ShearMagic Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 He has never said we're a mid-table club. He's said we're not a top 4 club. Everyone knows that. He's said his aim is to come 5th. What's wrong with that? It's a lot better than we have been coming recently after we've talked ourselves up. It could also be relieving pressure from the current playing group. I laugh at this board sometimes, what do you want him to say? We're going to win the league. If he said anything else he'd be getting slated for being unrealistic. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offshore Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I think certain people need to grasp a little concept called realism. So you think it's a good idea for our manager to be declaring that we see ourselves as a mid-table club at best for the foreseeable future? Again, he may be right with his comments (I don't think he is, btw) but even if he is what good does it do to come out with this? He didn't say he wanted to be a mid-table club, he wants to win the '2nd' league - 5th. He still should have tempered down abit what he said though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belfast Boy Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I know I would 'settle' for coming 5th the next 3 years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulivye Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 i didn't mean to sound like i'm slagging KK. i was coming at the question from more of an "ambitious" player-trying-to-prove-his-worth-to-himself sort of an angle. being the big fish in a little pond is one thing, but should you then get that pond recognition, because of your personal contribution, as one of the best ponds around... well, i think it proves the value/impact of the fish. just being another fish in a very big pond doesn't, or rather, wouldn't mean as much to me. just my opinion like Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Venkman Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I laugh at this board sometimes, what do you want him to say? erm, nothing? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I laugh at this board sometimes, what do you want him to say? erm, nothing? Quite, no need to make comments that the press can jump on so easily. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Venkman Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I laugh at this board sometimes, what do you want him to say? erm, nothing? Quite, no need to make comments that the press can jump on so easily. struggling to see the point of it tbh, i love him as much as the next man but he's not above criticism. i can only think he's trying to get a point across to somebody, looks like a bit of gamble to me though because he has been rather negative about our chances in the league, realistic yes, but he could've certainly been more optimistic in what he said. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dokko Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Maybe the whole money in footbal thing is getting to him already? A decent signing will lift him if he's feeling a bit low after Modric. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 “If I’m a player and I get the option to go to Chelsea or Newcastle, the Press would slaughter me, asking where my ambition was (if I chose Newcastle) David Bentley turning us down? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCormick Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 If Im a player and I get the option to go to Chelsea or Newcastle, the Press would slaughter me, asking where my ambition was (if I chose Newcastle) David Bentley turning us down? At least Nasri's nailed on though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I laugh at this board sometimes, what do you want him to say? erm, nothing? Quite, no need to make comments that the press can jump on so easily. struggling to see the point of it tbh, i love him as much as the next man but he's not above criticism. i can only think he's trying to get a point across to somebody, looks like a bit of gamble to me though because he has been rather negative about our chances in the league, realistic yes, but he could've certainly been more optimistic in what he said. Exactly. KK is a legend in my eyes but that doesn't mean he's beyond reproach. I'm not that bothered by all this btw but he's created a bit of a storm unneccessarily. You know what he's like though, as Toon's Taylor alludes to, he could be on cloud 9 if he gets a player he really wants. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 In all seriousness though, I have to agree with Baggio on this one. I have been somewhat irritated by the talk coming from Keegan lately. I personally am not really one to go for the whole "all the top layers are going to the top four talk", I know this is the case a lot of times, but there are just so many good players out there. Every season we see them come into the premier league and join teams that were much worse off than us while we spend big on some has beens. We are just going to have to go for the not so obvious targets. Yes it's a risk but as long as we do our homework we should be alright. Our new network of scouts seem like they can definitely identify the best talent all over the world , but the problem is with Keegan having the final say, will he only be familiar with the obvious names which we can't get at the moment due to the high interest in them? All the players who joined Man City last summer (MAN CITY!!!) would all still walk straight into our team but they went there didn't they and they all looked great to me. Santa Cruz was another one who I doubt would have turned us down. Boro took a punt on ALves and he is showing potential. When Kranjcar joined Pompey and has looked smashing. There are good players out there. Keegan might just have to be a bit more receptive to bringin in pople he might not be as familiar with. Someone like an Arshavin who is a bit under the radar at the moment is probably the