Fatwax

I'd be worried about him playing week in week out and I have concerns over his current level of fitness, since he's basically had no pre-season whatsoever and is definitely the wrong side of 30... I'd love him to be involved with the first team and move on to a coaching role though. He's forgotten more about defending than our lot know combined.

Hold on a second... three signings before August? Fuck off. 'He'll never come here, stepping stone, no ambition, too good for us, not good enough, rather be playing CL football, we need hungry players, fat bastard, probably a bummer, very good signing, far too old and will command big wages.'

I wish the tubby prick would shut up.

'A thick slice... of Thin Lizzy'

Carroll plays better the shitter his hair gets.

Aye, saying she was no longer a fan or summats.

We need to hit the ground running this season and that's going to be more likely if we have players with premiership & english football experience. That's probably the thinking behind it.

Routledge played in Bests goal, and Best made a run and passed the ball back to Vuckic who was in the box.. I'm pretty sure the move started from a Routledge pass though.

good spot, I remember the '46' songs at Doncaster when Bassong had that number. Haha, that was a brilliant day out. Whoever came up with '46 is twice the player of 23' is a genius.

Any young player that plays in pre-season with the 46 shirt is destined for bigger things. All hail Haris...

Has a bit of free time over summer I guess.

Keegan didn't quit city, it was a mutual agreement to not renew his contract. At least that's how I remember it. Both chairman and manager wanted a change, not really a walk out.

Billy Ions, 15 year old Geordie youth player currently in Spain. Linked in the same article in the OP.

Yeah, but on the other hand it was 5 years ago. And you say you'd be fine with finishing 7th but I doubt the majority will. Fans naturally tend to wand progression year after year and Liverpool haven't appeared to have done this at all.

Liverpool are also a brand name, you see their merchandise all over the place when you go abroad. I tend to see more kids support Liverpool than other non-local teams in the school I work at as well. I can't get my head around how Liverpool fans love Rafa though. He has done well for them getting to 2 CL finals and winning one, as well as the FA cup etc., but the amount of money he has thrown away on average players is ridiculous... how anyone can justify 18m on a right back and then moan about needing more funds for strengthening is beyond me.

I know and these commentators called it a carnival atmosphere Only because the amount of clowns on display.

This isn't massively uncommon, I was told by jeff winter that woodgate moving to spurs wasn't just football-based and was a major reason why he didn't move to us instead.

Shut up Jonny Hall, shut the hell up!

Oh no, credability on an internet forum. Some of you need to take yourselves a little less seriously, you'll all collapse with heart failure.

What, Mark Hughes who took Blackburn to 6th in the premier league playing attractive football on a budget of f*** all and signing and developing some superb players? And McClaren who's got unfashionable Twente 4 points clear of world renowned Ajax and 5 ahead of PSV in the Dutch league this season? Did Blackburn play attractive football though? Allardyce got Bolton to 5th didn't he? What's your point in that perspective? Either way, both of them managers did well over time at their club.

You're right to a certain extent, change of management may lead to instability but the operative word is may. If the change is done mid season, then yah definitely. But if we do at the end of the season, get a proven Premiership manager to install his new staff, strengthen the squad, train the players and have friendly matches, then it is reasonable to expect that things will turn out well. I disagree that the reason for the instability over the last few seasons was change of management, it was more the timing. Keegan's example provides the best proof of how things can be done right and wrong. Getting him to replace Big Sam with time to spare filled the fans with optimism, chopping him off a few games in and bringing in such a lousy replacement created instability, so it all depends on how and when the replacement is carried out. If we don't change Hughton at the end of the season, highly likely Ashley will replace him in January when Hughton's deficiencies are revealed (again) in the Premiership. Nothing against him, I appreciate what he has done for us in the Championship, but that is all he is...a good Championship manager. I kind of would, coupled with the fact that the club has made the wrong appointments. Ignoring the old boards history with this, the appointments by the current board have been: Keegan (replacing Allardyce who was appointed by old board) Joe Kinnear Shearer Hughton Keegan was a romantic choice that was, in hindsight, almost definitely picked to just get the fans on his side... although I really can't say that for sure, none of us can. Kinnear was an absolute joke of an appointment from start to finish and I still refuse to believe that he was the only option. Shearer was something like the Keegan appointment but backfired in the end. Hughtons appointment made sense given everything that had happened, although it wasn't until a month or two into the season until it happened. I agree with your point about the timing of the appointments being paramount to their effectiveness... but I would like to see Hughton given at least until Christmas. Then again I'm something of an optimist and more importantly I don't trust this board to make the right managerial choice after they have inevitably fired Hughton.

Well I assume it'd be a 30k basic at a maximum, with incentives in the contract that could raise it such as goal bonuses, appearance bonuses etc.

A change in manager leads to a massive change in stability, with the whole backroom staff changing, new players to suit the managers' new tactics, new training regimes, new training timetables... everything changes and anything that was settled before becomes unsettled. The sole reason for our instability over the least five years or whatever has been the constant upheaval in managers & both playing and non-playing staff. To change a manager that is clearly popular with the whole playing staff and has their respect could work if the right appointment is made, but it could also backfire massively and any kind of uproar caused from poor player performances would leak up to the boardroom with the fans unhappy with a failing appointment (no doubt people would then moan about Hughton not being given a chance) and before we know it 'buoycootts' are flying about, club sales and most probably interim managers and re-occuring relegations. Of course, it could work out if the right appointment was made, but I can see us getting a good start in the PL before things go a bit stale, a bit like Hull in their first season - difference is that I rate Hughtons' man-management more than I do Browns. People are saying Hughes could be good, but surely he'd be just another Allardyce who is too pig-headed to accept his own shortcomings and mistakes.

Burnt

The question from the reporter was most probably loaded, so he'd either give an answer that'd provoke a reaction either way.