I’ve read this blog a bit recently but can’t be bothered to post since it has once again degenerated to slagging off everybody to do with Newcastle.
Mike Ashley because he is tight and wants to screw the fans.
Alan Pardew because he’s useless and talks rubbish.
The team because they aren’t good enough and aren’t interested.
But hell I’m used to this rubbish because bitching is what fans do best. I should know I’m a fan myself. But personally I don’t blame the individuals that make up NUFC. I blame two things.
Partly it is the culture of NUFC. We don’t expect anything and have never really achieved very much and that is the norm. Brendan Rodgers going into Liverpool had an easier job in comparison since Liverpool have won and expect to win and Rodgers had to recreate what was there. We have never had it. We nearly had it with Kevin Keegan and would have had it had Sir Bobby Robson come a few years earlier and and stayed a few years more. So it is going to take a manager of world class proportions to transform this club, and they are thin on the ground and why would they come here anyway?
But mainly I blame the English Premier League. The money. FFP. Champions League etc. The league is structured so that four clubs can make serious money by qualifying for the Champions League. Oh and there are some prizes that mean nowt financially but look good. Europa League, domestic cups. Clubs that can stay in the league but challenge for nowt get financially well rewarded, and god help any club that’s relegated. They don’t count anymore.
Soccornomics show that by and large results are dependant upon the spending on squad wages. Not transfer fees, but wages. And any club would be well advised to spend no more that say two thirds of their income on wages. So for clubs with a turnover of £100m that means no more than £60m on wages. Which is what we have done.
Now I would expect these to have grown 2013-14 and rocket next year because of the extra TV money. But even so for us to seriously challenge for a top four spot we would need to at least double our wage bill, if not treble it. And even then we would only be competing on a level playing field and not guaranteed anything.
We would also be running at a significant loss, breaching FFP regulations and lets face nobody is so stupid as to take on that challenge. Least of all an intelligent businessman such as Mike Ashley. And replacing him won’t bring another punter willing to blow all his dosh on a dream. So no I don’t blame Ashley for being tight. Sensible maybe. And certainly he has made mistakes, but where we are is not entirely because of him. I am hoping that he spends some money in this window, but not holding my breath.
Where we are is because of who we are and what we spend and that is the culmination of a long history. We may be in the top twenty clubs in Europe in terms of revenue, but we are only the seventh biggest in England, and that is where we play.
So is it Pardew’s fault? Well on spending I would expect to see us achieve between 11th and 7th as par for the course, so a top five achievement and Manager of the Year shows he is no fool. The following year a relegation battle whilst doing reasonably well in Europe and with no investment until January was a let down, but not unexpected. But this season 46 points from 30 games was a decent return until we sold our most effective player and failed to replace him. So a top five finish and a top ten finish, well with two notable exceptions, you have to go back decades to find a manager who has achieved as much at NUFC. So do I blame Pardew for being useless? Of course not. However, he may have lost the dressing room and the fans, so it may be time for a change. Hopefully his successor will have us playing attractive football whilst we continue to mope around the top ten. A world class manager is too much to ask for. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait decades again for a manager who achieves more.
So is it the players. Well you get what you pay for I suppose. They are not world beaters. Not many would go on to better things, but let’s be fair they have not turned up for the last few games. But if they do move on they will be well paid and without the incentive of an international place to play for they seem to be as apathetic as the fans. However, that is also due to the money being paid in the Premier League. The best league in the World. Well the Bundesliga and La Liga may dispute that, but it is certainly the richest. Average players get phenomenal wages and so who can blame them for not being motivated when they are clearly not the best and unlikely to win anything. Funny thing is in some games they have played superbly and we have looked good, but all too often that has been far from the case.
So what can I look forward to? Well the extra TV money means that we can attract a few better players. But it is not going to close the gap on the big five, so we are not chasing Champions League football anytime soon. Europa League and cup runs would be nice, but they are just a sop in reality. Ask Wigan or Portsmouth. Since Coventry won the FA Cup in ’87 and Wimbledon in ’88 the winners have been Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea six times each, Liverpool four times, and once each for Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, Portsmouth and Wigan. Not quite a closed shop but not far off it.
