Cronky

My feeling is that he spent much of his teenage years within a culture where getting something for nothing gives you status, and being seen to work hard is uncool. Put another way - all about other people giving you something as the top dog, and not about you giving something to the team. He may well want to buy into a new set of attitudes, but abandoning your old ones can be difficult. I hope he makes it with us, because he does have talent, but he should have made more progress by now.

More of an irritant than a hate, but I'm fed up of seeing the huge variation in the estimates of how much a club gains by promotion to the Premiership. It can be anything from £20m to £100m. It's like these figures are plucked from thin air. Can't they agree on a sensible figure?

Don't footballers realize that messages on Twitter are public statements? If Rooney hasn't the brains to use Twitter sensibly, Fergie should ban him from using it at all.

I agree with you. I find this a bit embarrassing, considering Hughton's overall record since he's been in charge. If fans of another club were doing this, we'd be laughing at them and saying how weak and fickle they are. The club has to hold its nerve through the difficult times. Unless Hughton has lost the support of the dressing room - and there's absolutely no indication of that - then the club should be fully behind him. bobyule's opinion changing to suit whatever Ashley does shocker. For sure, I was dead against Hughton being sacked and was shocked when it happened. However, I will credit Ashley for having the guts to make the decision, because it was never going to be a popular one, and if it had not worked out, there would be hell to pay. He was prepared to back his own opinion and take that responsibility, whereas previously his regime had been floundering from one crisis to another, rather than acting pro-actively. I'd also say that the decision has worked out far better than I was expecting. I feared an outbreak of disunity, inside and outside the club, but Pardew has held the ship together. Whether Hughton would have been the better choice for the long-term role we'll never know, but Ashley's judgement of Pardew's ability now looks sound.

This sounds like he gets all the blame when things go wrong, and none of the credit when things go right. That's not a rational position.

We seem to be getting a lot of these interviews at the moment. I wonder if he's fed up with the TV studio, or eager to earn a bigger whack. It feels like he's trying to raise his profile and put himself in the shop window for another crack at management. I don't think there'll be any takers.

that's an amazing statement to make and there's virtually nothing to support it For me, it's the difference between reacting to events, and shaping events. At first, he inherited a mess, tried and failed to turn it round, then tried to get out. That chaotic phase is over, he's collected valuable experience (and he and his crew were novices to start off with), and he now looks committed and more confident. The two decisions that I highlighted - over Carroll and Pardew - showed the kind of boldness and confidence that was needed and was lacking at first. The club is in a far better state now than when he found it. You can hang on to the grievances of the past, but it's well time now to move forward.

He's over-achieved, really. He had a tough job with Carroll leaving, and injuries and suspensions, but he's seen us safely through to the end of the season. Anyone that can get a result in the Premiership using Best and Lovenkrands as a strikeforce has to have something about him. He comes across as a hard worker as well. I give credit to Ashley here. He took bold gambles in replacing Hughton and cashing in on Carroll half way through the season. Both decisions seem to have paid off, however unpopular they were at the time. I think Ashley has got to grips with the job now. Things are looking up again.

They'll probably come from the non-achieving players who still hunger for success, but as that group would include Ferguson, Mourinho, Wenger and Moyes, the game should be in safe hands. But you do have a point about the top players. They get paid huge amounts and lead pampered lifestyles, so there can't be much incentive to take a 95% cut in wages and do your apprenticeship as the manager of Gateshead.

I agree. He looks ready now. And his weight doesn't look like a problem.

I wasn't particularly impressed with him during his spell here. I'd rather give Ferguson his chance.

I don't know about baseball, but my impression of American Sports is that they tend to have measures to try to create more equal competition over the years eg a draft system so that the weaker teams have access to the better young players, an even split of TV money over all the franchises, a salary cap – I’m not sure if they all apply to all four major sports, but the understanding has been there for a long time that part of the role of the governing bodies is to ensure that one or two teams don’t dominate year after year. In Europe, there’s generally a free rein for a wealthy benefactor to spend what they want. The new UEFA ‘Financial Fair Play’ rules are the first attempt that I’m aware of to counteract that. The situation has also become exacerbated in England by the huge amounts of Satellite TV money that are now available to those who qualify for the Champions League. A club who enjoys Champions League status can use that money to maintain their position year on year, by paying the big transfer fees and big salaries for the better players. Success has bred success. Evening out the TV money between the Champions League clubs and the rest of the Premiership, and between the Premiership and the Championship, would be very beneficial but I'm not sure it's going to happen. I think another advantage in America is the number of large cities who can sustain a big sports franchise on an equal footing with their rivals. In some of the smaller countries of europe (eg Scotland, Portugal, Greece), their leagues have been dominated by a handful of big city clubs for a while.

Me neither, which is why I definitely don't want him coming here any time soon. That said, I was pleasantly surprised by his time here. Most of my prejudice against him stems from everything he's ever said and done before and after that time, but during it he seemed pretty bold in ripping up plans that were going wrong, which surprised me - didn't show Owen unwarranted loyalty, experimented with tactics. He seemed to be making more right moves than I expected - if he'd kept that rate up and been given a handful more games to work with I think he would have kept us up, at least. Some people have extremely short memories. He dropped him didn't he? It was Hughton that originally dropped Owen, and Shearer re-instated him the minute he took over. After a few games, he realised his mistake and dropped him again. In fairness, I think it was a genuine error of judgement about Owen's contribution. It wasn't about being loyal to a mate.

