Freddy is history

[David Kelly 1216]

Glad to see the back of fatty, let's just hope that this isn't a false dawn and the new boss will get some players in pronto.

[Guest alex]

Glad to see the back of fatty, let's just hope that this isn't a false dawn and the new boss will get some players in pronto.

While I appreciate what you're saying with next season in mind I'm concerned about there now being some long-term stability and planning from the top. That's the crucial thing for me.

[Dr Gloom 21756]

Glad to see the back of fatty, let's just hope that this isn't a false dawn and the new boss will get some players in pronto.

While I appreciate what you're saying with next season in mind I'm concerned about there now being some long-term stability and planning from the top. That's the crucial thing for me.

 

if only leazes could see this

[Jimbo 172]

Glad to see the back of fatty, let's just hope that this isn't a false dawn and the new boss will get some players in pronto.

While I appreciate what you're saying with next season in mind I'm concerned about there now being some long-term stability and planning from the top. That's the crucial thing for me.

 

 

Agreed, the club need sorting out from top to bottom.

[Fop 1]

From the stuff coming out, he's definitely been pushed rather than jumped.

 

Looks like they really did find out some pretty bad/stupid stuff ("how much on pies?!?!?") as the politic course of events would still have been to keep him as a powerless figurehead for 6-12 months and then quietly get rid.

[East Stander 0]

The Journal certainly hold nothing back in their article this morning.

 

 

He spoke and spent big – but achieved little

 

Jul 25 2007

 

by Paul Gilder, The Journal

 

 

THE personalised registration plate that adorns Freddie Shepherd’s expensive 4x4 bears striking similarities to the Morse Code recognised as the international distress signal.

 

The erstwhile Newcastle chairman must have felt like issuing such a message last night, yet he was beyond assistance. At St James’s Park, Shepherd has long been sinking. Having struck the bottom, he vanished.

 

Informed that his services were no longer required, a man big on bluster severed his ties with Newcastle United without a word. Some might call it a dignified departure. The truth was somewhat different.

 

Shepherd’s last public appearance in his role as the club’s chairman came just over two months ago following Sam Allardyce’s appointment as manager. Throughout a bizarre Press conference, the 65-year-old winced with pain, his discomfort later attributed to a cracked rib. Since then, the hurt has refused to recede.

 

Be it the pneumonia that forced his hospitalisation or the damage to his pride, Shepherd’s agonies have been relentless. Last night – his dreams in tatters – the affliction in question was surely a broken heart.

 

It cannot have been otherwise. For several years, Freddie Shepherd was Newcastle United. It is the case no longer. His removal from office unceremonial, this was not the end he had planned. Yet it was a suitable denouement. During a tenure perhaps best described as ‘colourful’, precious little went according to the script. That Shepherd was a man with big ambitions is beyond dispute. He spoke big and he spent big, yet his achievements were small. For the countless millions that were spent chasing the dream, nothing was won.

 

When his stewardship started, Newcastle had not won significant silverware since Bob Moncur collected the European Fairs Cup in 1969. When his reign ended last night, the fact remained unaltered. A 28-year drought has been extended to 38 years under his guidance. When it came, the end was not mourned as he might once have hoped.

 

His aim upon succeeding Sir John Hall was to end the curse, yet all that was gained was a reputation as an executioner extraordinaire. Five managers departed the club during Shepherd’s reign, another five were appointed. It was while conducting characteristic business that his fatal mistake was made. When he comes to reflect upon his time at St James’s Park, he will come to regret the rash decision he made on August 30, 2004.

 

From the moment he informed Sir Bobby Robson that his services were no longer required, Shepherd has been on sinking sand. Just as a football manager is judged upon the players he signs, so a football chairman is judged upon the managers he appoints. This is a man who gave jobs to Ruud Gullit, Graeme Souness and Glenn Roeder. All failed. All reflect upon him. Yes, he appointed Robson in the first place. He also replaced him with Souness, a man who was facing dismissal from his post at Blackburn at the time. He also gave Roeder a job that was beyond his capabilities. The 51-year-old lasted less than a year before offering his resignation.