Looking at it coldly and logically and therefore not at all as a fan, more of the same is the order of the day. Replacing Pardew with some other competent Premier League manager – Curbishley, Moyes etc – is not going to achieve anything. Good foreign managers like Bielsa are unlikely to come here but if they did it would be for the short term and the money.
We could hope for somebody better or take a punt on an unknown as is becoming a growing trend these days but the reality is that unless we get someone who can change, and is allowed to change, the whole culture at the club then we are where we are.
That’s why I’m apathetic.
Nice one Prem, enjoyable read and good to see you back writing for the blog! 😉
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Thanks premandum..
I m too… 😉
Bielsa sign for marseille …
Ranieri or moyes ..good choice..
Money tv never used for good player…it s for invest frensh lowcost good level player and cross fingers for become reveled in england…make monney ..poor shame human bisness … thats why pards is ..at nufc..isnt it mr ashley ❓
What a century 😕 time change …king monney make lows ❗
Djebs9(Quote)
Good read Prem. Sven Goran Erikson should be our next manager with Graham Taylor as assistant and keep Pardew as a coach ?
Stem(Quote)
I would love Bielsa to come in, see what people make of his playing players out of position if they thought Pardew was bad at it 😆
Agree with you though Prem, sadly most fans like to have a good moan about one thing or another for most of the season, kudos for not being drawn into it!
Newkie(Quote)
Prem – I agree that there is an unrealistic expectation amongst some fans. But, I’m also a fan and I don’t think my expectations are unrealistic at all. I don’t expect us to compete for the league – I don’t even expect us to achieve 4th spot for 17 consecutive seasons as Arsenal have.
I don’t expect us to win trophies every season! – so what are my expectations as a fan?.
Well, for the league I’d expect us to be a consistent top 6 side along with Spurs and Everton – the latter not being a particularly rich club either.
I’d expect us to be putting a challenge in for that 4th spot – not necassarily achieving it you understand, but to at least be competing for it.
I expect attractive football that is enjoyable to watch and that is consistent – I don’t expect to win every week of course, but I’ve went from expecting nowt against the likes of Man U, City and Chelsea – to now doubting if we’ll get anything from the likes of Swansea, Villa or bloody Hull!.
I expect us to be able to score a goal from a corner or freekick. I expect us to close the ball down when the opposition have it and get forward in numbers when we have it. I expect us to score a goal when Remy isn’t in the team!.
As for the cups, well that’s easy – I expect to get passed the third round now and again!. I expect a decent cup run – even if it was every other season!. A trip to Wembley would be nice – particularly as that would only require reaching the semi finals. I don’t think that is unrealistic at all personally – not when you look at some of the teams that have achieved in recent years.
I expect us to replace players we decide to sell for big money. I have problem selling them – I expect it, as Spurs and Arsenal and many others have sold their best players in recent years. I don’t expect us to keep our best players and we’ve been getting good money for them – I don’t understand why we are singled out as the selling club to be honest when compared with Spuds and Gooners actually!. But I expect to replace them. If a players isn’t deemed good enough, I expect him to be moved on and replaced – not to keep hold until their contract runs out.
I’m sorry mate, but the blame will always return to Ashley for me. He is responsible for the running of the club and he is getting it very wrong in certain areas. The management of the team is down to Pardew (who Ashley employs), and he is getting things very wrong at the moment.
He was happy to take the plaudits when receiving manager of the year, so when it goes wrong I expect him to be man enough to foot the blame as well – and not use endless excuses.
I think I have fairly realistic expectations for my football club.
Sharpy17(Quote)
🙄 jeezz your a needy ******* Sharpy! 😛 😆
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Sorry for the lengthy post. I’ve been away for a week with nee Internet so needed to vent!.
3-0 flattered us against Cardiff, and the win was the ONE more win Pardew has been banging on about for the last few weeks – to probably secure him and the players bonus for a top 10 finish.
I don’t think he or the players have overachieved this season, or deserve a bonus on top of the huge salaries they already earn personally.
