If you don't like the truth - look away now

Reigate Geordie wrote...

I am 60 next month and have supported NUFC since I was 15 and the only present I want is for NUFC to win some games and avoid relegation. Only then will KK be able to rebuild this team into the NUFC we all want to see. A time when teams were scared to come to St James' and no team could take for granted that they would beat us. It is about time KK looked hard at his team selection and removed the slackers and no hopers like Smith, Duff, Barton and brought in the guys who want to win like Ameobi, Carroll, Viduka and Geremi and yes one or two other fringe/younger players. After all they cannot do any worse than 6-0, 4-1, 4-0, 3-0 can they?
Howay the lads lets start our season NOW before it is to late. How can you have so many chances as we did against Blackburn and not score. Why does our top scorer sit on the bench while Smith wanders around the pitch? Why is Shola not even thought of? Only KK knows the answers but is he man enough to do something about it???????

Posted by: Reigate Geordie  | March 9, 2008 3:24 PM

sinnbild wrote...

that's exactly the danger-sign in a relegation battle, when coaches, players, fans, media et al are beginning to believe, that the world, the luck and everything else is against the own club, and all that's need to turn the negative things around is a lucky goal here and a lucky ball there.

as yous said: luck doesn't win football games, and newcastle is not there, where they are, 'cause of luck (or the absence of it). they are still winless, thanks to their inability against stronger opponents to move the ball and game out of their own danger zone for extended periods and create chances of their own, and thanks to their inability to finish their chances and score against midfield teams. they are in a relegation battle, because neither allardyce nor keegan found/find the right tactics and styles suited to this incoherent group of players (though the level of play is way better under keegan than under allardyce), and they will be down in the struggle, as long as some players are not willing or able to raise their intensity-level for longer stretches than a home-game here or a halftime away there. it's no coincidence that it's called relegation-battle or -fight and not relegation-play.

the lucky ball or lucky goal only got noticed when there's nothing else to look for. just like yesterday at anfield road, when newcastle's performance was except some minutes at the beginn and martins try at the end more lacklustre than a team fighting for every point to avoid relegation.

just to wait for lady luck won't be enough and is for sure the wrong attitude for the next weeks. keegan and newcastle have to find a way to bring this team together and alive longer than for maximum one 90 minutes, with the players who really care on the field. and before that happens, it can be very dangerous to concentrate too much on lucky and unlucky - there's more than one prominent european club, who paid with relegation for this kind of thinking.

greetz from austria

Posted by: sinnbild  | March 9, 2008 7:44 PM

steve wrote...

First of all KK needs to field the BEST players available to him......but the TRUTH is if he doesnt we WILL go down,no sentiment or reputation should come into it,NUFC is and always will be more important and matter tenfold to all of the underachievers that are on huge sums to play like amateurs.....look at barnsley and cardiff....and reality kicks in.Faith is all we have in the only man that can save us,but he must put aside loyalty and (if they exist) clauses.As far as looking away now is concerned lee,i have been for most of the season.......I JUST WANNA ENJOY A SATURDAY NIGHT AGAIN,..is it too much to ask.....FOREVER B&W.

Posted by: steve  | March 9, 2008 9:09 PM

Paul Patterson wrote...

The fact that we still persist with playing ten men is obviously vacant on our backroom staff.

Forget the relegation scrap of 1998, we don’t have Stuart Pearce, Alan Shearer, Warren Barton or even John Barnes, players who some of which weren’t good enough for a side that had just qualified for the Champions League, but would dig in and pull out a couple of results that would stave off any relegation fears.

We also had a few goals up our sleeve with Alan Shearer- someone who would just bang a couple in and nick a point here or a narrow victory there- who do we have now?- a knackered former whiz-kid, an overweight Aussie pie merchant, Bambi on stilts and- Alan Smith. Oh Joy!

The two prospects that I left out are exactly the two people who I’d be starting up front against Birmingham- Andy Carroll and Obafemi Martins, Martins having done more in two seconds of magic against Liverpool than the rest have done in ten games.

Let's start Carroll and Martins for a couple of games.

