TRon

I don't think there was a problem with Keegan's on field coaching and motivating. The conflict arose because KK wanted more say on transfer matters, and it's a fair point that he had little knowledge of emerging talent or the world transfer market. Deep down everyone knows that. Isn't that what scouts are for? Seems like, as usual on here, there's black and white and nothing in the middle. a) Keegan has players signed for him and likes it or b) Keegan has to have an in-depth knowledge of every player in the world and spend his spare days jetting off to watch a Bolivian second division game. Can't I have c) he's a normal manager who has scouts like every other manager in the world (apart from these really successful continental ones who keep getting their arses handed to them by English clubs with English systems)? For c) Keegan would have to be happy with what his scouts were reporting and recommending. If that was the case why would there have been a problem in the first place? Keegan wanted players from his own list to be bought, and i doubt they included Xisco, Jonas, Nacho whats-is-face etc. That's not what Keegan said, is it? He said he didn't want players forced on him ie he'd had no input into their signing I think he had his ideas of who to sign, and Wise and Jiminez had theirs. Obviously KK's wish list wasn't given priority, so that's why he resigned.

I don't think there was a problem with Keegan's on field coaching and motivating. The conflict arose because KK wanted more say on transfer matters, and it's a fair point that he had little knowledge of emerging talent or the world transfer market. Deep down everyone knows that. Isn't that what scouts are for? Seems like, as usual on here, there's black and white and nothing in the middle. a) Keegan has players signed for him and likes it or b) Keegan has to have an in-depth knowledge of every player in the world and spend his spare days jetting off to watch a Bolivian second division game. Can't I have c) he's a normal manager who has scouts like every other manager in the world (apart from these really successful continental ones who keep getting their arses handed to them by English clubs with English systems)? For c) Keegan would have to be happy with what his scouts were reporting and recommending. If that was the case why would there have been a problem in the first place? Keegan wanted players from his own list to be bought, and i doubt they included Xisco, Jonas, Nacho whats-is-face etc.

Yes! Fuck you..you fat...varmint!

I don't think there was a problem with Keegan's on field coaching and motivating. The conflict arose because KK wanted more say on transfer matters, and it's a fair point that he had little knowledge of emerging talent or the world transfer market. Deep down everyone knows that.

My criticism is simply this: if it's a club you love, and a job you love, why leave? I get the principle part, but was it so bad? Were the players so useless? Were they playing so terrible? Were the fans shouting for your head like with so many other poor sods who can't get a win to save their life? It wasn't so bad really.

So KK would be telling Michael Owen that he was being sold then? Or would we all raise more cash to pay his £24m 3yr contract? Again revenue pays for the likes of wages, jesus have you all had fucking lobotomies today I see...so every time we hand out bigger salaries and spend big on transfer fees, while finishing in the bottom half, our revenues rise automatically to cover it? Ingenious. Who'd have thought...

He knew about Jonas, he OK'd the deal. And I'd imagine if Wise or whoever had came to Keegan a few days before the deadline, he'd have ok'd Xisco...maybe not the other lad, but I still find it concerning a Premiership manager aiming for Europe, with an injury-prone set of strikers, was going to turn his nose up at someone of his ability. Especially when he prevented Smith from being sold to Everton. If Keegan doesn't know the foreign market, you'd think he'd take good advice from his own team.

So KK would be telling Michael Owen that he was being sold then? Or would we all raise more cash to pay his £24m 3yr contract?

Once the fans bought the club for 250m how would they fund the manager's transfer war chest? Raise another £50m?

I'm sad that Keegan has left, but I'm quite looking forward to seeing how the new players gel into the new team. A couple of very achievable wins and we could be into the top 6...

You are right. We don't need tits like Jonas or Xisco when we had good lads like Smith and Duff on 60 grand a week.

Perfect start for any new manager coming in. Hardly, with the fans turning on Ashley and still hankering after Keegan, it's going to be tough for anyone to come in.

Don't worry, he'll be penning an article right now congratulating himself on being right all along.

I respect Keegan's decision and his reasons, but I'm disappointed. Disappointed that he couldn't see the spark of a good team and want to take it to the heights Disappointed that his hunger to finish "unfinished business" dimmed so quickly. Disappointed that he didn't want to stay for the city, the fans and his players. Disappointed that all the bastards from the press will be able to say we told you he's a quitter. But it was good while it lasted.

