Next season - my views, expectations etc. (chip in with yours)

[Parky]

For the first time in a while, I feel I can relax. I have faith in his judgement, and I think he has a strong enough personality to impose his ideas from top to toe of the club.

 

Over the last four years, I've often wondered what the hell was going on, and queried a lot of the decisions. Sam, I can trust.

 

THis.......But I am very confident we're going to be challenging faster than people imagine.

[Martin Lol]

It wouldn't surprise me if Newcastle's next two windows are similar to when Arnesen went to Spurs, it seemed like a new face coming in every other day and a bit of deadwood leaving twice a week!

 

There is so much to do, not just playing staff, but all the backroom jobs, the training, the medical side etc, it wouldn't surprise me to see the playing side suffer in the short term.   But SA is the only English manager I would imagine taking that job on head on (Mark Hughes is the other and he is Welsh) so at the end of next season I would guess between 8th-12th with the restructuring of the club completed.

 

There was a lot more wrong with Spurs when Arnesen first went to WHL than is the case at SJP now, but the work to be done is pretty well the same and Spurs started 2 years earlier.  Also, all the clubs above Newcastle this season will have a lot of extra TV money to spend.  I think probably 2 years, possibly 3 years, before Newcastle  are pushing hard for a top 6 finish.

 

The important thing is to remember the level where SA is starting from and judge at the end of next season how much progress has been made, not simply getting despondent if Newcastle finish the season in (say) 12th place.

 

Think you've slightly exaggerated the quality of the teams above us, and those who have finished 5th, 6th. If it takes us three seasons to compete with Spurs and Everton, I'll be very suprised.

 

I did say probably 2, possibly 3, not the other way round.  I'm not exaggerating the abilities of the teams in 5th/6th/7th, trying to honestly judge just how far backwards Newcastle have gone in the days of Souness and Roeder.

 

You have to admit though, there is a lot of dross to be cleared out.  It depends a lot on how quickly SA can build up the backroom staff to the numbers he wants with the quality he wants, the real job will start in earnest when that has been achieved.   

[Dragon55544]

For the first time in a while, I feel I can relax. I have faith in his judgement, and I think he has a strong enough personality to impose his ideas from top to toe of the club.

 

Over the last four years, I've often wondered what the hell was going on, and queried a lot of the decisions. Sam, I can trust.

 

THis.......But I am very confident we're going to be challenging faster than people imagine.

 

Me too, Tbh take out the top 4 and the rest aint all that good, Spurs and Everton aint bad and Villa seem to be getting better but i dont think he'd take 3 years to get to where they are. Last season Portsmouth were lucky to stay up and this season they were up there fighting for a european place, I think we'll be up there fighting for a uefa cup place next season but still a country mile from 4th.

[Stevie]

If we don't finish above Tottenham next season I'll be disappointed.  They're shite, particularly when Berbatov completes his move next season.  People on about Everton too, this is a side who's first choice right back is Tony fuckin Hibbert.  If the current squad had've been fit this season, with a manager who instilled value in the shirt, passion and motivation throughout the squad, fifth would not have been out of the question.

[Incognito]

If we don't finish above Tottenham next season I'll be disappointed.  They're shite, particularly when Berbatov completes his move next season.  People on about Everton too, this is a side who's first choice right back is Tony fuckin Hibbert.  If the current squad had've been fit this season, with a manager who instilled value in the shirt, passion and motivation throughout the squad, fifth would not have been out of the question.

 

 

 

 

blueyes.gif,thats a fair comment,Everton are up and down each season for sure.

[Martin Lol]

If we don't finish above Tottenham next season I'll be disappointed.  They're s****, particularly when Berbatov completes his move next season.  People on about Everton too, this is a side who's first choice right back is Tony fuckin Hibbert.  If the current squad had've been fit this season, with a manager who instilled value in the shirt, passion and motivation throughout the squad, fifth would not have been out of the question.

