fredbob

Didier Deschamps was the one for me, i thought he was stand out, he's been mentioned a few times for bigger jobs than ours and had come out and said he would of been interested, he ticked all the boxes in my book, minus a huge amount of experience but had achieved a notbale amount already in his short career. Had long term written all over him as well.

Deschamps was the stand out manager for me, young, and successful in his short career, played attacking football and would of had a decent pot to work with, would of been disciplined and would of been extremely up to date with current coaching set ups. Not saying he;d of done any better and i dont think keegan could of done any better but i think it would of been a hell of a lot more ambitious manager in appointeing a CL finalist than to get Keegan. Im happy to stick by Keegan because there is definitely something different about him, and i am very excited to see what the summer has to offer, if anyone has an eye for flair and skill then its got to be Keegan. Hopefull we wont go down, hopefully our current standing wont put players off.

No he doesn't, it is an Internet myth & so is the 2nd part. Are Faye or Beye getting slammed for being part of a defence that let 5 goals in are they f***. Faye is unquestionably a very good defender, Cacapa and Roz have already been castigated despite proving throughtout there careers that they have very capable, Taylor, have a look through this entire thread and you will see the number of people who have written off Cacapa and Roz after half a season here and the same number who have been able to see past the obvious fallacies that Taylor has, for about 3/4 seasons now, "because he has potential". I dont understadn why people rate him so highly, when he has so many obvious fallacies. Wheres the level assessment on that?

I got a genuine question for you. Can you list all the errors Taylor made vs Man Utd? Obviously not every single one of them, but enough of them to show some sort of background of why you think he was a liability. I really think he looked decent, apart from the third goal. I don't think he's a world-class defender at all, but I still think he looks a decent prospect, who's been thrown in at the deep end, and has had to learn the hard way for quite a while now, without any authorative figure beside him who can teach him anything of what's needed to be a success at this level. People keep comparing him to Terry, Wheater, players like that, but noone mentions the fact that Terry had Desailly amongst others to teach him. Wheater has had Southgate. I really don't think it's a fair comparison at all. Fact is, he shows signs of being a good defender, he's a no-nonsense type who is a strong tackler and strong header of the ball, and commitment really is important for any defender, especially one of his type. What he's lacking is finesse and a good touch, and the positional sense and anticipation is something that comes with experience, which is an area he really is underdeveloped in, due to the point I made previously. To sum it up, I wholeheartedly agree that he's too rough around the edges to be playing week in week out in the PL, but calling him a liability and writing him off at this stage is just daft, in my opinion. Well both of Ronaldos goals were his fault, for a CD his tracking was shocking, i could see Ronaldo making that run with my eyes closed, and his second goal, although was Faye's initial fault for giving the ball away, Taylor showed the composure of a pissed granny with zimmer frames on ice. Really really bad defending, just dived across Ronaldo.

This is my feeling as well, i wasnt particularly happy with Keegan, not because i dont like Keegan but becasue i thought there were more ambitious appointments out there, i think we really dropped the ball on this one, i dont know of another club in the world who would appoint a manager who's been out the game for 3 years, especially with the massive gap which has opened up between the top 4. Having said that, i cant deny that i am extremely happy and excited to have Keegan having apot full of money to spend in the summer. I dont think there will be another manager in the world who has the eye for flair like Keegan does, and if there was anyone id trust to bring the good times back with a pot full of money it'd be Keegan, however ill still worry about is coaching techniques etc because i dont think his style cuts it anymore.

I think Taylor has a massive up hill struggle to get to where he could be, to be honest i dont think he'llmake it, his defending is far too flaky at times and we dont have the coaching set up to bring the raw ingredients together for him to prosper, his positional sense and concentration is non existent and to be honest he will never be able to dominate a top striker which is vital for him if he wants to be a top defender, you have to ask yourself if the likes of Taylor have the talent to be able to dominate a striker like Drogba or Adebayor and the honest answer for most of you will be not, physically he isnt as strong as Drogba and mentally he's not as sharp as the likes of Rooney or Tevez. I personally like Cacapa more than i like Taylor, there is no doubt that has a much sharper brain than Taylor, however physicaly he isnt as strong as the likes of Faye, i would like to see those 2 together a little more, i think there is definitely a partnership there, hell id like to see Roz back in the sweeper role. He was unlucky in my book. Taylor gets away with a hell of a lot because he's a local lad, if he was a foreigner would you all be so easy to forgive his mistakes?

