manorpark

You know, that is the amazing thing. The club has spent years and years investing in players, and surely intending that every acquisition was an improvement on previously . . . yet look at the end product of all that study, effort, thought, time and money! Then, all this season, I was kind of thinking that our end-product of all that effort (our current crop of players) were somehow "underperforming". It MUST have been that. Caused by the Ashley/Keegan fiasco, or whatever . . . So (logically) when it came to the crunch towards the end of the season when these underperforming 'superstars' (built up over all these seasons of buying/selling transactions) simply HAD to play to stay up - then they would be able to do so . . . and WOULD do so. I was wrong, plain wrong, just totally wrong. They have NOT been 'underperforming' (for whatever reason) . . . all of the clubs time and effort and money over all these seasons has produced a 'net' collection of players who are simply performing to their CORRECT standards. They are just not good enough, there is no "underperformance" at all. INCOMPETENCE, at the highest level, for years and years and years, has produced this, despite the 5th highest amount of money coming in (in the UK) for 15 years or more AND despite (for most of the time) the 2nd highest crowds in the UK. IMPOSSIBLE / INCOMPETENCE.

That was mentioned on NUFC.COM as well not a record anyone wants, obviously. Lets hope (looking on the bright side) we get promoted next season, with the highest ever Second Division ('Championship') crowds. It will still be another 'unwanted' record though!

I was about to argue that it would be common sense to keep our best players (no matter how much wages they are on) on the assumption that we are not going to become "a Championship Club" at all, but will simply be a Premier League club, down there for one season only, and would need those 'best' players to get straight back up. Then I realised, for a variety of reasons (eg - getting old and/or never were any good, etc) - we don't really HAVE any 'best players' !!!!!!!!!!!!

As cp40 had said though, this thread had become about "The BIGGEST failures in World Football". The immense mysteries of which are surely worth discussing. What we have 'achieved' is clearly impossible!

HUGE attendances for years (2nd largest club ground in UK most of the time, still 3rd biggest). HUGE amounts of sales in club shops, etc, for years. HUGE sponsorship deals. HUGE media coverage for years. HUGE income/turnover, for years (between 3rd largest and 5th largest in UK, for many years). HUGE world-wide fanbase, for years. Therefore . . . we are one of the biggest clubs in the world . . . (undoubtedly) WHAT HAVE "THEY" DONE WITH ALL THAT, YEAR AFTER YEAR???? WHERE IS THE "ENDLESS" COLLECTION OF TROPHIES???

Newcastle isn't a big club but half the country will be glued to their sets to watch us go down. The only consolation is that everyone involved with SKY will be shitting their pants at the prospects of mass monthly debit cancellations. Well you can't have it both ways...enjoy the show. Sky have been waiting for a big club to go down for years, and they don't come any bigger than Newcastle United FC. They'll regret it afterwards though (if we go down) they will lose LOTS of subscription money.

If they get promoted next season, back to the Football League, it would be to the 4th Division wouldn't it (not the third)? The one they currently call "League Two" !!!!

Hey, we are NOT going down !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! . . . er . . . are we?

That is VERY UNFAIR on Private Godfrey. (PS, who is Private Godfrey?)

If this is what it comes down to then we are definitely going down. Perhaps . . . you have just said it.

Michael Owen (scoring goals) is our single best and only real hope of staying up. Having watched him lately, I can understand (and agree with) the FRIGHTENING nature of that thought . . . But, it is TRUE.

Clearly he did fight them from within, as Llambias has admitted to saying he wanted to punch him. Sadly, he wasn't in a position to win, as all the actual power was held by the Spurs fan and the West Ham fan. I hear what you are saying, but if he had not 'given up the fight' when he did (and left) we would be in a much stronger position than we are. His influence would have grown and he may have achieved what he wanted WITHIN the club. He was never going to achieve it after he left. It really angers me that he (HE above all) left when he did.