 

For most of the squad being fit, I'd agree Newcastle would have been higher up the league table than where they actually finished.  For some, the Moores, Babayaros and Carrs, it wouldn't have made a lot of difference if they were fit or not, they were happy to take the money but not to put in a shift to earn it.  It's those that SA has to sort out, to shape up or ship out, and it can't all be done this window, maybe SA can get those 3 and the rest to perform as they can, not as they have.  There again, maybe he can't.  It will take time to evaluate them before deciding whether they stay or go.

 

Berbatov won't be sold for a while.  Spurs reported £20+m profit for the last 6 months, it'll probably be around £35m for the year.  If it doesn't get spent beofre the end of the tax year, the taxman will be taking a big chunk out of that.  That's why Spurs are looking to sort out some the bigger deals asap.  I think Spurs will be spending all, or very nearly all,  of that £35m this window.

[Stevie]

If we don't finish above Tottenham next season I'll be disappointed.  They're s****, particularly when Berbatov completes his move next season.  People on about Everton too, this is a side who's first choice right back is Tony fuckin Hibbert.  If the current squad had've been fit this season, with a manager who instilled value in the shirt, passion and motivation throughout the squad, fifth would not have been out of the question.

 

For most of the squad being fit, I'd agree Newcastle would have been higher up the league table than where they actually finished.  For some, the Moores, Babayaros and Carrs, it wouldn't have made a lot of difference if they were fit or not, they were happy to take the money but not to put in a shift to earn it.   It's those that SA has to sort out, to shape up or ship out, and it can't all be done this window, maybe SA can get those 3 and the rest to perform as they can, not as they have.  There again, maybe he can't.  It will take time to evaluate them before deciding whether they stay or go.

 

Berbatov won't be sold for a while.  Spurs reported £20+m profit for the last 6 months, it'll probably be around £35m for the year.  If it doesn't get spent beofre the end of the tax year, the taxman will be taking a big chunk out of that.  That's why Spurs are looking to sort out some the bigger deals asap.  I think Spurs will be spending all, or very nearly all,  of that £35m this window.

Rasiak back in?

[Robster]

Personally, I will be overjoyed if we are any where near competing with Spurs.

I have never been a huge fan of their's but at the minute they are cracking to watch and the kind of team that the premiership needs.

Berbatov has been quality this season.

 

[AlanSkÃrare]

I'm very, very excited. Suprised at Shepherds excellent act to get rid of Roeder and bring this terrific scientist of a football manager in. We'll probably start off very well like Aston Villa did with O'Neill. Some kind of a crisis will occur sooner or later, and then Sam should be a good enough manager to guide us into Europe during the spring. I think we'll progress in the League Cup like Tottenham did this season. Allardyce is here for the long term, I don't expect or require immediate success at all.

[Martin Lol]

If we don't finish above Tottenham next season I'll be disappointed.  They're s****, particularly when Berbatov completes his move next season.  People on about Everton too, this is a side who's first choice right back is Tony fuckin Hibbert.  If the current squad had've been fit this season, with a manager who instilled value in the shirt, passion and motivation throughout the squad, fifth would not have been out of the question.

 

For most of the squad being fit, I'd agree Newcastle would have been higher up the league table than where they actually finished.  For some, the Moores, Babayaros and Carrs, it wouldn't have made a lot of difference if they were fit or not, they were happy to take the money but not to put in a shift to earn it.  It's those that SA has to sort out, to shape up or ship out, and it can't all be done this window, maybe SA can get those 3 and the rest to perform as they can, not as they have.  There again, maybe he can't.  It will take time to evaluate them before deciding whether they stay or go.

 

Berbatov won't be sold for a while.  Spurs reported £20+m profit for the last 6 months, it'll probably be around £35m for the year.  If it doesn't get spent beofre the end of the tax year, the taxman will be taking a big chunk out of that.  That's why Spurs are looking to sort out some the bigger deals asap.  I think Spurs will be spending all, or very nearly all,  of that £35m this window.

