merlin

absolutely this, and I disagree that Kinnear can appoint the next manager, that's ashleys remit no one else. I sincerely hope pardew goes and someone of some sort of calibre is appointed but this is nufc who of any calibre or common sense will want to work directly under uncle joe. What have we got now though? someone we got to 5th with I now back Pardew, as I dread what would happen if he goes In my opinion - and that of many others , I suspect - Pardew's managerial performance is the REASON all this has happened and Llambias was, as I suspected, trying to cover for him because he was his choice. Ashley has, as usual, taken completely the wrong course of action both in giving Pardew an 8 year contract and then appointing Kinnear but I don't blame him in the slightest for being angry about last season's performance....most of us were.

Not at all sorry that Llambias has gone - but I AM surprised. As the club's main mouthpiece he was a disaster with the fans - very little love lost on both sides - and upset just about every club with whom we had negotiations to sign players. Add to that his total unsuitability and inexperience of football and you can see why he was a lousy CEO...or whatever else his title was. The only staggering thing about all this is his seeming replacement by Kinnear but given the mish-mash of titles and people in various jobs at the club, maybe Ashley has just spread his duties amongst the rest of the executive staff. Now, was he being replaced by someone of the calibre of David Dein etc..........! Unfortunately, we all know that something like that is highly unlikely and we await further developments with bated breath....or not !

I think you'll find, BG, that the fans over 45 will be the ones most likely to boycott - a large proportion have witnessed both bad and good times before SJH and KK took over the club and then afterwards. A large percentage of younger fans will not remember those days and in any case, Ashley has been very successful in brainwashing quite a few fans into thinking a mid-table place is where we should be - no better. It has always been this way really, because fans who went in the 50s when we were FA Cup kings stopped going after the shenanigans with Eastham etc at the start of the 60s and the usual board interference at that time. Noticeable that many of those posting in the Chron and Journal, vowing to scrap their STs, were older fans.

There is nothing new in this - NUFC have mostly made the headlines for the wrong reasons and this is a stand-out example of it. Still, we continue to win the prize for being the club that provides the most amusement for other clubs' fans - just as well, because that's the ONLY prize we will win..

Unfortunately, there is no real way of telling who is going to be a 'good' owner and who isn't ; its a complete lottery and sadly, even if there WERE a way, I wouldn't trust the scumbags who masquerade as our 'representatives' in Parliament to do this properly...the smallest hint of a bribe and they'd snatch anyone's hand off. In any event, 85% of laws - according to the Germans - now come from those paragons of virtue in the EU(who haven't had their accounts pass audit in 16 years...allegedly - so it would be them making the decisions. As the SOL was - allegedly - partly built with Euro Grants, would any NUFC fan want these people involved in any decision to appoint our owner ? Leaving all these practicalities aside, the only system which approaches anything like fairness seems to be the Bundesliga set up but now that SKY has such a grip of football finances, there is next to no chance of this ever being copied in the UK. Money talks...... As anyone who studies these things can work out, its devil take the hindmost in British business today - and that includes football. Ashley will remain free to wreak havoc on the club for as long as he likes and only fans/his customers can force any change - unlikely.

Despite the club trying to put a gloss on everything with talk of 'plans' and financial stability, we have been a club on the edge of crisis for the past season. Anyone who said that the buying policy last summer was unacceptable was basically rubbished and it wasn't until the injuries started to bite and Pardew's painful limitations as a manager became more and more obvious that people started to wake up to the realities of where we were heading. The powers that be within the club exacerbated all this by saying that Europe had come 'a year too early'(wonder if a lottery winner would say that after getting someone to buy them a ticket and it proved to be a winner..!?) and then launched into a mad panic - where was the 5 year plan then ? - of buying players in Jan in order to stave off what looked like inevitable relegation...even with - for them - a vast amount laid out on hastily-arranged transfers, we only just escaped the drop. This all looks even MORE ridiculous when you consider that Ashley spent a large wedge of his cash investing in a lower division Scottish side last close season.... Think about all this , then remember that it is now SIX YEARS since Ashley bought NUFC - even with Shepherd's crazy transfer activities, we were viewed in a better light than we are now ; the club is possibly now the biggest laughing stock it has EVER been in the 50+ years I have been following it. In spite of all the talk of progression to an 'Arsenal-style' policy, we have regressed as a club further than anyone would have dreamed and all of this is, IMHO, the fault of the owner. He is the one who has made all the bad appointments and manipulated the departure of anyone who basically stood up to him or wanted to run things differently. Well, we have watched whilst he has run the show as per his wishes, and look where it has got us....a total football wrecking machine appointed as DOF who promptly goes on National Radio and slags off the people who pay their money to watch the dross he dished up last time he masqueraded as our 'manager' and adds fuel to the flames by his obvious ignorance of players' names which makes the club look even more stupid than they appeared by appointing him.. There is NO way I would step through the entrance to SJP until these people are gone - NONE. I wouldn't care if I never did again or they won the PL(fat chance) ; these people have ruined the club I loved for over half a century and I am sure there will be many fans who have the same thoughts. Although it would be a disaster for the fans - who don't deserve all this - relegation would be a suitable destination for this lot just as Kinnear is a just and fitting representative of Ashley's regime. Still, I suppose we are in a better state financially.......so THAT'S alright then..!!

