merlin

The Tea Lady(now probably made redundant)....!

THE LADS TOO DAMN GOOD! HE HAS TO STAY. F*CK ALL WHO SAY HE'S s***. ..And the same to you..try drinking something less strong - say, 5% instead of 7%...!

No you're not...!!

This, as I've already said......

Couldn't care less if it was a choice between you-know-who and a Martian with brains & ambition..!

Thanks Merlin this is what it means to me. Thanks for understanding everything. it would depend on what fred learned from last time. I've learned MORE than enough about him after his first stint at the club - my views stand, and I won't change them ; neither will he or his acolytes....

I cannot believe how many on this site would be doing handstands to see Shepherd back at NUFC - as someone already said ' has too much alcohol damaged your memory cells?' Talk about a dog always returning to its own vomit - it is Shepherd's fault that the club was in such a vulnerable position to be taken over by Ashley in the first place ; he was the Chairman who failed to take the correct decision about SBR(he should have been given a place of the Board and asked to recruit his successor in the summer of 2003), but because Shepherd had his own agenda, it suited him to wait until a year had passed and the club's situation had worsened with SBR being another year older.... The club needs a complete revamp from top to bottom as Shearer said last week - no going back to people who failed in the past, it needs a new vigorous ownership who will run it as it should be run, even if it takes 3 years to put it right - and I include in that their right to choose their own manager operating with PROFESSIONALS in the Boardroom - not Casino managers.... This is the LAST CHANCE SALOON for NUFC - mess up this time and the club is finished ; the best that will happen under Shepherd is more of what he achieved after SBR went - the club will become like Sunderland were(note I said WERE, because who knows how they will do under new ownership ..??), and be a Yo-Yo club ; up and down between the Prem/Fizzy, losing any decent players that happen(by accident!) to force their way through the system to make the grade...in effect, a return to the McKeag days. As I said last week on another thread - If Shepherd returns as Chaiman, or even as a major figure at the club - that's me finished after almost 50 years.

Right again BG - this soap opera is far from finished, and I do not believe the club stands any chance of progress until all the chancers and wide boys running it are gone ; sadly, that could take time, and unless something is sorted out quickly any chance of promotion next season will be gone.

Keegan didn't abandon the club, he was forced out by Ashley. Had this argument before, he walked out on us. Not for the first time either. Well, all your current effort means is you've failed to learn anything from this previous argument you had assuming someone of intelligence tried to get the obvious into your heed. Fact is, any manager worthy of the name is not going to be happy without control over which players come in and which players go out. The club is in my blood but I'd walk away if I was working under those conditions. Only a spineless tw*t wouldn't and only a moron would expect someone to work under those conditions. Cheers is that why he went first time round then ? Which first time are you referring to ? The time when we were in the second division and SJH had promised him funds and lied to him or the time when we were floated on the stock exchange and the priorties of the board changed from team building to making cash for themselves? For the last time, SJH did NOT lie to Keegan about giving him funds when we were in Div 2 - KK wanted to buy Kilcline, and SJH was going to fund the purchase by a PERSONAL injection of cash ; the club's Bankers, wanted to impound that cash to pay off some of the club's debts...SJH had to send someone down to the bank to argue the case, and that held up the deal ; KK then walked out on the eve of our game with Swindon, and was persuaded to return by Terry Mac later that afternoon. He DID leave after the Swindon game, but was talked into returning by SJH on the Sunday.... I had a conversation with SJH on the very day that the Bank tried to impound the money(250,000), and BEFORE all this happened, so I know the background to it all - KK took the view, rightly or wrongly, that the problems with the Bank were nothing to do with him, but they clearly were because if the Bank intended to try to grab SJH's personal funds when they were fo team-building, then NOBODY was going to win - it had to be sorted out... Also, making the club into a PLC had nothing to do with being a money-making venture for the board, although it ended up that way ; Man U, for example, were also a PLC and they did OK ; if more fans/businesses had pursued a policy of buying shares(as Shepherd did), then they also would have made money AND raised it for the club - there wasn't enough interest and it wasn't the first time a share issue was snubbed by the fans ; SJH forced one on McKeag in 1990, but it failed through lack of take-up - so much for the club being 'owned by its fans' like Barca....

This - totally agree. Players like Barton are a rotten apple in any dressing room, and I would simply play him in the Reserves/make him train with the kids until he eventually went ; no way would he get into the first team. He has brought disgrace upon the club and I wouldn't give him any chance at all - he's had far too many already. A stain on NUFC.

This has uncomfortable echoes of the situation last Sept when KK walked - as has been said, they either want Shearer as manager or they don't ; his demands, certainly over the transfer fund, do not seem excessive so maybe it is the extent of control he requires which is causing them to baulk at an early appointment. If so, there could be trouble ahead because Shearer will NOT back down on having total control, and neither would any decent manager. The more things drag out, the more concerned everyone should be - clearly, Shearer will have the best legal brains he can hire dotting the i's & crossing the 't's' of any proposed contract - so would I because I reckon if you shake hands with any of the current controllers of the club, it would be worthwhile counting your fingers afterwards...! We shall see....

