Allardyce isn't in...yet

[Baggio 0]

Allardyce set for St James' after Shepherd lunch

 

 

Michael Walker

Saturday May 12, 2007

The Guardian

 

 

The prospect of Sam Allardyce becoming the manager of Newcastle United, which already appeared nailed-on, received vivid confirmation last night with the publication of photographs showing him and the Newcastle chairman, Freddy Shepherd, arriving at a London hotel yesterday. Allardyce reportedly said that "it was a good meeting" as he left and it is expected he will be unveiled as Glenn Roeder's successor as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

A four-year deal is rumoured, though no contract has been signed by the former Bolton Wanderers manager despite the presence of his representative Mark Curtis at Claridges yesterday. Newcastle's delegation included Shepherd's increasingly influential son Kenneth. "Sam is the nearest thing to a replica of Joe Harvey I have seen. He has the same rugged determination and enthusiasm as Joe," Shepherd reportedly said, referring to the man who won the Fairs Cup for the club in 1969.

 

 

Although there remains a doubt over Allardyce's preferred backroom staff at St James' Park - and it is something of a sticking point - this was a remarkably public venue for a meeting that might have been expected to be clandestine. Its public nature suggests Allardyce and Newcastle may have been given permission by Bolton to negotiate.

 

Bolton are this week believed to have offered a new role and a new contract to Mike Forde in order to deter one of Allardyce's important right-hand men at Bolton from joining him on Tyneside. Time will tell if other figures significant to Allardyce at Bolton move further north.

 

Presumably one of the topics discussed at yesterday's three-hour meeting in a partitioned-off area of Gordon Ramsay's restaurant at the hotel was Michael Owen's position and Shepherd's attitude towards the England striker. Allardyce is thought to be enthusiastic about keeping Owen, so the release yesterday morning of a video clip on the YouTube internet site of Shepherd caught on a Liverpool fan's camera declaring to Liverpool fans stalking him that he would "carry Michael Owen back [to Liverpool] for £9m" was not ideal.

 

At first Shepherd's tone sounds serious. But he relents instantly, referring to Owen as "a good lad," and "a decent lad", and then mutters in uncomplimentary fashion about the striker's agent. Given Shepherd's warning on Wednesday to Owen about "loyalty" to the club and the clear tension that exists between Newcastle and Owen's camp, the video clip might have been seen as incendiary. But Shepherd was relaxed about its public release and believes it shows no more than banter.

 

Newcastle issued a statement to that effect yesterday afternoon which said: "Anyone who has seen this video clip will immediately regard it for exactly what it is. It's nothing more than tongue-in-cheek banter in the most light-hearted fashion that nobody could take remotely seriously or try to misinterpret. The chairman shows just how approachable he is by having a laugh with a couple of football fans, and Geordies and Liverpool supporters are world-renowned for enjoying a joke and sharing a sense of humour, after all."

 

Owen's, and his agent's, response is unknown, but if Owen is peeved then this might put some more distance between the two parties. Newcastle's caretaker manager, Nigel Pearson, said Owen displayed no signs of anger yesterday. Newcastle finish their season at Watford tomorrow and Pearson said there was "no suggestion" the issue would complicate his team selection. "He's available," Pearson said. "Michael is fine."

 

Newcastle did confirm two further injury problems yesterday. Their captain Scott Parker is to undergo a hernia operation, which many will believe means he has played his last game for the club, and Damien Duff has had an operation on his foot which will keep him out possibly beyond the start of next season.

 

I wonder what the sticking point is about Allardyce's back room staff?

 

That's there's over 20 of them or he doesn't want "Geordie boy" Lee Clark involved?

[Gemmill 44900]

Allardyce set to take over at Newcastle - reports

 

LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - Former Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce appears poised to take over at Newcastle United, according to newspaper reports early on Saturday.

Allardyce, who ended an eight-year spell at Bolton when he quit the Premier League club last month, held talks with Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd on Friday.

Shepherd likened the 52-year-old former central defender to Joe Harvey, who was at the helm when Newcastle last won a trophy in the 1969 Fairs Cup, the forerunner to the UEFA Cup.

"The club needs a lift and Sam is the nearest I've seen to a replica of Joe Harvey," Shepherd was quoted as saying.

"I am excited, Sam is excited, and we are looking forward to making this work.

"We had a good meeting and will continue discussions over the weekend but everything went okay. You don't wrap up something like this in two minutes."

Former club captain Glenn Roeder resigned as Newcastle manager earlier this week.

Newcastle, who finish the season with a visit to Watford on Sunday, are 13th in the 20-team Premier League.

