quayside

Ferguson is a master tactician, I think Berbatov will play a big part in the key matches left this season.

Our balance sheet is f*cking insolvent by about £70m man, if you're relying on that we're down. Antec wanted to be sarcastic but could not even get the facts right, same old same old And of course the facts shouldn't get in the way of a decent soundbite.

Our balance sheet is f*cking insolvent by about £70m man, if you're relying on that we're down.

We have a winner, well said that man A manager first and foremost needs to manage the team, not talk bollocks to the media Whether or not you think Pardew should be getting involved with the club's PR is another matter. All I am saying is that is what he is doing. And fwiw I agree with Minhosa that he is a polished communicator. But I also think those examples of things he's said are hardly sinister and loaded with lack of integrity. When someone is happy to say exactly what they're told to say then it helps if the people providing the information in the first place haven't been proven to be completely untrustworthy. NOW do you see why Pardew got the job? I see why you think he got the job, to communicate falsehood after falsehood thus faithfully pursuing Ashley's goal of creating a web of deceipt that is so intense that it cannot be penetrated, and no one even knows how long a player is going to be injured.

We have a winner, well said that man A manager first and foremost needs to manage the team, not talk bollocks to the media Whether or not you think Pardew should be getting involved with the club's PR is another matter. All I am saying is that is what he is doing. And fwiw I agree with Minhosa that he is a polished communicator. But I also think those examples of things he's said are hardly sinister and loaded with lack of integrity.

it is a good post, but it glosses over the issue which strikes at the absolute heart of what the club is about now. that is, that we replaced a very well performing manager who was popular with players and fans, with a man who had very little reason to be hired other than he didn't deserve the position and therefore was more likely to agree to demands placed upon him on transfer policy. and my oh my, weren't we all shocked when carroll went in january. yes the money was massive, yes its a great deal if you put the money back into the team PLUS the money that should have been due to be invested anyway. but the chain of events is as plain as day imo, would anyone be surprised if the big debate in the winter is whether we were right to accept a massive bid for tiote on deadline day? Surely you don't really think Hughton was sacked because he could prevent Ashley pulling off deals like the Carroll one? prevent, no. be opposed to, or try and make himself an obstacle against, yes. we all want an easy life. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Hughton himself say, in an interview, that the Carroll deal was a good piece of business? absolutely. what does he care? Interesting angle It seems to me that since his departure Hughton is being credited with remarkable qualities. But I think he was as much a puppet as any manager, if not more so. He did do a good job in the Championship with a squad that was, by some distance, the best in the division. My opinion is that Hughton was sacked because Ashley and or Llambias did not think he was up to the job in the Premiership plus they wanted someone who could act as the club's spokesman and be a stronger figure from a PR viewpoint - seeing as PR had not exactly been the club's strongest suit. Whether this judgement on Pardew was correct is not for debate here as it has consumed a lot of space on at least one other thread, but he certainly communicates far more openly than Hughton ever did. f***ing hell Go on... You think Pardew doesn't communicate with the press more openly than Hughton? Or you believe the "old casino mates" theory? Ok, I've stopped laughing now If by 'communicate' you mean 'say what he's been told to say/what the fans want to hear/tell blatant lies' then I agree As it STILL HASN'T DAWNED ON YOU AND SEVERAL OTHERS why we ended up with an unemployed manager with nothing to lose here's a clue from Golfmag but I'm sure this is bollocks and all of the Carroll money will be used to 'push the club forward' By communicate I mean just that. When for example did Hughton ever announce that the club's accounts were being filed or pass any comment on them? Look at the interviews Pardew gives compared to those that Hughton gave, I think he says more and is a better communicator than Hughton. Of course he's peddling an agreed message - what manager or club spokesman doesn't, that's what PR is all about (go and look up what the letters stand for). I'm well aware of what Golfmag said btw. I've no reason to believe that it isn't true. Costs have been reduced, the club is heading for breakeven this year, and if we make profits we could well see the debt being reduced. And Ashley may well depart and we'll have a new owner. And there will be much rejoicing. I've re-read my posts on here and can't see why you raise any of those points tbh. I was merely saying that I think Hughton was a puppet and was not sacked because he could do anything about players being sold, he was sacked because Ashley didn't think he was up to the job and he wanted a better communicator. As for the Carroll money point - I haven't got a clue how it will be used. I've looked up 'communication' and 'PR' and found this but I'm not sure what it means The publicly-released details of the Premier League Arbitration panels verdict have also removed the last vestiges of credibility that Ashleys regime enjoyed. Members of the hierarchy admitted to consistently lying to supporters as a public relations exercise, We all know what the tribunal said. But, other than a mention of the words "public relations", I'm really struggling to see any relevance to my post. Unless I'm misunderstanding it you seem to be latching on to my opinion that part of the reason for Pardew's appointment was to improve the club's very poor PR and are using it as an excuse to give me the well rehearsed treatment that is reserved for Ashley lovers. So what exactly were you getting at here, assuming you actually said this? I did say that and I was getting at Pardew assuming a role as a company spokesman and commenting on matters beyond the football. Llambias has attempted to do this in the past and he is an utter disaster at it, I think that Ashley wanted a manager who could do more of this sort of thing. The board of directors are pretty silent these days and Pardew seems to do most of the talking in fact iirc when Pardew was appointed he wasn't even accompanied at the press conference by a director. They just let him get on with it.

