posted Jun 7, 2009

I think nufc fans are just looking for any crumb of comfort at the moment as there is nothing official coming out of st jameses so anything remotely positive is being welcomed. You dont deserve to be treated like this nufc fans as usual you are just being fobbed off

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Shepeard also appointed Sam Alladyce

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Freddy is Satans little helper.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

This proves how far down the pan this club has got when a certain section of our fans would welcome back Shepherd. Its like asking the condemed man how is want to be executed, hanging or shooting, the end result remains the same.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

As I and quite a few others have already stated on a previous post on this topic, Freddy Shepherd is one of the main reasons we are where we are. The sacking of Sir Bobby, subsequent appointments of Souness, Roeder and Allardyce. Letting the wages rise to their current levels. No relegation clauses in contracts to protect the club. Trophy signing after trophy signing to sell season tickets and perpetuate the 'big-club' mentality with no forward thinking about future youth prospects. Spending sponsorship money in advance, leaving the club with less income for coming seasons. Racking up insane amounts of debt. These are all Shepherds doing, not Ashley's. Mike Ashley simply came in and went about things to try and rectify the situation of debt, player wages and such, but with no football knowledge and surrounded by either yes men or incompetent dwarves he went about it like a bull in a china shop and got us relegated. We needed somethign in the middle ground, but returnign to the Shepherd days just scares me, especially given the backing of some oil rich tycoon it only spells long term disaster for the club!

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posted Jun 7, 2009

If Shepherd does return, we can only hope that he has learned from previous mistakes, and does not allow the debt to pile up. Also, a major flaw in his previous spell was that he did not back a manager for long periods, and this needs to be sorted if we have any chance of stability.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

i am utterly insulted and disgusted that you have posted this thread in the premier league section.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Fredy Shepherd wouldn't be interested in Newcastle now as they're not a top flight club. Let us not forget his words : “When we have got 52,000 fans at each home game, the last thing we are worried about is clubs in the third division. There is no sympathy here." Not in the third division yet but getting there, he'll be more likely to buy Sunderland. Or Hull.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Unfortunately I can see Shepherd returning, and equally unfortunately, I can see some welcoming him back.

FFS has to shoulder a lot of blame for the state that we are in at the moment. Rash transfer decisions, poor managerial choices and terrible spending policy. He may resolve the short-term issues of getting NUFC back into the Prem, but I fear for the long-term state of the club, should he come.

As per usual though, we, as fans, will have no say in the matter and simply have to support the club the best that we can.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Be honest, every geordie out there wants a bearded foreigner with billions in the bank. Forget local heros or buisnessmen, all you want is an Abu Dhabi trillionaire and who can blame you?

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Better than Ashley. End of.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Although Ashley has been awful, Freddy Sheperd and the Halls did what can only be described as highway robbery. Also, the club in the community was terrible until Ashley came.

I'm not defending Ashley, but Sheperd's no better.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

The only way you fans will sort this club out is to boycott a home game no fans no money but you know you wont.There will always be some of you who will go DONT!!

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Excellent article. Refreshing to see toon fans with some common sense.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Personally i think newcastle need new blood from the top down. New chairman and owner, (NOt Freddie Shepard), New manager who is experienced at prem and championship level and most importantly new players who want to play for the club.

Firstly owner/chairman.

Surely newcastle utd must be attractive to investers. Ashley apparently wants 100m but would sell for 80M bearing in mind the name, the stadium and the fanbase this must be good business. Even if it costs another 100m on players, staff etc to get back in prem, utd for 200m must be a decent business deal.

Secondly new manager. I'm a big fan of shearer and think it was the right move to get him. However, he was only a short term thing, to get a quick lift in the team and with the fans, but things didn't go their way. Gett someone who is experienced and knows how to manage a football club.

Thirdly players. Get rid of most of the squad who are being paid huge sums for reputation alone. Buy in younger, hungry players who want to prove themselves and mix with experienced pros who know how to win.

Finally, its looking to me that new owners will come in so they will also have their ideas. only time will tell, but even with wholesale changes, think it'll take at least two seasons to get back up.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Thats how bad Ashleys reign has been, hes made fat fred look like a saint!

Just how low and unprofessional can we go thats the big question.

IMO we aint hit rock bottom yet

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posted Jun 7, 2009

How on earth anyone would want FFS back at newcastle after his previous stint is absolutely beyond me. I know ashleys tenure has been disasterous but come on Freddy Shepperd back in volved with the toon.