Of course he did. He signed on as a manager and found out he wasn't allowed to manage. Not only didn't he get the players he wanted, he didn't get players in the positions he said he needed. He was a coach. His job was to train and motivate a random bunch of players and spread some false hope to make sure fans were lured into buying season tickets. Why the f*** should he want to be a part of that? I wouldn't have left, I would have (as I have done at work) FAUGHT the ba*st*rds from the inside, till I dropped. Would you have just left? Bearing in mind you are supposed to love the club (like Keegan said he did). Would you have left? I wouldn't.

Of course not, but how the hell could he predict Ashley and Llambias would solve their problems by getting Joe f***ing Kinnear as an interim manager, then sell Shay Given and N'Zomnia and sign Kevin Nolan and Ryan Taylor? They couldn't possibly have handled this any worse if they tried. It's all their fault. Yes, you are correct. But - none of the others you mention (Ashley, Lambias, Kinnear) love the club the way we do (or even care about it at all) - but Keegan is supposed to . . . isn't he? . . . and he left.

Okay that has cheered me up a little. Ahh right so it wasn't Keegan that kept us up when Fat Sam had us in the s*** and gave us a half decent start this season. Go support Chelsea next season which i'm sure you probably will. Pathetic If Keegan had stayed with us, we would not be in the trouble we are now. Exactly, everyone is responsible for this, most of all Messrs Keegan and Ashley Mostly Ashley, but also Keegan. This is awful isn't it, the 'realisation' of our worst nightmare. We all lash out to blame someone and to blame eachother for holding different views. It is an awful situation we are now in. Finally, I worry, and wonder, and worry . . HOW/WHY Ashley has let this happen - because he HAS let this happen. It is a mystery.

Okay that has cheered me up a little. Ahh right so it wasn't Keegan that kept us up when Fat Sam had us in the s*** and gave us a half decent start this season. Go support Chelsea next season which i'm sure you probably will. Pathetic If Keegan had stayed with us, we would not be in the trouble we are now.

I'm not certain what actually makes a "Big Club" (let's not get into that again) but in my lifetime we have always been that. One thing we have never been (and physically simply could not ever be) is the term that you have used to describe us (as a 'small club'). I was being sarcastic tbh, we are such a "small club" that people in Portsmouth feel the need to phone national radio phone ins about us, mackems and smoggies cannot stop talking about us, we knock world politics off the front pages of newspapers. Yes, it's amazing how we do that. Just last week when Shearer was appointed we knocked all sorts of 'big non-sports news' off some front pages, and ALL the major sports headlines off the back pages. Amazing. All we need to do now is win a few matches !!!!!

I'm not certain what actually makes a "Big Club" (let's not get into that again) but in my lifetime we have always been that. One thing we have never been (and physically simply could not ever be) is the term that you have used to describe us (as a 'small club').

Why 50 years??

It was such a great time when they came home from Hungary with the Fairs Cup - I was given the responsibilty of taking the photos at the Airport and at SJP, but as a young lad and no-one in my family had a camera, I had never used a camera in my life. I was 'clicking away all day' with my best mates Dads camera . . . and there was no bl**dy film in it! Still, a great day and a great few weeks!!!

People are aware that it is tomorrow that Shearer will be there at SJP, as that is when the Press Conference is being held. They were not there in numbers today, because they WILL be there tomorrow. Something to look forward to . . . I am certain David Craig is !!!!

source?

STILL nothing on the Official Site. It is the very last time I am paying to join that ridiculous site - what's the point of it??

I think its just a late announcement and the web people are asleep dreaming about being able to make better websites.. this news is a total shock but I hope its not all in vein. this season has been a rollercoaster of misery for us all and if he does indeed keep us up, then he'll be knighted. also, the players need to give it one last shot....*plays the final countdown music* COME ON THE TOON! I hope you are right when you say it is "just a late announcement". But, I still worry. There is still 'something' not quite right about this . . .

Surely something of this importance would be announced on the Official Website, if not first (and it should be on there FIRST) then very soon afterward once the story had leaked (?) Unless, of course . . .