macphisto

For anyone out there who is against NUSC and think that a supporters club should be trying to work with the board, could you please explain their position. I'm just completely baffled why people think this would help the club. From day one the board has just about done everything wrong to warrant any faith in them. In my opinion it doesn't matter whether NUSC works in partnership with the board or not, the board will continue to run the club badly and not listen to anyone. This being the case NUFC may as well try and force them out of town!

After reading a lot of the posts on here I was just wondering if I’m the only person to think that there’s possibly a few agent provocateurs acting on behalf of the club posting messages? I really am bamboozled by the amount of people who are so willing to: Support Ashley or give him the benefit of the doubt Negativity towards the last board (I was far from their biggest fan but compared the current set up they are not so bad!) Bad mouthing NUSC I’m not going to get into the individual arguments of why I find so many people holding the above views bizarre as that has been done to death. I’m just more interested in knowing if I’m the only one who thinks that the views expressed on this forum are very out of sync with their own opinions or people they know? Of course there’s always going to be two sides to every argument but a few years back I could always empathise with other people’s views on this forum even when I didn’t agree with them, the debate just seemed a lot more informed! If some of the posters on here are not working for the club, I can only presume that they get a kick out of trying to be clever and arguing against what I see as the consensus in the street. May be I’m wrong and I’m the person out of sync with the majority, who knows? I just find a lot of the views on this board very depressing!

What makes you think the next owner will be any better than the current one? *Simple question to answer, if the next owner is not better than the current one, then we chase them out of town as well. For me it's about setting standards as a set of fans of what we will tolerate. For example do you think Liverpool fans would put up with what we've had to go through the last few years? Dennis Wise as DOF??? What do you classify as being treat with common decency? *For starters not having a owner, chairman and manager who either say nothing or come out with a right load of rubbish. Try to communicate with the fans rather than treat them with contempt. Who said you're not a fan if you don't support the team? *I've seen that on here by a few people, in numerous threads I've seen people say that "if you stop supporting the team then you're not a real supporter". What do you classify as not standing up for ourselves? *Basically what we're doing now, all I hear fans say is lets support the team. Where has that got us and who in the team deserves out support? That's why I'd like to see more organised demonstrations to show people that we've had enough. How is the club ours? *How is the club ours? Easy one to answer as we are the people who put the money into the club, without the fans the club would be nothing. Without Ashley the club would still exist, without the manager the club would still exist, without the players the club would still exist. How is relegation going to help us? *Could be a fresh start, as I mentioned earlier it's about setting standards. How is boycotting club merchandise or tickets going to help? *It will show the club that they can no longer take us for granted, a sign that we've had enough. I'm not going to get into lengthy emails but just to clarify my thoughts a little bit. As a club we've now gone over 50 years without winning a single domestic trophy and throughout that time the fans have done nothing but support the team. We've had consecutive owners who have mismanaged the club so badly it’s hard to believe! In my view the unconditional support that the team gets is one of the reasons why we’ve never fulfilled our potential. It just makes the club ripe for exploitation as an owner knows that the fans are going to support the team regardless of how well the club is managed. Look over the last few years, we’ve had Souness, Roeder and Kinnear. The reaction of most fans has been to give them a chance and support the team even though nearly everyone knew deep down that it was never going to work! Would it not have been better for the club if as a group of fans to have protested and said no way to these managers? Whoever was in charge of the club would soon come to realise that they’d have to think carefully about what decisions they made as they could no longer rely on the fans acting like sheep which is what we’ve mostly done over the last 50 years, myself included!! As I mentioned earlier in my answer to one of your questions it’s all about setting standards and for too long we’ve settled for second best without doing anything about it. So I think as a set of fans we need to break this chain of unconditional support to the team/club and demonstrate when the club is plainly being badly ran. Lets have some accountability! If this meant relegation, so be it because I think in the long run it would be for the benefit of the club. If as a set of fans we changed our mind set and let the powers in charge know when we’re not happy, they would soon up their act as they would know that they could no longer count us to keep supporting the club come what may! Obviously any new owner is not going to get every decision right, but it would be good to know that the club has at least tried to make a good decision for the benefit of the club which hasn’t always been the case.

