Cronky

He's a very good shot-stopper, but not so great on crosses. If that area of his game was better, he'd already be at a bigger club.

I watched the last 20 minutes of the Leipzig game and I'm hooked. I didn't want to support them, but they play such great football.

Darn good player. Let's hope it's true.

Ramsey and Bale would be great signings. Salah is good in a side that's already got quality though. Can't believe we're dropping these names in though. Young Cantwell at Norwich looks very decent.

And I think Rooney was at Everton when he shagged a granny.

Yeah, this is the most convincing piece of information we've had by far. Nufc.com have always distanced themselves from recycling gossip.

If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly. Macbeth, but hopefully it will end a bit better for us.

I don't care if it's Qatar releasing the story. It's one we should be discussing seriously. It's not enough to simply acknowledge wrong-doing. A man was murdered for criticising a regime. That does not deserve death. Why should we ? It’s got nothing to do with football, if your going to attach the murder to the purchase of the club then also discuss it in relation to live nation, Warner brothers and other Saudi purchases. No one is disputing the murder is horrendous, it’s the hypocrisy that the sale of nufc should be stopped whilst all these other deals go throughout without a murmur. The one thing this deal won’t be stopped on is human rights, it would put the premier league at odds with the policy of the U.K. government. What is blatantly happening here is human rights lawyers are using the high profile nature of this sale to gain publicity, as they know the Saudis buying stakes in other companies just doesn’t draw the same attention. You can’t blame them for this as this is their job, however what I strongly object to is the notion that we should sacrifice the chance of a lifetime for our city and club, If this was blocked these same people would move on to their next cause and wouldn’t give a s%#t about us. So whilst I acknowledge and understand the human rights aspect, ths hypocrisy expecting us to be line drawn in the sand with Saudis doesn’t wash with me and many others. Despite my dislike of the practices of this kind of regime, I have to admit to myself that I hope the sale goes through. Of course there's a strong element of hypocrisy and double standards there, but I don't think it's worse than those who turn a blind eye to the close commercial relationship and military alliance that we have with the Saudis, but who indulge in outrage when someone else's football team looks like profiting. However, I don't think we should tell ourselves that we can be an agent for change in that country by giving them a little lecture whilst at the same time taking their money. That feels like a piece of self-deceit. One thing I do genuinely believe, though I may be wrong, is that this kind of step by the Saudis represents a move, however slight, towards a closer cultural relationship with the West, and therefore ultimately to other reforms, which I think have already begun in that country, albeit on a modest scale. Given the chaos that's resulted in that part of the world when other countries have sought to reform, it's perhaps better that change is slow and incremental, to avoid a messy revolution that end up making the situation worse. Frankly, I don't think the world can afford to have an Ayatollah taking charge there.

The underlying problem was that Shearer had become too powerful a figure within the club. I'm inclined to believe the account that five more promising candidates turned the job down, and Souness was the only one prepared to take the situation on. I don't particularly blame Shearer for it. At a crucial point, Shepherd didn't back Sir Bob's judgement about the player, and it was downhill from that point.

1. Sir Bob. A great manager over-achieves on the resources that he is given, and taking us from bottom to 3rd with that particular squad was awesome. It was a great ride, and we didn't know what we had till it was gone. 2. Keegan (1st spell) Not the complete package, but by sheer force of personality he transformed the entire thinking of the club, for ever, inside and out. We will never go back to a pre-Keegan era. 3. Rafa. The supreme professional. 4. Hughton. Took over the club at a terrible time and got us going again. 5. Bruce. Has done well, like Hughton, having taken over at a bad time, and with a weak squad. (Some may disagree) Jury still out, as far as I'm concerned. 6. Pardew. Started well, and then was undermined by Ashley when he appointed Kinnear as DOF. It all fell apart sadly. 7. Roeder - Worked hard, but never quite looked anything more than a stop-gap. 8. Keegan (2nd spell) The wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. 9. Allardyce, Dalglish, Gullit - hard to separate and assess. Clearly managers of talent but took over in difficult times and failed. 12. Souness - I like the guy, but as a manager he seems too prone to falling out with his players. Touchy and easily provoked, probably. 13. McClaren - Took over at a time when we needed a big personality, and he wasn't it. 14. Shearer - hard to judge on a handful of games, but does he have the drive to be a manager? Is he just lazy? 15. Carver - out of his depth as manager, but avoids last place due to his passion for the club 16. Kinnear - My mum always told me that if I couldn't say anything nice about someone, I should say nothing.

Seems like a pointless exercise that can only generate the wrong sort of headlines. Whatever happens, it's not going to be reported as an honest and friendly exchange of views.

Do you think Rafa would want Keegan around the place? I'm not convinced by the Keegan story. It sounds like the kind of thing that would get made up. If true, I think it would be a mistake to detract any attention from the manager, who will be trying to make his own history. And of course the minute anything goes slightly wrong, there's going to be a crazy section shouting for KK to take over. Rafa has worked at a number of clubs were ex-players and managers are doing ambassadorial duties behind the scenes. It’s no big deal in fact it’s something that anyone should expect from any prestigious club Yeah, but this is Keegan and Newcastle. That does make it a big deal.

