chicago_shearer

Forget the money for a moment, how big and how serious are these people at NVA? Are they just brokering the deal or would they be involved in selecting the manager, chairman etc. Who is calling the shots? The website isn't convincing me of much.

I'd rather have Hoddle than Venables, but only in the same way that I'd rather take a punch to the gut than a kick to the balls. He was admittedly shit at Wolves and Spurs, but the way England played under his regime leads me to believe there is a fairly decent manager in there somewhere.

Basically how I feel. Martinez and some of the continental names being bandied about like Deschamps might sound nice in internet land and could be very successful at a normal well-run club, but this club is a circus at the best of times, and at the moment it is completely in the shit. Can anyone honestly say that the vast majority of supporters would accept the manager of Swansea? I just can't see it. I really don't know what sort of manager Shearer would turn out to be, but if Southgate and Keane can do it reasonably well without being made to earn their stripes at some 3rd division club (which is a stupid argument to begin with) then I don't see why Shearer can't. We don't need a big reputation, or experience in the Turkish league or attractive football. We need a motivator and someone capable of lifting us out of this funk. Shearer might be a desperate, panic appointment but this is a desperate club that should be panicking. You need the fans on your side and you need to raise expectations. Forget about Zico and get real.

Even Souness realized that. Why wasn't he replaced?

I'd make sure I got the money up front.

Which is exactly the problem. I don't understand where we get this mentality that the players are never at fault (except the 2 or 3 scapegoats we pick out each season) and that the manager bares the bulk of the responsibility. God forbid a manager speaks out against the performances of his own team because it may knock the fragile confidence of these football players.

God that would be a weird appointment. Not the worst idea, but just so strange and surreal.

Fuck everything. I say we go for Ketsbaia. That might just be crazy enough to work.

Come on Wigan, make me feel slightly better about things.

I want him to do an interview with a broadsheet and give an honest account of what exactly happened and why he had to leave so suddenly. That is what I want from KK.

This is just another stupid kneejerk thread. N'Zogbia at left back and some weird experiment with Cacapa in midfield was really the biggest problem? He commits the sin of playing Ameobi, something every previous manager has done with no effect, and he should be immediately sacked? For who exactly? Is there a list of short term managers looking to take control of this shit squad for an indeterminate amount of time? Houghton out....jesus fucking wept. Why don't we ask the cunts who wear the shirt to be accountable for their own performances instead of sacking our way out of another slump.

I agree he can take no blame in what has created the mess, but he can take the blame for team selection against Hull and West Ham, both games he got it so wrong. Todays selection is made more pathetic because of how we ended the game vs Hull after he made the changes, that should have showed him Bassong was best choice for LB and that Nacho can play a bit of football and is a natural CM where as Cacapa is a CB.. I don't think Bassong or N'Zogbia at left back is the magic formula. We are getting thrashed and embarassed. Not enough ability, and most importantly not enough pride.

FFS....blaming Hughton. On the list of people responsible for this fucking mess he ranks behind Ashley, behind Keegan, and behind the underachieving, gutless shits that have been in the team for the last two matches.

Fuck this, I'm watching the golf instead.

What's the chances of hearing anything first hand from the club? Except, of course, all those informative puff pieces on the website about how thrilled Bassong is to be here, how Barton gives balloons to sick children etc. I would say about the same as our chances of doing the double this year.

I don't even think someone as desperate as O'Leary would take the job knowing that the next owner would almost certainly boot him out ASAP. Stick with Hughton until Ashley sells.

Ask yourself whether this team, in its current predicament, is incapable of finishing 7 points worse off than we did last season. Last season we won 8 games at home, and 3 away. We finished 12th. Reading won 8 games at home, and 2 away. They went down. And 36 points may or may not be enough this year. How many points did West Ham go down with? I don't want to finish 17th, but I'd take it given how bleak our current prospects actually are.

If he keeps scoring points for my otherwise shit fantasy team then I don't mind if you compare him to Pele.

Who's going down this season then? Where are these 5 or 6 clubs that are so piss easy that we are definitely going to finish above them? This could spiral out of control very quickly unless someone takes charge.

Yes, I would. In a heartbeat. I'm angry with him, but Keegan demonstrated that moral, attitude, work ethic and self-belief are everything in this game. That is what will differentiate the mid table teams that challenge for Europe from the mid table teams that struggle to stay up. In terms of a player for player comparison, I don't think we are that far behind the likes of Villa or Everton. But that doesn't mean we are too good to go down. We aren't. Good players can get relegated when they lack team cohesion, stability, coaching or leadership. This club doesn't just need a manager, it needs a personality. Someone with a bit of arrogance & ego to distract the media attention, get the players motivated and get this ship back on course.

1. Hiddink 2. Mourinho 3. Wenger 4. Steve Bruce

But this is a massssssssive club. The offers would be flooding in. I doubt the Arab or Indian billionaires and/or hedge funds will even bother with due diligence - what's the point when you have 52k Geordies every week?

Bilic would be my first choice as he seems to have a strong enough personality to deal with the s*** shower that comes with the job. But I just can't see many credible candidates being interested. No job security, questionable authority, an average squad, no coaching staff and bad finances...what are the upsides?

When you fail to communicate with the media or the public, and then you sack a very popular, successful manager legend (who may or may not be at fault, we don't know) then you should anticipate and expect a riot. Ashley may have a very sound long term business plan for the club, but he is not blameless. He set himself up for this disaster through failing to communicate.

Reasons for not talking to the media about transfers : fear of other clubs scuppering the deal, minimising the papers releasing incorrect rumour about potential salary requests, transfer fees. Reasons for talking to the fans : allowing them an insight into THEIR club and to what is happening at a time of great chaos The 2 forms of communications are totally different. They got one right (silence on the transfers), they got the other horribly wrong. wouldn't they just be accused of spinning their side of the story ?. Spin is good. Spin is what multi million pound businesses dependent on their fanbase should be doing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with spin.