merlin

Now THAT might JUST do it.......esp if there have been any more bad results.

All of these are correct - many could be corrected by a managerial(and coaching) change, but not before the summer.....

Doubt very much whether he'll go before May, but it depends how bad things get - as long as there isn't a threat of relegation, he'll stay; if we really start going down the pan(can things get much worse!??)then anything could happen and we could end up with a caretaker situation until the summer.. All this could have been avoided if only Ashley had been able to buy SJH out earlier because I don't think that Allardyce would have been chosen.

People can speculate all they like about who would be a suitable replacement for Allardyce, but its a waste of time - Ashley and Mort will have their own ideas, and you can bet every last penny that they WON'T be holding a popular vote amongst supporters as to who that replacement should be, any more than Ashley would give his employees at Sports Direct a vote on who the next CE should be.. What they WILL undoubtedly do is to look at every possible alternative and take the advice of people in whom they trust BUT - at the end of the day they will be making the decision. They are unlikely to be making any change prior to the end of the season anyway... Lets be quite honest here - all on this site(with a couple of exceptions)will have more faith that Mort & Ashley will make a better choice for the job than their predecessor - certainly, I do, however the person chosen will not, inevitably, be welcomed by all fans.. As has been shown by this thread, there are several candidates being put forward by different people, most of whom are well-known International figures, but this does not mean that the right guy will come from that list. I believe that Newcastle IS a difficult club to manage and requires a special sort of person to do it ; many so-called top foreigners would not fit in because the club is culturally different from most other top English sides - I would say that only Liverpool comes close in that respect, but is easier for foreigners to manage there because a) it is closer to London and b) it already has a reputation worldwide. If NUFC did not have such a big support base, we would simply fall into the same category as clubs like Pompey and Brum - good, but not great , fan-base, with limited worldwide appeal, but we DO have a much bigger potential than most clubs. Given that many foreigners would be unaware of what this club COULD become, we may be looking at appointing a young and rising British manager who DOES know what could be achieved. People should remember that Shankly and Clough built great CLUBS from very small beginnings - Shanks went to Liverpool after successful stints at 2 lower league sides, Carlisle & Huddersfield ; he took over a Liverpool who were in the second Div, getting around 15,000 per game - and this was in the early 60s when crowds were decent..he left them in such a good state 13 years later, that they went on to win the European Cup because he built a CLUB, not just a team.. Likewise, Clough was given a chance at Hartlepool at the age of 29 when his career as a CF was ended by injury ; he got them promotion for the first time, went to Derby and made them into a title-winning side at a time when Liverpool were top dogs, then did the same for Forest... There WILL be someone out there who can do such a job for NUFC, but it IS a massive & unique one - sadly, I have come to the conclusion that Allardyce is not going to be the man for the job and it is beginning to look as if he knows it - I am glad I don't have to make the choice as to who the right man is, but I wouldn't rule out people like Tony Mowbray, doing a great job at WBA after starting well at Hibs ; young managers like that deserve at least an interview to see what their philosophies on the game are.. The difference between Allardyce & people like Mowbray are that Allardyce has based his past successes at Bolton & Notts Co on long-ball 'fightball' whereas Mowbray's teams play well-structured attacking football - I am sure our fans would accept a season or two of gradual progress as long as they could SEE progress being made, and were being entertained also - something that is NOT happening now... Mowbray is a NE lad too, so knows about the club's potential and fans.. What IS true, is that the Club and its supporters, deserve the best that can be obtained, both in the manager's office and on the field.

Great player with excellent skill, but too temperamental - would have him if we could sign him AND Ashton, but if it was one or the other, I would have Ashton. Over a Prem Season, he will give more to the team than Berbatov.

Excellent - and TRUE...!! About time some of those City shysters got theirs ; many people will be cursing them over the next year..

Agree with that - the long-term injury has taken the edge off him and as I have said before,he doesn't command his area as a top keeper should - not even as good as Harper at doing that... His strength was in reaction saves, but his handling of long-distance shots this season has been poor - the Barnes goal was not particularly fast, but it was reasonably well-placed but Given should have been down faster than he was.

