Mr. Slugworth

A bit off topic so wanted to start a new thread with this, but haven't got enough posts yet...

A lot of the big clubs have smaller "feeder" clubs around the world i.e. Man Utd with Royal Antwerp, Arsenal with Beveren etc. Spurs have gone down this route I think? This strikes me as a good idea. We could ship some of our young players out on loan for a season or two, the likes of Ngo Baheng (if he signs) and Tozer... A good way to recruit younger players too.

We would also be well-served by partnership agreements with clubs in the far-east and South America. Does anyone remember a few years ago Fat Fred (or was it Doug?) spouting off about an agreement with Dalian Shide in China?? Something to do with shirt sales no doubt.

It does take a long time for these agreements to bear any fruit, but Rome wasn't built in a day. If we're ever going to be able to compete with the likes of Arsenal for the likes Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue, Cesc Fabregas etc. this, along with an extensive, world-wide scouting network is the way to do it! I'm sure Chris Mort is already working on it...

I reckon we should go all-out for Samir Nasri. Fits our policy of buying young and should be able to make an immediate impact. Two birds with one stone.

Second, Arshavin. Quality player and versatile.

Wes Brown.

Owt happened with this then?? Reckon it's prob in the bag, along with Ben Tozer and a few other <18s. Who else did we have on trial? What about that young lad from Gillingham, was it? Freeman?

If we seriously are going after Cho-Jae Jin, it's almost certainly for marketing purposes. A lot of the bigger clubs like to have at least 1 far-eastern player on the books, even if they're shite. Think of the shirt sales!!!

Not too fussed if he's shite to be honest, as long as he's a Mike Ashley signing for building the club's profile and not a Big Sam signing for improving the team. Probably won't play anyway...

Sol Campbell - Free

Curtis Davies - 10m

Justin Hoyte - 5m

Davies and Hoyte are best mates and have played together for years.  Will both have played with/learned from Campbell.  Should settle in well (Campbell wants a move to the North East, Hoyte spent a year with the scum) and have played together so should know eachothers games, have the right blend of age and experience and would provide great competition to bring the best out of Taylor.  Simple, but you just know it would work well.  Still, would rather have had Woody back than Sol...

Hoyte    Campbell    Davies    Solano

That'd do me tbh...

Anyone know anything about these two? Sound cheap tbh. 

http://www.eatsleepsport.com/news_details.aspx?story_id=551770&l_id=1&t_id=52

http://www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=36041

Make no mistake, this club is going down the fucking plug-hole and desperate measures are needed.  I know that special K is out of football but imo only him and/or SBR are capable of running this club at this time i.e. under the present owners/structure.  Who's with me for a "bring back Super Kev" campaign?? Or am I just being desperate and deluded??

How about we move for a dream team of Sir Bobby as DoF and Special K as manager? Imagine that!! Would be fucking class!

Curtis Davies - 8m

Tal Ben Haim - Free

Leighton Baines - 6m

Young LB - ??

Young RB - ??

Steve Sidwell - Free

Mark Viduka - Free

That'd do me!! 

In tonight's Ronnie Gill, Roeder tells us that Freddy has given him permission to recruit 6 more full time scouts (giving us 8 in total) and suggests that they are close to appointing someone in a major European city. Should have been done a long time ago tbh, but definately a step in the right direction! Encouraging.

Steve Harper: Was side-by-side with Shay back around 99/00 but inevitably, his lack of games has allowed Shay to pull away. The best back up keeper in the league. Verdict: Keep him

 

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In terms of his natural ability, loyalty, length of service and attitude, I stand by it.  Better than the likes of Robert Green/Ben Foster imo. Could/should have played for England, but didn't want to leave his hometown club. Top bloke tbh.

Glenn has come out and stated the obvious and told us that the first team squad needs rebuilding, something we were all more than well aware of.  So here is my attempt to sort through the current squad and honestly assess what we've got, and what we need to do in the summer:-

Goalkeeper:-

Shay Given: World class 'keeper (one of Glenn's 'big-hitters'). Deserves so much more and would be immense behind a half-decent defence.  Verdict: Keep forever! 