Rasiak back in?

 

:lol:

 

God, I hope not! 

 

I think that it more likely that £20m could be committed within the next 2 weeks, £35m could be spent this window, announcement for a new stadium in October and Levy selling up before the end of the year.  Kemsley's name could also become a lot more prominent.  All of these are only wild guesses though.  Northumberland Park does need regenerating though.

[Martin Lol]

I'm very, very excited. Suprised at Shepherds excellent act to get rid of Roeder and bring this terrific scientist of a football manager in. We'll probably start off very well like Aston Villa did with O'Neill. Some kind of a crisis will occur sooner or later, and then Sam should be a good enough manager to guide us into Europe during the spring. I think we'll progress in the League Cup like Tottenham did this season. Allardyce is here for the long term, I don't expect or require immediate success at all.

 

The sad thing for Newcastle was that SA never accepted the job when it was offered to him before.  The years of Souness and Roeder have put the club back years.

[Keefaz]

I'm very, very excited. Suprised at Shepherds excellent act to get rid of Roeder and bring this terrific scientist of a football manager in. We'll probably start off very well like Aston Villa did with O'Neill. Some kind of a crisis will occur sooner or later, and then Sam should be a good enough manager to guide us into Europe during the spring. I think we'll progress in the League Cup like Tottenham did this season. Allardyce is here for the long term, I don't expect or require immediate success at all.

 

The sad thing for Newcastle was that SA never accepted the job when it was offered to him before.  The years of Souness and Roeder have put the club back years.

 

Quite true. However, we dug our own graves by sacking both SBR and Souness while the season was well underway which complicated things.

[Dragon55544]

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2007/05/16/sfnnew16.xml

 

Sam Allardyce's first day as Newcastle manager ended with England striker Michael Owen's days on Tyneside starting to seem numbered with his future looking more uncertain than ever.

 

Allardyce, 52, said he had begun his reign at St James' Park by meeting some of his new charges "without other commitments" and yet to start their summer holidays but the supposedly restless Owen, who returned from injury only recently, was conspicuously absent, having left for a break in Ireland.

 

The former Bolton manager insists he wants the club's record £17 million signing to stay at Newcastle but is not planning any dramatic gestures in a low-key charm offensive, relying on a phone call rather than face-to-face chat to ascertain Owen's intentions, with Liverpool and Manchester United said to be waiting in the wings.

 

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd, who last week called on the striker for a demonstration of loyalty, now wants Owen - who has two years left on his £110,000-per-week contract -to decide on his future sooner rather than later. "He's under contract here until something else happens and I hope he stays," Shepherd said last night. "He wouldn't have signed in the first place if he didn't think this was the place to be. If 20,000 people coming to see him that day when he signed didn't make his mind up, nothing would.

 

 

"He's a great player and I've got no problem with him. He's done nothing wrong to me \u2026 but like any player, he has to make his mind up. The ball's in his court."

 

More diplomatically, Shepherd has dropped his opposition to Owen representing England this summer amid a compensation row over his knee injury with the Football Association. "Not a problem, not a problem," he added. "We're still talking to the FA and I'm sure commonsense will prevail on that one."

 

Speaking at a press conference which the BBC were allowed to film only at the 11th hour due to the feud over the Panorama documentary into 'bungs', Allardyce, who has signed a three-year contract worth £9 million, said Owen and Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins were "very much a part of the future here".

 

"I will be asking him, 'does he want to stay with us or go'? When I speak to Michael we'll find out what he's thinking and then we'll react and move on that. Obviously, I'd like him to stay because he has that rare commodity of being able to score goals. What I think Michael needs is more time to get on track for us and hopefully he will decide to take that time."

 

Allardyce is setting his sights on winning silverware and pushing the club back into the upper reaches of the Premiership by overseeing a cultural revolution.

 

Allardyce, who rejected Newcastle's previous overtures because he wanted "make sure I broke history before I left Bolton" by guiding the club into Europe, is also hoping to strike a blow for English managers.

