How long does Keegan get...

[Dokko]

What pisses me off is after all those years of mismanagement we get a new board (which 95% of people wanted) an up and coming manager and we somehow pull of the worst season in our premiership history.

 

How the fuk does that happen? 

 

Crazy, totally crazy.

 

The new board have had a shitter. Mort should come to work wearing a yellow Armani suit imo, and to make things worse i very much doubt their commitment. At least inside FS warped little brain you knew he had feelings for this club. You just wonder when the play toy becomes FUBAR does the billionaire kid throw it in the bin?

 

All mouth no trousers so far from the new board. Lets hope they have the summer to prove me wrong, at the moment its touch and go whether we'll still be here (in the prem), that in itself is disgraceful.

 

 

[Baggio]

There's no question we're in a better position with Ashley as owner to be able to get back into the CL positions. The question is whether he has the ambition to force us back there (£££), or whether he's just content to wait and hope we get lucky with good management, shrewd transfers and youth squad breakthroughs - like the majority of the rest of the league have done in the past. We have means, but do we have the motivation? Most people seem certain he'll pump money into the team this Summer, but then most people were certain he'd pump money into the team last Summer too. The ambition he's shown so far sees us teetering on the brink of relegation. He may not be to blame, but he certainly hasn't done anything to help.

 

I think a lot will be revealed in the Summer, not just how much money Keegan is backed with but what sort of players he's targeted, from that we'll be able to understand why he couldn't attract them in January.

 

It's been a shit season without doubt, I just hope now they've got there man the club can start moving in the right direction, we've just got to see this season out.

[Mowen]

There's no question we're in a better position with Ashley as owner to be able to get back into the CL positions. The question is whether he has the ambition to force us back there (£££), or whether he's just content to wait and hope we get lucky with good management, shrewd transfers and youth squad breakthroughs - like the majority of the rest of the league have done in the past. We have means, but do we have the motivation? Most people seem certain he'll pump money into the team this Summer, but then most people were certain he'd pump money into the team last Summer too. The ambition he's shown so far sees us teetering on the brink of relegation. He may not be to blame, but he certainly hasn't done anything to help.

 

I think a lot will be revealed in the Summer, not just how much money Keegan is backed with but what sort of players he's targeted, from that we'll be able to understand why he couldn't attract them in January.

 

It's been a shit season without doubt, I just hope now they've got there man the club can start moving in the right direction, we've just got to see this season out.

 

I agree. This summer we will really start to understand what the new board is about.

[Colos Short and Curlies]

There's no question we're in a better position with Ashley as owner to be able to get back into the CL positions. The question is whether he has the ambition to force us back there (£££), or whether he's just content to wait and hope we get lucky with good management, shrewd transfers and youth squad breakthroughs - like the majority of the rest of the league have done in the past. We have means, but do we have the motivation? Most people seem certain he'll pump money into the team this Summer, but then most people were certain he'd pump money into the team last Summer too. The ambition he's shown so far sees us teetering on the brink of relegation. He may not be to blame, but he certainly hasn't done anything to help.

 

I think a lot will be revealed in the Summer, not just how much money Keegan is backed with but what sort of players he's targeted, from that we'll be able to understand why he couldn't attract them in January.

 

It's been a shit season without doubt, I just hope now they've got there man the club can start moving in the right direction, we've just got to see this season out.

 

£100m if he can spend it.

 

Or so I've been told

[Guest toonlass]

I would like to think that Ashley is the man to take this club forward. He is not afraid to face the fans, at the grounds, and Chris Mort has managed to sever the links with the dirge of Tyneside, so that Anal cannot be the mouthpiece of the club. Keegan, in my opinion, should be able to have a long term plan, with time to make the changes he needs. It was never going to be easy for any manager coming in to succeed immediately, as the mentality of both the players and the fans is one of demoralisation. A kneejerk reaction now would be ludicrous.

[TRon]

There's no question we're in a better position with Ashley as owner to be able to get back into the CL positions. The question is whether he has the ambition to force us back there (£££), or whether he's just content to wait and hope we get lucky with good management, shrewd transfers and youth squad breakthroughs - like the majority of the rest of the league have done in the past. We have means, but do we have the motivation? Most people seem certain he'll pump money into the team this Summer, but then most people were certain he'd pump money into the team last Summer too. The ambition he's shown so far sees us teetering on the brink of relegation. He may not be to blame, but he certainly hasn't done anything to help.

