merlin

You shouldn't be ashamed of bringing this up - I have mentioned this in the past few weeks and there are far too many who are just not able to acknowledge just how tough the run-in is ; they think we are better than any of the teams below us, despite our poor showing against these sides.. We have dropped 2 points against Bolton, and came close to losing in the end - it will NOT be a cakewalk until the end of the season and I guess KK knows it but cannot acknowledge the fact because he needs to create confidence in the players.

I agree with much of this, but we are in the position of beggars being unable to be choosers - he is a decent RB, but purely mercenary ; KK will find that there are very few Rob Lees about this time around..

Keegan had to be either a brilliant coach or a brain surgeon to do this. But he is neither. Anyway, are the people saying that Martins can learn to resolve his obvious deficits by good coaching the same who thought Bramble could overcome his concentration blackouts? This is absolutely true.

Not true - people DO go on about Brazilian tactics..Brazil have arguably the biggest pool of potential stars to pick from in World football with their population of around 170,000,000, most of whom are mad about the game, but they went 24 years without winning the WC, despite having teams in 1982 and 1986 who were streets ahead of others, man for man , AND played great attacking football.. It wasn't until 1994 when Carlos Alberto Perreira made them a tougher team to play against(and beat) that they won the trophy again.. he was constantly criticized in Brazil for his more considered approach, but it paid off - the same happened in 2002, so be under no illusion - even the masters have to compromise sometimes and i want us to do the same if it means bringing silverware..

People are going to have to be patient - it will not be as easy to get the players KK wants as it was when he was here before - there is far more competition now. Ashton WOULD be a good signing(always thought he would do well here)and so would Richards, but its looking highly unlikely now ; I rate Bentley, but the chances of him coming at this time are not great - hope I'm wrong.

Spot on Dave - we cannot play exactly the same way as before ; we NEED to be able to defend Free-kicks/corners etc., AND learn how best to profit from them when they are given to US.. Burridge is a bit of a strange lad, but decent with it, and what he says about the Maiden Castle training sessions is essentially true - I have heard to before from a person who was there regularly, involved with the players, and whose word I would trust implicitly.

I'm laughing at all this - amid all the hype about KK returning, I think you will find that Mr Shepherd has not heard the last from Newcastle United....just keep watching..!!!

In the late 60s/early 70s, Leeds were hated by the southern media - players like Bremner and Giles(who were really talented)were slated as dirty, cynical bast---s, and Leeds generally for their 'cynicism & time wasting' etc. etc..When Arsenal started to challenge them, they had a REALLY dirty swine(Peter Storey) in midfield, but there wasn't much said about THAT..!! I have already said that, had I been Mort, I would have named the sports journalists who had slated the club with snide remarks over the past few weeks at KK's Press conference, and BARRED them from SJP for the foreseeable future - I don't WANT us to be the country's 'second-favourite team' , I want them to hate us because we win first and entertain our OWN fans ... I don't care if we play like Leeds did away from home - STUFF them all, we do need a siege mentality both of the pitch and in the Dressing Room..

Agreed - good post KeithK..but his sale in 1997 was the start of our downfall - I reckon KD would have done OK if Sir Les had been available that season.

Not surprised at all - watched the recording, and they played as well as any team I've seen play Liverpool at Anfield ; very competitive, always after the second ball(one of our biggest failings) and very unlucky not to have won - are all the knockers ready to surrender about MON yet !?? STILL think Allardyce is better !!.....

42

Fabulous winger who virtually invented the bending free-kick(it was called 'The Falling Leaf'). Felipao is right about him, but he died far too young..will always remember seeing his amazing dribbles on TV when I was a kid.

I'm really looking forward to seeing KK's judgment on this - whatever anyone else thinks, he is the man that counts...in my view, one of these guys will be doing the journey by the season's end ; if Owen stays fit and looks interested, Martins will be the one to go unless KK thinks he can get more out of him than we've seen already - in fact, BOTH of them could well end up leaving fairly soon.

I am waiting to see what responses people are going to make to the statement by KK that he rates Viduka very highly and would like to have played alongside him....after some of the comments about him in the past, are the critics now going to say KK is wrong, or that , as KK rates him, they have changed their minds.!!

If Keegan had of been here against those teams we'd have gone out to win and would have probably done so. There's no way you can guarantee that Mick - they might have played the Bolton way and still nicked the points; KK WILL improve things, but he can't put what's missing from many of teh squad, pace and skill. If we sign some players, things should improve but I am NOT going to be complacent about the problems - if others wish to be so that is their perogative.