 

"We have a bigger job than we have ever had before by competing with these foreign managers as well as our own in this country," he said. "For me, this opportunity is not only to manage at a big, big club but also to break into those areas which seem to be untouchable. At one stage this season, we almost managed it at Bolton.

 

"With the right resources and the right foundation and backroom staff and players, there is no reason why Newcastle in the near future shouldn't be able to challenge some of those top-four boys." As for the cultural revolution, he would be "looking at the whole caboodle", with psychological profiling and eradicating Newcastle's lamentable injury problems via "a very intricate system" that involves tackling the issue "from a scientific point of view" on the agenda.

 

"I need to look at the training programme, at the strength programme and look at nutritional values of the players and get them to buy into the system we had at Bolton," Allardyce said.

 

"I only want to do things my way. I know this way works and I will put this way into Newcastle as quickly as I can. We have to try to get the club stable and move forward slowly but the right culture must be in place to ensure that happens. I have to grow everything. Hopefully, it will grow into a culture behind the scenes that works for everybody and towards one goal, and that is for every Newcastle player to walk over that white line when they're asked to play and have the capabilities of giving their best, from fitness and strength point of view and also tactical and team point of view."

 

 

Much of the same but im happy with the bit in bold.

 

[Martin Lol]

I'm very, very excited. Suprised at Shepherds excellent act to get rid of Roeder and bring this terrific scientist of a football manager in. We'll probably start off very well like Aston Villa did with O'Neill. Some kind of a crisis will occur sooner or later, and then Sam should be a good enough manager to guide us into Europe during the spring. I think we'll progress in the League Cup like Tottenham did this season. Allardyce is here for the long term, I don't expect or require immediate success at all.

 

The sad thing for Newcastle was that SA never accepted the job when it was offered to him before.  The years of Souness and Roeder have put the club back years.

 

Quite true. However, we dug our own graves by sacking both SBR and Souness while the season was well underway which complicated things.

 

Souness should have gone before the season started. 

 

SBR shouldn't have gone at all.  If FFS had kept his mouth shut, no-one would have known that SBR was going at the end of the season, he could have moved upstairs in a DoF type role and Newcastle wouldn't have suffered the upeaval that they did.

[Martin Lol]

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2007/05/16/sfnnew16.xml

 

Sam Allardyce's first day as Newcastle manager ended with England striker Michael Owen's days on Tyneside starting to seem numbered with his future looking more uncertain than ever.

 

Allardyce, 52, said he had begun his reign at St James' Park by meeting some of his new charges "without other commitments" and yet to start their summer holidays but the supposedly restless Owen, who returned from injury only recently, was conspicuously absent, having left for a break in Ireland.

 

The former Bolton manager insists he wants the club's record £17 million signing to stay at Newcastle but is not planning any dramatic gestures in a low-key charm offensive, relying on a phone call rather than face-to-face chat to ascertain Owen's intentions, with Liverpool and Manchester United said to be waiting in the wings.

 

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd, who last week called on the striker for a demonstration of loyalty, now wants Owen - who has two years left on his £110,000-per-week contract -to decide on his future sooner rather than later. "He's under contract here until something else happens and I hope he stays," Shepherd said last night. "He wouldn't have signed in the first place if he didn't think this was the place to be. If 20,000 people coming to see him that day when he signed didn't make his mind up, nothing would.

 

 

"He's a great player and I've got no problem with him. He's done nothing wrong to me \u2026 but like any player, he has to make his mind up. The ball's in his court."

More diplomatically, Shepherd has dropped his opposition to Owen representing England this summer amid a compensation row over his knee injury with the Football Association. "Not a problem, not a problem," he added. "We're still talking to the FA and I'm sure commonsense will prevail on that one."

 

Speaking at a press conference which the BBC were allowed to film only at the 11th hour due to the feud over the Panorama documentary into 'bungs', Allardyce, who has signed a three-year contract worth £9 million, said Owen and Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins were "very much a part of the future here".

