merlin

The Ronny Gill's Mark Douglas has been advertising a scoop of a Q + A thing with Rafa for this weekend and he reckons he's answered all the questions that we want answers to.    I bet there's no guarantee that he stays here regardless as to whether we go up or not or Ashley keeping the purse closed.

It would be unfair to expect a manager of Rafa's calibre to stay at SJP if we had been promoted and Ashley refused to spend a decent wedge to equip the team for the challenge...he can do much better than that...

We have said on too many occasions that the upcoming home game is a 'must win' before the match, and been disappointed but we really do need the 6 points from these upcoming games...if we were to do so and Brighton continued to get results it would dishearten the likes of Leeds who still fancy their chances and rightly so after putting together a run of decent results whilst we and Brighton have stuttered a bit.

Will be interesting to see what happens...

Brazil look like they give a s***. What's going on?

 

New manager. We've looked immense, probably the best we've looked since 2005.

I agree - saw your side play Argentina in a qualifier not long ago and they beat them easily, 3-0....really impressed by a number of the side esp Gabriel Jesus(who was yet to join Man C and looked awesome for a 19 year-old)...people on this site talk about whether Armstrong will make it yet he isn't on the same planet as Jesus who looked a really mature CF for his age. Coutinho scored a great goal too. Then there was Neymar, who ran the show....

Potentially, Brazil looked as good or better than any Brazil side I can remember as far back as 1982 and that side should have won the WC in Spain.

Seems like he's doing well at BSC, was MotM this weekend. Laid on a pretty good assist too. http://www.bernerzeitung.ch/sport/fussball/ybnoten-starker-mbabu/story/17422472

Liked this boy as soon as I saw him play.....if he has picked up the necessary experience he will be a major asset next season as we need a decent attacking LB.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Rafa will have another good look at De Jong in the summer, especially *if* he can stay fit for the rest of this season. I get the impression that he quite rates him but just wasn't convinced by his ability to stay fit and play games.

 

De Jong said he had the option to stay but Rafa wouldn't provide guarantees of playing time. It's a shame really as I think if he'd have even been fit enough for half the games this season he would have been an asset.

 

He's the best #10 on our books by far, seems he's done quite well this season as well.

If de Jong is the best No 10 we have, we really do have problems...more time off sick than Saylor....

Not having seen the game I won't comment on individual players' performances but there is no doubt that this type of result(and performance)is becoming very regular and although we should be happy with getting a point away from home, the home performances have made it more important to beat teams who are struggling, when we are away from home.

The club is like a man dying of thirst who is crawling to an oasis he can see but its still not certain he will get there in time...

As long as we make it we can then start worrying about next season...

Never want to see Diame play another game for this club, abysmal.

A total waste of money....will be gone in July.

He's getting pretty much the max out of the squad available.

 

Those people that are moaning their heads off are probably the same people who were at the start of the season predicting something ridiculous like remaining the whole season unbeaten, Mitrovic raping the league, blah blah blah! 

 

They clearly misjudged the league due to their lack of knowledge about it.

 

He's doing the job expected, imo.

 

I respectfully disagree.  If that is the case and we are promoted we're totally f***ed next season without major surgery to the squad.

 

Massively.

 

IMO we really should be performing better than we are. If he's doing the best with the squad he has, let's not get promoted as we are coming straight back down.

 

Does anyone honestly have think Benitez would be happy in the prem with the current squad I tell you what I wish we'd got someone in with proper knowhow of the championship like Nigel Pearson haha

 

It's not perfect but we are currently top and very likely to go up

 

 

Benitez would undoubtedly NOT be happy to take on the PL with this team/squad.

The problem, as we all know, is sitting like a dark cloud, a big stationery Buddha, looming over the club from Shirebrook.....

If he thinks we don't need to spend more than 30m, that is all Rafa will get - and it won't be anywhere near enough...major surgery needed on this squad if we are to stay up in a reasonable position without a relegation battle.

Its a good result for us but after our thumping at SJP last week we shouldn't take anything for granted until its mathematically impossible for others to stop us.

A bit of much-needed pressure relief though....excellent.

I would rather watch us struggle at SJP than succeeding playing in some out of town stadium. SJP is our home, our identity and history which should never be forsaken for extra commercial revenue or some other bull s***. In this day and age where history and tradition means f*** all the only real thing we have going for us is our ground and our fan base, the very things that should never be traded or allowed to be corroded by commercialism. f*** a new stadium. I'd rather 30k than 60k if it meant moving.