"cut your nose off, despite your face" You could call it that or you could call it standing up for yourself and saying enough is enough!

I said a week ago in another thread I hope there's loads of protests and if that resulted in relegation, so be it! The premiership is not all that it’s cracked up to be anyway! I'd rather be a set of fans who don't stand for being walked over than a set of fans who settle for Premiership survival at the expense of their pride! Would you let anyone else treat you as Ashley has since he's owned the club? Not only is he embarrassing the club but also the city and region! Before people say back the club/team, where has that ever got us? Anyone who says that should read the book which marked NUFC's history since we last won a domestic cup! Various owners over the years have done nothing but treat the fans with contempt! This has got to end! Also the club is not Ashley's, the club belongs to the fans, and in my view NUFC is nothing but the fans! So I'd rather get relegated if that meant Ashley left and we got in a decent owner who would know he'd have to treat the fans with respect. It would also be a chance to finally move on, the new owners and fans together! Also for anyone who says you’re not a real fan if you don’t support the team, well at this moment in time I think supporting the club is more damaging long term as it just allows people to get away with conning the fans! I just think it would be a watershed in NUFC’s history as I don’t think the fans have ever stood up for themselves! I'm not after millions being spent or anything but just want to be treat with common decency!!

You are right, and that is what it took to get rid of McKeag in the end...all this 'get behind the lads' stuff is old hat from the 50s when they really DID get behind them because they had a good side who tried their hearts out. Ashley & Co are only interested in the dosh - if they thought they were going to get another financial caning, they'd soon get their finger out.. Door-mats get trodden on.... so they don't think we'd get a financial caning by getting relegated ? the irony being that the best we've done in the league post war was under the control of others who were in it for the dosh............made loads-risked little. Just to reiterate my original post I really don't care about the financial aspect of things as I think there's more important things in life. As I said in my original post we are being taken for mugs on a grand scale by all parties, for example the lack of communication by the board is disgraceful! So I'd happily take relegation if that was the result of the fans protesting, at least we would have some pride and show people that we won't be taken for granted! How can any self-respecting person support anyone related to NUFC is beyond me as none of them give a toss about the club.

I personally hope the fans do protest I really don't care if that results in us getting relegated. In my opinion the pride of the Newcastle fans/city is more important than what division the team is in! At the moment we're getting the p*ss taken out of us by the players, manager and board and I'd rather make a stand against that than anything else! To show people that we're no mugs and have pride in ourselves! I would quite happily take relegation if it meant these jokers being kicked out of town!

Funny thing I find about young players is the sheer lack of quality North of the M62. After Shearer I can't think of one world class player to have come through at any club who was born North of the M62. Only player I can think of that it would apply to is Woodgate if he had of been fit during his career. Previous to the last 15 years, I don't think I'm wrong to use world class to describe, Dalglish, Souness, Bryan Robson, Waddle, Beardsley, Gazza and Shearer During this time there's been a good few players who have come through in the North West area who you could class as world class such as Rooney, Gerrard, Scholes and Owen (when he first came on the scene!). Hopefully it's all cyclical and we'll have some good youngsters come through soon!

We'll see about that, I'm sure Keegan thought there would be money too!!

I don't see why so many people rate this guy on here, you don't need to be an expert in football to spot two current Argentinean Internationals!! It's not like they've gone and got someone like Zaki who is much less known. The jury is well and truly out on the other buys! Also who ever was responsible for player recruitment wants shooting for not getting in another central midfielder!! Also goes to show in my opinion the power of spin in our society today! Ashley comes out with this visionary structure when in truth it's no different to Fat Fred's relationship with Paul Stretford the agent who also has extensive contacts throughout the football world! Maybe Fat Fred should have just given Stretford a more fancy title!

The irony is thats exactly the sort of image we should be portraying publicly, as this is what investors want to see. If you want an investor he has to see some sort of return. Gullible, spend-happy supporters who love to bend over and take it from behind is the ideal profile for an investor. A militant, incoherent supporter base is exactly the opposite of what they are looking for. Does anyone still think there is no connection with the turmoil/protests and poisonous atmosphere at the club and the lack of willing buyers? I don't think there's any connection what so ever between he protests and lack of buyers (though we don't know how many people are really interested), anyone with an ounce of knowledge about football would know that they wouldn't have to do much to get the supporters back onside. Even through this period when it is as bad I can remember and that includes pre-premier league we are still pulling in 40,000+ crowds.

