merlin

When Nolan was signed, I said that the fact that Bolton were prepared to release him for the fee paid indicated to me that they thought they had seen the best of him, and they had reasons for letting him go apart from the money - I still believe that, and his performances since have borne out the fact that he is nothing like the player he was about 2-3 years ago... As far as R. Taylor is concerned, he is a player that falls between 2 stools, neither a RB or a LMF player ; in the past, players such as Madeley at Leeds were able to fulfill several roles in the team because they had enough ability to do so - Taylor clearly hasn't and was signed, in my opinion, on the rounds of price and the fact that he had scored two free-kick goals against NUFC....both of these facts being an indictment of the club's scouting AND buying policies. KK would have signed NEITHER of these`players and neither would SBR...which is another illustration of why Kinnear & Co are at NUFC......

Interesting comment. And completely accurate. Newcastle have had one legendary manager, and his name was Bobby Robson, not Kevin Keegan. One man was sacked and still turned up to see the club he loves despite being seriously ill. The other f***ed off to play golf while we were sucked into a relegation battle. This thread should be titled 'I Love Bobby Robson.' No buts about it. Who's a special little boy... If we were dead last in the Championship with over half the season gone and no players to buy or sell do you think Robson even answers the phone to manage us? And Robson only accepted the our board's approaches - after having knocked us back once before - after the curtains had well & truly closed on his management days over on the continent imo. The Newcastle job, when he stepped into the hotseat, at his age was his last port of call in the management game, in terms of taking hold of the reigns at a big club. A club with the necessary ambition at boardroom level to match his own goals. This is absolutely spot-on - SBR wouldn't touch NUFC while he was still being sought by the likes of PSV and Barca ; he even refused when asked in 1975 whilst manager of Ipswich, although the Board were the main reason for that.

I actually think he keeps and uses the ball much better than he used to. Still not great like, and Saturday's woeful showing is definitely not good enough. As I said before, I think half of the reason people like Martins is due to his quirkiness. You are quite right Dave, but 'quirkiness' would not be seen in teams managed by the likes of Fergie. Wenger and, least of all, Benitez or Hiddink... Perhaps NUFC fans' love of 'quirkiness' is the main reason why the club has not won a trophy for 40 years, and looks like remaining that way for another 40...!

Now almost a 9 for me - getting cut adrift now.

There is NO way I would swap Robert for Jonas OR Duff - apart from that, SBR is quite right, the current side are rubbish compared to the 2001/2 team.

Perfect post - agree totally. Anyone with any sense knew that Al was taking on a fatally poisoned chalice... Have posted about Coloccini on the thread about him - no comment necessary here... Martins is a second-rate forward at best - if I were an opposition manager wanting a striker, I wouldn't pay even 5m for him. Midfield totally lacking in guile, made to look 3rd Div yesterday as Chelsea passed them off the park.. Still don't rate Jonas as a creative influence, will always promise more than he delivers.. Owen not match-fit, but most dangerous forward, had legit goal ruled out. Butt gives 100% but legs now gone.. A depressing spectacle and whilst result not unexpected, the results of other sides in trouble have now ensured that a gap is opening up, with NUFC, Boro & WBA the favourites to go down. Start planning for life in the Fizzy unless a miracle happens....

On previous discussions about Coloccini, I have stated that this player is NOT suited to the physical style of the Prem, and that remains my opinion ; I also said that I expect him to rejoin a Spanish club and I still do. He has committed several basic errors over the season which have resulted in goals for the opposition and nearly all of them have been because he gets caught on the wrong side of a quick forward, playing a forward onside by lack of concentration or because he has been physically hassled by an opposition player(as was the case with the first goal in yesterday's match. It is a pity because he looked to have ability on his first few appearances, but I believe he has probably struggled with the language and way of life - his confidence is now shot, and a move at the season's end will be in everyone's interest. I would play Taylor & Bassong as CB's(if fit) for the rest of what looks like being a disastrous season.

This.

If ANY player baulks at Shearer's socializing ban, they don't deserve to be wearing the Black & White shirt and I hope he makes it clear that they will have no future ar SJP - I don't care who they are and those who seem to think that Martins should have some sort of special treatment are living in cuckoo land ; if it comes to a choice between Alan Shearer & Martins, I think you will find that the vast majority of fans will back the manager hands down. Incidentally, if Shearer HAS raised questions about aspects of Martins' forward play, he is quite right and he won't be afraid to put fans' noses out of joint if the player doesn't start improving those aspects of his game.....

do you think I'm suddenly going to say everythings alright then ? Optimistic bit of me says its a stroke of genius and he's seen the light, 2 years too late. Pessimistic bit of me says its a last desperate hopefull step that he hopes will save him at least 100m quid until he finds a buyer. I'm surprised you didn't remind us that Fat Freddie Shepherd originally signed Shearer so now deserves the credit that Shearer's around to save us! That's because Shepherd DIDN'T sign Shearer - SJH & KK were the guys in charge in 1996...SJH stepped down as Chairman in Dec 97.

Shearer cannot be judged as a manager until he has had at least a full season in charge, and even that may not be long enough ; as to producing attractive teams because he was a forward, even Brian Clough(a high-scoring CF himself)built his teams from the back including paying a record fee for a keeper(Shilton). As long as Al gets results, even by building sides which win games by attacking on the break, I will be quite happy. One of his great qualities is realism - he will know what can be achieved with the players he has and will expect ALL of them to do their bit to reach those goals...by the end of this season he will know who he can work with & who he can't ; some surprises can be expected and he won't have favourites over the long term...

