Scottish Mag 3 Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Martin O'Neill has ruled himself out of a return to club management with Newcastle, paving the way for the FA to swoop for their No 1 England target. Former Celtic boss O'Neill is Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd's first choice to replace sacked Graeme Souness after Alan Shearer admitted the opportunity had come too soon for him. O'Neill is tending to his sick wife and does not want to move to the north-east, with close friends saying he wants nothing to distract him. O'Neill wants to find out more about the role and a source said: "Martin only does things one way and that's full-on. There's no way he'll take on anything in a half-hearted manner, but he can't commit to club management under the present circumstances." The unavailability of O'Neill leaves Eriksson, Guus Hiddink and Sam Allardyce as favourites to take over on Tyneside after caretaker boss Glenn Roeder and player-coach Shearer complete their stint at the end of the season. Although the pair lack the necessary qualifications to be in charge for more than 12 weeks, Shepherd is expected to delay an appointment until the summer. Other options could be Terry Venables and Felipe Scolari. Although a punter in Manchester placed a £5,000 bet on the Portugal boss, Venables is qualified, available and has a good relationship with Shearer from his days as England manager. Bolton manager Allardyce has also refused to rule himself out despite revealing his intention to retire in four years. The 51-year-old admitted he would be prepared to shelve his plans if the right position came along. He turned Newcastle down when Shepherd came calling in 2004 but would be unlikely to do so again and has now been installed as favourite to take over. He said: "If the chairman tells me anything, I can answer the question about Newcastle. Until then, it's pure speculation - what will be will be. "I will retire at 55, depending where I am. There's something that could change my mind but I won't know until that time comes around. It would not be a consideration unless I was at a top, top club in the world." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BastianSchweinsteiger 0 Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Please, PLEASE not Terry Venables or Steve Bruce. Please Freddy, I beg of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottish Mag 3 Posted February 5, 2006 Author Share Posted February 5, 2006 News of the World FREDDY SHEPHERD will offer Martin O'Neill a £30MILLION transfer kitty to lure him to St James' Park. We can reveal the Toon chairman will make an approach to the former Celtic boss within the next few days as a replacement for Graeme Souness, who was sacked on Thursday. Shepherd's No1 choice, England boss Sven Goran Eriksson, is unlikely to decide on his future until after the World Cup. But with Newcastle now facing a battle for Premiership survival, Shepherd will try to persuade O'Neill, who quit Celtic to look after his sick wife, out of retirement. A Newcastle source said: "Martin will be approached this week about whether he'll move to Newcastle. The club hope he will accept the offer but everything is still up in the air. "However, Freddy will make it clear funds will be made available to bring in the players he wants." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BastianSchweinsteiger 0 Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 News of the World FREDDY SHEPHERD will offer Martin O'Neill a £30MILLION transfer kitty to lure him to St James' Park. We can reveal the Toon chairman will make an approach to the former Celtic boss within the next few days as a replacement for Graeme Souness, who was sacked on Thursday. Shepherd's No1 choice, England boss Sven Goran Eriksson, is unlikely to decide on his future until after the World Cup. But with Newcastle now facing a battle for Premiership survival, Shepherd will try to persuade O'Neill, who quit Celtic to look after his sick wife, out of retirement. A Newcastle source said: "Martin will be approached this week about whether he'll move to Newcastle. The club hope he will accept the offer but everything is still up in the air. "However, Freddy will make it clear funds will be made available to bring in the players he wants." 89204[/snapback] Not very wise from Shepperd- we're already in tens of millions of pounds of debt. At least Allardyce would be bringing in mostly free transfers and players on the cheap and still get the best out of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob W 0 Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 (edited) WOW! Thats the SECRET that ManU, Barca, Real Madrid and Inter have ... dominate Yurop with Free transfers & players on the cheap eh? Every study I've seen relates succes directly to $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ spent Edited February 5, 2006 by Rob W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asprilla 96 Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 WOW! Thats the SECRET that ManU, Barca, Real Madrid and Inter have ... dominate Yurop with Free transfers & players on the cheap eh? Every study I've seen relates succes directly to $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ spent 89329[/snapback] Real Madrid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toonraider 0 Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Definately NOT steve Bruce pleeeeeease Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Bruce or O'dreary not much more enticing than Souness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Face 29 Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Not very wise from Shepperd- we're already in tens of millions of pounds of debt. At least Allardyce would be bringing in mostly free transfers and players on the cheap and still get the best out of them. 89207[/snapback] If Allardyce was given £50M to spend I'm sure he'd manage to. Just because he can manage on a shoestring, it doesn't mean it's his preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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