Dr Venkman

It didn't work last time. And we could end up with a much worse owner in the Championship. Definitely not. Worse than on owner who doesn't want the team to be in Europe or have any cup success? At this point I think the only owner who'd be worse would be someone that paved over SJP and shut the club down.

Where are these rumours from? First I've heard of it... http://www.talksport.co.uk/sites/default/files/imagecache/ts_homepage_lead_story_widescreen/blog/Joe-Kinnear_4.jpg I literally hate his face. Every time I see a photo of him I just feel depressed.

I'd consider that lucky tbh.

It's another confusing element to add to a shit load of confusion. Mike likes money right? He doesn't like spending it and he wants NUFC to run a tight ship? He's just handed the safe keys to an old alcoholic lunatic.

I'm convinced Dave's hacked his account and posted that, there's just no way

There's plenty of awards from not watching NUFC tbh.

That's been me since Christmas.

It depends what you think the first priority was. Either 1) Ashley wants a DOF in based on recent meetings with DL/AP etc, then he's chosen one from his very small list of people he's prepared to employ, or 2) Ashley specifically wants JFK in there to regulate what DL/AP are doing. I just think option 1 is slightly more likely.

It's plausible. Posted something similar on the previous page. Then I read JFK's comments in the Chronicle which imply that Llambias is onside with this. Mind you I question my sanity at attaching credence to any comments by JFK. I am struggling to understand this but can only come to the conclusion that it is Ashley playing games to ruffle feathers - but whose? There are theories around that he has done this to p1ss the fanbase off but I am not buying that. His targets are AP, DL or both. It's as clear as it's always been that anything Kinnear says is pure fantasy. He's Ashley's man on the ground here, like. I'm absolutely convinced he is. Something is massively amiss in the boardroom. There were a few separate stories last year about a fallout between Ashley and Llambias, which were dismissed at the time. That, coupled with the stories of the disagreement over whether to stick with Pards, has resulted in our current plight. It's what all signs point to. Why would Ashley let someone come in, undermine 2 people at once, and shout so much what seem like orders and clarification? It's like he's been given a remit by Ashley to go and out and stamp this stuff down. Why else would anyone allow such a useless old man go on and on about something such as this? Or, he's been appointed as DOF because they want another 'football person' there, and because Ashley trusts him, and he just happens to be a gob s****? Football Person is a bit of a stretch. If that's the case, and this is the best football man Ashley could find.... fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucking hell. Trust comes above ability when it comes to Ashley's appointments though, I think we know that. Aye, you're right there. I honestly can't see this appointment being for football reasons more than it is control reasons, though. If he appoints people on trust over their ability in their field, then that itself would point to it being less of a football issue, or hiring a football man, and more to hiring a 'man on the ground', as Inochi said. Pretending to be a football man. Whether Ashley is aware of how little Kinnear is actually a football man in 2013 remains to be seen. Pardew was appointed for control reasons as well. I think there's a chance that they've decided they need someone who knows football better than DL at the club in a management role, but unfortunately the appointment's been made on who Ashley trusts above anything else. I'm not saying that Inochi's musings are inaccurate btw, just seems the more far fetched of the two possibilities. Although on the other hand Ashley may well be losing faith in DL/AP, to my mind the best option would be to bring in someone else over DL, but he's probably running out of people he does trust now.

It's plausible. Posted something similar on the previous page. Then I read JFK's comments in the Chronicle which imply that Llambias is onside with this. Mind you I question my sanity at attaching credence to any comments by JFK. I am struggling to understand this but can only come to the conclusion that it is Ashley playing games to ruffle feathers - but whose? There are theories around that he has done this to p1ss the fanbase off but I am not buying that. His targets are AP, DL or both. It's as clear as it's always been that anything Kinnear says is pure fantasy. He's Ashley's man on the ground here, like. I'm absolutely convinced he is. Something is massively amiss in the boardroom. There were a few separate stories last year about a fallout between Ashley and Llambias, which were dismissed at the time. That, coupled with the stories of the disagreement over whether to stick with Pards, has resulted in our current plight. It's what all signs point to. Why would Ashley let someone come in, undermine 2 people at once, and shout so much what seem like orders and clarification? It's like he's been given a remit by Ashley to go and out and stamp this stuff down. Why else would anyone allow such a useless old man go on and on about something such as this? Or, he's been appointed as DOF because they want another 'football person' there, and because Ashley trusts him, and he just happens to be a gob s****? Football Person is a bit of a stretch. If that's the case, and this is the best football man Ashley could find.... fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucking hell. Trust comes above ability when it comes to Ashley's appointments though, I think we know that.

It's plausible. Posted something similar on the previous page. Then I read JFK's comments in the Chronicle which imply that Llambias is onside with this. Mind you I question my sanity at attaching credence to any comments by JFK. I am struggling to understand this but can only come to the conclusion that it is Ashley playing games to ruffle feathers - but whose? There are theories around that he has done this to p1ss the fanbase off but I am not buying that. His targets are AP, DL or both. It's as clear as it's always been that anything Kinnear says is pure fantasy. He's Ashley's man on the ground here, like. I'm absolutely convinced he is. Something is massively amiss in the boardroom. There were a few separate stories last year about a fallout between Ashley and Llambias, which were dismissed at the time. That, coupled with the stories of the disagreement over whether to stick with Pards, has resulted in our current plight. It's what all signs point to. Why would Ashley let someone come in, undermine 2 people at once, and shout so much what seem like orders and clarification? It's like he's been given a remit by Ashley to go and out and stamp this stuff down. Why else would anyone allow such a useless old man go on and on about something such as this? Or, he's been appointed as DOF because they want another 'football person' there, and because Ashley trusts him, and he just happens to be a gob shite?

