What next for Newcastle fans?

Same Old Story wrote...

The only problem is that we can't get rid of him right now, who would replace him?

If we did sack him then his replacement would inherit a team that he could not change until the transfer window and even then it is hard to see which players would be available - even if they were, enticing them to play for us rather than the big 4 would be hard.

Looks like we are stuck with this manager for the moment, I just hope we can turn in some decent performances so we don't get sucked into the lower echelons of the bottom half of the league. If we do there could be a mass exodus of our most talented players come the transfer window / end of season.

Posted by: Same Old Story  | November 25, 2007 9:30 PM

mag in boro wrote...

what a replacement manager would inherit is a squad that has got talent and flair in it ....milner emre nzgbia martins barton enrique taylor players who have won things smith beye cacapa (not putting geremi here as too poor yesterday to get i a kids team) we have got decent players just a defence minded egotist who cant fathom that playing good players out of position doesnt work would fergie play ronaldo at right back wenger plays fabregas at centre half of course they wouldnt
the more i think about it the less i want him in charge we not playing like bolton we look worse and that hurts to say
not defending
not making chances
not scoring goals
and not looking likely that any of those gonna change
the one thing we can change is the man responsible for putting round pegs in square holes
we have 2 centre halves in charge one of who played for the scum the other widely regarged as a legend here on teeside so as attacking tactics.errrr none
Wanting newcastle to win trophys for the region and fans passion and pride over a huge bonus ..not a hope

Sam was never Ashleys man and not ours no not the best situation to be in but would rather get rid now than in 4 months time

Posted by: mag in boro  | November 26, 2007 12:20 AM

Siomi wrote...

'Same old story' sounds resigned to fate. We DO have the players to be contesting for Europe, we just don't have a management team who are!

Very disappointed with Mort's comments about stability and patience, unless this is the proverbial "vote of confidence"!

I am pinning my hopes on Ashley being enough of a supporter and enough of a businessman to do the necessary. Look at Man City, Spurs, even Wigan! Lets get someone sensible in and get shot of Allardyce and Pearson.

Posted by: Siomi  | November 26, 2007 3:38 AM

gav wrote...

I actually aggree with morts vote of confidence and i actually aggree with big sam fair enough it isnt going our way at the moment but sam is right to a certain extent it will not turn around over night and it takes time to create a winning team with passion and flair ....... right now i will stop agreeing with sam as the performance that we put in on saturday was woefull it was worse than that it was a disgrace . outplayed , outhought , out of position players and poor subs , i truly wouldnt mind getting beat every week as long as our team put in their best performance every week or at least even tried of course that isn practical as you need to win to get the points but it would be a start it would be significant progress , but i just cant see where we are going at the minute i cant see the significant progress that BS is talking about players playing in their right positions for me would be progress and taking geremi off the pitch would be more significant progress. sams fighting a losing battle at the moment unless he starts to get the results right, and its a shame the fans have turned on him this early but if things dont change then surely he will find himself behind steve mclaren, in the line at the DOLE office !!!!!

Posted by: gav  | November 26, 2007 9:51 AM

Despondent Mag wrote...

Every single season, we tell ourselves 'This one is gonna be different' Yep, its definitely different, 'It's worse'. When he got shot of that defence I really thought it was a positive move but Jesus Christ, not only can we still not defend but we can't attack anymore.
Owen/Martins/Viduka, with the best will in the world, unless they get service they're not gonna score us goals.
I'm not a football coach just a despondent Newcastle fan, but for Gods sake, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to this style out.
Anyone thats in this current team that has got an ounce of skill must be pulling there hair out, and no-one could blame them for walking out the door. If a toe punt forward is BS's ideal of entertainment, then it won't be European football on our doorstep it'll be relegation.

Posted by: Despondent Mag  | November 26, 2007 9:54 AM

dexter wrote...

It looked on Saturday as if allardyce has lost the dressing room. The players look scared and won't make runs off the ball, dribbles or even shoot.

Our fans seem to boo the whole game which helps makes St James Park an awful place to watch football. I remember when we got back in the premier league and the noise at kick off would make the hairs on my back stand up.

It seems to me that unfortunately we will have to grin and bare this until BS gets Peter Crouch in January and at least our long balls will have a chance of hitting the target.

Posted by: dexter  | November 26, 2007 10:05 AM

Paul Patterson wrote...

Well I can tell you Lee, fans were not in the open shouting ‘Allardyce out’ so we haven’t reached ‘The Limit’ just yet.

