merlin

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.

You are closer to the mark than most others, KK, but I disagee about Martins(lucky to get 4m),Coloccini(lucky to get 3m)and Barton, because I actually think that some managers will pay about 2.5m for him - not that I agree with them..! Total, therefore, would be 21m, but like you, I hope Enrique stays.

Shearer pretty much dropped him and played Edgar (a player whose contract ends this summer) out of position over him. He also seemed to think R. Taylor was more of a right winger than a right back. Agree - the squad needs a thorough clean-out, and younger, ambitious players brought in. As I have said before, KK had the luxury of having a nucleus of decent local lads when he took over as well as 2 decent forwards in Kelly & Peacock ; he only had to add Beardsley, Venison, Bracewell & Beresford in the close season to make us into a side capable of winning promotion ; he added Rob Lee in October and Scott Sellars when he realized Sheedy was getting past it - then, in March, Andy Cole, who put the icing on the cake and ensured we were a team capable of staying(and doing well)in the Prem... Whoever is manager next season, be it Shearer or not, will NOT have the same luxury - there are few of the current youngsters/reserves who look able to stand up to the hurly-burly of the Fizzy Lge and only Carroll looks as if he will make it...as for the forwards, there isn't ONE who I would keep because they ALL have serious drawbacks. Nolan MIGHT still be OK in the Fizzy, but I would get rid of Barton, and R.Taylor is no good either. S.Taylor is probably OK at that level, and Beye, but only for 1 season ; Coloccini, Jonas, Owen and Martins will all be gone, as I think, will Viduka....Butt is past it and we may have to keep Smith. A Big, Big job awaits someone, and probably at least 2 seasons in the Fizzy Lge.

Individually, there IS a risk of over-estimating some Championship players, but as we should know, football success is mainly achieved by strong TEAMS - NOT a team of individuals who look good on paper ; this is esp true of the Championship, where graft and fitness will get a side much further than in the Prem if they don't have any outstanding individuals. As for WBA, yes, they DID get up playing football but their first few months in the Prem were blighted by injury, esp to some of their better defenders ; also, as we know, the gap between the C'ship & Prem is getting bigger and a team MUST strengthen in key positions when they get promoted - as Bryan Robson has said, Albion's current chairman CANNOT provide big funds for that, and I think Mowbray did a decent job in such a situation....NUFC fans have also seen what happens when a Chairman doesn't get his hand in his pocket, or rather, doesn't let his manager spend the money on players HE wants, rather than some jumped-up, so-called DOF....!!

Whilst talking about Championship players, we should look at how 2 former NE players, Robbie Blake and Steven Caldwell, have had the last laugh on the region and, in Caldwell's case, NUFC. Both were in the Burnley side who won promotion to the Prem yesterday after the play-off final against Sheff Utd - both played major parts in the win, and Caldwell had the honour of lifting the trophy at the final whistle. This after a season in which Burnley have taken some top Prem scalps(Arsenal, Chelsea, WBA and a win at Spurs)in the Cup competitions, making the overpaid Prima Donnas of NUFC look like second-rate tossers(as indeed most of them are). Can anyone doubt that Caldwell must have had a wry thought about how he, rejected by NUFC, has exchanged places with his former club? None of us can begrudge him a bit of schadenfreude at our expense either...! Blake(a Boro lad) was sold by Darlington in 1997, and has since had a successful career in lower leagues, although he did figure in the Prem with Bradford and Birmingham - now, at the age of 33, he too has seen his local club, Boro, exchange places with him, whilst the club where he began his real career, Darlington, is on the verge of going out of business ! Can anyone wonder why players who leave the NE often do better with other clubs ? Both of these lads deserve the highest praise(along with their team-mates) for what they have achieved this season - they have put the players who have so disgraced the B & W shirt to shame. Not forgetting their manager, Owen Coyle, who has worked miracles with the smallest squad in the Championship - so much for foreign managers always being the best.. Burnley do not have the resources to ensure their Prem stay will be a long one, but I wish them every success - they have restored some(ONLY some)of my faith in the modern game. Also, they had to battle hard to keep out a determined and youthful Sheff Utd side - this is a warning to anyone who thinks next season will be easy ; I reckon our team of faint-hearts would have been over-run by Sheffield's physical approach and fitness - expect plenty of THAT next season....!

