merlin

We are now an 8...the table(and performances)tell you all you need to know and Pardew has lost the Dressing room. Unless he is fired soon there will be no way back because morale is at an all-time low and the longer Pardew stays, the more likely the fans are to show their anger at every home game which will male it worse than ever. Ashley thinks he can brazen this out - if he tries to, it will cost him relegation.

I would take Benitez in a heartbeat but the chances of him being happy to work under Ashley's conditions are remote and there is no way Ashley will pay compensation if a target is in a job.

Another example of how this useless individual and his 'coaching' staff have produced a team totally unsuited to PL football. How anyone can defend Pardew on the grounds that Ashley keeps him short of money clearly either hasn't looked at Pardew's past record as a manager(initial modicum of success followed by predictable mediocrity and hostility from the supporters of whichever unfortunate club he happens to have conned into giving him a job) or has a vested interest in keeping the club on track for a return to the Championship - a place from which they may take a long time to exit. Today's game was a total shambles and Pardew has clearly lost the Dressing Room - Williamson was unbelievably bad, responsible for 3 goals, Colo went through the motions and for me, only Haidara looked anything like a threat or as if he was trying as a Pro. Sissoko appears on the scene now and again and you have to say that there IS a player in there...but NOT under this manager, a description you could use for many of the team. Cabella looks lightweight at this level and Riviere missed an easy chance for which we may turn out to be grateful ; Janmaat IS decent but again, would benefit from a manager who was more tactically astute and capable of organising a side. We all know that the club is going nowhere under Ashley, but we could at least be seeing better and more successful football if the players were motivated properly which they clearly aren't now. Nevertheless, I will be surprised if Ashley fires the main culprit any time soon - at least, until the bookies start giving better odds and he can make some pocket money by firing Pardew when his odds to survive creep back up. Such are the people running Newcastle United......

A complete idiot and fully-paid up member of the Footballing Brotherhood that believes fans are only there to pay his wages.

You have seen enough of what Ashley can do out of the blue to believe in that comment.....he came out with the line about not selling the club for 2 years even though he is after Rangers, probably just to spite the fans. The only thing predictable about Ashley is unpredictability.

As a politician once said ; 'Events, dear boy, events'....and more than 2 years of utter rubbish on the field.

Totally unacceptable behaviour from Carver and a prime example of what a shambolic, undisciplined mob we have running the playing side of the club. Nobody could accuse Ashley of being shambolic or undisciplined although the club takes its lead from him and his complete antipathy to the fans combined with his total removal from the club in all but a financial sense encourages the staff to take a similar attitude to supporters. Many people in football think they are a world apart from their customers and can treat them exactly as they please ; there is a sort of brotherhood of footie approach which breeds a fortress mentality from people who think they are above criticism. Apart from the fact that this individual knows that if his useless boss is fired, there is a good chance he will follow, Carver should have the sense to realize that they are ALL on borrowed time because any other Chairman/owner would have fired Pardew last May at the latest. Antagonising supporters at a time like this is either utter desperation or plain stupidity...probably a combination of both and other prospective employers who Carver may need to impress for future employment will have noted this. Woodman, Carver and of course, Pardew , have ALL been guilty of rowdy and indisciplined behaviour at some stage over the past few years, usually around the dug-out. Carver has written his own sacking notice.

Exactly. £350m, spend £50m on the first team and bring in a new manager, we'd be around Spurs in the league with a 50k stadium already operational. Our merchandise is artificially low due to people not wanting to spend money that goes direct in to SDs pockets. Everything would shoot up, no doubt in my mind we'd be a more profitable club without Ashley here. There is absolutely huge potential at a third of the price of spurs, with a stadium already in place. Very easy for an owner. Wouldn't have to spend anywhere near a billion to do it WE know all this - potential buyers either don't or don't accept it...to them, we are a club in a rust bucket area of fallen industry(they think of Detroit if they are Yanks)whereas Spurs are in London, can attract a higher-paid fan, therefore will pay higher ST prices & buy more goods and will be more attractive to foreign fans. I know much of it isn't true, but that's what they think and lets face it, as I said on another thread our gates would drop like a stone if ST prices were raised without an improvement in football.

The Telegraph and other broadsheets are not bothered about NUFC...Edwards knows the club's potential but most national reporters view the club as a joke plaything of Ashley at best and a club followed by deluded fans at worst. They have far bigger fish to fry and people have to accept that we have been peripheral to the mainstream of PL football for some years and national interest in the club is probably at an all-time low. The rest of the country believes we are a run of the mill club only there to help with PL attendance figures and the game in England would be fine if we weren't in the PL anyway - Scudamore said as much when we were relegated in 2009 and whilst I didn't believe him then, I do now. No change for the foreseeable future and interest among young kids now starting to wane.If the club was charging the equivalent price for season tickets adjusted for inflation, time etc as we did in 1995, attendances would drop like a stone.

