Minhosa

I got the distinct impression he didn't want to criticise AP on a personal level tbh. Old boys club.

Paul Merson desperately sticking up for though saying it's more the players not believing in the 'club' rather than the manager.

RIP. Shit news.

Cisse was a risk for someone before. Now that he's crocked he's a huge risk. Hardly an ideal time to be flogging him for MA. I think we'll be stuck with him.

FYP.

Second guessing Ashley is a fools game. I agree that we'll be fighting relegation next season under AP but then Ashley's view will probably be that he'll just throw money at the problem in January. It's the fine lines isn't it? When you aspire to be bang average there's always the risk that you're actually not. When you aspire to exist for profit purposes alone, there's a risk that you sell one player too far, or rather don't sign one extra player. When our best case scenario is 8th, it's not an awful long way to fall to be 18th. There's the rub. There's the downside. He's a gambler Ashley and I'd always hoped that he'd throw good money at us in January in the event we had the potential to push on, make a difference, instill a bit of belief but, let's be brutally honest, he's only in this until he can claw back his money + a healthy profit. That much is clear now. I think.

I've just looked at the table. We really are exactly where MA wants us to be. Not in relegation fight (no risk of £££££'s hit), no chance of Europa (no chance of ££££££'s having to be spent on squad fillers for stupid, time consuming competition) and likely to achieve target of 8th to 10th every year. From his viewpoint, given he pays so much attention to results (points, league position and financial), so little attention to the fans, even less to the popular press and doesn't appear to give a fuck about the quality of football we play (providing targets are achieved) there's absolutely fuck all chance AP is going ANYWHERE. We should get our heads around that. Prepare for disappointment if anyone feels he's going to go. I just cannot see it. He's doing everything asked of him (and more some would say because MA hasn't had to pay a MD for months up to LC appointment). Where else would he get a yes man, bought into the MA regime and ethos, a PR Front etc all for less than some Championship Managers earn? Who else, with any sort of calibre, would work for him on those terms? My biggest hope was that AP would succumb to the pressure (he really doesn't like ego hits and hasn't been anywhere as a Manager for long - always tending to get found out) but, with the seemingly unerring support he's getting off MA, these would really strengthen his position.

aye.

I've not checked the odds but either team to win by 1 goal must be worth a look? Otherwise, I'd agree the 13/8 looks about right. Chelsea rarely concede goals in numbers.

Totally agree with this. The way forward has to be based around a certain style of play throughout the whole club. A footballing mentality. An ethos. The irony being that Rodgers, Poch, Laudrup and Martinez all got their current/latest jobs without significant compensation having to be paid. MA won't see that though.

Match bets only count if both players start. Normally, anyway.

Just thinking about it some more and there's some real contradictions in AP's role at NUFC. I think we initially appointed him very much along the lines of 'head coach, get whatever we give you in the way of players, performing and you'll be rewarded'. I think then that changed (significantly after DL's departure) more to a 'General Manager, look after the overall health and wellbeing of the club, get the team performing, work with us to generate a profit and be the PR front for it all'. Interestingly, this doesn't seem to have changed with the LC appointment. If you manage NUFC under Ashley, you're not a traditional manager. In Moyes's case specifically, can you imagine the legions of support staff and infrastructure he would have had for stuff like press, marketing, coaching etc etc whilst at Man Utd. AP's got a halfwit local who got lost in Canada once, an overweight/over-enthusiastic GK coach with anger management problems and an ex-winger who can't seem to coach or pass on the ability to 'get the ball into the box' having been here years. Behind the scenes, he appears to have the infrastructure akin to that of Ricky Gervais in The Office, with plenty of competition for 'fat Keith' and probably a few gareths too (stats man for one). It's just a clusterfuck, done on the cheap, like everything else surrounding the club at the minute. We really aren't going to attract anyone with any pedigree unless MA invests into the club and structures it properly.

Celtic would be the easiest job in the world for him. Should imagine that there would be some clamour for him there too. Due a change.

I can't imagine he'd appreciate having players bought for him, working under Mike Ashley nor having to front the whole damn club in the way AP does. I just don't foresee us ever appointing a manager with any real calibre under the Ashley regime. Put yourself in their shoes. Why would you work, on a very performance based contract, earning less than your peers with less financial support and more general responsibilities due to a clear lack of investment in the club structure when you could wait for another job in a top 11 club? It's such a transient business, that Moyes will be more attractive following a prolonged absence than he is now and he'll end up back at a good club.

How not to dismiss someone.

I'd imagine him going to Spurs. They've been after a long term appointment for a while.

Buy out clause bingo!

There's no way Norwich get anything today. I still reckon you'll survive.

RIP. Awful to hear.

I just made one fairly innocuous point, and everyone went mental as usual. Yep, and you are sitting there as smug as fuck now no doubt. Job done I'm actually really frustrated about not being able to contribute anymore. People have made it almost impossible to make any alternative points. I've never said anything to get a reaction. I've got to agree with Ian on this particular point. The overwhelming opinion on here is that nothing good can happen until Pardew and / or Ashley are run out of the club. Any opinion that deviates from that - however slightly - gets howled down. That's not an exaggeration. It's getting ridiculous. Ironically I post in the football section much less than ever and my stance on Pardew has changed loads over the last few weeks, but the level of abuse has gone through the roof. I guess people have just been pushed beyond the limits of their self control by the football. Not the football. If it was the football, then this would've come to a head last season when you were blowing smoke up AP's glimmering bullet hole.

I just made one fairly innocuous point, and everyone went mental as usual. Yep, and you are sitting there as smug as fuck now no doubt. Job done I'm actually really frustrated about not being able to contribute anymore. People have made it almost impossible to make any alternative points. I've never said anything to get a reaction. I've got to agree with Ian on this particular point. The overwhelming opinion on here is that nothing good can happen until Pardew and / or Ashley are run out of the club. Any opinion that deviates from that - however slightly - gets howled down. That's not an exaggeration. It's getting ridiculous. But, this is true Don't let the truth get in the way of scoring journalism points.

I just made one fairly innocuous point, and everyone went mental as usual. Yep, and you are sitting there as smug as fuck now no doubt. Job done I'm actually really frustrated about not being able to contribute anymore. People have made it almost impossible to make any alternative points. I've never said anything to get a reaction. Therein lies the issue I think. Everyone's entitled to hold an opposing view but, it seems, you hold a minority view on fucking everything. Even if that was true, which it isn't, why is that not acceptable? It's perfectly acceptable. It just means you become a parody. If you're cool with that then fine. If the majority of people on here felt an answer was black, you'd say white.

I just made one fairly innocuous point, and everyone went mental as usual. Yep, and you are sitting there as smug as fuck now no doubt. Job done I'm actually really frustrated about not being able to contribute anymore. People have made it almost impossible to make any alternative points. I've never said anything to get a reaction. Therein lies the issue I think. Everyone's entitled to hold an opposing view but, it seems, you hold a minority view on fucking everything.

Yeah.........that's right...........you bunch of ambushers.

90m is what citeh and chelski spend in single summers - besides you have to factor in where they were when rodgers took over and how rapidly they've rose to challenge Just think.........if we'd manage to nab Rodgers he might have been allowed to aim for the heady heights of 8th too.