If Curtis Davies is worth £10 million, then Bassong is worth £25 million! My point is players nowadays are way over priced and I think £15 million isn't an unrealistic price! Not these days - financial reality will come home for many clubs this season due to the state of things generally. There will be pressure to trim budgets and wage bills for all but the very top clubs.

We will be lucky to get 10m for Bassong - he HAS got potential, but clubs know he will probably want to go soon and they know how desperate NUFC are to raise money..the 15m valuation is obviously aimed at scaring buyers off, but we won't get near it in reality.If he leaves, my money would be on a move to Arsenal, maybe with one of their fringe players coming the other way.

If ANY club offered 8m for Martins, I would snap their hands off - he would be on the first plane out, and I would ask Ashley for a bonus because I reckon that 8m is DOUBLE what I would pay for him.

Enrique has been probably the most successful of the overseas big buys - I have always been a fan and believed he would come good - his attitude also seems top notch for a young guy who has had to contend with being messed around by both Kinnear and Allardyce, despite being bought by the latter. He would be a great asset in future if he stays, but unfortunately the club will probably cash in because he is one of the few who will fetch anywhere near his original fee ; a move back to Spain looks likely, but I wouldn't rule out a surprise bid from Benitez at Liverpool. If he goes, I for one wouldn't blame him, because I believe he genuinely DOES love the club and its fans... one of the few players I will be sorry to see leave.

This - mostly on the mark.

Point of order. Man U have been, and not that long ago. Sorry, I love reminding myself of that. Yes, I know Brummie - but NOT since 1978, the last time we went down, and they have only done it once since the war I believe, whereas NUFC.....! I should add to that by saying ' the last time we went down IN THE 70s'...!(OR, the first time over the last 39 years)..!

Point of order. Man U have been, and not that long ago. Sorry, I love reminding myself of that. Yes, I know Brummie - but NOT since 1978, the last time we went down, and they have only done it once since the war I believe, whereas NUFC.....!

Your last line is so unbelievably stupid that its hardly worth commenting on - you clearly haven't been reading many of my posts over the years or you would know that I spent much of my OWN time(and money)in trying to get changes at NUFC whilst with the Magpie Group - hardly the actions of one who had no faith, and after supporting the club for nearly half a century, most of it barren of any sort of success, I resent your childish attempt to label me a 'fair weather fan'.... In addition, you have attempted to answer some of my points in the previous post with what amounts basically to waffle - we deal in FACTS here, or should do ; maybe NUFC would be in better state today if people surrounding the club dealt with REALITIES, not 'might have beens'... Arsenal were NOT relegated - nothing you believe can alter that.. Everton(who you brought up) - NOT relegated, close is as good a miss as a mile - didn't happen... Seeing as you chose to take issue with SOME of my post, its a pity you didn't stick to the point and address the question of Liverpool and Man U's tenure in the Prem and the successes they have had - waffling on about Fergie being under pressure in the 80s is ancient history - they went on to be successful and have remained that way... I probably know more about the KK/Hall years than you do, but they don't alter anything - we were, for a time, the second best team in the land and it was an exciting time, but we won nowt, and that is all that is in the history books - along with the fact that we were relegated in 78, 89, and now 09 - as far as I'm aware, Man U, L/Pool, Arsenal AND Everton have not...facts, not maybes.....

So what? We are still a massive club, just one that's going through some really bad times. Is that so hard to grasp? 'Massive' clubs DON'T go through 'hard times' - ask, Arsenal, Man U, Liverpool for example ; when were these clubs last facing the situation NUFC faces(and has done at least 3 times in the last 30 years)? Real Madrid, Barca, AC Milan, etc etc....? Arsenal were s*** , early 90s, Man u were relegated in th 70s, Liverpool were nowhere before shankly. Were Arsenal relegated ? You are grasping at straws trying to equate Liverpool and Man U with NUFC ; Shanks took over at Anfield in 1962 for heaven's sake - as for Man U, one relegation in 60 years(and winning Europe's top trophy 3 times)hardly puts them in the NUFC failure class ; if you want to make comparisons, choose someone like the Mackems - oh, sorry, even THEY won the FA Cup in 73 - FOUR YEARS after OUR last trophy...! Get real pls....