Newcastle fans have a reputation (Especially with the southern press) of being an impatient lot, but this doesn’t hold water, managers up here have only ever been sacked when the side has been sliding down towards relegation (Keegan and Sir Bobby excluded- how ironic that they were our most successful managers)

If you look at the placards of ‘Roeder out’ you could probably see the letters S-O-U-N-E-S-S faintly underneath.

I’ve been a long standing believer of this club being a rotten lump of wood from the middle, with a lovely glossy coat of paint on it that occasionally gets a bit flaky and needs a top up. The one difference under Allardyce is, he’s using children’s poster paint on a luxurious piece of timber.

Back when Sir Bobby was sacked Allardyce was approached by Freddy Shepherd and he turned the job down, I was mighty relieved to hear this, approached again when Souness was sacked until he finally got the job after Roeder was dismissed, I didn’t want him back then and nothing has changed now, but naturally as supporters we give the new guy a chance.

The support that was handed to Allardyce early on has now all but dried up as the subtle contempt for fans has set in, I don’t know of any manager who wants to get back into a game of football at 0-3 down, taking off a left winger and putting on a right winger.

With that one single decision, Allardyce lost the fans completely (I fully expected Martins to come off) I was trying to read Allardyce and see exactly what his planning was, but I never expected N’Zogbia to come off, then Barton arrives and another attacking player in Emre comes off, never mind the fact that he seems intent on playing players out of position, this is tactical lunacy- it’s exactly the sort of decisions a manager would use if he wanted to lose a match.

Liverpool are not a great side (An efficient one maybe) but by full time it could and should have been 7-0, then what would the fans in attendance be doing at full time- you might have got to ‘The Limit’ Lee.

I firmly believe that come Dec 31st, Mike Ashley will be weighing up the cost of what the side will need spent on to improve it, compared to what it would cost him to pay Allardyce off- after all, our fixtures don’t make good reading- Arsenal, Blackburn, Birmingham, Fulham, if by the time we play Derby on Dec 23rd, were in a similar points position, then action must be taken, imagine losing to Derby at home??

I’ve always maintained that Newcastle will always have enough to avoid relegation- just enough goals in the side to stave it off (Viduka, Owen, Milner, Martins, N’Zogbia) and that once these goals dry up,- Panic! Well under Allardyce the goals simply don’t flow with ease the way they should.

To respond to a previous fan in a previous post, I DID see Nicky Butt prompting Geremi to run down the right wing to receive a pass, if this is what another player is having to do- Telling the captain what to do- then it’s about time we found another captain, I picked Butt ages ago anyway.

My idea still seems the most logical- get in Keegan till May, he can finish what he wasn’t allowed to do 1997, (I’m sure a top six finish is obtainable with him) then in May 2008 we can have a top class manager in place. . .

. . .Something Special for a Special football club.

Paul.

Posted by: Paul Patterson  | November 26, 2007 10:44 AM

sad wrote...

for many years we only had one player with any creative vision. Now we have none. no creative vision = no chances = no goals. we need another SOLANO

Posted by: sad  | November 26, 2007 11:19 AM

Ronnie Lambert wrote...

AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhh

Posted by: Ronnie Lambert  | November 26, 2007 1:14 PM

Geoff Forster wrote...

"Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce says he is not bothered by the negative reaction from fans."

He should be ... "Allardyce Out"

If we don't play 4-4-2 with Zog (left) and Milner (right) wide. With proper full backs Enrique (left) Carr or (better) Beye (right) Then we need Emre and Barton in midfield. They should press up the field and join the attack whenever possible.

Forget holding midfielders (esp at home!)

Playing for clean sets is a joke.
Play to score goals and as many as possible. Even when we are leading!

If Mort and Ashley think that we'll be happy with watching dire 0-0 draws and scraping the odd 1-0 win due to a lucky punt upfield they are very wrong.

"Ashley Out" might not be too far away and it might have more effect.

I doubt if we'll see this headline.

"Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley says he is not bothered by the negative reaction from fans."

Sack him now. Showing your support for too long to this 'out of his depth' manager may not be a very good idea.

Posted by: Geoff Forster  | November 26, 2007 1:46 PM

Paulie'sWalnut's wrote...

What next indeed ?, more disappointment, unfulfilled potential and petulant players only here to top up Their bank balance (We know Who They are), I stopped dreaming of a trophy long since, the first thirty years are the worst.

Posted by: Paulie'sWalnut's  | November 26, 2007 1:47 PM

Gunners wrote...