[@yourservice 67]

 

SAM ALLARDYCE was handed the Newcastle job yesterday after a secret three-hour lunch with Freddy Shepherd.

 

SunSport captured the pair at posh Claridge’s in London. Chairman Shepherd told friends at the restaurant: “We want Sam’s determination, enthusiasm and ability to lift the club.”

 

Big Sam will take over early next week on a contract which could be worth £3million a year.

 

Allardyce said afterwards: “It was a good meeting and my agent will speak to Newcastle again over the next few days to discuss matters further.”

 

That will simply be to fine-tune the contract details before Newcastle make an official announcement.

 

Shepherd added to pals: “The club needs a lift and Sam is the nearest I’ve seen to a replica of Joe Harvey.”

 

Harvey was the last manager to bring silverware to Tyneside by winning the old Fairs Cup — the forerunner to the UEFA Cup — back in 1969.

 

Shepherd also said: “I’m excited, Sam’s excited and we’re looking forward to making this work “We had a good meeting and we will continue discussions over the weekend but everything went OK. You don’t wrap up something like this in two minutes.”

 

Speculation has been rife Big Sam was being lined up for the St James’ hotseat but SunSport’s pictures are the first concrete evidence.

 

Allardyce quit Bolton after eight years as boss just two weeks ago. The next week, Glenn Roeder was axed as Toon manager. Shepherd then set to work on landing Allardyce.

 

He contacted Bolton chairman Phil Gartside yesterday. Gartside did not pick up the call so Shepherd left a message.

 

Shepherd had promised he would let Gartside know if he wanted Allardyce.

 

It will be a case of third-time lucky for Newcastle in their pursuit of Big Sam.

 

A combination of his loyalty to Bolton and Shepherd’s reluctance to get into a poaching row have stopped it happening before.

Edited May 12, 2007 by @yourservice

[khay 10]

Looks like its going to happen then, I think he is going to do well.

[Isegrim 9780]

Well, I am thinking that Sam isn't a bad idea, but I still am a bit curious about how much else thought the board did put in this decision. If you were to employ someone for the arguably most important position at a football club, would you only interview one person?

[Craig 6682]

Allardyce set for St James' after Shepherd lunch

 

 

Michael Walker

Saturday May 12, 2007

The Guardian

 

 

The prospect of Sam Allardyce becoming the manager of Newcastle United, which already appeared nailed-on, received vivid confirmation last night with the publication of photographs showing him and the Newcastle chairman, Freddy Shepherd, arriving at a London hotel yesterday. Allardyce reportedly said that "it was a good meeting" as he left and it is expected he will be unveiled as Glenn Roeder's successor as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

A four-year deal is rumoured, though no contract has been signed by the former Bolton Wanderers manager despite the presence of his representative Mark Curtis at Claridges yesterday. Newcastle's delegation included Shepherd's increasingly influential son Kenneth. "Sam is the nearest thing to a replica of Joe Harvey I have seen. He has the same rugged determination and enthusiasm as Joe," Shepherd reportedly said, referring to the man who won the Fairs Cup for the club in 1969.

 

 

Although there remains a doubt over Allardyce's preferred backroom staff at St James' Park - and it is something of a sticking point - this was a remarkably public venue for a meeting that might have been expected to be clandestine. Its public nature suggests Allardyce and Newcastle may have been given permission by Bolton to negotiate.

 

Bolton are this week believed to have offered a new role and a new contract to Mike Forde in order to deter one of Allardyce's important right-hand men at Bolton from joining him on Tyneside. Time will tell if other figures significant to Allardyce at Bolton move further north.

 

Presumably one of the topics discussed at yesterday's three-hour meeting in a partitioned-off area of Gordon Ramsay's restaurant at the hotel was Michael Owen's position and Shepherd's attitude towards the England striker. Allardyce is thought to be enthusiastic about keeping Owen, so the release yesterday morning of a video clip on the YouTube internet site of Shepherd caught on a Liverpool fan's camera declaring to Liverpool fans stalking him that he would "carry Michael Owen back [to Liverpool] for £9m" was not ideal.

 

At first Shepherd's tone sounds serious. But he relents instantly, referring to Owen as "a good lad," and "a decent lad", and then mutters in uncomplimentary fashion about the striker's agent. Given Shepherd's warning on Wednesday to Owen about "loyalty" to the club and the clear tension that exists between Newcastle and Owen's camp, the video clip might have been seen as incendiary. But Shepherd was relaxed about its public release and believes it shows no more than banter.