I’d like to know why you’d even think of leaving your top-scorer out of the side in ANY match, let alone vital one’s when relegation is at stake.

I watched a great side playing a poor one over the weekend- what was that you ask? Liverpool V Newcastle? Ok then I watched two great sides play two poor sides this weekend.

I was talking about Middlesbrough V Cardiff, (Boro being the poor side and Cardiff being the good one) Cardiff had a select bunch of players (None household names) and none on £100k a week, none overpaid and overweight and all seemed to want to be in a higher league than they were in.

I find it quite ironic that the likes of the players we’ve got, wouldn’t dirty their feet in the Championship (And let’s be fair would jump ship if we go down) yet don’t seem to be bothered if the current club they play for do just that.

Talk of a £40m ‘War Chest’ is silly as we need to establish what players we’re buying and for what league campaign were competing for, but isn’t their a ‘parachute payment’ of £30m, that should guarantee an immediate return.

I really hope it doesn’t come to that but if we fail to get anything from games against Sunderland, Reading and Fulham, then rest assured we will go down.

A Sunderland fan said to me the other night, that wouldn’t it be embarrassing for Newcastle to finish below his club and be the lowest placed north-east team- I simply replied, quite honestly, I don’t care, I’d take that happily on the chin, we did in 2000 and 2001, and we always knew we’d come back stronger- the difference is the current side doesn’t have the likes of Gary Speed, Keiron Dyer, Robert Lee, Warren Barton, Alan Shearer and Duncan Ferguson- the real ‘steady eddies’ who will get you out of trouble.

Like I’ve said- the time to re-build and get back to basics is this summer- just let’s hope we are in the correct division.

Paul.

Posted by: Paul Patterson  | March 9, 2008 10:56 PM

Ivor Clark wrote...

Ive been a Toon supporter for over 40 years and have known the highs and lows only too well. My concern is that this group of players just dont seem to know they are in a relegation fight. DO they really care?. Its looking more and more like KK's appointment was as much an emotional one as a sensible one. I very much doubt that Ashley et al had relegation built into their business plan. All these investors in PL teams have been looking to make their megabucks from the upcoming TV rights and euro footie deals at the end of this season. The one saving grace is that Ashley might be able to afford the drop with his zillions, but will he actually be prepared to support the Toon that way?. Money earmarked for transfers etc that the fans want and KK needs will instead have to balance the books me thinks if we do go down. Still it keeps the season interesting. KK's rollercoaster yet again!....

Posted by: Ivor Clark  | March 10, 2008 9:00 AM

Charles wrote...

Lee, you said luck doesn't win football matches but look here, we've just lost a match because apparently someone's been drinking from our oil well.

One match is so harsh, yet so true. One match? More like a pack of matches. Here are some examples;

Blackburn- We've should have won if it luck shines for us to score at least ONE of the tens of chances.

Middlebrough- We should have won have the referee been wearing his glasses. Thousands of chance but no score.

Chelsea- Shouldnt have lost, just that. Once again, stupid referee and good luck to the opposition.

Arsenal(home)- Should have won, no luck

And most recently...
Liverpool!
A fluke goal, a slice of good luck to opposition when Torres scores and bad luck when Martins failed.

So...luck doesn't count? Since when?
KK has been unlucky, very unlucky. He came at a wrong time when Big Sam was the predecessor. That man virtually destroyed Newcastle with his defending attitude that not only backfired, he lowered our scoring too. KK couldnt buy any players because the board sacked that fool at January and now he's taking blame for all those losses that shouldnt be...

If you must blame someone, blame not KK. He tried his best. Smith obviously was his only flaw but if we look closer, Butt should have been the one replaced. I actually fancied Smith for his 100% playing than Butt who seemed to be dead under Big Sam's roots.

If we had that slice of luck the teams we played have, we be in the champions league next season. Too bad for that idiotic LFC staff who obviously knows not death.

Posted by: Charles  | March 10, 2008 9:33 AM

Bill wrote...

Small disagreement, Lee. Mathematically speaking it is possible for us to be in the bottom three. But it would require the Mackems to draw, or beat Chelsea @ SOS, Bolton to be better than Arsenal @ Wigan and Birm to do us on the Monday night. Hmmm, given our recent luck, I see what you mean!

