OzzieMandias

Perhaps you can't see the difference between spending to consolidate a position at the top and qualify for the CL for a second money-spinning season and spending in a panic two summers later when we've long pissed away that chance – now gone, it seems, for good.

It's there so we can occasionally manage to win a game without it having an effect on our league position.

Best post on this thread, Fox. I vowed I would NOT get involved in all this 'Yah-Boo, I know better than you stuff' after the last interminable rants over the running of the Club. Time to deal in that much over-used word , guys - FACT FACT 1. Club Unsuccessful for 38 years(YES, UNSUCCESSFUL - TROPHIES NIL, despite having most loyal fans in the country, based on what has been put in front of them). FACT 2. Club had best chance of sustained success over the past 10 years - THIS HAS BEEN WASTED. FACT 3. There has been no recognisable LONG-TERM PLAN for the development & future of the Club(Shilly-shallying over Academy for years, poor Scouting networks etc.). FACT 4. The club has made some APPALLING signings when the whole package of the deal is costed-out FACT 5, The club has been going backwards for at least 3 years since the lack of investment prior to Champs league campaign in 2003/4 FACT 6. The handling of the Bobby Robson situation (re; his stepping-down)was deplorably mis-managed., leading directly to the current, serious situation. FACT 7. THE BUCK STOPS AT THE TOP; THE CHAIRMAN HAS MADE(OR NOT MADE!) THE DECISIONS WHICH HAVE LEAD TO THIS(MANAGERIAL APPTS., TRANSFER POLICIES) AND SO SHOULD CARRY THE CAN. Anyone who can't(or won't) see this is now well & truly in the minority of the club's long-suffering support and doing the club no good by defending its position. As I said before, they are entitled to their views, but I recommend that as from now, no-one gets into a pointless debate about it - they are never going to change, so leave them to it. We have enough things to discuss & worry about besides those who insist the World is flat... Last word on the subject. I really can't be bothered to go through all of your points simply because most of it comes under the "be careful what you wish for" banner of replacing the Board. However, the point about summer 2003 gets on my wick because time after time people mention this. I post the facts of that period and the only person to address it so far has been Macbeth. Here it is again, I'd appreciate your comment....especially as the Board is now being slated for poor financial management. <snip> This has already been done to death. The facts show the club speculated to move from the Gullit mediocrity to a CL qualifying place by spending nearly £50m quid net in the 32 months prior to summer 2003, it's also a fact the club lashed out millions in January 2003 on Woodgate, something that is always ignored by those who babble on about summer 2003. From Jan 2001 ( ish ) through to summer 2003 the wage bill increased massively as well because we'd speculated by bringing in nearly a dozen players in 32 months under Robson, with only 2 reserve players leaving the club for very small fees. <snip> So, as merlin said, no strengthening of the team in summer 2003.

No, you don't see. I arranged for someone from the Hitzfeld campaign to have their say in reply to Fat Freddie slagging off Newcastle fans (again).

Nope, and neither did I. I merely arranged an interview so someone from the Hitzfeld campaign could reply to Fat Fred’s "betting scam" diss. Meanwhile, I looked up "scumbag journo" in the dictionary and there was a picture of Alan Oliver.

Insofar as HTL's hypothetical scenario makes any sense at all, it's merely indicative of the vicious circle that Fat Fred's poor management of the club has created – poor performance on the pitch leads to less money for players which leads to poorer performances on the pitch which leads to even less money for players... and "less money for players" means both smaller transfer kittys AND the worsening ratio of wages to turnover. The less money we're making, the bigger the percentage of the total that gets spent on wages, and the less money there is to spend on other things. The wages/turnover thing will have to be addressed sooner or later. Common sense suggests that the January transfer window might not be the best time for radical measures. The financial problems are going to be much harder to deal with if we get relegated. In reality, things are rarely as simple as either/or. I'd agree with posters upthread who suggest we spend wisely on a small number of players in the key positions that most obviously need strengthening. In the short-term – which is to say, in the interests of avoiding relegation – experienced scrappers are right now probably going to be more use than long-term prospects who might or might not work out. Someone mentioned SBR signing Kevin Gallagher; that's the right kind of thinking.

Then you'll agree that his managerial ability goes beyond situations where he has oodles of transfer funds.

Neither did Gothenborg, Benfica, Sampdoria or Roma, yet he won trophies at all these clubs.

What a load of utter bilge.

Are you sure he's not just taking the piss because we lost?

He's still hedging his bets, though. Can't quite bring himself to admit that it's Fat Fred who makes the decisions that have brought us to the state we're in today. Perhaps he's blinded by his deep love for Bellamy. History, tbh.

ASAIK, we don't own the land it's on, so who would want to buy it? I was just about to point out the same thing. There aren't exactly loads of other sports clubs in the city who need a 52,000-seater stadium.

