PRL

Don't think he would quite fit into the current plan of young and hungry players... That said, he certainly is hungry... Sorry, thought i'd get there first

i was expecting a joke then... very disappointing

Wooo! I thought no one was going to reply, all the effort would have been wasted! Ashley may not have made it happen, but he could sure as hell done more to stop it - again, good enough reason to be pissed off if you ask me. He's also at the top of the tree, like it or not the person at the top will always get external shit directed at them, then they'll run it downhill to those below them internally - worked my fair share in some pretty beasting organisations and have first hand experience of that. I think we'll have to agree to disagree on the reason for people's continued anger. Of course, Keegan being Keegan has made a massive difference, but the concerns run far beyond that (well, to me and a lot of people on here at least) and relate to the entire set up at the club and the way it's been run these last few weeks, and potentially a long time since. I'd hope if one of your key staff members wasn't aligned to strategy but you were working client site and knew he was very important to maintaining relations with client and customers then you would at least try to sit down face to face with the person in question and attempt to discuss the issue and compromise. Even if you could not do so then at least you'd shake hands at the end, say no hard feelings and not dredge it up with the client next time you speak, especially if you knew that the staff member who was leaving had really cared about the company itself and the client you were working for and the feeling was mutual. (Stretching this analogy now i realise). Your last statement totally contradicts your statement in your previous post: Either you can make a difference or you can't? Peace out They did try to sit down with Keegan, he wasnt having any of it apparently. I agree there are some contradictory elements to what i'm saying as i dont want to piss all over people's efforts. The reality is that Ashley wont sell unless someone is prepared to pay his asking price, and i can see no harm in 'Ashley Out' campaigning when its clear that there is someone on the horizon. If you say there will never be any forewarning or prior knowledge if a groupis interested in buying then that answers my question about the point of campaigning in the first place. Cool, i enjoyed that, thank you for some reasoned conversation - back to trying to do some work, going to be a late one i fear!

Wooo! I thought no one was going to reply, all the effort would have been wasted! Ashley may not have made it happen, but he could sure as hell done more to stop it - again, good enough reason to be pissed off if you ask me. He's also at the top of the tree, like it or not the person at the top will always get external shit directed at them, then they'll run it downhill to those below them internally - worked my fair share in some pretty beasting organisations and have first hand experience of that. I think we'll have to agree to disagree on the reason for people's continued anger. Of course, Keegan being Keegan has made a massive difference, but the concerns run far beyond that (well, to me and a lot of people on here at least) and relate to the entire set up at the club and the way it's been run these last few weeks, and potentially a long time since. I'd hope if one of your key staff members wasn't aligned to strategy but you were working client site and knew he was very important to maintaining relations with client and customers then you would at least try to sit down face to face with the person in question and attempt to discuss the issue and compromise. Even if you could not do so then at least you'd shake hands at the end, say no hard feelings and not dredge it up with the client next time you speak, especially if you knew that the staff member who was leaving had really cared about the company itself and the client you were working for and the feeling was mutual. (Stretching this analogy now i realise). Your last statement totally contradicts your statement in your previous post: Either you can make a difference or you can't? Peace out

I'm pretty sure if i'd seen Alisdair Darling dancing on a stage in the States surrounded by morons looking for 5 minutes of fame whilst Northern Rock collapsed i'd have every right to be pissed off and you would be too, no? Great post pete I'd actually started a long response to your main post but work got in the way unfortunately... I shall resume asap! Apart from the fact NUFC hasn't collapsed...it's manager walked out. Err yes, but the analogy was the Chancellor - Northern Rock crashing wasn't the equivalent of the entire financial network crashing, it was just a major component of his overall sphere of responsibility going ass up, as Keegan leaving NUFC was to Ashley. We still have an economy as we still have NUFC