Posted by: Bill  | March 10, 2008 10:01 AM

Paul D. Kay wrote...

We’re going to be in a hell of a dog-fight between now and the end of the season. Agree with many – Barton and Duff should be no-where near our starting eleven. If Keegan continues to play them, I fear that we’re doomed. It doesn’t take a tactical genius to see that they add absolutely nothing to our team.

As far as Smith is concerned, I’d only play him in midfield alongside Butt when we’re playing away, although for the Birmingham game, I’d exclude him, as we’ve got to go for three points.
Martins and Owen may not be the ideal partnership, but their pace alone makes them worthy of selection, with Carroll on the bench.

My prediction for the end of season placings:

Birmingham 38
Sunderland 37
Middlesborough 34
Reading 33
Wigan 32
Newcastle 32
--------------------------
Fulham 31
Bolton 29
Derby ?

That assumes draws against Fulham, Reading, Sunderland and Chelsea (yeah, I know).

Bolton have some very tough fixtures coming up, and it could be them that saves us.

Posted by: Paul D. Kay  | March 10, 2008 10:22 AM

dick wrote...

theres no chance getting a lucky goal got to get balls and one or two players in the box for that to happen.and if milners out for long i fear the worst.just hope other teams make more errors than us

Posted by: dick  | March 10, 2008 10:34 AM

NORTHSHIELDSMAGPIE wrote...

So another season of termoil at nufc on and off the field, nothing has changed there , and luck deserts us again and again, its true you make your own luck in this game, with guts and endeavor above most, needing to put your body on the line when it matters, we just have not got that scrap in this lame team. attitude, skill & fitness helps also, just aint there either..being in the elite league of football thats shocking in this day n age..that can only be the coaching staffs fault ? its been apparent we have everything u need in this team to be relegated since, well after our 1st ten games to be truthful. Their is some die hard geordie optimists out there who blindly stick by certain players and the team which i admire, but why oh why cant the players have that same grit and determination on the pitch to fight for the cause? We would swet blood every week 4 this club.
smith has got a lot of critics and i can see why, but why cant the rest of the team put in a shift like him?? I beleive Keegan deserves longer wether we get relegated or not, he needs time and his own players to forge his stamp again on our club. He also needs time to adjust back into football i believe.

Its going to be a hard pill to swallow if we get relegated, but lets hope Keegan can sort all this mess out next season regardless. A MASSIVE clear out needed, and a big change in players attitudes.

Posted by: NORTHSHIELDSMAGPIE  | March 10, 2008 11:45 AM

Paul D. Kay wrote...

One more thing. If the reports are true that Ashley was verbally abused at the weekend (including one ‘fan’ who apparently lunged at him), then those ‘supporters’ should hang their heads in shame.

What we need least of all is for Ashley to walk away. He’s a man of the people, and for that, he deserves the utmost respect!

Posted by: Paul D. Kay  | March 10, 2008 12:28 PM

Carl wrote...

Well another defeat, it seems like its been years not months since we won a league game, if Keegan wants to save us and his reputation he needs to make some changes to the team. Has he got the bottle to do this when we are stuck bang in the middle of a relegation fight?? Not quite sure.
Smith(credit for his effort), Barton, and Butt need to be dropped, bring in LuaLua, Martins, and Emre if he ever gets fit again. This should add a bit of flair and pace to the team, 2 things we have been lacking all season really.
I still fear for us though, why is everyone banking on us winning the home games against Fulham, Reading, and the Scum. Have we showed anything since that win at Bolton on the first day of the season that would suggest these are easy fixtures?? I dont think so.
And also a lot of people have been saying that the teams below us will continue to lose games, im pretty sure historically relegation threatended teams usually pick up most their points in the last ten games, due to them playing perhaps against mid table teams with nothing to fight for, or against the top 6 teams who may be tired off their European excursions etc. So dont bank on reading, Bolton, Birmingam etc to continue their awful form theyve showed all season.
34/35 points to survive, i doubt it, more like 38/39. So thats 11 points we need, where the hell are we gunna get them from??
I feel sick.

