Newcastle Sold!!!

[LeazesMag 0]

Leazes man, ffs, you've read my posts so it's obvious you've no genuine reason to fail to answer it.

 

will you admit that we've been stagnant for the last ten years, the ten years that Shepherd has been chairman?

 

Well, we have qualified regularly for europe, including a Champions League run, and bought England players, so if you think that is stagnant I suppose its correct. But its far from rubbish or medioce, or a joke to other fans and other clubs, if you think that then you have a problem, because you wouldn't know real mediocrity if it hit you on the head with a hammer.

 

Oh sweet lordy dear! Which England players have we bought? the 'Keeper? nope, A defender? no sir,

 

eeer....... Woodgate ?

 

a midfielder...well...kind of... he's (possibly) the 5th choice central midfielder... ok.. well hows about our England striker? Done well this season hasn't he Yes, Yes I know he's injured but my point is this.. How can you claim buying England players as an indication of something good? Arsenal have No current England players and they're in a much stronger position than we are. Boro' have one and didn't have to buy him, Charlton have one ffs.

 

Well, how about telling us how many England players we bought before the Halls and Shepherd ?

 

Answer = we sold them instead, and they were local lads who wanted to go.

 

Why am I surprised that you didn't know this or even consider it.

 

I know what your version of mediocre is pal, it takes into account every club from Afc Wimbledon to Man U, so yeah in those terms we're not mediocre... but for fucks sake I don't want this club and Watford mentioned in the same breath, let alone Woking Town!

 

Well when the Milburn stand was built - with the proceeds of selling an England player - the chairman at the time proudly announced that it would be like Watfords.

 

As i said, you wouldn't understand mediocrity if it hit you on the head with a hammer, pal.

 

Leazes man, we were challenging for the title, we were playing Champions League football, we were playing exciting enthralling football.... now we're playing for our very premiership survival and we're playing in the inter-two-bob and in general, we're playing shite!

 

I know you're hooked on the phrase mediocre and that's fine, but you're talking about the entire football league format, we're talking about for the club as it is now. The size, the expectation and the RECENT history. Of course we're doing better than Lincoln and the like, we have better pedigree and so attract big money, big crowds and big players... but it's all comparative.

 

The board is the same major shareholders since 1992. The only difference is during its first few years they got the best manager, or the manager who was the right one for the club, as he had no track record to speak of. This was nothing to do with the chairman at the time, appointing him was not his idea.

These things are board decisions, not one persons.

 

Since freddy took stewardship we've not surpassed anything we'd achieved under Hall other than crowd receipt and all other statistics which would come with simply playing more games. He hasn't modernised the club, he hasn't made sweeping changes to the academy to encourage home-grown talent, he hasn't approached the media with any idea of how a chairman should act.

 

it is the same board. We do not have a divine right to stay 2nd in the league. Qualifying for europe regularly over a period of a decade has been done on merit. If the board had not retained its ambition and the backing of the managers, we would have done far worse.

 

Face it Leazes, we at best have been stagnant, a stagnation you're ok with. You and I both know that in reality we've stuttered and stumbled back a few paces. We're no where, not even close to the title race, our squad is thin and even at full strength we are severely lacking in important areas, we are STILL the laughing stock of the premiership when it comes to off-field behaviour. (despite a recent lapse in coverage and your claims to the contrary.)

 

Now I know you'll claim that such things are the remit of the manager. Who hires the management and more importantly...bollocks! Chairman can veto and strongly suggest signings.. as he clearly has done on occasion... Chairmen can introduce 5yr plans and set his stall out from the beginning, Chairman can direct the club along a paht.

 

Freddy has done nothing but massage his ego with "big name"- token players, get his pie-stuffed face in the media as often as humanly (I stretch the term) possible and employ the wrong peope after the wrong people.

 

oh and make stupid ass quotes for the media

 

We have played regularly in europe. If you think this is shit - or stagnation/mediocrity - then , again, you have no idea of mediocrity. We do not have a divine right to stay 2nd or do better, why do you think it is so simple ? As for buying big name/quality players, the day you don't do that is the day you stagnate, so if you don't want to do this, then OK.

