alexthegreat

Hated him and Man United in the 90s - When it came to the commercialisation of football Man United led the way with their mega store, plastic supporters and a new away kit every year. Standard stuff now though. The way their side used to intimidate referees was disgusting and Ferguson led the way - standing on the touchline with stopwatch in hand sticks in the memory. However since Abramovich and the Glazers came on the scene he hasnt had the massive financial advantage he did before yet he is still winning. He also claims to have mellowed a bit and he does show occassional touches of class which you can respect - such as his speech at SBR's funeral. But when things don't go his way hes still a very bitter and sore loser - witness his claim that Alan Wiley wasnt fit and his "typical germans" comment when they got knocked out of the Champions League. More than 24 years in any profession is an acheivement, let alone staying at one club at the top for that amount of time. So my verdict is that you can't help but admire him although he is still a bastard. But perhaps not quite as much as he was.

Hes inspiring we will have great team spirit: "I don't like people who drain my time and energy. If you've seen the Harry Potter films, we use the term 'dementors' - people who can draw the life out of you in terms of your energy. So we eradicate the 'dementors', encourage the positive people, and that spreads around to create the team spirit we have here"

4 points clear, 22 games to go. We are led by Alan Pardew in the dugout with Ashley and Llambias helping out with tactics The three of them will be calling the shots using a bizarre predict-the-result fantasy football strategy (according to caulkin and bird) Suddenly very worried.

"Regrettably the board now feels that an individual with more managerial experience is needed to take the club forward." "The big reason cited behind the scenes is that they want a boss who can attract the Sky cameras to St James’ more often, at almost £500,00 per televised match. While Hughton’s measured exterior was just what the club needed to calm the chaos of the relegation season, Ashley and his cohorts reckon that more spark is needed to sell the club now they are surrounded by the glitz and worldwide profile of the Premier League." www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/ So Alan Pardew it has to be then. Still the financially catastrophic 2nd relegation and who knows how long of being shit will all be worth it for that extra £0.5m in tv money

NUFC.COMs take: So there is a plan? Three and a half years after taking control of the club, Mike Ashley has jettisoned a fourth manager - Chris Hughton following Sam Allardyce, Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer in making a one way trip up Barrack Road. Our own take on Hughton never really changed much - a seemingly decent and honourable bloke whose public statements were routinely bland. That in itself came as something of a relief though, following the bare-faced lies of slack-jawed, FA charge-incurring predecessor, JFK. His own conduct and manner differed markedly from other managers and there was satisfaction to be had from the fact that someone who wasn't a) a former player b) local and c) white, became a popular figure amongst many supporters who were initially ambivalent and/or sceptical. That's one in the eye for messrs Souness/Allardyce and their self-justifying accusations of small-minded regional insularity and our alleged "Messiah" complex. As a manager, he deserves praise for gaining promotion at the first attempt and in some style. From then on though, he and Colin Calderwood came into the unproven category and we'd be lying if we said we were particularly bothered about exit now - it's the identity of his successor that has long been of more over-riding concern to us. Hughton's apparent popularity among the squad led to question marks over the level of discipline, while the matter of player signings also opened up a debate over his level of involvement in the club's transfer dealings. It's yet to be established whether the likes of Leon Best were Hughton signings, or further examples of the deals that brought Xisco and Gonzalez to Tyneside. But even if Hughton did enjoy full authority on acquisitions, then his hand was certainly forced by the financial stringencies he was made to work under - and influenced by a desire to try and retain players he deemed as pivotal. And now, for reasons that may or may not ever be explained, the time has come to do what always looked inevitable. In reality, Chris was undemanding, restrained and as a consequence easy to get rid of - the safe pair of hands to a club with a long history of loose cannons. For that reason alone, swapping "interim" for "permanent" on his job title always looked like a cosmetic exercise. However, his removal surely cannot be based only on the events at The Hawthorns on Sunday - we've been in far worse plights (and league positions) than that, plus the mood of the away crowd could in no way be interpreted as agitating for the manager's head. The opening of the transfer window in just over three weeks time (and the opportunity for ourselves and other clubs to alter their UEFA squad lists) seems to be a more telling stat than that defeat. Those at Goodison Park will doubtless be guffawing more about the situation Dan Gosling now finds himself in, while the future of Hatem Ben Arfa remains open to question, despite his recent "I love the Toon" public comments. Rumours and betting whispers built to a crescendo when Hughton returned to his native East London - with the out-of-work Alan Pardew strongly linked at that point. However victory at Upton Park and the wins over the mackems and Arsenal that then followed saw pundits hacks demanding a new deal for Hughton, rather than proclaiming him to be on borrowed time. After failing to win any of their last five games though, maybe now the club are convinced that Hughton has peaked and feel that the increasingly downbeat mood is more opportune to wheel out their new man. It's not like them to giving a toss about what others think though... Our opinion remains that Hughton over-achieved, given the financial constraints placed on him and the dressing room issues he inherited. Certainly it's hard to make a case for more high profile bosses to have emulated him. However, we harboured long-term reservations in much the same way as the Glenn Roeder appointment - a ready -made fall guy/patsy. "No risk Chris" was our assessment at the time, but we hardly envisaged he'd remain in post for so long. There again, neither did he, if you go back to his soundbites before the start of the 2009/10 season. For United to now decide that what Hughton gave them no longer sufficed would logically mean that finance was forthcoming for the new appointee to enjoy a larger salary, longer contract, more control over staffing and significant squad investment. If that proves not to be the case and a replacement is unveiled that to the average punter looks no different to Hughton, then the anger would surely be felt, for all the sympathy that's rightly evident for the jilted Hughton. For those who subscribe to the theory that Ashley thrives on conflict this seems to be yet another instance of him inverting the Geordie snowshaker - just when the "FCB" and "he don't care about me" chants had subsided. While seeing the SJP exit door swinging open again will inevitably lead to contemplation of previous exits, our initial reaction was to think of what happened with the smoggies, who disposed of that nice Gareth Southgate - and have been stuck firmly in reverse ever since. So, 900+ words to basically say, "f*ck knows". Dont agree at all really