it is a good post, but it glosses over the issue which strikes at the absolute heart of what the club is about now. that is, that we replaced a very well performing manager who was popular with players and fans, with a man who had very little reason to be hired other than he didn't deserve the position and therefore was more likely to agree to demands placed upon him on transfer policy. and my oh my, weren't we all shocked when carroll went in january. yes the money was massive, yes its a great deal if you put the money back into the team PLUS the money that should have been due to be invested anyway. but the chain of events is as plain as day imo, would anyone be surprised if the big debate in the winter is whether we were right to accept a massive bid for tiote on deadline day? Surely you don't really think Hughton was sacked because he could prevent Ashley pulling off deals like the Carroll one? prevent, no. be opposed to, or try and make himself an obstacle against, yes. we all want an easy life. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Hughton himself say, in an interview, that the Carroll deal was a good piece of business? absolutely. what does he care? Interesting angle It seems to me that since his departure Hughton is being credited with remarkable qualities. But I think he was as much a puppet as any manager, if not more so. He did do a good job in the Championship with a squad that was, by some distance, the best in the division. My opinion is that Hughton was sacked because Ashley and or Llambias did not think he was up to the job in the Premiership plus they wanted someone who could act as the club's spokesman and be a stronger figure from a PR viewpoint - seeing as PR had not exactly been the club's strongest suit. Whether this judgement on Pardew was correct is not for debate here as it has consumed a lot of space on at least one other thread, but he certainly communicates far more openly than Hughton ever did. f***ing hell Go on... You think Pardew doesn't communicate with the press more openly than Hughton? Or you believe the "old casino mates" theory? Ok, I've stopped laughing now If by 'communicate' you mean 'say what he's been told to say/what the fans want to hear/tell blatant lies' then I agree As it STILL HASN'T DAWNED ON YOU AND SEVERAL OTHERS why we ended up with an unemployed manager with nothing to lose here's a clue from Golfmag but I'm sure this is bollocks and all of the Carroll money will be used to 'push the club forward' By communicate I mean just that. When for example did Hughton ever announce that the club's accounts were being filed or pass any comment on them? Look at the interviews Pardew gives compared to those that Hughton gave, I think he says more and is a better communicator than Hughton. Of course he's peddling an agreed message - what manager or club spokesman doesn't, that's what PR is all about (go and look up what the letters stand for). I'm well aware of what Golfmag said btw. I've no reason to believe that it isn't true. Costs have been reduced, the club is heading for breakeven this year, and if we make profits we could well see the debt being reduced. And Ashley may well depart and we'll have a new owner. And there will be much rejoicing. I've re-read my posts on here and can't see why you raise any of those points tbh. I was merely saying that I think Hughton was a puppet and was not sacked because he could do anything about players being sold, he was sacked because Ashley didn't think he was up to the job and he wanted a better communicator. As for the Carroll money point - I haven't got a clue how it will be used. I've looked up 'communication' and 'PR' and found this but I'm not sure what it means The publicly-released details of the Premier League Arbitration panel’s verdict have also removed the last vestiges of credibility that Ashley’s regime enjoyed. Members of the hierarchy admitted to consistently lying to supporters as a “public relations exercise,” We all know what the tribunal said. But, other than a mention of the words "public relations", I'm really struggling to see any relevance to my post. Unless I'm misunderstanding it you seem to be latching on to my opinion that part of the reason for Pardew's appointment was to improve the club's very poor PR and are using it as an excuse to give me the well rehearsed treatment that is reserved for Ashley lovers.