Will be glad to see the back of him(among several others), and will laugh when he exasperates the followers of his new 'English Club'(IF there is a decent one daft enough to take him for more than 4m..!) as much as he exasperated most SENSIBLE followers of Newcastle United...as big a waste of money as Coloccini, Xisco, Owen etc etc.

Those complaining about Shearer as a manager need to get real - the guy took the poisoned chalice when nobody else would touch it, was given 8 games, no money, and NO chance of signing new players due to the transfer window system ; when KK kept the club up in 1992, he had 3 MONTHS, was able to sign crucial players like Kilcline & Sheedy, and had the nucleus of a team who WANTED to do it for the club & fans. Even then, we only just stayed out of the old Div 3 on the last day...who is to say Shearer might not have done as well if he had had ONE, let alone 3 of the advantages KK had. The club was doomed when Ashley backed Wise/Llambias & Co, anf allowed KK to walk away - and Keegan was RIGHT to do so in the circumstances. Shearer has told it like it is - that the club is down due to YEARS of mismanagement from Shepherd's time through to Ashley's unbelievable blundering.

This is the culmination of around 6 years of mismanagement and misdealing - in my view, relegation has been on the cards since KK walked and only anyone who imitated an ostrich failed to see it. The performance was typical of a bunch of uncaring, dysfunctional and untalented mercenaries, recruited by similarly untalented management, overseen by the King of chancers whose luck has finally run out big-time and whose failings have been massively exposed along with those of ALL his employess, Shearer apart. It will be quite a few years before the club are back in the top league, and probably after it has been sold to people who know how to manage their staff and have an idea of good business when it comes to football(Shepherd does NOT come into that category). All those who mocked we older fans for seeing this coming have now found out that being a NUFC fan involves plenty of humiliation and consumption of Humble Pie - and there will be plenty of that on offer over the next few years.... Let us hope that those who fall into that category are not saying similar things on this site(or others like it)in another 20 years' time, but I wouldn't bet against that happening.. The more things change, the more they stay the same at NUFC.

Think of Willie McKay, Kenneth, Souness etc.... If Shepherd EVER returned as Chairman or - heaven forbid - owner, I would NEVER step into SJP again, and that is for CERTAIN.

To be fair to Oba, he's been struggling with this groin/hernia problem for most of this season. He's also been struggling due to his lack of a brain and the required ability needed to be a top level striker. This - On the nail....10m wasted.

All those who Shearer wants out...end of, but I will be disappointed if the owner/directors are still in situ in a year's time....

No - the club will need a new start ; it is now ELEVEN years since Dalglish signed Nobby from Boca and he would be outpaced in the Fizzy league because the hustle would now overtake his waning skills... NUFC have always lived in the past - if Al stays, he will change all that because he is a realist.

This - without a doubt. His managerial ability has been shot to pieces by his ridiculous and erroneous decisions over the board he chose and in allowing these same incompetents to force Keegan to walk after being foisted with a farcical transfer policy. Others, such as Shepherd and Souness are to blame for the start of the rot, but Ashley has held the reins for 2 years now and the buck stops with him. Any further loss he suffers if the side go down is fully deserved.

This is nonsense - at least he knows Man C WILL be built ; can you be so sure that NUFC will progress if Ashley remains as owner & Shearer DOESN'T stay beyond this season..?? Shay was well within his rights to move on because he saw NUFC going nowhere but the Fizzy League, and even if the club were to survive, he wasn't happy with the way it was being run - as any sensible person would recognize.....

