bealios

You complete gimp. By mug punters of course you mean true supporters? Whilst I disagree with any boycott, at least those that talk about not going to the Hull game are standing by their principles. Talking about not going to this game is a bit "Well I probably couldn't be arsed to go anyway so lets just call it my boycott". Why go to Hull where we have no realistic chance of winning the league (or qualifying for Europe), and then boycott a game which is in fact our most realistic chance of a trophy and hence European qualification?

I have to agree that I get a lot of stick for supporting NUFC and living outside of the north east. Part of it is justified, although most of it is a combination of jealousy and knowing that it winds me up because I care about it. Its difficult to wind up an irish Chelsea fan who's only supported Chelsea for 5 years, because the bottom line is they don't really give a shit to what actually happens at Chelsea. Back on topic, if the owners and managers have brought chaos on the club again, then it is left to the other parts of the club to try and bring it back again i.e. the fans and the players. How do we do that? With a half arsed boycott? By parading for the Sky cameras? Bollocks. Go to the game, and create an atmosphere that raises the players to a performance, and hammer Hull. Part of that can be singing all of the Keegan songs in unison during the game, part can be chanting sack the board before the game, at half time and at full time etc.

Agree with everything the Mag and TF say. Boycott is not an option. I know its difficult for many to miss a game, but surely if you care for the club you can manage not to buy a pie or beer in the ground, just get tanked up before you get in! This will hit the owners where it hurts. If this goes on all season, they will be shitting themsevles when renewal time comes up. This won't of course give a public display, which can damage the owners in a different way. I think the most effective public display would be for 55,000 fans to turn up (not buying merchandise or beer or pies of course), all dressed in clothes other than the strips (I would suggest black if it could be organised and publicised properly), and then sing for 90 minutes in support of the team. I don't agree with the abusing Ashley part though - as a businessman he has put running the club in the hands of others - it would be weak management to sack those just because the majority are not in favour with their decisions. He shouldn't warrant personal abuse, and should be allowed to attend the away games with his family if he wants to. If the other actions above end up damaging the club, we will as fans have proved to him that those running the club are incompetent as they have damaged the public perception and financial performance of the club by their actions.

Too many angry views being expressed without knowledge of what has gone on. Obviously if Keegan goes it is a ridiculous decision for many, many different reasons, even if you ignore his “Messiah” status. But turning on Ashley seems to make no sense at the moment. Nobody knows if he was even directly involved on Tuesday, it could quite easily (and actually quite likely) be a falling out between Keegan and Wise/Llambias/Jiminez over attempted player sales. Fair enough Ashley put that structure in place, but that structure is operated successfully on the continent and many clubs in this country. Where Ashley needs to show his worth is to get back in the UK and sort this mess out. It’s not beyond saving, all that needs is a joint statement that they have clarified issues regarding responsibilities, and that Keegan has been given final authority over all first team players sales, and all first team player acquisitions. Obviously the recruitment team can make suggestions, and sign young prospects, but the man who picks the team must be the same man who controls the players from which he can pick. Regardless of outcome, we need to support NUFC in whatever state it continues, with or without Keegan.

Not sure if its been answered elsewhere, but isn't KK supposed to be attending Joey Barton's FA hearing on his behalf tomorrow morning?

To be honest I don't think it is that black and white. Our recruitment team have clearly done a good job with the 6 players we have signed this window. I know its very early, but in terms of not being held to ransom and actually trying to get non-mercenary players who want to do well for NUFC, can you remember a better summer of acquisitions since Keegan's last reign? I think that the recruitment team is doing a good job (and that includes Wise), and all that needs to happen in the next few days is that Ashley and Keegan agree from now on Keegan decides ultimately on player DEPARTURES, and on acquisitions Keegan needs to be the main input and decision maker, however I'm all for him taking a back seat when it come to recruiting the young players who aren't likely to feature for the first team for a couple of years. I think this is a sensible way of both parties saving face and coming out of this mess in a positive way.

A similar course of events occurred in 1992, and the overall impact it had on the club was very positive.

They've already told us - he hasn't gone. Relax. Stick together. Ashley's conduct over the last year to me seems to be for the best of the club (i.e. in its current state of not having a load of Arab oil money running it). Keegan loves the club and wouldn't want to sell the fans short. We have two parties who both want the best for NUFC, perhaps for different reasons, but still the the best. Ride the storm.!!

The man is solely responsible for the fact that we are not Forest/Preston/Leeds etc. The fact that those young kids feel obliged to stand outside SJP is because of that magical period which most of them didn't experience. Football has been around for over 100 years. In England there are almost 100 professional clubs. We should feel privileged that during our lifetime, as football fans, we lived between the years 1992 - 1997 as Newcastle fans. Those 5 years explain why even now the "Robinho" story has hardly been mentioned today.

The Man City thing initially struck me as the usual bollocks which Ashley (or more accurately his rent a quote associates) came out with when he bought NUFC. However the Robinho deal reminds me of what happened when Chelski arrived on the scene. This bloke means business, and now everyone else is fighting for 6th, which is great except that doesn't give european qualification.