 

I don't give a toss what he says if he goes to a brothel or what he says to the press.

 

If you think he employs the wrong managers, please explain what your criteria would be if proven trophy winning managers are not on your agenda as suitable candidates ?

[LeazesMag 0]

This values the club at £140 million with the deal also including picking up the monster debts of £87m

 

Aye always digging into his own pockets Fat Fred.

 

it seems pretty clear that you know someone daft enough to believe that

 

 

Well some people are daft enough to think NUFC are the 5th best team the Premiership has seen, that “planning” is something carpenters do, and “foresight” is a medical condition; so anything is possible.

 

eeerr..... not the 5th best team the premiership has seen........you should read properly. Look at the record books and tell us how many teams have qualified for europe more than us in the past decade ?

 

Fact.

[gram 0]

Leazes man, ffs, you've read my posts so it's obvious you've no genuine reason to fail to answer it.

 

will you admit that we've been stagnant for the last ten years, the ten years that Shepherd has been chairman?

 

Well, we have qualified regularly for europe, including a Champions League run, and bought England players, so if you think that is stagnant I suppose its correct. But its far from rubbish or medioce, or a joke to other fans and other clubs, if you think that then you have a problem, because you wouldn't know real mediocrity if it hit you on the head with a hammer.

 

Oh sweet lordy dear! Which England players have we bought? the 'Keeper? nope, A defender? no sir,

 

eeer....... Woodgate ?

 

a midfielder...well...kind of... he's (possibly) the 5th choice central midfielder... ok.. well hows about our England striker? Done well this season hasn't he Yes, Yes I know he's injured but my point is this.. How can you claim buying England players as an indication of something good? Arsenal have No current England players and they're in a much stronger position than we are. Boro' have one and didn't have to buy him, Charlton have one ffs.

 

Well, how about telling us how many England players we bought before the Halls and Shepherd ?

 

Answer = we sold them instead, and they were local lads who wanted to go.

 

Why am I surprised that you didn't know this or even consider it.

 

I know what your version of mediocre is pal, it takes into account every club from Afc Wimbledon to Man U, so yeah in those terms we're not mediocre... but for fucks sake I don't want this club and Watford mentioned in the same breath, let alone Woking Town!

 

Well when the Milburn stand was built - with the proceeds of selling an England player - the chairman at the time proudly announced that it would be like Watfords.

 

As i said, you wouldn't understand mediocrity if it hit you on the head with a hammer, pal.

 

Leazes man, we were challenging for the title, we were playing Champions League football, we were playing exciting enthralling football.... now we're playing for our very premiership survival and we're playing in the inter-two-bob and in general, we're playing shite!

 

I know you're hooked on the phrase mediocre and that's fine, but you're talking about the entire football league format, we're talking about for the club as it is now. The size, the expectation and the RECENT history. Of course we're doing better than Lincoln and the like, we have better pedigree and so attract big money, big crowds and big players... but it's all comparative.

 

The board is the same major shareholders since 1992. The only difference is during its first few years they got the best manager, or the manager who was the right one for the club, as he had no track record to speak of. This was nothing to do with the chairman at the time, appointing him was not his idea.

These things are board decisions, not one persons.

 

Since freddy took stewardship we've not surpassed anything we'd achieved under Hall other than crowd receipt and all other statistics which would come with simply playing more games. He hasn't modernised the club, he hasn't made sweeping changes to the academy to encourage home-grown talent, he hasn't approached the media with any idea of how a chairman should act.

 

it is the same board. We do not have a divine right to stay 2nd in the league. Qualifying for europe regularly over a period of a decade has been done on merit. If the board had not retained its ambition and the backing of the managers, we would have done far worse.