Steve Harper: Was side-by-side with Shay back around 99/00 but inevitably, his lack of games has allowed Shay to pull away. The best back up keeper in the league. Verdict: Keep him.

Pavel Srnicek: It's been great having him about, but your times up big-man! Verdict: Release as a player / Involve him in the (youth?) coaching set-up? The guy bleeds black and white and is a legend.

Tim Krul: Haven't seen too much of him but by all accounts (based on Palermo) the lad looks like he could be a major player in years to come. Verdict: Loan out to Darlington/Hartlepool/Carlisle etc.

Defence:-

Right Back

Stephen Carr:  He's lost his heart and his way, not good enough to wear the shirt and needs to move on for everyone's benefit. Verdict: Get rid of him!! 500k-1.5m??

Nolberto Solano:  Has done magnificently this season and has looked the part at right-back. Shocking against AZ Alkmaar imo but hardly his fault. Should be competing for the right back slot next year.  Verdict: 2-year contract.

Centre Back

Oh dear...

Craig Moore: How many games in 2 years? Not really good enough and he doesn't really want to be here anyway now Souness is gone. Verdict: He was free, release him for free and draw a line under it!

Titus Bramble: As i've discussed on another thread, Titus is at the very centre of our problems and he causes uncertaintly which spreads through our defence like a cancer. We'll never get anywhere with Titus in our squad, let alone playing every week. Verdict: He NEEDS to go!!

Peter Ramage: He's a nice lad but really, he just doesn't have it. Remember Stevie Caldwell? Verdict: Get rid, he'd look the part in the Championship.

Steven Taylor: I think he's overrated tbh.  He's got huge potential and is a cracking player, but he's still only 21 and needs to learn his trade under some experienced, solid defenders.  I reckon he'd perform a lot better if his was fighting to get into the team.  Verdict: Keep him, though not as first choice (yet!)

Oguchi Onyewu: I think the guy's worth bringing in tbh, he has the mental toughness and he's a fucking beast.  Playing alongside better players, I reckon he'd look a very good player. Verdict: For £1.8 million, he'd be a good addition to the squad.

Paul Huntington: Shown enough to suggest he could have a future, though he's obviously been thrown in too soon and playing him at left-back wasn't fair to him.  Good attitude. Verdict: Send him out on loan for the whole season.

David Edgar: Never seen him at centre back tbh, but looked composed and confident at left-back. A few years older than Hunty though tbh. Verdict: Send him out on loan to get some competitive experience.

Left Back:

OH DEAR!!!

Celestine Babayaro: I don't know what's happened to him but he obviously has a few problems. Used to be a good player and we've seen occassional glimpses of that, but the bottom line is, we can't rely on him.  Verdict: Keep for 1 more season as second choice back-up, then release.

Olivier Bernard: Joke signing, get rid of him a.s.a.p. Wish someone would pay me a year's wages for fuck all. Seriously though, did they not give him a medical before resigning him?? 

Midfield:-

Right Wing:

James Milner: He may not be blessed with a lot of attributes, but he's tricky, can cross a ball and is committed. Underrated imo, i'd pick him over Wright-Phillips. Verdict: Keep him, great squad player.

Centre Midfield:

Kieron Dyer: Love him or hate him, he's a hell of a player on his day. Could be the difference for us and imo he's a very important player for us. Verdict: Play to his strengths.

Belozoglu Emre: Not sure if he'll still be at the club come the summer, but I reckon he's a good player to have in the squad for the next few seasons, hopefully untill we're back up amongst the big boys. Again, in a better team, I think we'd see a lot more from him. Verdict: Aim to keep him.

Antoine Sibierski: Deserves a new contract tbh. Good to have in squad for next season. Verdict: 1 year contract, spend season pushing for first team.

Matty Pattison: Haven't seen anything in him which suggests he's going to make it. Verdict: Sell him!! Glenn seems to want to put him out on loan.

Holding Centre Midfield:

Scotty Parker: Suffered from being in and out of very poor team/no consistency, but I do think that if used properly, he's a very good if not excellent player. Verdict: Keep him.

Nicky Butt: He's had an immense season and deserves his place in the team. Has the experience and toughness needed and sets an example to other players. Verdict: Keep him as a squad player.