 

And so to Allardyce, Shepherd’s last appointment and a coach who will hope to buck the trend. The former Bolton manager has been told his job is safe but the situation is not as comfortable as it could be. Allardyce will always be considered Shepherd’s man and he must hope that does not become a stigma. If the club is to move forward, if lessons are to be learned from Shepherd’s spell at the helm, the 52-year-old must be given the time that was so often denied his predecessors. At least with Shepherd gone, the process can begin. Only now can this be considered a genuine new era.

 

Yesterday’s developments were inevitable. Although Mike Ashley’s management team announced last month that Shepherd would remain as chairman, the arrangement was always going to be shortlived. The Journal, with whom Shepherd had a fractious relationship, reported as much. The end came quicker than expected. But it was expected.

 

From the moment he agreed to sell his shares, he was yesterday’s man. He remained in office, but he had no power. In recent months, Shepherd has been a puppet. When it suited him to bring the association to an end, Ashley was ruthless, acting without sentiment. It is his modus operandi.

 

Shepherd might feel a certain relief that the end has come, although he may never admit as much. He can not have been content to work under such conditions. After so long in charge, he cannot have been content to be subservient. He has left without a title being bestowed. Perhaps a clean break is best.

 

The future is uncertain, although one thing is clear: things will be much different under Chris Mort’s management. None could imitate Shepherd’s style, few would want to. Whatever his intentions, this was a man who could not help but attract trouble. Be it the News of the World expose in 1998 or the ‘f***ing Michael Owen’ YouTube clip earlier this year, Shepherd’s propensity to make headlines for the wrong reasons counted against him in the final reckoning. In the sharp-suited business world in which Mort and his men move, such behaviour must be incomprehensible. It has long been apparent that Newcastle needed a different direction. This morning, it is theirs.

 

None can question Shepherd’s passion, but what has become clear is that passion alone is not enough. He might bleed black-and-white, but he could not bring success to St James’s Park. That will hurt, although the £40m he will take with him from selling his stock last month will help to ease the pain. But it will not be enough. It cannot be.

 

There are some things that cannot be procured with cash alone and when Newcastle next taste success Shepherd will not be hailed the saviour as he once had hoped he would be. Shepherd did not want to end his association with the club this summer, make no mistake about it, but a man who last year detailed his streetfighting past in Byker has been beaten in battle. That might be worth an SOS call. But no one is coming.

[David Kelly 1216]

Glad to see the back of fatty, let's just hope that this isn't a false dawn and the new boss will get some players in pronto.

While I appreciate what you're saying with next season in mind I'm concerned about there now being some long-term stability and planning from the top. That's the crucial thing for me.

I agree but we do need to do something about the current season or we could find ourselves left behind with a very large gap to make up. This will make the long term plan a lot more difficult to achieve.

[Barney 0]

And so to Allardyce, Shepherd’s last appointment and a coach who will hope to buck the trend. The former Bolton manager has been told his job is safe but the situation is not as comfortable as it could be. Allardyce will always be considered Shepherd’s man and he must hope that does not become a stigma. If the club is to move forward, if lessons are to be learned from Shepherd’s spell at the helm, the 52-year-old must be given the time that was so often denied his predecessors.

 

This bit in particular is a bit unnerving. I fucking hope that Mort & Ashley aren't thinking about a different manager.

[snakehips 0]

And so to Allardyce, Shepherd’s last appointment and a coach who will hope to buck the trend. The former Bolton manager has been told his job is safe but the situation is not as comfortable as it could be. Allardyce will always be considered Shepherd’s man and he must hope that does not become a stigma. If the club is to move forward, if lessons are to be learned from Shepherd’s spell at the helm, the 52-year-old must be given the time that was so often denied his predecessors.

 

This bit in particular is a bit unnerving. I fucking hope that Mort & Ashley aren't thinking about a different manager.

 

As the reported 'War chest' seems to have been 'wide of the mark', surely XXXL Sam is exactly the type of manager Mike & Mort want i.e. one who works without spending a fortune on players.

 

?

[Barney 0]

And so to Allardyce, Shepherd’s last appointment and a coach who will hope to buck the trend. The former Bolton manager has been told his job is safe but the situation is not as comfortable as it could be. Allardyce will always be considered Shepherd’s man and he must hope that does not become a stigma. If the club is to move forward, if lessons are to be learned from Shepherd’s spell at the helm, the 52-year-old must be given the time that was so often denied his predecessors.