 

Face it Leazes, we at best have been stagnant, a stagnation you're ok with. You and I both know that in reality we've stuttered and stumbled back a few paces. We're no where, not even close to the title race, our squad is thin and even at full strength we are severely lacking in important areas, we are STILL the laughing stock of the premiership when it comes to off-field behaviour. (despite a recent lapse in coverage and your claims to the contrary.)

 

Now I know you'll claim that such things are the remit of the manager. Who hires the management and more importantly...bollocks! Chairman can veto and strongly suggest signings.. as he clearly has done on occasion... Chairmen can introduce 5yr plans and set his stall out from the beginning, Chairman can direct the club along a paht.

 

Freddy has done nothing but massage his ego with "big name"- token players, get his pie-stuffed face in the media as often as humanly (I stretch the term) possible and employ the wrong peope after the wrong people.

 

oh and make stupid ass quotes for the media

 

We have played regularly in europe. If you think this is shit - or stagnation/mediocrity - then , again, you have no idea of mediocrity. We do not have a divine right to stay 2nd or do better, why do you think it is so simple ? As for buying big name/quality players, the day you don't do that is the day you stagnate, so if you don't want to do this, then OK.

 

I don't give a toss what he says if he goes to a brothel or what he says to the press.

 

If you think he employs the wrong managers, please explain what your criteria would be if proven trophy winning managers are not on your agenda as suitable candidates ?

You should give a toss what he says in the media. Chairmen have responsibilities that you clearly dont understand. If you did then you wouldnt be so keen to absolve him of the blame for the current predicament.

 

Equally I am beginning to have serious doubts about your knowledge of football. If you think Glenn Roeder is the man to take us where we want to be then you need your head read. He was employed by Shepherd. Not by committee. FS himself accepts that the 'buck stops' with him.

 

You have dug a hole that youre not willing to get out of as it will make you look daft. The irony is that you end up writing this shite and making yourself look a complete prat. Shame cos your heart is in the right place.

 

Disclaimer: I watched Newcastle well before 1992

[LeazesMag 0]

You should give a toss what he says in the media. Chairmen have responsibilities that you clearly dont understand. If you did then you wouldnt be so keen to absolve him of the blame for the current predicament.

 

Equally I am beginning to have serious doubts about your knowledge of football. If you think Glenn Roeder is the man to take us where we want to be then you need your head read. He was employed by Shepherd. Not by committee. FS himself accepts that the 'buck stops' with him.

 

You have dug a hole that youre not willing to get out of as it will make you look daft. The irony is that you end up writing this shite and making yourself look a complete prat. Shame cos your heart is in the right place.

 

Disclaimer: I watched Newcastle well before 1992

 

I am more concerned with what happens on the pitch. If Fred wants to say daft things to the media, then what does it have to do with you ? I am not embarrased, why should you be embarrassed for him ? Do you have some sort of complex ? Shearer says stupid things to the media. He says that Geordies would prefer to win the FA Cup rather than the league, for one. Do you not equally squirm when he says this ? You should, it is equally as daft as some of the things Shepherd has said, so what is the difference ? It is also embarrassing when he won't give Craig Bellamy the credit for being a top player and playing well for Liverpool, just because he fell out with him.

 

You might think people are laughing at him [shepherd], but they are not laughing at us when we play in europe and sign international footballers. They were however laughing at us for decades when we floundered in the 2nd division, selling our best players, and playing in front of a half full ground or less.

 

I have never said that Roeder is the manager to take us where I want to be. If you think the right manager just drops in and comes along then you have a serious problem with facing realism, not to mention that Arsenal, Chelsea, manu and Liverpool might have something to say about it. The club have appointed 3 managers since Keegan who they thought would challenge these clubs. Is this correct or not ? Souness was shit, and Roeder is a different type of appointment. Don't tell me the other top clubs don't do this, because they do. Chelsea appointed Gullit and Vialli. Liverpool appointed Evans. ManU appointed various people who all failed by their standards before they found Ferguson. Arsenal appointed Rioch and sacked him after little more than a year or so.