Quite a spectrum of issues being discussed in here, there are a number of things which i think went wrong at this club, and i think that the first thing was the sacking of Bobby robson, in my opinion he shouldnt of been sacked, we were easily one of the 5th best teams in EPL and had poor ish season with some very poor results, i understand that discipline seemed an issue but how much of that indiscipline arose from the public denouncment of SBR, who knows? That seemed to be the reason that was given for his sacking, not only was it a sacking which was wrong but done at a horrendous time, i dont understand who people were expecting to employ after sacking a legendary manager who has just consistently finished in the top 5 for the past 3 years. It made the job unteneable in my book and we paid the price for it. Cue Souness. Cue Roeder. Allardyce was the first pro active appointment in a while from the Shephard era of chairmanship, but he was extremely unfortunate in having the takeover occur at the bignnning of the his tenureship, he was stiill provided with soem funds and made, at the time some decent signings on paper, his biggest flaws seemed to be highlighted with some horrific resultsand the fact that his signings werent coming to fruition suggested that his style wasnt being accepted by the club. I think he went maybe a week too late, i think suggestions that he should of stayed till the end are incorrect, had he stayed, was he expected to recieve funds ever though he was a doomed man, what sense does that make in anyones mind, also, shoould he of been given funds when his signings hadnt worked so far, it made no sense to give him funds to waste, hence the need for a new manager, this is where the biggest mistake of the ashley owenership has occured, and that is the appoinmtnet of Keegan, i think that there were better appointments out there, Deschamps would of been my personal choice.

For the first time in all my time of supporting nufc, the possiblity of relegation is a real possiblity, the only teams that are nailed on to go down are fulham and derby in my book, even Reading have a bit of bollocks about them. We've had a stupidly hard run and i dont know the future fixtures but the confidence in our teams is rock bottom, at present its hard not say that we arent in free fall. There is still 10 games left, its a horrible thought, the major issue that i can forsee for the future, is that our organisational fallacies wont be hidden until our atacking unit becomes first rate, this is the biggest task Keegan faces and as it stands i dont think that a team in our position will be able to attract the type of player that Keegan needs in order to make it a reality!

Feyenoord vs nufc- what a match Liverpool vs nufc x 2 Man U vs Arsenal FA Cup Semi - to be fair it was a very good game which had everything nufc vs man u - 5-0 nufc vs man u - 4-3 German vs England - 1-5

The frustrating thing is that Man U are making us look worse than we actually are, they've had 2/3 clear chanes and stuck them both away, both have been well avodable ie closing Roanldo down for the cross or zog picking up Rooney and taylor tracking back with Ronaldo, its frustrating because if itwere any other team who werent so clinical we'd be 0-0 at half time. I dont think whats been seen should be praised but i also dont think it should be chastized. We have no invention of movement in the final third, to be fair, we have been in there final 3rd a fair bit. We just need some support when we get there.

Zog and Duff is the best partnership we have at this club, those 2 gel extremely well, really have a good understanding of each other, if only Zog was defensively astute then i'd be extremly happy with those 2

Well, thats an interesting line up, really wish we had Oba in, god how id love to see oba, Butt/Barton CM scares the crap out of me to be honest, will get dominated like no ones business, i can see the merits of Zog at LB, for me its his best position, but not against Man U/Ronaldo, to be honest, i have no idea who i'd put in the team as it stands, Enrique would have a place for me to be honest, man U are very wing orientated and it'd be the forst things id try to neutralize. Faye for Cacapa - meh Smith - has no "chemistry" with Owen at all. but i dont mind seeing him up front. C

So what do people have a problem with? Foriegn fans or fans from around england who support teams outsidethere region? I dont see the harm in any person wanting to be part of a group of fans that they understand, or empathise with, its all forthe greater good, do there same people have problems with "bloody foreigners stealing our jobs as well?" Not wanting to diverge too much, but i imiagine the same people who have problems with "non local" supporters are the same ones who complain about the "job stealing foriegners"....right? In the end, if there is something about this club, which has really drawn you in, (could be one of many things), then you have every right to want to be part of something that you percive as being unique and special. To be drawn into something because they win all the time is reminicent of a hanger on, trying to leech of someone elses success, its undignified at an abhorrent praqctise. Something which i dont empaphise with at all.

