Are we on the up, as a club?

[TRon]

The last 3-4 years when people were saying, "I'd take relegation to get rid of the deadwood and start again", I couldn't understand or believe people actually thought that. We were lucky...very lucky, but it looks like it's possible that's happened by hook or by crook.

 

We've got a good togetherness, a manager who just gets on with it, and an owner and chairman who appear to be finally doing what an owner of chairman should do. A bit early to judge yet, but it's looking promising again.

 

A similar thought has been going through my head.

 

We needed a couple of people to take their chance and (much as I hate using a baseballism) "step up". Hughton and Carroll both seem to be doing that. We needed to be phenomenally tricky in the transfer market. We appear to be pulling that off.

 

Against all the odds, even with plenty of people still looking for things to moan about, there's a note of hard-win optimism and confidence in the air. A couple of crap results could change all that -- and there will be plenty of the usual moaners just gagging to pounce on them -- but right now, compared to 18 months ago? Yes, we are definitely on the up.

 

Yes and for once Ossie I agree with you. up to a point We have a quietly effective manager and a few players who have demonstated promise and potential.

 

Despite that I honestly believe we will achieve nothing more than mid table mediocrity in the next few years unless we have an owner who is prepared to invest significant amounts of money on players - Ashley had the chance to do that this season and has failed to do it. He still has the chance to do that but he won't.

 

With our support we should be one of the powerhouses of the Premier League and Europe but until we have an owner who realises the massive potential of the Club then we will be destined to be one of the also rans, a Wigan or a Stoke if we are lucky     

 

If the Ben Arfa deal is done with a chance of Keane to come in as well - not to mention the signings of Tiote, Gosling and Perch - I am more than happy at that for now. Next season we will be able to build on that after consolidating in the premier, which I am now convinced we will do. Yes Ashley has been a tight arse but we should be one of the most financially healthy football clubs around in a year or two and that will put us in good stead to start challenging for honours again.

 

[jdckelly]

my general feeling is things are slowly headed in the right direction again after years of decline

[Doctor Zaius]

I'll answer this on September 1st.

[David28]

I'll answer this on September 1st.

 

KK resigned a few days later, so give yourself a few days more to decide. (you never know...) 

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

How are we on the up? We have been on a steady decline over the past two seasons, and imo are currently at a lower point than we were at the beginning of 08-09 Premiership season. Unless we can maintain this upward momentum, this recent period of good feelings will be similar to a minor recovery in decade long depression.

[Guest JamesyJazz]

Yes we're on the up,slowly,very slowly but the light is at the end of a very very long tunnel.

Ashley,love or hate him has imposed some semblance of rational business sense over transfer fees,player wages and player development.

Team spirit,displayed with the enthusiasm to play for the shirt instead of the individual is a credit to the management style of Chris Hughton and several of the senior players who,to their credit, stuck by the team when other players with less backbone jumped an apparently sinking ship.

We'll not set the world on fire these next couple of seasons but with proper foundations in place,a long term manager who's given time to develop a team and style of play who knows?

I'll still stick with my prediction that we'll be top ten this season though

[sugoinufc]

YES...and im very surprised about it!

 

if we closes the HBA deal...then i think we had a really good transfer window (didn´t expect much, maybe thats why?). campbell, gosling, perch, HBA, tiote will do us fine i think....small steps in the right direction...all seems like good deals for reasonable money. Cant really complain much about ashley at the moment

 

I dont think its that important to add a new forward to the squad....unless we go for one who for sure will deliver 15+ goals ...and that will be very expensive!

 

i think we will play with one on top most of the games = 4-4-1-1  that means caroll or ameobi on top with either HBA or nolan behind! dont know where to put løvenkrands....he will be backup! Ranger and vuckic are still too young...loan deals for them would be ok, i guess!

 

i wouldn´t mind if we sold smith and best! smith could do the job as sub but his wages are too high and best will never be a success here...not good enough!

 

if saylor decides to stay as well....then our squad is simply too good to go down....i know i know....but it seems like the squad really is brimming with confidence and harmony....which we lacked when we went down.

 

its a long season, maybe things can happen, we could´t have met villa at a better time etc etc ....but i think chances are bigger for a 10th place or so than relegation!

