Nicky

Sorry, yeah, it was Leicester.

West Ham?

Excellent. Glad to have to confirmed. :D Been a good day so far.

Edited it. Also confirms we're in for Ben Haim.

Quote from Sam this morning; "Mark is almost in the bag. It's been difficult because he has been on holiday, but we're nearly there," said Allardyce. "We hope to sort out a medical next week and then that will be done." "To get Mark and Joey in one week is not bad going and I'm delighted, particularly with how crazy the transfer market can be. But they are not the only things we've been working on." http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/newcastleunited/journalsport/tm_headline=allardyce-eyes-israeli-stopper%26method=full%26objectid=19259342%26siteid=50081-name_page.html

Fucking brilliant news. Not got up this early on a thursday for years!

I might be wrong but I am sure Shaun Custis at The Sun is very close to Allardyce so the chances are that their future Newcastle articles are going to be more reliable. Correct. Custis was in the chopper with Allardyce when he signed his contract/took over as manager.

Crazy money, but if Ashley takes over, who really cares? Reckon he'll be a very good signing.

I'm actually a bit gutted. No excuse not to spend a bit of money now.

I like that. Probably cos this seasons was so disgusting.

Did you actually just copy and paste "Big Sam"?

Brilliant, means he'll miss England games. Can't prove his fitness to join Man U like that, can he?

He's gone and done a Lucas Neill then. What a waster.

SAM ALLARDYCE was handed the Newcastle job yesterday after a secret three-hour lunch with Freddy Shepherd. SunSport captured the pair at posh Claridge’s in London. Chairman Shepherd told friends at the restaurant: “We want Sam’s determination, enthusiasm and ability to lift the club.” Big Sam will take over early next week on a contract which could be worth £3million a year. Allardyce said afterwards: “It was a good meeting and my agent will speak to Newcastle again over the next few days to discuss matters further.” That will simply be to fine-tune the contract details before Newcastle make an official announcement. Shepherd added to pals: “The club needs a lift and Sam is the nearest I’ve seen to a replica of Joe Harvey.” Harvey was the last manager to bring silverware to Tyneside by winning the old Fairs Cup — the forerunner to the UEFA Cup — back in 1969. Shepherd also said: “I’m excited, Sam’s excited and we’re looking forward to making this work. THREE-SY DOES IT ... how Allardyce's three-hour lunch unfolded THREE-SY DOES IT ... how Allardyce's three-hour lunch unfolded “We had a good meeting and we will continue discussions over the weekend but everything went OK. You don’t wrap up something like this in two minutes.” Speculation has been rife Big Sam was being lined up for the St James’ hotseat but SunSport’s pictures are the first concrete evidence. Allardyce quit Bolton after eight years as boss just two weeks ago. The next week, Glenn Roeder was axed as Toon manager. Shepherd then set to work on landing Allardyce. He contacted Bolton chairman Phil Gartside yesterday. Gartside did not pick up the call so Shepherd left a message. Shepherd had promised he would let Gartside know if he wanted Allardyce. It will be a case of third-time lucky for Newcastle in their pursuit of Big Sam. A combination of his loyalty to Bolton and Shepherd’s reluctance to get into a poaching row have stopped it happening before. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2007211006,00.html With added pictures!

Going tommorow for the first cup final there, Kidderminster vs Stevenage

Wonder if this changes whether we let Zoggy go in the summer.

Where have you been for the last 8 hours :parky: Enjoying my bank holiday monday

SSN say 'Sources close to Allardyce confirm he will become our manager, but only after the seasons finished" I should add that i'd be delighted, btw. After the shite of Souness and Roeder, and given that I doubt we could be attracting world class managers, Allardyce is a brilliant choice for me.

If we win then i'm starting a petition for Pearson to get it full time.

Seems like yesterday we were going through all this with Martin O'Neill. Too many false hopes/fears last time with the book frequently closed on various managers. I wouldn't read too much into it. Everyone knows that Allardyce is the strong favourate anyway, so its not a shock they've given him such short odds.

:D :D

This better not be a windup.

If there is a god.

o_O Never heard of that before.