merlin

Pigshit. :roll: Another member of the Ostrich Society......... Who the **** are you to tell 48,000 people to stay away from games they've probably paid for months ago? How anyone can slag off the fans for supporting their team is ****ing unbelievable. I've got my own opinions about who's to blame for the state we find ourselves in and 'the fans' are right at the bottom of the list. The **** who are apparently running this club however..... As for the ostrich dig - ****ing do one. 'Who the **** are you to...' Can you place a posting without attempting to use bad language, or is your vocabulary NATURALLY that poor ?? As to your question, ITS CALLED AN OPINION - something you clearly haven't heard of, so just to enlighten you, its something everyone is allowed to have WHETHER IT ANNOYS SOMEONE ELSE OR NOT !! Got it ? And if its a sore spot with you because your life is so empty that you have to have your fortnightly dose of being conned just because you paid for it, then you are even sadder than you project on these posts. As for getting rid of the people who run the club, go back & try to decipher what my original post meant. I'm sure the majority got it and No - I WON'T 'Do one' - the Ostrich dig summed you up perfectly..

Correct There seems to be a lot of hypocrisy amongst the fans at the moment. If this team was managed by Souness, playing the way they are at the moment, the cries would be heard all over the town calling for the manager's head. But because it's nice guy Roeder, they treat it differently? Roeder is sh*t, he should never have been given the job and he should be sacked asap - just like Souness - in fact going on track record, we should be MORE horrified with Roeder in charge compared to Souness. But of course, he's a nice guy so we shouldn't think that........ Quite agree, but if you DARE to criticize the FANS(!)you will find that someone will call that 'Pigshit' (See thread on 'Takeover'- Holds head in frustration...) There seems to be some sort of malaise with people now whereby they criticize`anyone who appears not to be ' NICE' but allow all sorts of crap from idiots who are touchy-feely but useless. You just have to look at the useless tools in politics....!!

Pigshit. :roll: Another member of the Ostrich Society.........

What are 'DEENDERS' ? tongue.gif I've seen Huntelaar playing for Heerenven, and for Holland U21 earlier this year, and he really is a good player. But hey, I didn't believe we'd get Owen. And we did.... Keep dreaming unless the takeover happens...

Whitehurst had to have a special extra-large set of shorts mad for him, as the club didn't haveone big enough ....! Remember the tackle with Bracewell - was at SJP, Boxing Day 1985 v Everton. It was Bracewell who went into the tackle, but 'Billy the Brick' saw it coming and ensured that Bracewell came off worst... Was quite a good game, a 2-2 draw with a great goal from Peter Beardsley and another good one from Gazza. As has been said, Whitehurst would have just had to LOOK at Keane and the former Man U 'hardman' would have fainted......!! Pity they played at different times ... would have been worth the admission alone to see that contest.

I think a lot of clubs will look at selling stadium naming rights, however, the figures Arsenal got for their naming rights aren't a good yardstick to use. Arsenal were selling naming rights of a brand new stadium, which has never been known as anything else. Selling rights for an established stadium won't bring in anything like the same amount. We're having this discussion on some of our boards, and the general consensus is "so long as they pay up, they can call it what they like, we'll still call it villa park" - sponsors know this, and the price will be lower accordingly. Things are going to get interesting with the West Ham takeover and now tonight they're talking about George Gillet buying Liverpool, with 4 CL places to go for, there's going to be a lot of pissed off billionaires not getting the return they want on their money. Agreed - This is where the selection of a REALLY good Manager becomes crucial.Only clubs who have really top guys are going to make it to the promised land, REGARDLESS of oney spent on players(we don't have to look too far to know that, do we...!!??).

Huntelaar wouldn't touch us with a bargepole at present - he probably would have done had the club tried to sign him after we played Herenveen a few years ago, but both he and NUFC have moved in opposite directions since.....!! Suspect we'd be blown out of the water by the likes of Milan, Barca etc if he was for sale. And yes, Oliver has proved his credentiials once again - Huntelaar is 23, not 26. Only way NUFC could sign the likes of Huntelaar is if the takeover goes ahead and the club stay in the Prem. Unlikely that he would be allowed to move until summer at least, and even that's doubtful..(the takeover as well as Ajax allowing him to go !!!).

