Mick

Well to be fair £500k per year was s*** money for a manager of his calibre, but dint he except that offer in the end? SA is on £3m bythewqy. He didn't accept the initial offer but accepted an improved offer.

Agreed, it's pathetic.

I doubt that somebody of his age who worked in football at the highest level needed to come here for the money. He did hold out for more of it when he eventually came but that was because he felt the offer was an insult.

Feb-May would have happened with almost anybody in charge.

Because Shepherd was/is deluded. You know where this thread is going now, don't you?

I don't care either but he does live near Chester-le-Street, his photograph was in the Sunday Sun a month or so ago when he was cutting his grass.

He lives near Chester-le-Street.

http://www.crewclothing.co.uk/public/images/product/outofstock.gif There are so many points in that post to take issue with it would take until next week to address them all, but this... Was it the sequence of league finished that bothered you?

Oh my god!! String the fucker up immediately, how dare he not manage us before he did manage us!?! He should have smashed his way through the walls of SJP and into the boardroom streaming black and white striped blood from the resulting cuts on his hands and demanded that the board appoint him on pain of death!! Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuppppppppppppppaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafantastic!! He's a WUM, by the way, for those who hadn't figured that out yet. He's a knobface. Why knock Sir Bobby after everything he did for us? That question was answereed in the post you replied to.

Managing us at the peak of his career? He had made Ipswich Town into a European force, during that time we had Lee, Dicky Dinnis, Mcgarry and Cox as managers and Westwood (I think) as our chairman, going nowhere. Would you have left something that special to sign for a club that was going nowhere, without 2 pennys to rub together? You look after number 1 first, doesnt mean that he didnt care about NUFC. Hey, maybe we never even approached him to be our manager We appraoached him twice to become manager, once he said no because he didn't want to break a contract, the other time he came. He turned us down when first starting out on his playing career, something which Shearer repeated but that isn't held against him.

He only turned us down as manager once that I know of and the reason was his contract, it might be rare these days but some people still act honourable from time to time and he did just that.

Sir Bobby is the only person I wanted us to win something for more than I wanted it for myself.

Won? A draw would have been enough to change the outcome.

It doesn't make the slightest difference, I've told them.

It was a brilliant day, we hadn't seen a single Chelsea fan before the game until we got almost to Wembley. When Lee scored I was convinced that we were going to lift the Cup as we were playing really well and had actually managed to score at Wembley. I was on the same side as the Royal Box but was almost in line with Rob Lee when he scored, I think I went from the middle of the front section to the front row without touching the ground. Rob Lee's goal was probably the best moment of my life and that's saying something having been at the birth of my kids. That goal was better than seeing the kids born although if I had to lose one of my kids or the goal then the goal would have to go, if that makes sense.

Who replaces Solano isn't my problem, I rarely ever say who I think we should buy because it's pointless. I will not defend the board at all if they get something wrong, you might feel comfortable with defending the indefensible, I'm not.

I agree that the time to judge him is the end of the season, unless things go really bad. I don't think he should get another year if he's still coming up with his strange tactics and team selections without getting results, for me he's got to show that he's worth sticking with. I don't think he should be given a second season just for the sake of it.

How many of that 27% already thought he wasn't 'the man' before any games were played? You make it sound like they all changed their mind after 12 games, but I reckon most of them didn't want him in the first place, or were at least sceptical over his ability to take on a totally different challenge. Suggesting people are fickle or lack faith is common in football but it ignores the point that most people who call for a manager to be sacked usually didn't want him there in the first place. When people called for Souness to be sacked they were labelled fickle, but they were only saying the same stuff they had said from day one, which is totally the opposite to 'fickle', as any dictionary will confirm. It was the same thing when Roeder went. If people thought Sam wasn't the right appointment back in the summer and they still stand by their opinions then there's nothing wrong with that, these people only want what's best for the club and they want to see it left in the best hands possible. I've never liked Allardyce, in fact I couldn't stand him when he was at Bolton, but I tried to be philosophical when he came here. He's a big step up on Roeder and maybe he can adapt to the different challenges that will face him here. Maybe not. I'll certainly give him time, it'd be a disgrace to sack him before next summer unless we are staring at relegation, but I won't back him to the hilt based on some misguided loyalty to a manager. My loyalty lies with the club, always has and always will. People talk about the manager having the reigns as if it's a right, but it's a privilege. You take the job and you earn the respect and even the loyalty of the fans. That's what every top manager has had to do, I don't see why Allardyce should be any different. Good post ohmelads, I agree with it all. I'll not back anybody just to get brownie points, if I think something is wrong I'll say so regardless of who agrees or not. I care more for the club than I do for any individual and that goes for the lot of them, from the man at the top to the bog cleaner, if anybody doesn’t like it, tough shit.

You are one confused person, where have I said any of the above?

Like I said, a random name dropped in from nowhere. I think we haven't replaced Solano because the manager didn't think it was necessary, I'm only guessing but he probably thought of him as a rightback who was not needed because of him bringing in Beye or he thought Barton could possibly play right wing. That's a guess as I can't speak for Allardyce and he himself hasn't answered the question. What has been proven is that Ashley and Mort have spent more than the old board did for 2 years, they've done that at the same time as reducing the debt by £75 million which is almost 2 ground redevelopments. They've also backed Allardyce by bringing in the players that he wanted and he hasn't complained that he has been refused funds at any time.

Link?

To be fair to Yorkie, we've only got your word for that.

I think he has greater priorities, I'd seriously doubt him if he wastes time on a keeper while we have so many other problems to sort out.

I've just read the unseen priority thread so can I be the first to request 3 new keepers and all of our problems are solved.