Even if it continued? By all accounts his aim now is to sell up when he can recoup what he's spent, if it looks like that's never gonna happen I wonder if he'd cut his losses? It's a dangerous game though, the vindictive cunt might just stay forever no matter what division we're in.

I want to see positive change at my football club. There may well be a team at the bottom of this but you won't see any change without direct action. An organised fan group that could mobilise support and campaign against the current regime would be a start. Some people what to change things and if voting with your feet is the only way then that's that. You giving up your season ticket, like? Don't have one. Again I'm not telling people what they should and shouldnt do, but I personally wont be buying tickets. And its not an unfair assumption that the only way Ashley will change anything is if he sees a dip in attendances. Not sure why you taking it so badly. I'm not criticising anyone that goes to games merely illustrating the point of how change could come about. My brother is a season ticket holder has been for over 20 years, and he will still go as he says "it's my club, not Ashleys". Thats fair enough. I've been going to nufc games since I was 5 years old. Whether I have a season ticket or not is irrelevant, I don't live local and go to as many games as money allows. If its point scoring exercise on your part, then you've wasted your time., I assumed that, seeing as how you found my post so humorous, you were of a different opinion. I found the hyperbole in it funny. Hyperbole? In a question? I'm not the one saying that mass non-attendance of games is the only option. Unless I'm mistaken, vastly reduced crowds or even an empty stadium, would be a direct result of this kind of action. !0/15k crowds/empty stadium is that what people want to see? "honestly sort yourselves out" pretty hyperbolic in nature. People merely suggested the only way to make Ashley change his mind is stop giving him money and buying tickets.An empty stadium is a bit of a stretch. why do people need to "sort themselves out"? because they happen to want to change at the club and see non attendance as a way of achieving it and you dont? Are we telling people how to "support" their team here? I've suggested a fan group with a strong plan and organisational structure who can communicate with the club/media and try to change things. its that or dont go to games. Or the alternative is we continue to let Ashley drag the club through the mud lurching from one crisis to the next. So, to be clear: stop going to games, stop giving him money, just make sure that not everyone does it. Because an empty stadium is a bit much. I said that people need to sort themselves out because it'd ultimately be counter productive, and there will always be 11 players on the pitch who require our support. That's why I go to games, and pay money for a season ticket. It's pretty obvious, by, now, that those with power at the club could not care less about what we think. No amount of protest will change that. We need a new approach. What that is, I have no fucking idea. Genuine question, do you think if a sizeable amount (let's say 50%) just stopped putting any money into the club that he'd look to sell up?

Just to play devil's advocate, I wonder if it might be a good thing to have another 'football person' at the club that Ashley trusts? Who's to say that we wouldn't have strengthened more last summer if he'd been here? Desperately looking for positives.

Sounds like to me you don't actually know what a director of football is.... Pardew is effectively the head coach now. The manager role doesn't exist in this set up; Pardew is the coach he chooses the team for match day, coaches the players and decides the tactics. Its Kinnear's job to make sure that the style of play is the same across all levels from the first team to the kids and of course the recruitment side of things. Kinnear doesn't have the criteria to do such a job IMHO but he's not effectively the manager because such a thing does not exist..... The Pardew's role hasn't changed one bit.

He'll be here until he dies and leave the club to one of his spawn in his will, his dying wish will be to continue our humiliation. This has turned out much much worse than I'd hoped for

Won't he be bringing in more English players though?

First good post you've made.

This won't make me cancel my season ticket. I doubt it's going to effect what we see on the pitch too much next season, unless the theory that he's been brought in to force Pardew out is true. I don't think this will make Carr leave either, he's an old man now and head scout for his boyhood club, he'll continue to go and watch football and pitch players to his boss, whoever he is. That's not to say it's anything other than a monumentally terrible decision, I just don't think it's the end of the world. Unless you've been kidding yourselves that Ashley has any sort of ambition for the club above staying in the league, then I suppose you might be a bit shocked.

Still like him a lot, he's got a great range of passing imo.

It says nowt, he could have been for a medical and left already, and he could have undergone a medical before a deal is agreed.

Strange one this like. He's definitely our best central midfielder by some distance and removing him from the squad makes it weaker, and makes us less of an attractive proposition for other players joining. That said, I'm not sure if him leaving will make us significantly worse on a match day. He just hasn't been that effective because he's been deployed incorrectly. In terms of the performance of the team if you took him out of someone like Liverpool for example who play a lot of passes on the deck and work their way up the pitch together, he'd be pretty tough to replace. For us though? What do we need to replace? Someone who'll harry the opposition in the middle and attempt ludicrous balls over the top to Cisse at Pardew's insistence. He's simply never near enough to the box to cause any real danger to the opponents. What we will miss is a couple of nicely hit passes out wide every week, and his goals, and in a team that solely relies on 'magic' that might be where it'll cost us. I do think he'll leave like, I've thought that for some time.

Brilliant. Significantly reduces the chances of us going down.

Yep.