I suspect not, and the only ones to blame are the fans - IF there had been some sort of boycott, even for a couple of games, I think Shepherd would have bottled it & sold.The fact that gates are still good has probably encouraged him to dig in and hope his scheme for the Casino comes to fruition before people get REALLY disillusioned. I wouldn't expect any other group or individual to move in if Belgravia back out and the above scenario becomes reality - the Club will be stuck with the regime for the foreseeable future and it is highly- likely that he will attempt to buy the whole Shareholding with profits & dividends from the new arrangement. You'd better start sending notes up the chimney for Santa....!

Fans who were around in the mid-70s will see a parallel with Alan Gowling, although Gowling was much underrated. A big, awkward looking CF with deceptively-good ball control. Gordon Lee used him as target man with Supermac as a sort of twin spearhead. It looked a bit crap at first, but they started to click around Christmas time in 75, and they hammered Everton 5-0 early in Jan, beat Spurs over 2 legs in the LC semi, Coventry 4-0 in a 4th Rnd Replay , won a real pulsating game 4-3 against Championship-chasing Derby at the end of Jan. The whole team benefitted from the 2 guys up front, with Mickey Burns coming from just behind the front 2 and Geoff Nulty/Tommy Craig/Cassidy in midfield. We scored quite a few goals, but had a poor central defence - Keely was a nightmare at times, similar to Bramble. If the players hadn't gone down with the Flu that was raging at the time, I am sure we would have beaten Man City in the LC Final that season. Who scored our goal ? Alan Gowling....!

Don't want either - this Club needs a new DYNASTY building, NOT trophy signings . Eriksson is a busted flush who would be OK for a club who have supporters who treat Football purely as a game(like Southampton).He is not either strong enough or charismatic enough for NUFC in the way that O'Neill would have been.MON was probably the ideal candidate for NUFC, but we have to look elsewhere now. Scolari would be 10 times better than Sven. As for Beckham - we don't need another show-biz signing whose best years are gone, and who has a Media circus surrounding him & his retinue. Beckham would not be as useful to the club as KK was when he came as a player in 82 because KK was a far more genuine character with boundless enthusiasm for the club to succeed - NUFC will always be simply a nice little career finisher for Beckham, and the club has moved on from that type of player(at least, it should do if the takeover goes ahead).

Just waiting for Invicta to post his usual thoughts about MON - but then, he's probably waiting for another Villa defeat before doing that...might be only a few occasions when THAT happens though..!!

Simpson has done a good job wherever he has been and is still young.Disagree the fans are too impatient - do you think they wouldn't have been patient with O'Neill? What about Robson's bad buys? Most people gave them a chance until they saw how poor these guys actuallly were. As long as people can see some progress , they WILL be patient, but for heavens sake, they've been patient for 37 years....!! Whoever is chosen has a very tough task ahead for at least 2 years...

Suspect he will be off like a shot if we go down, and may even be off at the end of the Season anyway - depends on Roeder's replacement.

Agree totally - this takeover is just too late..

Looking at the latest from the Express today, it won't be long before we all find out who the next Manager is going to be... As I said on the Takeover thread, I hope these guys get a move on but I can't think who they'll be trying to bring in ; Shearer would be a huge gamble at this stage, and I just hope they have someone good lined-up. We are in dangerous waters, and need to survive this season - next year is another ball-game(hopefully!).

If this is true, they need to get a move on - otherwise, they will have to think about trying to get out of the Championship and that will set everything back by at least 3 years...

Another Gem, Kitman - not QUITE up to the Wind in Me Willows, but very good none the less.. At least we're identifying the 'CANTS' at the Club..!!

Doubt very much that he'll go until at least Christmas unless there is a spectacular hammering at Arsenal followed by a loss to Pompey. No-one else of any consequence wants the job, and for Roeder to go so quickly would make the Board look ridiculous after the Souness affair last season. I suspect that there might be what is classed now as a 'reasonable' result at the Emirates(i.e. a small defeat).Arsenal will not want to kill themselves unless the game is dragging into a draw late on. Such a result, followed by a draw/small win at home to Pompey would enable the Club/Roeder to claim that 'We are futher on the road to recovery'('look how heavily Liverpool were beaten by Arsenal etc. etc').

