I know it's been said before...

[Isegrim 9897]

No not correct imo.

 

That squad had stuttered over the finish line to 3rd the previous season and needed to be freshened up in 2003. We got Bowyer and nothing else. The next season was generally piss poor - 2 away wins? - that squad as DK had said had punched slightly above its weight. 

 

Looking from the outside as people did Souness thought it was an excellent squad when he arrived - it is to his credit that he realised that it wasn't.

 

As I've said before putting all of your faith in one player - be it Bellamy, Shearer or whoever has been a major problem for us and needs to end.

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I don't think you can punch above your weight three years in a row. Stuttered to the finish line in 2003? Sorry even if the performances might not have matched those of the previous season the team was still up for a top place throughout the whole season. Until this heartbreaking 2-6 against ManUre came. Then everybody saw that Newcastle were still lacking something to close the gap to the top teams. Of course the team would have needed more strengthening than just signing Bowyer in the summer. Still Woodgate was made out to be the major jigsaw.

 

The season afterwards I don't remember many people saying we were punching above our weight. The general consensus as much as I remember was that the team was underperforming, especially throwing away many points in the dying minutes. If Newcastle still finished 5th it was down to the failure of other teams to capatilise.

 

Robson then made a couple of signings by the money he was made available to sort out crucial positions like right back and a holding midfielder. Maybe the squad Souness inherited wasn't top class, but it was still better than what maybe 15 other manager's had available. Finishing 14th was simply not good enough. I'm happy with the summer signings, but this still does not make me believe Souness is the right man to work with it. So, if he is going to miss out a top 6 place again, will he beg Shepherd to sign the likes of Ronaldinho and Lampard then?

[LeazesMag 0]

No not correct imo.

 

That squad had stuttered over the finish line to 3rd the previous season and needed to be freshened up in 2003. We got Bowyer and nothing else. The next season was generally piss poor - 2 away wins? - that squad as DK had said had punched slightly above its weight. 

 

Looking from the outside as people did Souness thought it was an excellent squad when he arrived - it is to his credit that he realised that it wasn't.

 

As I've said before putting all of your faith in one player - be it Bellamy, Shearer or whoever has been a major problem for us and needs to end.

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it is correct.

 

There wasn't one person on this board, or any other person I knew, who said during the summer of 2004 that we were on the slide down into even a mid table place, never mind the bottom half.

 

Every single person on here was pissed off we weren't in the top 4. We all to a man felt we should be doing better. Not one person said we had played above ourselves, not one. We all said the exact opposite.

 

Whatever position we "stuttered" to...it doesn't matter how we see it, the fact is if we finish 5th this season [unlikely with fuckwit in charge] it will be the same "stutter" because the standard hasn't changed at all, the top 3 are miles ahead and we are further away then ever before.

 

You've allowed the Souness spin to lower standards mate, and even convinced yourself the squad needed mass changes. The same as those who say Bellamy had to go, they didn't think this before Souness came....no one thought the team was on the slide at the time either.

 

To repeat my previous question, lets not make excuses for Souness here.

"How much money exactly do you think should be needed to build a SQUAD of players to match an already assembled SQUAD of players and STAY in a european qualifying position ?"

Edited October 15, 2005 by LeazesMag

[adios 717]

There wasn't one person on this board, or any other person I knew, who said during the summer of 2004 that we were on the slide down into even a mid table place, never mind the bottom half.

 

So the rose-tinted specs don't come into it when they don't help your argument?

[LeazesMag 0]

There wasn't one person on this board, or any other person I knew, who said during the summer of 2004 that we were on the slide down into even a mid table place, never mind the bottom half.

 

So the rose-tinted specs don't come into it when they don't help your argument?

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it's not my argument mate, I'm stating a stone cold fact.

[NJS 4411]

Stuttered to the finish line in 2003? Sorry even if the performances might not have matched those of the previous season the team was still up for a top place throughout the whole season. Until this heartbreaking 2-6 against ManUre came.

 

In some ways that result was more of a blow than the Belgrade game - the 7 or 8 games after that were were poor and that continued generally into the next season..

 

Results and finishing position do count but there wasn't that much difference between the last two seasons in terms of overall "excitement" or "satisfaction". Something like 11 points and 9 places don't really matter to me - I think we've been in a rebuliding phase for two years.

 

If anyone honestly thinks the "3rd top" team were only a couple of players away from being higher they're dreaming imo.

[LeazesMag 0]

Stuttered to the finish line in 2003? Sorry even if the performances might not have matched those of the previous season the team was still up for a top place throughout the whole season. Until this heartbreaking 2-6 against ManUre came.

