he will when he sells it. If Ashley makes a profit when he sells I'll be over the fucking moon. /The only way he will possibly make a profit is if we make significant progress and start winning or a least challenging again. //as it stands he will still lose a large chunk of money imho if he managed to sell up.

No, you don't need to be an accountant, just have enough nous to be able to read (the accounts), and understand that it is bloody difficult to have chunks of money simply disappear into someones back pockets..

Where in the hell is that coming from?

Good post... ...and honestly, not having a go at yerself because a fair few in this thread have been saying similar, but it would be grand if we could leave that kind of sweeping generalisation to the tabloids.

Shocking eh. It's great for everyone involved that Hughton has been able to do enough to win people round. Just a shame that more were seemingly unable to give him a chance from the start.

Says nowt wrong there. Apart from insulting the fans. How come we need to lower our expectations? Believe me Chris, they are low. Insulting the fans. Fuck off.

That is quite seriously both arrogant and stuck up.

How can you even joke about something so serious!!! /I'm morally outraged.

It's not exactly an obese squad. Deal with getting players in. Worry about cutting the flab later.

Not that much different to his other 'I can promise the truth will come out', 'Taylor and his family indicated to me', morally outraged columns in the other rags tbh. http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/brian-mcnally/Why-Newcastle-must-reveal-the-truth-about-the-Carroll-Taylor-fight-if-they-are-to-restore-credibility-to-their-tarnished-disciplinary-reputation-The-Brian-McNally-Column-article368429.html http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/03/28/run-out-of-toon-115875-22143644/

It probably would fly in the face of our current team spirit but that team spirit will probably be long gone by the time Hughton leaves. http://www.treehugger.com/marvin-paranoid-android.jpg "I think you ought to know I'm feeling very depressed".

I'm not saying I disagree (because I don't) but in terms if disruption, do you think Hughton will see out the season? No idea but I hope so, we have had enough change over the years and it has just got worse and worse. For once I would like us to try and ride it out and see how we get on. Would Moyes has survived here with the rollercoaster results he got at Everton in the first 4 years? I am not so sure. Trying to "ride it out" last year is what got us into the mess we're in now. You're right about Moyes mind. Changing the manager 5 times might suggest otherwise?

Why is it that people constantly harp on about his caretaker period at Newcastle as an indication of his unsuitability as a Premiership manager, but never take into consideration his period as the temporary manager at Tottenham? /not that results as a caretaker should be taken as an indicator of very much if anything in my humble opinion.

Embarrassed?

Not wrong. Just enormously difficult to justify, and means unnecessarily setting yourself up for a season potentially filled to the brim with disappointment.

Depends who we sign, just to add to the speculation. Say we signed Messi and finished 16th, then that's bad. If we sign noone and play Best up front then 16th would be a miracle. This sort of, it depends on what we and other clubs do in the summer transfer window. If we don’t strengthen at all 16th would be about the mark. Dangerously close to a relegation spot - one bad refereeing decision or one fluky goal away from going down again. Our weakness this season has been CM. Our attacking options have been limited to the long ball to Carroll or giving it to the wingers. It won’t take much for the organisation, athleticism and superior technique in the PL to stifle our goal threat. We’ve played with a little more variation recently but generally our play has been fairly predictable. With reference to Hughton this raises two issues. Will he be strong enough to stand up to Ashley if our owner continues with the attitude that saw us drop out of the running to sign Beckford and Moses, and can he step up his game on the tactical front. And what atittude was that? Moses wanted Premiership football and wages. Leeds were asking way to much for a 3rd division striker coming to the end of his contract. Neither deserved persuing further imo. The attitude where Hughton said he wanted to bring a player in but Ashley wouldn’t pay the market rate to get him. Beckford? The fact that he didn't move anywhere else goes to show he wasn't for sale at 'the market rate', and we weren't going to be taken for fools. Well done Ashley, for that 'attitude'. As for Moses, lets get real, we weren't even in the same market for him once Premiership teams got involved.

Depends who we sign, just to add to the speculation. Say we signed Messi and finished 16th, then that's bad. If we sign noone and play Best up front then 16th would be a miracle. This sort of, it depends on what we and other clubs do in the summer transfer window. If we don’t strengthen at all 16th would be about the mark. Dangerously close to a relegation spot - one bad refereeing decision or one fluky goal away from going down again. Our weakness this season has been CM. Our attacking options have been limited to the long ball to Carroll or giving it to the wingers. It won’t take much for the organisation, athleticism and superior technique in the PL to stifle our goal threat. We’ve played with a little more variation recently but generally our play has been fairly predictable. With reference to Hughton this raises two issues. Will he be strong enough to stand up to Ashley if our owner continues with the attitude that saw us drop out of the running to sign Beckford and Moses, and can he step up his game on the tactical front. And what atittude was that? Moses wanted Premiership football and wages. Leeds were asking way to much for a 3rd division striker coming to the end of his contract. Neither deserved persuing further imo.