Posted by: Carl  | March 10, 2008 1:03 PM

indiantoon wrote...

we are in big trouble and KK knows it. we got to pick ourselfs first and get something (a point; not just performance) at birmingham. and that would be a step in right direction.
KK talks about players confidense and he picks the same team. why not tinker a litle bit and get someone young and try something different?? the problem is we are too predictable and the results have shown lately....what do you say??

Posted by: indiantoon  | March 10, 2008 1:04 PM

Ben wrote...

Well I have said it before but we ARE crying out for leaders on the pitch at the moment! It was so evident AGAIN on sat!!And for this reason I would start Geremi on Monday, I have slated him on the past but he can not do any worse than our current midfield paring!! And I think he will give us that little bit more when in possesion of the ball,Oba has to start an dif anything that would be a blessing to Owen, because at the moment if a team stops Owen they stop us from scoring!! WHat a huge game we now have on Monday!!If we can win on Monday, IF we should be 4 points ahead of the Mackems, and then we have another huge game against Fulham @ home.
IF you can go 4 points ahead of anybody at this stage its a huge gap, especially with the fulham game coming up after. The fans were amazing again @anfield lets keep the faithand stay behind KK and the players, becase I do believe they are giving it there all, they are just simply playing like the worlds on there shoulders....well its not the world just the geordie nation!

Posted by: Ben  | March 10, 2008 2:32 PM

Jason wrote...

I do not want to see us relegated but if we have to go down to get back to playing entertaining stuff then it may not, in the long run, be a bad thing. It would give KK the chance to get rid of anyone not commited to NUFC including Michael Owen who has to rate as one of the worst pound for pound signings ever. The ability to put some firm foundations down and find some young talented players who can mould together as a team whilst being out of the spotlight could be very useful (as long as it only lasts one season!).

Posted by: Jason  | March 10, 2008 3:02 PM

Bill wrote...

Jason wrote
"I do not want to see us relegated but if we have to go down to get back to playing entertaining stuff then it may not, in the long run, be a bad thing."

Sorry, Jason, COULD NOT DISAGREE MORE.

If we are relegated we will lose all our good players, the workshy and couldn't care less will stay, we won't attract the talent we want to see at SJP, season ticket holders will drop by 50%(?), TV and merchandise revenue will be a fraction of what it is at present and we will have endure the likes of - no disrepect intended(!)- Blackpool, Burnley, Plymouth, etc, etc!
We must stay in the Prem. and build for for season 08/09.

Posted by: Bill  | March 10, 2008 6:24 PM

mark wrote...

face it lads its not nice to hear but we are definately going down

Posted by: mark  | March 10, 2008 7:16 PM

stevie wrote...

I think most supporters see it the same way -CHANGE THE TEAM!
Play Martins at least.
If we do get relegated, imagine how difficult it would be to shift Smith, Barton, Duff and Butt, whilst Zogs,Martins will be snapped up.

Posted by: stevie  | March 10, 2008 8:39 PM

Revo wrote...

Check the statistics we went pear shape when barton came back from injury!!
This piece of work needs removing from the scene.
Next the badly injured and never to be 100% again owen,duff,smith,ameobi.
Next the journey men past it crew always injured or not 90% viduka,carr,emre.
Add to the mix the spurs wannabe and who can blame him nzogbia add a keeper at the twilight of his brilliant career given,its little wonder we are going down billy no goals and a girl band called goals allowed.
But the championship will be the making of who is left new outlook new dimension and something to cheer along with the passion and excitement.
Dont be afraid to go down we need it to go forward!!!

Posted by: Revo  | March 10, 2008 11:31 PM

Adam wrote...

Very sad to see Newcastle United in these state of affairs. All this talk of relegation is sickening.

First of all, get rid of Butt! His form is shocking and he keeps losing the ball and giving it straight back to the opposition. What I have noticed this year is the degree of skill level of players apart from Viduka and N'Zogbia is woeful. Did anyone notice how well Boro passed the ball around and moved against us during the 1-1 draw? Boro for gods sake! (and most other teams in the league) We watch the opposition play, its as almost the players are scared of having the ball at their feet.

