Shak

only words though It's only words, but words are all he has, to take our hearts away. That hair of yours is going to your head.

Owen and Smith up front, with Duff down the left and Butt and Zoggy in the middle, perhaps? Probably Smith in the middle again though.

To be fair, that would be an absolutely ridiculous set of circumstances. He rejected us though, at the end of the day.

That is a big first sentence. Not really to be honest. I think they decided to give him a chance, but I don't believe that they would have appointed Sam in the first place, given Ashley's apparent desire to see good and entertaining, which Sam has never even shown an interest in delivering.

It's clear that they just didn't feel they could back Allardyce at all, he was never their man and was never going to be. I just don't see the point in keeping him when our season is pretty much a write-off at this point anyway. I'm disappointed as anyone that our sights seem to be set fairly low on the managerial food chain, but I don't see how swapping one above average manager whom you don't trust for another above average manager that you do trust is quite the shambles some seem to think it is. As for how poorly it's been handled, it'll make absolutely no difference in the long run as far as I can see.

Can't put into words how annoying these sort of statements are. Exactly what do you know about whats actually going and not what you've read on here, in the papers and from 'ITKs'? Wait till you know the full story. They sacked Allardyce for one thing, and they had no one lined up at this crucial stage of the season. I couldn't give a s*** what the ITKs and SSN has said, i've slagged SSN off aplenty since Wednesday. But the above reasons qualify my statement imo. Apologies for annoying you so. Crucial stage of the season? How do you figure? We're short on numbers, have money to spend, and it's the transfer window. It's halfway through the season and we're 7 points away from the bottom three, 8 points away from the top eight, and it's a make or break stage imo. Obviously we could, and probably will, just end up in mid-table but i can sympathise with those who questioned the timing of all these events. I dunno, I just see us finishing mid-table regardless tbh. Our fixture list is an absolute bastard from here on in so Top 6 is definitely out, relegation is much more likely and I really can't see us playing any worse than we did under Sam tbh so changing managers won't effect us adversely there. Also worth noting that's it's been three days since Sam left, not like we're floating around in limbo for weeks on end, which would be a concern. Get the new man in, he can evaluate the players between now and the end of the year and know what needs to be done in the summer.

Can't put into words how annoying these sort of statements are. Exactly what do you know about whats actually going and not what you've read on here, in the papers and from 'ITKs'? Wait till you know the full story. They sacked Allardyce for one thing, and they had no one lined up at this crucial stage of the season. I couldn't give a s*** what the ITKs and SSN has said, i've slagged SSN off aplenty since Wednesday. But the above reasons qualify my statement imo. Apologies for annoying you so. Crucial stage of the season? How do you figure?

What time does this kick-off? I actually haven't got a clue. Late game?

Some of the vitriol being spewed towards Ashley and Mort is nothing short of a disgrace, if you ask me. They got rid of an average (and that's being very kind) manager who was taking us nowhere, and because they haven't immediately installed a vastly better manager in a completely smooth manner all of a sudden they're muppets who don't know what they're doing. Have a word FFS.

I think if there was a poll asking if you'd suck off Mourinho if he'd become manager... well, there'd be interesting results. Add in a stipulation that he wins the league title for us within five years and get that poll up man.

Not always, as history has shown. And Chelsea have shown that it can sometimes. Sorry, don't understand what you are saying. Can you rephrase that? He means that Jose wasn't Chelsea's first choice, I think.

Thread being widely discredited here.

He will be yes, almost certainly. What sort of nut-job opens a poll at 4 in the morning mind you.