This publication would like to make it abundantly clear that it has NO CONFIDENCE whatsoever in the management structure at Newcastle United which includes the position of Dennis Wise as Executive Director and Managing Director, Derek Llambias. Just been listening to David Davies (former FA) paying respects to Keegan and he actually spoke with the highest regard for Dennis Wise as well. What does he know though, just because he actually knows him?

Very well put indi. Suffice to say I am gutted that Keegan has left. I understand his principles but I agreed with the transfer approach taken by the club. Maybe it could have been done slightly differently, but obviously the damage had been done. I'd like to have seen how our squad developed over thenext couple of seasons, but it might be difficult for Ashley to come back from this. It's a shame because Keegan was supposed to have unfinished business. Looks like it's still unfinished.

Regardless of whether Keegan stays or goes, with the majority of fans now against him, I wonder if Ashley will still be motivated to look for another Modric or Coloccini? If he's not going to be able to run the club according to his own instincts with people he trusts, I don't see him suddenly handing over pots of gold to Keegan or anyone else now that his name is mud in Newcastle.

How is that different from now? The thing I really worry about is what happens when Abramovich (or our version of him) loses interest or in his case gets on the wrong side of Putin and ends up with a Polonium sandwich? Chelsea would be instantly totally fucked. I'm really uncomfortable with the entire future of the club resting on a knife-edge at the whim of some billionaire. You don't get to be a billionaire by being nice remember, these are ruthless people and they wouldn't hesitate to bin NUFC if they felt the need to. There's going to be a global recession in the next few years, who knows what's going to happen to these people's fortunes. They don't even need to be in financial trouble, simple PR could do for us, too. What happens if times get hard in India and all this bloke's customers are suffering the pain, if they start to say "hang about we're fucking skint yet the bloke who owns this company is chucking money about owning a foreign football team", then he could just fuck us off to placate them, it wouldn't be the first time something like that's happened. Apart from anything, being rich doesn't guarantee you anything, hands up those who think Citeh are going to win the league next season, I doubt they'll even come second actually. How much have Real won over the last few years? It's not as simple as people are making out, there are risks, big risks and it's far from a no-brainer. Well said.

When I first heard of players apparently uniting behind Keegan, I was a bit proud, thinking Keegan's loyalty has given us the band of brothers spirit and how we would come out of this all the stronger, but reflecting further I'm not so sure. Firstly, the players being championed were Barton, Smith and Owen. All earning big money, two providing little value for massive wages, and the third refusing to commit beyond this season. Milner was another who didn't think he was getting enough money and was (rightly) shown the door. How does this affect team spirit? What about newer team members arriving on lower wages like Xisco, Jonas etc? Do the big earners feel resentful that cheaper labour is being drafted in threatening their bloated salaries? Does Duff feel threatened? Does Smith? Does Viduka? Well they fucking well should the spongeing fucking bastards.

I see NE5 with his talk of ambition still hasn't answered that one. As for Parky, if it was up to him we would never have appointed Keegan in the first place so this is all a bit rich.

Just one question (which I've asked before): How do you compete for "top players" against Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool and now City without their revenue stream?

Absolutely. If we are running the club carefully and prudently, Ashley has done a good job so far. If we have some foreign investor willing to throw enough money blindly at King Kev to compete with Man U I say go for it.

A takeover by a stupidly rich zillionnaire is probably the best way forward from this point. Ashley can retire gracefully with a profit, Wise and Co can be quietly moved out, and Keegan can be given pots of money to spend without (hopefully) having to balance any books or think longer term than the length of his contract.

This is the bunch of cronies who negotiatied the £12m fee for Milner yes? What a bunch of wasters... Yes but these wasters replaced Milner (one of our hardest-working players) with what? Our club might be 12m richer but our squad is seriously depleted. BTW I would have taken 10m for Milner IF we had a decent replacement lined up. We did bring in 6 players this summer as well as selling, including IMO the most important, a striker who can play when Viduka has his feet up. I would agree though, that the squad is still not strong enough - even if it might turn out to be better than some are giving it credit for.

This is the bunch of cronies who negotiatied the £12m fee for Milner yes? What a bunch of wasters... What's Keegan worth? You don't need to ask me, I was championing him when you were opening threads questioning Ashley's judgement in sacking Fat Sam and appointing a manager who had been out of the loop for so long. My point is, it's easy to dismiss Wise and Jiminez as 'cronies' but they have obviously been doing some useful work here. Let's keep things in perspective.