merlin

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..??

Would Ozzie have kept us up in 92 with the same players Keegan had.....??

Agree , Brummie - I think you WILL eventually get him, and that O'Neill will make him into a really good player, probably even for England in a few years. He's only 21, and playing in a crap side with no confidence or motivation, yet still tries hard. The mark of a good player..

If Shepherd is trying to play 'Chess' against Belgravia(or any other large Financial outfit/individual) he's more stupid than anyone thought - they'll eat him for breakfast. Simply buy up enough shares to prevent him taking control and refuse to sell to him - at ANY price. They would then continue to let him stew in his own juice(as he is now), and watch the club decline week by week. Failure on the pitch WILL eventually mean attendances falling, with attendant financial problems for the club. Shepherd is NOT rich enough to keep bailing the club out, share price will fall , his Investment will be worth NOWT. Eventually, the threat of bankruptcy will arise for the Club - this is what happened to Mckeag & Co back in 92 - the CLUB WAS GOING BUST. That is why SJH was eventually able to take control - he had more bucks than McKeag, and if anyone else IS seriously interested in taking over NUFC, you can bet your bottom dollar they've got more dosh than Shepherd. Big Fish get eaten by Bigger Fish.... In any case , were I still in the UK, there is NO WAY anyone would get me to pay for a Season Ticket if Shepherd DID manage to get control - I'd see him rot first. Many people would eventually take the same position, and the club would become just like it was in the late 80's/early 90s - just another run-of-the-mill Championship team , and maybe worse. Incidentally, if anyone REALLY believes that Shepherd will be a completely 'NEW MAN' if he gets total control, you're living in Cuckoo land. What possible reason would he have to behave any differently ??

If Wenger IS thinking of bailing-out from the Emirates Stadium, that name might be the very reason why - maybe Arsenal have bitten off more than they can chew with the costs of paying for it , and Wenger knows it will impact on his team-building. Certainly , it will take much more than a spat at WHU to make him think of shifting - he's a crafty operator....

Macdonald was a great CF, one of the most exciting players I've seen in a B&W shirt, which is just as well - he was definitely at the back of the queue when brains and conversation ability were handed out. He was persona non grata during SJH regime(not entirely fair), but he is only interested in keeping his current favoured status with the current regime at SJP - his comments on Century were ludicrous and he constantly interrupts fans if he thinks they are going to challenge the Club's regime on air..