Ericz

Is there any reliable source indicating that it's going to be another British manager? If indeed so, Qualification: 1. British Manager 2. Experienced 3. Successful 4. Attack-minded Honestly, none comes to my mind... Mmmm... BUT C'mon, why a British manager again? Patriotic? I wish someone can/would explain to me why a British manager again... Regards Ericz

I second that. Newcastle has been a major disappointment for the past few seasons (maybe 5 seasons or more?). As a down to earth/realistic person, I do expect them to improve bit by bit. However, if they do reach the top immediately, it's a bonus. I certainly don't like to day-dream. Regards, Ericz

David Ginola. He has what this club always wanted, flair, entertainment and more. Moreover, he did very well when he was at Spurs. I still remember the memorable matches between Spurs and Man U which Spurs ultimately won a couple of times... Ginola was a one man show, of course, i think Campbell marshalled the defence well too. Regards, Ericz

There's alot of things in the club that needs to be changed. Unfortunately, Sam does not top that list. I will say what does: 1. Attitude and Mentality of the immature fans Please grow up! (and be more civilised at times?) Regards, Ericz

Please don't be so pessimistic. Life is full of hope and hope is all around ^^ Believe in the team, support the team even if their form is poor, cheer them on, that is all what matters. Causing panic is definitely not the way to go. Regards, Ericz

I share that same sentiment. Those people that boo are somewhat immature to be frank. Additionally, booing a player will just lower his confidence, and what help does it serve? Look at Bramble, he's scored an important goal for Wigan against Liverpool! and you know why he's been doing better for Wigan than Newcastle? My guess is.... the fans have lower expectations and less booing, resulting in him having more confidence on the pitch. So Newcastle fans who boo and rant unnecessarily, I seriously doubt you're doing anything good for the club that way... Regards, Ericz

I find it pretty senseless... A few months ago, there were fans calling for Sam to play 4-3-3, now it's 4-4-2... Then what? It's crazy... these days people are so demanding and impatient.... Rgds, Ericz

Ferguson has made a very valid point. If anybody thinks that he's that good with managing a game (not football manager (that's just a game, not reality), choosing the right players and tactics, managing the players, why not try out the newcastle job? Regards, Ericz

It is true that nobody is bigger than the club. But if the current form and quality of players remain the same even if the manager changes, will that help? Sam definitely isn't World Class now, but that doesn't mean in the future, if given time, he can't be. Arsene Wenger, Alex Ferguson ain't World Class to start with anyway. Tell me, who's World Class? Why are they World Class? Will they come? If they failed and ended up like our predecessors, will you give him time? Or will you dismiss him as 'not World Class' or 'Faked World Class' or the likes? Not too sure though, there may be issues of mutual trust and confidence and redundancy in the long term? Rgds, Ericz

First: Some players are bigger than the team Some of the players seem to be bigger than the team. They lack professionalism. If they don't like the system, have a chat with the manager, if it fails, ask for a transfer. Never do things behind the manager's back etc. It seems like what a hypocrite will do. Secondly: Some fans are too impatient Some of the fans are too immature and impatient. Calmness and politeness goes a long way. One can be disappointed at certain results but objectivity has to be maintained. The bigger picture needs to be looked at. How long has the manager been appointed? What standard are our players of? What is their attitude like? Factors like these have to be considered in light of the situation before the whole case can be presented. If the fans who frequently criticise the manager are really that good, why aren't they the manager? *lol* That says lots to me... It means they just know how to talk. Be there, understand their position and maybe those skeptics will have a better picture.. maybe they will even collapse at the initial pressure lol.. (or maybe there are some Sunderland fans here pretending to be Newcastle fans ) That's what I've gathered when I read some of the posts in this forum... ~Cheers, Ericz

I don't think Asian players are that bad, especially when you do not have the chance to watch them play. It's kinda like stereo-typing. hehehehe Besides, Newcastle's players ain't that fantastic either (at least for now, until they start cooperating, getting used to the system and start playing decent football)... there's no World Cup stars, England didn't manage to qualify either... If you weigh the balance, it's not too bad to give him a try I feel. I can't see us losing out. Regards, Ericz

If it is true, I feel that the players simply have AP (Attitude Problem!) + they are not being professional + not to mention they are over-rated + they think too highly of themselves. The correct approach is to get rid of them! It doesn't take lots of foresight to be able to see that come the next manager, with the same batch of players, there is always a potential risk that the same set of problems will occur. Regards, Ericz

Call them up, use them so that their Country of birth can never call them up again. It really doesn't matter whether they get called up again. That's a discussion for future. At least, we secure the option. I always prefer an additional option than no option. Regards, Ericz

I think he makes lots of sense. Being too impatient achieves nothing. Give him a season or 2 and as long as he does not get us relegated, he cannot do worse than the disappointment in the previous seasons I reckon. Sometimes, awareness is needed and over-expecting is an unhealthy thing. ~Merry Christmas Ericz

Honestly, I'm still supporting them even though they have been largely disappointing almost every year. ~brrrrrrrrrr C'mon, let's be honest with ourselves. Every season, Newcastle promised so much with their pool of talented players and big purchases in the transfer market but year in, year out, they failed to deliver for the past few seasons. Perhaps, I just hate switching to supporting another club just because they are winning something.... But I must say, Arsenal and Liverpool have very passionate and loyal fans too and I mean lots of them.... Arsenal plays fantastic football and sometimes I wish Newcastle was just like them. I'm not too sure about Manchester United and Chelsea though. The bulk of their supporters seem to support them just because they are winning. Maybe it's just me and I may be wrong. Tottenham is a wonderful team too... sadly, they are too scandalous these days... I'm keeping an eye on Everton. I hope they will do something great and David Moyes gets the opportunity to develop and shine at the European stage and International stage one day. Oh well, I'm willing to give Newcastle time. I don't expect alot this year but hopefully, with everything stable and everybody are well-adjusted, we will be able to push into the top 6 next season. Regards, Ericz