It would have been Llambias up until yesterday, with Ashley a close second....Ashley has now placed himself firmly in the favourites' spot for the foreseeable future. This is the end as far as I am concerned.

Mickey Mouse.

I want to see positive change at my football club. There may well be a team at the bottom of this but you won't see any change without direct action. An organised fan group that could mobilise support and campaign against the current regime would be a start. Some people what to change things and if voting with your feet is the only way then that's that. You giving up your season ticket, like? Don't have one. Again I'm not telling people what they should and shouldnt do, but I personally wont be buying tickets. And its not an unfair assumption that the only way Ashley will change anything is if he sees a dip in attendances. Not sure why you taking it so badly. I'm not criticising anyone that goes to games merely illustrating the point of how change could come about. My brother is a season ticket holder has been for over 20 years, and he will still go as he says "it's my club, not Ashleys". Thats fair enough. I've been going to nufc games since I was 5 years old. Whether I have a season ticket or not is irrelevant, I don't live local and go to as many games as money allows. If its point scoring exercise on your part, then you've wasted your time., Your brother is wrong in all ways - it IS Ashley's club. Even though your brother may admire it and like going to watch games, he has NO control over anything that happens there - Ashley does. End of.

I bet they love their foreign holidays too, but you can bet your mortgage that they would scream blue murder and demand compo if they were given a duff room or left stranded at the airport for 3 days... Both holidays and STs are a choice buy - and if fans are prepared to bend over and be screwed by the club and its malevolent owner, they deserve all they get ; many of us refused to do that when SJH was trying to oust the old board and in the end, it worked. Love for the club was no excuse - nobody lies punishing their children but it has to be done......

This - 40,000 times over. It WILL work - trouble is , too many fans are too weak-willed to do it....and DON'T give me any crap about 'loyalty'.....

Tbf even Kinnear isn't stupid enough to think Cabaye etc etc are not good enough. Well he was stupid enough to think Enrique wasn't good enough so I don't see why not. A lot on here didnt take to Enrique till the championship season, just like colo. I rated him as soon as I saw him, and there were a fair few others here who did as well. Yes, I also rated Enrique the first time I saw him Tron - I knew we were right as soon as I heard this clown Kinnear say he didn't rate him. I also didn't rate Kinnear as a manager the first time I saw one of his teams play...I knew I was right about him too....

I didn't think things could get any worse from the managing.coaching side of the club, but then this happens. At least it proves my long-held suspicion that Ashley knows absolutely NOWT about football and cares even less. If any appointment could have been envisaged with the aim of making the club an even bigger laughing stock in the eyes of the rest of football, this is perfect ; the belly-laughs will be heard all the way from the Stadium of S---e down to London and beyond. The reaction of the quality players we have when they get to know Kinnear's style and modus operandi will be incredulity that anyone like this could be appointed at a club like NUFC and those who are unsettled will be even more determined to leave. In my view, Ashley has now declared war on the fans so nothing is now off the table in terms of retaliation...the first action that fans should take is to boycott STs and merchandise - also any products sold in Sports Direct outlets. There is NO reason not to do this now unless you are happy to see this clown permanently in charge at Newcastle United. The club faces several years of utter mediocrity now it would seem.

Will be astonished if Colo is still at the club this Christmas.

Best not to judge Anita on Cabaye's performance under Pardew - how many players has Pardew actually improved since he's been here ? Think Cisse, Cabaye,Anita just to name a few..! Except that they HAVEN'T been improved.

IF there is any substance in the Monaco story, I am not surprised at the fee - I thought Cabaye would fetch around 20m. Even if Monaco are in for him, the club would deny it - just as they denied that there was any rift in the dressing room, whereas Edwards said that his sources were so impeccable that the DT editor was prepared to back him against the club..... As I said on the Williamson story - I believe what the club say when I see it happen - not before. They have form in that department..

Williamson would not be difficult to replace ability-wise, but whether the club will do it ASAP is another matter - look what happened when Best went last season....... As with all these things now, I will believe we will get a suitable replacement when I see one...