 

"I will be asking him, 'does he want to stay with us or go'? When I speak to Michael we'll find out what he's thinking and then we'll react and move on that. Obviously, I'd like him to stay because he has that rare commodity of being able to score goals. What I think Michael needs is more time to get on track for us and hopefully he will decide to take that time."

 

Allardyce is setting his sights on winning silverware and pushing the club back into the upper reaches of the Premiership by overseeing a cultural revolution.

 

Allardyce, who rejected Newcastle's previous overtures because he wanted "make sure I broke history before I left Bolton" by guiding the club into Europe, is also hoping to strike a blow for English managers.

 

"We have a bigger job than we have ever had before by competing with these foreign managers as well as our own in this country," he said. "For me, this opportunity is not only to manage at a big, big club but also to break into those areas which seem to be untouchable. At one stage this season, we almost managed it at Bolton.

 

"With the right resources and the right foundation and backroom staff and players, there is no reason why Newcastle in the near future shouldn't be able to challenge some of those top-four boys." As for the cultural revolution, he would be "looking at the whole caboodle", with psychological profiling and eradicating Newcastle's lamentable injury problems via "a very intricate system" that involves tackling the issue "from a scientific point of view" on the agenda.

 

"I need to look at the training programme, at the strength programme and look at nutritional values of the players and get them to buy into the system we had at Bolton," Allardyce said.

 

"I only want to do things my way. I know this way works and I will put this way into Newcastle as quickly as I can. We have to try to get the club stable and move forward slowly but the right culture must be in place to ensure that happens. I have to grow everything. Hopefully, it will grow into a culture behind the scenes that works for everybody and towards one goal, and that is for every Newcastle player to walk over that white line when they're asked to play and have the capabilities of giving their best, from fitness and strength point of view and also tactical and team point of view."

 

 

Much of the same but im happy with the bit in bold.

 

 

Regarding the bit in red.

 

If I was SA, I would start telling FFS that day to day administration is the manager's job, not the Chairman's.  I don't understand why FFS wants to put all discussions/negotiations etc in the public domain.  Just leave it to Big Sam, he gets paid a lot to sort things like that out, preferably in private, let him get on with his job!

[Dave]

If I was SA, I would start telling FFS that day to day administration is the manager's job, not the Chairman's.  I don't understand why FFS wants to put all discussions/negotiations etc in the public domain.  Just leave it to Big Sam, he gets paid a lot to sort things like that out, preferably in private, let him get on with his job!

 

Been a problem for years.

[GM]

Let's just all see the Allardyce appointment as the long-overdue beginning of a new chapter (we hope) in Newcastle's history - one which will see the money-obsessed, heartless, talentless detritus shifted off the playing rosters once and for all and replaced with a team that demonstrates commitment, vitality, fitness, playing intelligence and the occasional bit of panache. I'm looking forward to seeing Allardyce root out the endemic issues that have plagued the club, such as prima donna players, endless injury lists as long as your arm, uncoordinated and disjointed play and eventually, I believe he will be capable of laying the foundations for a much more successful Newcastle than we've seen in many a long year.

 

I hope that having gone to the bother of getting a decent coach this time, Shepherd will back off and give Sam a good run at sorting things out his way and buying and selling the players he and not the Chairman sees as what the club needs. I'm truly sanguine about Allardyce's arrival.

 

I hope to see us start next season with a revitalised squad, where their collective ambition is reflected in their attitude on and off the pitch. I expect to see us back up in the UEFA qualifying spots, and I'd hope we can get to Wembley as well.