[sugoinufc]

...but then again....this club have never failed to disappoint me, when i really thought we were going somewhere!  someone once mentioned something about a fishbowl or what was it

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Possibly, all I'll say is things are looking better recently. Under Ashley they always have the potential to go wrong.

[Neil]

It would seem so. You have a manager who has done a superb job last season to keep things together and got you promoted at an absolute canter, keeping complete dignity in the process. Team morale seems to be high, and you look like having an excellent transfer window, with Ben Arfa being the very large cherry on the cake. Compared to just 18 months ago, you seem a different club.

 

It is, of course, qualified by the fact you still have a chairman who has a track record of being an idiot but slowly but surely, the ship seems to be steadying.

[Heron]

Yes, thanks to one man and one man only - Michael Ashley.

[LiquidAK]

Yes, thanks to one man and one man only - Michael Ashley.

 

Haha, no.

 

Though he certainly seems to be learning from his mistakes, and is doing the right thing now, backing Hughton with money when required.

[Guest VegasToon]

To early to say.  Confirm Ben Afra, get a quality striker and I would say yes. 

[Mick]

 

Yes and for once Ossie I agree with you. up to a point We have a quietly effective manager and a few players who have demonstated promise and potential.

 

Despite that I honestly believe we will achieve nothing more than mid table mediocrity in the next few years unless we have an owner who is prepared to invest significant amounts of money on players - Ashley had the chance to do that this season and has failed to do it. He still has the chance to do that but he won't.

 

With our support we should be one of the powerhouses of the Premier League and Europe but until we have an owner who realises the massive potential of the Club then we will be destined to be one of the also rans, a Wigan or a Stoke if we are lucky     

 

Clubs are going to have to be self financing due to UEFA rules, we're not going to be able to spend what we don't earn.  Every team in Europe is going to have to be run that way so we are doing the right thing by not spending as if money is going out of fashion.  We are reducing our wage bill now and have been for a while so we should be strongly placed to take advantage of our prudence as long as we don’t try to do too much too soon on the cost cutting.

 

Teams like Stoke and Wigan will not be able to compete with us if we can fill the ground, something which we couldn't do against Villa when we had around 9,000 empty seats.

 

In answer to the question “Are we on the up, as a club?”  We are at the minute while we’re still capable of shooting ourselves in the foot so it’s too early to get carried away.

 

[midds]

We've certainly bottomed out and have gradually began to put things right both on and off the pitch.

 

The squad seems much more positive and united. We've benefitted from a bit of stability by having Hughton in charge and we've scored goals and won games. The finances appear to be under control and Ashley is running a much tighter ship financially. The board appear to be learning from past mistakes and things are looking up.

 

The clincher for me though is the mood in the stands. 08/09 was a fucking spiteful season for us and going to the games was getting to be a bit of a chore. The fans were dreading the games and the atmosphere was awful and negative. Last season put the smile back on the faces of the crowd, the mood changed and we began to enjoy things again, the momentum is there now and a good window will lead to bigger crowds and things growing again....

 

This club is huge and it's like a juggernaut - if we manage to get it right on the park this season then we'll carry that momentum and in a couple of years we'll be right up there competing for Europe again. It's all in place for this club to be a success with a bit of investment but we all know it could go pear-shaped at any time.   

[macca888]

What a difference 12 months has made.

 

Last year, there was so much indecision around thaat all fans were praying for was the return of Shearer as manager and the sale of the club to Moat.

 

There was no investment in players and the mood was sullen, depressing and most people on here were fearful of "doing a Leeds". We didnt even have a full time manager and our squad was reduced to using untried kids in crucial positions (Ranger on his own up front) whilst we were all bemoaning the loss of our main man to a foot injury (Shola).

 

12 months on........................The unexpected performances of the team and the manager with some astute january signings has seen us walk the CCC and whilst we were thumped by MU in the first game of the season, the 6-0 against Villa, performances of the kids in the cup and the quality of signings has certainly strenthened the squad.

 

Next two games are crucial. If we can win both, confidence will be sky high and I think we can be more than capable of a top 10 finish.

[EthiGeordie]

        We are actually I don't think Ashley won't sell this club at all. Just the way he built his personal wealth from the scratch slowly he will bulid this club. Many people underestmate  him but he is a canny business man he was new to football that why he acted like a fish out of a water at first. Relagation gave him a second chance and he never let it go.  His platform are Arsenal he will copy everything and make lots of money by rasing all this youngseters and by selling them. I don't think we can be as successful as Arsenal though the best we can achive is Everton.