That's one of the reasons I'd be hesitant. They'd both be seeking the same role. Zoggy has a licence to roam at Wigan, and he's found it much easier to get on the ball in space and run at the opposition. With us, he was stuck out wide and more restricted. You could possibly play HBA and Zoggy behind the striker in a 433, but that may leave us a bit light when the opposition have the ball. Of the two, there's no doubt in my mind that HBA has got more to offer. If he comes back here it would have to be to play wide left, Pardew has already said that he sees HBA playing off the main striker. Well, as I said, Zoggy looks so much better to me in a free role that I wouldn't look to play him wide. Pardew seemed to be experimenting with a new formation on Sunday, though it's difficult to tell from the TV. Jonas and Lovenkrands seemed to be playing around Shola in a 4-3-3 at times, and we looked good. 4-4-2 can be a bit of a straitjacket. You could try Zoggy and HBA in that formation and it would be brilliant if it worked, because they're both as fast as cats. If we could experiment for a few games and send Zoggy back if it doesn't work that would be the ideal way forward.

Several times, he received the ball under pressure, but was able to keep hold of it and find a pass that got us out of the situation. Quick of feet and quick of thought. He looked a very instinctive player who could improvise his way out of trouble and spot opportunities that other players might miss. As RW might say, he did ever so well, my word.

That's one of the reasons I'd be hesitant. They'd both be seeking the same role. Zoggy has a licence to roam at Wigan, and he's found it much easier to get on the ball in space and run at the opposition. With us, he was stuck out wide and more restricted. You could possibly play HBA and Zoggy behind the striker in a 433, but that may leave us a bit light when the opposition have the ball. Of the two, there's no doubt in my mind that HBA has got more to offer.

He's the most uninspiring looking manager, and I can't imagine him getting the players fired up for a battle. Whenever I've seen West Ham this season, they've looked good in bursts, but then the concentration goes and they seem to lose heart completely. With the players they've got, they shouldn't have gone down. Having said that, it feels bad to publicly sack the guy straight after the game like that. He's entitled to a bit of dignity.

The change of formation actually seemed to freshen us up a bit. Good, positive management from Pardew. Ferguson looked a very tidy young player. He barely put a foot wrong. Showed excellent control and awareness of what was going on around him. Lua Lua looks to have added a bit more bulk and did well. Sammy A got involved right away.

I'm kind of glad we're mathematically safe right now.

Absolutely, and those are the reasons why most players decide against going in for management. I just get a bit fed up with these regular messages from Shearer of 'maybe one day, but not now', which he started giving out even when he was still playing.

That lad's a worry. We struggled to get near him in the League Cup game.

Re Shearer interview - I'm not sure his managerial career is ever going to take off. He wants an opportunity where there's a good chance of success, but also recognises that he's unlikely to get that as a novice. He wants to serve an apprenticeship, but doesn't want the risk of failure. He himself seems to recognise the incoherence of his position. Underlying it all, I think he wonders whether it's worth the sacrifices that he would have to make. So he ends up stuck in a TV studio by default.

It was a very bad decision and that particular issue provides a greater insight into how KK works - he thinks short-term. Its all about the now with KK. That might explain his impulsivenes. I.e. the Cole sale. From what I've gathered KK was working with the team in training one day and our own defenders were starting to suss Cole's movement and would often keep him quite which lead KK on an impulse to think well if his own defenders could suss the way he played the opposition could too so just like that Cole needed replaced. This a 21 year old 68 goals in 80 odd game striker, the darling of the crowd. Scrapping the reserves also showed just how powerful KK was and just how much the board trusted him. I think the board idolised KK and were also scared of him in equal measures. KK of course played on that and used his standing with the fans to pretty much run NUFC as he saw fit, often without check. In that kind of environment you can see how delusion can develop. Its a bit like a rockstar being told they are great everyday by the hangers on and having everything done for them constantly. They soon feel like they are god and cannot hack being told no or criticism. KK was the rock star of Newcastle if you like. When I think about it all, what was a marriage made in heaven was also a very unstable relationship and an break-up was inevitable. KK is a totalitarian and no football club can be ran like that. Especially a modern day one. You've made some good points there, but I'm not sure how you square it with the post you've just made. Unless I'm being set up here.

If he feels the need to hit back at critics, the England job isn't for him.

All the more credit to him for taking it on the day. Le Tissier was once asked for the secret to taking a good pen, and he said that too many players were worried about missing. He always had in his mind beforehand, a picture of the ball hitting the net, the cheering crowd, the congratulations from team mates etc Shola is one of nature's positive thinkers. With the amount of abuse he takes from fans, he ought to be the last one that would volunteer for a penalty. But he obviously sees it as an opportunity, not a risk. Not long ago, he was talking about getting a call-up to the England squad, and being Newcastle manager one day. We can all laugh, but there's nothing wrong with having an aim and being positive. On the pitch, he and the team can be having a terrible day, but he'll keep showing for the ball, and keep trying things. This season, we've seen him risk his long-term fitness by playing before a facial injury has fully recovered. I'm sure that in the past, he's turned out when only half-fit, in situations where other players might have ducked out. I would love it if his spirit is rewarded in the end by a really great moment, like the winning goal in a Cup Final.