manorpark

It is weird though!

How can they be random - CHELSEA AGAIN!! (Last HOME game) This cannot be coincidence, surely?

How can they be random - CHELSEA AGAIN!! (Last HOME game)

I agree, and with Chelsea's total of (about) £300M losses over (only) a three year period, all their 'spending' money has come from Russia.

Think this is mentioned in one of the other threads - but he has a point. People were quick to jump on Chelsea for spending huge amounts on players, and accused them of buying their titles. Man Utd do it, and they are simply building a strong squad. Double standards when it comes to Man Utd. No double standards, no comparison at all. Manchester United have 'made' their money - earned it. Chelsea have not made ANY money for over three years, they are baled out by "Russian Grants and Donations". It is THAT (un-earned) money they have been spending. That is the difference. I am not a Manchester fan, by the way. Exactly. I hate Man Utd as much as the next man but I appreciate that they make it fair and square, whereas Chelsea don't. Chelsea more than any other club in the country are the epitome of everything that is wrong about football and I don't have any respect or appreciation for them whatsoever. Some people just can't (won't) see that. That is why we need to 'build' here, and use Ashley's additional money (if any!) as just that - ADDITIONAL MONEY (to our own, already large) earned income. Totally unlike the Russian club.

He's right though... blueyes.gif Seriously, look at some of Man U's recent buys. Rooney £18m Ronaldo £18m Carrick £16m Ferdinand £30m Saha £13m (I think?!) Van Nistelrooy £19m Veron £28m Plus loads of others which I can't remember (i.e. Kleberson, Heinze, Park etc.) Plus now £20m on Hargreaves and £30m for Nani and Anderson?!?! And all this as well as poaching young players from around the world, much like Chelsea are doing now too. It's just ridiculous. You need to buy the title. It's been that way almost since the Premiership began... I rest my case... It is a question of 'what with'.

Think this is mentioned in one of the other threads - but he has a point. People were quick to jump on Chelsea for spending huge amounts on players, and accused them of buying their titles. Man Utd do it, and they are simply building a strong squad. Double standards when it comes to Man Utd. No double standards, no comparison at all. Manchester United have 'made' their money - earned it. Chelsea have not made ANY money for over three years, they are baled out by "Russian Grants and Donations". It is THAT (un-earned) money they have been spending. That is the difference. I am not a Manchester fan, by the way.

Our (soon to be) new regime, needs to start to show what they are made of.

There are a limited number of targets. Is it TOO EARLY for Ashley to start showing he means business?? Personally, I do not think it is too early. I know he has not taken over yet, but a quick word in Shepherds ear . . . .

This is probably the best summing-up of the situation - can't see us being title challengers, and a UEFA Cup spot would be a real achievement this season. Would prefer to see Shepherd gone altogether ; we don't know how much power he has retained, OR how many of his retinue/hangers-on are still at the club or associated with it. My concern is that Ashley, being a low-profile operator, may allow him too much leeway in the early days, and that will impede the club's recovery..he may also have had to guarantee Shepherd's position for at least a season in order to persuade him to sell without any hassle.... Also, in playing matters, Sam WILL take time to get the team as he wants it - as we have seen with Ben Haim, it is not easy to secure good players if we are competing with Top 4 clubs ; they want success as well as dosh, and they want it NOW, not in 3 years' time... Once again I say - its a BIG job, and will take time to put right , as well as BIG money.. It is difficult this, isn't it!!? It is very difficult to 'forecast' what will happen in this new world we are in. The future is likely to be so very different from the (very) recent past - more akin to what was happening during the 1992 to 1997 period (with all the progress and attendant excitement) only I suspect it will be much better and more permanent. Also, I think it will see the 'progress' being anchored by winning things. If that is the case, and 'winning cups' is not that great (in the grand scale of things) then we have to be talking about the League. When? I don't know, but being realistic - we have to be challenging in the not too distant future, three seasons tops. I stick by my "new realism" timetable, posted earlier in this thread . . . exciting times ahead for us!

