Wallace

Did you see those stats on Sky where it said we won more games without Bassong in the team.

Missed most of it because the phone rang at the point David Craig was saying that we had to feel sorry for Ashley.

The Mirror are not impressed by JFK. http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/08/06/say-it-ain-t-so-joe-115875-21574757/ Joe Kinnear claim proves that Newcastle are now beyond a joke By Mike Walters 6/08/2009 Laughing stocks are supposed to be funny, but the bleak farce of Newcastle United has gone way beyond a joke. Relegation was bad enough. Then the Cockney Mafia put the club up for sale at a knock-down price, only to find even David Dickinson was not interested in the bargain hunt. Meanwhile, Geordie messiah Alan Shearer - the only man the fans trust - has been left to seek refuge on a BBC sofa while the impoverished team is humiliated 6-1 by the full might of Leyton Orient in a pre-season friendly. Quizzed on whether he could have asked for more, Orient manager Geraint Williams observed, without a trace of pathos: "A clean sheet would have been nice." In the Championship this season, goals may be harder to come by than fashion acclaim for the Toon's hideous orange-and-lemon away strip. Michael Owen has left for Old Trafford, while Obafemi Martins has been flogged for £9million to a German club of no fixed mediocrity. And just when long-suffering diehards thought it couldn't get any worse, Joe Kinnear rose yesterday from six months in the sick bay to announce that his second coming as manager may be as soon as next month. When Kinnear, owner Mike Ashley's puppet appointment, announced at Villa Park he had been offered a two-year contract, the groans could be heard 200 miles away on Tyneside. Kinnear's recovery from triple heart bypass surgery is, of course, a cause for celebration. But as a footballing appointment, his return to St James' Park ahead of people's choice Shearer would be like sending George Bush to the Middle East as a peace envoy. Kinnear, 62, was helping to launch interactive computer game Championship Manager 2010 yesterday when he unleashed his bolt from the blue. He said: "I spoke to (managing director) Derek Llambias, we had a long chat and he offered me a twoyear contract. They wanted to announce it last week for the pre-season friendly at Dundee United, but we've put it on hold. "It didn't coincide with my medical situation and I've told them I need another month. I've got one more visit to the hospital and, up until now, everything has gone really well. "I'm hoping that this time next month I will have the all-clear to come back into football. "Hopefully the opportunity will still be there, but at the same time the club could be sold or someone else has taken the job." Barely an hour earlier, Kinnear appeared to have rejected the idea of returning to Newcastle by saying doctors had advised him against a return to the dug-out until December. "I told them I wasn't up to it for medical reasons," insisted JFK. "I need to take time out and reassess the situation. In another three months, the picture might be completely different - if Newcastle feel they need to get another manager, so be it." In between the mixed messages, Kinnear magnanimously offered Shearer the chance to work with him, adding: "I would certainly love that opportunity, if Alan wants to come in." Big Al, however, may be in no rush to grasp the olive branch. When he took over as interim manager with eight games of last season remaining, Shearer inherited a side who had won five games out of 26. And team discipline was such a distant rumour that he felt obliged to issue a new rulebook covering everything from punctuality to nocturnal socialising. By his own admission, if Kinnear accepted the poisoned chalice again, there would be no money for new signings and he warned: "At the moment, the squad is very thin and if there were any injuries in key areas, we would seriously struggle." On the day one of Geordieland's finest sons, Sir Bobby Robson, was laid to rest at a private family burial, Ashley's decision to risk the Gallowgate End's wrath by going cap-in-hand to Kinnear was like a requiem for a great club. It can't get much worse... anyone for Dennis Wise?

Whys that then? our best defender on the lowest wages and we cashed in? who we going to get to replace him on those wages? yeah but the fee makes it worth while I guess. Total of about £20m for the sale of two players. That amount will possibly cover half of the players wages for the season. It doesnt though, the fee will not reduce the wage bill. We have weakened our defence on the eve of the new season. If he was a top earner i would agree, but we now need to buy another defender on the same or similar wages for buttons, it just doesnt make sense. If we want to return to the premier league we need at the very least capable defenders, as we have a very dodgy loooking attack, we now f***ed ourselves. £10 million is f*** all compared to promotion. The trouble was he didn't want to be here and was refusing to play.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1204649/EXCLUSIVE-Newcastle-plummet-new-depths-OLeary-turns-managers-job.html EXCLUSIVE: Newcastle plummet to new depths as O'Leary turns down manager's job EXCLUSIVE by COLIN YOUNG and MIKE WALKER Last updated at 2:19 AM on 06th August 2009 Just when Newcastle fans thought they had suffered enough, the good ship St James' hit rock bottom on Wednesday night. After a day of fresh farce, it was revealed that David O'Leary rejected the chance to become manager on a two-year contract, despite spending the past three years out of the game. Hours earlier Joe Kinnear, who stepped down last February needing a heart bypass operation, confirmed he too had been offered a return to the same post with the same length of deal a fortnight ago but was unable to take it up immediately. O'Leary, the former Leeds and Aston Villa boss, is understood to have passed on what many would consider a poisoned chalice because it was stressed to him that Newcastle might soon be sold. There has been little sign of that recently but as confusion reigns at St James' Park, Tyneside businessman Barry Moat has emerged as the preferred bidder of brokers Seymour Pierce. Moat is close to Alan Shearer and was chairman of the Newcastle legend's testimonial committee, meaning moves for Kinnear and O'Leary are unlikely to have come at his behest. Moat's involvement with what is said to be an American consortium would surely see Shearer re-instated as boss, and with Ashley having set an informal deadline of Friday, the promise of better news to appease fans persists. With their season kicking off at fellow relegated side West Brom on Saturday, Ashley and his managing director, Derek Llambias, are still insisting the club is for sale. However, billionaire Ashley has not ruled out staying if his £100million asking price is not met. Shearer waits for the call to return as manager, three months after his last meeting with Ashley, but he looks destined to return to the Match of the Day studio for the BBC's first televised Football League game this Saturday. Newcastle fans, who vented their frustration in a fans' forum with the BBC last night, will be hoping Ashley can secure a sale sooner rather than later, especially if the new owners offer Shearer the manager's job. Ashley is hoping to sell several players before the weekend, with Tottenham believed to be prepared to make an improved offer for French defender Sebastien Bassong after a £10m bid was turned down this week. Aston Villa want Senegal defender Habib Beye, and Wolves are chasing midfielder Nicky Butt.

