merlin

Wouldn't object to Hughes, but he will be off to OT as soon as Fergie jacks it, and that will only be a couple of years away..would do a decent job though.

Agree - relegation IS a threat and these fixtures are very important. Even winning all those highlighted only gives 15 points which means another 2 still to get, and I can't see us winning all 5 you mention... Its going to be tough from now on in....

Did it say in Keegans book how he found this out? I've printed all this before mate, its a fair while ago though ....... He actually slates Sir John for going back on his word, which led to the walkout after the Swindon game, and other things. Page 205 "Neither George Forbes nor Peter Mallinger knew that on monday 3 February 1992 I was being asked to take over as Newcastle manager. When it came to the crunch, it was Fletcher, Shepherd and Douglass Hall who wanted me to replace Ossie Ardiles." further down "Sir john Hall was very agitated and at that first meeting I was not at all impressed with him. It was obvious that he wasn't comfortable with my proposed appointment. I could understand why, because he had put his name to an article by Bob Cass in the Mail on Sunday three days earlier that Ossies' job was safe, and I knew that his family had built up a strong relationship with Ossies. I was also concerned that neither Mallinger nor Forbes knew that I was present. Whatever Sir John thought about the situation, he was definitely in the minority. The other three lad the cards on the table, the club was on its way down and they had to do something very quickly if they were going to halt the decline. It seemed that Sir John was being given no choice. He seemed anxious to get away - his original reason for coming down to London with his wife Lady Mae was to buy some trees in kew Gardens. But I would not let him slip away until I knew how much would be available for players. He told me that there would be 1 million straight away and a further million if it was required. " He later goes onto explain about how these promises were broken by SJH, which led to his walkout after the Swindon game. You are wrong - I KNOW what happened about this ; SJH and his wife had to personally lend money to the club to buy Kilcline ; the Bank wanted to take that money against the club's overdraft & debts, so SJH stopped the money going in UNTIL he had assurances from the Bank that they wouldn't touch it... I happened to see SJH on the day this arose, and he told me about it - and this was at least a week before KK walked after Swindon because we were due to play Port Vale away that Saturday - SJH was convinced we were going down, but I thought we would stay up if we beat PV, which we did with a goal from Steve Watson... OK, there WAS a hold-up over the money, but KK got it in the end - and still would have done if he hadn't walked - the Bank were to blame, not SJH, but KK took the view that this was not his problem....

Easy to say when you've won all those f****** trophies. (I laughed too btw) Its all patronizing crap tbh - Fergie just comes out with this stuff when he thinks we are no threat to him.. In his book, he slagged the club off royally about the transfer of Andy Cole 'Newcastle have never been a club able to keep good players' ....etc. etc. He doesn't fool me for one minute... just watch what he says in the unlikely even of the club ever being able to challenge them again before he retires......!!

Its a disruption we can do without - clubs buy them because they are cheap and reasonably good value for money, but losing half a team in mid-season is definitely not a runner in my view. This obsession with foreign players is going to have to come to an end - the whole game in England needs sorting out at grass-roots level so that we start producing decent players again - there is absolutely NO reason why this shouldn't happen, none whatsoever. The French did it, and we have a better long-term tradition in the Game than they do. Also, I wondered how long it would be before someone raised the subject of 'racism' in discussing this topic - this word is an over-used way of closing down debate on things like this and Immigration, and I for one am sick to the back teeth of this stupid ploy - would anyone have raised this topic when SBR complained about Solano going off to play for Peru... And he was the LAST person who should have griped about that, because he used to be an International manager himself, and he would certainly have complained had Gary Lineker been playing overseas and not been allowed to attend Internationals for England... Just because Africans are, in the main, black does not mean that we shouldn't be questioning whether their absence from teams is a handicap - the same would apply to Brazilians, for many of them are black, but nobody associates racism in discussions about them...... Football in this country needs a wake-up call and will get one soon - if the economic situation turns down as badly as some believe, Sky will not get their subs and therefore, not be able to provide the big money for the Premiership - a good thing in my view, and one that would significantly alter the short-term mentality of those running the Premiership sides ; it would benefit a well-run NUFC especially because of our home support.....