The article contains some good points - although I am from the NE and as many on here know, was part of the Magpie Group takeover, I do believe that NUFC fans tend to be more parochial than others - even Mackems & Smogs. This is an extension of innate suspicion among quite a number of Tynesiders, about anything(and anyone) south of the Tyne ; heaven knows, we could have had a world-class stadium in Gateshead if SJH had got his way when the Leazes project foundered, but a significant number of fans howled about the sacrilege(!)of leaving the city.... Then we have the unspoken view that 'Geordie is best', the rest second-rate(which definitely exists in the minds of a large percentage of fans - some even would welcome Shepherd back despite his failings because ; 'he's a Geordie, ye knaa')....some also think that its beneficial to be relegated because ' aal the Sky fans/suits will be gone'....as if we are in a position to lose ANY fans..!!!! This attitude HAS failed the club in the past and will do so again if repeated - personally, I would welcome the likes of SAF or Hiddink if the club were in a position to attract them, AND I would employ them RIGHT NOW if it were possible - Shearer or not. We know they bring success, and that is ALL that matters. Unfortunately, they(or anyone like them) are NOT available to NUFC, and the club has to get the best manager it can in the circumstances ; this may or may not be Alan Shearer, and I take the writer's point about Bobby Charlton absolutely - great players do not always make good managers. Where I think the writer is wrong is in criticizing Shearer for the past 8 games - had he been given 4 months(and a Transfer window)in charge, I would have agreed that he had failed if the club had gone down. KK had 3 months and new players before he kept us up(and only just)in 1992. As has been said, SBR failed to save Fulham in his first job, and had a terrible job in sorting out the rot at Ipswich before success arrived, so it is too early to judge Shearer - the damage was done long before he took over and Ashley only appointed him out of desperation. If, after a season in charge, Shearer has not made some decent progress, then maybe the club need to look elsewhere ; one of the reasons I put forward Mowbray as a candidate some months back is that although he is a NE boy, he is just enough removed from all the Geordie hype to take a calculating look at the club and what it needs to put it right - although he was fighting a losing battle at WBA, he has also shown he can get a team promoted from the C'Ship playing decent football, AND he is still below 45... Plenty of Southern journalists will have a malicious attack on the club - but that doesn't mean that they don't have a point with some of the criticisms ; where I DO take issue with them is when they claim the fans are 'deluded' or 'unrealistic'..this is clearly rubbish, because NUFC must be the most under-achieving club in Britain when you consider its fan base. However, we still don't yet know if Shearer WILL be manager next season ; the club , as usual, will shoot itself in the foot if given the chance and we may even be looking for a manager after Bruce has joined the Mackems.....!

So what? We are still a massive club, just one that's going through some really bad times. Is that so hard to grasp? 'Massive' clubs DON'T go through 'hard times' - ask, Arsenal, Man U, Liverpool for example ; when were these clubs last facing the situation NUFC faces(and has done at least 3 times in the last 30 years)? Real Madrid, Barca, AC Milan, etc etc....?

Sellars was extremely underrated in his time here, and looking back in history. Some of his one touch wing play was fantastic. Also that free-kick against the Mackems. Totally agree...at the same time Turnip Taylor was picking Andy Sinton on the left of midfield for England...no wonder we didn't qualify for World Cup '94.Sellars imo. was the best left side midfield in England at the time. Sellars was/is one of my all time favourites, and my god if we can get someone half as good as him providing width then we will be very well served. Yeah "Salty" was a good player. I happen to think we would have won the Prem that fateful season if we had kept him. Putting him on when Ginola was fading in some games even, would have shored up the left side while still being creative, Liverpool being an example. Reference to Thompson is interesting as I heard that Keegan practically ran him out of the club after a big disagreement. When he returned in a coaching capacity (probably another "unWise" decision) that was the first indication I felt that things were a bit strange while KK was back again, though maybe they had sorted out the disagreement through time. That's a good point about Thompson actually. People outside of Newcaslte supporters don't actually realise how much of a c*** Keegan could be as well if you crossed him. Which is what all managers need to be when the time arises. True, but Thompson was a good player - was the highest-rated of all the below-20 players at the club but he broke his neck in a car accident just before KK joined.

Was thinking along these lines myself KK brought in some enthusiastic players at the back end of their careers and some young lads determined to learn and succeed KK said at the time he wanted people who were not the kind who cause trouble in the dressing room but would be encouraging others the right way Venison was a great signing in that regard as an example. Bracewell if I remember right was a solid performer too. Yes...forgot about Scott Sellars. He too was a classic player of the type a club needs. Venison was only 28 when he joined NUFC..

I understand how some people are unsure about a takeover at present, but provided it is by people who GENUINELY want to invest in the club AND run it properly, I would not be against one. After all, we cannot be more disorganized than we are right now, and swift action is necessary if the club are to have ANY chance of a quick return to the Prem - despite the Bookies' odds. Ashley has proved himself such an unpredictable loose cannon that even though he has apologised to fans for mistakes, you would not bet against him making more ; he is incredibly arrogant(witness his treatment of KK after the fall-out with Wise), and pig-headed(appointing Hughton and Co as temp manager after Kinnear's heart probelms, thereby wasting 2 months which could have seen Shearer in charge and a possible escape from the drop)... However, I would NOT want Shepherd(or his family)involved in ANY takeover of the club - he has been responsible for the club's decline after SBR, and we need people with both nous and a degree of honour to run the club...if Shepherd was among those involved, I would prefer to stick with Ashley. Ultimately, the club WILL be taken over, whether its now or in a year or so - its a matter of time.