 

 

          Ashley is lucky to have Chris some how with a defecto factors he got the right man for his orginal strategy.

[merlin]

All that can be said at this point is that the club is restoring its reputation - nothing more, nothing less.

 

We have a LONG way to go to even reach the levels we achieved under SBR, let alone KKs first stint.

As ever, many NUFC fans have a fatal tendency to go over the top about the club's standing because of a couple of decent results. We could easily be back to square 1 today if we lose convincingly at Wolves and then there would be more doom and gloom.

 

We have a small squad and as ever with NUFC over the years, a few injuries at the same time could decimate our season. We don't know what effect the new players will have on team spirit or whether they will adapt quickly to the PL and some of them who have played in the PL before are not even available.

 

Hopefully most of the new signings will adapt OK and fit in, but we don't know yet. If they do, we could have a REASONABLE season, which means not being seriously threatened by relegation and I would accept that like a shot if offered now.

If we do this, then the club will have shut some critics up and laid the foundations to move to the next level in successive seasons.

 

Not until we are seriously competing for Euro places or having decent Cup runs can it be said that the club is on the up...we have made progress, nothing more or less and that is all that can be expected.

Anything else is a bonus.

[merlin]

 

Yes and for once Ossie I agree with you. up to a point We have a quietly effective manager and a few players who have demonstated promise and potential.

 

Despite that I honestly believe we will achieve nothing more than mid table mediocrity in the next few years unless we have an owner who is prepared to invest significant amounts of money on players - Ashley had the chance to do that this season and has failed to do it. He still has the chance to do that but he won't.

 

With our support we should be one of the powerhouses of the Premier League and Europe but until we have an owner who realises the massive potential of the Club then we will be destined to be one of the also rans, a Wigan or a Stoke if we are lucky     

 

Clubs are going to have to be self financing due to UEFA rules, we're not going to be able to spend what we don't earn.  Every team in Europe is going to have to be run that way so we are doing the right thing by not spending as if money is going out of fashion.  We are reducing our wage bill now and have been for a while so we should be strongly placed to take advantage of our prudence as long as we don’t try to do too much too soon on the cost cutting.

 

Teams like Stoke and Wigan will not be able to compete with us if we can fill the ground, something which we couldn't do against Villa when we had around 9,000 empty seats.

 

In answer to the question “Are we on the up, as a club?”  We are at the minute while we’re still capable of shooting ourselves in the foot so it’s too early to get carried away.

 

 

Agree with most of this Mick - the need for clubs to depend more on their own resources WILL be beneficial

to NUFC . I have said this in other threads because only a few clubs in the PL can compete with Newcastle

when it comes to crowd support. However, as you say, there is plenty of potential for foot-shooting so this

is no time to be complacent. The better season we have, the  more confidence will build among both players and fans so we must hope things keep ticking over.

 

Unless something comes out of the blue, I cannot see the club being sold until at least Spring next year.

[Zero]

Yes but it's becoz we are too lucky in the last 12 months.  We have 2 great transfer windows and our two young strikers - Carroll and Ranger - have been doing the job surprisingly well.

Hughton has done sth while no mananger except Sir Bobby can do - building up a team.

And to be honest, Ashley has "reasonably" backed Hughton.  While he has not splashed out 10m for any so called "EPL proven" players,

he did agree to clinch the deal for Tiote and HBA when it's obvious that these are bargaining deals with very limited risks.

 

Credit where it's due.

[Zero]

 

Agree with most of this Mick - the need for clubs to depend more on their own resources WILL be beneficial

to NUFC . I have said this in other threads because only a few clubs in the PL can compete with Newcastle

when it comes to crowd support. However, as you say, there is plenty of potential for foot-shooting so this

is no time to be complacent. The better season we have, the  more confidence will build among both players and fans so we must hope things keep ticking over.

 

Unless something comes out of the blue, I cannot see the club being sold until at least Spring next year.

 

That said, Merlin, we would have to be REALLY STRICT towards the players' wage demand, just like how the club deal with Taylor's contract demand.

That should be a good things though.