I have only experienced one great moment this season - That was 1-1 on 89 mins with B'Ham and Beye did well to win a corner, he pumped up the crowd and then scored the winner - thats what we need from every player - beleif. Sadly we have none, these are some of the darkest days that I have experienced with this football team that I love so much. If they go down then so be it - we will be back in a flash with an attitude to never ever repeat a season like this one again. ie Loose defence, non-existence midfield and a toothless attack.

Finally, why is our 10 mill number 9 starting on the bench (thats a worry).

I am praying that we can score more than 1 goal against B'ham and that they score none. Praying

Posted by: Adam  | March 11, 2008 6:24 AM

dexter wrote...

Hi Lee

This mess isn't in our hands, it's in the handds of a bunch of players who have no guts. I'm sick of hearing players talk about how they need to pick themselves up after a defeat and then commit exactly the same mistakes every game.

I've coached 9 year olds who show more guts and passion then the 11 goons on the pitch. Players (including Taylor) are playing for their futures. Any talk of improved contracts shows what is number one for the players of Newcastle.

There is only one way to show if you care for the club and that is on the pitch.

Posted by: dexter  | March 11, 2008 7:02 AM

Andrew S wrote...

Go down to go forward? Revo, you're mad.
Get Taylor to sign a contract for 40K a week less 10K for every goal we let in. Maybe that'd shut him up.
If anyone sees Smith walking his dog down the street whilst driving their car, run him over. KK may still play him in his wheelchair though, he may even play better. Martins on the bench for that guy, somebody needs their head read. Oh, and play Viduka, he can make something out of nothing. We've seen that all year.
Wasn't Geremi in the African Nations team of the tournament? Surly he deserves a chance then.
And apologies for immediately contradicting myself but please don't let us sign any more ManU and Chelsea rejects!

Posted by: Andrew S  | March 11, 2008 8:55 AM

jac mills wrote...

Lee

You are right, of course, about NU needing a little luck. But as golfer Gary Player used to say when asked why such a little fellow was able to stay with the big boys: "It's amazing, but the harder I practice the luckier I get." Or words to that effect.

Posted by: jac mills  | March 11, 2008 9:10 AM

Phil wrote...

Kevin must drop Owen and give martins a chance before it's too late. Talk of a new contract for Owen is ludicrous - he hasn't earned any of the silly money he's been paid. He's a bad influence on the club - not a captain. Martins did more in 10 minutes at Anfield than Owen did in the entire game. With Smith up front too, the lack of pressure on opponents is sapping the hope out of the rest of the team. A punchless front line will do that to any team. If NUFC reward Owen with a better contract, then I will join those who laugh at the club for being so stupid. I will wait till sanity returns before supporting them. Come on, Kev, you were right in the "dark days" - Owen's not a patch on what you were and still are!

Posted by: Phil  | March 11, 2008 3:37 PM

John Best wrote...

Keegan had enough time to bring in 2 or 3 NEW players , when he took over.Whether or not; Ashley made funds available to him, is the hidden secret.We all knew that the squad was depleted and tired and that the African Cup would rob us of 4 top players. These facts were not addressed and subsequently; we will be relegated ; DESERVEDLY SO. People who are so short sighted dont deserve PREM FOOTBALL.Promotion back to the Prem is not a formality because we will be the side that all the others will want to beat.Ashley will be remembered as the BILLIONAIRE, who took us down; along with Messrs HALL & SHEPHERD, who lost our pride. Only NUFC could get lumbered with such a trio of self centred mis fits.

Posted by: John Best  | March 11, 2008 4:09 PM

Rush wrote...

when you look at our remaining fixtures,you could atlest hope for a point from most of the game.i mean to say if we get some sort of form,we could really achieve this.we can beat struggling teams like birmingham,fulham,reading and sunderland.Like us they would also be nervous and under severe pressure,but we have quality players like owen,martins,viduka,milner,Zog,Emre and also some great young talents who i feel are ready for the first team action if called upon.We could get something against west ham and tottenham who have nothing to play for this season.It all depends on our form if we can get something out of Chelsea(H),everton and Portsmouth away.I just want to see our first win under KK and how the team plays from there onwards.i hope that the lads are prepared for the Birmingham game.One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self- confidence is preparation.Let us hope for the BEST.