I don’t think the football has been good enough this season and as a paying fan I think I have every right to ‘moan’ about it!.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Aussie – I know mate, I’m a right glory chaser me! 😆
Sharpy17(Quote)
Prem – I understand your point about FFP and the wage structure and I accept that it favours some teams.
But the wages are only for playing staff.
If he was so smart then he’d be going out and hiring the best youth development coaches out there!. He’d be hiring the best manager and coaching staff out there!. He’d be hiring the best director of football and Chairman that he could – to ensure that he was getting the best out of what he could within those constraint placed on him.
If he were doing that then I would totally be on board with what you’re saying mate and I’d probably be backing Ashley to tell you the truth. But he’s not, he employs the cheap option. The Pardews and Kinnaers of the football world – and when JK left, he simply goes with Charnley.
That has nowt to do with FFP mate, that’s down to an owner who doesn’t really give a ****.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy 😆
I agree with you about Pardew and our basic set pieces and manor of play! This is the stuff he does have control over. Other than **** footy, we really do not have any sense of style or purpose. The basic disciplines are not even there. I used to place a large section of blame on the players but I think Pardew has taken us as far as he can. I cant see what else he has in his bag of tricks!
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Fans will look at our 9th place and think we are just a bunch of moaning mags but I think this time it isn’t a tiny minority being delusional – it is a fair complaint.
My apathy is because for the first time in a couple of decades we have accepted that we are not going to push on.
Every single football fan deserves to go into the summer hoping for better the following season. Obviously this won’t always be the case (and during Shephard’s later years it definitely wasn’t) but to not even have the straw to cling to defies the point of being a football fan.
Every team in the league from Liverpool and Everton to Villa, Sunderland and Hull will be looking at the summer and aiming to consolidate or progress.
We seem to be the ONE team in the whole league that is content with mediocrity.
I have never know our fans to be so unified in feeling glum. Even after last year around half our fans were getting what positives they could from the season and starting to hope that we still had a solid platform to move on from.
Enter Joe Kinnear, our only striker missing the preseason tour and two **** windows and here we are.
A lot of fans were on board with Ashley trying to follow Spurs/Arsenal/Everton with sensible spending on top of reinvesting any player sales. Buys like a couple of Clyne/Redmond/Caulker/Shelvey/Bony would probably have been enough to appease fans (STILL spending less than other clubs) and given us something to cling to.
Ashley has rid all of us of the possibility of dreaming. What’s the point of being a football fan if you can’t even dream. 👿
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
We scored from a set piece against Cardiff you mangy curs, isn’t that two in this season? Record! 😛
Newkie(Quote)
Solano, villa and everton have spent nowt over the past few seasons, so no doubt their fans will bitching as hard as our fans! The arrival on Martinez at everton has probably eased some of the grief but two of their better players (lakaku and deulofeu) are loans so I would say they are much more ambitious than us!
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Yeah I’d say right now Villa fans are about as bad as us, and they like us see themselves as above *best of the rest* and a team that really should be there where Spurs are now, or Everton etc. Everton have invested pretty well but then their growth has always come as a result of completely mugging someone over with a transfer deal. 27.5 mil for Fellani makes us look like fools for selling Cabs for so little. Didn’t they also get about 25 mil for Lescott? That’s even better business than we did for Carroll. Probably just as well Moyes went or he may have spent 50 mil on Baines 😐
Newkie(Quote)
Aussie
But they have signed players at least, and they tend to replace their big money players a lot quicker than us!
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Solano and Newkie – Everton have sold a few as you suggest but they have purchased **** all players in comparison. They have had seasons where they have purchased no players! Like us…
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Aussie-eh? Everton bought McCarthy for 13 mil and Kone for 6! Plus McGeady in Jan for a smaller fee. McCarthy has always been highly rated by some, Martinez obviously rated Kone enough to spend 6 mil on him as well, obviously that was a stupid buy but that’s at his door. He’s had the ability to spend 20mil this season and has done so-much better than us!
Newkie(Quote)
Newkie, cast your mind back a little farther mate. Around 3 seasons ago they were spending next to fuk all. They may have bought the players you mentioned but before that, it has been slim pickings..