Left Wing:

Damien Duff: Like Parker, has suffered a bit and would perhaps have looked a lot better if he'd gone to say, Spurs. Not the player he was but you don't lose class and he's a very talented player to have in the squad. Verdict: Keep him to compete with the Zog for the left wing berth.

Chales N'Zogbia: We forget how young the lad is, he's had a shit year with his father passing away and him losing his 'mentor' in Boumsong (). He'll come back, the future of NUFC! Verdict: Keep him!

Alan O'Brien: Very fast, but so was Linford Christie!! Verdict: Loan him out to see what he can do.

Attack:-

Obafemi Martins: Still young and naive, but clearly he has immense talent and he knows where the goal is!! With good coaching (Shearer, anyone??) could be world-class. Verdict: KEEP HIM!!! 

Michael Owen: Hasn't worked out, has it? I hope he knows that he owes us a spot of loyalty and a lot of goals.  If he gets back to pre-injury form, should be immense.  Verdict: KEEP HIM!!! Don't care what people say, where are we going to find a more natural goalscorer??

Shola Ameobi: As long as he's not first choice, he doesn't bother me. Good enough to have in the squad. Verdict: Keep him. Squad player, no more.

Albert Luque: Already pre-determined. Doesn't belong here anymore and needs to move on. He may well still be a good player, but it ain't gonna work out for him here, it's too late. Verdict: Has to go!! Not on loan, permanently. 1-2 million?? What a fucking waste!! 

Andy Carroll: Haven't seen enough of him, sounds promising. Verdict: Send him out on loan.

Thus, we'll be getting shot of Carr, Bramble, Moore, Ramage, Bernard, Luque permantly (hopefully) and Krul, Huntington, Edgar, Pattison, O'Brien and Carrol on loan.  That's -12 players.

In conclusion, I feel that we need new players in the following positions:-

1 x Right Back: This Nelson fella sounds good to me!! Not a priority though...

1 x Left Back: Urby Emmanuelson? Gareth Bale? I'd settle for Leighton Baines.

2 x Centre Back: Not Anton Ferdinand, please. Curtis Davies plus say, Luisao?? Metzelder, Ben Haim and Distin are all better than what we have and are available for nothing!!

1 x Centre Midfield: Steve Sidwell. I reckon we're one short and he's free. Great potential.

1 x Attacker (Target Man): Not for playing long ball, but just to be a physical presence and put it about a bit. We've got Oba and Owen, we need something a bit different. Ashton/Crouch/Zigic??

This leaves us with just about 2 solid players in each position i.e. Jose's 'ideal squad size.' I reckon this is the way to move forward with the squad and if we get the recruitment right this summer, we'd have a strong chance of a top-6 finish next season (the bare minimum requirement for this club). Thoughts?

Yet more evidence of the mismanagement that has blighted this club, in the year 2007, to have no scouting system, is an absolute joke, seriously. There are clubs like Bolton who have had a scouting system in place for over 5 years now. It is things like this that fills me with zero hope for the future.

 

Which is why we should employ someone separate from the manager to take care of things like this, that way when the manager does leave someone will still be in place to run every other aspect of the club apart from the first team.

 

1 scout is a joke and just highlights that we're being run like the Worlds biggest pub team.

It's a fair point, if true, but we're all so fucking negative on here, let's just think about what was said...  Just maybe, the new guy they're targeting is someone whose 'contacts' are other scouts, someone who could set this thing up, so that we'll have a network or scouts.  Might even be fucking Comolli!!

Plus, clubs don't just have 'full-time' scouts on the books, they'll call upon a worldwide network of 'freelance' scouts i.e. we'll pay you so much to scout this league/find us a decent left-back etc.  We need to get with the times!!

For me, what Glenn and Freddy decide to do here will determine a great deal and the future direction of the club.

Option 1. Offer him a new contract in the hope that they can get the best out of him (I reckon this is his best tbh) and because it's the cheaper option.

Option 2. Let the lad move on as he isn't good enough for what we need here. Simple as that. Buy a replacement that can be relied upon to (at the least) not give stupid goals away regularly.  Distin/Ben Haim are also available for free this summer and i'd happily take either/both over Bramble. 

