TRon

By insisting we kept Smith & turned down £12m for Milner? And giving Faye to Stoke City while putting Taylor on a long expensive contract ?? There is a lot of support for the changes the Ashley regime were trying to make and Dennis Wise is a convenient villain. As an ex player said this week "the difference between Dennis Wise and Kevin Keegan is when Wise has a problem he rolls his sleeves up and works at it whereas Keegan throws the toys out of the pram" Keegan "selling" Faye is another rumour - who was responsible for transfers in the wonderful system? How would we know Wise is working? Fine just believe whatever fits your theory then. NUFC.com reported that after Faye was subbed away to Everton last season he had a dispute with Keegan, he didn't start many games after that, and he was sold with the general view that Keegan didn't want him any more. Rozenhal and Barry Venison were sold after falling out with KK as well, but then might be just rumour as well so believe what you like.

In my view, part of the reason we lost against Hull and Wes Ham was because the midfield collectively was too slow. If you have Cacapa, Butt and Geremi all in the same team together, then while on paper it might look like a good side, in reality the younger fresher opposition will run rings round those doddering fossils. They just can't get up and down the pitch quickly enough. Some younger alternatives make a lot of difference as Guthrie has shown. A Liverpool reserve but already more important to the midfield than any of those mentioned. We need a defensive version to replace Butt as well.

Where's the confirmation that he's even in Spain? And why is it an issue if he is? He no longer manages this club. You need to tell that to some of the fans here. Most of them are supporting Keegan far more than they are supporting their team. I think you'll find they're supporting Keegan far more than they're supporting the owners of the club. I haven't encountered anyone who isn't supporting the team in this. You are right, I am going to support the next owners of the club seeing as these ones are shite. A geordie consortium of businessmen who have put together a £300m bid to buy Ashley out.

He always does it, hardly anything new. How many times is he stood on the goal line next to the keeper, giving away penalties in some instances with his impersonations of Shay Given? Then pretending he's been hit in the gut...ring a bell?

Because it's blatantly obvious that Ashley won't spend any money? Some people are so gullible, they don't realise Ashley has been treading water since he bought us, waiting for the right time to cash in. Even when he sells it for a big fat profit, it still wont sink in. Ashley will tell us he made nothing from it all, and play the victim. The fools will believe every lie he says. He's still the owner, he's still the one putting money in (however little that is). Until someone puts their money where their mouth is and buys in, it's best just to get on with it imo. http://www.toontastic.net/peasepud/headsand.jpg For the record, I have said on plenty of prevous occasions I would love Ashley to be bought out by a mega zillionaire who will spend big. If that happens soon then the protests will have been vindicated. If it doesn't this season is fucked and they won't have helped one bit.

Where's the confirmation that he's even in Spain? And why is it an issue if he is? He no longer manages this club. You need to tell that to some of the fans here. Most of them are supporting Keegan far more than they are supporting their team.

I hope KK's enjoying his time in Spain. Maybe Freddie Shepherd will give him the manager's job if he buys Mallorca?

It's my personal view that the best thing for the team and club is to have Keegan back. Yeah. It really is that simple, isn't it. I don't believe I said it was simple, but in my opinion it is now important for us to get the best manager in for the job, and suprise suprise, the best manager from the obviously available bunch is Keegan. I'm not convinced. Personally, I believe that over the past 12 months Newcastle has lost it's football club. It is now run from London by Sports Retail business men and a ex casino managers. The only thing that was keeping this club together (as in Newcastle United) was Kevin Keegan. I think people underplay the importance of having a manager or a lot of players that are local focal points. With Keegan now gone, the club couldn't feel less like Newcastle United if it tried to. In my opinion, and I know I'll get shot down for this, there is a lot to be said for the next manager being a Geordie, or an adopted Geordie (i.e. Shearer, Keegan). I think the next owner should be a geordie as well.

Because it's blatantly obvious that Ashley won't spend any money? Some people are so gullible, they don't realise Ashley has been treading water since he bought us, waiting for the right time to cash in. Even when he sells it for a big fat profit, it still wont sink in. Ashley will tell us he made nothing from it all, and play the victim. The fools will believe every lie he says. He's still the owner, he's still the one putting money in (however little that is). Until someone puts their money where their mouth is and buys in, it's best just to get on with it imo.

Good spot. I remember that, I can also remember the rest of the season nose-dived with the players morale plummeting without a leading striker up front. Yep, the wait effectively cost us a spot in Europe that season, we lost a realistic chance of getting to the FA Cup Final (made it to the Quarter Finals that season, and with Andy Cole or his replacement, who knows what we could have done against an poor Everton away, and an average Spurs in the Semi Final), and we'd have been one of the favourites for the UEFA Cup in the 95-6 season without a shadow of a doubt. a conveient way to re-write history, in order to back up your stance. Let me re-write it so it reads better to you: Keegan didn't sell Cole, we went on to qualify for Europe finishing 4th, and after the final whistle last game of the season, Cole took off his shirt to reveal a T shirt with Fuck off Fergie printed on the front.

or at any other club in my opinion. His demands are too great for run of the mill clubs, and those with the spending power he would need wouldn't want him.

Good spot. I remember that, I can also remember the rest of the season nose-dived with the players morale plummeting without a leading striker up front.

Disgraceful state of affairs.

True, if we were not going to bring anyone else in why sell Faye and Milner? They both would have been v.useful and given us extra options yesterday. We sold Milner because £12m was more than he was worth. He could go on and prove that wrong but IMO, it was too good a deal to turn down. We sold Faye because he had a bust up with KK as far as I understand it. Our squad is not as strong as it should be I agree on that, but we have dropped points in the last two games partly through putting out unbalanced sides relying on old legs.

He stays he's weak? Rubbish, if he stays he's in charge and working with the players who are, for the most part, the players he inherited in January who he believed in then. Hence his transfer policy in the January window. He stays and he rises above it and goes for it. It was a chance to go for something this season. We'd be on 8 points now if he'd stayed. I'd agree with that. He owed it to the fans and his own players to see out his contract or at least give notice to his employers (Newcastle United) that he was going to leave within a given period and to look for replacements.

Taylor has a fatal flaw in his game in that he keeps dropping back to the goal line instead of marking his man. He did it again yesterday for their second goal. It's like watching U-12 football.

So we have Bassong, who looks the business. Who do we have when Beye is missing? Who steps in if Nicky Butt gets injured? Not that I would want him to like... Don't we have young players coming through the ranks who could step in short term? Who plays holding midfield in the reserves for example? This over-reliance on experience is meaningless if you are playing people out of position where they have little experience, or the side becomes unbalanced.

From today's Independent. It'll probably be dismissed as the views of an outsider, but the fact is, any buyer of the club is more than likely going to be an outsider. We really need Geordie businessmen to stand up and be counted.

Finally a Good post. We also need a manager in who can use his limited resources far beter than Chris Hughton.

Take your fucking fans with you to a golf course in Spain.

I'll be there. Although if Hughton's still picking the team we haven't got a chance in hell.

cheers, nice to hear a report on what actually happened as opposed to who's fault it was.

No it was obviously done behind his back when he wasn't looking.

Not being mongs, they probably don't want to demonstrate. In any case, does anyone ever demostrate FOR something? Isn't it usually against?

I hear Faye was man of the match against Liverpool today.