I understand how you feel - none of us want to leave SJP - but if the club was to have any hope of matching the PLs top sides we need a bigger stadium when the time is right. I certainly WOULDN'T want to stay at SJP if it meant capacity limited to 30,000...its small club thinking. Arsenal had to move from Highbury and that must have been just as much a wrench for their fans too.

Retrospectively I'm pleased the Leazes Park move fell through.

...whilst I am not. Had it been built, apart from the ability to get huge crowds for big games, Ashley may not have bought us because undoubtedly the land near the Gallowgate would have been a big plus for him.

 

Absolutely this.

 

We're currently getting 52000 gates to watch poor quality second tier football. It's not that long ago we were dining at the top table and with the right ownership it could happen again. These decisions made by Ashley are ensuring we'll never be able to expand on the present site.

We should have toughed it out when the Leazes Park plans were submitted - I know for a fact that the petition was taken to Sunderland to get their spiteful signatures and in my opinion the No Business on the Moor lot were mostly out of towners,  misleading the idiot Prescott as to the strength of their case.

 

You are spot on except that Prescott's main aim was to sock one in the eye for SJH who, he believed, was a Thatcherite.

Retrospectively I'm pleased the Leazes Park move fell through.

...whilst I am not. Had it been built, apart from the ability to get huge crowds for big games, Ashley may not have bought us because undoubtedly the land near the Gallowgate would have been a big plus for him.

I think Huddersfield will burn themselves out towards the end of the season.

You had better pray that they do....

For those of us older heads it is a concern but in the eyes of the 21st century, if we needed a bigger ground and we had an owner who wanted it, we would.

 

Off the top of my head it is perfectly feasible to incorporate the land that we use now and redevelop the whole of Leazes park and surrounding cow grass to create one big St James' Park with freeman land to go with it.

 

Could maybe move some of the older materials from the stadium to a new one just a few hundred yards or so North.  Where the ground is now could see a grand entrance to the whole park which could be the centre piece of the country with retail units scattered around instead of the drug ridden no-go zone we have at night.

 

Would I want this, no but it's a better idea than shifting altogether.

 

You are in cloud cook cuckoo land if you think that is even remotely possible. The two major blockers are:

 

1) cost of a brand new stadium is prohibitive unless you build a relatively small identikit flat pack stadium.

2) you would never get planning consent to build a new stadium on Leazes Park or the Town Moor.

Absolutely right - I know for a fact that SJH tried to get a new stadium(75,000 capacity, sliding roof)built at Leazes Park back in 1995...he was prepared to threaten the Council with a move to Gateshead if they refused. Unfortunately, he fell ill and developed Thyroid problems which is one of the reasons he retired as Chairman in 1997 and his successors(incl Freddie Fletcher)were not as motivated about it. Then we had the Dolly Potter idiot and her cronies who set up a protest about it all and it was finally killed off by that political genius, John Prescott.

NO chance of redevelopment on Leazes Park - Ashley has killed ANY chance of extending the current stadium unless the next owner moves the club out of the city centre.

The day this man leaves is the day I believe in Newcastle United again

I have often wondered about Ashley's reasons for taking over NUFC...apart from the PL money available you cannot avoid the suspicion that he has other more malevolent reasons for his interest. Any owner interested in advancing the club's interest would not have done anything to restrict ground development.

We should have got Neil Warnock.

Never mind...there's always next season..!

He's bought terribly, like. King looks like the only one who's shown any value, and that's only recently. Boruc, Federici, Mings, Gradel, Grabban, Afobe, Atsu, Iturbe, Murray, Ibe, Mousset... quite the list of players who've either not impressed or failed completely.

Our own lists of buys since Ashley took over doesn't look too bright either if you look at it ; for every Cabaye we have a Riviere and for every Ben Arfa there is a Thauvin.....and so it goes on. Joe Harvey was viewed as a manager who had an eye for a player and he bought some good uns...he also bought some real stumours.

KK made some great buys but he also made some bad uns...

As it is, would any of you NOT have Howe as manager if we were looking for one(as opposed to Pardew etc)..? Not that the guy would even look at the job under Ashley.

Sounds like Wilshire will be available.  Been dropped by Bournemouth last 2 games and looking like they won't sign him.

If Bournemouth - a club whose manager I respect - don't want him and won't play him, why do you think he would be what NUFC want ? We should be aiming higher than players a club the size of Bournemouth(but a well-run outfit nevertheless)are going to reject.