I totally agree with everthing absolutelygolden says and we can all add other examples of his "leadership" qualities so for gods sake lets all hope it is just speculation in the press

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Any NUFC fan who thinks Freddie Shepherd's return would in any way benefit the club must be deranged. But this is the trouble with Newcastle- forever looking backwards. You appear to have a unique opportunity to make a fresh start: new owner, new manager and new players. Grasp it firmly and look to the future.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

You cant nock that we had been in europe and champions leauge under him

he got us from divi 1 to premiership and made us the top 7 club

he has had some bad descisions but i think he would know what he needs to do now

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Newcastle need someone who isn't in the business just for the money, like previous owners.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

while we will never frgive freddy for how he treated Sir Bobby one thing we can say is he was always prepared to invest. Ok he might have spent money we didn't have but he was prepared to gamble.

He is very passionate about newcastle that is no doubt and one thing we need to ask ourselves is why on earth would he want to buy the club that is in serious financial trouble if all he wanted was to make money. The answer is he wouldn't. Whoever buys knows that money is going to be needed to stabilise the club and whoever handles the finances needs to have common sense.

I would rather see a new owner who is passionate about moving forward but freddy wouldn't be a disaster. He made many mistakes and i think a break away from being the boss has probably shown him the mistakes he made. Freddy wouldn't be buying the club outright anyway he will go into it with other partners so i doubt very much freddy would be running the show.

What seriously needs to happen now is shearer needs to be given the job. Where all commenting on whether he had the experience but that will grow and the advantage he has over any other possible manager we could attract, is he is enormously respected in the footballing world and will be able to pursuade players to join. Plus any potential buyer would see shearer as a valuable asset to have.

Whether in the long run shearer is the answer we won't know untill he gets games under his belt but for now i think he is the key to getting a new owner and attracting players. If ashley had half a brain cell left he would get shearer signed up and i think the sale of the club would go a lot quicker.

In terms of who i would prefer as chairman between ashley and shepard then shepard wins by a mile. Freddy always wanted to keep us in the top 6 and would do what it takes however most of the signings were flops. Ashley never once said he had any ambitions of making us a top club. He never once said he would do anything to get us out of relegation. He was never interested in getting players in just getting players out. And players we did get in were mainly panic buys or the bottom of the barrel. If shepard does take over then the key thing for him is to spend wisely and not go for big names although that aint a issue now.

We still however don't know who is bidding. There seems to be more interest now that the price is low. 80 million is a bargain for our club but double that will be needed to sort the mess out.

I don't care who takes over aslong as he has sense, is willing to invest and set a long term plan with a long term manager. Freddy may have started the sinking ship but ashley torpedoed it. If freddy had been in charge we wouldn't have been relegated has he would have done anything he could to make sure it didn't happen. What did ashley do???????

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posted Jun 7, 2009

spilleruk
What did ashley do???????
=============================
Sack Sam, appointed KK, Wise and Jiminy Cricket, then Kinnear, then Shearer.
The only one of those with any credence was Sam.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Why do so many people rate allardyce. He is a carp manager who plays the most boring football ever. Allardyce never achieved anything other than how to make football uninteresting. I would rather watch newcastle play championship football than watch them in the premiership under that clown. If he is so good how come none of the big teams has ever considered him and the FA never gave him the time of day or a thought of him taking the England Job. Every manager in football has had to start somewhere so how is shearer going to get any CREDANCE (4thecaptain) if he is never given the opportunity. If your idea of football is watching 11 men booting the ball as high in the air as possible and as far as possible then either you don't understand football or should be following rugby where that tactic is key. I'm afraid my interpretation is watching skill and attarctive football. That means more to me than obtaining any silverware. Newcastle hasn't seen that since Sir Bobby but with the right players and shearer at the helm i see them days returning.

ALLARDYCE!!!!!!!! He's a joke who struggled to even get a job after we sacked him until blackburn felt desperate.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

But he kept Blackburn up when they looked even worse than Newcastle with Ince at the helm.

BFS might play boring football that is never going to please the "purists" but I bet 100% you would not be in the Championship now if he was still in charge.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Spiller:

"Ok he might have spent money we didn't have but he was prepared to gamble"

Is this Shepherd or Peter Ridsdale of Leeds you are talking about?

"(Shearer) is enormously respected in the footballing world"

So is John Motson does this mean he would make a good manager

Newcastle can ill-afford a manager who doesn't know what he is doing in this their most important season. Can they really afford to not get promoted or even worse get relegated? Don't be arrogant enough to think it won't happen - Leeds, Forest, Man City, Wednesday all kept going.
The Chairman needs to be a guy willing to keep his head down & stay in the shadows. Sell the overpaid prima donnas, buy a bunch of hardworking grafters, a decent striker - but mainly guys who can stay fit.
The manager needs to know what he is doing especially as far as Championship goes.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

"I would rather watch newcastle play championship football than watch them in the premiership under that clown."

