Cronky

Could be a very young Rivelino. Except he didn't smile very much.

Unfortunately you could be right. Hopefully Allardyce will hold out for the terms and conditions that he needs in order to run the club properly.

;D But we can say that he didnt manage at club level for some time now and he will be motivated to do it again Also he will be extra motivated to succeed at Newcastle so that way he will silence the critics who were saying that he is not good as England manager. Well maybe, but that doesn't sound like the strongest kind of motivation. Even if you're right, what happens when problems arise and he starts to get some stick? Is he going to say to himself, 'must prove myself' or is he going to say, 'Sod this, I've won trophies in Sweden, Portugal and Italy, and I've managed a major international football team. Now these losers are telling me I don't know how to manage a football team. Do I really need this?' There was a similar discussion when we were having the O'Neill v Hitzfeld debate a year ago. A lot of people were pointing to Hitzfeld's superior record in winning trophies, but (I felt) ignoring the issue of motivation. If he's climbed the mountain before, why should he want to climb it again with a club where the chances of success are nowhere near as good? Sure enough, he opted to go back to Munich rather than take a backward step. I say - give the job to a bloke whose career is still on the way up.

Eriksson 'interested' in Toon job Sven Goran Eriksson's agent has confirmed his client's interest in the managerial vacancy at Newcastle, but Gerard Houllier is not in the running - contrary to earlier reports. Eriksson's representative Athole Still claims the former England manager would be available were Magpies chairman Freddy Shepherd to make an approach. However Still stressed that there had been no contact as yet between the two parties. Still told Sky Sports News: "Have we been in discussions with Newcastle? No. "However I was asked, would he be interested. Newcastle is a huge club, with a wonderful stadium and fantastic fans so naturally if a club like that made an approach to Sven then clearly he would be interested in talking to them but nothing has happened." Former Bolton boss Sam Allardyce has been linked strongly with the post made vacant following Glenn Roeder's resignation on Monday. And Still added: "I happen to be a very good friend of Sam Allardyce and Sam seems to be, as they say, nailed on for the job, the bookies have stopped taking bets and the last thing I would want to appear to be is undermining Sam taking the job if indeed that is something that has already been decided." Former Liverpool boss Houllier, now in charge of French champions Lyon, was believed to be in the running to succeed Roeder, but the Frenchman has told Sky Sports News that he is not interested in the job. You're doing what journalists are often accused of - selective quoting to distort the overall impression. Sven's agent is saying that Eriksson would be interested in talking to any large club that was interested in offering him a job. That's some distance from 'Eriksson wants to join Newcastle'.

I've read the article on Sky Sports, and it doesn't say that Eriksson is interested in the job. All it says is that Newcastle are a big club, and that Eriksson would talk to any big club that was interested in him. We're reading far too much into this.

I'm not convinced about Houllier. Since their last league title, successive managers have struggled to take Liverpool forward from the position of being top-four to Champions, which is where they want and need to be. I don't think Houllier did significantly better or worse than what you'd expect of a manager at such a huge and well-resourced club. As for Eriksson, I think he's a good manager but he feels like more of a risk than Allardyce. At this stage of his career, would he really be up for the particular challenge that is us? It would be a step down from previous jobs, whereas for Allardyce it would be a step up. I think that works in Allardyce's favour.

If Freddie is stupid enough to bid £17 million for a player who said that he didn't want to come here except on loan, then he's stupid enough to agree to this kind of release clause. I wonder whether the Owen situation has influenced the Board's decision to get in a new manager asap, in the hope that a new face can persuade him to stay. The way things were going, you couldn't really blame Owen for opting for Man U.

Never over-estimate Freddy. I don't think anything's tied up with Allardyce at this moment, and it might not come off. I think he had no choice but to let Roeder go. He'd lost the respect of the players and they were no longer doing it for him. I think the two events - unlikely though it may sound - were coincidental.

We need to get out of the mentality of building a side around one star name. If Owen doesn't fit the system that Allardyce or whoever wants to play, then Owen can go.

It'd be interesting to know what he saw as 'the changes so urgently required'.

I don't think Shepherd is in a particularly good bargaining position here. Allardyce is clearly the strongest available candidate, and Shepherd surely wouldn't dare to unveil another Souness / Roeder style appointment. He has to go all out to get Allardyce. I disagree that we should only offer Allardyce a short contract until he proves himself. It's time to make a proper, long-term commitment. Besides, Allardyce has already proved himself as a coach. In order to land his man, Shepherd has to demonstrate that he really wants him on board. If Allardyce senses that he's a stop-gap, then I don't think he'll come.