Manorpark, the fans as you know are not a single thinking entity. Some of "the fans" see the absolutely disgusting media coverage that NUFC get for what it is, the rest are now outside SJP trying to get their mugs on Sky TV

To put everything in perspective, what happened with Man City yesterday will change football for the next 10 years. If Ashley had spent £30m yesterday it would have made no difference to the overall scheme of things. We cannot compete financially with Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal (ok. maybe but they have Wenger), Man City and very shortly QPR. There is no point at all infighting and making a dick of ourselves on Sky.

I was just about to type this but you saved me the bother so deserved a quote. KK - whatever his flaws at management level is one of the few things that keeps me watching this game.

This shouldn't be a thread for slagging Ashley. If I'd fluked just over £1bn I wouldnt be paying all of it just to try and keep up with a £850bn owning owner for a club I didn't grow up with. My view is that the only solution to this is a salary cap on sqauds. It wouldn't breach EU regulation (trust me, I'm a lawyer...) and the long term implications are a competitive league. Would Berbatov have joined Man Utd if he know that squad salary caps meant that the most he would ever be paid was £60,000 due to Rio/Ronaldo/Rooney still at the club? This is the only way in the long term that football will not lose the fan base. The worring thing is, I'm not sure it needs it in the very long term...

I thought you almost had a good point. Stop listening to Sky. Dennis Wise is a scout because he didn't personally want to work full time as a football manager. He has spent the last few months abroad scouting. If he was made manager attendances would drop to sub 40K. He will not be manager next. I agree with you that IF SOMETHING WENT ON LAST NIGHT then the overall fan reaction must have been a factor in making any decision today. The only thing which differentiates Newcastle from Middlesboro or Sunderland is the fan base. Lose that and Big Mike may as well have bought Fulham for half the price.

Can somebody sort out a proper discussion thread about this. I was in deep depression about the state of football this morning because of things such as this, and I've been distracted by the whole Keegan leaving stuff. To be honest, this whole "oil money now running football thing" is so more depressing to the sport I love. £135m for Ronaldo used to be something that would be published in the daily sport. Now is most likely going to be fact.

Stop being a dick until the fact are known. You're giving all NUFC supporters a terrible name. Why don't you go down and join the mongs at ST. James Park? ps. I imagine there are a lot of genuine fans concerned at the ground, but the pictures of young Wkd drinking dicks trying to get on TV is fucking horrible.

The coverage on sky is absolutely disgraceful. The reporter (who I am told is a dirty mackem) is basically reporting as fact that Keegan has turned his back on the club and that he should look at what the fans are saying. Even if it does end up to be true, by fluke more than anything else, this is appalling coverage from what is supposed to be an impartial broadcaster. Even the BBC have held back.

This is not the time for point scoring. We're all NUFC fans. Something has gone on, and I hope to fuck Keegan has said that if he doesn't get the control over players he needs then he leaves, and Ashley has realised what a blow that would be for the club and they are working something out. If it is this, once again Keegan has put his neck on the line for the good of the club. Lets all remember, like Souness, Allardyce and on an England level Mclaren, getting sacked is so much better financially than walking away for a manager. I hope I'm bloody right Haway the toon!!!

Wonderful. Its like 1992 all over again.

Always, but having thought about it, the most relevant news for NUFC long term is what happened to Man City yesterday. I think once the anger subsides the more sensible fans will realise that whatever has happened with Keegan, Ashley is still trying to run the club on a sustainable basis. With Keegan or without Keegan, what happened yesterday will directly or indirectly shape football for the years to come. Its one thing having a one off spawny Russian dick influencing football for the worse for a few years, its another thing having the English Premier League influenced in the long term by oil money. If this goes through, what's to stop 2 or 3 different takeovers putting Fulham and Sunderland and Middlesborough as the new top 4 (along with Man City...)

Stable club basically means a mid table side without hope for progressing any further. We now effectively have a fixed top 5, if not this season then certainly by next. I reckon QPR will make it a top 6 in the next couple of years - their owners are richer than Abramovich

This as well. Although Man Utd's were just as bad. Rich (or well represented) clubs disregarding rules, no punishment at all. Will Clichy be brought up an a disrepute charge for what he said about being proud of Nasri's foul? West Ham and the lack of punishment for Tevez? To be fair to Man City I hold nothing against them and hope they stick it to Chelsea and Man Utd - decent set of fans, but it just underlines how money runs the game. QPR will make up the new top 3 with Chelsea and Man City, it will only take one more mega rich club (and its not beyond the realms of possiblity that Arab oil money will take an available club very soon - Fulham anyone?) and then the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool will not be guaranteed CL qualification. How will you feel about football when after its rich history, we have the same 4 clubs run by bottomless pits of cash finishing in the top 4, not by building a team and being tactically astute, but by buying huge squads of the best players to the detriment of all other clubs?

This. I try to take a step back from the usual media crap and think about what makes sense. The Milner sale made sense (although it was clear it was not Keegan's decision), I even thought overall the transfer window dealings were alright - its just the injuries which make it seem worse. But the Owen announcement didn't make sense at all, reeks of amateurism. And if this is true, unless there is a world class manager lined up who actually picked all of our transfer window signings, could be a worse decision than the appointment of Souness.

I reckon the atmosphere for the Hull game might be worse than the Portsmouth/Liverpool matches last year. I'm predicting Owen will get the pantomime treatment if he hasn't signed by then (and I wouldn't blame him if he didn't)