Looks like I'm the only one who supports the actions of NUSC! Good to see some supporters doing something for a change, we've had years of mismanagement at the Toon which is really highlighted when you read the book about us not winning anything for 50 years (forgot the title!)!! How people can blame the protesters for a situation where we are now on our third manager under Ashley's reign and ended up in a situation where we've got Dennis Wise as DOF and Joe Kinnear as manager is baffling!!! Not to mention the squad being terrible!! Oh yes I forgot the great structure he put in place ended up with us getting two Argentinean Internationals, though did we really need this new “continental structure” to help us identify two current Argentinean Internationals??? Surely any club with a basic scouting system would have identified them! Not really too bothered what NUSC do to be honest but I’m pleased they are protesting in some way and also pleased that the crowds are down as at least as a fan of Newcastle I can have some self respect! Yes this may be to the detriment of the club for now but I’m sick of putting up with complete mismanagement over the years and seeing the fans turn out to support them regardless!! We just look like idiots who’ll take any old rubbish and still turn up at the match which is what the majority of fans have done over the years, me included!!! Also for all those people saying Ashley has been forced out by the protesters, not many people are happy about his handling of SportsDirect at the moment but I don’t see him trying to sell up there! You don’t get to where he is in the world without being able to take some flack and see things out!!

Well so far I have determined there is one reason the posters don't like them; they're Nigerian. Basically Nigeria is one of the most corrupt countries in the world to do business. I've worked with organisations from many different parts of Africa and I've only ever had trouble in Nigeria. Other people I know who have worked in Africa all say the same thing. I'm not saying that all Nigerians are the same as I've met some really decent people but the country is in a mess. Just look at these two articles for example to see what I mean: http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12267373 http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11975488

Before this all blew up I was going to raise the issue of whether Ashley was just turning us into a feeder club. But then bidding for Modric and signing Coloccini doesn't really suggest that. I think we could have signed more players before the summer window closed but the impression I get is that Keegan only wanted players of a certain quality/players he'd heard of. I thought the same as you but now I'm not too certain about whether we really did bid for Modric, was it the same sort of bid that we made for Rooney? I know it's a different board now but did we really try to get him? With regards to players of certain quality, it would not have been too difficult to get better players than what we have in central midfield! I would hardly say Gutherie and the new guy are world beaters.

I can't really figure out why everyone is so happy about Ashley, football wise he hasn't a clue! And that's where it really matters, could someone please give me an example of a good football decision he's made? Kept with Allardyce/failed to back him. Take your pick on that one but either way he screwed up! Wanted to appoint Redknapp as manager. Showed a complete lack of ambition in three transfer windows Apointed the wrong manager for the structure he wanted. Anyone with an ounce of knowledge about football would have known Keegan wouldn't be happy with the new structure! Appointed Dennis Wise to the board, I'm sure there's much more qualified people than him who could do the job. Just think Ashley's first choice set up at the club would have been Redknapp and Wise! Said there's money there when there blatantly isn't. Actions speak louder than words and if we had the money then it wouldn't be too difficult to get a better central midfielder than Butt or Gutherie. No point mentioning Barton as who knows when he will play again. Also with regards to the new guy they've bought, well lets see how well he does but the fact we've got him on loan says it all! Our two Central midfielder purchases this summer has been Liverpool's 8th choice central midfielder and a loan from Valencia! Also with regards to the new structure, we need to bare in mind two things! It's far too early to judge the new players, even though some people already seem to think they're the bees knees! Other point related to the new structure is that what we're trying to do can't be done anymore. By far the most successful club to develop young players is Arsenal and even they are now starting to struggle in recent seasons. As soon as you develop a young player one of the bigger clubs will come in for them! As a club you need to be prepared to spend big money if you want to do anything and Ashley just won't do that. Can't say I blame him as I wouldn't lay out the money either but at the same token I wouldn't have been stupid enough to have bought a football club if I wasn't prepared to do that!

