merlin

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..

Waste of Space ??

Roeder given time ?? 3 other Clubs made THAT mistake, & ended up paying the ultimate penalty..

Very, very good indeed, Kitman - you need to be careful, or the Fat Toad may want you to be his Publicity Agent on his next vessel.....!!!!

O'Neill will turn Milner into the player he already has the potential to be - the fact that so many fans accept the likely loss of either he or N'Zogbia(I reckon they'll BOTH be on the move unless a takeover happens) just shows how easily supporters accept second-best. There is no way that a Club like NUFC should be selling talented young players to rivals - could you have imagined Ferguson selling Scholes or Beckham to Arsenal or Liverpool when they were 21 ?? Oh sorry, I forgot - Ferguson & Man U board wouldn't have let their club get into the state NUFC are in now....!

Best post on this thread, Fox. I vowed I would NOT get involved in all this 'Yah-Boo, I know better than you stuff' after the last interminable rants over the running of the Club. Time to deal in that much over-used word , guys - FACT FACT 1. Club Unsuccessful for 38 years(YES, UNSUCCESSFUL - TROPHIES NIL, despite having most loyal fans in the country, based on what has been put in front of them). FACT 2. Club had best chance of sustained success over the past 10 years - THIS HAS BEEN WASTED. FACT 3. There has been no recognisable LONG-TERM PLAN for the development & future of the Club(Shilly-shallying over Academy for years, poor Scouting networks etc.). FACT 4. The club has made some APPALLING signings when the whole package of the deal is costed-out FACT 5, The club has been going backwards for at least 3 years since the lack of investment prior to Champs league campaign in 2003/4 FACT 6. The handling of the Bobby Robson situation (re; his stepping-down)was deplorably mis-managed., leading directly to the current, serious situation. FACT 7. THE BUCK STOPS AT THE TOP; THE CHAIRMAN HAS MADE(OR NOT MADE!) THE DECISIONS WHICH HAVE LEAD TO THIS(MANAGERIAL APPTS., TRANSFER POLICIES) AND SO SHOULD CARRY THE CAN. Anyone who can't(or won't) see this is now well & truly in the minority of the club's long-suffering support and doing the club no good by defending its position. As I said before, they are entitled to their views, but I recommend that as from now, no-one gets into a pointless debate about it - they are never going to change, so leave them to it. We have enough things to discuss & worry about besides those who insist the World is flat... Last word on the subject.

Couldn't agree more , Phil - spot-on.

That's the whole crux of the matter - he won't quit voluntarily, so yet ANOTHER pay-off because of the Chairman's bad judgement...

Both have to go ASAP, this club will decline more every day hes there. As someone at the match pointed out todays game should have been moved to tomorrow but Shepherd could only see the pound signs of Sky. Glenn has to go tomorrow and Fred as soon as possible, a change of ownership takes time it cant happen overnight but until it does we need out of this relegation battle and theres no way Roeder can take us out. What makes you think Shepherd is up to appointing a capable manager? You're spot-on Mick, but unless we get SOME sort of action soon, it will be too late - this boat is already beginning to move down the slipway and relegation would be a total disaster. Unfortunately, I cannot see a takeover happening quickly and at the very least, we need someone on a short contract who might steady the ship until the end of the season. What is needed now is someone who can somehow put some fire into the bellies of these under-performing players ; everyone will moan at the suggestion, but even Graham or Venables might be able to temporarily stop the rot - and it DESPERATELY needs stopping - QUICKLY.

If its omens you want ;- In 1977/78, we had just appointed a manager who had been caretaker the previous season, and got the club into the UEFA Cup We went to Corsica and got a result in a game we were expected to lose, just like Palermo last Thursday. We won our first home match We had a talented group of players ON PAPER(including 2 excellent full backs, but this is NOT the same today..!) We couldn't get results in crucial matches. WE WENT DOWN - HISTORY ONLY SHOWS THAT PEOPLE MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES TWICE.

Get your flint ready...!!

As I said about this before - since when did a contract make any difference ? Not worth the paper they are written on. I thought N'Zog would be off to the Emirates stadium as soon as we signed Duff, and said so a few months ago. Nothing has made me change my mind ; he keeps being dropped by Roeder, and this is just a softening-up exercise by the club to prepare for his departure. The same will happen with Milner ; quality young players being sold to raise money to pay for the club's financial cock-ups....

A very good result in a difficult venue - Krul has been excellent, esp for a young player, and Milner has shown that he will be a big loss if he is sold in Jan. However, this result has uncanny echoes of the famous Bastia game back in 1977 - we were having a bad season in the league(got relegated), yet went to another island close to Italy(Corsica), and beat Bastia 2-1 in the UEFA Cup. Unfortunately, we were ambushed by Johnny Rep , the Dutch World Cup star in the return match - they were 2-0 up in no time and we never looked like winning. Lets hope history doesn't repeat itself - Palermo are quite capable of winning at SJP.

Problem is that too many fans want change without making any sacrifice to get it - back in the 80's, I adopted exactly the same philosophy as our friend Fred - and eventually, the financial situation forced McKeag & Co out. The same action is required now, but too many people hide behind the 'I'm a TRUE fan' rubbish as an excuse for not withdrawing their money. There is NO WAY I would be buying a Season Ticket if I was back in the NE, until Shepherd & Co had gone..

I wish we had directors like that! If we did Shepherd and Hall would have gone AGES ago :roll: Maybe White will come back on to the Board after 'a suitable interval' when the fuss has died down , then take over as Chairman and proceed to buy up Liverpool shares...that sort of sounds familiar.. Oh yes, I know who did that...!!

Agree totally - all this plus the fact that he was easily-manipulated by the Chairman..

Exactly - Shearer's replacement should have been sorted out 2 years ago. Owen is NOT the same type of player, and a srong target-man striker like Ashton should have been signed. As for Martins, he isn't fit to lace Ashton's boots as a PREMIERSHIP striker. Any manager who was worth salt would have attended to this ages ago , but then , the managers don't have full control when it comes to signings, do they....!!??

I don't know why you take ANY notice of what this juvenile idiot says - only person worth listening to on that station is Gaunt - at least he says what we all think about politicians. Durham is a total clown - doesn't he support Peterboro or something ? That WELL qualifies him to talk about Newcastle United & its fans, don't you think...!?

You HAVE to be joking.......!!??

Totally agree - he may be 'wanted' - but NOT by me....

Shearer , or someone like him.. Owen is like him, he scores lots of goals and gets injured. Owen nothing like Shearer - not able to play target man role, and with the best will in the world, does not have the same committment to the cause(like many of the current side...).