TRon

Yes malandro is entitled to form and express his own opinions of course, but with his kind of approach it begs the question, how much time/patience will Hughton get from the faithful next season should things not get off to the best of starts? We've been crying out a long time for a young ambitious manager who we could give time to build a squad here, and I think Hughton deserves a real go of things the way he has handled himself, Ashley and the players this season. If people with malandro's opinion on Hughton outnumber those who support him, it would worry me more than Hughton's credentials as a PL manager. what makes you think hughton is young and ambitious, or has the ability to build a squad worthy of the club? just interested what makes you think he isn't ? Also what makes anyone think that getting rid of Hughton and replacing with someone else is guaranteed to provide better results next season?

So backroom turmoil means players picking up massive wages are excused for s*** performances? Someone should have told the Portsmouth squad, they could have not bothered to turn up instead of getting to the FA cup final. How many managers have Pompy had this season? That was the point was it not. You can’t have four managers in one season and expect the players to have a clue what it is they’re supposed to be doing. If Ashley had appointed a proper manager until the end of the season we’d have stayed up. TV wanted the gig but Ashley wouldn’t stump up a contract of sufficient length or remuneration. No, he had to go for the cheapest option available and brought in a clapped old banger with a dicky ticker. Owen and Viduka didn’t give a shit but they missed most the season. It was the team that went down, a demoralised and disorganised rabble. There’s a big difference between cause and effect. A lot of that is true and I've said as much myself at the time last season but the central point of this debate was about team spirit. I don't believe successful teams are built around players who have had their best days at other clubs like Owen and Viduka. Did they provide good value for their exorbitant pay? Maybe you think they did. Me I prefer to buy players who will have their best years ahead of them and who are eager to make their mark at Newcastle, not yearning forLiverpool or Australia.

So backroom turmoil means players picking up massive wages are excused for shit performances? Someone should have told the Portsmouth squad, they could have not bothered to turn up instead of getting to the FA cup final.

Ashley was getting on the pitch preventing Owen from scoring? Sorry mate if you are picking up 100k a week or 60k or 80k like many of the superstar pros were last season then they could at least do their fucking job.

What does that prove really other than there are only handful of genuinely talented managers, the rest are just former pros having a go. You can pay a Souness, Keane or O'Leary big money and take your chances but it doesn't guarantee success.

You're right about Beye & Viduka being past it for top flight football now of course, but when you said "I wouldn't swap the current team for the previous one. " I assumed you were talking about the players they were 1.5 years ago. Beye would probably have been in the team this year ahead of Simpson. As for your put down of the others, well do you thing Man U will be knocking on our door for our best striker Ameobi to sit on their bench or that Carroll will be getting assists in the Champions League anytime soon? More to the point though, do you think we'd have stayed up last season if Ameobi, Carroll, Routledge, Simpson, and Williamson had been in the place of Owen, Martins, Duff, Beye and Bassong? Even if we didn't we could have got relegated for a far cheaper price. Yup, that's the benchmark we're aiming for these days. It's great you find it funny but seriously our superstars on mega wages got us relegated while inferior teams with far less well paid players stayed up.

You're right about Beye & Viduka being past it for top flight football now of course, but when you said "I wouldn't swap the current team for the previous one. " I assumed you were talking about the players they were 1.5 years ago. Beye would probably have been in the team this year ahead of Simpson. As for your put down of the others, well do you thing Man U will be knocking on our door for our best striker Ameobi to sit on their bench or that Carroll will be getting assists in the Champions League anytime soon? More to the point though, do you think we'd have stayed up last season if Ameobi, Carroll, Routledge, Simpson, and Williamson had been in the place of Owen, Martins, Duff, Beye and Bassong? Even if we didn't we could have got relegated for a far cheaper price.

By default? They've missed their best player most of the season and were without their best striker for months. Even so they have a squad more capable of absorbing those injuries than the other two IMO.

I agree with this. There has been a tendency in recent days to dismiss the team spirit with an offhand remark that it's easy when you're winning, but my recollection of a premier side chock-full of internationals is that the lesser teams will beat the bigger, more expensive sides if the management and coaching isn't right.

I don't recall you doing so well in predicting how this season would turn out so as to who is talking guff we shall see.

Absolutely.

I always wondered how things would pan out if Lerner's spending didn't ultimatgely lead to CL football. While Villa are doing ok, they don't look like getting there just yet and it's a hell of a lot of money to sink in without being in the premier UEFA competition. Are they headed for a similar period we went through in Shepherd's time?

He can always post Fergie a brochure highlighting his surprisingly good fitness record last season.

Chelsea are going to win the league by default it seems. Man U's key player out and Arsenal no strikers in reserve to finish the season like they should.

When you consider those qualities were present in many teams who were weaker on paper than us in our relegation season who then finished above us it puts things in perspective. I don't think Hull or Stoke players were earning a quarter of what our superstar squad was but they did much better.

He's one of the only players we have in the squad who has proven premiership quality. He hasn't shown it for a long time but he has performed at a decent level in the top league. Some of our players who have had good a good season won't be able to step up to a higher level. Barton is one of those who has proven quality in the premier...the question is whether he is still the same player he was at City because he hasn't shown it at Newcastle so far. I would have him in ahead of guthrie personally.

Put his feet up and wait for his contract to run down. Nice one Ken Bates

Something that hasn't been mentioned much is how our football style has improved as we've added the right type of players as the season has progressed. Like many i was mightily pissed off when we resorted to long ball football early on in the season, but the football we have played since January has been good enough to please anyone. So I would say Hughton's already shown far more flexibility and understanding of squad dynamics than Fat Sam Allardyce who's disastrous attempts to play long ball football with small players made him the laughing stock of the north east.

While the first half of the season the performances were awful, since the signings in January we have been playing a completely different kind of football. While you are right it isn't going to be easy, I think we'll add some quality and the fact that we will have a squad that is eager to make it's mark with young hungry players rather than bloated big name cast offs is going to make next season one I'm really looking forward to.

Harsh but fair.

I think that's the key. While Coloccini and Taylor did ok this season, last season they didn't look at all comfortable together compared to when Colo partnered Bassong.

Attitudes like this towards other clubs doesn't help your image tbh. Don't know why our image is so poor at other clubs anyway. We always turn up in big numbers at their grounds you would think fans would take that as a compliment. Maybe they'd prefer us not to give a toss about the smaller clubs and leave their stands empty like plenty of other "big club" fans undoubtedly would.

All good points, I don't think we'll struggle as badly as many are expecting next season either, although it will be a bigger challenge of his abilities that's for sure. I think one of the things Hughton has got bang on is his lack of grandstanding. He lets the players take the limelight and it's produced a great spirit in the squad. Just loved the way we never stopped going at Forest for 90 mins yesterday.

Williamson moving to Fenham...love it Hey, i'll have you where i live it is very nice. David Rozenhal lived in my street while he was here and so did Ameobi's family. So Just imagine bumping into him at Wingrove chippy. "who's a naughty boy Mike...what happened to the professional sportsman's diet eh?"

I think the conditions might have had something to do with the poor set pieces. Every time he swung a boot at the ball there seemed to be a gallon of water sloshing into the air.