You are probably right but it doesn't look like anyone is interested...Yanks still interested in Spurs at almost 1Bn, but then, Yanks think the UK is London and sadly these days they are right. We are an anachronism - a provincial club which, despite a lack of trophies going back 45 years, has maintained its support at a high level whereas similar clubs who were once giants in the game, like Sheff Weds and Wolves, have disappeared almost without trace at the highest level. Only Man U/Man C and the Scousers now really represent the North in having a realistic chance of winning anything and by the time Ashley goes, NUFC will be well on the way to following the fallen clubs down a similar track. Already, we have heard that many fans have asked their kids if they want to go only to be told that these kids are now interested in the successful teams in other areas...these will be the first true 'Lost fans' generation and once that happens, its curtains. Ashley has done a brilliant job for his mates at Spurs by getting us out of the way as a possible challenger to them....we are a long way from the days when one of the Charlton brothers was on This is Your Life and one of their young cousins was asked whether they supported Man U(Bobby)or Leeds(Jack)...he replied, 'Neither - only Newcastle..!'....

You have to question why so many Newcastle players seem to fall foul of injury...its like a temporary hospital ward. The last time I remember this happening was years ago and we rarely had players injured with hamstrings and similar injuries under KK & SBR. The poor standard of management and coaching staff HAS to be a factor in all this and with out threadbare squad, this is going to end up costing the club big-time. We have lost arguably the 2 most dangerous attacking players in de Jong and now Aarons as well as HBA being despatched without a return ticket to Hull. Add in the fact that Spurs are now a takeover target and you can see that we as a club are going nowhere fast. Happy days - hopefully, the silver lining in all this will be another couple of bad days at the office and Pardew's departure being accelerated rapidly.

From what I've heard about him, if I'd seen him he'd be in there. I was born in '84 though so I'd be talking out of my arse if I put in a player that I've never actually seen. So many people rave about him though, he sounds incredible. I've read or heard "like Beardsley but even better" a few times. Green was a fantastic player - we were struggling in season 71/72 when Joe Harvey signed him that November for a ridiculous 140,000 plus Keith Dyson. We also had Supermac in his first season but Green transformed everything. His lightning pace over the first 5 yards that left other midfielders and defenders for dead and his wand-like right foot made him a joy to watch and his all action style & enthusiasm used to get the crowd roaring with anticipation when he started his runs. We stayed up easily after being bottom when he signed and the biggest tragedy was his cruciate ligament injury caused by a Mel Blyth assault(I won't dignify it by calling it a tackle)at Crystal Palace early in the following season. In those days, that was curtains and although he tried to come back it was no good. I always thought we would not have lost the 1974 FA Cup Final the way we did had Green been playing for us and we could well have won, such was the effect he had on teammates . I selected Beardsley over him in my selection purely because Beardsley played for us twice totalling almost 7 years at the club as a player whereas TG only played 38 times...had he played for us longer, I would have selected him instead of Beardo.

Lee was far more mobile than Cabaye, had more pace and a vicious shot...yes, would definitely have the 93-96 version of Lee ahead of Cabaye.

There have been far too many lousy players at SJP from the late 70s onwards to start trying to name a worst of all 11...easier to think of some of the worst individuals. In defence, take a bow both Glen Keeley and John Bird, both specialists at providing spectacular OGs..Bird's best was a thunderous effort from 20 yards which left his own keeper(I THINK it was Mick Mahoney)grasping at thin air in a game against Man U at SJP...Keeley scored a magnificent header, again past Mahoney, at Ayresome Park against Middlesbrough which fortunately, our two class young FBs, Nattrass and Kennedy managed to cancel out in a 3-3 drawn 1976. Then, up front, my own personal Centre Forward genius - Rob McDonald who arrived on an undisclosed(i.e.small or FT)fee from Sparta Rotterdam in 1980. What made it all so tragic was that the stunning goals and excitement given by his namesake over 4 years' previously were still fresh in the memory. I don't think Rob scored a single goal - or even looked like doing so - in the whole time he was at SJP. We only needed to have Pardew as manager to make life perfect...! There have been many, many more and people who think Owen was bad haven't lived...

Why not..?

There have been some great, great players at NUFC and many of them would probably get into the team I selected before my selections but I wasn't old enough to see many of them...Gallacher is a case in point, undoubtedly a fantastic striker especially as he was so small physically. However, here goes; Marshall D.Craig A.Kennedy I.Nattrass R.Moncur J.Scoular R.Lee J.Milburn M.Macdonald P.Beardsley R.Mitchell. 4 guys from our great 50s cup teams,2 from the 69 Fairs Cup winners, 1 who went on to score a winner in the European Cup Final and 4 who SHOULD have won medals with the club...Supermac and Nattrass in our 76 LCF side and Beardsley & Lee from our 95/96 title challengers. Hard to leave out players like Shearer, Brennan, Walker, Cowell and Tony Green...come to think of it, I would probably have a fit Green in Beardsley's place but Beardo played for us for far longer. I was only a young lad when we won the Cup in the 50s but as the selection is from your lifetime, this is it. If it was from 1960s onwards the selection would obviously be different, but I'd LOVE to have seen this side play when all the players were at their peak..think of the goals from Jackie and Supermac, the crunching tackles by Scoular and Moncur with the wizardry of Bobby Mitchell and Beardsley ...mouth-watering.