 

I think a lot will be revealed in the Summer, not just how much money Keegan is backed with but what sort of players he's targeted, from that we'll be able to understand why he couldn't attract them in January.

 

It's been a shit season without doubt, I just hope now they've got there man the club can start moving in the right direction, we've just got to see this season out.

 

A sensible approach, but of course there is nothing to stop those not sharing these views from getting their boots in while they can.

[UV]

There's no question we're in a better position with Ashley as owner to be able to get back into the CL positions. The question is whether he has the ambition to force us back there (£££), or whether he's just content to wait and hope we get lucky with good management, shrewd transfers and youth squad breakthroughs - like the majority of the rest of the league have done in the past. We have means, but do we have the motivation? Most people seem certain he'll pump money into the team this Summer, but then most people were certain he'd pump money into the team last Summer too. The ambition he's shown so far sees us teetering on the brink of relegation. He may not be to blame, but he certainly hasn't done anything to help.

 

I think a lot will be revealed in the Summer, not just how much money Keegan is backed with but what sort of players he's targeted, from that we'll be able to understand why he couldn't attract them in January.

 

It's been a s*** season without doubt, I just hope now they've got there man the club can start moving in the right direction, we've just got to see this season out.

 

£100m if he can spend it.

 

Or so I've been told

 

I find it really hard to believe that kind of figure.

 

If Ashley was seriously thinking about spending that much come the Summer, then he must surely have offered even a fraction of that to Allardyce in the lead up to January. If that were the case, we would have had some decent irons in the fire, and would not have been talking about Wes Brown and Gareth Baines as our main targets, and failing to get them. If we were going to spend that much in the Summer, do you not think we'd be able to p£r$uad£ Woodgate to join us when he was stalling joining Spurs over wages? He talked to us, but chose Spurs. Why? Just so he could be in the UEFA cup next year?

[thomas]

I find it really hard to believe that kind of figure.

 

If Ashley was seriously thinking about spending that much come the Summer, then he must surely have offered even a fraction of that to Allardyce in the lead up to January.

Why would you "must surely offer" a fraction of that to a manager you're going to sack? I'm afraid A doesn't follow from B here, as it pertains to debunking the 100m figure.

[fredbob]

 

Do you think that the old board, if still in charge would of matched the CL qualifications that they'd previously achieved?

 

 

As you believe that had Robson not been sacked we would have recovered from the team's decline and got back in the CL, I assume that you believe they had the ability to do that given the right manager in charge?

 

Conversely, as we're in the business of speculating, if Ashley had bought the club in Summer 2004, do you think he would have ignored the majority of supporter's disquiet at team performances and discipline and kept a 71 year old Robson on instead of bringing in someone new? I don't.

 

In fact if you fancy exaplining to me why Keegan said there was money to spend yet we didntbuy and who's fault that is, feel free to as well.

 

Mort's.

 

It hard for me to see what the board has done that directly relates to the situation we are in now

 

Making the signing of new players in January extremely difficult and then failing to follow through on those which were targeted?

 

 

 

There's no question we're in a better position with Ashley as owner to be able to get back into the CL positions. The question is whether he has the ambition to force us back there (£££), or whether he's just content to wait and hope we get lucky with good management, shrewd transfers and youth squad breakthroughs - like the majority of the rest of the league have done in the past. We have means, but do we have the motivation? Most people seem certain he'll pump money into the team this Summer, but then most people were certain he'd pump money into the team last Summer too. The ambition he's shown so far sees us teetering on the brink of relegation. He may not be to blame, but he certainly hasn't done anything to help.

 

 

As you believe that had Robson not been sacked we would have recovered from the team's decline and got back in the CL, I assume that you believe they had the ability to do that given the right manager in charge?

 

Well, again, its a good try but not quite the full picture. I mean, in those years and finances we lost with Souness and Roeder and the incorrect appointment of Allardyce(possibly) look at how far the top 4 have got away from us. Do i think the old board would of reachieved those CL qualifications, no, probably not, and the reason this is the case is all down to Shepherd et al. Can you not see this?

 

As for Robson, you seem to have a bee in your bonnet about him, have i rattled your opinion a little bit?  i dunno. Maybe, just maybe if we stuck with Robson for that season or 2 longer then we would have found a manager who could of taken over the reigns if the eventuality were to arise, with a club who wouldnt of been so far behind the top4, and may have even been part of that top4, in fact if we were still to be apart of the top 4, would there of been any need to replace SBR, despite his age?? Moot point really....

 

Mort's.