Because we arent the only team in the league with a good manager, the other teams also have more settled squads. Honestly I think we probably will make a big improvement and will finish top 7 but it wont be the bare minimum because we won't definitely be the 7th best team in the league next year. I don't have any pre-conceived answers to this, so it is not a 'loaded' question - but do you think that Ashley would be content with 7th/less than 7th, some 10 months after he has spent £133M to buy the club + Debt Repayment, plus money on players in two transfer windows? What do you think he would expect the following season? I am sure Allardyce will tell jim straight and I hope he actually looks at the bigger picture. Do you think Lerner is going to sack M'ON for finishing 11th? I am an Allerdyce fan, and I am certain he will explain the practicalities. My concern is that (as for Raniere and Abramovich) Allerdyce is not "Ashley's man". It could be to our benefit, it may not be, but I feel there will be a combined pressure on here, to (a) build a sound structure, and (b) to start a big improvement - "ASAP".

Because we arent the only team in the league with a good manager, the other teams also have more settled squads. Honestly I think we probably will make a big improvement and will finish top 7 but it wont be the bare minimum because we won't definitely be the 7th best team in the league next year. I don't have any pre-conceived answers to this, so it is not a 'loaded' question - but do you think that Ashley would be content with 7th/less than 7th, some 10 months after he has spent £133M to buy the club + Debt Repayment, plus money on players in two transfer windows? What do you think he would expect the following season?

CLOSE SEASON: Ashley completes takeover and carries out his Strategic Review. The club is taken off the LSE and becomes a private company. A lot of our earned income, plus some of Ashleys own investment, is released to Sam Allerdyce. He (SA) "knows what he wants already". It is only the "who" that will vary, depending on the amount of money Ashley releases. Using his business brain, Ashley does not release to the media how much funding is available to Big Sam. Sam acquires an entire new defence of quality players, to add to Taylor and Given/Harper. Based on his philosophy of 'two good players for each position' he will need to acquire 7 new defensive players. All of his purchases will be 'value for money', with some of them (perhaps two) being very expensive "star" internationals, but always (even if costing £10M - £15M) being value for money. We will be nobodies soft-touch, no matter what the price level. Attacking players may be bought (perhaps one 'top' player?) but whether this happens depends partially on the Owen situation. Owen would be an idiot to leave . . but you never know. NEXT SEASON (2007/2008): That dreaded word - "consolidation" , but a form of consolidation that makes even our "dreams" of recent years, look low key. I would expect us to (at times) be mixing it at the top (hopefully prompting even the most bigotted of the London-media to 'hint' at a new member of the Top Four) but it may well be too early to maintain that level. The dreaded 'UEFA Cup' spot, may be the best we can hope for ("maybe" . . . ) We should do ok in both cups (Sam will have instilled a bit more 'steel' into our play and the new in-depth backroom structure is starting to pay dividends) but really, it is all about the season after. SEASON AFTER (2008/2009): We have to be REALISTIC. By that, I mean we have to be able to adjust to the NEW REALISM. We are (by then) 12 months into the post-takeover era and will have benefitted from two more productive transfer windows by then. Remember, we were already a VERY rich club, the 'debt' that some people went on about was always a structured and well-able-to-be-serviced debt that was nothing to worry about, but even that is probably now gone. Added to our already high income, we will have even further increased income (higher league placing / improved Ashley-inspired sponsorship / and improved Sky Premiership deal anyway) to which prudent (but I am sure very LARGE) amounts of Ashley's (SJHL) money will be added. In other words "lots of money". Champions League qualification will be Ashley's (probably unspoken) minimum aim for his second season. A flirtation with 'challenging for the title' would be good, also. THE CHAIRMAN: Mr F Shepherd is, from now on, a "figurehead" only. He will be useful (football club awareness/knowledge) to Ashley for a while, not likely to last long though. FINALLY: I think many of us (me included, to be fair) will find it VERY difficult to adjust to the new levels of 'what is realistic' in an already high-earning club, with a new motivated Billionaire owner pushing and pushing and pushing us onward. I have tried to reflect the new realism above, I may even have understated it. If our billionaire really pushes us on, financially - anything is possible. It is beyond our comprehension, really, I feel. As I say, I have tried to reflect this 'new realism' above - many will not class it as 'new realism' . . . . I suspect!!!

One other thing is - Souness has been saying that he didn't enjoy his time at Newcastle United and that we are a big club with big problems - and that Ashley should watch out!! (He is saying that "HE" didn't enjoy his time here!!!!!!!) And neither did we I remember in history (at school) there was something called "The Dark Ages". His time here was "Dark Ages 2 - The Return" !!!!! That's a PC game isn't it....I can't stand Souness, everytime he's on sky makes me want to punch the tv. Probably . . and yeah, I know THAT feeling!