A big screen..? Its bad enough watching the turgid mess unfold on the pitch or TV without seeing it all in close-up...especially when the camera focuses on the genius in the dug-out.

I never wanted Pardew at SJP in the first place - his record at previous clubs tells you all you need to know about his managerial capabilities and his consistent ability to get up the noses of his previous clubs' supporters with his lack of tactical nous, defeatist talk(this is especially bad at SJP because we are potentially a far bigger club than any he has managed or has a right to manage) and especially his bullsh-t and creeping around the owner to save his miserable skin. I was prepared to give him a chance and due credit for our 5th place finish but even then I wasn't happy with the style of play...Cabaye, Ba and Cisse were the ones responsible for our success, not Pardew. Also, Pardew has always had an initial run of success in his early months and then faded as players suss him out. Since then, he has become hated by the majority of fans and only the thick-skinned and brass-faced attitude of Ashley is keeping him in a place that he should long have departed. With a more progressive board, he would have been toast a long time ago and we would have had a better manager for over a year....sadly, Ashley's penchant for unpredictability and utter ambivalence to the club's position as long as it isn't relegated, means that we may have to wait some time before even he starts to get worried that we WILL go down under Pardew because the fates have at last conspired to put the team in an invidious position...de Jong out for months, HBA gone along with MYM and no sign of a striker or CB before the end of the deadline and no wins so far. Two defeats would make things interesting but its far from certain that Ashley would pull the trigger yet - we can only wait and see.

You must be crackers - I don't want this guy as manager EVER...Ashley stooge, dictated to by his wife and hardly the brightest tool in the box...was a great player and that is where it ends.

I suppose the day you mean was the Leicester game on 9 May 1993, the day we were presented with the Championship Trophy before thumping Leicester 7-1...the Andy Cole song was being sung just about non-stop after the start of the second half when he put us 7-0 up. Both he and David Kelly scored hat-tricks that day, and Kelly was the deserved ball recipient because he scored first. I remember everything about the day, even the weather(which was sunny with clouds but a cold NE wind for the time of year)....it was a day no fan who was there would ever forget because it confirmed that we were back in the big time, the Sir John Hall stand was rising from the ashes of the old Leazes..and we meant business. We had hope in spades.... What we have now doesn't even bear comparison and there is precious little chance of that happening for a long long time - if ever.

Stunning! Its also stunning so many people have took so long to suss out this tosser I agree that the quote IS stunning and absolutely on the mark about Ashley and where NUFC are now...anyone with 2 brain cells should have realized what Ashley was about when he stitched up KK by sneaking Wise and his 2 amigos in over Keegan's head...especially once KK won the Constructive Dismissal court case despite Ashley's millions being used to launch a counter action of Contract Breach which failed. The club IS in a disastrous position if you are one of the dwindling band of fans who want the club to achieve something..this is long overdue but is unlikely to be put right under this regime. Unfortunately there are enough myopic idiots who are just happy to turn up week in week out to make up the numbers and these people would probably do the same thing even if the club became a Championship regular. If all this gets on your t-ts, it would be better to either take up watching minor football or find a better hobby...you'll just get permanent grief and resentment otherwise.

Of course that is Pardew's preferred tactic - that way, it looks as if you have plenty of possession on the stats but if the stats also showed number of forward passes(as opposed to humping the ball over the top, another favoured Pardew tactic), it would put a completely different complexion on it all. Pardew is hoping that by keeping the ball in m/f with sideways passing, the opposition will not score many goals against us - trouble is, they usually score at least ONE more.. Basically, it is a cowardly tactic and reflects his lack of tactical and coaching nous....it also reflects how the club shy away from buying players who COULD produce clever forward passes because they usually cost more than Ashley & Co want to pay...as do strikers.

As if Pulis would walk out on a job for being messed around by the owner and then take a job where Mike Ashley is the owner. I would hate to see Pulis here. The problem is that Ashley couldn't give 2 stuffs what we think about his decisions - however, as Pulis walked out on Palace because they wouldn't agree with his player targets, it is very likely that he wouldn't work for Ashley and Ashley is unlikely to want anyone with their own ideas.

I will believe it when I see it....he will probably have arranged with Bruce that they play out a draw so that he can't be fired...managers old boy network etc..also, Bruce doesn't want to see a better manager at SJP because it makes his job harder.

Pardew feels he doesn't get the credit he deserves? He hasn't done anything of note whatsoever These guys have mental problems I swear. Completely delusional bunch most of these managers. He certainly hasn't got the job he deserves...nobody in the Northern League will employ him.