Merry Christmas to all from a sunny & hot Down Under... Here's to a more exciting 2008 ; as the Chinese say 'May you live in Interesting Times...!!' Oh, and Good Luck to Villa too, Brummie - another long-suffering set of fans !

After reading most of the posts made in the last 12-15 hours, it is obvious now that Allardyce is on the last of his 9 lives. Wherever you look, be it this site or others, it is clear that many fans are now of the opinion that Allardyce will never cut it as manager at SJP ; his team selections and formations, as much as anything else, have baffled and angered supporters, who(rightly in my view)see his intransigent approach as arrogance - AND ignorance. Once you lose the fans at SJP, you have lost the job, and Allardyce has brought much of the current anger from fans on his own head by his reported comments in both Press & Mag interview. It is clear that both sides view the other with a fair degree of contempt, and that cannot last.. After the Arsenal game, he was given another chance by fans who , despite their inner feelings, felt he deserved a fair chance at the job - which indeed any manager does, but I believe those fans have now given up on him. He cannot)and in my view, WILL not) be sacked this season, but I wouldn't bet buttons on him being manager next year - the .next half season will be full of difficult games, and at this time I cannot see the results being there to save his skin.

Its beginning to look as if Barton's mouth is far greater in its capacity then his ability as a footballer - if he could play as well as he spouts, he just might justify his reputation...

As I said on another thread yesterday - would swap Martins for Ashton if someone could only get Curbishley drunk enough to agree to the deal...!

'Like the new Shearer'... I'll have some of what THIS man's drinking please, Barman..!!

Viduka IS undoubtedly, a class player ; his close control is excellent for a big guy and his goals record over the years has been reasonable for a player who is basically a target man. We knew he was past his best when we signed him - he is 32 next birthday and has probably travelled further than many other players over the years for Internationals with Australia, and I can tell you from personal experience(I used to travel extensively for a Tour Company)that long flights play havoc with you if you do a lot of them because of Time-Zone changes etc. His weaknesses are that he sometimes appears not to be totally interested(this has ALWAYS been the case wherever he has been), and does not have great mobility(as Shearer did) or pace(like Bellamy). Strengths ; Excellent close control, can spread play by bringing others into the game, and can hold the ball IF - IF - it is played into his feet..Scores difficult goals rather than tap-ins.. Needs a mobile, intelligent co-striker to get the best out of him, but still classed as invaluable to Australia because of his holding skills up front - the Aussies have some very good young players coming through(Burns and Zullo to mention just 2 forwards)but they need a big guy with Viduka's skills & experience up front as do NUFC...UNTIL we can prise Ashton away from the Hammers..!!

Totally agree with this. Another very poor performance rescued by two good finishes from Viduka - all this talk about ' we were all over them for 75 mins' does not wash in my opinion as there were large parts of the game when we looked disorganized and Derby played the better passing football. Much of our pressure came from the long ball/fight for knock-downs football that has been played by the side for most of this season, and that, ultimately, will NOT bring consistent success... The side looks disjointed and predictable ; many of us have been complaining about players being used out of position, and that was graphically illustrated by N'Zogbia today - once he was pushed forward late in the second half, he caused them all sorts of problems with his pace because IT WAS BEING USED IN AN AREA WHICH COULD HURT THEM and not half-way back down the field. Duff looked better than in many of his previous appearances, and he will not yet be match-fit, and Emre was the only midfielder who could produce a pass which caused their defence problems - unfortunately,he is best used as a sub for he fades if used from the start, and this really highlights what is missing from the side ; a top creative midfielder. Rozehnal has disappointed me - I honestly thought he looked a good player in early games, but his defensive weaknesses have proved costly and dangerous ; the Defence generally looks uncertain ; Barton gave away possession with a will during this game, and has not lived up to the hype about him - he wants to get his own game sorted out before moaning about our fans....! Smith was - well, Smith ; more fightball than football, but then, this IS an Allardyce team.. Credit to Viduka for rescuing the side from defeat(for that is surely where they were headed before his excellent second strike(harder than it looked, a first time volley with the outside of the foot) and this was his best game for the club in terms of involvement in the game, but our forwards look mediocre generally. To be fair, Derby have a new manager and fought hard - but that was really no excuse ; as someone on another thread has said, how long can Allardyce`paper over the cracks ? Any accusations of 'knee jerk etc' are just excuses - one day, people will let the scales drop from their eyes and see that the Emperor has got no clothes.. No-one in their right minds expects Top 4 Football but we should be getting BETTER THAN THIS BY NOW - and NO excuses.

