manosdepiedra

It wasn't tactical though, we set out positively in the second half but the momentum just turned against us. It happens it football, we aren't good enough to dominate a game for 90 minutes. Agreed. We came out in the second half even more positive than in the first. We were battering them, up to the point of Willo's air shot. The trouble with this side this season isnt as much Pardew and how he sets them up rather than the collective Gallic shrug when we concede a goal. Add to that the surrenders at home in the last 3 games last season and the capitualtion v Hull this season then iyam the problem is with attitude and heart rather than tactics and ability.

Des Walker Des Walker scored one league goal in his entire career. Peter Beardsley however is your man

They're implicitly linked though. Did anyone have high hopes for Pardew when he was appointed? his recored suggested he flatters to deceive for a while then cant sustain any momentum to keep his team's moving forward. That sounds horribly familiar after last season. Who appointed a manager with that track record again?...

Yep. It's strange people can't take in criticism of the board/owner without reverting to pointing to Pardew as our major problem, conveniently sidestepping the fact that he too has been appointed and given more time by the same incompetent people at the top. i'm sorry like, but in the immediate term he is our major problem, because he's a football manager who is very poor at managing football teams this discussion was sort of restarted by me this morning not to juxtapose how brendan rodgers employers have or have not backed him this summer to make him more successful, it was to highlight how rodgers has gone out with purpose and intent to make sure liverpool have a good season to the best of his abilities pardew seems to have done little more than complain about new signings, ostensibly that ashley employed him and should have sacked him is by the by really 'cause he's still the manager I couldn't disagree more. Ashley could sack Pardew tomorrow and replace him by Kinnear (most likely) or the next unemployed no-mark English manager. The real issue here is Ashley, Pardew is no more than a symptom. The fact that Pardew is clearly first in line to get the job should tell you everything you need to know tbh. He's donr nowt but moan about transfers this summer because he's not involved in them to any great degree.

Think the replacement for one of them is here in the shape of Anita...they were probably expecting to sell one or the other last summer...squad building doesnt appear to be high on the club's priority list..

Read loads already listed on here, but one of the best books I've read on any subject is "my father and other working class football heroes" by Gary Imlach, who used to do the gridiron on C4 and now does the cycling on itv4. You wouldnt have to like football in any way to enjoy it. Describes the struggle to get rid of the maximum wage for footballers. When Jimmy Hill pops his clogs every footballer who is a millionaire nowadays should go to his funeral and pay their respects to him for making it possible.

The only season he managed Shearer we finished second, same as the season before. That was half Keegan, half Dalglish, mind. Aye KK's team though. Dalglish just had to put the cones out. To be fair, I think we were a shadow of the previous seasons team before he jacked it. And the previous season we were a shadow after christmas of the team we were before christmas. I think Derek Fazackerly leaving for Blackburn at Christmas 96 may have had an effect on all that.

The only season he managed Shearer we finished second, same as the season before.

Bobby should have completed his final season and he should have been a part of bringing in his replacement. Christ, we had one of the most knowledgeable people in world football at the club and we sacked him instead of making the most of him and taking the club forwards with the help of his experience. Any manager coming into the club at that time would have had a massive bonus knowing they could go to Sir Bobby if needing a bit of help. This! Even a couple of years after his departure didnt he warn sam allardyce against buying Geremi as his legs had gone? We really could have done with his knowledge in the souness, roeder, allardyce years! Sir Bob wouldnt have wanted Geremi for sound footballing reasons as you say. Allardyce signed him I imagine to keep the player's agent happy. There was some very murky things goign on at the time, Kenny Shepherd running a branch of Paul Stretford's agency at SJP was just the tip of it. Some good comments re Bellamy, Souness and the sacking of Sir Bob....read that bit of his book a few times and reading between the lines he in all likelyhood thought that Shearer hammered a nail or two into his SJP coffin.

Think Ashley is just interested in getting his cash back atm, and he'll achieve that as long as we're in the Premier League. So he'll accept Pardew's mediocrity last season and if we're chugging along in mid table for most of next season that will suit him fine too. I think January's signings were just cheap-ish bodies to be sold on when the right offer comes in with no real eye on building a balanced squad. For me player recruitment at the club is mostly geared to replacing players due to be sold, which can work out very well when done correctly (see Spurs under Levy), but its infuriating for those wanting to see the squad improve and develop both in numbers and quality.

I don't believe that's true at all, I do believe that if the club can afford it (without Ashley having to put his hand in his pocket) then whatever the price, deals will be done. The downside is, if the club can't afford it (without Ashley's help) then it ain't going to happen. Which is fine IMO Absent an Oligarch or a Sheik (and with FFP) it's the right thing. See I think we can afford it. Obviously not stupid massive fee's but I have always maintained the money is there - just Ashley is immensely stubborn on spending it. I could be wrong but thats my view. Do you think its money we've generated as a club since we came back up?....if so, care to put a figure on what's in the kitty this summer?

Sir Matt Busby built one of the best sides this country's seen, saw it and himself virtually wiped out, then got out of his hospital bed to build another one, including two of his lads from the plane crash, which won the European Cup. Thats the greatest feat in English football history iyam. The crash made the modern manu as much as Fergie did. Huge financial muscle after that, even in the two decades they went without a league title.

NUFC 5 Leicester City 4..... we were 4-1 down with 20mins to go...Mark Mac, John Gallagher, Roy Aitken's debut, Leeds 3-4 rates highly too... non-NUFC too many too mention, think Euro 2000 had some of the highest quality football I've seen, Portugal v Italy semi final stands out..