 

It seems to me that you - if you are unaware of these facts - are the person who knows nothing about football. You certainly have your head in the sand if you don't take them on board as facts and equally lack knowledge and awareness of life and/or football if you cannot grasp the fact that other clubs also make mistakes. The fact that we have qualified for europe more than anyone else bar these 4 clubs mean there are a hell of a lot of clubs making worse decisions than we are. This is borne out in the record books under league positions and appearance in european competitions.

 

I have said before it would be better if he said nothing, but having staged a couple of England games, and been central to a major movie, it doesn't seem as though the profile of the club has been damaged too much by the publicity he has attracted ? The clubs profile has never been higher in fact, unless you can point me in the direction of when we did these things pre-1992, because if it has happened between then and 1964 I must have blinked and missed it. I can also tell you now that nobody has ever said to me - and I don't live in Newcastle at the moment - that he has damaged the profile of the club. In fact, I meet lots of football supporters through work who support loads of clubs, and nobody I know gives a shite what he says at all. The vast majority of them are jealous of us playing in europe and signing these players that we do if anything.

Edited December 17, 2006 by LeazesMag

[Sima 0]

 

 

I am more concerned with what happens on the pitch. If Fred wants to say daft things to the media, then what does it have to do with you ? I am not embarrased, why should you be embarrassed for him ? Do you have some sort of complex ? You might think people are laughing at him, but they are not laughing at us when we play in europe and sign international footballers. They were however laughing at us for decades when we floundered in the 2nd division, selling our best players, and playing in front of a half full ground or less.

 

 

They always laugh at us, but feel free to bury your head in the sand. Fact is due to our moronic support, our arsehole of a chairman and our despicable off the field antics, we're one of the most hated and laughed at teams in the country.

 

Fully expecting you to call me a liar tbh

[LeazesMag 0]

 

 

I am more concerned with what happens on the pitch. If Fred wants to say daft things to the media, then what does it have to do with you ? I am not embarrased, why should you be embarrassed for him ? Do you have some sort of complex ? You might think people are laughing at him, but they are not laughing at us when we play in europe and sign international footballers. They were however laughing at us for decades when we floundered in the 2nd division, selling our best players, and playing in front of a half full ground or less.

 

 

They always laugh at us, but feel free to bury your head in the sand. Fact is due to our moronic support, our arsehole of a chairman and our despicable off the field antics, we're one of the most hated and laughed at teams in the country.

 

Fully expecting you to call me a liar tbh

 

fully expected you to clip the only part of the post you are capable of replying to. And yes, its still bollocks. Read further down.

Edited December 17, 2006 by LeazesMag

[Sima 0]

Spectacular editing there.

[The Fish 10876]

I am more concerned with what happens on the pitch.

 

and that is comparable tot he performances ten years ago?

 

have a fucking word mate.

 

and for the love of all that is holy stop twisting people posts. You're so painfully desperate to seem right you'll snip and jumble and generally disfigure posts just so you can, in your ham fisted style, have a go at it.

 

This club has gone backwards with Shepherd at the Helm. Playing in Europe is important yes, and we have no divine right to be 2nd... but we should have built on the succeses that were in our lap, not squandered them year after year until we find ourselves in this mire. N, this is not mediochrity when you look at the ENTIRE FOOTBALL LEAGUE noone is saying it is. What they're saying is that this club was near to the peak of English football, now we've stumbled back. Even if we haven't stumbled backwards we sure as shit haven't kept pace with the premiership. Teams like Bolton have slowly but surely shown progress, without throwing money at it. But by buying the right players and more importantly employing the right man for the job.

 

12th in the premiership, behind the likes of Bolton, Tottenham, Villa and Everton. Teams who, like us, have pedigree. They all show flashes of possibility, potential and then either flatter to decieve and return to mid-table mediochrity (oooh your favourite word) or in the case of Bolton build on it.

 

Now Bolton don't have the cash that we do, nor do they ave the income to be had from gate receipts, yet they have steadily improved their lot, with SOUND management and an obvious plan.