Tbh, would rather see Huntington given a run at his preferred CB till the end of the season over playing Titus, at least we can have a proper look at him.  Edgar at left back?

I fear Fred will opt for option 1, with Glenn towing the line.  We shall see...

I know this has been much discussed in other threads but I feel it needs it's own discussion.  My point is this: so long as Titus Bramble is associated with this club, we have no chance of getting anywhere whatsoever.  I don't know the lad and I don't want to be too harsh on him as a person, but I pay towards him earning more in a week than I earn in a year to play football so I think i'm entitled to take a shot...

On (very rare) occassions, he's looked the part.  Big, strong, fast, aggressive.  But then again, so was f*cking Linford Christie!!  I'd honestly choose any other CB in the whole league to Titus, as he introduces the element of uncertainly which spreads through the team like a cancer.  I'm no great fan of Babayaro or Carr (indeed, they need to go too!), but I reckon they'd look a lot better alongside a Woodgate or Terry.  It's not that Titus is shite, it's that he's shite most of the time and he will never be reliable or consistent (he's 25 now isn't he?)

If a ball comes in and Titus goes in for it, he often wins a great tackle and everyone thinks hey, great stuff.  But just as often, he's prone to f*ck it up and Shay and the rest of the lads never know which it'll be, so they're never concentrating on their own position, they've got one eye on having to make a desperate, last minute recovery.  I'm not trying to say that we're blessed with a great defence (I would honestly only keep Nobby, Tayls - though he's got a lot to learn, and possibly Gooch as a squad player) but I really feel that Bramble drags down the standard of play and is at the crux of our problems.  Just my opinion...

Having been subjected to a programme called 'Footballers Cribs' on TMF, I was given a brief glimpse into Reo-Coker's mentality (he has about 100 pairs of trainers and apparently, he likes to wear his cap to one side, it's his styyyle, aaaeee).  All I can say is that the guy would have absolutely no chance of settling in at Newcastle and he's not what we need.  Same goes for Anton Ferdinand, who was featured as one of his "dawgs."   Don't know they're born...  :cussing:

... is the worst T.V. presenter in the whole world.  FFS, when he was interviewing 'the Gooch' he didn't even have any f*cking questions prepared (so er... umm, you're american?). An embarassment to himself.  >

I reckon he's past the worst of his injury probs.  1 year ago, i would have released Dyer on a free. Look at him now.

I know this is in another thread, but I want to try and make a big thing out of it.

Here's the deal: I think that we stand a chance of persuading Woody to come back to us in the summer (it's seems that he's up for sale, he belongs here, he'd sort our defence out etc. etc.)

Any ideas about how we can generate some interest (like the Hitzfeld campaign) so that with any luck, Woody gets to hear how much we all want him back here?

Genuinely, if I could choose one player to improve NUFC over the next five years, i'd go for Woody.

Worth a try though?  We can try and pull on his heartstrings etc.  Convince him that with him back, we could get back to where we were (why not?).  And we're the biggest club in the North-East, he's a North-East lad etc. etc.

Who knows how to set-up a web-site?  Who did the Hitzfeld thing?

Serious idea:-

Anyone fancy trying to set-up a "Woody for the Toon" campaign/web-site etc. a la the Hitzfeld thing??  Sounds stupid, but would be more likely to be successfull, perhaps... Easier to reach etc.

Think about it.  He's up for sale at the end of the season (apparently) and he always speaks well of his time here.  Fat Fred seems to still have a soft spot for him, Glenda wanted him in the summer, he's the best defender i've ever watched in a toon shirt (bar none) and he seems to have got over the worst of his injury probs.  Should never have left imo. THE answer to our probs in defence.

I reckon he's too good for the Smogs, and he knows it...  just wanted to spend a season at his home town club with no pressure to get his shit sorted out.

I would LOVE to see Woody marshall our defence next term. God knows, we could use his class.