if you weren't alive, I suggest you look at the league tables. If anything, I feel sorry for the person who told you that the person who put together the team that achieved the ONLY top 5 position in over 30 years is crap That is also a fact by the way. Quite incredible the amount of people who ignore facts and exercise an "opinion" instead. How stupid, and how sad.] Gordon Lee left Newcastle for Everton, because he was too good for Newcastle, and Everton acted like a big club while we didn't. Absolutely true about Lee, NE5 - we were on the brink of actually achieving something with Lee but the Board, unhappy with the disruption being caused by unnecessary visits to Wembley, and the cost of extra policing when we started getting full houses, acted without any delay and hastened the departure of the main culprit, Mr Lee, to Everton - all credit to them ; after all, we don;t want the calm ,match-day atmosphere disrupted by excitement, do we...!!

The top European coaches will NOT come to SJP -people have to get their head round this. Manchester & Liverpool is as far north as they wish to be - we are seen as a club with no recent history of success..imagine a top British manager(if there was one, say Fergie) choosing to manage Fiorentina or Nantes...now maybe if Milan or B/Munich came calling.....!

Barclay's post sums up most of what I think has been poor about the hunt for a new manager - should all have been done & dusted before Allardyce was fired.

I have never doubted that Ashley DOES want to make this club a success AND by playing good football - it was always obvious to me that he wanted to have fun with his dosh... The sentiments he expresses back up my initial feelings - the only doubts I have are whether he will be able to get the special kind of manager he needs(and the club needs)... its a tough call, but if he succeeds with the manager its obvious that the money and backing will be there - and that is all anyone can ask of a club boss. I really hope he gets his wish because he has taken a huge financial gamble - but we all benefit if he does.

This is very unfair to Big Sam though. Everyone has an opinion. SBR knowing that Geremi's legs are gone is just like SAF knowing Mclaren will make a very good manager. If Big Sam signs a player, I trust that he has all the information he needs. He may have made the wrong judgement, but I don't think one could fault him for lack of homework. It was Mourinho that told SBR that Geremi's legs had gone - SBR told the club.. If Allardyce was still stupid enough to sign him he deserves all the criticism he gets.

This is what SHOULD have happened in the close season before they fired him....into the boardroom as DOF..

This just about sums up the whole situation.

I was waiting to see what happened about Redknapp before making any comments about the new regime. Now that it appears that Redknapp WAS the preferred candidate, I have to say that I am very disappointed in the way this situation has been handled - and VERY concerned about the Club's future. I was almost certain that people who appear to be successful in business and the Professions(Ashley and Mort) with a wide experience of life in general would have had more common sense than to fire Allardyce without having a definite replacement lined up. Its a different matter if you act in the way they have at the end of a season, as you have time to sort out choices from a wider range, but to do so at this stage of the season is very serious because our choices are limited - you are not allowed to approach another club for their manager without their permission, and there are very few clubs who will grant that permission now.. Also, the refusal by Redknapp, whilst understandable bearing in mind his age and comfortable life-style, bodes very ill for the likelihood of the club being able to attract a top name.. This is why I would have gone for Mowbray - a young, up and coming manager with a good track record at both his clubs so far, who favours attacking football - the top names are just NOT going to take the job. However, I had doubts as to whether Mowbray would take the job if offered, because he has only been with WBA since Oct 2006 and they are going for promotion this season ; he will probably wish to achieve at least that before moving again. Even if he HAD taken the job(and this applies to ANY candidate now), he would have needed at least 2 years to get this lot sorted out - I actually thought the team played decent football against Man U for the first half, and 2 stupid and avoidable goals let the roof fall in , but there ARE some signs of hope in the gloom as far as players go - yes, we need at least 3 in different positions, but there are some talented players at the club ; unfortunately, the ones we need will be hard to get, so it will take time. Where we go from here is hard to visualize - if pushed, I would guess that we will end up with Shearer and either KD or KK as advisor(which may not be a bad shout in the end)and Rob Lee as a coach/asst mger. The names mentioned are probably the best we can do now. If these guys say no ... well, they might as well start planning to build flats on SJP. They couldn't even get that right - the Housing Market is descending into a recession....!!! As someone said on another thread - 'Now we'll see what Ashley and Mort are made of!'........