 

Read it and thought it was rubbish to be honest. Explained this before but replacing Allardyce before the window was not an option. Full stop. Did you see our fixture scheduele? Do you think it would of been a good idea to sack him then? In hindsight it would of been the most ideal situation, but who would sack there manager in the midst of a fixture list busier than the M25. If a new manager was appointed then, he would of had no time to assess the current squad, let alone look for potential signings.

 

As for keeping Allardyce, was Ashley supposed to back a dead man walking? Its arguable that yes he should, but why should we yet again waste club resources on someone, or something that we KNOW will not be a worthy investment. In order for allardyce to make any waves into the transfer window he'd of needed £20m at least. Put another £9m on top for his pay off at the end of the season and you have approximately £30m taken away from the club.

 

It was best to replace him, and replace him a tad earlier. I still question the sense in appointing Keegan as i thought there were beter options out there,however Keegan is the only manager i would trust in the world and am genuinely excited about having cash so ill not complain too much about it.

 

Making the signing of new players in January extremely difficult and then failing to follow through on those which were targeted?

 

errr what? Imust of missed that. Like i said, as far as im aware the board/mort would of been involved in 2 things regarding transfers, the valuation of the player and the wages of the player. I cant remmeber a player of importance being turned down because of either reasons. (maybe Diarra)

 

Diarra - who knows, maybe Keegan didnt want him, maybe becasue Allardyce was sacked at the time, the transfer was cancelled, maybe the quote of £90k p/w was true and Mort rightly rejected.

 

Woodgate - turned us down even thought bid was accepted, the draw of playing in a cup final in a vastly improving team must of been a real draw to him, cant see why though....

 

Dont know for certain any other players.

 

I guess theres only one way to find out about this summer spree. But i am absolutley certain it will occur providing we stay up. If we do stay up, and it doesnt materialise, then and only then will i start to question the motives.

 

 

 

[UV]

A sensible approach, but of course there is nothing to stop those not sharing these views from getting their boots in while they can.

 

Indeed. Just as there's nothing to stop those with their heads up his arse from making up excuses for him as we risk sliding into the Championship.

[Baggio]

There's no question we're in a better position with Ashley as owner to be able to get back into the CL positions. The question is whether he has the ambition to force us back there (£££), or whether he's just content to wait and hope we get lucky with good management, shrewd transfers and youth squad breakthroughs - like the majority of the rest of the league have done in the past. We have means, but do we have the motivation? Most people seem certain he'll pump money into the team this Summer, but then most people were certain he'd pump money into the team last Summer too. The ambition he's shown so far sees us teetering on the brink of relegation. He may not be to blame, but he certainly hasn't done anything to help.

 

I think a lot will be revealed in the Summer, not just how much money Keegan is backed with but what sort of players he's targeted, from that we'll be able to understand why he couldn't attract them in January.

 

It's been a s*** season without doubt, I just hope now they've got there man the club can start moving in the right direction, we've just got to see this season out.

 

£100m if he can spend it.

 

Or so I've been told

 

I find it really hard to believe that kind of figure.

 

If Ashley was seriously thinking about spending that much come the Summer, then he must surely have offered even a fraction of that to Allardyce in the lead up to January. If that were the case, we would have had some decent irons in the fire, and would not have been talking about Wes Brown and Gareth Baines as our main targets, and failing to get them. If we were going to spend that much in the Summer, do you not think we'd be able to p£r$uad£ Woodgate to join us when he was stalling joining Spurs over wages? He talked to us, but chose Spurs. Why? Just so he could be in the UEFA cup next year?

 

I don't think you can judge how much Keegan's got to spend on how much was available to Allardyce tbh, after all who would have thought Souness had £11 million to spend in January and £40 million the following Summer based on what little Robson had to spend the previous year?

 

Where did you hear Woodgate stalled on joining Spurs over wages but after speaking with us decided to join them anyway?

[Baggio]

A sensible approach, but of course there is nothing to stop those not sharing these views from getting their boots in while they can.

 

Indeed. Just as there's nothing to stop those with their heads up his arse from making up excuses for him as we risk sliding into the Championship.

 

Out of interest UV, what was your opinion of Shepherd after his first full season as chairman?

[TRon]

I find it really hard to believe that kind of figure.

 

If Ashley was seriously thinking about spending that much come the Summer, then he must surely have offered even a fraction of that to Allardyce in the lead up to January.

Why would you "must surely offer" a fraction of that to a manager you're going to sack? I'm afraid A doesn't follow from B here, as it pertains to debunking the 100m figure.