As promised, this may take a while as getting rinsed at work today, so apologies if about 1000 posts have preceded since i started this... I'll stick with the political analogy. Chancellor and Prime Minister (in the case of Gordon Brown, his role as both) live and die by their decisions. At the next election it's likely that Brown will get trounced as a result of his actions in both roles and I have no sympathy for him whatsoever. What makes the difference here is I can vote and essentially select a better option / punish him for his bad management. He should be held accountable and it isn't a long way apart to blame - If you are accountable for something it is your responsibility, if something that is your responsibility goes tits up you must shoulder part of the blame. To use a different analogy, if the guy who works for me puts some numbers together today and i fail to check them because i'm otherwise engaged on here, my boss is still going to be pissed with me, even though i didn't do the work, as it's my responsibility to check anything under my remit is correct. We're not talking a small admin matter here, we're talking about the loss of one of the key 'resources' of our 'business' (i hate describing football in such a way but seems it's the way it's going). Yes, Ashley must delegate, but when there is something that could have a massive impact on his business occurring, he needs to be on ground level and be involved. Either this did not happen, which makes Ashley incredibly negligent as a businessman and shows he grossly misread Keegan, or the information about what was going on wasn't communicated correctly, in which case the head of who is responsible must roll (my guess Llambias, but that's all it is, a guess), this has not happened, or he knew exactly what was happening and thought 'i know, i'll go out and get wasted and splashed about the papers, that'll go down a treat with all my customers'. None of those options really show him in the best light and i can understand why a lot of people are pissed. He's also tried to be 'one of the boys', which is of no concern at all to me, but if he wants to act like that then he can't turn round when he fucks up and expect people to then see him as a disconnected owner. Facts are he told us KK was in charge of transfers, there was a decent budget available for players KK wanted and that he was here to have fun. What has happened would be very few people's idea of fun in this last week and people feel betrayed. Rightly or wrongly, they're going to be pissed off. I think Wise wouldn't actually be enough now. I don't honestly think that Wise going would have any impact on the backroom set up and most people have said they want a manager in charge of buying and selling with a scouting team helping him track down purchases. It's clear 'the system' has won out and a lot people don't want the DoF in charge of transfers, which it appears is the case. Wise would just be replaced and unless it was someone very special people wouldn't accept who came in. A lot of people will be looking at the club exactly because the owner is beleagured and being forced out. It's not like it's an irrational reaction, Ashley made one of the mother of all fuck ups in his handling of this situation, it would be pretty difficult for anyone to repeat! I think many less eccentric owners wouldn't be put off. They'd be mad to reappoint Keegan though, I agree on that. They would realise they could come in on a tidal wave of goodwill and providing they used some sense could make a real difference. Interesting about Belgravia - did not know that. You do need to be careful what you wish for, but then i don't think it's totally absurd to think we'd be a great target for a buyout by a mega-rich type. I mean, Man City were hardly in a good position, with a fugitive owner and a history of recent instability. Not saying it will happen, but i'm a gambling man and right now i'd twist rather than stick. Again, if you have experience of managing large organisations then would you let possibly the most important staff member quit without even tracking them down and meeting them? Without even coming back to the country? Would your boss not be really annoyed with you if you did this? I also think this whole organisation / business thing for a football club is a misnomer. Not all businesses, in fact very few, have the community aspect of a football club and particularly Newcastle United. Ashley said he wanted to buy into the passion of the fans, he either lied or didn't get it at all. When it becomes clear there's a better alternative?! Will Anil Ambani / A N other Billionaire send an email to nufconline saying "hey lads, interested in investing some major wedge, now be good lads and get down and cause Ashley some bother"?! Virtually all recent takeovers have come totally out the blue, Chelsea and Man City especially, we don't have any idea what is potentially out there and how much impact some pressure now could have. As i said earlier, with the government there is a voting system in place to voice your displeasure; we don't have that luxury - if people want to protest in a legal manner and show their displeasure all power to them. Making a stand can make a difference and if it wasn't for those 'mongs' outside SJP last week i don't think any effort would have been made to get Keegan back. We all have different feelings as to whether protest can work positively, i feel in this case it can. Fingers crossed people get themselves organised, do it right and make a positive impact.

I'm pretty sure if i'd seen Alisdair Darling dancing on a stage in the States surrounded by morons looking for 5 minutes of fame whilst Northern Rock collapsed i'd have every right to be pissed off and you would be too, no? Great post pete I'd actually started a long response to your main post but work got in the way unfortunately... I shall resume asap!