I'm finding all the mass hysteria a bit funny in all honesty. You'd swear we'd just appointed Souness again or something the way some people are going on. Can anyone really tell me that Sam Allardyce is in any way a significantly better bet than Harry Redknapp to build us a side capable of challenging for the Top 6? The general consensus for some time has been that Newcastle need to find a manager and properly back him and give him the time to build a good team. To me it's quite clear that Ashley just doesn't trust Sam to spend any significant money in rebuilding the team, and if that's the case then it makes absolutely no business sense for Ashley to invest in a man in whom he does not believe. I'd rather he get his own man in now, at least it may be an indication that he's not content to just let this season float by aimlessly, he wants to start improving things now. We'd have all loved to get Mourinho or Lippi in, but that's not exactly easy to do no matter what some people seem to believe. Once you get outside the really top class candidates like that, everyone is a risky appointment. Your best bet is to make your pick and back him until you feel that maybe he's taken you as far as he can. Ashley now has HIS man, the first real test for him is now whether he backs him or not. If anything maybe this will remove some of the Superman image that some people seem to have of Ashley, as if he's some sort of magical angel sent to lead us to our rightful promised land of glory after the tyranny of the evil Shepherd. He's just another chairman at the end of the day. Furthermore, people declaring this to be a 'Massive Sidestep' need to think about what exactly a sidestep is. Doesn't really matter how far sideways you step tbph, you're still the same distance from where you want to be. We have a manager the chairman wants now, one who is every bit as capable/uncapable as Sam of taking us where we want to be. Only crucial difference is that the chairman will back this man, or at least we would hope so.

Dave called... He gonna lock this shit!!

If anybody encounters Mort they simply must shout "Harry Redknapp" at him very loudly, with an Alan Partridge-esque enthusiasm, then stare directly at his feet.

i too heard that I can attest to it personally.

Yorkie'll just get behind anyone tbh.

The general consensus seems to be that this is a sideways step, yet some are acting like it's the apocalypse. Some folks really not grasping the concept of a sideways step, IMO.

Making HTT the half-time hero would do it, I reckon.

f****** joke of a post (and what was the opening post to a pointless thread). Disgusting. There's an element of a wind-up to it IMO, but still pretty pathetic. Quite a sad fall from a once quality poster.

Very disappointing. However, if Ashley just doesn't trust Sam with money and he wants to plow some into the team then he's entitled to bring his own man in tbh. I don't neccesarily believe it's a step forward at all, but it's not like we're ditching some world class manager for someone who doesn't know what they're doing at all. Hard to call which one of them is the better boss to be quite honest, not sure why everyone is so hysterical, even if the appointment seems a let-down. If Mike Ashley is happy to finance some big money signings that will improve our team, then he's entitled to get someone he trusts to do it in.

Right about what? Sorry i don't understand, i'm on go slow today. If he feels he was in the right, and was treated unfairly, he might just laugh it off. I think he'd be a lot more annoyed tbh, i know i would, he's got pride, but i honestly think after the 'you don't know what your doing' s**** he received, his (what little he'd built up since being here) heart for the club died, and he couldn't give a fuk about what happened after that. Perhaps true to an extent, but I don't believe for one minute there isn't at least a part of him that's absolutely devestated at how this has all turned out. He'll not likely be a target for any top half club anymore, certainly not one with our potential spending power. He'll have to take over another Bolton and slowly slog his way back up again after getting 5 months to prove himself. He'll be gutted.

Precisely, Dave. Save our £100m* from Allardyce just to give it to Redknapp? Gerraway. *obviously, before someone pedantic sillybilly picks up on it, i'm just using that figure hypothetically... I can see why he'd do it. If Ashley wants to plow £100M into transfers it would be worth his while getting his man in to do it, rather than sticking with a manager someone else chose. Imagine if he gave huge money to Allardyce and it didn't work? Wasting money with someone you don't want? That's ridiculous. If he's prepared to throw that sort of money around (and this is all hypothetical, obviously) it makes perfect sense to put an extra few million in to get the man he wants to do it. At least that way if it doesn't work he's got nowhere to hide. For what it's worth I think we've got someone lined up. I'd be amazed and disappointed if this has happened without a clear plan as to who's next. Judging on who Sam has spent his money on so far, I could see why Ashley would be reluctant to give him a lot. Barton - Facing time in jail. Enrique - Hardly been playing Smith - Much maligned, shall we say. His three signings that cost any relatively sizeable money, hardly done well with it to be fair. I'll be underwhelmed as anyone if it's Redknapp though, rather give it to Shearer and take the risk than make a big Harry-shaped sidestep.

Depends who it is I would imagine.