I am not a Newcastle fan (Arsenal forever), but I have allways respected their fans and the tradition within the club. Unfortunatly, a club that has the players and resources to consistently be among the top 5-6 clubs in England, has been plagued by consistently hiering an inebt manager and underperforming. Graham Souness was probably the worst manager in English football before he came to Newcastle. The resent performance against Portsmoth and Liverpool was nothing short of tragic, and probably the worst performance I have seen by any team anywere this season. It is often said that a new manager needs time to get results etc. However,this is not always the case. It depends on the squad he inherits and the managers ability to coach and inspire the players. (Look at Sven Goran Ericsson at City!). My advice is to give big Sam until christmas. If the team keeps on performing in the same fasion as against Liverpool, cut your loses, sack big Sam and go for a foreign coach like Cappello or Lippi, or perhaps a Norwegian coach in Belgium-Trond Sollied. (Arsene Wenger was almost unknown when he came to Arsenal, but was an instant success). Unfortunatly, there are very few English coaches with the necessary quality to be succesfull with Newcastle or your national team. (If England had kept the Swede they would have qualified for the Euro championship).

Posted by: Gunners  | November 26, 2007 2:17 PM

bottlodog wrote...

I have never ever,ever felt so disillusioned. I was down after last season and swore I wouldn't waste almost £1000 of my hard earned cash on yet another painful season of passionless, dircetionless, cheerless dross.
But like many others I was swept along by the wave of optimism folling the Ashley take over and against my better judgement,I renewed my season tickets.
The first home game of the season caused that bubble of optimism to violently, go pop!
The Villa game was as atrocious a game as seen last season, the Wigan game was scarcely better and West Ham were robbed of at least a point. We haven't played well all season - the faults being there for all to see - all with the exception, it would seem, Mr Alladyce.
Our away form has been abysmal - enough said.
All of this is a direct consequence, in my humble opinion, of poor team selection and even worse tactics.
Portsmouth was the absolute nadir for me and many others.
Myself and a very few others scattered through the lower tier of the Leazes End tried in vain to support the team vocally, only to be met with the stares of others seated near us, who wear a look of astonishment when anyone dares to make a noise!!!! I'm attending church in future - there's a better atmosphere.
I'm fed up with football in its totality - the overpaid, ill mannered, ill educated idiots out on the pitch, the pathetic passive fools on the terraces, the pathetic pundits who criticise referees for not spotting an offence only visible in super slo mo and then condoning or in fact praising the play of the cheats on the field as good professional play!!
I'm sick to death of having to re-arrange my life to suit the TV schedulers.
I won't be going back to St James', I make no appologies, football in this part of the world is truly a passion and the current state of the modern game Sickens me - It's all money, money, money.
It's impossible to get player in, who want to play for the club - it's just an obscenely over paid job to them. And just to compound that we, in the North East have to pay over the odds to get any decent players because we have to 'compensate' them for being so far away from london!
At one time this area was a production line of top quality footaballers - young talent now faces a near impossible task to play regular 1st team football beacuse their path is blocked by foreign players of dubious talent
Rant over .....sorry

Posted by: bottlodog  | November 26, 2007 2:31 PM

James 09 wrote...

Sam Allardyce should be utterly ashamed. Undoubtedly, that’s up there with some of the nightmares under Gullit, Sourness and Roeder’s full season.

Alan Oliver summed it up – Saturday was nothing short of a disgrace. Saturday was a tragic embarrassment – we were ridiculed and deservedly so throughout football media. The amount of chances Liverpool had that easily could have been goals was astounding, not to mention the humiliation of not getting a shot on target. Regardless of the batty formation, some of the defending was straight out of the Boumsong, Bramble, Moore (and multiple other specimens that have disgraced Newcastle in the recent past) textbook.

Continuing Paul Patterson’s deserved attack on various verbal treats from Allardyce, post-Liverpool he said: “You know what's right and you know what's wrong and you get it put right.� WHAT!! He can’t be serious right. Simply put, he’s getting so much so very wrong. What’s next – the defence anchored by the midget yet formidable partnership of Charlie and Oba or the lightening strike duo of Carr and Babayaro???
Allardyce went on: “I have never quite found myself in this predicament before.� But Sam on a number of occasions you’ve said Newcastle’s pressure is like anywhere else. The penny’s finally dropped aye.