[Keefaz]

Let's just all see the Allardyce appointment as the long-overdue beginning of a new chapter (we hope) in Newcastle's history - one which will see the money-obsessed, heartless, talentless detritus shifted off the playing rosters once and for all and replaced with a team that demonstrates commitment, vitality, fitness, playing intelligence and the occasional bit of panache. I'm looking forward to seeing Allardyce root out the endemic issues that have plagued the club, such as prima donnaayers, endless injury lists as long as your arm, uncoordinated and disjointed play and eventually, I believe he will be capable of laying the foundations for a much more successful Newcastle than we've seen in many a long year.

 

I hope that having gone to the bother of getting a decent coach this time, Shepherd will back off and give Sam a good run at sorting things out his way and buying and selling the players he and not the Chairman sees as what the club needs. I'm truly sanguine about Allardyce's arrival.

 

I hope to see us start next season with a revitalised squad, where their collective ambition is reflected in their attitude on and off the pitch. I expect to see us back up in the UEFA qualifying spots, and I'd hope we can get to Wembley as well.

 

It's spelt 'premadonna', you muppet.

[Dave]

 

I was going to do that gag.

[GM]

Let's just all see the Allardyce appointment as the long-overdue beginning of a new chapter (we hope) in Newcastle's history - one which will see the money-obsessed, heartless, talentless detritus shifted off the playing rosters once and for all and replaced with a team that demonstrates commitment, vitality, fitness, playing intelligence and the occasional bit of panache. I'm looking forward to seeing Allardyce root out the endemic issues that have plagued the club, such as prima donnaayers, endless injury lists as long as your arm, uncoordinated and disjointed play and eventually, I believe he will be capable of laying the foundations for a much more successful Newcastle than we've seen in many a long year.

 

I hope that having gone to the bother of getting a decent coach this time, Shepherd will back off and give Sam a good run at sorting things out his way and buying and selling the players he and not the Chairman sees as what the club needs. I'm truly sanguine about Allardyce's arrival.

 

I hope to see us start next season with a revitalised squad, where their collective ambition is reflected in their attitude on and off the pitch. I expect to see us back up in the UEFA qualifying spots, and I'd hope we can get to Wembley as well.

 

It's spelt 'premadonna', you muppet.

 

You fucked up that edit good style

[Keefaz]

Let's just all see the Allardyce appointment as the long-overdue beginning of a new chapter (we hope) in Newcastle's history - one which will see the money-obsessed, heartless, talentless detritus shifted off the playing rosters once and for all and replaced with a team that demonstrates commitment, vitality, fitness, playing intelligence and the occasional bit of panache. I'm looking forward to seeing Allardyce root out the endemic issues that have plagued the club, such as prima donnaayers, endless injury lists as long as your arm, uncoordinated and disjointed play and eventually, I believe he will be capable of laying the foundations for a much more successful Newcastle than we've seen in many a long year.

 

I hope that having gone to the bother of getting a decent coach this time, Shepherd will back off and give Sam a good run at sorting things out his way and buying and selling the players he and not the Chairman sees as what the club needs. I'm truly sanguine about Allardyce's arrival.

 

I hope to see us start next season with a revitalised squad, where their collective ambition is reflected in their attitude on and off the pitch. I expect to see us back up in the UEFA qualifying spots, and I'd hope we can get to Wembley as well.

 

It's spelt 'premadonna', you muppet.

 

You fucked up that edit good style

 

Aye, I think I pressed 'insert' by accident. Curse these fat fingers of mine.

[Guest SLK]

I can't wait for summer camp news and how the team will be doing in friendlies before the Amsterdam tournament...

 

I can't wait to read the news of new player signings and departures

 

I can't wait to know what are the initial staff changes and appointments...

 

I expect and predict exciting new season in terms of showing passion and gutts when playing not only the big teams but also the mid low table teams that we were struggling to have the players motivated to play against...

 

I expect Reading type of fire in their bellies passionate display, at home and more importantly away from home too as we have lost so many points last season on away trips...

 

I expect Sam show managerial skills that we havn't seen since SBR times...Using wingers with better effect, switching wingers during play and imporving our dead ball set plays and shore up the leaky defense...

