Park Life

He clearly won't stop till he has full overall control, nothing else makes any business sense. FTR- With that kind of investment he must have a strategy in place and the only one that will see him making money is growing the club based on success. VERY GOOD DAY FOR US.

Another? Was he that good this season. I think it was an ok to quite good season if you factor in stuff like the quality of our football, his first season in a new league/country and his age. But I think that he'll never be that good because his touch and movement is so poor, and I really mean poor. I don't want to slag him off too much as, like I said, I think he did ok and his attitude/workrate on the pitch really impressed me. 11 Premieship goals is just ok though. He's done ok. But his overall game is too weak, especially his 'bobble' first touch.

Is Fortune not a left back? would think he's a better option than Baba I'd take Fortune.

How is it overachieving? By what standard do you judge, when he's had 8 years to run his own personal fiefdom? I guess if Sammy Lee doesn't get 5th now he'll be slated as absolute shite. What about the bloke at Gretna? Has he overachieved? You achieve the potential in your circumnstances. I'll judge Sam on how he does with a year with these players as compared to every other manager that has been given the same affordance. Alternatively, we could take a back step and actually look to see who is out there who really could improve this club over 5 years, not just take the bloke we know wants the job because he turned it down 3 years ago. Any comparison of NUFC to Bolton is way off base. Different players, different chairman, completely different club, different exectations, hell the only thing in common is the Premiership, nothing else at all is the same. You have to ask yourself would Liverpool/Arsenal ever take a chance with Sam? If not why not? His only top flight record is Bolton. Some people think that's a good thing, I don't. Alternatively, If you want untried at the top, why choose Allardyce? Why not anyone else? Why not a completely unexpected and dynamic appointment, like Wenger to Arsenal, Houllier to Liverpool etc etc. And frankly, most of this is down to Fred, so delusions of anything coming good now and attacking any hint of questioning is also foolish. You've still not said what his bad points are though. Come to think of it, he doesn't have many, apart from the glaringly obvious that people seem to think is water under the bridge, even though it isn't even resolved yet My anger at his appointment is the pure bull being spouted about justifying his appointment: 'over-achieved at Bolton' - flawed argument, see above 'best for our circumstances' - he would have been here 3 years ago, don't even pretend Fred has gone for Sam because of circumstances, he is his number one idea of a top flight manager 'backroom staff' - this is basically spin and soundbites, Sam is certainly not the only manager who knows this stuff 'will stand up to Fred' - basically, when it comes down to it, no, he won't. No manager ever has. Ifyou want this, you get a director of football Combined with the fact that yet again, no effort at all has been made to get the right manager, we have taken the easy choice once again. I can't understand why you think he hasn't overachieved with Bolton. Is your criteria for overachivement? Do you have to take Wimbledon from non league to the premiership? The simple fact is that before his arrival Bolton were a first division club with no expectations other than having the odd challenge for promotion and if they did get up battle bravely against relegation. But he did more than this, he took them up, kept them up, established them as a premiership club (similar to Curbishly at Charlton) and then give them a realistic chance of qualifying for Europe and even an outside chance of snatching a Champions League spot. For me and it appears most others, that is what we would consider overachivement. This whole point you have about the fat man wanting him three years ago is irrelevant when you are arguing about why people now are saying he is the best we could get currently. Three years ago I agree few people would have wanted him (although I'm sure almost everyone would have took him over Souness) but we are not in the same position we were then. At that time we had finished 4th, 3rd and 5th in three seasons, qualifying for the 2nd group phase of the champions league and getting to a Uefa cup semi final. At that time we were an attractive proposition. Now we have had three god awful seasons, we are not in europe and we don't have the same amount of transfer funds as we did. We can't expect Europes elite to come kicking our door in so most of us have shifted our expectations of who we can appoint. I agree with your point that any manager should be able to bring in decent backroom staff but the simple fact is that none of our last five or six managers have done this and Allardyce has a succesfull record of it. If he did pick Gary Speed to bring as a coach I would be quite confident that he would be up to the job beacuse Allardyce's previous picks Brown, Lee, McDonald all appear to have been good at the jobs with all three going on to manage their own teams. As for standing up to the fat man, none of us know whether this will ever happen but I don't have any real expectations for it. But I do believe that Allardyce would have set out certain ground rules before he accepted the job that Shepherd must have aquiesced to. This may be a false assumption but we will never know. I also agree that Shepherd is unlikely to have undertaken a thorough europe wide search for our new manager, I think this is something most would concede. But that just makes me all the happier that we got SA in. No one expects fatty to carefully consider his options so we can just be grateful we didn't end up with an appointment like the last two! Absolutely spot on, exactly how I feel. "That's the way...aha aha...I like it...aha aha..."

My god is this still going on? Can't people accept small blessings and be happy for one day?!

He's come at just the right time. Yes. Next Anelka.

Ditto.

Oi that's my line.

The good news just doesn't stop coming !

Good sign.

When did we last have a manager who wasn't interfered with / undermined by Fred, or was allowed to change the entire playing staff before his results were judged? It just will not happen. If Sam can't get the majority of the current players working, he's fooked in my opinion. It will require a big change on Fat Fred's part that's for sure! I think we all know though that the fat bastard reacts to the fans, so if anyone has the resposibility to sit back and not panic (providing we see signs of improvement) then its the fans as this will be transmitted to the chairman. With Villa and O'Neil they hardly set the world alight this year, but people have said their fans could clearly see signs of change, knew that behind the scenes things were being worked on and that he has made them hard to beat, they just lacked the creativity. So the fans haven't been stupid and have backed the manager in what he's doing. If toon fans do the same i think Allardyce can completely overhaul our club for the better in the mid to long term and we will feel the benefits of that for years to come whatever he does. But also i think he'll do enough short term to keep Fat Fred from off his back as well. I'm quietly confident! Aye. He would have already got the assurances from FS or Sam isn't the type to sign. We are on the brink of destiny!