Saturday MUST be put in its wider context. Although arguably the worst performance and set of tactics (formation, player selection, and mentality) so far, Saturday was not a complete aberration. Far from it. We’ve been AWFUL in far too many matches – Derby, Reading, and Portsmouth speak for themselves. The capitulation at Man City, and come on, we hardly played exciting stuff at Boro (two leads squandered), Villa (point saved by Harper), Wigan or Sunderland (another get of jail match). Really, the only matches we’ve seen more than 2 minutes of decent football has been Bolton, West Ham, Everton and Tottenham. Forget results, the manner we have lost in has been alarming.

Let’s all get this straight and sorted so as to dispel the usual crap of Newcastle United supporters (at least the vast majority) being impossibly impatient and overly ambitious.
Hardly any sane Newcastle supporter (if there’s any left after Saturday) is saying “we aren’t in the top six so axe Sam.� That’s just not the case. At the very least, we want a frigin’ CHANCE to compete in a football match!!!!!!!!!! To allow individuals to play in their respective positions with a formation to boot would seem to be an obvious start. Then, hopefully and PATIENTLY we could see them develop into a solid team – that’s the continuity and patience Newcastle United supporters recognise and desperately need. So not quite the insatiable greed for instant success we are wrongly identified with by so many.

I, along with many others, didn’t want him at all although like always gave support to the new regime, but refused to get carried away with our start to the season.

The amount of stick Allardyce is getting so early in his regime is perhaps unprecedented but with bloody good reason. The anger being vented IS NOT making the manager a scapegoat. Yes there have been some really poor individual performances (the defenders he's brought in have been average at very best so far, bar perhaps Faye), but THE OVERWHELMING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS MESS LIES FIRMLY WITH ALLARDYCE. He has butchered a potentially useful bunch of players with shambolic ineptitude. Allardyce and his staff’s position should be under serious pressure.

Can anyone see Allardyce changing?!!! I really struggle to, at least for our next two. Prepare to vomit.

Lee - when is someone in the media going to grow a pair and ask Allardyce some hard questions? How could he get Saturday so wrong from the team sheet to the final whistle?

Posted by: James 09  | November 26, 2007 2:37 PM

Mark Green wrote...

Time to start saving up for the next manager and try to make sure that we have one that we really want by the time we have to sack Big Sam.

We should start with the people linked with the England job and should not accept second best.

As soon as I saw the players come out of the tunnel on Sat I knew that we were beat. Their body language said everything and I was tempted to go home and finish off painting the back bedroom.

We need someone that has won the league in a major football nation twice or more. We need a manager that can attract good entertaining players.
We need a manager who has qualified for Europe year in, year out.
For Newcastle we need a manager who has done this playing good football.

When we have found THIS manager, THAT is the time to stick by him through thick & thin.

Lee: I was just watching your video on the Chronicle site and I never imagined that you would sport such a defined Geordie Accent, given your Leyton Orient support. =)

Posted by: Mark Green  | November 26, 2007 3:19 PM

Ron wrote...

I can stand losing, I just can't stand us not even trying to ATTACK!

Geremi brings a lot to the team when in his correct position (he is particularly good at set pieces) but he is not as versatile as Sam thinks. I don't mind the manager making a mistake like that, but I can't stand the negative tactics. Why can't we have a blended approach - N'Zogbia and Milner the flair players out wide with any two from Butt, Geremi and Barton providing the steel in the middle? It's not rocket science.

Posted by: Ron  | November 26, 2007 3:29 PM

adam wrote...

Ive never been part of the fickle side of our club. I backed Souness and Roeder et al to the hilt.

However, this is different because every other team in the league seems to be playing at the top of there game and re all on the brink of a "new dawn". This was supposed to be ours. We have a billionairre callig the shots, a proffesional chairman and a talented squad.

It really does look like the manaers fault! When Souness and Roeder where in charge they where without Given, Shearer, Dyr, Owen, Duff, N'zogbia, Emre, Parker, Luque (need I go on) for there whole time in charge. Allardyce however has them all at his disposale but is playing themi n the wrong positions! Who plays a forward on the right when a RM is fit and raring to go???

In short his tactics are negative, baffling and don't work and all of the teams in front of us are lightyears ahead of us in terms of consistancy. I really think we have to sack him in the next few weeks if he doesnt ort things out or we'll be left behind in January.

I really tried hard to defend him but its just gettng pathetic now.

Posted by: adam  | November 26, 2007 5:03 PM

David Guilfoyle wrote...

