Chris_R

Probably the best post I've read on this forum in my entire time here. Though before you get a big head, bear in mind the standard of the competition.

Maybe we're running at a loss now (Quite possible given the extortionate wages some of our clowns are on and the comments form Ashley re: existing debt) so he IS putting the £20m in but that's just keeping us afloat? Just a thought.

He never said that our transfer budget would be £20m. He said he'd invest £20m out of his own pocket every year. So if we're already £15m up after wages etc are paid, then we can shell out £35m. If, however, our costs are greater than our income then we might only be spending £5m.

We have too small a squad, I agree, but injuries have taken their toll on us as well with the likes of Enrique, Barton, Viduka and Smith (Yeah, I know!) out. And like I said more signings would have been better and who's to say that the likes of Wise and Vetere didn't have more lined up but Keegan kept vetoing them? Not saying that's the case as I've got no more idea than the rest of you but people seem over keen to aportion blame anywhere but at Keegan's feet due to their paper "Welcome back KK" crowns falling down over their eyes. (And Shola's been starting for years, inexcusable as that might be, so mentioning that is irrelevant. )

He drove himself out, he's an idiot to think the fans would be happy to see KK leave over Dennis Wise. How did he drive himself out exactly? Keegan resigned, Wise has done nothing wrong other than help bring about Ashley's vision for the club. The signings we've brought in have been terrific so far, and Keegan is a chequebook manager who cannot operate without a chequebook. I love KK as a motivator and man manager and do think he has a good eye for a player but a world-wide scouting network is undoubtedly going to unearth more players than one man. Who appointed KK? If you appoint a chequebook manager (bullshit btw) then guess what? You need to give him a chequebook, or guess what? It doesn't work. Wise should have been in charge of the kids, while KK was out putting together the squad he wants, and that's how we all thought it was going down until a few weeks ago. No manager worth his salt will have someone as basic, low profile and ugly as Dennis Wise dictating on the players he gets to play with, and for that reason, and the backing of Wise's role and Wise himself, Ashley has done all this to himself. Well we all thought that Billionaire Owner + Kevin Keegan = Lots of massive signings and attacking football. I don't think we realised just how far £1b goes these days, and how quickly you can throw it all away on a few Schevchenkos and Ballacks who you'll get nothing back for at the end of their contract. Initially, I was dead against the director of football idea. But the more I thought it through the more I thought it could well work. And given the signings we've brought in I'm now more sure than ever about that. I accept more players in would have been better, but we've brought in 6 players this summer (1 on loan) and the only significant leavers (If you can even call them that) were Emre, Carr, Rozenhal and Ramage. People talk about the squad getting thinner but to me that's the reverse, both in numbers and in terms of quality. It's early days but I think the DoF system has proven that it's working OK so far.

Why? I mean, I hated Dennis Wise as a player as much as anyone, I was in the Leazes when we beat Chelsea, Cole scored 2 (Including a stunning left-foot drive past Kharine) and Wise got sent off and was up singing "He's a dwarf" with the best of them, but can someone PLEASE try to explain what he's done wrong here and why he deserves sacking? If you can stick to facts as well instead of guesswork then I'll be really impressed. Can I say I know for a fact that Wise has been the problem, yet I can't post how I know this, but believe me it is true. Well I dunno about everyone else but that's me convinced.

He drove himself out, he's an idiot to think the fans would be happy to see KK leave over Dennis Wise. How did he drive himself out exactly? Keegan resigned, Wise has done nothing wrong other than help bring about Ashley's vision for the club. The signings we've brought in have been terrific so far, and Keegan is a chequebook manager who cannot operate without a chequebook. I love KK as a motivator and man manager and do think he has a good eye for a player but a world-wide scouting network is undoubtedly going to unearth more players than one man.

Why? I mean, I hated Dennis Wise as a player as much as anyone, I was in the Leazes when we beat Chelsea, Cole scored 2 (Including a stunning left-foot drive past Kharine) and Wise got sent off and was up singing "He's a dwarf" with the best of them, but can someone PLEASE try to explain what he's done wrong here and why he deserves sacking? If you can stick to facts as well instead of guesswork then I'll be really impressed.