 

Newcastle issued a statement to that effect yesterday afternoon which said: "Anyone who has seen this video clip will immediately regard it for exactly what it is. It's nothing more than tongue-in-cheek banter in the most light-hearted fashion that nobody could take remotely seriously or try to misinterpret. The chairman shows just how approachable he is by having a laugh with a couple of football fans, and Geordies and Liverpool supporters are world-renowned for enjoying a joke and sharing a sense of humour, after all."

 

Owen's, and his agent's, response is unknown, but if Owen is peeved then this might put some more distance between the two parties. Newcastle's caretaker manager, Nigel Pearson, said Owen displayed no signs of anger yesterday. Newcastle finish their season at Watford tomorrow and Pearson said there was "no suggestion" the issue would complicate his team selection. "He's available," Pearson said. "Michael is fine."

 

Newcastle did confirm two further injury problems yesterday. Their captain Scott Parker is to undergo a hernia operation, which many will believe means he has played his last game for the club, and Damien Duff has had an operation on his foot which will keep him out possibly beyond the start of next season.

 

The bit in bold scares the fuck out of me....

[Guest alex]

Allardyce set to take over at Newcastle - reports

 

LONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - Former Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce appears poised to take over at Newcastle United, according to newspaper reports early on Saturday.

Allardyce, who ended an eight-year spell at Bolton when he quit the Premier League club last month, held talks with Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd on Friday.

Shepherd likened the 52-year-old former central defender to Joe Harvey, who was at the helm when Newcastle last won a trophy in the 1969 Fairs Cup, the forerunner to the UEFA Cup.

"The club needs a lift and Sam is the nearest I've seen to a replica of Joe Harvey," Shepherd was quoted as saying.

"I am excited, Sam is excited, and we are looking forward to making this work.

"We had a good meeting and will continue discussions over the weekend but everything went okay. You don't wrap up something like this in two minutes."

Former club captain Glenn Roeder resigned as Newcastle manager earlier this week.

Newcastle, who finish the season with a visit to Watford on Sunday, are 13th in the 20-team Premier League.

[Isegrim 9780]

I don't like it when alex replies on weekends.

[Tom 14011]

Aye, Go on Alex, fuck off.

 

 

[Happy Face 29]

I don't like it when alex replies on weekends.

 

 

It's like being at work.

[Isegrim 9780]

Aye, Go on Alex, fuck off.

 

 

Even worse, it reminds you that you should work yourself. Even when you are drunk....

[Baggio 0]

Sam Allardyce has been offered a £3m-per-annum, four-year contract to take charge of Newcastle United and become the Premiership's third best paid manager behind Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson.

 

Newcastle could have appointed the former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier, now at Lyon, and even the ex-England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson for less. However, Freddy Shepherd, the St James' Park chairman, declined to take calls from their representatives last week, despite Houllier topping polls of Geordie fans asked to name their preferred choice as Glenn Roeder's successor. It is understood that Alan Shearer was sounded out but he is happy working for the BBC and travelling the world as an ambassador for the club.

 

With the board expected to ratify the former Bolton manager's £12 m deal at a specially convened meeting tomorrow, Allardyce - who had originally hoped to succeed Stuart Pearce at Manchester City - is poised to be formally appointed on Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

By then he could be fielding telephone calls from the Quest team run by Lord Stevens and in the final throes of completing their long-running investigation into corruption in football. Quest are apparently keen to question Allardyce for a third time, in this instance about the transfers of Israeli duo Tal Ben Haim and Idan Tal to Bolton, but with the Stevens inquiry due to make its final report to the Premier League this week and issue a public statement by the end of the month they are fast running out of time.

 

Newcastle are believed to have been reassured that Allardyce - who loomed large in a BBC Panorama special on abuse of the transfer system last year - has not been in receipt of illegal 'bungs'.

 

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Quite apart from paying Allardyce roughly three times the salary afforded to Roeder, who resigned last Sunday, and around seven times the £400,000 Sheffield United's Neil Warnock has earned this season, Shepherd will almost certainly need to negotiate a compensation package with Bolton. Allardyce had two years remaining of his contract at the Reebok when he walked out a fortnight ago but a compromise may be reached if the new manager agrees not to poach key members of his former Bolton staff.

 

Bolton employ an unprecedented 21-strong, backroom team including sports scientists, psychologists and IT experts and have newly offered Mike Forde, their highly regarded performance director, an improved contract. Forde was regarded by many as Allardyce's key lieutenant and the in-coming Newcastle manager would seemingly like nothing better than to have him by his side on Tyneside.