When Sam Allardyce first arrived he seemed assured and intelligent. Now he seems as clueless as Big Fat Ron. Not only does he seem hell bent on playing players out of position but he set his stall out by telling us we would stop shipping goals. He`s been able to spend money on the defenders he wanted yet against Sunderland we played with a left winger and a centre half whereour full backs should be. Rozenhal is too lightweight as we saw when Derby`s pub team centre forward Steven Howard pushed him around all night and Cacapa might have been good once but had fallen from grace with his previous employer. The latest disaster against Liverpool was an accident waiting to happen as all season we have seemed incapable of keeping possession and actually passing to each other. At the end we get the depressingly familiar sight of one of our senior players telling us that standards are unacceptable, the supporters have been let down, but don`t worry this squad will pull together and sort itself out. This time we get the added bonus of our manager telling us he`s never been in this predicament. So Bolton never lost?? Or he doesn`t know what working at a big club is like? Well Bolton lost plenty times Sam, and you wanted this job so badly you walked out on your last employer. So shut your mouth, keep your own counsel, and do your job properly. Stop proffering opinions on all subjects under the sun and get your team playing for each other. Or you might just find yourself being Billy Davies assistant next time there`s a league one vacancy.

Posted by: David Guilfoyle  | November 26, 2007 5:12 PM

Paul Patterson wrote...

What I’m currently worried about is the fact that Chris Mort and Mike Ashley are not football people and therefore won’t know when to sack a manager or who to get in if they do.

In this case you get a scenario where Sam Allardyce is 30% Chairman in charge of his own future, where he can say to the board and owner ‘Hey, in this world of football, you have to ride this kind of problem out and stick with the manager’ and if you have people in charge like we do who have no prior knowledge of football management, they will agree and Sam Allardyce will stay, when an experienced chairman would change it.

On the other hand Ashley and Mort are businessmen and if this go so far as Newcastle United look like losing premiership status, then they will HAVE to act.

I don’t believe we will be in that bad a predicament, simply because there are worse teams about (Teams that get beat 7-1 for example) The relegation zone will be occupied by Sunderland, Boro and Derby with a few other stragglers that escape because they have just enough quality.

Newcastle United fall into this category and have just enough to keep clear, there is a five or six point gap between us and 12th position and that is a mountain to teams below us- having said this, anymore performances like the last few and the others will have their hiking boots on and be ready to climb.

Here’s a question- Would Freddy Shepherd be getting ready to axe Allardyce?

The so called ‘Best start to the season’ has now been blown out so Allardyce must wake up, sadly he comes across to me as a stubborn fool, who will do things ‘My Way’ as he puts it.

And now, the end is near,
So I face, the final curtain. . .

Allardyce has said he understands the pressure of the rise in status from Bolton to Newcastle United, well if he truly believes this, he must surely understand also that implementing Bolton style tactics and methods, isn’t going to bear fruit, personally I think it’s a job that’s way out of his league and the comparison in pressure at Bolton isn’t even half of what’s here on Tyneside.

‘Yes there were times, I’m sure you knew,
When I bit off, more than I could chew,
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up, and spit it out’

The fact that performances have been awful all season doesn’t seem to register with Allardyce, as he says ‘Up until the Portsmouth game, everything was great and now it’s a disaster’ Well sorry, performances have been disastrous all season, with results only masking over our real standing in the league table.

‘I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried,
I’ve had my fill, my share of- losing.

Yes it could be a long bleak winter if Allardyce does it ‘His Way’

Paul.

Posted by: Paul Patterson  | November 26, 2007 5:41 PM

Bob wrote...

What go you (Lee) mean "we've got the players"? We have about four or possibly five decent players. The rest are just not good enough for a team capable of challenging the big four. Far be it from me to defend Sam Allardyce but it is unrealistic to expect him to turn sows' ears into silk purses.

Posted by: Bob  | November 26, 2007 5:41 PM

Phil wrote...

We have got the quality players, problem is they are not fit enough. They were a yard off the pace of the game and struggled to match the pace of the Liverpool attack. Who's coaching them? Big Sam? I think not - he had over 20 backroom staff at Bolton to handle that side of things.

Get rid of him now - there are loads of potentials - Jose Morinho, Benitez (who is facing the sack) for example. We waste a ton of mnoey on players, use it to pay for a top manager and get the existing team going. Also means whoever it is is lined up for the opening of the transfer window.

First goal - Shay was well off his line - bring back Harper!

Nigel Pearson is not an acceptable voice of the club for post match interviews. AND... why spoil the Gallowgate stand with a huge Sports Direct.com banner - there are enough ads around the ground for SD. Replace it with the NUFC emblem instead.