I'm far from convinced that it's a done deal. I think the media are aware that he's available and a manager that we're likely to want, and assuming that it's only a matter of time. There aren't any other realistic options of his standing in the game, but we may have some way to go yet. It appears pretty certain that he's turned us down before, and that must have been for a reason. Whatever that reason was, not much has changed at our club, so he may well be prepared to turn us down again. Admittedly he doesn't have a job at this moment, but he's no reason to be so desperate as to jump on the first bus that comes. For what it's worth, I think that the problem before was that he's a bloke who likes to feel in charge at all levels, and Shepherd is reluctant to shed any of the power that he's built up over his 10 years as Chairman. I think we failed to attract O'Neill for the same reason. To answer the question though, I think he'd do a good job.

I think, despite what happened between them, that there is probably a genuine friendship there, and I think Shepherd is cherishing what will inevitably be his last few opportunities to share some time from Sir Bob. Unduly cynical I think. On the first point - if you read Sir Bob's book, it's pretty clear that Shepherd was reluctant to hire Sir Bob. He offered him a derisory salary at first that he was honour bound to refuse. Word is that it was the Halls who forced the choice of Robson on Shepherd. Cynicism? Well as someone has said, Sir Bob has been attending home games for some time, and it's only been recently, when Shepherd's position as Chairman has come under threat, that they've been sitting together.

I think Shepherd is just using Sir Bob to boost his own popularity. Sir Bob, being a trusting and forgiving soul, hasn't twigged. I doubt if any meaningful discussions have taken place.

That's the most likely scenario. But personally I don't think people should resign in these circumstances. There's no real dignity in it because it's just a sham. If you still want to do the job but your boss decides you're not up to it, then let him sack you. And in this particular case, Shepherd needs to be publicly taking responsibility for the decision, as an admission of his own failure in appointing him.

He pulled us out of the relegation zone last season and got us into Europe. For two-thirds of this season, I thought he was doing well under difficult circumstances. So he has made a contribution. Unfortunately all round, he lost the respect of the players after the Alkmaar defeat, and had to go. Something in his character was finally exposed, as I think probably was the case at West Ham. I actually feel quite sad right now. Partly because the incompetent berk who's engineered the shambles of the last 4 years is still in ultimate charge.

I suspect that the Board asked him to resign, and he's complied.

I'm pleased for Ferguson, who for all his faults, is a quite remarkable man IMO. Chelsea had raised the bar, and for a man of his age to re-invigorate himself and his team to reach new heights and surpass them is his greatest achievement. So many journalists have written him off as past it over the last 3 years, and he's proved them so wrong. He's the greatest ever, surely.

The only ones that can get rid of him are the Halls. There's no way he'll go of his own accord. He's addicted to the job, and he's convinced himself that he's the right man no matter what. Ever since he took over, apart from the halcyon days under Sir Bob, we've just been stumbling from one crisis to another, and here's another one.

It's a bit like a man dying of thirst in the desert, wondering whether he prefers Perrier or Evian.

So what are you saying - stick with Roeder?

It really feels to me that Allardyce, in practice, is in a very powerful position. Roeder's credibility as a manager has been shredded and he has to go. Allardyce is the only available candidate of sufficient standing to restore a bit of morale within the team and some backing from the fans. When people say they'd like to see us appoint someone better, I'd like to know who they have in mind. Besides, Allardyce has done enough to demonstrate his ability. It looks to me like Allardyce or no-one. In which case he'd be able to demand a long contract and a powerful say in the running of the club.

All he's saying is they've not met face to face, but they wouldn't necessarily, at this stage. It doesn't rule out contact with his agent.

TBH mate, I think this only shows the danger of using statistics. Not only have they got 15 points more than us (not a negligible amount) but they've spent their season fighting for a Champions League or UEFA cup place. We've been flirting with the relegation zone all season.

Just done a bit of research. In the 8 games leading up to the Alkmaar defeat, we won 5, drew1 and lost 2. In the 8 games after Alkmaar, we've won 1, drawn 2, and lost 5. We've failed to score in 6 out of 8, including drawing blanks against the might of Charlton, Man City, Reading and Blackburn. Talk about a turning point. I'm convinced that was when Roeder lost the support of the players. Once that happens, you're dead meat.