Would swap for Martins to be honest, but I doubt even Curbishley will fall for that one...!!

Well exfuckinscuse me Sam, you big daft wallybrains but he used to, and he was pretty good out there anarl! Agreed - ask the Villa fans what they think...

He was indeed(made the best debut I've seen from a player of his age(21)joining us from a Lower div side(Bury) with the exception of Macdonald, and there was a slight difference in price - Terry Mac was 25,000 whereas Supermac was 180,000(a record at the time)... McDermott made his debut against Liverpool in 1972 at SJP and we won 2-1, although we were lucky but he was outstanding. They obviously thought so and he did the same against them in the 74 Final, although he was the only player in the side to do justice to himself - the Scousers took him 'home' later that year for 170,000 and he won loads of medals there ; strangely, for a Merseysider, his heart DOES seem to lie at SJP, but its a bit strange that he should have such a showing in the museum - he only played for us(at his peak)for 2 years and returned to help us win promotion in 84...

LOVE IT!!! its not meant to be serious, but I fear it could be if it signals that this square pegs into round holes mentality is deliberate ..... I know, I just liked the terminology I guessed that mate. I've seen players play on the "wrong" side before and do well, but only if they have pace ... Didn't Waddle end up on the opposite side to which he started? Genuine question, not a wind up. Yes. He played both sides though. Nowt against players doing this if they have the pace, but Milner hasn't, Chris Waddle had far better skills and dribbling ability than Milner too. Waddle wasn't fast. I don't remember him being that much faster than Milner tbh. He did have tremendous dribbling technique though, no doubt. FWIW I really don't think Milner has let anyone down this season. I rate him and think he gets a fair bit of unnecessary stick on here. This is true - Waddle DIDN'T have lots of pace - he DID have great ability to drop his shoulder and beat a man through that and his dribbling ability. He was also better at crossing the ball than Milner, and could bend a shot better. We haven't had a winger with REAL pace since Gillespie - Robert was quicker than he appeared to be, but not as quick as Gillespie, although he was more of a goal threat by far. Over the years, we have lacked wingers of real pace - even in the 70s,a decade which saw us field some really decent individual players, the only one with real pace was Stewart Barrowclough, who Joe Harvey signed from Barnsley as a teenager - he was really quick, but unfortunately, didn't have the football brain to go with it..played some outstanding games(seemed to really enjoy taking the Leeds defence on for some reason!)but could be incredibly mediocre. One of the best ever wing performances I ever saw was Eddie Gray for Leeds against Chelsea in the first 1970 FA Cup Final(Chelsea won the replay). Gray was absolutely terrific & tore Ron Harris(the renowned Chelsea hardman) apart - how Harris stopped himself from really whacking Gray I do not know, because he was going round in circles.. That is far back enough, but older fans reckon Mitchell did this to full-backs regularly in the 50s. There are very few players capable of doing this these days, even though they get more protection from Refs.

What happened ? We let the Lunatics run the asylum(i.e. a collection of former players who didn't have the proper background or education started coaching ability out of English players, esp when they were young...)we have never recovered since as it has become cheaper(AND easier) to buy ready-made articles from abroad. Also, English schools try to coach 'equality' into youngsters, so it has become politically incorrect to want to win or better yourself AND English kids spend too much time on computers instead of playing footie.. Parents don't want them getting hurt, or out by themselves..!!!

i disagree with the first bit - i think martins could be very effective in a 4-3-3. his pace and occasional trickery would be beneficial, and he would be able to run onto and flick ons and throughballs. he just needs to settle in the system. with owen i agree - he cimply cannot play in the pl as a lone striker, or as a wide player. on the second point i completely agree - smith simply doesn't score enough goals to be the lone striker/target man, and viduka doesn't seem to be fit enough. this position is crucial in that system, and we need another player in jan or the summer if we want to stick to it. being danish i think bendtner might cut it! One of your comments about Martins was correct - 'his OCCASIONAL trickery'... That's the problem - its TOO occasional, as is his first touch and anticipation.