'Can't' - 'Wood' & 'Trees' are 3 of the words in the sentence that springs to mind - if anyone believes O'Neill is in ANY way a bottler, let alone that he bottled NUFC & Boro, then the words 'Cuckoo' & 'Land' are 2 of the words in the NEXT sentence that comes to mind...! We don't even know if O'Neill was OFFERED the Toon job, let alone bottled it - my feeling is that he would have turned it down , but NOT because he was frightened of it - with a different regime in charge, my feeling is that he would have jumped at it, even if Villa had offered him too. You ALL know why O'Neill would have turned the job down.....!!

No use denying the facts - regardless of how Martins turns out(and the Jury is still well-out on that one), NUFC has become a Club to avoid for top players - look at Luque for example. He may be a sulker, or not really have his heart in it , but his treatment by Roeder has been appalling. Also, the Nigerian guy was merely voicing what most people outside the North East already know. Until the club is run professionally , with a LONG-TERM plan both on & off the field, the very best players will continue to avoid signing, or want to be away if they DO join. All the indignant huffing & puffing by so-called Loyal Supporters is just ostrich stuff to be honest. You ALL know what the answer is.....

That is correct - SJH wanted SBR, the Board(not just Shepherd, to be fair)were dragging feet, not convinced. SBR SHOULD have gone earlier than he did, but with more dignity - how much of that was down to him we'll never know, but if I'd had to make the decision, I would have tried to do it with his assistance, HOWEVER - if he had said he wouldn't move upstairs etc., I would STILL have made the decision - AT THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE CLUB, and not after the start of the season. That is what being Chairman is all about - any Chief Exec has to take hard decisions at times, that is what you get a very large salary for ; we DON'T operate in Disneyland(Bambi, etc.!?).

They were wrong - as far as I know, NUFC won the Championship in 1909 ; DESPITE a record 9-1 HOME defeat against the Mackems(this wasn't properly avenged until the 50's . when we won 6-1 at Roker Park). The mid-20s Championship was in 1927, and Wee Hughie was the star then, but the early 1900s side had a great defence, possibly the best we've ever had and it was marshalled by Bill McCracken, the legendary N.Irish full-back. He was so clever, they had to revise the Offside law to stop games becoming stalemates. What was that people said about Arsenal under Graham..!!??

Regarding the Halls & SBR - Bobby Robson was SJH's first choice to succeed KK in 1997, and it was SJH who pressured the board to appoint him in 1999 when they were having doubts about it. To be fair, quite a few of us wondered in Sir Bobby was getting too old for Premiership management by then , but SJH had no doubts.. As to his dismissal, we ALL know this was handled badly and he should have been given much better treatment from the club - his experience & contacts would have been invaluable behind the scenes, but he should have stepped aside at the end of 2003/4. He was apparently prepared to help in the choice of his successor.... Incidentally, agree with Knightrider & others that most of this thread has been very well-discussed and some good points made by all - we may disagree on the problems at NUFC, but everyone wants the best for the Club .

There will be an exodus of ALL decent players if the club is relegated - anyone who thinks differently is dreaming. Owen would be off like a shot, and who would blame him? Also gone would be Parker, Milner, N'Zogbia , Emre(no loss), Luque(ditto), Given - maybe even Taylor if anyone sees his potential as worth buying.As for Martins, would probably go at a big loss to the club. Relegation is going to provide a big wake-up call to all fans who haven't seen either what happens afterwards, or the type of football you will witness.

Some of this is ludicrous - if Shepherd inherited 250 mil from his father, it must have disappeared some time ago. If you remember, he was the JUNIOR member in the Magpie Group takeover - all the money to buy shares came from Sir John - NOT A PENNY from Shepherd. If he had access to that sort of money , he would have taken sole control of the club ages ago - why do you think the Halls own more shares than Shepherd..??