One other thing is - Souness has been saying that he didn't enjoy his time at Newcastle United and that we are a big club with big problems - and that Ashley should watch out!! (He is saying that "HE" didn't enjoy his time here!!!!!!!) And neither did we I remember in history (at school) there was something called "The Dark Ages". His time here was "Dark Ages 2 - The Return" !!!!!

Tend to agree with your last comment. However, that is why Ashley and Allerdyce will be there. Their job is to "attract" the best in the initial period.

Isn't it great that DEFENDERS are being linked with us and being seen as exciting buys. Never seemed to really happen under the last two - we were always being linked with endless "midfielders" !

While obviously correct (no-one would pay £133M for anything less!) but it is a concept that is going to prove VERY difficult for some to assimilate, believe and accept. It will take a while.

One other thing is - Souness has been saying that he didn't enjoy his time at Newcastle United and that we are a big club with big problems - and that Ashley should watch out!! (He is saying that "HE" didn't enjoy his time here!!!!!!!)

Stranger things have happened with Newcastle in the past. Hopefully (in our new environment of "our money allied to Ashley's money") we will all soon come to accept that signing players like Torres is the norm and no longer qualifies to be classed as "stranger things". I am sure that is what our new owner has in mind - and I am happy to go along with him in that!!

Mega difference. Shearer was one of the top 3 players in the world at the time alongside Sammer & Ronaldo. If we'd just finished 12th in 1996, do you think he'd have turned down Man Utd to sign for us? No chance. Shearer signed for us to win things and to play in the Champions League. Luckily / coincidentally for him, we were also his home-town club.

Both?

Alan Shearer joined us for a world record fee, because we were (according to most people in football) "the next big thing". We were rich, we were 2nd only to Manchester United in income and popularity, we had a charismatic chairman and manager, allied to (what had always been there) a huge fanbase. He (along with Keegan, John Hall, me! and most of the countries football commentators) expected us to take over! He joined to win things. . . . and . . my goodness - it was also his 'home town club' - unbelievable, that it was there!!! (for him). It is "cosy" (and SO MANY people do it AUTOMATICALLY) to look back on it NOW, and only mention the one aspect of it all - the "home town club" aspect! It is revisionist, but cosy and 'easy to assimilate' - it just happens not (in isolation) to be true !! (but who cares about that). So, "here's to the next person" (poster-on-here / reporter in a paper, or whatever) who compares some 'jonny going home' (some Woodgate, or whoever) to Alan Shearer - it will never stop. Spot on. Even Shearer himself has refuted the notion that he turned down the chance to win things to join us, but what does he know? Many people 'do not listen to reality', because it does not suit them to do so.

One of the best commentaries was from "Match of the Day" in the early 1970s. We beat Arsenal 3-1 (if I remember rightly . . ) and we were attacking up the left wing. Bryan Robson makes a short pass forward to Wyn Davies and runs on, Wyn just 'flicks' the ball up into the air and into the path of the on-running Robson who 'half-volleys' it into the net from some 25 yards. "Oh What Football" shouts the commentator, Kenneth Wolstenhome, "Oh What Football" !!!!!!!!!!! Great commentary and a never-to-be-forgotton TV football moment - especially as it was against the Arsew*pes, and the BBC was (and some of you will not be able to believe this!) even more "parochial / London-centric" then, than it is now!

Alan Shearer joined us for a world record fee, because we were (according to most people in football) "the next big thing". We were rich, we were 2nd only to Manchester United in income and popularity, we had a charismatic chairman and manager, allied to (what had always been there) a huge fanbase. He (along with Keegan, John Hall, me! and most of the countries football commentators) expected us to take over! He joined to win things. . . . and . . my goodness - it was also his 'home town club' - unbelievable, that it was there!!! (for him). It is "cosy" (and SO MANY people do it AUTOMATICALLY) to look back on it NOW, and only mention the one aspect of it all - the "home town club" aspect! It is revisionist, but cosy and 'easy to assimilate' - it just happens not (in isolation) to be true !! (but who cares about that). So, "here's to the next person" (poster-on-here / reporter in a paper, or whatever) who compares some 'jonny going home' (some Woodgate, or whoever) to Alan Shearer - it will never stop.