After one season in the Fizzy, the so-called 'parachute payments' stop - do you honestly think that Ashley will want to hang around financing a club in order to escape from the Championship ?? Look at Wolves - Jack Hayward spent loads trying to get them up(a famous old club like ourselves) and they are still down there.. YOU have a word with yourself..ffs.! There have been plenty of examples of clubs who thought they were too good to go down and no-one is safe until those points are on the board. And as for the 'crap teams' below us, I would have more belief in that statement if we had been able to beat them - take Derby for instance, or Wigan.....

bollocks we are You are in for a wake-up call...there is some coffee brewing - smell it..

Totally correct.

That about sums it up..

As Chris Mort is reputed to have said, Shearer should become a manager at a smaller club before taking over at Newcastle - that is why I wanted Tony Mowbray..he has at least proved himself a capable manager at two clubs whose aspirations are not as great as Newcastle's, and with far less resources.. Not only that, but he has done it by playing attacking football.. We cannot afford for Shearer to come in and fail no matter how much of a hero he was on the field. I did not expect KK to be in the running for the job and we must hope that he can pull off the trick twice, but he has at least proven himself at other clubs too, if not spectacularly. He now knows the true extent of the job facing him and, as with ANYONE who had been given the job, must be allowed to choose his own staff etc without any pressure from fans etc - if he fails, he will face the same fate as any other manager who fails, so it should be after he has made his own bed... I have always thought Shearer strong-minded enough to be a good manager(unlike, say Beardsley), but he will have to prove it first.

Absolutely and totally right - we don't have a divine right to win at SJP and as I KEEP saying, but many on here ignore because they can't see the wood for the trees, we are in a relegation battle which will ruin the club if we lose - we will not be safe until we have a min of 42 points.

The game - much as expected from Bolton and anyone in their position would play the same way.. We are in a bad position and some of us knew that before KK took over - today's result piles more pressure on the club because a) we were playing another side on the fringe of the relegation battle and the loss of two points pulls us further into the scrap, and b) we now need to get a couple of points from away games which we wouldn't have done if we had won this match.. Worse still is the fact that other teams will have seen how easily Bolton were able to snuff us out in midfield and will set out their stall at SJP the same way(unless they are Chelsea or Man U and then they'll come to win).. The loss of 4 members of the squad in mid-season shows the folly of buying African players just because they are cheap - this so-called 'good value for money which Allardyce ranted on about may end up costing the club dear in lost points and the lack of any intelligent play from midfield made it easy for Bolton because the movement off the ball is poor as is the ability to spot a player in a good position. KK will certainly rectify the movement off the ball, but he can only work with what he has ; poor crossing from Milner spoiled some moves and Ameobi was - Ameobi; not good enough Apart from the odd piece of complacency, I thought Enrique did OK - the Press slagging of him is totally unjustified in my opinion and his passing is usually good. KK will now know the extent of his task and he needs to move fast to get some players in - a repeat of this against Boro will really put us up against it for the rest of the season. As for the Press , the answer is in your own hands - just DON'T BUY THE PAPER and hit them where it hurts, in the pocket.

I guess we're gonna have to agree to disagree, i think the "containing mentality" used at alot of clubs is a prime example of the change in mentality in football. I think the current use of 433 throughout Europe is another example of change. If you as well as others are saying that football hasnt changed then you're directly advoacting that managers of the past would be just as successful then as they are now, even with the minor changes that your're intimating. Its alot more than physical in my book. err.........yes. Exactly. You can't do more than be the best of your era. Are you advocating that Bill Shankly and Brian Clough wouldn't be the top managers if they were still around today in their prime ? And in the playing sense, George Best wouldn't be an outstanding talent ? I had this argument with someone on this site a couple of weeks ago - I agree that they WOULD have been just as successful today..

It was at home to Villa in the run-in to the end of 95-96 ; we won 1-0 in the end, but the title bid was slipping away and everyone was under pressure - I think it was Easter, just before the ill-fated Liverpool & Blackburn games..

Just won't happen - too much money at stake now and relegation would NOT be taken in such a matter-of-fact way by those running the club ; Ashley wants to enjoy his money, not see it used in trying to get the club back into the PL...We CANNOT afford to be relegated, but yes, it is still a possibility and unless we win the next 2 home games, a strong possibility.