£50 sounds like a poor return to me.

it is a good post, but it glosses over the issue which strikes at the absolute heart of what the club is about now. that is, that we replaced a very well performing manager who was popular with players and fans, with a man who had very little reason to be hired other than he didn't deserve the position and therefore was more likely to agree to demands placed upon him on transfer policy. and my oh my, weren't we all shocked when carroll went in january. yes the money was massive, yes its a great deal if you put the money back into the team PLUS the money that should have been due to be invested anyway. but the chain of events is as plain as day imo, would anyone be surprised if the big debate in the winter is whether we were right to accept a massive bid for tiote on deadline day? Surely you don't really think Hughton was sacked because he could prevent Ashley pulling off deals like the Carroll one? prevent, no. be opposed to, or try and make himself an obstacle against, yes. we all want an easy life. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Hughton himself say, in an interview, that the Carroll deal was a good piece of business? absolutely. what does he care? Interesting angle It seems to me that since his departure Hughton is being credited with remarkable qualities. But I think he was as much a puppet as any manager, if not more so. He did do a good job in the Championship with a squad that was, by some distance, the best in the division. My opinion is that Hughton was sacked because Ashley and or Llambias did not think he was up to the job in the Premiership plus they wanted someone who could act as the club's spokesman and be a stronger figure from a PR viewpoint - seeing as PR had not exactly been the club's strongest suit. Whether this judgement on Pardew was correct is not for debate here as it has consumed a lot of space on at least one other thread, but he certainly communicates far more openly than Hughton ever did. f***ing hell Go on... You think Pardew doesn't communicate with the press more openly than Hughton? Or you believe the "old casino mates" theory? Ok, I've stopped laughing now If by 'communicate' you mean 'say what he's been told to say/what the fans want to hear/tell blatant lies' then I agree As it STILL HASN'T DAWNED ON YOU AND SEVERAL OTHERS why we ended up with an unemployed manager with nothing to lose here's a clue from Golfmag but I'm sure this is bollocks and all of the Carroll money will be used to 'push the club forward' By communicate I mean just that. When for example did Hughton ever announce that the club's accounts were being filed or pass any comment on them? Look at the interviews Pardew gives compared to those that Hughton gave, I think he says more and is a better communicator than Hughton. Of course he's peddling an agreed message - what manager or club spokesman doesn't, that's what PR is all about (go and look up what the letters stand for). I'm well aware of what Golfmag said btw. I've no reason to believe that it isn't true. Costs have been reduced, the club is heading for breakeven this year, and if we make profits we could well see the debt being reduced. And Ashley may well depart and we'll have a new owner. And there will be much rejoicing. I've re-read my posts on here and can't see why you raise any of those points tbh. I was merely saying that I think Hughton was a puppet and was not sacked because he could do anything about players being sold, he was sacked because Ashley didn't think he was up to the job and he wanted a better communicator. As for the Carroll money point - I haven't got a clue how it will be used.

it is a good post, but it glosses over the issue which strikes at the absolute heart of what the club is about now. that is, that we replaced a very well performing manager who was popular with players and fans, with a man who had very little reason to be hired other than he didn't deserve the position and therefore was more likely to agree to demands placed upon him on transfer policy. and my oh my, weren't we all shocked when carroll went in january. yes the money was massive, yes its a great deal if you put the money back into the team PLUS the money that should have been due to be invested anyway. but the chain of events is as plain as day imo, would anyone be surprised if the big debate in the winter is whether we were right to accept a massive bid for tiote on deadline day? Surely you don't really think Hughton was sacked because he could prevent Ashley pulling off deals like the Carroll one? prevent, no. be opposed to, or try and make himself an obstacle against, yes. we all want an easy life. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Hughton himself say, in an interview, that the Carroll deal was a good piece of business? absolutely. what does he care? Interesting angle It seems to me that since his departure Hughton is being credited with remarkable qualities. But I think he was as much a puppet as any manager, if not more so. He did do a good job in the Championship with a squad that was, by some distance, the best in the division. My opinion is that Hughton was sacked because Ashley and or Llambias did not think he was up to the job in the Premiership plus they wanted someone who could act as the club's spokesman and be a stronger figure from a PR viewpoint - seeing as PR had not exactly been the club's strongest suit. Whether this judgement on Pardew was correct is not for debate here as it has consumed a lot of space on at least one other thread, but he certainly communicates far more openly than Hughton ever did. f***ing hell Go on... You think Pardew doesn't communicate with the press more openly than Hughton? Or you believe the "old casino mates" theory?