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Just checked and Villa have an outlay of 39mil in the last two seasons. They are mostly cheap and cheerful buys but that is great outlay-particularly when they haven’t sold anyone for anything more than peanuts, and they now look likely to miss out on the cash cow of Benteke as he won’t be at the WC.
Newkie(Quote)
Aussie-i’ve always seen that as an Everton myth tbh. Not only have they often bought players they have also purchased them at high cost on several occasions-but they tend to be flops so people forget about them. They are great at sales though.
Newkie(Quote)
They still brought a few in though – it at least gives people something to cling to.
One loan signing to replace a striker sold six months earlier…
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Great article agree with 90% of it , sums up how I feel just about perfect.
The only way I can see us every competing year on year ( other than a mega rich arab / russian willing to spend big ) would be for the club to develop its own idenity. Not trying to be like Arsenal or Everton or anyone else that has a succesful few seasons. Be us , be Newcastle United. We need to indenify a style of play that fit’s us as a club and develop the whole club. From the first team right down to the under 8s and get them into our own philosphy. It would mean we could identify what type of players we need and delvelop our own players to taylor suit our playing style etc etc , now to do that we would need a manager with that tye of vision that the club will buy in it. I feel we need a Shankley esq person to come in and put our own stamp.
Obv there it no gurantee success in anything and even if that would to become a success it would be years in the development.
Johno(Quote)
Nice article Prem. However, I’m not apathetic just totally pissed off with the whole present regime at SJP. All of it.
Most of my life we’ve been kicking around mid table, a few relegations and very few flirtations near the top. That I can handle and it’s never stopped me looking forward to the next match, the next season. But this current lot, especially the manager, have done my head in. There’s been no good football since he came in. Finishing fifth felt like cheating as the performance were still so poor. All I ask is competitive, entertaining football with a modicum of style. Pardew wouldn’t recognise that if it was biting his ankles. He may even stoop to head **** it.
Some games when we first came back up were terrific but since he’s arrived . . . Three and a half years – no progress toward that at all.
georgio(Quote)
Like that Johnno – but as you say years in development. Which division do you see us in before it bears fruit?
georgio(Quote)
To back up my point above – several games this season have seen me dropping off. Actually falling asleep.
georgio(Quote)
The way we are going it be that divison they are planning to set up between league 2 and the conference 😆 Id also expect the Newcastle B team to be in a higher league 😆
Johno(Quote)
Bielsas a good shout, Rijkard would also be a good fit imho. Out of work, Would surely relish the chance to revitalise their careers at a high profile club in a top league. The football would be suited to our current personnel and both have worked with even stricter transfer structures than ours.
That said it would be interested to see if QPR lost to Wigan. Ashley has a penchant for a certain twitching 2nd hand car salesman… 😯
CC(Quote)
http://www.transferleague.co.uk/premiership-transfers/everton-transfers.html
Evertons transfers.. and you guys reckon we spend no money! 😉
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
http://www.transferleague.co.uk/premiership-transfers/newcastle-united-transfers.html
and our mega transfers 😕
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
CC I think De beour could be in with a shout if we get rid of Pardew
Johno(Quote)
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/next-tottenham-manager-frank-de-3474828
Johno(Quote)
Always makes me chuckle some of Bobbys signings, All that knowledge of overseas leagues and we sign Fumaca, Cordone and Wayne Quinn 🙄
Gallagher, Bernard, Robert, Bellamy, Jenas and Woodgate were class, The rest ranged from ok to ****; How we managed to get in the champions league back to back seasons beggars belief…
CC(Quote)
Aussie-my issue is, transfers to date only really seem to be addressing gaps that we have left rather than ever really *pushing on*, so last year’s squad revamp was something since we lost Carroll, Nolan, Barton and Enrique. Everton have lost their top players but then tend to develop immediately afterwards rather than when they face a crisis-like we did. There’s never really been a window where I’ve felt like we were going to kick on, we just seem to play catch up.
I guess this summer will be a key one for both. If Everton manage to secure Lukaku then they really will have moved up a gear.
Newkie(Quote)
CC – you’re missing Shearer, Speed, Dyer, Solano, Given. They must be your OK to ****!
georgio(Quote)
Prem very good article. I completely agree with you.