 

Nevertheless Bolton are braced to lose Gary Speed, their newly-appointed player coach and a former Newcastle midfielder, to a similar role at St James' Park where the coaching staff could also be augmented by Neil McDonald, currently the Carlisle United manager. Allardyce apparently convinced an initially sceptical Shepherd of the need to employ so many assistants by comparing the number of potential playing hours Newcastle players have lost to injury this season with those forfeited by Bolton personnel.

 

While Roeder's squad spent a collective total of approximately 400 hours sidelined, Allardyce's men were indisposed for just 70. However, another statistic 'Big Sam' presumably did not mention over lunch with Shepherd at Claridges in London on Friday is that in his last 16 games in charge of the Wanderers they took just 16 points; in contrast, the unfortunate Roeder's Newcastle collected 17 points from his final 16 matches.

 

The worst of Newcastle's injuries was sustained on England duty by Michael Owen last summer and arguably cost Roeder - who last Sunday asked Shepherd to give him until Christmas to prove himself before realising resignation was his only option - the chance to implement the major re-structuring of the squad he was planning for this summer.

 

Allardyce, though, could be forced to cope without Owen, who seems increasingly likely to be sold after the revelation that his contract includes a release clause stating that the striker can leave for £9 million.

 

Perhaps partly in anticipation of this, a Newcastle delegation last week held a meeting in Monte Carlo with Mike Morris, a Monaco-based agent who has worked closely with Allardyce on transfers, to discuss potential new signings.

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

I wonder who he'll get for his back room team. He'll obviously want some of the people he worked with at Bolton and the idea of Speed coming back is quite nice.

 

It'll make a change to have any 'scientists, ologists and experts' on the staff, never mind 20 of them. I hope he pushes this through, it's about time our coaching, fitness, nutrition, scouting etc were dragged into the 21st century.

[Happy Face 29]

At this moment in time he is precisely the right man.

 

Because?

 

 

Cause above everything we need organising and a re-vamp of the set up. Something he knows a thing or two about from his time at Bolton. His attention to detail and empahsis on player development and motivation and his overall psychological approach (something that some of our player sorely need). IMO Sam will put this background structure in place (and it wil take 2 seasons at least to start showing) and this will be the platform to his legacy. It is exactly what we need. For now the system of play and purchases and other 'on field' stuff although important ( and will be communicated to the side) is not quite as critical as making the base right to take us forward. That is why I feel at this moment he is a godsend.

 

 

Yeah, but it took him some time. As I say, he finished 16th and 17th in the league. The "Geordie faithful" won't stand for that. We'll have him booed out of the job by Christmas.

 

Damn it hurts. It hurts to be THIS right!

 

[Andrew 4762]

At this moment in time he is precisely the right man.

 

Because?

 

 

Cause above everything we need organising and a re-vamp of the set up. Something he knows a thing or two about from his time at Bolton. His attention to detail and empahsis on player development and motivation and his overall psychological approach (something that some of our player sorely need). IMO Sam will put this background structure in place (and it wil take 2 seasons at least to start showing) and this will be the platform to his legacy. It is exactly what we need. For now the system of play and purchases and other 'on field' stuff although important ( and will be communicated to the side) is not quite as critical as making the base right to take us forward. That is why I feel at this moment he is a godsend.

 

 

Yeah, but it took him some time. As I say, he finished 16th and 17th in the league. The "Geordie faithful" won't stand for that. We'll have him booed out of the job by Christmas.

 

Damn it hurts. It hurts to be THIS right!

 

 

that was one hell of a bump

[RlCO 0]

Hardly Nostradamus like.

[Happy Face 29]

Hardly Nostradamus like.

 

No, I was more specific than he ever was.

[Happy Face 29]

At this moment in time he is precisely the right man.

 

Because?

 

 

Cause above everything we need organising and a re-vamp of the set up. Something he knows a thing or two about from his time at Bolton. His attention to detail and empahsis on player development and motivation and his overall psychological approach (something that some of our player sorely need). IMO Sam will put this background structure in place (and it wil take 2 seasons at least to start showing) and this will be the platform to his legacy. It is exactly what we need. For now the system of play and purchases and other 'on field' stuff although important ( and will be communicated to the side) is not quite as critical as making the base right to take us forward. That is why I feel at this moment he is a godsend.

 

 

Yeah, but it took him some time. As I say, he finished 16th and 17th in the league. The "Geordie faithful" won't stand for that. We'll have him booed out of the job by Christmas.

 

Bigger success than I ever thought he would be then...by 2 weeks.

 

[RlCO 0]

Parky changed his tune, he's all for change now.

[@yourservice 67]