Do you think Rafa would want Keegan around the place? I'm not convinced by the Keegan story. It sounds like the kind of thing that would get made up. If true, I think it would be a mistake to detract any attention from the manager, who will be trying to make his own history. And of course the minute anything goes slightly wrong, there's going to be a crazy section shouting for KK to take over.

Knew something like that would happen. I thought one-club Danny wouldn't create any problems. Okay, Krol for Van Dijk and Messi for Maradona. Yashin McGrain Krol Butcher Maldini De Bruyne Matthaeus Zidane Messi Pele Best

A lot tougher than it looked. Yashin McGrain Van Dijk Butcher Maldini De Bruyne Matthaeus Zidane Maradona Pele Best Maradona v Cruyff v Messi was an agonising choice.

Not surprised at any of that but it’s yet another example of why this deal needs to happen. Tin hat on, but if Chelsea are in for a player, it's difficult for us to compete. But you miss the point entirely. Chelsea weren't even in for him. Rafa and his team had agreed pretty much everything with him, handed it over to Lee Charnley to get it done and he did nothing. Literally did nothing. A number of weeks later he signed for Chelsea to sit on their bench and play a few cup games. It's not about him picking Chelsea over us, it didn't come to that. It was as good as done. It's about the broken promises - the same s*** Keegan had to deal with. Promise one thing, do another. I don't know where that information comes from, but it's not very convincing. You say that 'Rafa and his team had agreed pretty much everything with him', but negotiations with players were Charnley's responsibility, not his. And a player nearing the end of his contract has every incentive to keep all his options open for as long as possible. He can say 'yes, I'm interested' to as many clubs as he wants. Caballero would have been 36, coming to the end of his career, so a final big pay day with Chelsea and the prospect of at least some European football might well have been more attractive than what we had to offer at that time. Plus London is often a bigger draw for a player, or their spouse. You are still missing the point. It isn't about picking Chelsea and the bench over playing at NUFC - that choice was never available. It's about the club doing nothing. Rafa and his team lined it up (in so far as they could and this is pretty normal in football) and the powers that be at NUFC did nothing. Didn't even try. Didn't even say no to Rafa. Just did fuck all. Mislead Rafa, undermined him. Like they (different people, same common denominator) did to Keegan. It wouldn't have been hard in both instances to say no to the manger. No we will not sanction any sort of deal for that player. But no, obfuscate, mislead, frustrate. The modus operandi under Ashley. With respect, I think you're missing the point. Lots of stories about football clubs appear in the media, but they're not all 100% reliable. If you're convinced by this Caballero story, that's up to you. I suspect there are a few details missing.

Not surprised at any of that but it’s yet another example of why this deal needs to happen. Tin hat on, but if Chelsea are in for a player, it's difficult for us to compete. But you miss the point entirely. Chelsea weren't even in for him. Rafa and his team had agreed pretty much everything with him, handed it over to Lee Charnley to get it done and he did nothing. Literally did nothing. A number of weeks later he signed for Chelsea to sit on their bench and play a few cup games. It's not about him picking Chelsea over us, it didn't come to that. It was as good as done. It's about the broken promises - the same shit Keegan had to deal with. Promise one thing, do another. I don't know where that information comes from, but it's not very convincing. You say that 'Rafa and his team had agreed pretty much everything with him', but negotiations with players were Charnley's responsibility, not his. And a player nearing the end of his contract has every incentive to keep all his options open for as long as possible. He can say 'yes, I'm interested' to as many clubs as he wants. Caballero would have been 36, coming to the end of his career, so a final big pay day with Chelsea and the prospect of at least some European football might well have been more attractive than what we had to offer at that time. Plus London is often a bigger draw for a player, or their spouse.

Not surprised at any of that but it’s yet another example of why this deal needs to happen. Tin hat on, but if Chelsea are in for a player, it's difficult for us to compete.

Martin Samuel does tend to seek attention by articles that buck the trend. This bid does look far more advanced, and the consortium of backers is different. I've said this before, but this time it looks likely to go through. Samuel's valid point is that it shouldn't be assumed that we're going to be spending like Man City, Chelsea or PSG.

I'd agree, though I'd say 'limited' rather than 'awful' on the ball. He's unfortunate to be half-way between a centre back and a full back. Centre back in a back three probably sees him at his best.

This x1000. Schmeichel saves at one end, Cantona scores at the other. Week after week, must have been half a dozen 1 Nils to them after February. If we’d even drawn with them up here then it was our title - pisser. No. That would only have been a three point swing. They ended up ahead of us by four points with a better goal difference. True enough, but we would have been two points ahead going into the final game. A win would have sealed it regardless of the Man U result. As it was, by then we were already beaten, psychologically. What haunts me is how horrendously badly we played in the final 10 minutes of the Blackburn game. It was like a collective nervous breakdown. We didn't know whether to attack or defend and ended up doing neither.

Shearer's equalising volley against Everton. What a hit.

:lol: I felt 1000 times worse leaving Ewood Park five days later as I knew it was over! What a nightmare run of away matches! The Blackburn game was the killer. Liverpool at Anfield are always a tough proposition, but we lost our nerve at Blackburn and threw the game away.

Looks more than half decent.

Very relieved to get a win. We're starting to look a lot safer now. My usual bugbear with penalties though. It was a very good save from Ritchie, but he did jump off his line beforehand. This can't be the most difficult rule in the world to enforce - why don't they?