 

I expect an Inter-Toto cup place finish next season at least...i.e. 7th

[Dragon55544]

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2080393,00.html

 

Sam Allardyce arrived for his first day of work at Newcastle United in a helicopter. It is a machine with symbolism on Tyneside, having been Kevin Keegan's mode of departure from his role as Newcastle's player-messiah in 1984, and Michael Owen often uses a helicopter to scurry to and from the club to which he is lucratively contracted.

Sadly, again perhaps symbolically, Owen was not at the Newcastle training ground yesterday morning to welcome Allardyce and that is one of the clouds the new manager flew into on his way north yesterday. "It was raining, wet," Allardyce said. "I thought: 'How long is this going to take?' But the weather got better."

 

His sun-shined face broke into a smile. It did so a few times yesterday and there was no overbearing rhetoric to accompany that, merely a couple of jokes and then some solid common sense. Optimism has a tarnished reputation at St James' Park but if Allardyce gets his way with transfers, backroom staff and a word he used yesterday - "culture" - then this could be a long-needed turning point for the club.

The big "if" concerns the willingness of the chairman, Freddy Shepherd, to invest in and support ideologically the science and sociology Allardyce is committed to and which was so productive at Bolton Wanderers. Promisingly for Allardyce, Shepherd appeared belatedly at the back of the room yesterday, one hand guarding a rib somehow fractured playing golf, to say: "I'm sure if Bolton can afford it we can afford it.

 

"He [Allardyce] has got my blessing to implement the same sort of system he had at Bolton. That's the whole idea. It would take an idiot not to realise the problems we've had with injuries this season. The stats are something like 340 player days lost to injury at Newcastle; at Bolton it was something like 72. We lost five to one to Bolton in terms of injuries. We've got the Premiership record for injuries, which isn't the best one to have. So of course he's going to bring his medical staff in. They're going to look at me first.

 

"That type of system takes time to bear fruit so we have to be patient. On the medical staff, it's very much a preventative thing rather than trying to cure them afterwards. He's been very successful at that. You can't get away from the stats and they tell us that he's had the least amount of injuries with one of the smallest squads in the league. There you go, there it is."

 

Injuries are not the only issue at Newcastle. Nicky Butt spoke on Monday of dressing-room unrest, and a deterioration in more than playing standards is mentioned everywhere at St James'. Now it will be addressed, and probably in a smarter way than when Graeme Souness walked in talking the talk post- Sir Bobby Robson.

 

"I have been given reassurances," Allardyce said of the club's commitment to cultural change. "I want to recreate an atmosphere that is a pleasure to come to. So I will look around the training ground quickly and improve that facility. It is a fantastic facility but there is always room for improvement. It might be a picture here, a window there, it might be a personal touch.

 

"I am sure if they start working with me they will start enjoying what they do. They will get up in the morning, look forward to training. I don't want a miserable environment. I want a happy environment with smiley faces."

 

There have not been many of those on Tyneside of late but, surprisingly for a club who have not won the league title since 1927 or the FA Cup since 1955, a lot of fans are concerned about Allardyce's alleged style of football. This may seem frivolous but Kenny Dalglish lost his job here in part because of dour play. Ruud Gullit, Dalglish's replacement, mentioned sexy football on day one.

 

Allardyce plumped for neither but offered a compromise: "If we can be undefeated at St James' then that is a great start. But I think we will have to be a different team away from home - here to entertain but, away, we go to win. If that means spoiling the opposition then that is all that counts. Winning and entertaining is great, but we have to win."

 

 

 

Another good read. The more i read the more optimistic im getting that SA is the right man.

 

[matta]

Hopefully it will be abit easier to try to predict the oncoming season after he has settled in nice and he might have some early transfers before the pre-season starts.

 

 

But for once, i think the club is in safe hands. And thats  not something one could have said about newcastle the last 2 years:)

[Guest SLK]

Very good lines from SA...If only he came after SBR left, who knows where we would have been by now...if only...