Wall was to blame for first goal(all jumped over ball), and Given to blame for second goal - his clearance was lashed straight at Cacapa - how anyone can blame Cacapa for being in the penalty area is a mystery to me - Given's kicking has never been great this season. These two stupid goals finished the game.

so simple. so correct. Why does it take so long for people to understand. I'd prefer he backed a manager that was significantly better than the one he just sacked. Why does it take so long for people to understand. Agreed, but nothing is that simple. Dalglish had a track record better than Alex Ferguson at the time, and he flopped. Sometimes its a matter of the 2 pieces just being right for each other. Does he have the right personality for your club ? Is he good in front of the camera [important to Newcastle this one]. What sort of football does he play [important because its been proven AGAIN that managers who bore the pants off people don't last long when they aren't winning. I've never like Redknappy for being a cockney tosser etc etc etc but I can see some positives. Wenger has always been my number 1 choice though, and with hindsight although Allardyce had certain qualities that were right for a Newcastle manager, the fact that he couldn't shake off his small time club mentality, and try to play the right type of football that you must play at the high level if you want to succeed at that level, has been his downfall. I think that Redknapp does play this type of football. So it all rests on how much he is backed and how well he uses the money, and yes, how long he is given. But I think if he struggles in his first few months he will get some slack because it may be that we can that he may be on the right lines. Hopefully. If its Harry, he has my backing, and even a week ago I never thought I would say that about him. But thinking about it now ........ so simple. so correct. Why does it take so long for people to understand. I'd prefer he backed a manager that was significantly better than the one he just sacked. Why does it take so long for people to understand. Agreed, but nothing is that simple. Dalglish had a track record better than Alex Ferguson at the time, and he flopped. Sometimes its a matter of the 2 pieces just being right for each other. Does he have the right personality for your club ? Is he good in front of the camera [important to Newcastle this one]. What sort of football does he play [important because its been proven AGAIN that managers who bore the pants off people don't last long when they aren't winning. I've never like Redknappy for being a cockney tosser etc etc etc but I can see some positives. Wenger has always been my number 1 choice though, and with hindsight although Allardyce had certain qualities that were right for a Newcastle manager, the fact that he couldn't shake off his small time club mentality, and try to play the right type of football that you must play at the high level if you want to succeed at that level, has been his downfall. I think that Redknapp does play this type of football. So it all rests on how much he is backed and how well he uses the money, and yes, how long he is given. But I think if he struggles in his first few months he will get some slack because it may be that we can that he may be on the right lines. Hopefully. If its Harry, he has my backing, and even a week ago I never thought I would say that about him. But thinking about it now ........ I actually disagree that Dalglish flopped - he was very unlucky to have to deal with a difficult situation not long after he took over(people forget we were 7th when he took over in Jan, and he got us to 2nd just beating Arsenal to CL football in May 97) The club decided to sell Ferdinand amd Shearer got injured - we all know what happened next - and as we were a PLC, he didn't have unlimited funds whenever he wanted them, but he bought Hamman, Solano and Given - all great signings. He fell foul of Fletcher over the transfer of Gillespie, and they fell out big time - from then on, his card was marked and they got him out only 2 games into the new season... I reckon he WOULD have been a success given another few months, but we'll never know - at least he rubbished the media's claims that NUFC is a manager's graveyard ; he said it is a great job so he can't be as bad as people say ; the media hated him because he was brusque with them.