Maybe Ashley though he'd put it out there that Pardew is coming so we'd be that much happier with Jol. Or its a betting scam hes doing or something. Or maybe hes lined up both - with Jol his first choice and Pardew second. Deperately desperately looking for straws to clutch at

More apathetic than angry really. Annoyed but just have the sense that we've seen it all before. Most probably because we have.

When Keegan left Ashley was in the press saying 'I have listened. You want me out' A few months later Llambias admitted 'we have made mistakes' and said they had learned from them. Today they have come as close to repeating themselves as was possible in the circumstances. Its absolutely astounding really. I thought the idea of him acting out of spite was ridiculous before, but what other explanation is there? And as before, there is no hope of getting a semi-competent manager to join at this time of the season, to work with these clowns. And even if a half decent manager did take complete leave of their senses and sign a contract to work for Ashley, we can also make a fairly good guess that they wouldnt be free to run the club the way they want anyway and once again it would all end in tears.

Seriously worried about the possibility of Kinnear especially reading the last bit of the club statement. Suggests another 'caretaker' ie permanent manager: "An announcement will be made shortly regarding transitional arrangements pending the appointment of a successor" Also I now think the bloke is enough of a retard to actually have meant this: Speaking to The Sun, Ashley said: 'Joe’s the man to do the job. He’s my hero. Is he better than Capello? Definitely. We are going to be in Europe by the end of the season.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1097439/Ashley-Kinnear-steer-Newcastle-Europe--hes-better-Capello.html#ixzz17LbRs9Iq

No calderwood to fill in either if the new man isnt in place by then. Peter Beardsley in the dugout instead of with the academy? At least he'd be someone for the crowd to get behind

Caulkin on twitter: Said all along #Nufc has been a fragile coalition. Now in pieces. Forget crap about senior player unrest - they're as upset as anyone

I ve no doubt it will be someone of that calibre. Wasnt Kinnear rumoured to be 17th choice or something? This situation is almost identical. It certainly won't be O'Neill. He left Villa for far less than what he'd have to put up with here. A serious manager isnt going to touch us with a barge pole. Its a totally inexplicable decision

I cant believe this has anything to do with football. There were rumours he was close to the sack after the draw with Wigan. It seems clear that they have wanted rid of him for some time and have been waiting to use the first bad patch we hit as an excuse. His prolongued contract negotiations must have played a part? Maybe he was no longer the 'yes man' he was supposed to be when he was appointed? Having said that I can clearly remember ringing endorsements frm the boardroom about Kinnear being a great manager, and how appointing Shearer was 'the best decision he'd ever made', but off the top of my head I cant really remember such public enthusiasm for Hughton at any stage. So maybe the fat bastard is just thick as shit

In the 10 games they have started together in 2010 they have scored 15 goals between them, Lovenkrands scoring 10 of them. Dont think you can say they didnt click

This bloke seems to have got a bit carried away: http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/5931/leedsandenglandtattoo2.jpg

Ben Arfa came into Bar Berlise on Osbourne Road with an older silver haired bloke tonight. Sat down and ended up chatting to a couple of blokes my mate identified as a proper pair of pikies he'd come across a few months before in the Lonsdale (by West Jesmond metro station). He was with them for about an hour and a half. I walked past them a few times and they all seemed to be getting on like a house on fire, ben arfa laughing his head off. He left at 10.30ish and went towards Spy.

Its Blackpool at home then Everton away next, and I'd stick with Harper for those The following game is Chelsea away in the cup and I'd put Krul back in for that one - I'd imagine he'll get a thorough examination there. If he did really well then I'd let him keep his place.