it is a good post, but it glosses over the issue which strikes at the absolute heart of what the club is about now. that is, that we replaced a very well performing manager who was popular with players and fans, with a man who had very little reason to be hired other than he didn't deserve the position and therefore was more likely to agree to demands placed upon him on transfer policy. and my oh my, weren't we all shocked when carroll went in january. yes the money was massive, yes its a great deal if you put the money back into the team PLUS the money that should have been due to be invested anyway. but the chain of events is as plain as day imo, would anyone be surprised if the big debate in the winter is whether we were right to accept a massive bid for tiote on deadline day? Surely you don't really think Hughton was sacked because he could prevent Ashley pulling off deals like the Carroll one? prevent, no. be opposed to, or try and make himself an obstacle against, yes. we all want an easy life. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Hughton himself say, in an interview, that the Carroll deal was a good piece of business? absolutely. what does he care? Interesting angle It seems to me that since his departure Hughton is being credited with remarkable qualities. But I think he was as much a puppet as any manager, if not more so. He did do a good job in the Championship with a squad that was, by some distance, the best in the division. My opinion is that Hughton was sacked because Ashley and or Llambias did not think he was up to the job in the Premiership plus they wanted someone who could act as the club's spokesman and be a stronger figure from a PR viewpoint - seeing as PR had not exactly been the club's strongest suit. Whether this judgement on Pardew was correct is not for debate here as it has consumed a lot of space on at least one other thread, but he certainly communicates far more openly than Hughton ever did.

it is a good post, but it glosses over the issue which strikes at the absolute heart of what the club is about now. that is, that we replaced a very well performing manager who was popular with players and fans, with a man who had very little reason to be hired other than he didn't deserve the position and therefore was more likely to agree to demands placed upon him on transfer policy. and my oh my, weren't we all shocked when carroll went in january. yes the money was massive, yes its a great deal if you put the money back into the team PLUS the money that should have been due to be invested anyway. but the chain of events is as plain as day imo, would anyone be surprised if the big debate in the winter is whether we were right to accept a massive bid for tiote on deadline day? Surely you don't really think Hughton was sacked because he could prevent Ashley pulling off deals like the Carroll one? prevent, no. be opposed to, or try and make himself an obstacle against, yes. we all want an easy life. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Hughton himself say, in an interview, that the Carroll deal was a good piece of business?

it is a good post, but it glosses over the issue which strikes at the absolute heart of what the club is about now. that is, that we replaced a very well performing manager who was popular with players and fans, with a man who had very little reason to be hired other than he didn't deserve the position and therefore was more likely to agree to demands placed upon him on transfer policy. and my oh my, weren't we all shocked when carroll went in january. yes the money was massive, yes its a great deal if you put the money back into the team PLUS the money that should have been due to be invested anyway. but the chain of events is as plain as day imo, would anyone be surprised if the big debate in the winter is whether we were right to accept a massive bid for tiote on deadline day? Surely you don't really think Hughton was sacked because he could prevent Ashley pulling off deals like the Carroll one?