Posted by: Rush  | March 11, 2008 6:37 PM

Ronnie Lambert wrote...

Bill wrote, Sorry, Jason, COULD NOT DISAGREE MORE.......If we are relegated we will lose all our good players.
Bill, what good players? Does Butt, Barton, Smith, Duff, Geremi, Cacapa, Owen, Viduka, Ameobi, Martins, Carr and Given..yes Given come into this category ? Cos honestly mate, that lot could pay for Cardiff City and Barnsley and between them you could build a much better ' team ' than what we've got here. This parachute payment plus whatever Mike Ashley would contribute would ensure the financial safety, and the only season ticket sales lost would be at most 10,000. They would include many of the whingeing Johnny come latelies who only arrived on the Keegan gravy-train in the last promotion, the burks who boo our players and leave the ground early to everyone's embarrassment, the burks who feed the southern press. They rightfully boo-ed Sham out, but from the sound of many of them, even on this blog, it won't be long before they start boo-ing Keegan and Ashley. They probably boo their wives if their Yorkshire puddings don't rise. They would leave a big hole for many fans who can't get in at present, and good riddance, except they'd inevitably turn up again for the promotion party. Pull yersel's together man, it's not the end of the world if we go down, I've lived through it twice before and it's great goin' back up. We might not have any other choice, but Keegan's definitely the man to get us straight back up, even if our Prima-donnas jump ship and relieve us of those immoral wage bills. It might not even happen if we play the same as against Blackburn, a result against Liverpool was hardly on the cards now was it ? So just get behind the lads until the end of term, if we can't beat Fulham, Reading and Sunderland at home and maybe pick up a point or two on the road, then we deserve to go down. But it's not KK's fault or Ashley's.

Posted by: Ronnie Lambert  | March 12, 2008 2:40 AM

Aditya wrote...

1 suggession for future managers at SJP,
Do not ever buy a player who's surname starts with "B".
Boumsong,Bramble,Babayaro,Butt,Barton
they are all flops..

Posted by: Aditya  | March 12, 2008 5:52 AM

Snapper wrote...

Thought Reigate Geordie's post was OK until I read the bit about players who want to win for the club and saw the Piemans name there (Viduka), can he mention a game this waste of space has played when he actually looks as if he care? I cant.

Posted by: Snapper  | March 12, 2008 8:05 AM

Snapper wrote...

By and large the postings on this board are well thought out and filled with common sense, the only thread I will take issue with, is the people who are screaming for Carroll and Lua Lua, to be given a chance. Some years ago a certain representative for Morrisons proclaimed youngster never win anything, then promply saw Man U win the league. I say with certainty that with youngsters like Carroll and Lua Lua, for all their potential we WILL get relegated, and forever more their futures will be blighted as the ones that took us down. Lets hope KK agrees.

Posted by: Snapper  | March 12, 2008 8:15 AM

Dave B wrote...

I’m assuming that Emre and Oba aren’t playing because they’re viewed as luxury players by KK?

Mmm I’m not so sure on this one.

If luxury means actually threatening the opposition goal once in a while bring on the caviar and champagne.

No goals = no wins = no Premiership.

Come on Kev, give them a chance.

Posted by: Dave B  | March 12, 2008 10:40 AM

Duncan Baines wrote...

Revo is exactly right. We were doing really well until Barton came back from injury (in the home game against Spurs in October 2007)

Posted by: Duncan Baines  | March 12, 2008 10:59 AM

Hepstyle wrote...

Am I the only one who detests Alan Smith? Why is Martins not starting?

Posted by: Hepstyle  | March 12, 2008 5:43 PM

free bet wrote...

Newcastle deserves to be relegated, enough said.

Posted by: free bet  | March 12, 2008 7:18 PM

Jason wrote...