type we should be looking at right now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredbob Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Strange comments, partly agree with Baggio on this, weshouldnt really be manufacturing the negative press that is currently surounding the club, its not healthy and will do nothig to aid us. However, my other take on this quote as well as others is that Keegan is actually trying to prove his ambitions for the "secondary league" he's trying to put space between us and our competitors, its already a foregone conclusion that if a players has the option to choose between us and a top 4 club he'll generally go to the top 4, but what about the calibre of player who isnt quite good enough for the top 4, well where would he go? Well he'd go to the club which is looking to prove its ambition outside the top 4 the most. Maybe Keegans implying that thats us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest optimistic nit Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 He has never said we're a mid-table club. He's said we're not a top 4 club. Everyone knows that. He's said his aim is to come 5th. What's wrong with that? It's a lot better than we have been coming recently after we've talked ourselves up. It could also be relieving pressure from the current playing group. I laugh at this board sometimes, what do you want him to say? We're going to win the league. If he said anything else he'd be getting slated for being unrealistic. i don't want him to say anything, and if he does have to say something, i want him to be constructive, not destructive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
relámpago blanco Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 People are making alot out of these comments. In my opinion he said what he thinks to a)Try to lower the expectations of the fans b)We don't have 150M to spend to break into the top 4 if you want an instant fix. c)His contracts for 3 years. It will take at least that to be in any sort of poistion to do so unless one of the top 4 has some kind of crisis. But on similar note from what I've seen and heard it could be Arsenal if they lose Fabregas and Hleb there will be a procession of outgoings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasy Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 This is nothing short of amazing. As far as I can see all Keegan has said is that people should not expect us to establish ourselves as a top four club in the next three years. That we won't be spending the kind of money Chelsea have spent.. Why the fuck are people whining here? Do you seriously expect a manager to say that we can become a top 4 team in within three years, which by the way would basically mean we'd need to get into the top four in year two and stay there in year three.. Its fucking insane, we're asking the man to talk complete shit and live in some kind of fantasy land in order to make us feel better Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
afar Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I love KK as much as the next toon fan but I have got to agree with many of the sentiments here, this does not appear to be sound management. I was so optimistic about next season and our future under KK, a week or so ago, but the Modric affair and the comments that have come out of KK since then have well and truely dampened my spirits. Maybe that was the intention, if so then it's worked, but I don't see the point other than trying to protect KK job, which is most unlike KK. I honestly thought KK was still KK, the eternal optimist, able to make believers out of unbelievers. These comments though have forced me to re think. If we want to compete for even the quality of player who resides under a top 4 calibre player, we need someone to sell the club, at the moment neither the chairman nor the manager seem prepared to do that. For the record I didn't expect a top 4 finish next season but to right off our chances of even pushing the big teams in the near future seems very strange and defeatist. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bossman Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Just wondering, what would be people reaction if it wasnt Keegan making theses comment? If Fat Sam was still incharge and made the same comments, I think alot more of us would be unhappy with the message being given? Part of the thing that makes Keegan - Keegan is his enthusiasm and charisma...... If he loses that whats left?? Just my 2p's worth Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggio Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Kaka makes some good points, there are some top quality footballers out there and that seems to be the area Vetere has scouted, if you look over the past few years how many people who don't play FM had heard of the likes of Berbatov, Elano, Corluka, Kranjcar, Pedersen, Manuel Fernandes, Luis Valencia, Gelson Fernandes, Yakubu etc? Perhaps the football manager comment is harsh but I wouldn't say any of that lot is household names, the best thing about them though is that not only have they come over here and looked the part but they're are/were at a decent age when they got here so there was plenty of room for improvement. Keegan on the other hand comes across as someone stuck in his ways and even though he's done well for us in the transfer market the last time I still have my doubts about what he'll come up with this time, talk of Riise and Wayne Bridge hardly set the pulse racing and my biggest worry is that's the sort of player he's going to go for, well known Premiership players who have hit their peak and will soon be on the way down. It appears the club have gone about putting together a quality scouting network which will hopefully be as good as any in the Premiership yet Keegan comes across as not being happy to use it, which would be a waste. Mort's comments in the match programme were spot on, for this club to ever move forward we need to sign players who are not only good