The Fat Cockney b****** will happily turn United into Liverpool's feeder club if the money is right. The same as 95% of clubs. I don't like Ashley or Lambyarse but not many clubs would have turned down that sort of money (8th most expensive player in history) for a young lad with half a seasons experience in the premiership. I could understand the derision directed at the board if we sold the lad for £10m just to make a quick buck but all players at all clubs (apart from maybe Chelsea and City) have a price. Especially if the player has indicated he wants to leave. Look at the ludicrous things Man City and Man Utd had to do to keep hold of their star players, we as with most clubs aren't in a position to do that. We tried it before and despite it working at first we started going backwards and the over spending wasn't helping buck the trend. If Liverpool came in with the reported £15m bid for our left back in the last year of his contract and not looking to extend then I couldn't really blame the board for accepting it. Good Post, totally agree with what your saying. Good thing Ashley's ass is so big so you can both simultaneously fit your cocks up it, like. This is so typical, personal attacks are used instead of having a logical debate whenever someone post something not along the lines that Ashley is the devil incarnate. Alterantively you get one liners cliche on bank balance that does not engage the points made. Cajun makes a good point (one that I've been making as well). The club's error is if they don't replace Carrol with a good striker of similiar or higher standards (that might be difficult for some though, coz they think that Carroll is one of the best strikers in the world! ) On the other hand, although Cajun has a point when he said that we would have paid over the odds had we got Carrol's replacement on the last day of the Jan transfer, I am still p*ssed off that we did not attempt to get Sturridge given the leverage that we had over Chelsea (though I suspect the deal with Bolton might have been done earlier). I will wait to see what happens in the summer and am cautiously optimistic that we will get a good number 9 and hopefully one more striker. The last few games hopefully are driving home the point that our current strikers are an awful bunch. and what if the summer's been and gone and the transfer activity hasnt been good enough? we've spent about 10 million on a two young prospects, signed a couple of free transfers and lost enrique, who we've replaced with kadar (and put a last minute 'bid' in for adam johnson). you'll be on here saying that we should wait and see what happens in january and that those of us saying we've seen it all before and ashley is true to form are just impatient and launching personal attacks. depends on your point of view, personally if someone's taking the p*ss i've usually noticed after 5 years I really don't think there will be much tolerance from anyone if the summer transfer window passes without the club dealing with the void left by Carroll and Enrique leaves and is not adequately replaced. There will of course be massive discussions on the merits of any players who do come in. Some will decide they are crap from the off and others will prefer to wait and see. Ashley's standing will continue to be a subject of heated debate and there is little likelihood that those who are certain that he has no interest in developing the football side of the club will see anything that changes their mind.

Well yes but that was quite a few years ago. We played some decent football a few years ago as well. Times change, people in charge lose their edge (or even the plot) and unless you keep ahead of the game and invest wisely you are stuffed. We didn't and neither did Wenger. He's now got a squad of hairdressers who really can play in the right conditions, but have no resilience. He's become a world expert at denial as well but he isn't a joke imo.

You know what? Actually taking that into consideration and you have a damn good point. Any other season would have seen us down and out by now given those circumstances It also begs the question, had Hughton stayed. Carroll stayed, more signings brought in, would we be around 6th by now? Surely.. its all ifs and buts mate, as the old chinese proverb says "if you dont change the direction you are going you are likely to end up where you are headed" True, but given the 2 situations, you would surely imagine us doing better then we are now? Really don't see your Hughton point, you think he was the new SBR? Find an owner who was prepared to throw more £millions at it and maybe we are talking. We are where we are for a number of reasons.

A f*cking Arsenal fan invading our board - wtf.

Without doing a crawl through posts from last year I think most would have taken staying up in the circumstances. So it's mission accomplished, and of course we will never know if we did it despite sacking Hughton or whether that was, in fact, a master stroke......

You can throw stats round all day long, none of it means that much unless you are looking at a long stint and we aren't yet. I've said it before but it all comes down to a judgement call at this stage - and I think he's alright.

I'll be supping my meths on a park bench in the theme park. Yourself?

First the World Cups now this. Do they ever get anything right? Bloody FIFA. Well wtf I like him

In an ideal world you would probably have neither. But fwiw in the current financial climate I'd rather have the shitehawk who can pay his way than the one who can't and takes money out of the club.

I really wouldn't have him back and that is not through having any great love of Ashley I can assure you. It really is amazing how selective people's memories can be when it comes to buffoonery.

I've heard him say this before, it's beyond belief, he either doesn't think anyone can read a set of accounts or he genuinely doesn't realise that £90 million with brackets round it is a loss.