Maybe they can sell the naming rights of the stadium like what Arsenal did? or have they already done so? It will definitely bring in some much needed cash. Regards, Ericz

Mmmm meh.. mi think St. James Park needs some re-making on the exterior rather than increasing the number of seats. It doesn't look modern and stylish enough hehehehe but it's just me. I think we should have a stadium that will make us proud too and the team too hehehe Regards, Ericz

David Ginola Steve McManamananan Marc Overmars Eric Cantona Jamie Redknapp Paul Gascoigne Ian Wright Jürgen Klinsmann Peter Beardsley Fabrizio Ravanelli Stan Collymore Matthew Le Tissier Graeme Le Saux Tim Flowers Taribo West (His Lightning Green Hair!) - anyone remembers him? He left a deep impression in my mind with his hair heheh

If you can't win trophies with the set up and squad at Liverpool surely there is summat wrong with you. We (Newcastle) were deemed to have a fantastic setup and squad at some points in the last few years too 8x *giggles* but unfortunately... sighhhhh.. Regards

Let's not forget he won them trophies ^^ Plus he made it to the finals of Champions League twice And Liverpool's past seasons in the EPL have been consistent under him. He has the impact of Ferguson for ManU and Wenger for Arsenal. Arggghhhh... this so reminds me that Chelski should never have let the Special one leave either. Regards

I don't see anything wrong with their new stadium design. Well, it's modern and futuristic, which is good. Looking through the list of future stadiums here --> http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/past_future/future_stadiums.shtml, these look impressive too: http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/past_future/pictures/future_stadiums/valencia_mestalla.jpg http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/past_future/pictures/future_stadiums/durban_king_park2.jpg http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/past_future/pictures/future_stadiums/dublin_lansdowne1.jpg http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/past_future/pictures/future_stadiums/new_york_yankee.shtml http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/past_future/pictures/future_stadiums/portsmouth_pompey.shtml http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/past_future/pictures/future_stadiums/incheon_soongwi.jpg Regards

Personally, I think England is over-rated. Also, the more the expectations, the heavier the fall will be. While it is true that some English teams have reached the upper echelon of the Champion's League but look at the nationality of the managers and key performers of the team. Are the bulk of them English? I'm afraid not. If England wants to groom a successful manager, time and opportunity is needed. An alternative route is to buy instant success, which is what they are doing now. I don't see anything wrong because it is a practical thing to do in today's world. However, it is kind of a joke that a big and advanced country like UK, supposedly with the right optimum condition/environment, better than most other countries (i.e. Brazil, Portugal, Italy) , cannot even muster a single Englishman capable enough to perform that role. I will say it's a tad embarrassing. My question is, What happened? I'm just voicing my thoughts out frankly. Regards.

Unfortunately, I am not very sure what a Citeh fan means. I just happen to have very strong interests in law, politics, corporate finance, and economics, hence my opinions on this topic. There is one more thing to bear in mind in the Manchester City's situation. That is, the soccer world is no difference from that of the commercial world nowadays. This means that it adheres to the rules of the commercial world. Sadly, profit margins / potentials are very important considerations to the game nowadays. Soccer isn't like the olden days anymore. Time have changed. Matters aren't that simple. If matters are that simple, everybody will be wealthy people now. Regards, Ericz

It would definitely be unfair to judge on the situation without knowing the facts. There are many considerations that we commoners are not privy too. To be fair, Thailand would not be what it is today without Thaksin Shinawatra. Also, unfortunately, many countries are also guilty of the inconsistencies listed in the report, including the United States and the United Kingdom. All I can say is reality is cruel. Have a look at the job scopes of professionals like lawyers and accountants, and also banks and financial institutions, they all justified why reality is cruel. I am not sure how old you are, how much you have seen or from what angle you are coming from, but the world is concerned about their bottom lines. That is a fact. Politically and from an economic point of view, Thaksin Shinawatra is a capable person. Regarding news and reports (especially news), I usually take them with a pinch of salt. One must always consider the background situation behind the reports (the objectivity of the report, who is paying the report, prejudice of the writer, which side cannot be offended etc.) The world is about bottom lines, at the same time, relationships and politically correct and beneficial statements are also fundamentals. It is especially so at higher levels. There are many more considerations than we can imagine. Henceforth, I am often very skeptical over all these. These are just my views on it. Regards, Ericz

Before one even start a debate on it, ask yourself these: What is moral obligations? What do you know about moral obligations? In truth, even academics have problems grappling with the concept and definition of what is moral. For normal people like us, I don't think we are well-equipped to answer that. Everybody's moral values are different. For example, I think those who wear skimpy clothings are not decent and they lack moral values but you may think otherwise. You get what I mean? According to JS Mills, moral values are merely views of the majority. Learnings of witchcraft, Gods, demons, astrology were once followed religiously, because people thought of them as being moral. However, is it really moral? Essentially, we are touching on the realm of philosophy. In my humble opinion. i prefer to use a modern way to look at matters, a utilitarian approach, maybe even Richard Posner's economic approach. The way to judge something is whether does it give you maximum utility/profit in the long run or not. Yes, it is pragmatic. But in this world, what is not pragmatic? Football will not survive and flourish without money being involved. It is reality. If a proper risk assessment is conscientiously carried out proving that the benefits of signing him outweighs the detriment, i think it is a good move. Otherwise, it is not. But like I said, there needs to be proper risk assessment, not the usual advantages and disadvantages thing, it is more than that (i.e. SWOT analysis etc) Regards, Ericz