Dr Venkman

so we should start planning now to protest 9 months early? and january is the test of any boards buying intentions? yep, ok mate You're obviously unaware of the bigger picture. Inactivity in the January transfer market, especially if we take advantage of the upcoming schedule and find ourselves within 6 points of the top six by January which tbh i thought was unlikely at the start of the campaign as i've always rated us as an outside chance at best, will cost us any shot at a European slot. Need positions have already mentioned ie. an 'all-out' centrally operating playmaker/forward, striking cover for Martins' during the African Cup of Nations, and christ we'll be up the proverbial s**** creek should the board cave in to any supposed unrest, provided there is base to reports, re-Owen in January. If 'damage limitation' moves aren't planned, and they must be on the agenda in Allardyce's mind at least going by quotes of his along the lines "who can we afford to sell", all because of the manager's and chairman's conficting agendas in relation to January spending the resulting inactivity will be classed as a window of missed opportunity akin to the Partizan Summer when the previous board were rightfully lambasted. I think inactivity in our part, when it comes to certain team needs, will see us dragged towards the bottom 6 by the end of the campaign, as was the case recently when Bellamy's departure wasn't covered when the manager at the time banked on Dyer coming good and duly funneled his then January kitty into the signing of Buomsong. The transfer window pertaining to Buomsong's expensive arrival, when Bellamy's depature wasn't covered, was solely down to poor judgement on the part of the manager. Shepherd backed him, however Souness blew the funds. f*** it took Souness nearly two transfer windows to realise - after blowing another 10m on midfielders Emre and Parker - that he needed both goals and creativity in the final 1/3 of the pitch. Something which Bellamy and Robert both provided, something which Luque - a supposed left sided 'wide-operating forward' - was supposed to deliver. The Partizan Summer, as a result of one window of complacency on the previous board's part, contributed to us from solidying ourselves as a top-4 side. The squad needed freshening up, and SBR shouldn't escape the firing sqaud either - his negative tactics on the night handed the attacking initiative to the visitors. The coming January window as i said earlier, fpr reasons already mentioned looms as another potential Partizan Window. If the board doesn't back Allardyce, and if there are ramifications as those outlined Mort & Ashley should be stoned........... as Shepherd, the front-man for the Halls, was in the aftermath of the ill-fated Partizan Window. you obviously like reading your own writing, thanks for the history lesson, fwiw all i was suggesting is that january is not the be all and end all of assessing a boards intentions, that should be blatantly obvious to anyone who knows a bit about football, as you appear to, or not? whatever, some people on here just want to prove they know more facts than anyone else, as far as i'm concerned mort and ashley have acted very well since taking over and i'm happy to let them get on with it anyone who harks back to the shepherd days with fondness needs to have a SERIOUS word with themselves, i dont give a fuck about 'ambition', ambition in the wrong hands can very easily be stupidity, and thats exactly what it turned out to be in our case with an absolutely incompetent cretin running our club, but i dont need to go into it, the FACTS speak for themselves we're in a results business as is so often said, and WHATEVER you want to say about pre 1992 or any of that does NOT erase the fact that this club PLUMMETED during shepherds reign, he spent money taking us backwards, i just dont see how that can EVER be considered good management, however you dress it up

excellent news

so we should start planning now to protest 9 months early? and january is the test of any boards buying intentions? yep, ok mate

happy with that like, couldnt have asked for much better

absolutely lovely bloke

fucks sake, hope they're ok

DV, i like it. for the record i'm really not crucifying the old board all the time, i used to, but the club has moved on now and so should we, i only started talking about them because you did, NE5. i'm more than happy as long as we're progressing, on the pitch obviously. because that's the only place i can persoanlly see the progression with my own eyes. if that takes years, it takes years, so be it. i dont think for one second that ashley/mort want us to be anything other than the best team in the world and will do what they can to make it so. i also think that shepherd wanted that, but thats a whole different thread. i've enjoyed this discussion, but i think we need a few more transfer windows behind us before we can have it properly.