Posted by: Phil  | November 26, 2007 6:50 PM

ian waggett wrote...

tHE FOOTBALL WE BEEN WATCHING THIS SEASON HAS BEEN SO NEGATIVE AND POOR , WITH SOME OF THE RESULTS LUCKY TO SAY THE LEAST, BS COULD JUST ABOUT GET AWAY WITH IT IF THE RESULTS WERE GOOD. BUT THEY ARE NOT AND HE IS BEING FOUND OUT BY THE TOON ARMY, ITS GOT TO THE STAGE NOW WHERE EVEN THE PLAYERS DON,T LIKE IT ( PLAYERS PLAY BEST IN THE CORRECT POSITION AND LETS TRY GOING FORWARD) BS TACTICS, MAKE ROADER LOOK A GENIUS

Posted by: ian waggett  | November 26, 2007 6:55 PM

RAY WILSON wrote...

So Alan Oliver says Sams post match inquisition after the Liverpool match was greeted by a wall of silence from the players. What does that tell us? I would say it lets us know what we already suspect -he has lost the dressing room-and he has lost it big time.I guess if a certain Mr. Shearer had been there plenty would have been said ,and from the looks on the face of AS on match of the day it would not have been poodle talk.If Sam wants to survive -and it looks likely he wont-then he needs to get more feed back from the players. It must be obvious to him we have no Captain- make Taylor ,Barton,or Butt Captain now- Geremi just cant hack it. he also needs to play Milner and Zoggy in their proper positions,scrap his five man midfield and get Barton and Emre supporting the front men,also Shay needs to get back on his line a bit more we have been beaten by long range efforts this year that would never have gone in previously-and as for Sam telling both keepers that Frasor Foster was in his calculations I suggest he looks at Tim Kruls performances in Scotland and also the brilliance of the youngsters performance in the EUFA cup for us last season-or is he another one we let drift away when its plain to see the lad has an outstanding talent. Time to wake up Big Sam your team permutations are a mess,your defence is non existant,the squad are reluctant to discuss the issues with you and the toon army is fast getting fed up with lack of real football.Goodness Derby had one win this year and that was against us-the mackems cant score goals but they did against us and we were fortunate to grab a flooky equaliser. When a team cant talk to the manager there is something very wrong and my goodness it shows, Get your act together Sam time is not on your side-if this shambles continue the heat will soon pass to messrs Mort and Astley-what do you think they will do then when the toon army finally tells them in no uncertain way something has to be done-This will certainly test their metal and if this goes on its a certainty that will happen.All boards can let managers take the flak-but when it is turned on them the outcome is very different-just ask Freddie Sam he will tell you.

Posted by: RAY WILSON  | November 26, 2007 10:41 PM

kevin spinks wrote...

Probably the most embarassing thing about the whole thing at the minute is every single fan in the stadium and even the ones who have gave up the ghost and are watching in the pub know exactly what is going wrong so why cant sam see it? why is alan smith getting a game? was he guaranteed a first team place by big sam? why is geremi getting a game? because he is captain? he should never have been captain you would never have caught any fan saying this after the debarcil of the semi-final against manchester united but nicky butt has more passion, fight and tactical nous then any other players on that pitch big sam should get down on bended knee and beg him to lead the team. martins head has went down, why? wouldnt yours when as a player who has more passion in his little finger for newcastle than micheal owen has in his entire body repeatedly gets dropped after barnstorming performances. charles n'zogbia and james milner probably two of the best wingers outside of the 'big four' replaceing each other on the bench, i know bobby robson didnt always play with two wingers away but at home....sam that is (almost) unforgivable. joey barton why is that thug playing in a black and white shirt? he was quoted as saying he kept man city up last season....really? because they are awful this season....! cacapa looked classy early on tayor (was!) england potential. Roz another classy defender unfortunatly sam this is where it goes wrong the list of decent defenders goes on and on but they have got to communicate so having a different partniship every time newcastle let a goal in is not helping the cause. its simple sam with the players we have play 4-4-2 with two wingers at home stop playing players out of position just because they where half decent at a 'big four' club accept that some of the players you bought are not as good as you thought they where, because we know sam we have all been there before many times before! its nothing new to us! what was the question again? oh yeah what next for newcastle fans well i think we all know the answer to that as well...we will all claim we are never going back but come next august with the sunshine on our back making our way to st james.......