Sir Les was stating that MARTINS wasn't suited to 4-3-3, not that the system was no good...

Award well-deserved - Kaka is head & shoulders better than any other player right now ; his displays against Man Ure alone were worth the award amd one of his goals against them st OT was absolutely superb play. Brazilian football at its best.

Show me just a couple of these many people please, I'd like to laugh at what else they say. I've seen it said on this(and other)fans' Websites several times over the past few years...

Martins can be abysmal all game but if he gets a goal or two he'll be forgiven. Such is the life of a striker. It's fair enough, but you can both surely see that it severely hurts the team in general on days where Martins doesn't pull out a goal from somewhere, as he contributes pretty much nothing in terms of build-up play for the rest of the team. I'd much prefer a player who scores less goals and can actually play a bit of football and improve the team with what he offers as a whole, rather than a headless chicken who scores the odd wonder goal here and there. Martins still has time to improve, but I'm really not seeing any development in his awareness sadly. OK, but it sounds to me that you're not taking into consideration that he's being player out of position. And still doing alright with it anyhow. When he's been deployed down the middle this season, he's been clinical and his movement have been much improved in comparison to last season. See the City goal for evidence of improved finishing, movement and touch. You can throw the Spurs goal in there aswell. I'm tired of people saying he's not improving, because he is. And similarly with N'Zogbia, i think it'll help his development as an all-round player being played slightly out of position, because he'll have to learn new things. Where to move, when to time his runs, how to find a goalscoring position in the box (not that he's bad at that anyway), and so on. His awareness isn't particularly great but it has and will improve over the course of the season, providing he's playing of course. I'll never say he's a headless chicken because i just don't think he is. Did you read what Sir Les said about him on Setanta ? This is on nufc.com today if you want to check... basically, he says that Martins is NOT comfortable OR suited to playing 4-3-3, and enlarges on this by saying that he is not disciplined enough to fit the system as he keeps drifting inside... This has been one of my biggest problems about Martins - he is an instinctive type of player and these`players do NOT have the right mental attitude to be a success at the top level ; every so often they will produce a moment of magic, but will then proceed to miss easy chances etc because they do not have the necessary discipline to either play within a framework or to keep a cool head when necessary - in the 70s, there was the case of Duncan Mckenzie, who had amazing skills but never reached the top even though he was given a chance in one of Leeds' best teams..there was also Stan Bowles who could undo teams like you've never seen when he felt like it, but then disappeared into obscurity because of his ill-disciplined private life... Neither Owen NOR Martins are the answer to our striker problem - for entirely different reasons. Owen gets too many injuries, but if he didn't, would be one of the top scorers in the Prem, whereas Martins just hasn't got what it takes to be a top striker . If Les`Ferdinand is prepared to say it, that's confirmation enough for me that my doubts are justified, and for all those saying that Owen doesn't fit the system, this is confirmation that neither does Martins .. . He cannot play as a target man either - too small and individualistic - may be that is why NUFC is never successful - the fans seem to prefer moments of brilliance from erratic players than a disciplined team, which is the only way to bring success. the fans in general may prefer that, but lets be honest, how many players have we had in the last 5 years capable of moments of brilliance, maybe 3 Absolutely true, but it doesn't seem to alter the basic thinking by many fans('I'd rather lose 4-3 than win 1-0 in a boring game' .... etc etc.).

What was it someone said about 'Lies,Damned Lies, and Statistics..!!?? A touch of the 'Emperor's New clothes' about his claims - we can all see how the team play.