Welcome back BUT we did get in the CL with them some of them kids, two of them won young player of year & one of them was Bellers. You can't turn your back on younger players any more than you can turn your back on the big name player who will raise expectation are you saying that raising expectation is good? if so why? not spoiling for a fight, just seems like a strange thing to say of course raising expectation is good. Why shouldn't it be ? Thats the whole idea. Would you rather support a club who would be happy to just stay up, for instance ? If so, you should have supported NUFC through the 1960's, 70's and 80's. For instance. NUFC and expectations have raised and changed completely since 1992, and not a single NUFC supporter would say otherwise [or maybe there is, there's always one, or two, or three.............] i think that the raising of expectations should go hand in hand with progress though, and by that i mean higher league finishes, you seem to be getting the cart before the horse there, i think trying to raise expectation in any other way is a very dangerous game to play, dont you? surely expectation and whats ACTUALLY happening should be directly related, that way you acheive a greater harmony around the club. i'm not saying dont be ambitious, just dont be daft. Expectations are totally different to when the old board took over the club in 1992 mate. Thats a fact. It's proven by the fact that 52000 people go to home games, whereas before that it was less than half. And people actually demand to qualify for europe, whereas people used to just be happy to be in the top league [and I'm not just talking about the fans here] why cant i have a discussion with you without feeling like your just out on a crusade to vindicate the old board ? you're ignoring what i'm saying and responding to points i haven't made, i didnt say expectations haven't risen, i'm not saying people didnt used to be happy just being in the top league, i'm saying expectations should correlate with how the TEAM and CLUB is progressing. not with how much money we spend, although at some point these things are going to be related, obviously, i think its a much more delicate balance than just throwing money at it its nothing of the kind mate. I realise you have a point - unlike some - and I'm trying to discuss it with you. I'm not vindicating anybody, the very fact you think that suggests you don't fully understand how expectations were raised under the old board. I shouldn't need to point this out at all, it is obvious. People aren't happy that we are only halfway in the top league just now, and last season, but that is because they expect higher placings because they are used to it. While spending money is no guarantee of absolute success - the reason for that is because there are only 2 major trophies - but ask yourself if the teams that have won the trophies spent more. The answer is yes. Draw your own conclusions. One thing is for sure, if we aren't prepared to bring in players to this club that the current top 4 want themselves, we will NEVER join them. Thats not vindicating anybody. Its a stone cold fact. Would you like to ask yourself how many managers in total have these clubs had in the past 10 years? Also, i wouldnt bet against us being the fifth highest spenders in the league. when will people learn that spending money isnt the answer, you have to build foundations first. All the clubs you're talking aobut have solid foundations, and that solidarity starts with a consistent, good manager. Draw your own conclusion. yep, thats what i'm trying to say, also agree with the post above too

academy is the best idea i think, suits his acheivements here and his football mentality the best, plus it honours the fact that he's from round here as there'll be local lads training there

Welcome back BUT we did get in the CL with them some of them kids, two of them won young player of year & one of them was Bellers. You can't turn your back on younger players any more than you can turn your back on the big name player who will raise expectation are you saying that raising expectation is good? if so why? not spoiling for a fight, just seems like a strange thing to say of course raising expectation is good. Why shouldn't it be ? Thats the whole idea. Would you rather support a club who would be happy to just stay up, for instance ? If so, you should have supported NUFC through the 1960's, 70's and 80's. For instance. NUFC and expectations have raised and changed completely since 1992, and not a single NUFC supporter would say otherwise [or maybe there is, there's always one, or two, or three.............] i think that the raising of expectations should go hand in hand with progress though, and by that i mean higher league finishes, you seem to be getting the cart before the horse there, i think trying to raise expectation in any other way is a very dangerous game to play, dont you? surely expectation and whats ACTUALLY happening should be directly related, that way you acheive a greater harmony around the club. i'm not saying dont be ambitious, just dont be daft. Expectations are totally different to when the old board took over the club in 1992 mate. Thats a fact. It's proven by the fact that 52000 people go to home games, whereas before that it was less than half. And people actually demand to qualify for europe, whereas people used to just be happy to be in the top league [and I'm not just talking about the fans here] why cant i have a discussion with you without feeling like your just out on a crusade to vindicate the old board? you're ignoring what i'm saying and responding to points i haven't made, i didnt say expectations haven't risen, i'm not saying people didnt used to be happy just being in the top league, i'm saying expectations should correlate with how the TEAM and CLUB is progressing. not with how much money we spend, although at some point these things are going to be related, obviously, i think its a much more delicate balance than just throwing money at it