I'm really pleased Keegan has done what he has today because the bloke has too much integrity to keep on being a PR machine for Ashley. I was starting to lose a lot of respect for Keegan as he was starting to insult the intelligence of the fans. To be repeatedly told that money is there but it's hard to find quallity players doesn't sit with the facts. For example do people truly believe that we couldn't have got better central midfielders than what we already have if money was there? Butt is past it, Guthrie is OK and who knows when we'll see Barton in the team! Yeah we got the guy from Valencia but he's hardy got fantastic credentials! The sooner Ashley goes the better because since day one he's been pretty clueless with regards to the football side of things!! No ambition what so ever in the transfer market, Harry Redknapp as first choice before Keegan, and the recruitment of Dennis Wise!!! Says it all really!!

Not going to get into the right and wrongs of booing a player but as a 31 bloke I'd feel a right idiot actually making the booing sound, I would either groan or curse!! I'd feel like a 5 year old! I just wonder if people who boo do that in any other situations where they are not happy with someone!

Based on what? We score more goals with no strikers. How many goals has Healy scored in the league? I just don't think there's much difference between all three players, lets face it they are all pretty poor! So rather than wasting money on signing-on fees, agent fees I'd rather just keep what we've got. Yes you could point to Healy's international record but Ameobi has a decent record of goals when Newcastle have played in Europe! It's in the league where it counts and as I said all three are poor in that respect!

Signing Healy would be an absolute joke! If this did happen then it would make a mockery of Keegan going on about not signing players for the sake of it becasue that's what Healy would be! Not worth saying anymore until something happens but I'd rather keep Smith and Ameobi!

I'm don't live in Newcastle any more but I think it's a combination of reasons. When Fat Fred was here you always had the hope that if someone new came in who had the money, then we'd start competing again. Now that Ashley has come in, things have not improved on the pitch which is where it counts! So what hope is there? Things may be a lot better behind the scenes but I don't really care (that might sound ignorant but all the top teams have mountains of debt) the signings we've made so far are pretty mediocre. No football club has the right to expect to sell out a 52,000 stadium with the signings we've made recently. We'll see who comes in over the next few weeks but it's not looking promising at the moment! Also don't believe the economy has anything to do with not selling enough tickets. As a one city/regional club, with a half decent team we'd sell out no problem.

I can understand why people like him as a footballer but I don't understand why people like him as a person. He had a few problems under Robson and I also remember Robson having a go at him when he was at Villa, I think he left the stadium after he had been subbed and his team were still playing. All that stuff about him moving to London for his family was a right load of rubbish. If he wanted to stay and Allardyce had of wanted him here then they could have found a way round things, with international breaks and the number of games we play in London he would have been able to get down to see them enough.

I was gutted when Lee Clark returned and played for us the 2nd time. Just epitomised all the rubbish about a Geordie nation and having Geordies in the team that Oliver and Shepard go/gone on about. He should have been nowhere near the place and highlighted how far we had gone backwards since Robson's team. It's funny when we go through a bad patch that a lot of people go on about us needing more grit and bottle. Talent does not seem to come into the equation sometimes!

I was thinking more a long the lines of home shirt sales. I'm also not so sure how many shirts they actually sell world wide as most of them will be fakes. For example I was in Phuket a few months back and there's an official Arsenal Club shop in Patong that was empty everytime I went past, though a few locals had fake shirts on!

Hi just been having a little lunch time wager! Does any one know where to get information on shirt sales? I bet my mate that Newcastle sell more shirts than Arsenal. Four pints are riding on this!

I remember seeing Anthony Le Tallec (the player who ended up at Liverpool and has actually just left them) at St James Park playing for France against England in a youth tournament about 5 years ago and he was by far the best young player I've ever seen, just head and shoulders above anyone else on the pitch. I really thought I'd seen a Zidane in the making. I suppose he's done OK but no where near what I thought he would do. I remember reading when he went to Liverpool that Wenger was gutted about losing out and once or twice I've wondered what would happened if he had of went to Arsenal.