I expected a bigger backlash tbh.

Biggun though.

I remember when he signed and his former manager said and I kid you not, "He is the kind of man who will put his hand in the fire for you". Must have been wetting his pants as he said that.

Nigerian fa said he was what 28?

Quoted for its truth and logic. Might I pose a question here. When was the last time we got in a new manager bang on in line to when the off-season started??? My memory aint what it used to be Love the way fatty went through that whole charade at Claridges, like he hadn't spoken to him weeks ago.

Been watching you for a while fatty and have some inkling of the cogs and gears - the whirrings of the FS psyche. So I feel I know that this time you have stuck to your guns and not let things cloud your mind and set aside your sometimes petty ego driven descisions. You took it on the chin that 'Big Sam' turned you down before, but you have stuck to your gut feeling that he is the man (for what it's worth many of us agree on nearly all the rationale). For you this is a quantum move and shouldn't be underestimated. Also you have resisted the overtures of Sven's cash train and shown his advisors the door (again history will probably prove you were right). To complete the hatrrick you never even called Houllier back, knowing deep down that for all his skills his mind is probably too weak for this job, let alone his heart....The French league after all is semi-retirement. And finally getting Roeder out before pre-season and the summer shows you are getting the hang of this job and who knows one day you might be a natural. Well done Fatty!!

There was something on the radio about him declaring himself injured then refusing to go on the subs bench when asked. Not seen anything else about it though. from .com: Missing men: A right pair "He was originally on the bench but he didn't really want to be there. "I've no idea whether he stayed at the ground to watch the game. Will there be disciplinary action? That's something for next week. "You can make your own judgements about it but it is very important that everyone associated with the club acts in a professional manner." The comments of caretaker manager Nigel Pearson when quizzed post-match about the whereabouts of Charles N'Zogbia. Meanwhile it's reported that Obafemi Martins declared himself unfit to travel (with a knee problem) when he learnt that Pearson also intended to name him on the bench. This is from the guy who was caught trying to snatch 20 winks at the last home game.

Aye cause that's the best thing to do with assets...Loose them to the competition for little money.

100% Spot on For FS this is the one, IMO he will go all the way.

I agree with that. He probably should have got the England job once the FA decided they wanted an Englishman. Which was just after Felipão ruled himself out. I'd have him here too btw I'm hopeful that Allardyce will come here and adapt to the (hopefully) bigger budget and (definitely) bigger expectations and do ok or better. I think on balance I'd rather have had Houllier though, as he has already done what everyone is hoping Allardyce can do. Sven (unless he brought in a truly inspirational captain or something) I suspect might just be a very expensive Roeder. Dodgy ticker cholesterol levels too high at SJP. We would have killed him.

This is Newcastle, and I can see the future . So what have you got to disprove this theory, apart from just optimism? What did Fat Sam do at Bolton the first time he had a problem with the chairman? Let team performance nose-dive, and has nearly cost the club a lucrative European spot that was previously in the bag (that would have got him the money he was apparently moaning about), and possibly started looking for another job... I'm optimistic that's how I was made but it took me a long while to discover this. The Bolton situation is simple, they can't go to the next level, we can.

Why so wildly negative nowts happenned yet apart from a huge chow down at Claridges. IMO this IS the marriage made in heaven, all pie eating contests are on.

Sven has shown that he's still capable of managing a team, look at how England have done since he left. Club football is different, but he's watched that many premiership games over the last few years that he's hardly been away from the scene playing golf and he wouldn't be walking into unknown territory. Houllier got the chop at Liverpool before really being given opportunity to turn it around. He had the health issues around the same time which did affect things, and he's gone on to prove that he's still a quality manager. He made some absolute bargain signings at Liverpool. He signed players like Hyypia, Henchoz, Risse for nearly nothing, and they went on to become an integral part of Liverpool's success. I think his record in the transfer market is better than people make out. I do rate Allardyce highly I just feel he's got a lot to prove in comparison to the other two. Houllier and Sven have impressive records and are very good managers, but imo don't quite have the bite and personality we need right now. The timing is right for Sam. What they lack in 'bite' they make up for in tactical awareness, and that's something we haven't had for a long, long time. Can't say I disagree with that. If we had upwards of £25m in the pot (word is we don't) then Sven would have been a good choice. With all this negative spin he's had from England people forget he was once courted by Real Madrid and has done very well in all his club jobs. Sven has an extensive knowledge of Euro football and a great contact list, he is also a very modern thinker on the game as is Houllier. I have a feeling these two aren't maybe psychoogically strong enough to deal with the 'special situation' at SJP. On the other hand it appears that Fatty has a special respect for Sam and that imo is half the battle. My suspiscion is that Fatty never really believed in either Souness or Roeder.

Sven has shown that he's still capable of managing a team, look at how England have done since he left. Club football is different, but he's watched that many premiership games over the last few years that he's hardly been away from the scene playing golf and he wouldn't be walking into unknown territory. Houllier got the chop at Liverpool before really being given opportunity to turn it around. He had the health issues around the same time which did affect things, and he's gone on to prove that he's still a quality manager. He made some absolute bargain signings at Liverpool. He signed players like Hyypia, Henchoz, Risse for nearly nothing, and they went on to become an integral part of Liverpool's success. I think his record in the transfer market is better than people make out. I do rate Allardyce highly I just feel he's got a lot to prove in comparison to the other two. Houllier and Sven have impressive records and are very good managers, but imo don't quite have the bite and personality we need right now. The timing is right for Sam.