Shak

I've just been the victim of a truly useless haircut. The week just keeps getting worse.

Poyet getting appointed would be very, very hard to take. Would hurt me more than KK going did.

Does it matter like? Pretty certain he'll never wear a Newcastle jersey again, suspended or not.

Give over, we know nowt yet. Btw Keegan walked out, he wasn't sacked.

It's harder to take knowing he's walked out on us rather than been fired. And for what? Cunts like Barton and talentless failures like Smith and Milner.

Needs to be someone quality. Wise or O'Leary or some such cunt and I'll have a very hard time getting excited about games the way I was under KK.

Gutted.

Because they want Newcastle to win the league, not just be supporting a league winner. I think its unfair to label people gloryhunters because of it. All supporters want their team to win things. I'd find it a bit depressing after so many years of hurt to just buy the title ala Chelsea. But the problem is that I don't think it's possible for anyone to challenge for the title anymore without that kind of investment. It's just the way football has gone, and it's sickening. They need a salary cap or some way of limiting big spending, it's as simple as that.

Eh? We've made a statement yesterday and said negotiations are ongoing. What do you expect, hourly updates telling us that "Discussions are still ongoing!!"

Seemed to work alright at the end of last season, no?

I disagree completely, I think that's the best thing that could happen - it would show that all parties were mature and had the capacity for compromise, as well as having the best interests of the club at heart. More likely it would show that Keegan can't afford to leave from a financial point of view or that the board can't bring themselves to sack him, fearing the supporters backlash. So we soldier on waiting for this to inevitably boil over again, and we get another week of this. Ideally everything would be rosy and nothing would need to change. But that really doesn't seem to be the case.

So you don't believe the statements that say he hasn;t resigned and wasn't sacked? Not really, is there any reason I should like?

I've not 100% decided that at all. I'm fully ready to wave goodbye to Kev and welcome a more continental approach. Taking Keegan back was always a mistake in my opinion. Motivational, yeah fine.. but tactical? suspect. I just think the behind the scenes set-up is a lot more professional, a lot more how a club should be run nowadays. Old Skool Kev can't seem to accept that, so perhaps its best they parted ways. Keegan dumped all over the 'master tactician' Allardyce last year. Don't buy this spiel that Keegan just sends teams out and tells them to go and play. We were extremely well organised against Man U for instance, and we had to be to get the point we did. You think a setup where the manager doesn't have final say on what players are brought in is more professional? I agree that a better scouting system is great for the club, but for the DOF system to work I think he and the manager need to be on the same page and trust each other. It really doesn't appear that KK and Wise have that.

My guess is that on Tuesday morning one of the following happened - Keegan walked after a row with Llambias or Wise or whomever, then after taking a while to cool down he realised he didn't want to go out like this so went back and tried to sort something out, most likely trying to plead his case to Ashley directly. - He was sacked somewhat recklessly, but realising the massive backlash that would inevitably follow the board went back on their decision and are trying to convince him to come back. Either way, I'd bet there was a point that Keegan had either been sacked or had resigned, and the last two days have seen the two parties trying to find a way to reconcile after thinking better of it. Messy situation, and I hope that either Keegan or Wise goes when all is said and done. It's clear the current setup isn't working, the worst thing that could happen IMO is that both sides try and give the current setup another try, because it's just delaying the inevitable.

Yep, I hate the fact that a club has spent as much as Man United to try and catch them. You don't really believe it's that simple do you?

Possibly alternating Viduka with Xisco, depends on how the new lad does. Really will be disappointed if this system isn't used again.

I just think for the DOF system to work you need a manager and a DOF that both get along and share the same vision for the club. Most importantly, they have to trust each other. It would appear that this isn't the case with Keegan and Wise. Honestly not a big fan of the DOF system, so I'd be pleased for Wise to go. If Jimenez and Vetere go too I'll be disappointed though, because I do like the idea of having proper scouts, rather han just friends of KK. Ideally KK will get the final say on all things and then feel more comfortable listening to Jimenez and company, knowing he can overrule them if he isn't comfortable.