got it in one mate, off to see the boss. yeah its most likely we'll just watch it in an arena bar if its on there, almost too good to be true though, something must be up, lets hope its not the result Aye, over at the Odyssey they'll be showing the match. You'd only run into a problem if it wasn't on Sky or Setanta. But, if you want any kind of atmosphere, you'd be best to go to the Bot (Botanic Inn). Was where I'd always go to watch the footy when I was at Uni in Belfast. Had some good nights in there... cheers man, would be nice to seek some atmospehere but there's about 15 geordies going over for the gig so we'll try and create our own if we're just staying at the odyssey, best not say the bot sounds good, people will talk

Welcome back BUT we did get in the CL with them some of them kids, two of them won young player of year & one of them was Bellers. You can't turn your back on younger players any more than you can turn your back on the big name player who will raise expectation are you saying that raising expectation is good? if so why? not spoiling for a fight, just seems like a strange thing to say of course raising expectation is good. Why shouldn't it be ? Thats the whole idea. Would you rather support a club who would be happy to just stay up, for instance ? If so, you should have supported NUFC through the 1960's, 70's and 80's. For instance. NUFC and expectations have raised and changed completely since 1992, and not a single NUFC supporter would say otherwise [or maybe there is, there's always one, or two, or three.............] i think that the raising of expectations should go hand in hand with progress though, and by that i mean higher league finishes, you seem to be getting the cart before the horse there, i think trying to raise expectation in any other way is a very dangerous game to play, dont you? surely expectation and whats ACTUALLY happening should be directly related, that way you acheive a greater harmony around the club. i'm not saying dont be ambitious, just dont be daft.

got it in one mate, off to see the boss. yeah its most likely we'll just watch it in an arena bar if its on there, almost too good to be true though, something must be up, lets hope its not the result

Welcome back BUT we did get in the CL with them some of them kids, two of them won young player of year & one of them was Bellers. You can't turn your back on younger players any more than you can turn your back on the big name player who will raise expectation are you saying that raising expectation is good? if so why? not spoiling for a fight, just seems like a strange thing to say

thanks to you too, yeah a bar at the arena will be perfect really with the late kick off time, i've e mailed them to check if they're showing it

ok, if i've got time i'll head to the places with better atmosphere, depends on the show times, thanks man, looking forward to my trip like, i've never been to ireland

ok nice one mate, guess i'll just get in touch with one of the pubs at the arena and see if they're showing the match thanks

a quick question for any nufc supporters in and around the belfast area.... i'm gonna be in belfast on saturday to see a gig at the odyssey arena, i'm hoping to find a pub close ish to the arena to watch the fulham match in, any suggestions? cheers

haha, flash bastard, good lad though, cant argue with it

agreed, i dont think europe is a worry, by that i mean i presume they're happier not spending 10 million on two players who MIGHT help us get into europe, but more than likely wont because the team as a whole doesnt look top 6 quality yet. this has been an entirely new start for the club, and if we improve and plan for the future a bit each year then i'll be happy, and i imagine so will the board, they're succesful business men and they'll know that it takes time to get results, we're probably just gonna have to put our faith in them and wait. oh and milner wont play on the right, and duff wont play on the left

haha, mint, i'll try that one at the next home game

would be nice to do something to honour him like,even just a huge banner to pass round saying 'thankyou sir bobby' before a home game would send out a message to him of how loved he still is and always will be by us lot

my feeling is that they're pretty intimidated by our potential, if ashley and mort get things right we could be an absolute juggernaut of a club Why would a journo be threatened by the possibilty of nufc reaching its potential? because they each have their own teams that they support

my feeling is that they're pretty intimidated by our potential, if ashley and mort get things right we could be an absolute juggernaut of a club

are you saying if i dis possess an attacker with one foot, kicking the ball away, towards goal, so neither of us have clear possession, and then proceed to hack the attacker down with my OTHER leg, stopping him from competing for the ball, then that isnt a penalty?