 

This bit in particular is a bit unnerving. I fucking hope that Mort & Ashley aren't thinking about a different manager.

 

As the reported 'War chest' seems to have been 'wide of the mark', surely XXXL Sam is exactly the type of manager Mike & Mort want i.e. one who works without spending a fortune on players.

 

?

 

 

Maybe they aren't giving him truck loads of cash to spend as he's not the manager that they want?

[Guest alex]

And so to Allardyce, Shepherd’s last appointment and a coach who will hope to buck the trend. The former Bolton manager has been told his job is safe but the situation is not as comfortable as it could be. Allardyce will always be considered Shepherd’s man and he must hope that does not become a stigma. If the club is to move forward, if lessons are to be learned from Shepherd’s spell at the helm, the 52-year-old must be given the time that was so often denied his predecessors.

 

This bit in particular is a bit unnerving. I fucking hope that Mort & Ashley aren't thinking about a different manager.

 

As the reported 'War chest' seems to have been 'wide of the mark', surely XXXL Sam is exactly the type of manager Mike & Mort want i.e. one who works without spending a fortune on players.

 

?

 

 

Maybe they aren't giving him truck loads of cash to spend as he's not the manager that they want?

Maybe. Or they were waiting for Shepherd to go. Or they are giving him some cash to see if he can make an improvement on the side before chucking money at him. Difficult to say and the end of the window will be the time to judge things. Still 5 weeks to go.

[Barney 0]

Yep, could be a number of things.

 

Just trying to cause a bit of

[geordieshandy 0]

And so to Allardyce, Shepherd’s last appointment and a coach who will hope to buck the trend. The former Bolton manager has been told his job is safe but the situation is not as comfortable as it could be. Allardyce will always be considered Shepherd’s man and he must hope that does not become a stigma. If the club is to move forward, if lessons are to be learned from Shepherd’s spell at the helm, the 52-year-old must be given the time that was so often denied his predecessors.

 

This bit in particular is a bit unnerving. I fucking hope that Mort & Ashley aren't thinking about a different manager.

 

As the reported 'War chest' seems to have been 'wide of the mark', surely XXXL Sam is exactly the type of manager Mike & Mort want i.e. one who works without spending a fortune on players.

 

?

 

 

Maybe they aren't giving him truck loads of cash to spend as he's not the manager that they want?

 

That would add up. It would also be a mistake.

[geordieshandy 0]

And so to Allardyce, Shepherd’s last appointment and a coach who will hope to buck the trend. The former Bolton manager has been told his job is safe but the situation is not as comfortable as it could be. Allardyce will always be considered Shepherd’s man and he must hope that does not become a stigma. If the club is to move forward, if lessons are to be learned from Shepherd’s spell at the helm, the 52-year-old must be given the time that was so often denied his predecessors.

 

This bit in particular is a bit unnerving. I fucking hope that Mort & Ashley aren't thinking about a different manager.

 

As the reported 'War chest' seems to have been 'wide of the mark', surely XXXL Sam is exactly the type of manager Mike & Mort want i.e. one who works without spending a fortune on players.

 

?

 

 

Maybe they aren't giving him truck loads of cash to spend as he's not the manager that they want?

Maybe. Or they were waiting for Shepherd to go. Or they are giving him some cash to see if he can make an improvement on the side before chucking money at him. Difficult to say and the end of the window will be the time to judge things. Still 5 weeks to go.

 

Aye, but the season is less than three weeks away. Yet again I find myself thinking it's not so much about bodies, as giving those bodies the time needed to bond into a coherent force.

[Guest alex]

And so to Allardyce, Shepherd’s last appointment and a coach who will hope to buck the trend. The former Bolton manager has been told his job is safe but the situation is not as comfortable as it could be. Allardyce will always be considered Shepherd’s man and he must hope that does not become a stigma. If the club is to move forward, if lessons are to be learned from Shepherd’s spell at the helm, the 52-year-old must be given the time that was so often denied his predecessors.

 

This bit in particular is a bit unnerving. I fucking hope that Mort & Ashley aren't thinking about a different manager.

 

As the reported 'War chest' seems to have been 'wide of the mark', surely XXXL Sam is exactly the type of manager Mike & Mort want i.e. one who works without spending a fortune on players.