The appointment of Shearer now does nothing to remove Ashley's culpability if the club are relegated - had he taken this step back in early February(as the previous Board did when appointing KK in 1992, and even then, it was touch & go until the last game), then it could be argued that he had acted quickly enough to shift some responsibility on to the manager. Shearer cannot be held responsible in any real way because unlike the 1992 situation, he cannot sign any players ; KK got hold of Kilcline & Kevin Sheedy, both of whom were instrumental in keeping the club up and laying a foundation for a promotion challenge the following year, but Shearer cannot do this, and he has only 8 games to save the club. His presence will make it more likely that the likes of Owen will do the business, because he has respect for Big Al, and he will demand more respect from ALL the players, so it will be a major surprise if there isn't some improvement but the basic weaknesses in the side will still make the next 8 games a cliff-hanging experience for all concerned. Nevertheless, I still hold Ashley responsible, both for allowing the situation to develop in the first place with bad appointments, and for allowing it to go on this far into the season.

Agree totally BG - have been away for a few days, hence late posting, but you are right on the mark. Naturally, I hope Al is successful, and surely, if he has taken on this forlorn hope, nobody can deny his feelings for the club. I just hope that if he DOES succeed in pulling the fat out of the fire, everything just doesn't turn to rats--t, and he follows KK out of the door because he cannot get the necessary assurances about control and buying. Always thought Shearer would make a decent manager, even when he first joined us - great attitude, big draw for future buys and knows exactly what he wants...if he got Rob Lee as asst., and KD as DOF(good judge of players), we could be going places... Anyway, All the VERY BEST, Al - you're a brave lad..!! Cos he knows he could potentially do something about us dropping out of the premiership?? It's a month too late, if it happens. Could be setting himself up for a huge fall if we do go down. Ashley must really be desperate to win the fans back over. If it's true, I hope he can turn it around. I just don't have a good feeling about it at all.

More of the same is in store unless the club is sold.

Agree with this - whilst it would be great copy for them for a few days if we DID go down, the loss of the club to the Prem would far outweigh this...those in charge of the PL will also be crapping themselves at the loss of numbers, both home & away after NUFC is relegated. The comments about Murdoch also have a ring of truth - times are undeniably hard and Sky will not want to lose more subs from disenchanted Toon fans, wherever they live, so maybe there just MIGHT be a few envelopes flying around. Whatever the truth of all this, one thing is sure - Ashley IS in for a caning because so many in the media have it in for him anyway and this gives them more ammo to use.

This - was never the same player after Neville crocked him at OT in 95/96 ; poss even cost us the title with that tackle as we lost him for quite a while and he was moderate when he returned - the Barcelona game was a glorious swan-song of his career.

This - the guy was clearly the best manager in English football history because he achieved his successes with small clubs of limited resources and made 3rd Div young players like McFarland into England internationals...even Fergie didn't handle Keane as well as Cloughie did, and he was past his prime by then. Def the greatest, although with character flaws - but nobody is perfect - would have been an amazing success at NUFC and made us the greatest club in Britain.

Totally agree - Ashley has been exposed as a total chancer, whose gambles have started to fail now that the economy is in trouble. As the song says, when the going gets tough, the tough get going, and he has only been successful in a growing economy. His handling of crises has been abysmal, and his lack of football knowledge exposed as much worse that SJH's, despite Sir John openly admitting that he wasn;t really an expert in football when he took the club over. Sadly, he has been exposed as even more of a liability than Shepherd in that respect, although I don't agree that we should have kept FS as Chairman ; just because the new owner is useless doesn't mean the club didn't need a change a few years ago. Ashley's appointments have also been dire - Llambsarse, Wise, Kinnear, all worse that their successors, and this has been the crucial error that has brought the club to where it is now. The club is in a very serious situation, and there is no end in sight to what is happening - even if, by some miracle, we manage to stay up, the crisis will return under the existing management set-up.

Right again, BG..

...And then you can go back to being part of a small, provincial, self-obsessed football club which succeeds only in the art of navel-gazing and feeling the size of the chip on the collective shoulder...

All far too late now - the die is cast, and Ashley & Co are to blame if the club goes down.

Unfortunately, it looks as if the club is likely to get the worst option - relegation AND Kinnear on an extended contract - long, happy years beckon......

Don't care what Beardsley says - he has always been 'establishment' if it suits him... NEVER agreed with those who thought he would be a good manager because he clearly hasn't got what it takes upstairs to do the job, whereas someone like Shearer is far more single-minded and determined. I, along with any sensible fan, will make up my OWN mind about Ashley & Co by what they do - and to date, they have messed-up royally whether PB says so or not...Beardsley was a great player and should leave it at that, although he IS entitled to his own opinion.

Whatever people think about NUFC having 'decent' players, this doesn't matter in a relegation battle - its the BLEND of players that makes a decent SIDE, and NUFC have clearly not got that blend. All the players that people keep quoting as 'talented' have proved to be flawed in crucial areas of their game - Owen with injuries, Barton with temperament, Jonas with lack of end-product, Butt & co in midfield by either their age or lack of creative skills. Taylor is prone to dive in and make late tackles, Martins has general lack of awareness in his game, and Coloccini is constantly caught out for positioning and pace against quick forwards ; Duff has never been worth his fee etc etc.. Teams with too many failings go down, talented or not.

I'm astonished that anyone has asked this question - and even MORE astonished that 3 people have said yes... What has Newcastle United come to if even 3 people want Kinnear as full-time manager..?