Rich

He's got no end product man! HTT said so

Time to move Owen into midfield now, surely? Protect the lead Joe, protect the lead!!

HAVE SOME OF THAT!! Owen yet again, heard him mentioned about 6 times on 5Live, but that's what he brings. Now howay lads, let's not fuck it up!

Exactly, still offers a constant threat. He's similar to Martins in that respect. Duff offers more huff and puff and is less of a risk player, but he offers far less end product.

I have to admit to enjoying these features, like

...then Craig Hope has gone the extra mile yet again and delivered your wish: http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/sub/Features/0,,10278~1483239,00.html? For those that can't see it: Magic.

DID YOU MISS THE FUCKING LINKS TO ALL THE PAPERS IN THE OPENING POST!?! (Safety.)

Fulham look good at the minute too. They don't concede goals, for starters.

Dave's not that bad man.

Bullard doesn't really fit the "big and aggressive" mould that JFK outlines... although even Roy Keane, who he mentions, doesn't tick both boxes He's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier is he? Really, he's not. Saying that, fair play to him for identifying that we need a "big and aggressive box-to-box midfielder", I couldn't agree more!

No need, fredbob, thought it was a decent response with some obvious effort behind it myself. Can't hurt to remind people of quotes from the various people involved at different times, surely?

Jimmy Bullard speculated to be one of the 4 central midfielders we're after (two abroad, two at home). Despite the shite we're in, potential new signings at left-back and in the middle of the park STILL get me excited... I suppose that's until all Kinnear's targets tell him to get fucked and then we end up with no natural left-back at the club and less central midfielders than we started with...

The man's a clown with that Enrique comment, but if he gets us one of these who can stay fit and do the business I'll kiss his feet.

You're right like, with the first bit. It's infuriating. You just have to hope the truth will out when/if it goes to court.

Keegan and the others were appointed within days of each other and Keegan claimed that he knew that we would be bringing in the new structure and even claimed that he was given 3 names and had preferred Wise as DoF. If the timing had been different then I might have been worried but Keegan was even asked something about him leaving last time and claiming something about the job not being what it said in the brochure, he said that this time he wasn't given a brochure. When he was asked about how much he had been promised to spend he was always vague and claimed that he'd have to try and persuade Ashley to spend, I can't remember if he said that he hoped Ashley would fall in love with the team or something. Keegan didn't look/sound right to me for a good long while, if you know what I mean. There were a lot of times where I was struggling to believe if he actually believed what he was saying... I did wonder whether he was often saying things to defend his position/put pressure on the board to back him/in order to try and keep the peace. I think a more accurate reflection of KK was the tirade after the Chelsea game (tirade may be a strong word) as a lot of pent-up frustration appeared to bubble out of him. Despite the improvements on the field something didn't seem right and as the months went by things seemed to be getting more and more suspicious. People were skeptical enough to make it a prominent question (first one asked?) to Mort once upon a time as well. I dunno. You'll remember me saying for a good few months prior to the KK walkout that things were a bit rotten, the posts will be on here somewhere.

Nut, you're an infuriating fucker sometimes. You know I can't answer those questions because I'm not Kevin Keegan. I'll play along though... For all we know he was skeptical, but took a similar approach and hoped he could make it work. That's one possibility. Perhaps on that fateful day in September the transfer window had closed and he realised it was never going to work because of how things turned out. That's as good as I can do, because those questions were fairly daft.

You missed Kinnear, who I'm as guilty of as any for labelling in the way you suggest as it does appear that you're either a cunt or a messiah, you're not wrong there. You're definitely a messiah by that token, though

that's where appointing a good manager comes in, i'd think. similar to sunderland we wasted a lot of money under souness, though at least they have had some tangible on field improvement, cisse and jones is a fair bit better than whatever nomarks were upfront for them when they got promoted. spending the money wasnt the problem, the problem was having a shit manager spend it. had we appointed a good manager that money couldve done wonders for us. Aye, again I can't disagree with the theory there. Speculation again though, innit? nothing is certain, but i think the basic premise of top manager + funds has a fair chance at success. better than shit manager + funds or even top manager + little funds. canny discussion anyway, off to bed now. Night night. Good idea as well. Was planning on being asleep by midnight myself. This fucking place.