I'm pretty sure if i'd seen Alisdair Darling dancing on a stage in the States surrounded by morons looking for 5 minutes of fame whilst Northern Rock collapsed i'd have every right to be pissed off and you would be too, no?

My concern is the Spurs game. Unless they do what Arsenal did (tickets for a tenner) i can't see more than 20k turning up. Even tickets for a tenner would probably seen as a bit of a tacky attempt to get people back onside after the current debacle. Be interesting to know who intends going to the Spurs game, i was going to travel up for it but i'm away with work so can't make it. Theres probably a lot of ST holders who are on the direct debit system for cup games so will automatically recieve them. The Carling Cup represents our best chance of silverware and as such i'll be turning out for the game. Ah, forgot about the new dd scheme, will definitely make a difference

My concern is the Spurs game. Unless they do what Arsenal did (tickets for a tenner) i can't see more than 20k turning up. Even tickets for a tenner would probably seen as a bit of a tacky attempt to get people back onside after the current debacle. Be interesting to know who intends going to the Spurs game, i was going to travel up for it but i'm away with work so can't make it.

So is it now "old board Vs new board Vs no board"?

this is what Ashley and his merry men want....50 000 good little sheep behaving themselves Grow up. BooBoo isn't implying we shouldn't make our voices heard but is absolutely correct in simply stating that we need to get behind the team. sheep. balloon

That's an excellent point - if the players think an absolute legend like KK can be utterly shafted without the fans batting an eyelid I can't imagine they'll be too inclined to bother their arses going the extra mile for us when the chips are down. Ironically KK will probably be out shopping with his missus having put all this behind him and enjoying a nice holiday. For me this isn't really about KK any longer, he's gone and i'm fucking gutted, but i've accepted that. It's about the lies we have been fed (that Mirror article along with the Mike Ashley interview offer some peachy quotes that show quite clearly we've been bullshitted) and the fact that the guy who owns the club doesn't seem to give a shit he's done this. I don't care if he has appointed other people to do the job of running the club, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to realise that when the shit is hitting the fan about something he knows a load of people passionately care about, you shouldn't be out getting smashed up with a bunch of wannabes and getting photographed by the press. He's not stupid, he'd have known there was a good chance those photos would get published and people would be up in arms. I'd say there's a good chance he read that statement before it was released. It's as if he's trying to test just how far he can push people and get away with it. He's pushed certain people too far and deserves to know that we won't just lap it up and pretend all is rosey. I wouldn't be surprised if he's relying on Geordie Pride to win the day and everyone to cheer their hearts out for the lads regardless. I'd like to think he'll get a rude awakening come Saturday.

You're entitled to your opinion, but the way you insist on putting down anyone who disagrees with it is getting pretty tiresome. The Mag, True Faith, Toon Ultras, the clear majority on here (see poll results) not to mention the likes of Sir Bobby Robson and Alan Shearer all think there's something rotten with the current set-up, and believe something should be done about it - I agree with them and applaud their willingness to stand up and be counted on behalf of Geordies everywhere. I agree with this. I understand that the team need to be got behind, now more than ever, but they're professional football players, being paid tens of thousands of pounds a week to go out and play football. They should be able to beat Hull in an empty stadium (not that i agree in any way with the boycott idea). How about the flipside? If everyone turns up, sings and cheers as if nothing has happened, then those players may very well think that Ashley and co can do what the hell they like and everyone of them does have a price, that they'll all be moving on sooner or later because the fans will just take it from behind and just carry on regardless. I think there is a line between passionately supporting the team and blindly following come what may. A lot of people have decided the line has been crossed and some kind of protest has to be made. Not everyone agrees, fair enough, but to be calling them every name under the sun because of it is bullshit, if they've bought their ticket / their replica shirts / whatever they have as much right as the next person to make a stance. I don't think they'll be there calling you names for cheering the team on and not protesting, so why have a go at them? Nobody knows what has happened other than those who won't, at present at least, come out and tell us, so we all have to forge an opinion based on what we know, we obviously won't all agree.

Just to confirm, it was a Reliance spokesperson who made those comments http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_4116480,00.html

Our position... We have not expressed interest... Sounds like a group to me, the only individual reference was actually the bit that did not rule out future plans to invest. I guess it depends how you want to read it, i'm certainly clutching at any straws i can see!