Tbf Eddie Howe is absolutely terrible at using players he's bought recently

When and if Bournemouth get relegated people can criticize Howe...what he has achieved at B'Mouth is remarkable for such a club and he deserves full credit - people are saying this about Rafa's team selections......!

Sounds like Wilshire will be available.  Been dropped by Bournemouth last 2 games and looking like they won't sign him.

If Bournemouth - a club whose manager I respect - don't want him and won't play him, why do you think he would be what NUFC want ? We should be aiming higher than players a club the size of Bournemouth(but a well-run outfit nevertheless)are going to reject.

People saying it doesn't matter about our home record are missing the point that NEXT season - all being well - there is no way our away record will be anything like this season's unless we sign quality players in defence and m/f so we, like most sides, will NEED to make SJP a fortress against visiting teams so we can get sufficient points. PL sides are going to take us apart if we sit back and defend as a priority when we play away from home as they mostly have far more skill and movement(and better strikers) than Champ sides - it also follows that most PL managers are better than their Champ equivalents so they will have our style of play sussed out, just as 5 sides have managed to do at SJP this season.

I am sure Rafa knows this but whether those who obviously now hold the purse strings and make decisions about who we sign also know, is open to question....

Whatever happens, we are going to have to have a lot more variations in our locker for next season - whoever is in the manager's office.

The best sides have always had adaptable players in m/f....players who can both tackle and create. Think of Bremner and Giles at Leeds(a long time ago now I know, but these 2 plus Madeley, who could play in several positions, were the bedrock of a very tough side to beat..they also weighed in with a number of goals.

You can look at the likes of Petit at Arsenal more recently and there are plenty of other examples...Rob Lee could also tackle, had a fair turn of pace and scored goals. Hardly any of our m/f are mobile enough or creative enough to allow us to storm forward a la KK in home games and many of our side are NOT comfortable on the ball. This is the main reason why we struggle at SJP and it won't change until we get better players in the middle.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Rafa is getting us used to how we will have to play next season should we go up. Even in the home games next year we are not going to be in control of the game, we are often going to be on the back foot and every result we get will be ground out. This is the reason why we play like we do at home, because if we went into games thinking we can control next season then we will get torn to shreds.

We CANNOT go into a PL season with many of this side....the m/f especially will have to be reconstructed as there is no pace in it and the only creativity comes from Shelvey. Question marks about the defence, esp at CB and LB and up front also ; Will Gayle do the biz in the PL, who will come in to replace Mitro..? Murphy is a great squad man but too old to play many full games.

We WILL get taken apart if we approach the PL season with this team - whether or not we play cautiously at SJP.

This thread makes me understand why we get the deluded tag tbh.

 

Rafa Benitez is our manager. Our manager under a Mike Ashley regime. Predeccesors include Kinnear, Hughton, Pardew and McClaren. Just let that sink in for a minute.

 

He's a helluva problem to have.

This is hitting the nail on the head (although I think you were being ironic about Rafa !).....the problem is Ashley - he cannot just support the manager. If Rafa had been able to sign Cairney or another midfielder in Jan we would have looked(and been)a much better side at home since. Our m/f stinks when Shelvey has an off day because Colback is never going to help in the positive sense and Diame has been hopeless since the ACN.

Rafa wouldn't have been under any scrutiny had we been able to strengthen the squad in Jan - and although I do often bring up KKs 92/93 team as a comparison, we have to acknowledge that KK was able to get Andy Cole and Sellars in the run-in to promotion and they made a hell of a difference to our play. Ashley has blocked Rafa from doing something similar and KK also didn't have the Transfer Window to cope with.

Not suggesting that I have no concerns at all about us going up, but the knee jerk nature of this place is amazing.  Brighton have lost two of their last four, including a 3-0 pumping off one of the worst teams in the league, beat a crap McClaren team and suddenly they're an unstoppable juggernaut.  No reason to think that we could be 3 points clear of Brighton again this weekend given they have Leeds and we have Birmingham.

Its not just this site where people have concerns...if you look at the comments on Chron articles or The Mag there are plenty of people who put worse comments than we see on this forum about the team.

Also, most people are more worried about the standard of quite a number of players in our team than they are about either Rafa or Brighton...my own concerns are more about Huddersfield than Brighton because they are only 6 points behind us with a game in hand - they also show little sign of blowing up...

No getting away from the fact that our home record has been very patchy and that is what fans see first hand. Also, the consequences of us falling at the last hurdle are only too obvious in fans' minds.

This is becoming a joke - why did they take him back in the first place..? I thought only Ashley was mad enough to do that with a poor manager...