 

?

 

 

Maybe they aren't giving him truck loads of cash to spend as he's not the manager that they want?

Maybe. Or they were waiting for Shepherd to go. Or they are giving him some cash to see if he can make an improvement on the side before chucking money at him. Difficult to say and the end of the window will be the time to judge things. Still 5 weeks to go.

 

Aye, but the season is less than three weeks away. Yet again I find myself thinking it's not so much about bodies, as giving those bodies the time needed to bond into a coherent force.

Aye, getting them in for pre-season would have been ideal, obviously.

[Craig 6670]

I don't know the ins and outs of a company returning from public ownership back into private hands, but doesn't the announcement last Wednesday that we were de-listing from the stock exchange and that trading in our shares had ceased effectively mean that Newcastle United PLC is no more? Or do we have to wait until Ashley officially has the last 5% of the shares?

 

Was just surprised that the press release stated ..."Newcastle United PLC announces today that Chris Mort has replaced Freddy Shepherd as Chairman of the Company."...

 

Should it not have been 'Newcastle United Football Club'??

[themags 0]

bye bye fat man

[Happy Face 29]

Shepherd will receive a £1m pay-off

 

Sticks in my craw more than benefit claiming chav scum.

[ewerk 30159]

I don't know the ins and outs of a company returning from public ownership back into private hands, but doesn't the announcement last Wednesday that we were de-listing from the stock exchange and that trading in our shares had ceased effectively mean that Newcastle United PLC is no more? Or do we have to wait until Ashley officially has the last 5% of the shares?

 

Was just surprised that the press release stated ..."Newcastle United PLC announces today that Chris Mort has replaced Freddy Shepherd as Chairman of the Company."...

 

Should it not have been 'Newcastle United Football Club'??

 

We can be a PLC without being on the stock exchange or having to adhere to stock exchange rules. I imagine the PLC will have to be formally dissolved which doesn't appear to have happened yet.

[geordieshandy 0]

I don't know the ins and outs of a company returning from public ownership back into private hands, but doesn't the announcement last Wednesday that we were de-listing from the stock exchange and that trading in our shares had ceased effectively mean that Newcastle United PLC is no more? Or do we have to wait until Ashley officially has the last 5% of the shares?

 

Was just surprised that the press release stated ..."Newcastle United PLC announces today that Chris Mort has replaced Freddy Shepherd as Chairman of the Company."...

 

Should it not have been 'Newcastle United Football Club'??

 

We can be a PLC without being on the stock exchange or having to adhere to stock exchange rules. I imagine the PLC will have to be formally dissolved which doesn't appear to have happened yet.

 

 

So, is it this dissolution process that is holding things up on the transfer side of things? Were Man City a plc or not?

[AgentFox 0]

Do you think Freddy leaving had anything to do with the bung raid last week???

[ewerk 30159]

I don't know the ins and outs of a company returning from public ownership back into private hands, but doesn't the announcement last Wednesday that we were de-listing from the stock exchange and that trading in our shares had ceased effectively mean that Newcastle United PLC is no more? Or do we have to wait until Ashley officially has the last 5% of the shares?

 

Was just surprised that the press release stated ..."Newcastle United PLC announces today that Chris Mort has replaced Freddy Shepherd as Chairman of the Company."...

 

Should it not have been 'Newcastle United Football Club'??

 

We can be a PLC without being on the stock exchange or having to adhere to stock exchange rules. I imagine the PLC will have to be formally dissolved which doesn't appear to have happened yet.

 

 

So, is it this dissolution process that is holding things up on the transfer side of things? Were Man City a plc or not?

 

I think City were a PLC, not sure what exchange they were quoted on, if any.

 

I really don't know what the dissolution involves, I imagine it's just a formality and there may not be any practical advantages in dissolving it, but I doubt that's what's holding things up.

[Papa Lazaru 0]

Just seen Anal Oliver on SSN basically wanking all over Fat Fred as if he was the messiah! He must be so gutted that he's no longer Freddies bitch and will have to try and get in with Mort who won't give a fuck about him!

[smoggeordie 0]

Freddy issues final statement:

 

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsD...1078969,00.html

[Jimbo 172]

Freddy issues final statement:

 

http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsD...1078969,00.html