I think its a difficult one, but Shearer has serious competition from both Lineker and Greaves ; the difference is basically that all 3 were different types of striker - Shearer had more all-round power than both of them, but Lineker was a very good footballer as well as with a great instinct for a chance ; both of them together would have been an awesome prospect, esp with someone like Beardsley behind them... Greaves was basically an instinctive finisher - but what a finisher ! He is one of the few British strikers(I suppose John Charles was the other) who have made it in the Italian League as well as in England.. he didn't have Shearer's power, or Lineker's all-round ability, but he had an unbelievable eye for chances.. very unlucky to miss out on the WC of 1966, but they did OK without him.. Interestingly, if you compare Newcastle strikers who played for England in the last 30 years, Shearer beats Macdonald as an England player and was certainly possibly a better ALL ROUND striker, but Supermac would have left him(AND Lineker) dead for pace over 30 yards - he could do 100m in 10 secs...!! Was really exciting to watch in full flow, very strong for his size, and good in the air too. Only weakness was his reliance on his left foot, but boy, his power was awesome - saw a goal against Leicester in 1975(not televised unfortunately), which went in from 35 yards like a bullet - the keeper was still diving as it hit the top corner..best strike I've ever seen for power.

They were 'knighted by the Queen' because Blair decided it would a good move among the populist voters if he pushed them forward.....HM had nothing to do with it..!!

We wouldn't have been relegated or been close to it this season. There are too many hopeless sides below us. We're 11th ffs!! People don't need the to create a spectre of relegation to justify this and if they do then it shows we are collectively grasping at straws to make ourselves feel better at what we clearly see as fundamental failure of judgement. You may be right about the title of this thread - we won't know until the new manager is appointed - but you are certainly wrong about your last assumption - 'we wouldn't have been relegated...' How do you know that ? The team has failed to beat sides who a decent team would take points from in order to be certain of safety, and we now have a series of really difficult games against top sides, most of whom will almost certainly beat us ; it just takes a couple of the bottom 4 to put a decent run together, and we could be right down there with them....make no mistake - we ARE a 'hopeless side' as you put it - we didn't even make Wigan break sweat, so don't use this as a reason that we should have held on to Allardyce... Whether Redknapp will be any better is anyone's guess.... if we end up with him, I may well agree with the title of your post.....

We're supposed to know our place. Personally i think Tottenham and Newcastle generally have attitudes to be admired, both have proper ambition, and that's what sport is about. I hate these people that are happy with mediocrity. This hits nail on head - I also hate acceptance of mediocrity, disguised as 'support the lads, you fickle ba------s !' agreed to a point but there also has to be loyalty in the face of adversity There has to be a time when you decide to stop bashing your head against a brick wall..... OR;- Putting good money after bad.. OR;- Tilting at Windmills....

We're supposed to know our place. Personally i think Tottenham and Newcastle generally have attitudes to be admired, both have proper ambition, and that's what sport is about. I hate these people that are happy with mediocrity. This hits nail on head - I also hate acceptance of mediocrity, disguised as 'support the lads, you fickle ba------s !'

This is a VERY good point - he's older than Allardyce by 8 years ; I wanted a younger guy who would be here for several years.

This is all true - Ashley has every right to bring in his own man if the current incumbent was not succeeding - and there is no way that Allardyce was succeeding, unless you consider boring, losing football a success.. The only question I would have is whether Redknapp is worth the sort of money being bandied about when his record is not that of a top manager..of course, we only have the word of Sky/The Sun etc that it definitely IS Redknapp - time will tell, but things can't surely get worse than they have been, apart from the fact that the toughest part of the season is still to come...

Mowbray would be top shout if we have to go British, still prefer some one like Houllier myself. I like Mowbray, hes defiantly going to be a top flight gaffer one day, Probably better right now than most English managers out there? would I want him now? no...hope our sights are higher i.e decent foreign manager Know what you're saying, but - if we don't go for him between now & end of season, someone else will within 2 years in my opinion.. I rate the guy so highly that I wouldn't be surprised if he's already on the OT Board radar as one of the candidates to replace Ferguson - it might happen, it might not - but wouldn't we kick ourselves if it did and he's a success...!!

OK,lets all take up tiddly-winks instead - after all , we are useless fans, don't appreciate the finer points of the game(i.e. we like value-for-money and a team that wants to win),and too demanding(after all, there's only 50,000 of us, I mean what right have WE got to expect such things as a trophy every 40 years...!!). Lets all get some practice in - repeat after me 'We are only second-rate and that's the way we should be - the media says so...'

Not good enough.