How so? Jonas is easily as physical as either Barton or Geremi, and N'Zogbia's hardly a skinny fucker by any means. Add to that that you've an extra body in the center and I can't see us getting overpowered. Beyewatch, Guthrie is hardly a box-to-box player is he? Seems like an ideal sitter as he doesn't have the engine to get forward enough, not really a goalthreat. Not sure he reads the game defensively as well as Butt but his superior ability on the ball makes up for it IMO.

Assuming that KK stays, do you think we'll move back to the system that looked so good towards the end of last season? The sale of Milner and addition of Xisco would indicate that this may be on the cards as far as I can see. The personnel at our disposal is now ideal as far as I can see. Nothing much changes at the back obviously, still a flat back 4. In midfield we should see Guthrie take Butt's role as the sitter. Guthrie seems defensively switched on and is more inclined to sit rather than bomb forward so the role should suit him. He'll be a huge upgrade when we're in possession, as Butt saw an awful lot of the ball in the system last year. Given how comfortable Guthrie is receiving the ball and how solid is distribution is, I think he'll excel in this spot. Butt should provide very capable back-up in the spot. Jonas looks perfect to play one of the flanking roles. He's got the engine to get up and down the field all day long and will be able to provide a lot more width from the position than Geremi did last year. He's also defensively very good, a necessity in the role. When Barton returns I would expect he'll play on the right hand side of Guthrie with Jonas on the left. Thought Joey looked good in his role last season, and on the right you'd have to figure he'd be even better as he'd be more comfortable getting out wide on his right foot. The wildcard is N'Zogbia, as he COULD be good in one of those roles, though it's hard to tell. Playing LB will have helped him from a defensive point of view, and he generally does look decent running with the ball through the middle. Really needs to improve his awareness of his teammates though if he's to be a success in the middle, but I think being part of a 3 man midfield might suit him. Geremi is decent back-up in these positions. The signing of Xisco should be the competition/replacement that we needed for Viduka, and either of thse two should partner Martins up top. Personally I think Duff's best spot these days will be playing in a sort of wide striker role, so I'm happy enough with him as back-up for Oba. These options up front allow Owen to go back to what I firmly believe is his best position, playing as the link man just off the front two. From the sound of things Nacho could fill in this role if Owen gets injured? Or if Oba gets injured stick Owen up front and play Nacho? Smith can fuck off, obviously. Anyway, really hope we give this a go against Hull. Given Beye :colo: Taylor Enrique Guthrie N'Zogbia Owen Martins Xisco http://pictures.directnews.co.uk/liveimages/Premiership+Trophy_1150_18232447_0_0_4000298_300.jpg In the bag.

Agree with pedro entirely. I don't know exactly what the solution is, but something must be done in order to create a semblence of parity. Whether you care for american football or not, the structure of the NFL makes a mockery of what football over here has become. Honestly enjoy the NFL season more than the Premiership at this point.

Still in absolute denial here, hoping it all magically goes away and Keegan is still in charge after all of this. With the sale of Milner and addition of Xisco we really do have the ideal players to revert back to the 4-3-1-2 that was so good last season under KK, gonna be a pisser seeing that all fall apart. That said, I was quite pleased with our summer dealings on the whole and can't really fathom why Keegan would be so upset about it all. Sure it mightn't have been perfect, but it was hardly a disaster was it? I'll be sick if it's Wise and Poyet who take over.

Thank fuck the NFL season starts this weekend.

I'd forgotten all about the HTT quote in Gemmill's sig, brilliant. Not seen a lot of Xisco at all but quite pleased with this, as we badly needed to get a striker in. Sounds like Gonzalez is a bit of a stop-gap solution and that we missed out on our main midfield targets, which is disappointing.

It'd be immense if it kept skyrocketing and we eventually flogged him for 16m. Anything above 6 million is great money for him IMO, can't believe we're looking like getting eight figures for him.

Will struggle to get by the first set of lights tbh.