I'm terribly sad that the moronic element within the club (And we have more than our fair share of them unfortunately) seem to have driven him out, but I must say one thing: Why the hell couldn't he have released that statement (Or at least the first half of it) last week? I'm pretty confident that if he had, then all would have been well. All the demonstrations were in favour of Keegan simply because he was the only one who was willing to communicate with the fans over the last few months. Nothing at all has come out from the club beyond a couple of terse statements regarding KK's departure, and we've all been left completely in the dark over Ashley's intentions for the club and his vision for the future. It's widely acknowledged that Ashley has attempted to extend an olive branch to Keegan to get him to stay, perhaps in light of the statement released we should be adult enough to do the same to him?

He comes in, clears the debts, puts a structure in place to secure top young talent (Anyone disappointed by any of the signings?) and then gets hounded out by the fans. Aren't we clever? Sure, he didn't spend gazillions of pounds and sign Robinho. But then we never know what went on between Kev and the recruitment team. I can't help but feel that Ashley has had a really unfair time from our "fans" over the past couple of weeks, when he might not (Stress MIGHT NOT) be the man to blame. Llambias and Keegan both seem far more likely protagonists to me.

Why was he sat there by himself today? Because nobody knows who the fuck he is or what the fuck he does.

I voted "Yes" because all the alternatives I've seen scare the living shit out of me. Poyet? Ince? Wise? Fuck that.

Cunt Fuck Wank Shit Bugger

Twats.

Cheers. So obvious when someone tells you it. And "I yell at mice" has become my preferred one, that's what I've been reading it as every time someone rights IYAM.

Can I just ask, what the hell does IYAM stand for? I've been trying to figure it out for ages and can't come up with anything even close. Normally I'm OK with acronyms like that but I'm struggling. So far I've thought of (Amongst others): - I Yell At Mice - Into Your Aching Mouth - If You're A Mackem - It's Yule At Mine All possible, but they don't seem to make sense in the context used. Help?

Couldn't agree more. My question though would be WHO is to blame for the silence. Either: Ashley is directing this, in which case he feels that because he owns the club outright then he doesn't need to explain himself to anyone. Whilst this is true to an extent, Newcastle United is a business and a business has customers. Continually treat your customers like shit and, even if they're extremely loyal, they'll find a way to hit you in the pocket somehow and both you and the club will end up suffering. I would therefore question Ashley's suitability to own the club. Or: Llambias, as the chairman is responsible for the silence. Mort used to speak out so perhaps this is the case as the silence seems to coincide nicely with the regime change. If Llambias is responsible then I would say outright that he is totally unsuited to the role of heading up a multi-national company like Newcastle United and should be dismissed with immediate effect. Either way, one of them's to blame. Either they quickly start communicating with the people who are the fans (And customers) of the club, or one of them goes and is replaced by someone who actually has the power of speech.

Ignorance? I'm posting links to studies that have been carried out. How's that ignorance? Surely being ignorant is burying your head in the sand and screaming "RACIST" without having the ability to look at the facts? I think the biggest ignorance of all would be to say that the only difference between black people and white people (Or Asians or any other group) is the colour of their skin, and that it's completely beyond the bounds of possibility that any other differences exist in relation to physical or mental abilities. See above. If you take issue with the comment, post something that disproves it rather than resorting to calling me "Ignorant" or just saying "Yikes". It's called having a debate, you should try it. Surely that's fairly irrelevant. What's happened has happened. If a series of tragic, shameful circumstances have forced an inequality upon the various races then that's highly regrettable, but it doesn't change the fact that this inequality exists (Which by what you say you're tacitly agreeing to, and therefore to my whole argument ). And if the inequality exists, be it geneitc or caused by years of oppression and slavery, why is it wrong to mention that it exists? Like I said in my post before, talking about it and acknowledging a difference is the first step to addressing it.