Bill

The fact is that if we go down we will have a chance (out of the spotlight for once) of rebuilding the club - we can get rid of the players who do not want to be there and build from youth upwards. We have had 10 years of mismanagement - it takes more than KK to turn this round. Build a team first then move forward. Look at Everton they have a team of no frills palyers and are beginning to be successful. I have had enough of overnight solutions to long-term issues. What was the last spectacular signing that worked?? Shearer? we were closer to winning the league without him than we were with him. The waste of money on second class imports (marcelino, Boumsong, Luke, Owen etc etc) is enough to make anyone cry - for me it's back to basics to build a solid first-class team that play for each other and the supporters - if we have to go down to achieve this in the long-term sobeit..

Posted by: Jason  | March 13, 2008 1:14 PM

pedi wrote...

If shearer wants to help his club out he should get down to the training ground and work with our goal shy forwards or the lower league club his managerial career starts at could well be us.

Posted by: pedi  | March 13, 2008 5:56 PM

Ben wrote...

Lee just a quick 1, I have just been reading about KK talikng about Owen and Viduka, I am amazed it seems like KK is going to drop Oba again! especially as he did well when he came on, I thought he would be KK`s type of player? would u be starting Oba and why do u think KK isn`t?

Posted by: Ben  | March 14, 2008 1:08 PM

COCKNEY SPIV wrote...

According to the Daily Mail - Mr Ashley will move KK upstairs if some positive results are not forthcoming soon. With Wisey upstairs already - how is KK going to fit in??? Good job it is not a bus!!! Or it could a lift - 1st floor - perfurmery - 2nd floor - the Championship. Good luck to the boys up norf!!!

Posted by: COCKNEY SPIV  | March 14, 2008 1:20 PM

Ronnie Lambert wrote...

Paul D. Kay, according to Biffa at NUFC.COM those reports of attacks on Ashley by fans are spurious at best. It seems that anyone ringing up a southern paper with any mischievous story about NUFC these days WILL get it into print. Biffa's contact who was near Ashley until they left the ground said the only story remotely near the phoney report was a drunken toon fan going up to Mike and shaking his hand after the game, and only smiles were exchanged. Watch out, there are agitators about.

Posted by: Ronnie Lambert  | March 14, 2008 6:38 PM

Ronnie Lambert wrote...

Careful Revo, I was assassinated for similar remarks on the Journal blog. I do of course know exactly where you're coming from i.e. We both know that we're not hoping for relegation, in fact dreading it, but some people don't read it correctly and start calling us traitors. When in fact what we're saying is that if it happens, it'll give us a chance to clear out the crap, including the recent bandwagon supporters who'll probably hibernate until the next promotion party. Take courage bro.

Posted by: Ronnie Lambert  | March 15, 2008 12:42 AM

Siomi wrote...

Kevin has clearly stated that he will not use our young players in any relegation struggle. Carroll might get the odd late appearance, but forget the rest, Keegan has decided this.

And I am sure that in all the speculation about clauses in contracts, the only reason Smith plays week in week out is Keegan has decided this.

And all the preparation on the training ground in developing our strategies and tactics for these key games has been decided by Keegan.

And Keegan has decided the team sheet and he decides the substitutions.

I do hope he is not going to be hard headed like his myopic predecessor. He needs to be more pragmatic and flexible and needs to take a long hard look at performances in games, not training ground tricks and bonhomie, and certainly not loyalty to old sweats or size of contract.

Monday night will really be crunch night. Not for the result, but for our confidence in Kevin. He needs to show that he has made some decisions that we can understand.

But I am afraid that we will still see Duff, Barton, Butt and Smith on the team sheet, despite the glaringly obvious fact that this midfield cannot create a boiled egg between them, let alone a goal.

Sometimes I wonder if Kevin really would like to see us go down. We get a parachute payment, opposition is easier and he knows he can storm the Championship as he has done before.

Let’s not forget promotion is his forte, not European glory.

Posted by: Siomi  | March 16, 2008 5:19 AM

Revo wrote...

Cheers Ronnie
Well spotted by the way.

Posted by: Revo  | March 17, 2008 2:39 PM