I wonder why you disappeared when your mate that you backed to spend millions, sell the "cancer" and leave the club better off, did the opposite, then came back when you hoped we would all have forgotten about it Your memory is, of course, faulty. I "disappeared" at the time Fat Fred dissed the Hitzfeld campaign as a "betting scam". I'd called in a favour or two and put myself on the line to arrange a press interview with a national paper so that someone from the campaign could present our point of view. Then various lightweights got in a tizz about how it might upset Fat Fred and how I was some kind of traitor for helping the national press to knock our wonderful chairman. So I figured, what's the point? And ducked out for a while. As the consequences of yet another disastrous Fat Fred appointment have now become clear, most forum members have, however, now seen the light – rather blinding at the moment, when you consider the overall cacked-up state of the club. Which you can't see, of course, as keeping your head stuck well up your arse is naturally an impediment to vision. Still, at least you provide some light relief in these troubled times for forum members who need something to laugh at.

I wonder why they think anyone gives a toss what they supposedly posted way back whenever?

:rolllrg: Where have I said replacing the board will lead to automatic improvement? Ive said plenty of times we could possibly end up with a worse chairman than Shephard, because they do exist no doubt - which in no way negates the notion that Shephard is a shit chairman. So, after a red herring, you now resort to straw man fallacies. If you dont know what a straw man is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man_fallacy Spot on, tmonkey. NE5 has more straw men than a scarecrow factory.

Why would he trade up a team which is top of ligue 1 and doing well in the Champions League for one that is at the bottom of the premiership? And, even less appealing, have Fat Fred for his boss?

Someone should try posting something that agrees with the article, in a dumb kind of way (cutting and pasting one of NE5's arguments, for example), and see if that gets published.

I think we should thank NE5 for demonstrating so consistently that the pro-Shepherd case is subscribed to only by morons.

I'm only explaining to deluded people like you that there are a hell of a lot of possible chairman out there running other big city clubs that are a lot worse off than us. Obviously there are chairmen who are even worse. Just as obviously, there are chairmen who are much better.

The decline in income clearly started two years before Fat Fred appointed Souness. Why are you on a thread about the club's finances if you haven't even read the information about the club's finances? eeer.....I believe figures were put up a year ago, when your hero was doing such a good job clearing out the cancer that would leave us better off, according to you, which showed conclusively that the club had spent a lot of money getting back into the Champions League during the previous 2-3 years, despite you saying you thought money was still available in the summer of 2003. So if you are opposing the club spending money it doesn't have, why did you do it then ? we're in a relegation battle for the second season running. I hope you're happy. eeer....no. YOU wanted the funding of Souness and the sale of Bellamy, not me. Eerr... no. YOU are happy with a board that has pissed away everything and left us in a relegation place, with a crap manager we probably can't afford to sack, and no money to strengthen the team. It's certainly not something that most supporters are happy about. errr....as a supporter of 43 years, I've seen a lot worse As a reader of lots of posts, I've read some that are even more stupid than yours. Doesn't make you intelligent, though.

The decline in income clearly started two years before Fat Fred appointed Souness. Why are you on a thread about the club's finances if you haven't even read the information about the club's finances? eeer.....I believe figures were put up a year ago, when your hero was doing such a good job clearing out the cancer that would leave us better off, according to you, which showed conclusively that the club had spent a lot of money getting back into the Champions League during the previous 2-3 years, despite you saying you thought money was still available in the summer of 2003. So if you are opposing the club spending money it doesn't have, why did you do it then ? we're in a relegation battle for the second season running. I hope you're happy. eeer....no. YOU wanted the funding of Souness and the sale of Bellamy, not me. Eerr... no. YOU are happy with a board that has pissed away everything and left us in a relegation place, with a crap manager we probably can't afford to sack, and no money to strengthen the team. It's certainly not something that most supporters are happy about.

Only those with little or no recollection of that would support the bloke who is taking us in that very same direction you clown. Or those with absolutely no brains at all.

The decline in income clearly started two years before Fat Fred appointed Souness. Why are you on a thread about the club's finances if you haven't even read the information about the club's finances? eeer.....I believe figures were put up a year ago, when your hero was doing such a good job clearing out the cancer that would leave us better off, according to you, which showed conclusively that the club had spent a lot of money getting back into the Champions League during the previous 2-3 years, despite you saying you thought money was still available in the summer of 2003. So if you are opposing the club spending money it doesn't have, why did you do it then ? What on earth are you on about? Because money had been spent on players earlier, the board were right to award themselves an £8.5 million dividend and not freshen up the squad in summer 2003? I suppose because I bought some groceries the week before last, that means I don't have buy any fresh bread or milk next week? Fact is, it was obvious to most supporters that the squad needed an extra boost in 2003. Not qualifying for the Champions League - and thus having even less money the following season - was the consequence of the board’s failure to do this. Once again, as earlier in Shepherd’s reign, we completely blew our chance to consolidate our position as a top five team. Instead, we're in a relegation battle for the second season running. I hope you're happy.

Tossers.