Got to disagree there. Neither of them have 'all the attributes'. Even minus the footballing brain. the brain can be attributed to alot of qualities,a lot of qualities which both players lack in my opinion, like anticipation, and movement, both cognitive function. As a defender i think taylor is strong, quick, good in the air, if he put it all together i think he could be an excellent defender, same with Martins, pace, strenfgth, decent in the air, is an ok fininsher. All the qualities but minus the brain to bring in together.

Taylor to centre back is what Martins is to centre forward, has all the attributes but minus the brains. Needs to decide what type of defender he is, he's a bt of an in between defender, neither a sweeper nor a "bruiser" would get dominated physically by the likes of Drogba,but would get turned inside out by the likes of Berbatov or Rooney. Copes well against the middle of the road strikers. Unfortunatley i dont think he has the physical stregnth to dominate defenders like Faye would.

so if i dont spend £££££ on nufc, im just a fan? Its not a negative definition, by no means is it a negative definition, all im doing is quantifying the difference im my opinion of a fan and a supporter, i think they're slighlty different but one is no worse than the other. At the end of the day if they truly love the club, then thats all that matters.

Fan - who doesnt actively support the club either in person or financially, but looks out for the team. Supporter - Someon who follows thwe club actively and supports the team in person and financially. Neither of the definintoins are different in there love and passion for the team.

The Carlos Alberto goal in the 1970 World Cup against Italy is my all time favourite goal, bit unoriginal. Also the Roberto Carlos free kick at the Le Tournoi (?), unbelivable goal. Greatest freekick ive ever seen. Could watch that all day. For England, Beckhams goal against Greece was pretty memorable, Owens goal against Argies in 98, and the best games ive seen England play, that i can remeber, was vs Holland 96, and vs Germany 2001. Memorable games.

I cant believe peopleactually sit here and actually say that Bobby went too late, its absolutley baffles me. It defies logic how stupid people actually are, the job was untouchable after a legend in the game got sacked for finihsing 5th. Was there any wonder that we ended up hiring Souness, he would of been the only man to take the job after that. Yet people actully sit here like numpties and say that he should of gone when we finished 3rd. The idiocy in that statement just makes me laugh, then cry. How is any nufc manager gonna suceed with that sort of mentality.

I wonder even more if things turn round by the summer, we spend big and start heading in the right direction next season, whether NE5 will be big enough to say "you lads were right to wait to see how things panned out, rather than dumping a skip-load of turd over the new regime at the first possible opportunity" I won't hold my breath though. Like I said earlier to you, how long have you supported the club [if you think the last decade has been s****] - have you replied BTW ? - I haven't supported this club for over 40 years and wanted them to fail [what a daft idea], I admire your optimism which I have had for all these years myself, but not your grasp of reality of the current situation I was here before Keegan if that answers your question, soo I've seen my share of incompetents in charge at Newcastle. Can't you recognise a sensible viewpoint without needing to check how long someone's supported the club? It doesn't seem so because just like you drag Fat Fred into every thread, you are always questioning everyone's opinion according to their age. Does it not occur to you that a thick t*** could still be a thick t*** even if he'd watched the town for 30 years? It certainly does occur to me. The proof is right here in this thread, anyone who says they supported the club in the 1980's and doesn't see how massively superior the club is in comparison, and the rise of the club during the years it was run by the Halls and Shepherd, has simply got to be not the brightest tool in the box So how long will that argument stand for? 15 years down the line if we were in the exact same situation we are in now and we still had Shephard in charge, would you still make references to revival of the club in the early 90's. Football, like all businesses are progressive, some businesses dont have the means to progress any further, we were in a fantastic position to progress massively, yet because of one reason or another we didnt. It's someones fault we are in that position. At the end of the day who is responsible to the fans? The faceless board or.....?

Fulham did better with Coleman who had nowhere near as much as Lawrie S & I doubt Coleman ever spent as much as Roy Hodgson in a January window. Same thing with Souness backed but signed s****. Good managers who sign well are worth more than a board backing managerial losers with big numbers. After seeing the cloggers Sam A brought in I am glad he didnt get backed. I just hope KK has the cash in the summer & signs first team players that will improve our team & not sign other clubs fringe players with big reputations. I don't disagree, but a boards obligation is to back their managers, then it becomes the managers responsibility. Current situation is that we are in the s*** and sliding due to poor buys in the summer, some in an average price bracket, the rest cheapo's. This tells its own story, especially when Allardyce was talking about lack of support. Why, when he paid the rate for a striker like Anelka for a club like Bolton [including the wages] did he not see fit to go even go to that level at a club like Newcastle .? Whatever the reason, we are in a relegation scrap because of it, and the transfer window has passed without the addition of a single and badly needed player and a boost. Mort said before the deadline if we brought in any players it would be young ones for the future. What sort of bollocks is that when you are looking at a relegation struggle ? With Allardyce in charge yes he did, but when Keegan was appointed, ie there own man, it was clear that money available, do you know how i know that? Because keegan said so himself. It was his choice not to sign and therefore, im afraid to say it partially his responsiblity if we go down.