John is right too. We should be developing our own style (top to bottom) that would give the top teams fits and be pleasing to watch. That’s simply not a job for Pardew
MDS(Quote)
Georgio-I think with the exception of Dyer, all those signings were made before Bobby got here.
Newkie(Quote)
Newkie/CC – read it wrong. Didn’t register you meant Bobby signings. Newkie – Dyer was Gullit’s last act.
georgio(Quote)
I think Alan Pardew deserves another year at least.
Barry(Quote)
Georgio- was it? So he wasn’t a total disaster for us then 😆
Newkie(Quote)
Barry you might be right , think there are pros and cons in keeping him or getting rid of him. I feel he has lost the dressing room after the Meyler incident and think he needs to go. He’s done a good job but has taken us as far as he can
Johno(Quote)
Prem ,nice one mate ,good read and while I can appreciate all the points you make for me I have to disagree a little . Sharpy@5 Has completely nailed it for me, that is exactly how I feel about the whole situation and there isn’t much more I can add really. This owner lacks ambition which has in turn filtered down to the squad, manager and fans, until he sells up we will be stuck as also rans but without the fun of a cup run or Europe to look forward to since it’s not wanted apparently. To go into every season knowing that top 10-7 is the only remit is utterly soul destroying and that’s where my apathy stems from. I want to be entertained and not be on the verge of dropping off mid game as well 😉
kIMTOON(Quote)
Barry@38, I wouldn’t give him another second let alone a year.
kIMTOON(Quote)
http://www.newcastleunited-mad.co.uk/news/tmnw/toon_not_put_off_by_de_jong_flop_832541/index.shtml
kIMTOON(Quote)
That’s the problem for me about Pardew.
I genuinely don’t think Ashley will hire anyone better and we’ll just end up with another journeyman cronie like Curbishley etc so on that basis why change like for like.
Having said that it does seem as though he’s lost the power over the players and that is something that can’t be changed quickly either without getting rid of a lot of them and replacing which we arent good at or getting rid of the manager which is tge easiest option.
toonsy(Quote)
I think it is for precisely the reasons you describe that we all crave entertaining football. Personally, the wins and losses provide an external measure of the quality of your squad over the course of the year – important, but in limited circumstances. What matters most to us is what we see on the pitch day in and day out. For us, the manner in which we play the game is more important than the result. We want to see heart, passion, intelligence, cleverness, and verve. We abhor lifelessness, despair, complacency, and selfishness. We want our football team’s performance to mirror our love for them and the game. We want to rejoice with them in victory and howl with them in defeat. We want to be one. We want to live vicariously through them since, let’s face it, we all really want to be international footballers.
It’s a stunningly tall order to fill and in many ways I feel for the lads.
Personally, I’d rather be mid-table and play the beautiful game in a beautiful way rather than be in the top 4 and play as Chelsea does. Chelsea have understood and positioned themselves for continued success. It is cold, calculating, lifeless, dead. Even the fans I encounter have the same feelings about their club. Sure they adopt the – ‘you just wish you were us’ – attitude. But behind their eyes, I can see it, that deep shame that comes from longing for something ‘beneath’ you. They crave entertaining football, but are trapped by their success. Cheers to them I say. They can have it and understand just how little joy there is in it. Let them envy us and rot in their self-loathing.
For us, during this identity crisis in which we seem to find ourselves, the only cure – in my mind – is to find the next David Ginola and get him here now. We need artistry in the midfield. (and all due respect to HBA, not an individual artist who uses the ball to create, but a true artist that uses his fellow players as his brush). Once he is found and brought in, the rest of the team will mold itself aroudn that artistry and we’ll be back to our entertaining ways.
USToon(Quote)
I think Jabba will stick with Pards and apparently Pards has a list of British players he’d like. Now in many ways I’m keen to see some British players back in the squad as I feel we have gone to far one way with the French contingent. But it has to be the right type of player comes in no matter what nationality they are, no cloggers please Pards, I want to see exciting football next season , goals and bums off seat stuff, we have been so impotent and stale to see that would be a breath of fresh air.
kIMTOON(Quote)
Kim
I wouldnt be unhappy with 10th being the bare minimum target every season as long as it was the ambition to hit it early and surpass it.