 

Our fall from grace was as dramatic as it was depressing. With every season we drift further from those teams we once called rivals, with every season we settle into that awful comfort to be had in the middle of the premiership table. No fear of relegation to spur us on and no chance of europe to raise our hopes. You whine on about mediochirty, how you saw what it was like those bad old days and it reads like you're content with your lot.

 

really? content with abject performances from overpriced players guided by an ineffectual manager applauded by a short-sighted chairman... and you.

 

I'm not content with this, it may be an enviable position for 90% of the English football clubs, but quite simply I'm not happy to wait until we reach offical mediocrity, you know, one with the Leazes stamp of approval.

 

please keep your condescension and insults for someone else, but answer me

 

with all the honesty your blinkered mind can conjure, do you think Freddy Shepherd (and the board that bow to his whim) is the man to take Newcastle United back to amongst the big boys?

 

Is ten years not enough time to realise that it simply will not happen?

[gram 0]

Who appointed Roeder? We have to wait for the right manager? How long? We should plan for that. Since the appallingingly unprofessional manner in which we dealt with Bobby we have had a couple of years to find someone who will meet with the aspirations of the club and the fans.

Liverpool managed to appoint Benitez through careful planning. We were neck and neck with them. They knew their manager was going to leave and FS made a decision that summer that indicated that Bobby was leaving - i.e. that it would be his last year. In doing so he should have been planning for the future.

We are now light years away from where we were. You fail to grasp that strategic planning (which in business parlance means long term) includes appointing the right people not just having pine doors.

That includes new searching for new funding as we see Liverpool doing right now and long term searches for the right manager.

Reacting in a business like this isnt the way forward. Proactive management is essential and we havent seen it on the playing side have we? Who is ultimately responsible for that?

The head in the sand approach you adopt is commendable Leazes but its ill-thought out.

We may have bought players for huge fees. However, they have included Boumsong, Luque et al. Throwing money at a dodgy manager was a ludicrous decision. How can you ever justify Freddie's management then? There is endless empirical evidence of him fucking up and making us look like a bunch of parochial tossers. Thats why I am bothered when he opens his mouth.

How can you justify his last two appointments? I will be staggered if FS has the foresight to be looking for a suitable contender for the managers chair right now. I am fairly sure the majority on this board will share my thoughts on that matter.

Its fair enough to say Freddie has done some reasonable things but my ambition for this club and yours seem to be diametrically opposed. I want consistent challenges in the top 6 not yo-yoing up and down the league. The league placing trend tells you more about us than the 'fifth best' nonsense you pedal. The top clubs tend to stay at the top. The rest tend to swap places. Thats where we are and if we want to be a stable club at the top then we need change either in the management style or the personnel at the top.

 

Have a good xmas.

Edited December 17, 2006 by gram

[Renton 21643]

Can I just point out they were solid oak doors, not this pine rubbish?

[gram 0]

Can I just point out they were solid oak doors, not this pine rubbish?

Cheers for that Renton

[Fop 1]

This values the club at £140 million with the deal also including picking up the monster debts of £87m

 

Aye always digging into his own pockets Fat Fred.

 

it seems pretty clear that you know someone daft enough to believe that

 

 

Well some people are daft enough to think NUFC are the 5th best team the Premiership has seen, that “planning” is something carpenters do, and “foresight” is a medical condition; so anything is possible.

 

eeerr..... not the 5th best team the premiership has seen........you should read properly. Look at the record books and tell us how many teams have qualified for europe more than us in the past decade ?

 

Fact.

 

Why just the last 10 years?

We're the 8th most successful English football club if you count from the beginning of the league in 1888, above Chelsea, but below Sunderland!

[Dr Gloom 21965]

However, when I mentioned the "plan" I was referring to the fact that numerous people mention it from the perspective of the footballing aspect, ie a "plan" will guarantee success on the field. It will not. This is clearly rubbish. There is still only one premiership title, one FA Cup, and a number of Champions League and UEFA places. The fact that we have qualified for these more than every other club bar 4 should really tell people the club is not quite so bad as they portray it.