Posted by: kevin spinks  | November 26, 2007 11:04 PM

bonnielad wrote...

maybe it's time to bring out the big guns.poor mike ashley comes to every game and can't get a start although he is kitted out.seriously though the once proud northeast hotbed of football is no more. 3 teams 1 goal for and 13 against.we are becoming a laughing stock to the rest of the country.it's okay for big sam to say that he will do it his way but everyone can see that his way is not working.too many old timers have been brought in.geremi,cacapa,viduka.smith all great players but over their peak.bite the bullet sam and get some young guns they have no fear and reputations mean nothing to them.i can remeber when united won the old fairs cup and proudly watched the lads lift the cup so i am not impatient yet.good times times are still something to look forward to.

Posted by: bonnielad  | November 27, 2007 1:04 AM

Geoff Forster wrote...

Allardyce has unsettled several players and his latest admission, that his summer defensive recruits were not his first choices, will not raise confidence.

He signed defenders David Rozenhal, Habib Beye, Claudio Cacapa, Abdoulaye Faye and spent £6million on Jose Enrique - but the back four has conceded seven goals in the last two home games.

Big Sam said: "I was after Mikael Silvestre, Silvain Distin and Tal Ben Haim. Once your first targets have gone, you look elsewhere. Your only option is to look at what's available in the foreign markets."

Very clever Sam. If morale wasn't low enough.

Even Mort & Ashley must be worried by statements like this.

Posted by: Geoff Forster  | November 27, 2007 9:26 AM

THE REIDSTER wrote...

ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS WHAT A SHAMBLES
THE ONE PERSON I NOW FEEL SORRY FOR IS POOR MICHEAL OWEN WITH ENGLAND NOW OUT AND THE RACING FLAT SEASON FINISHED WHAT ELSE HAS HE GOT TO LOOK FORWARD TO

Posted by: THE REIDSTER  | November 27, 2007 10:03 AM

Mag in London wrote...

And they say the England job is a poisened chalice?!!!

Newcastle seem to have a team lacking any sense of fight, leadership or ability! None of Allardyce's signings seem to have gelled and formed a cohesive team.

I was totally against his appointment because his Bolton team were one of the ugliest to grace the Premiership.

In all honesty, I was impressed with the clear out of dead wood he made in the summer, but they had to be replaced with players of quality and ambition, not those who have been rejected by other clubs for not making the grade: Geremi, Smith.....

It's true we need stabilty, but with the right man, Allardyce out now and let Ashely battle it out with Barwick for a top drawer manager our supporters deserve.

Posted by: Mag in London  | November 27, 2007 10:05 AM

Steve wrote...

A blip? A blip?
Big Sams got to be kidding!!!
That team has stopped playing for the regime.
Serious lack of pass and go,Serious lack of Desire to join in on attacks,and a serious lack of shape to regroup and defend when we have lost the ball.
This is a exceptional squad of players who have proved it where ever they have been.
The comments against the Toon Army about lack of patience is a bitter pill to swallow.
The most loyal and patient fans in football have woke up to a fact that the last three managers are limited.
Souness Poor man manager.
Roeder to nice.
Allardyce to aloof leaving the day to day coaching to a band of losers cone men and shirkers who dare not come to the edge of the pitch on match day and attempt to resolve things.
Some players have never encountered this on their travels and some are tired of it.
If Mr Ashley eventually wants to brand his markets on the shirt then he needs to act quickly because it will be linked to failure not success.
The squad at NUFC and the fans are worth branding but the regime who run the squad are second rate losers.

Posted by: Steve  | November 27, 2007 12:22 PM

watson wrote...

100% correct lee in your comments regarding the fans. i started watching ncle. when albert stubbins was the no. 9. i lived in stanhope st. and used to go under the turnstyles.the chaps whose legs we use to use to go in told the operators to go slow because they had shrapnel in their legs due to war wounds.

Posted by: watson  | November 27, 2007 1:52 PM

kenni wrote...

Living in Scotland has failed to defend me from the ridicule of opposing fans, the embarrassment is unbearable.
Good football managers have many qualities the main two is intelligence and tactical awareness, frankly Big Sam has neither.
His ideas on football do not relate to the standards expected at SJP, I.E attacking football, a winning mentality particularly at home.
I am now suspicious of Mort and Ashley, no money for new players, Ibelieve they will not sack Sam because of the compensation package involved and it worries me about their lack of experience running a football club.