Forgive me for stating the obvious here, but it seems to me that there are 2 different schools of thought with regards to the future of this club: -

1.  Although Glenn is far from a world-class manager, he is the right man for this job at this point in time (let's face it, KK's entertainers might as well have been 100 years ago).  We need a steady, calm head to steady the ship.  Slowly but surely, GR is making changes that will benefit us in the long-term and his transfer policy (although incredibly frustrating) is the right thing to do.  We have identified the right players that Glenn wants and NUFC will go all out to persue those targets in the summer (say what you like about Fat Fred, but he has always backed his managers with cash).  Fred isn't the smartest or most savvy chairman (and he ain't the richest) but he does love the club and desperately wants to see it win some silverware 

We've got some exceptional young players here (Martins, Milner, N'Zogbia) and some seasoned pros (Owen, Dyer, Duff [he'll come good again, you don't lose class]).  With 2-3 smart acquisitions in the summer and a few more the year after, we've got a very good team.  The youth teams appear to be in order and there's every chance that we could produce the next Shearer, Gascoigne or even Carrick.  If we readjust our expectations, all get behind Glenn and give him time, we'll be back up amongst the big boys in 3-4 years... 

2.  The club is rotten to the core.  Fat Fred is sucking the marrow out of the club and only cares about his dividends.  Glenn is a decent coach, but a sh*te manager and he is unable to attract top players to the club.  His contacts in world football are non-existent and although he aspires to match Wenger's scouting network, it could never happen.  The squad is unbelievably sparse for a PL club and the club's failure to sign a left-back (ffs, anone would do until the summer...) shows how deep the problems lie.  The promising young kids who've been thrown into the deep-end have had their progress stunted and confidence shattered.  The infrastructure of the techincal and coaching staff is light years away from Arsenal, Chelsea and even f*cking Spurs!!

The club holds fans in utter contempt and have lied to us in the hope that we won't notice (they think we're all stupid).  There never was any money to spend as Souness blew it all on sh*te and Fred wasn't competant enough to see what was going to happen.  The club are f*cked for money (thus, Ottmar Hitzfeld and the like were never approached) and Glenda is all we can afford.  Fred has lied to Glenn and is keeping him in the dark (as he did with SBR) but Glenn hasn't got the balls to stand up to him.  We won't sign anyone of any note in the summer as no one wants to join a sinking ship... 

Of the two, which do you agree with most?  I'm feeling optimistic today so i'll go with the first one... 

At last, commonsense prevails!  Milner may never be world-class, but he's the type of player to build a solid team around.  With the right coaching, the lad could develop into an England regular.  How we could ever have thought about selling him so cheaply, and to have treated him like we did was shameful.  The Milners', N'Zogbias' and Taylors' are this club's future.  Come on James lad, we're behind you!!

Very little or no money didn't stop Arsene Wenger.  If Glenn is really gonna make it as a manager and not just a coach, now is the time to prove it.  I don't believe that there aren't any quality players out there, that's bollocks.  The trick is finding the ones that everyone else and his f**king brother doesn't already know about (ffs, do they do their scouting on MOTD??).  Why aren't we in for the type of player that Sam Allardyce has been so successfull with over the last few years.  Tal Ben Haim?? Who the f*ck had heard of him before he signed for Bolton.  And it's no wonder that GR admires Wenger so much: Toure, Senderos, Eboue, Fabregas, Van Persie... No more than £5 million between them.  It would seem to me that our scouting infrastructure is a f**king embarassment - don't we have teams of guys compiling reports and watching f**king junior leagues around the world.  Clearly we don't.  I ask, why not, given that our competitors all now do (even f**king Spurs have completely left us behind here).  We need a Director of Football to organise this stuff and let Glenn get on with coaching the first team!!!!  :wullie:

Christ.. *checks url* whats with people? you say you're supports but you spent 99% of the time slagging off the players/managers/owners (between wins that is), i'm obviously not claiming things are perfect and shepherd isn't a complete nonse but ffs show a little support for the team you claim to support.

 

The last thing we need Roeder doing is going out and spending what little money he has to spend on shit players, give him time - i'd be very suprised if he wasn't in talks with 1-2 players as-is and that he isn't just keeping it quiet.

 

I don't see the point in these sorts of threads until the last few days of the transfer window.. just a knee-jerk response to hearing nothing about the transfer situation. Also i'd like to note the numerous times Freddy has said theirs a 10mill coffer for Roeder to dig into.

Could you post a link to Freddy saying this?