 

Also the suggestion that Woodgate chose Spurs ahead of us down to wages is misleading unless you have something concrete to back it up. Spurs are the club with a wage ceiling, and Woodgate's father said he would have joined Newcastle if Shearer was boss.

[UV]

I find it really hard to believe that kind of figure.

 

If Ashley was seriously thinking about spending that much come the Summer, then he must surely have offered even a fraction of that to Allardyce in the lead up to January.

Why would you "must surely offer" a fraction of that to a manager you're going to sack? I'm afraid A doesn't follow from B here, as it pertains to debunking the 100m figure.

 

If he knew he was going to sack Allardyce, why didn't he do it earlier then? Did he suddenly decide to put £100m into the transfer kitty once Allardyce was gone, but hadn't thought about it before?

[thomas]

I find it really hard to believe that kind of figure.

 

If Ashley was seriously thinking about spending that much come the Summer, then he must surely have offered even a fraction of that to Allardyce in the lead up to January.

Why would you "must surely offer" a fraction of that to a manager you're going to sack? I'm afraid A doesn't follow from B here, as it pertains to debunking the 100m figure.

 

If he knew he was going to sack Allardyce, why didn't he do it earlier then?

  Listen to yourself man .  He was going to give some fraction of 100m (A figure I feel is grossly exaggerated as well, btw) to someone he was going to sack?  The timing is irrelevant.

Did he suddenly decide to put £100m into the transfer kitty once Allardyce was gone, but hadn't thought about it before?

  Possibly?  Is it so outside the realm of possibility to think that Ashley would back his own choice much more than Shepherds? 

[UV]

Where did you hear Woodgate stalled on joining Spurs over wages but after speaking with us decided to join them anyway?

 

Paper talk mostly, so yeah.... But he did stall for a while over signing for Spurs, and he did talk to us didn't he?

 

Out of interest UV, what was your opinion of Shepherd after his first full season as chairman?

 

Can't honestly remember. Didn't have the internet then so and was privvy to much less information about stuff. Anyway I don't specifically split the time of the previous board by who was chairman.

 

Also the suggestion that Woodgate chose Spurs ahead of us down to wages is misleading unless you have something concrete to back it up. Spurs are the club with a wage ceiling, and Woodgate's father said he would have joined Newcastle if Shearer was boss.

 

I never suggested Woodgate chose Spurs ahead of us because of wages (ie they offered more than us if that's what you meant), but if we have a £100m transfer kitty in the Summer I am pretty sure we'd be able to 1) offer him a contract he'd find hard to refuse and 2) convince him we have the ambition to overtake Spurs within a season.

[UV]

I find it really hard to believe that kind of figure.

 

If Ashley was seriously thinking about spending that much come the Summer, then he must surely have offered even a fraction of that to Allardyce in the lead up to January.

Why would you "must surely offer" a fraction of that to a manager you're going to sack? I'm afraid A doesn't follow from B here, as it pertains to debunking the 100m figure.

 

If he knew he was going to sack Allardyce, why didn't he do it earlier then?

  Listen to yourself man .  He was going to give some fraction of 100m (A figure I feel is grossly exaggerated as well, btw) to someone he was going to sack?  The timing is irrelevant.

 

So why was Allardyce talking about ANY signings? Was Mort lying to him?

 

Did he suddenly decide to put £100m into the transfer kitty once Allardyce was gone, but hadn't thought about it before?

  Possibly?  Is it so outside the realm of possibility to think that Ashley would back his own choice much more than Shepherds? 

 

£100m more? Yes I think it is.

[Baggio]

Where did you hear Woodgate stalled on joining Spurs over wages but after speaking with us decided to join them anyway?

 

Paper talk mostly, so yeah.... But he did stall for a while over signing for Spurs, and he did talk to us didn't he?

 

Out of interest UV, what was your opinion of Shepherd after his first full season as chairman?

 

Can't honestly remember. Didn't have the internet then so and was privvy to much less information about stuff. Anyway I don't specifically split the time of the previous board by who was chairman.

 

Also the suggestion that Woodgate chose Spurs ahead of us down to wages is misleading unless you have something concrete to back it up. Spurs are the club with a wage ceiling, and Woodgate's father said he would have joined Newcastle if Shearer was boss.

 

I never suggested Woodgate chose Spurs ahead of us because of wages (ie they offered more than us if that's what you meant), but if we have a £100m transfer kitty in the Summer I am pretty sure we'd be able to 1) offer him a contract he'd find hard to refuse and 2) convince him we have the ambition to overtake Spurs within a season.