Agree - very poor fitness levels and lots of injuries indicate a poorly-trained squad. We've never had so may injuries as last season as far as I can recall ; as for the cups being a distraction, back in 75-76 we reached the LCF at Wembley and the FA Cup Qtrs, even though we were hit with flu and had a fixture congestion piling up. The flu virus affected us far more than playing lots of games and I reckon Pardew's preparation fpr pre-season and maintaining fitness levels throughout the season has been suspect to say the least.

Pardew's past record does not indicate that he is capable of maintaining a winning run - look at his results with all previous clubs after his initial successes early on...why did people sack him if he WAS capable of sustained success and what are the 'right conditions' for him to do so ? As for being satisfied with a few decent moments, that is what Ashley WANTS you to be but many fans will not share that opinion.

I agree with the piece about the Cups, but then, who in their right mind wouldn't ? Oh, wait.....! However, whilst I also agree that football has changed because of the likes of Man C, Chelsea and Abramovitch had started that long before the Makhtoums came along. Where I cannot agree is where you claim that we have the best crop of young players in recent times - none of the so-called 'prospects' seem up to playing in the PL and I remember when we won the FA Youth Cup in 1985 with the so-called 'best for years'....only Gazza went on to fulfill his potential, Paul Stephenson looked like being a top winger until he got injured against Villa in early 86, and Joe Allon made a few appearances for Chelsea and quite a few for Hartlepool .....the rest faded into obscurity and our current Juniors have just been dumped from the FA Youth Cup so I have difficulty seeing where these young gems are coming from. I am not convinced that Campbell is going to make it either - too small and lightweight but still has a chance.

Because they win stuff. We almost got relegated and finished with the 3rd highest average attendance so they're doing something right. Also, what does he mean by top clubs? Man United sell out every week but then they've got lines of snap happy Asian chappies (forgive me oldtype) queuing for tickets week after week, similar for Liverpool just replace Asian with Irish. The London clubs seem quite secure, but then they have absolutely mammoth fanbases right on their doorstep. Every other club in the league is either playing week on week with an indeterminate number of empty seats in their ground or are looking at ways to get fans through the door. Anyone who criticises a club for making it affordable to supporters to get through the turnstiles and watch their team, especially in this financial climate, is a pillock. Anyone who thinks clubs fill their stadiums for any other reason than that they are successful is the REAL pillock http://espnfc.com/stats/attendance/_/league/eng.1/barclays-premier-league 3rd in that table and almost relegated in the real table. Odd. Did you actually read the full content of my post re NUFC..? We had finished 5th in the previous season, qualified for Europe and people had no expectation that the team would play as badly. Also, a large number of ST holders had bought tickets for 3 seasons - they aren't going to chuck them away until they've had the majority of use from them...also, wait and see what happens if we have another season like the last one. Your figures don't prove a thing over the long term - Liverpool and Spurs - to mention but 2 clubs - intend to either extend or rebuild their stadiums to a bigger capacity and then we'll see how our attendances stand up if we remain also-rans whilst they challenge for Top 4/Cups. We could easily fill a stadium of 75,000 - just as SJH wanted to build at Leazes Park in 1995 - were we to be competing at the top level rather than being mid-table johnny-come-latelys and losing in the FA Cup 3rd round to the likes of Brighton in successive years...

Many people would consider Wonga to be usurious. All Western banks violate Islam by charging interest, but the excessive interest charged by Wonga may simply be more egregious. Islam doesn't do breaking the rules by degree's, the law is the law. It'd be like an Imam saying hey it's OK having a pint a day but don't get p*ssed and only one bacon butty a week, mind. We all know that religious people pick and choose how to interpret their scripture all the time. Islam is no different to any other religion in that way. This has to be a notable occasion because I agree with you for once..! I was once in Malaysia, a Muslim country in the main, and our guide informed us that a certain road was a bad spot for being stopped by Police for a breathalyser ; needless to say, I queried this by saying I thought Muslims didn't touch alcohol, whereupon he replied ; 'Yes - but we are MODERN Muslims...!'

Cabaye will be sold for around 20m. Ashley will be doing handstands - they paid around 4m for him....

Shows how myopic our fans have become and how unable to distingusih between a good player being handicapped and demoralized by the manager/regime, and one who lacks real talent... Cabaye will go on to prove what a class player he is under a better manager who utilizes his talents better and with a more ambitious club....

Great post HTT - right on the button once again but you just have to read some of the other posts on here to realize that Ashley and Co will always have enough 'pillocks' who will back their lousy strategy. The fans are being dumbed down, season by season and nobody who relishes good football and ambition will be looking forward to the coming season as a Newcastle fan - on the outside looking in, as has become norm under this regime.....