 

In some ways that result was more of a blow than the Belgrade game - the 7 or 8 games after that were were poor and that continued generally into the next season..

 

Results and finishing position do count but there wasn't that much difference between the last two seasons in terms of overall "excitement" or "satisfaction". Something like 11 points and 9 places don't really matter to me - I think we've been in a rebuliding phase for two years.

 

If anyone honestly thinks the "3rd top" team were only a couple of players away from being higher they're dreaming imo.

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3rd top is 3rd best at the time. The table doesn't lie.

 

Then 5th top is 5th best.

 

We have gone backwards since and anyone who can't see or accept that is dreaming imo. Any manager with 50m to improve a squad that was 5th top ....

and can't do it .... has got to be a clueless fuckwit. End of.

 

As I said, you should have said 2 years ago we needed to totally re-build our team/squad. You didn't, and neither did anyone else, for the simple reason we didn't think we needed to. If he cannot improve on 5th for all this money he is out, but don't say some of us didn't tell you when the full financial cost becomes apparent of his reckless actions, rather than making excuses for him. At least Terry Macs appointment as a spin doctor hasn't been in vain.

 

If Souness buys players who are always getting injured, the buck stops with him for appointing the training and medical staff. Likewise if he buys players who are constantly crocked anyway. When you are talking in figures of 50m quid to buy footballers for the club, there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever.

[Jackies the Lad 0]

Stuttered to the finish line in 2003? Sorry even if the performances might not have matched those of the previous season the team was still up for a top place throughout the whole season. Until this heartbreaking 2-6 against ManUre came.

 

In some ways that result was more of a blow than the Belgrade game - the 7 or 8 games after that were were poor and that continued generally into the next season..

 

Results and finishing position do count but there wasn't that much difference between the last two seasons in terms of overall "excitement" or "satisfaction". Something like 11 points and 9 places don't really matter to me - I think we've been in a rebuliding phase for two years.

 

If anyone honestly thinks the "3rd top" team were only a couple of players away from being higher they're dreaming imo.

46147[/snapback]

 

3rd top is 3rd best at the time. The table doesn't lie.

 

Then 5th top is 5th best.

 

We have gone backwards since and anyone who can't see or accept that is dreaming imo. Any manager with 50m to improve a squad that was 5th top ....

and can't do it .... has got to be a clueless fuckwit. End of.

 

As I said, you should have said 2 years ago we needed to totally re-build our team/squad. You didn't, and neither did anyone else, for the simple reason we didn't think we needed to. If he cannot improve on 5th for all this money he is out, but don't say some of us didn't tell you when the full financial cost becomes apparent of his reckless actions, rather than making excuses for him. At least Terry Macs appointment as a spin doctor hasn't been in vain.

 

If Souness buys players who are always getting injured, the buck stops with him for appointing the training and medical staff. Likewise if he buys players who are constantly crocked anyway. When you are talking in figures of 50m quid to buy footballers for the club, there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever.

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How much time and money does the fuckwit need. He's had £50 Mill +++ and we just got shafted by Wigan this afternoon, Wigan were crap, we were more crap.

 

Not one of our players looked as though they wanted to be on the pitch, maybe they all wanted to be back in the happy and harmonious dressing room that SOUNESS has created.

 

Simple if you want a happy dressing room, maybe we should have employed a comedian, not the fuckwit we have as our illustrious leader.

 

LM I agree 110%, just let's hope we get rid of this shit manager.

 

SOUNESS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Papa Lazaru 0]

Agree with Isegrim and Leazes this fantasy bullshit peopel come up with about how we were "lucky" and "continually punching above our weight" gets right on my tits.

 

The league table tells you everything and three years running we were top 5, the reason being we were better than all the teams below us over the course of a long gruelling season playign every team twice, and we were wrose than those teams above us.

 

When peopel come up with this bollocks about how we were so lucky and weren't playing as well as other teams etc. etc. well unless you sat and watched every minute of everry prem teams games (home and away) i'd love to know how you can judge exactly where we should have finished in the league.

 

Another one i hear that really is laughable is when people say, "we only finished 4th/3rd/5th because the teams below us were shite/didn't play well etc." Thats the point of a fecking legaue, if you don't play well you finish further down!

[Phil K 0]

whats the betting the next manager, with a new backroom staff etc and they will suddenly clear up

 

Souness' legacy will an excuse laden one

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Maybe I'm not understanding the English there fully, but erm, what?

 

We've always had injuries, it's not a Souness "thing".

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My take on it is certain players are swinging the lead with injuries that arsehole Dyer only being the most obvious. Sickenenly - I think Solano is too.