Keegan didn't lose it. Redknapp is a c*** though

No. The sports direct@stjames farce, the "no capital outlay" statement. Not taking the full away allocations isn't too good either. Also, whatever you think about Taylor reading in the paper that your transfer listed is pretty poor but is typical of the way this regime handles things. The fact that telling downright lies was justified as "public relations" shouldn't be forgotten either Basically the utter contempt for the support and the club continues to shine through

Hughton's contract negotiations are reported to have stalled as hes not happy with what hes been offered And the entire squad are reported to be unhappy about their bonuses from last season Carroll's contract talks are reported to have been stalled by agent's demands. Now Taylor has been transfer listed over his contract Of the 4 Taylor is by far the easiest for the board to make an example of - hes by no means indispensable. Anyone think thats why this is one of the few disputes the board have chosen to make public this summer? Im sure he could have been moved on without publicly placing him on the transfer list, there is regularly talk of interest in him.

It will be interesting when he makes his return to SJP with whichever club he signs for. Partly for the crowd reaction but also I dont think many centre backs would fancy 90 mins v Andy Carroll at the best of times, let alone if they ve already been allegedly left in hospital by him for a few days with a broken jaw

There is our attendances for the same period: 2009 48.750 2008 51.321 2007 50.686 2006 52.032 2005 51.844 2004 51.966 2003 51.923 2002 51.373 2001 51.309 2000 36.333 1999 36.665 1998 36.672 1997 36.467 1996 36.506 1995 34.691 1994 33.794 1993 29.048 1992 21.012 1991 16.879 1990 21.579 1989 22.815 1988 21.059 1987 24.792 1986 23.434 1985 26.228 1984 29.811 1983 24.166 1982 17.276 1981 16.001 1980 23.345 1979 20.494 1978 24.729 1977 33.599 1976 33.060 1975 34.614 1974 32.861 1973 27.939 1972 32.664 1971 29.735 1970 37.553 1969 34.016 1968 37.239 1967 32.081 1966 33.793 1965 35.659 1964 29.435 1963 31.634 1962 27.946 1961 26.500 1960 36.037 1959 39.458 1958 36.241 1957 35.202 1956 37.666 1955 42.925 1954 45.392 1953 44.521 1952 50.476 1951 46.651 1950 46.468 1949 53.839 1948 56.283 1947 49.379 taken from here: http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/england.htm

Lot of talk about stability - Stability on its own isnt enough. You need a manager with enough credibility first. Someone who when you're on a 10 match winless run you can still find plenty of reasons to keep with him. Look at the managers we've appointed since Robson, on the day they were appointed how many could you see still being here 5 years later? Souness - no Roeder - no Allardyce - possibly Keegan - probably not, even if it went well Kinnear - definately not Hughton - no The main problem is making poor appointments in the first place. If a man is going to come in and build a club from top to bottom, there needs to be plenty of reasons for everyone - players, supporters, and board to believe that he is capable of doing it - you cant do it with just anyone. I mean we could have decided to stick with Souness for 15 years and where would that have ended up? In the conference with the padlocks going on the gates? I think Hughton isn't the man long term, but the whole thing is an irrelevance anyway as long as Ashley is here. For as long as there is a bloke who quite clearly wants out (whatever he says) who everyone in football knows got players in behind his managers back on youtube, and could only attract Joe Kinnear last time he went looking for a manager there isnt going to be any "stability" anyway in any meaningful sense of the word.

looked back a few pages and not seen this posted anywhere - paddypower are doing an official newcastle player of the year and don't appear to have watched any newcastle matches for a few months - nolan miles out in front. Hes 11/8 to be our top scorer as well http://www.paddypower.com/football/football-specials/newcastle-specials?ev_oc_grp_ids=111224 K Nolan 11/8 Jonas Gutierrez 12/1 D Guthrie 28/1 A Carroll 5/1 J Enrique 12/1 N Butt 33/1 P Lovenkrands 6/1 A Smith 18/1 J Barton 80/1 F Coloccini 8/1 S Taylor 20/1 R Talyor 12/1 S Harper 20/1 I've backed Enrique at 12/1

Think we should keep him at all costs tbh, especially as we're meant to only be looking at 8 million for him. He has scored 1 in 2 at NUFC (admittedly in not many games) and has done that for his entire career. A proven goalscorer like that will not come near us - his replacement will not be the same calibre, and will probably cost more than 8m. After Owen's last experience abroad we will probably be selling to one of our supposed rivals for the top 6. I dont think the likes of Villa, Everton and Blackburn have a striker who guarentees them a goal every other game in the Premier League, if they did and we didnt they would be miles ahead of us. The past shows us that selling your best players gets you nowhere. Where would we be this year without his 7 goals in 9 games at the end of the season? Probably at least 4 places further down the table, if not worse, (doesnt that equate to £2 million) I dont see 100k+ as a waste of money for a striker of his proven ability, thats about the going rate. 50k+ for the likes of Smith and Duff is a waste, thats where we should be looking to cut the wage bill. And seeing as we've just lost out to Spurs for Modric and Woodgate, what sort of message does it send out losing Owen to someone like Everton, or whoever it would be. And as Keegan is clearly desperate to keep Owen, and the board should be supporting the manager wherever it can, I think the injuries are a risk we have to take.