This season we had every chance to build on the top half finish wed as good as sealed by christmas, We could have gone for the FA cup and had a crack at getting back into europe and the club chose not to.
Thats what Pardew still fails to grasp; Hes thinks the unrest stems from losing 6 in a row and not competing at the top of the league. Its actually because the club closed shop in january and killed off any chance of progress again…
CC(Quote)
USTOON@46 , whilst I agree with you I’m pretty sure the next David Ginola would not come to us, more likely one of the top 4 🙁 Anyway would Pards play Ginola if he was with us nowadays 😕 , probably not. Rob Lee wrote an article a couple of weeks back where he said Ginola was a nightmare for defensive duties but the team made allowances because he could win you a game in a second . It’s a shame that the same allowances are not made for Benny, he may not be as good a pro as David was but I still think his treatment by Pards and some of his fellow team mates is harsh.
kIMTOON(Quote)
CC, totally agree mate, Pards is either thick and doesn’t grasp what our gripe is or knows **** well but chooses to pin another label on it like top table finish to make us look unreasonable 🙄
kIMTOON(Quote)
CC, I can live with 10th, I could even except 12th if only we had a crack at the cups and played entertaining football.
kIMTOON(Quote)
I been waiting since the late 70’s for Toon to win a cup, I don’t think the fans could ever be accused of being deluded or unreasonable, we are well over due a cup of some sort.
kIMTOON(Quote)
I would like to see a couple of German players join the club. They always had the edge over us when it comes down to penalties and defending ? It’s a better league than france and a better standard of football.
stem(Quote)
Excellent article Premand mate. And backed up with the actual facts. We can’t break into the top 5 but we could play entertaining, competitive football more often. Good to see that Man City will be punished for over spending. We have to admit we have an owner without football ambition and that is a huge negative factor. The squad is constantly unsettled and we don’t replace top players properly. Those are my main complaints but there are other problems as well as many on here have pointed out. Keep up the good work. 😀
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Kimtoon we know the main problems that the club has. There is no hiding now. Ashley has failed to do his job properly as an owner for years now. That can’t be hidden and his not speaking in public is no use either. Continuing on this path can only lead to disaster for him. We need proper commitment from a proper owner.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Pardew was magnificent up until the Stoke game Johno. His lost without Cabaye and Remy. Ashley has to give him the funds required to improve the team mate.
barry(Quote)
We have good reason to be concerned about the direction the club is taking. If you can say we have a direction. Or do we just wander about aimlessly with no proper owner? No ambition, games with very little entertainment. A stressed out manager who head butts but gets no support from the idiot at the top. An idiot at the top who hires Joe Kinnear as DoF. These are the reasons to be worried about our club.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Would German players actually have the bad sense to join us STEM mate? With such a clueless setup? Where it’s possible to lose 6 in a row?Where sometimes we can only manage 1 or 2 dribbling shots on goal? Where our only decent striker is a loan player? Where we often can’t manage a decent free kick in an entire game? Where our set piece target man couldn’t score on an empty net? I could go on and on but I think you get my drift mate.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
If Ashley sacks Pardew it will who us that he has at least the tiniest bit of ambition for the club as it will show he’s not happy. Although he doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to picking managers so whether he gets it right I am not sure.
Personally I don’t think he will sack him as it would look as though he is bowing to the pressure and also I don’t believe he wants any significant progress as he is happy with the status quo. 🙁
Stuart79(Quote)
😆 http://www.nufcfans.co.uk/2014/05/photo-newcastle-fan-predicts-team-next-season/
kIMTOON(Quote)
He won’t be happy with the status quo if we get relegated next season Stuart mate! How are we going to save ourselves now? In a World Cup year good players will be hugely expensive. Ashley really blew it when he hired Kinnear who did nothing for 2 windows. Now the team has no morale, will lose players in the summer, and we’re left with a nitwit owner and his lackeys to somehow strengthen us without spending. Unbelievable mess but possibly relegation is our only real way of causing change for the better (eventually). Cancer kills slowly usually as Ashley has killed our club slowly.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
That looks about right Kimtoon lass @59. How does 18th sound for next season? Of course it’s always possible we’ll finish 19th. 😯
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I see relegation coming again. The owner is a lost cause. He hasn’t the balls to run a football club. It takes real knowledge of the game to be competitive. And you can’t be afraid to even walk into the ground. He lost it for the last time for me when he hired Kinnear as DoF and watched us fall apart. No holds barred now. He must go.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Thanks for the compliments folks. Especially like Sharpy’s and Johno’s comments as they highlight the points I am trying to make. Only question re Ashleys lack of ambition. Did he ever have any or was what ambition he had knocked out of him with the disputes with the fans?