enough now but who are nowhere near their peak and can get even better over the following years, players like Modric or any of the above when they first came over here who can possibly stay here for the next 10 years if they're good enough, not the likes of Henry who will need replacing in 2 years time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattypnufc Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Personally speaking, I believe both Chris Mort & Keegan to be spot on. We as Newcastle fans sometimes get misrepresented by the media in that we expect far too much. Out of everyone I have spoken to (Newcastle fans) the majority feel we that if we finish within the top 8 we would be happy with the progress. A good cup run is not out of the equation either. Some fans may have been swayed by the constant speculation & media hype, but the majority are realistic. We are not the brain dead morons some people would have you believe and are quite happy with the way our club is heading. Chris Mort's/Kevin Keegans comments come as a nice way of reminding those caught up in the hype that we are still a way off matching the top 4, in terms money, player attraction and European football. The clubs previous regime, management & owners (since Sir Bobby Robson) pretty much ruined our club - if bad choices were not made in transfers/managers we would still be competing with the top 4. If it wasn't for Mike Ashley buying we could have 'done a Leeds'. Our football has been getting progressively worse since SBR left and only now looks like a new dawn is starting. Lets not give in to the hype/speculation/slating that we are presented with on a daily basis, keep our heads down and build the club back to where we should be. Get rid of the players who don’t pull their weight, bring in some new faces, continue selling out SJP & away games and continue giving it your all come match day. That is all we expect. That is all Keegan was trying to say. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
maze Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 To be honest I don't feel our ambition has changed that much, basically because I couldn't care less what the media write about Newcastle. One could of course discuss forever reasons and meanings behind everything that's being said and done. The thing of interest though, is Ashley and Mort. Yes, it's true they paid off a considerable amount of debt. It is also true that because Newcastle don't win anything (has done that for years now) the income level is below the "top four". Rish people don't invest a great deal of money without getting some sort of return. So, for Ashley, what is the sensible thing to do? Considering Man City, West Ham and Chelseas (among others) spending spree in recent years, only Chelsea have returned stable success (that is, now in the top four). But they spend more than they earn. The other clubs have had varying success when you consider the amount of money they have spent. Tottenham now bought Modric, but struggled in the EPL, Man City bought alot of players and did a very impressive first half season, but the fell apart (and now Eriksson is leaving?) Most fans expect Ashley to show is financial power in the transfer market this summer, and when Owen's contract still hasn't been negotiated and there's a lot of uncertain aspects concerning, people (the fans) start worrying. I, for one, consider Newcastle to have taken a very big step in the right direction by clearing debt, improving (?) the infrastructure by appointing Wise, Jimenez and Vetere and so on. Next would of course (?) be to hand Keegan his "war-chest". I really appreciated Keegans loyality and honesty. What he is saying, wether it is frustration or pressure.. is that we are a club that has not preformed well recent years, infact we haven't won a single competition, nor are we in Europe. We are also known for being the media's "drama queen" - something always happen with and at Newcastle. In other word, we are media favorite team to write shit about, and stirr things up. If you consider this, with the fact that spending a lot of cash does not guarantee success, and that we are miles from the "top four" it all makes sense. For all I know, the geographical positioning of Newcastle might be an important factor why certain players choose Chelsea, Spurs or other southern clubs ahead of us. The bottom line is, as some already have written, this has been blown out of proportions. Come August, and I bet we have Strengthen the Squad, and gotten rid of some dead wood. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggio Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Just wondering, what would be people reaction if it wasnt Keegan making theses comment? If Fat Sam was still incharge and made the same comments, I think alot more of us would be unhappy with the message being given? Part of the thing that makes Keegan - Keegan is his enthusiasm and charisma...... If he loses that whats left?? Just my 2p's worth Allardyce was slaughtered for saying it will take 5 years to get us up with the big boys. http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/index.php?topic=48300.0 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Parka Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I know I would 'settle' for coming 5th the next 3 years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Venkman Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Its fucking insane, we're asking the man to talk complete shit and live in some kind of fantasy land in order to make us feel better no we're not. we're asking him not to publicly make negative statements that just state the obvious, is that ok? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cp40 Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Keegan's a f****** idiot for some of the comments he's come out with over the last few days. was he an idiot when he went 7 games unbeaten, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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