That is one of his major strengths, as a player he;s not the best ability wise but his mind is so sharp on the pitch that he gets the best out of what he's got, i think he could go on for a long long time if he keeps fit, just like Sherignham has.

I am not sure if he did but what I do know is I struggle to think of good foreign players Charlton had. Apart from Man United & there deal with Antwerp I have yet to see a club really benefit from having a link. Dont Chelsea have a link with Ajax or some other big club in Holland something to do with Arnesen, also, not quite an offical link but Man U have a very close relationship with Sporting Lisbon.

What's it like in Europe? Europe ? Now there's a memory. It's where that man who called you nasty names ran the club you say you support and played there more than any other chairman in the clubs history Fancy that eh mackems.gif d'you think we'd have got back into europe with a fat fred board ? I'm pretty confident we will get back into europe with a board that backs their managers. I don't see what personalities has to do with it. Unless you are one of those who are massively offended by being called nasty names and for some strange reason conclude that such things mean that it makes them s*** chairman who don't back their managers ? As has been said. Haven't things been GREAT since the new board came in who were automatically better on account of not being fat bastards who ate all the pies So, what makes a good chairman in your eyes?

It's not so strange, Shepherd had used up any goodwill a long time ago. If Ashley and Mort make blunder after blunder with their decision-making they'll soon find support dwindling just like the old board. In the meantime you can either buy in and see if they deliver, or you can decide they don't know what they are doing and hark back to the Shepherd glory years. the hilarious thing about this, is you seem to have convinced yourself that the new board have done better already I'm not convinced of anything, but will give the benefit of the doubt until I know better. If you can tell me for definite that we are doomed to failure next season under the new regime and why I'll listen, otherwise your conjecture's no better than mine really. Except, mine isn't "opinion". The highest 3 consecutive league positions in 50 years is a FACT AND NOT OPINION As is also the FACT that only 4 clubs have qualified for europe more than us in the last decade, and also in the last 15 years. Your "opinion" may tell you different if you like but I prefer to go by facts. Cheers Have we been here before? and your "opinion" is that these facts aren't facts, correct ? mackems.gif "Facts" which dont tell the full story, or are a true reflection of the clubs actual position. What a load of bollocks. You can state stats and "facts" till the moon turns to cheese but if you cant use them with the correct perspective then they are in essence, meaningless, its exactly what you are doing, and its actually laughable that you belittle other peoples opinions when they show the same level of wieght that your crappy facts do. "7 European qualifications in 10 years" holds about as much weight as "we were in decline" I can guarantee you one thing fredbob, if the club follows the path of spending little money and relying on young players which you trumpeted on about as being the way to go only a few weeks ago, we will decline at a massive rate while waiting for all these young players to mature into the new Gazza. Ok, well if you appply context and perspective to what i say then you might finally see what i am talking about, it seems you are bereft of both. I never for one second said we shouldnt spend alot of money over the course of the season, i was against sepnding too much money in january. I gave the reason that jan is a bad time to spend money because of the inflated prices and because Allardyce hadnt proved to be a success with any of the signings he'd made, i actually advocated spending moeny where it was essential but not where it wasnt. As it turned out there werent many signing that were made which we needed desperately, however i advocated Keegan getting money because the squad wasnt his own, its always important for a new manager to imprint his own qualities into the team. Ill always say that rebuilding the youth side will be of major benefit to the club long term and i stand by it, however to suggest that i think this is the best and only way to make a success of the club it quite frankly ridiculous, im very aware that money needs to be spent and i have, from the very start said that summer is the best time to spend big. You have me down as someone who has an agenda against Shephard, but i dont, i just say things how i see it, and forgive me for addressing him persoanlly for the deficiencies at the club, im well aware that the board is involved etc etc, but as a chairman it was job to be the boards representative to the public, he takes the flak for the decisions the board makes even if they arent his own, its the way the world works. I am persoanlly of the opinion that the decline of the club occuring at the same time that Shephard was chairman was far more than coindence.