Premandup(Quote)
We can surely compete against teams like Stoke, Southampton, Swansea, Everton and West Ham financially? And yet based on our form in the second half of this season we won’t be competitive against many of them next season. Forget Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and even Man U. We won’t spend enough to come anywhere near them. But next season is looming as a disaster with Ashley in charge and sitting on the board with his flunkies now. 👿
GeordieTwo(Quote)
So how are we going to save ourselves mates? How will Ashley bring in the players we need just to survive with the money many clubs will spend this summer? Any predictions?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Lol. Just saw the video of Everton and Man City fans singing the new Steven Gerrard song. Good stuff
MDS(Quote)
Some good comments today .
Sharpy’s right. It isn’t the lack of investment that bothers me. It’s the failure to hire top people to run the club. I can’t think of a single hire he’s made from the Director on down that I felt was a good one. The Kinnear hire takes the cake as it set the club back 2 years IMO. Charnley underwhelms me as well.
MDS(Quote)
So nobody seems to have any real ideas then? How about sack Perdue, hire a decent manager to have a proper clearout, and get on with it. Play some decent attacking football. Stop whining about the cost of players Ashley you idiot. You left it until too late to sack Kinnear and now we’re in a World Cup year.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Prem – only Ashley could answer you that mate, but the impression I got of him when he first took over was a bloke who wanted to be a FAN and not a bloke who wanted to take Newcastle to the next level. The bloke didn’t even check the books properly before hand – he was too busy getting Smiths name printed on his shirt and supping pints with the fans.
The bloke hired Dennis Wise, so maybe that indicates his level of ambition?!.
As I said in my earlier point, his hands are tired with the players wages. But he can pay whatever he wants on the wages of managers, coach and admin staff.
Contrary to popular belief, I don’t believe that Ashley thinks of new ways to **** the fans over – I don’t believe for a split second that he gives us a second thought to be honest. He will know we aren’t happy, but I don’t think it has been his intention, I don’t think he cares and I don’t think he wants to put anything right with us.
We serve a purpose, which is to advertise SD.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Here’s another idea Mike. Stay with your current plan. Sit there like a fat toad and do nothing. Hide in the castle. Watch the team get relegated next season. How does that sound? On the positive side from your point of view it won’t cost much for incoming.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
@Sharpy@69
couldnt have put it better mate..
only coz I’m an uneducated, Geordie numpty 😆
mark(Quote)
Probably right Sharpy. I think that what is so frustrating is that it would not take much to compete a bit more and always be looking up rather than down.
Premandup(Quote)
I can see us by mid-October. Sitting somewhere around 16th with a completely demoralized team. Remy gone, Benny gone, Marveaux gone, Krul gone if the price is right, Obertan gone (Huzzah!), Debuchy gone. One striker (as cheap as possible please) and one AMF brought in (also cheap no doubt). Ashley seeing empty seats at the ground. Running around in the castle weeping like a wee girl.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Sorry to have insulted wee girls everywhere. I know they are much tougher than Mike. 😳
GeordieTwo(Quote)
We’ve scored 42 goals in 37 games this season, and that’s with Remy available some of the time. But we’re an excellent mid table team. Right Mike? Not much wrong with us. I watched Sunderland play yesterday and they played far better attacking football than we usually do, at least in the first half. And they have no strikers of note. Only 8 teams have scored less goals than us this season. Oh I forgot we focus on defense don’t we Alan? Oh dear, we’ve conceded 57 so far! And probably add another 6 against Liverpool.
GeordieTwo(Quote)