I didn't see it coming and I've been going to games since the late 60's. Honestly? There was massive worry when Wise/Jimenez/Vetere were brought in as people rightly realised that it was going to lead to problems with Keegan. There was continued worry (on NUFC.com and on here, etc.) when it appeared Keegan had very little input into the negotiations/signings of players, further than just naming them/sanctioning them. I was personally skeptical, but as usual I hoped it would work and believed it could, which as always proved to be my downfall. When you tend to hope for the best/look on the bright side with this club, you tend to get kicked in the bollocks. Over and over again. Everyone's worst fears were eventually realised, but it's hard to say it was a complete shock when it happened how it happened and the reaction, in particular, was completely expected.

that's where appointing a good manager comes in, i'd think. similar to sunderland we wasted a lot of money under souness, though at least they have had some tangible on field improvement, cisse and jones is a fair bit better than whatever nomarks were upfront for them when they got promoted. spending the money wasnt the problem, the problem was having a shit manager spend it. had we appointed a good manager that money couldve done wonders for us. Aye, again I can't disagree with the theory there. Speculation again though, innit?

the manager didnt say "no" to robinho, and thats a crucial difference. i dont think keegan wouldve said no either. had the abu dhabi fella spenT what was left of the budget on a player hughes felt wasnt good enough then we'd hae a similar situation. though even bringing in players their way can cause problems as the manager has to assemble a team with players given to him, rather than with players he has individually pinpointed to fit into a system. While it would be nice to be bankrolled in the way City are, as you say it's hardly ideal when you've got players coming in that the manager may not necessarily want but then has to fit in anyway in order to appease his higher-ups. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable if I was a City fan, and I'd assume the sensible ones aren't - especially with the position they're in right now. At the end of the day, I still firmly believe the manager should have the final say on everything IF the finances are stable enough (i.e. if a player doesn't NEED to be sold to stave off financial turmoil, etc.)

Well aye, but nobody gets everything right 100% of the time, we're all human at the end of the day. You cannot really fault any owner for backing a manager with cash (as the manager is supposed to know more about buying players than an owner) as long as the money is their own and isn't pushing the club towards administration or whatever (not saying Shepherd did this, by the way, as I dunno what the books were like and what Fred had up his sleeve to sort things out even if it was bad.)

I think the only time we're going to see any real progress is when we get somebody in who has made their money and doesn't have any other business ties and who is happy to focus 100% on running the club to the best of their ability, rather than just having it as a "hobby" and allowing other people (who may not be qualified enough/capable enough) to do the dirty work for them. I think he got by with Chris Mort because Mort was a clever bloke who took the time to listen to fans and implement ideas and suggestions put to him, as soon as he went, though, that side of stuff died a death. In fact, even prior to Mort going things had spiralled down from what they had been. I know it's a daft thing to say, but for example if I had loads of money and wanted to buy a football club, if I got one I would barely sleep for trying to make it the best that it could possibly be. That's the sort of owner we need, really, someone who lives and breathes for the club to be successful and is clever enough to do the best for it/get the best people in on the management/coaching side as well. Obviously one man can't do everything but Ashley seemed to come in and want to do nothing bar provide the money, attend the games and enjoy the spotlight. That's a fair enough analysis isn't it? That's another mistake, if so.

Lerner seems to be the role model for owners in the PL these days, as far as the new ones go. I'm sure brummie could tell the story better than me, but hasn't he been actively improving all aspects of the club as well as backing O'Neill to the hilt? They're getting rewards for it, too, and it's nice to see.