He also went on in the Sky interview about how the fans only loved Geordie players and messiahs so it is very difficult for any other manager.

Tbh at the risk of being slated, I think we would have, think we would have got an extra point I agree, but I'd prefer what happened. It would be prolonging the inevitable if he kept us up and got himself a 3 year deal or something I too think we would have got the extra point but only because we would not have had that period of drifting for several weeks under Hughton.

Ticket only. They were inviting people to apply for the limited number of tickets on the radio last week.

If Ashley is serious about selling the club, it would be about the worse decision he could make. He couldn't be that stupid again.

I am sure he is making it up - just an attention seeker.

Just heard it. So we can't appoint a permanent manager but we can appoint Kinnear on a 2 year contract but we will have to wait 3 months until he is in better health. I think he is making it up. A couple of weeks ago when he played in a cricket match, he was telling everyone he was completely recovered. Ashley would just kill the club in one go and would have to give it away.

Other clubs that are for sale have not put everything on hold until they are sold. He needs to run the club properly and get some experienced football people in to run it and appoint a manager rather than another temporary manager. The club will be better for it and he may then be able to sell it. He has already openly tried to sell the club twice and each time, the club has been in limbo and badly damaged because of it.

Talking about his holiday? No, about Arsenal's chances of winning the league this year. no seriously, is he? Yes they are talking about the Championship and mentioned Newcastle and said they would be speaking to him after 9pm. There is also a "Newcastle Special" on 5 Live tomorrow night.

Keith Harris on 5Live after 9pm.

I am not very positive. Just hoping that the team adopts some sort of siege mentality because they are workman-like at best and I just can't see where the goals are going to come from. At present, we are supposedly favourites to be promoted with the bookmakers - I expect them to revise the odds after they have seen us on Saturday.

Amazing how many people kept in touch with him and sought his advice.

Heard an interview with Alan Pardew before he got the Southampton job and he said he wouldn't want the Newcastle job with the club in the current state and Shearer in the background. Might be true of other out of work managers.

I go to most away games and at this stage would expect to go to Cardiff but I have to admit, I would think twice at that price.

I think this is fairly on the nail but not because the new people will make money necessarily but because it will show him up as being useless. I honestly believe that if he can sell the club to someone who will then get us relegated rather than promoted then he would do. Last thing he will want is for those that follow him to be successful. Which is likely to happen if he leaves it to the last minute to sell with a limited squad of underachievers and kids.

El Tel - too expensive Curbishley - left West Ham because he did not have control over the team Coppell - really don't think he would want the hassle and has always seemed happier at smaller clubs. Strachan - Can't imagine him putting up with this carry on either I keep hearing the name of Tisdale but I don't know anything about him. TBH any decent manager wouldn't come near it. They are likely to be appointed with a decimated squad when it is too late to bring players in. And then presumably the club will remain for sale so they won't know how long they will have a job for. They will also have to contend with the huge disappointment from supporters because Shearer has not been given the job. The only one I can think of would be O'Leary because he is supposedly a friend of Llambias and is desperate. And no doubt they will have to be cheap. We would have to ask Villa fans for a loan of their "We're not fickle, we just don't like you" banner. I bet the cowards wouldn't tell Shearer either - he will probably find out they have appointed another manager from SSN. I have never really been keen on any one particular choice of manager - more a case of who I don't want and I have never been pro any of the recent ones (except Keegan which was completely unexpected) and I was furious with the Kinnear appointment but for some reason, I really want Shearer to get the job. I didn't use to think he would be a good manager but my opinion has changed and I think he would do a lot of things right and as a club, we need to rediscover our soul and rebuild almost from scratch and I think we need someone who actually cares about the club and what it means to the city rather than someone who is desperate for a job or self-promotion. Sir Bobby thought Shearer was the man for the job so he must have seen something in him to continually push for him.

I was there too - in the Leazes End that day.

Any pics?? Saw it on Sky. A large banner being passed over people's heads. Think it just said Bobby Robson 1933-2009 but couldn't see it all.

We probably still owe money on some players like Martins and Beye so if they are being paid in instalments, it will probably not make much difference other than in wages.

Nice banner at PSV's game yesterday.

If If some of those players are going to be sold, I would prefer that we start playing the likely replacements eg. Kadar in for Beye and Lua Lua in for Jonas as we need a settled team ASAP. Would also like to see Guthrie in there. I assume he was injured yesterday - anyone know the problem? I am concerned who is going to score the goals or create them and there is no pace in the team. Also as we are likely to be selling Colocinni, Bassong and Beye and possibly Enrique, we have hardly any cover if the defenders pick up injuries. I guess Tozer will get a chance but how many of those kids have played with the first team? Maybe, if they decide to appoint a manager, he might be able to bring in some last minute panic buys. Despite Ashley's belief about imposing a manager on a new owner, I can't help but think we would be in better shape if there had been one over the Summer. My only hope is that the players do form a siege mentality and build a good team spirit as the team options don't fill me with any confidence.