I generally agree, as long as we don't end up with a Souness situation where we piss off our best players for the sake of the manager's ego. Not saying that will happen with Shearer, but sometimes you need to handle unhappy or disruptive players for the good of results. The best players aren't always the nicest ones. ...'piss off our best players'... What a catastrophic loss THAT would be - NOT.. I reckon that by 'our best players' you are referring largely to Martins and the rest of the under-achievers who, regrettably, are allowed to wear the B & W shirt... As far as I am concerned, this lot haven't got one solitary reason why they SHOULDN'T be 'pissed off', and Shearer can do what he likes with ANY of them - even if they ALL wanted a transfer at the season's end, I would back Shearer to sign replacements who would be better. They are being PAID HANDSOMELY to give 100% in the club's cause and I would rather Shearer got rid of anyone who doesn't because they don't deserve ONE PENNY of the club's(or fans')hard-earned cash. Some of these so-called footballers are in for a rude awakening over the next year or so....

He is a c*** tho and we all know it. He has raped this club silly one to many times. Oba is mint tho. If you think Martins is 'Mint', I'm glad you aren't in the Gold trade because I wouldn't buy any from you..!

A dire performance in footballing terms, but a bit more fight shown Ameobi is a legend in his own time - a player that not even his own club's fans can understand how 4 different managers(at least)continue to allow to wear the B & W shirt.. Carroll has a much better future in front of him provided that he can keep his head straight ; he is a greater threat physically, will contribute more to the team and I expect him to be the biggest beneficiary of Shearer's managership - especially if Al stays beyond this season. The midfield couldn't hold/pass the ball to save their lives and Nolan/Taylor get worse by the week ; for all Stoke's physical style and home record, our team of 95/96 would have eaten them for breakfast - they would have been passed off the park....this shows how far the club has sunk in the last 10 years. Despite the optimism, the club is still in a very serious position ; Spurs' recent record and climb away from danger gives no cause for optimism about our visit there, and the result at Boro will give them renewed heart for the battle ahead. I reckon the game with them at SJP could decide the club's fate.

Good, i feel ashamed that this kid pulls on the number 9 shirt previously worn by legends such as Kelly, Cole, Les and Shearer. Agreed - he's not in the same street as ANY of those players ; Cole was a far better striker, Kelly's work-rate and movement left Martins for dead, and both Sir Les and Shearer were much better target-men. All of them were far more intelligent in their play than Martins, who I continue to believe is highly-over-rated by many on here.

It couldn't be 1992 - KK was appointed in FEBRUARY, not April...he was also able to buy 2 players who were instrumental in preventing relegation. Shearer does not have either the luxury of 2 extra months(and extra games) or the ability to make crucial buys. Well....yeeahh..... but you know what I mean. What might feel like rock bottom can be the springboard for success. Despite the fact that Keegan took over a bit earlier in 1992, my memory is that the team was looking far worse and relegation looked like a certainty rather than a possibility. We had just lost 5-2 to Oxford and 4-0 to Southend. We were in a bad way when KK took over, but the set-up was totally different ; we had a few talented young players(Watson, Clark & Elliott)who wanted the club to survive, we had two potentially good forwards in Kelly(who proved his worth over 2 seasons)and Peacock...KK knew we needed a decent stopper with experience, and he got it in Kilcline ; he knew Brock was a weakness, so he got Sheedy in to replace him. You could see the difference from the very first game against Bristol City - Peacock and Kelly caused them all sorts of trouble and the team looked up for it.... Although Shearer had a much tougher baptism against Chelsea, there is no way that the team were THAT much different than they had been before ; there are TOO MANY weaknesses all round. Lose at Stoke and it will take a miracle to survive unless the Mackems collapse.

It couldn't be 1992 - KK was appointed in FEBRUARY, not April...he was also able to buy 2 players who were instrumental in preventing relegation. Shearer does not have either the luxury of 2 extra months(and extra games) or the ability to make crucial buys.

Forget about the Mackems - we have enough of out own problems without trying to gloat at them. Time enough to do that IF we stay up AND they go down, and the odds on both of those things happening are not good at present.....