Haven't .com made a mistake there? I'm pretty sure that's a quote from Reliance, not for Ambani himself. Maybe wrong, mind.

How legit? No idea tbh. I've been told by someone who's a mate of Paul Kemsley that Newcastle are seriously interested in appointing Fatih Terim. And that is about it. Don't know if he is your #1 choice or whether he is at all interested in taking over, but if he says that Newcastle are interested, then I believe that, hence my £20. FWIW, I don't think Newcastle under the current regime deserve a good manager. How they treated KK is about as shabby as it gets. I'm assuming in your view then Spurs deserved Howard fecking Wilkinson after what they did to your namesake?

Has anyone mentioned Ketsbaia?! If not, there's probably a valid reason, but with people throwing Steve Bruce in the mix...

Can´t really understand your fear of that! I really do admire wenger and what he´s done at arsenal. they play beautiful football have a young squad and dont pay silly wages like us and end up with overpaid useless players like smith. And he still buy "expensive" good attractive players nasri. can´t see there problem......though i know we are at least 5-10 years behind. If we follow the identical model, great, but do we have a Wenger to do that? As i said, my fear is of us being a second rate version - not able to attract the cream of the crop and settling for second best, leaving us in mid table obscurity, selling our best players as soon as they show some form and not challenging again. Even Arsenal, with Wenger, have failed to win anything for a few years. What he does is admirable and one league win for them is worth 5 Chelski wins in my opinion, but it seems now they can no longer compete. Watch chance do we have without Wenger, London and being years behind?

This is my biggest fear. I hope it's not the case, but if we turn into a low-rent Arsenal, bringing youth players through without the lure of the capital / recent history Arsenal have so getting slightly worse players, then selling them on i'll be gutted. Not sure i could take us being turned into some kind of football farm. As i say though, i'm hoping that's not the case. The problem is I'm just unwilling to trust Ashley any more. That exclusive interview he gave turned out to be a pack of lies. So I've got no idea as to what he wants this club to become. Agreed

This is my biggest fear. I hope it's not the case, but if we turn into a low-rent Arsenal, bringing youth players through without the lure of the capital / recent history Arsenal have so getting slightly worse players, then selling them on i'll be gutted. Not sure i could take us being turned into some kind of football farm. As i say though, i'm hoping that's not the case.

He's accomplished much here both as a player and a manager. Revolutionised the club during his first spell as manager, *and re-educated the team as to how to play football the right way during his brief second spell. *His influence over the closing stages of last season saved us from the relegation axe, and with this Mr Ashley's 'investment' was also kept afloat. *In essence this is my response to Baggio's thoughts 'that during his latest managerial spell KK has done nothing which is deserving of appreciation etc'. Keegan owes Mr Ashley nothing, likewise he doesn't owe us/the supporters anything either - especially the wankers who are drumming up this 'he's left us in the s**** for a second time' line. My sentiments about Keegan's departure. My respect for him - as a manager - would've diminished fractionally if he'd stayed while having his strings pulled by a set of puppeteers who deem themselves to be more important football-related figures than the manager. No manager, and he is 'old school, with any sense of professional integrity will just sit back while having their power to manage compromised ie. at the front-office level: transfer activity & coaching staff acquistions/dismissals. Keegan has walked away from an unambitious w***** in the form Ashley. He wants what's best for the club, he always has and his ability to take the club forward. He shouldn't be weighed down by the sort of lack of ambition not seen since McKeag's reign imo, when the latter funnelled off our best players. I refer to the board in the final hours of the transfer window and their attempt to flog/sell-off players currently in Keegan's 1st team frame, Owen in particular. He's walked away with his professional integrity intact and fair play to him. However for Newcastle-Upon-Thames it's a different kettle of fish. And from which source did you get the bit in bold which seems to be the basis for your assumption on the board? I think if we are to cast aside assumptions and only deal with fact we won't have anything left to post!

We'll find out. If Keegan stays quiet and we don't find out what happened, I agree

I just don't understand how it could be Zola... He has nil experience, no links to Newcastle (bar the dwarf) and no outstanding credentials that i can think of. Still prefer him to O'Leary mind, i think that would actually end my interest in football altogether.