We really need a top class manager(not many about), who will clear the decks and start with his own backroom team.Terry Mac is a joke, why is he there. I hope Ashley sees sense and does the right thing, sack Sam

Posted by: kenni  | November 27, 2007 2:31 PM

Hender19 wrote...

I suspect Sam has lost the dressing room already. When Sam uses the terminology 'Fan' or Supporter' he has to remember that these two words encompass folk from all walks of life. I have been in senior management for more than 15 years, a bit longer than Sam and I know what de-motivates staff regardless of whether they are footballers or postmen. By not allowing your staff to play to their strengths and use their own initiative is a sure fire way to demotivation. To play key players out of position, in a formation and tactical plan that quite clearly isn't working time after time, then bollocking the players for not winning is nothing short of mis-management in the extreme. How do you think them players are feeling when they have played to Sam's game plan, out of position and then get roundly booed by home fans? I know I would resent my manager if he did that to me.

Why oh why are you doing this Sam? Play your two young wingers together on their respective wings. They are young enough, good enough and fit enough to get up and down them wings in attack as well as defence.

A few question for Sam - Do you ask your players for their ideas? Are they allowed to express their thoughts? Do you listen to them?

Come on Sam - stop de-motivating your players, get them all pulling the same way again.

Posted by: Hender19  | November 27, 2007 4:31 PM

phil matues wrote...

No corners,no shots and no hope against liverpool...I cannot beleive that !!
I think we have to sack him now and break the bank and get JOSE MOURINHO...Allardyce has lost the plot and the fans....If we wanted to watch crap football we would all be sunderland fans!!!

Posted by: phil matues  | November 27, 2007 5:14 PM

mark Blades wrote...

Ok lads....Howay..enough negative talk, warranted as it may be, lets get behind the boys, the players are going to be so scared to come out in front of our fans, mistakes will happen...watch us start to pick points up away from home.....support our team...if they wear the shirt and represent the club, then support them.

Posted by: mark Blades  | November 27, 2007 5:27 PM

RAY WILSON wrote...

To KENNI in Scotland- I cant agree with your comments regarding Terry Mac-Take your mind back to our best years under Keegan- Terry Mac was their with him and as I said previously on this blog-Keegan and Terry had a shared philosophy on how the game should be played. Those of us fortunate enough to have seen Terry play know his brand of football and I just wish we had a couple more like him today. Terry has been as much a supporter of this club as we have and in many cases a lot longer. Big sam is very fond of telling us -he will do it his way -regardless that 52,000 of us simply dont agree with his team selections,substitutes or tactics. based on his very own style of playing football and his shared philosophy with Kev -I think its a bit sad to blame Terry- Keegan and Terry Mac thrilled us for many seasons with the style of football they embraced at St. James Park-lets not be in too big a hurry to forget that-Terry was a season ticket holder all the times he was out of the game at United and he never stopped supporting the lads-he is one of us and cares like us just because Big Sam is stubborn,single minded and refuses to change-dont blame that on Terry Mac- Terry was a superb player in his time and was one of the most exciting midfielders of his generation- he knows how the game should be played he was a pure footballing midfielder with a rolls royce engine-but think before you call him -tactics are down to Big Sam and I for one do not believe that Terry Mac can agree -as I said he is one of us -but at the end of the day its Big Sam who barks the orders,chooses the team,decides the tactics and the world and his wife look like not been able to change that as long as he remains the manager. May be one day we will have AS or even king Kev back and may be we will see Terry Mac smiling again unfortunately like us he has not got much to smile about at the moment.

Posted by: RAY WILSON  | November 27, 2007 10:24 PM

FOOTLEG wrote...

The only thing thats lacking is a determination and desire to win. Actually winning is not the most important thing to us. Playing with pride and passion certainly is !! Warren Barton was never the most skillful of players but always gave 100% effort and thats been sadly lacking in the last two games at home. Of all the players only probably Nicky Butt can hold his head up high with the effort he has clearly shown.
T

Posted by: FOOTLEG  | November 30, 2007 3:54 PM

Len Charles wrote...

Joey Barton's comments on Newcastle supporters will I hope be taken as straight talk from a lad who tells it as he sees it.Better than hearing the mealy mouth comments from the majority of fooballers. He supports Alladyce, how many of his team mates will come out and support him. I would suspect not many, it appears there is still some poison in the dressing room, a pervading poison it would appear,(Souness,Roeder all pointed to it) so where is it emanating from. But beat the Gunners next week and all will be forgotten.

Posted by: Len Charles  | December 1, 2007 7:44 PM