 

I don't think many people would say a plan is 'perfect'. We had such a setup under Robson with all the promising young players and the wheels fell off very quickly. Spurs have planned to the extent they have more under 18s on their books than Kenton Comp but they too are finding it very hard to make that jump into the big hitters. But we are going nowhere if we stay on the path we're on. The beauty of a great 'plan' (perhaps strategy is a better word) is that it is more than just a piece of paper or boardroom diktat. It instills a mentality across all club employees about what the clubs goals are and how it wants to acheive them. Within that fundamental framework, you can build training policies, transfers, ticket prices, pretty much any function the club carries out. Within those sub-levels there are plans in place but prepared in a way that anticipates that in football your best player can be crocked in a second, managers can walk out, freak own goals can plunge a side towards the drop. This isn't about a step-by-step guide to success, no such thing exists. Rather it is an understanding and shared principles that can be applied to every action the club can take.

 

The fact that large amounts of money has been squandered on players who have flopped simply can't be blamed on the board. You can blame them for appointing Souness, there is no doubt about that, but a good board backs their appointments, this is a principle that must apply to any club who wish to be successful.

And they have done it. Backing Souness was a huge mistake [as was appointing him] but there are many people on this board who said the club should back Souness with the money they did before judging him.

 

Souness was rightly sacked and his squandering of cash on shit like Faye and Boumsong was a big part in that decision.

 

And yes, of course the logic of a cash injection to help can't be disputed.

 

To be honest, I see that as the least important part of the bid. As we all know, £20m can be spent on very little (Luque+Boumsong+Faye). It could save our season, it could just as well add to our wage bill with nothing to show on the field for it.

 

More important than that is that the current regime looks to have run its course. A good job may well have been done then but this is a vastly different game to the fledgling Premier League. The Shepherds are reasonably successful local businessmen, the Halls to a greater extent becoming known nationally via the MetroCentre development. But this is now a global game, with big hitters than add a couple of zeros to the sort of figures talked about 10-15 years ago. Can we really compete and continue to grow with a board which is virtually down to family members and Russell Cushing? Where are the non-execs? Where are the specialists?

 

I have grave concerns about the intentions of Polygon, Gillette Mach 3 and Belgravia but one thing's for certain they'd make sure that the people in positions of responsibility are the best they can get. Not someone with the right surname. Yes the club is in a (far) better state than the club was in 'pre-92' but we're not going any further than being mid-table floaters for the foreseeable future.

 

Spot on again.

 

seconded.

 

shepherd's plan, strategy, lack of foresight... whatver you want to call it... usually involves ignoring problem areas (ie the defence) and blowing the majority of our budget on players he thinks will win the fans over meaning we are over-stocked in certain areas and pitifully thin in others. and then sacking the manager at the most absurd times...usually a handful of games into the new season or just after the transfer window closes.

 

sheperd is a joke chairman in most people's eyes.

 

 

 

the funniest thing I keep reading is when you STILL think the chairman is the manager ....... hilarious. Keep it up son.

 

 

he wishes he was. that's the problem.

[Gemmill 44996]

http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/....html#msg652344

 

I love the "And it's a BAD cold" line.

[Renton 21643]

http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/....html#msg652344

 

I love the "And it's a BAD cold" line.

 

 

Supafan status revoked tbh.

 

And remember, I went to the Portsmouth game when I was literally at death's door.

[Meenzer 15561]

http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/....html#msg652344

 

I love the "And it's a BAD cold" line.

 

 

Supafan status revoked tbh.

 

And remember, I went to the Portsmouth game when I was literally at death's door.

I actually died on my way to Frankfurt.

[luckyluke 2]

http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufcforum/....html#msg652344

 

I love the "And it's a BAD cold" line.

 

He has been following the team since 1342 unlike you post 1992 Johnny-come-latelys. It's a miracle he's still alive, going out with a bad cold would finish him off.