Do you not think that, rather than it being that black people are in some way genetically pre-disposed to crime, that the disproportionate amount of black people in the prison system is more to do with the fact that poorer people in run down urban-centre communities are more likely to commit crimes that land them in prison and these communities have a higher percentage of black people than the general population? Maybe black people are often poorer because they are less intelligent than white people? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_intelligence [can opened, worms everywhere] I know, I'm being deliberately provocative. Seriously though, there ARE differences between the races. We're taught that everyone is equal but we're not. Look at the 100m final at the Olympics. Many whites there? No, because black people are faster runners over short distances. Look at the swimming events. Many blacks? No, because white people have lower bone density so can swim better. Look at the distance races: Lots of Africans and Asians, as genetically they're more adapted to doing well in these sort of events. This isn't all coincidence, and we're all aware of it and it's not THAT taboo to talk about it. Though people are still careful about what they say as the PC brigade's ears prick up whenever you start such a conversation. Move it a step further though and start making other comparisons between the races (Eg intelligence) and suddenly you're a racist. But perhaps if we're rational about it for a moment and talk like adults it's simply that there ARE differences between us? Is it possible that when there's these glaring physical differences that mentally (In all respects, including intelligence and predisposition to commit crime) that we're all exactly equal? Of course not. But the very act of making that suggestion gets everyone very uncomfortable in their seats. That's not to say, for example, that all black people are less intelligent than all white people or that all Asians are more intelligent than all white people. I'm sure there's millions of black people who are far more intelligent than myself for example and I'm certainly not racist in any way, shape or form. I'd like to point that out very strongly before the mongs descend, and if anything I'm posting the things I have in this thread just to give a balanced argument which is more fun than all of us just adding our own version of "Rebrov's a racist cunt". I always ensure I treat everyone I meet as an individual, but that's the important thing - Treat people as individuals rather than treating everyone as equal, which they're blatantly not. Many people have descended, quite understandably, on the "Rebrov's a racist cunt" side of things but I'd have to say I'm yet to read anything where anyone has attempted to show that his comments are inaccurate, rather than just have a go at the guy and say he shouldn't have said it as he's a racist. Maybe burying such conversations under the "racist" banner isn't really that helpful in the long run? Maybe what he's said is accurate, for whatever underlying reasons, and that areas with higher concentrations of black people are more likely to have higher concentrations of crime? Maybe, if we were adult enough to acknowledge comments like this rather than burying our heads in the sand and refusing to discuss the matter beyond branding the speaker as a racist and a bigot, then that's the first step to addressing what could be a very real issue?

Then british people are all alcoholics (same as the germans), Belgians are all paedophiles (sp), Dutch people are all Junkies, and not to forget all the islamic ppl are terrorists. "Naturally" of course... :-( No, no, no. You're either being really stupid or else you're using the word "All" to deliberately sensationalise things. Either way, it's just daft. Rebrov hasn't said that all blacks are criminals, and neither have I and neither has that report from the home office. The point is though that black people are statistically more likely to commit crimes that land them in jail, and that's an inescapable fact. If you then say in return "If I go to England then I'm naturally more likely to meet alcoholics" and statistics back you up (I have no idea if they do or not) then that would be fine. Didn't Silvio Maric say something about the women being ugly in Newcastle during his spell here? If we add Fat Fred's comments about Geordie women being dogs does that count as a statistic making it ok to offer the opinion? Yes, that's precisely what it means. Well done.

He missed the match as he got mugged by a black man just before kickoff.

Then british people are all alcoholics (same as the germans), Belgians are all paedophiles (sp), Dutch people are all Junkies, and not to forget all the islamic ppl are terrorists. "Naturally" of course... :-( No, no, no. You're either being really stupid or else you're using the word "All" to deliberately sensationalise things. Either way, it's just daft. Rebrov hasn't said that all blacks are criminals, and neither have I and neither has that report from the home office. The point is though that black people are statistically more likely to commit crimes that land them in jail, and that's an inescapable fact. If you then say in return "If I go to England then I'm naturally more likely to meet alcoholics" and statistics back you up (I have no idea if they do or not) then that would be fine.

'A lot of dark skinned people live there. So naturally the crime rate is higher than anywhere else.' OK, it's not the type of comment we like to see. But just to play devil's advocate here, what has he said that's actually incorrect? Have a look here: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/s95race05.pdf These are official Home Office figures, and whilst I've not read the report in full it does show that black people account for 2.8% of the population of the UK but yet make up 13.5% of the prison population. Now doubtless the PC brigade will say that "Oh, black people don't get a fair chance as the police / justice system is racist" but really that's not going to account for the fact that if you're black, you're almost five times as likely to commit a crime that leads to you going to jail as if you're white. Maybe Rebrov has a point, however distasteful people find it?

Shearer's header was immense, really rolled back the years there and got me up off my seat cheering. Awesome.

If that cockney crook gets anywhere near our football club I'll explode with rage.