 

I'm not sure if he spoke to the club or not, Keegan said he had already agreed to join Spurs when he made his move and it was more a case of him trying to hijack the deal more than anyone else, I don't really read too much into what the papers say without quotes and I can't remember what Woodgate's dad said on the matter.

[TRon]

If we were going to spend that much in the Summer, do you not think we'd be able to p£r$uad£ Woodgate to join us when he was stalling joining Spurs over wages?

 

 

I never suggested Woodgate chose Spurs ahead of us because of wages

 

[thomas]

So why was Allardyce talking about ANY signings? Was Mort lying to him?

He may have been going off prior information that had changed when he made those statements?  Actually I don't recall Allardyce being particularly talkative about transfers above and beyond saying just how difficult it is to get bodies in in January and how he doubted there would be much activity. 

 

However I'd like to clear up semantics.  When we were talking "fractions of 100m" we were both talking substantial (15m+) slices of it correct?  I'd hate for this to be a misunderstanding over the pedantic but correct figure of 1.5m also being a "fraction".

Possibly?  Is it so outside the realm of possibility to think that Ashley would back his own choice much more than Shepherds?

 

£100m more? Yes I think it is.

Make no mistake, I do to, but I would imagine the amount he'll back his own man to be a pretty hefty amount. 

[UV]

If we were going to spend that much in the Summer, do you not think we'd be able to p£r$uad£ Woodgate to join us when he was stalling joining Spurs over wages?

 

 

I never suggested Woodgate chose Spurs ahead of us because of wages

 

 

thanks for cutting of the bracketted part at the end of the second quote which qualified the statement, and the second part of the sentence which elaborated on what I was implying in the first quote. YOU WIN!

 

Why do you think Woodgate chose Spurs over us, given the fact we're going to be spending £100m in the Summer? Because he thinks the managerial hierarchy is Shearer > Ramos > Keegan?

[TRon]

If we were going to spend that much in the Summer, do you not think we'd be able to p£r$uad£ Woodgate to join us when he was stalling joining Spurs over wages?

 

 

I never suggested Woodgate chose Spurs ahead of us because of wages

 

 

thanks for cutting of the bracketted part at the end of the second quote which qualified the statement, and the second part of the sentence which elaborated on what I was implying in the first quote. YOU WIN!

 

Why do you think Woodgate chose Spurs over us, given the fact we're going to be spending £100m in the Summer? Because he thinks the managerial hierarchy is Shearer > Ramos > Keegan?

 

I don't think it was anything to do with money. Woodgate turned us down for boro before that. Spurs were on the up with a top boss and in Europe. Is that not enough? You can speculate all you want on what he was offered but you don't know it was down to money, so all we can go on is the reason Keegan gave which seems reasonable enough to me.

[Guest toonlass]

You could argue all day about the reason's Woodgate went to Spurs, but to be honest would it change the situation now? Knowing our luck, had he come here he would have crocked himself tripping on the step on the way into the changing rooms on the first day of training.

 

We need to look forward not back!

[UV]

 

I don't think it was anything to do with money. Woodgate turned us down for boro before that. Spurs were on the up with a top boss and in Europe. Is that not enough? You can speculate all you want on what he was offered but you don't know it was down to money, so all we can go on is the reason Keegan gave which seems reasonable enough to me.

 

Not according to his dad apparently. All it would have taken was for us to have made Shearer manager. You quoted it, so I assumed you believed it:

 

Woodgate's father said he would have joined Newcastle if Shearer was boss.

 

You don't think even with a £100m transfer kitty we can convince players we are a better prospect long term than Spurs? We have sunk a long way down since Ashley took over then.

[TRon]

 

I don't think it was anything to do with money. Woodgate turned us down for boro before that. Spurs were on the up with a top boss and in Europe. Is that not enough? You can speculate all you want on what he was offered but you don't know it was down to money, so all we can go on is the reason Keegan gave which seems reasonable enough to me.

 

Not according to his dad apparently. All it would have taken was for us to have made Shearer manager. You quoted it, so I assumed you believed it:

 

Woodgate's father said he would have joined Newcastle if Shearer was boss.

 

You don't think even with a £100m transfer kitty we can convince players we are a better prospect long term than Spurs? We have sunk a long way down since Ashley took over then.

 

This £100m transfer kitty which we were supposed to dangle in front of Woody and his dad to persuade them to sign - you believe we should be presenting this sum to all our prospective transfer targets as a given then?