=====================================

And Lo! The football fairy came down from the football firmament and doth granted your wish!

...and you wonder why people say the Toon are deluded? Have you ANY idea how hard its going to be to come back up - and then, when you're up (or rather IF you're up) to stay up?

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posted Jun 7, 2009

ffs is the reason we ended up in so much debt

he is a criminal, he bought a warehouse for £200,000 gave it to his brother, then rented it back from his brother for NUFC at a rate of something like £200,000 per year.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

spilleruk
Every manager in football has had to start somewhere

ALLARDYCE!!!!!!!! He's a joke who struggled to even get a job after we sacked him until blackburn felt desperate.
==================================

Most serve an apprenticeship with someone who knows something about football management.

Sam kept Blackburn up. When he took over, Newcastle had more points than Blackburn.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Sam kept Blackburn up. When he took over, Newcastle had more points than Blackburn.

-----------------------------------------------

blackburn also had a squad of players who actually cared about being relegated which we didn't. Allardye would not have changed anything if he still been with us and for that matter any manager.




And Lo! The football fairy came down from the football firmament and doth granted your wish!

...and you wonder why people say the Toon are deluded? Have you ANY idea how hard its going to be to come back up - and then, when you're up (or rather IF you're up) to stay up?

----------------------------------------------

I don't remember saying anywhere that we would come straight back up or for that matter have an easy ride in the championship. The championship is more competitve and i don't think we have a cat in hells chance of coming back up next season and if we did we would be straight back down the following. The real fans know that the squad needs ripping apart and taught how to play football again. Next seasosn goal is to ensure that the players do that and get enough points to stay in the championship. The goal of instant return to premiership should be bottom of the list cos although the money gained is better we likely lose it all again fighting another relegation battle and going down. I expect to be playing lower division football for a good few seasons. In that time all i care about is seeing the team play football again with passion and commitment. Other than the big four it is highly unlikely that many teams can challenge for silverware other than them so why should we worry about being in the top flight. Clear the overpaid players out bring in sensible buys of young talent and mould them into a team capable of playing football at top level. We are centurys away from chalenging for anything worth while so lets all forget about that and hope that whoever buys us can see that as well.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

spilleruk
Allardye would not have changed anything if he still been with us and for that matter any manager.
========================================

You will never know.
All that matters is Blackburn stayed up, you didn't.
I think you're right in that it will be a struggle next season.
Players will stay just for the money. Barton, for example, has pledged his loyalty to the club ...... sorry, that should be to the £65,000 per week he allegedly earns.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

From what i've been hearing, it seems that alot of fans on here would welcome the return of Shepherd!

...............................................

Like who?!

I certainly wouldn't.... Shepherd is a huge reason why we're in such financial difficulty.. why some people want to give him the chance to finish what he started is beyond me

Couldn't agree more with the sentiments in this article.. we need someone sensible in charge and that is something Shepherd frankly isn't

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posted Jun 7, 2009

Newcastle need a buyer with very deep pockets who's willing to spend and the first investment should be a world class manager...a certain ex chelsea coach comes to mind.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

"From what i've been hearing, it seems that alot of fans on here would welcome the return of Shepherd!"

Good God I wouldn't. Very, very poor knee jerk managerial appointments that resulted in nothing but disaster. Ashley came in and merely finished off what Shepherd had started.

Everyone needs a clean slate and can only hope that anyone who buys the club runs it with far more sense.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

"...and you wonder why people say the Toon are deluded? Have you ANY idea how hard its going to be to come back up"

Some people seem to be deluded as to what a big club Newcastle are and what a potential gold mine it is for any investor:

""It is a huge club," he said. "In attendance terms, last year it exceeded Liverpool with an average attendance over 48,000.""

When you have that level of support, media interest and revenue that's not a delusion and it's something no club outside the so called 'big four' can match. It makes the Arab investment in Manchester City look rather daft.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

I think most Toon Supporters do not want Freddie Sherpherd back. He is responsible for getting Newcastle in the financial issues in the first place. I think the deluded people are those fans who think Newcastle supporters want FS back. I think the majority of Newcastle supporters want someone to bring stablity back to club, which it has lacked for a while. I certainly don't want any Nigerians or Arabs running SJP. I would like a Geordie consortium or English consortium. I don't want someone without the interest of Newcastle at heart. I also understand like anyone with a fraction of a brain cell, that whoever buys SJP cannot buy the premiership, or buy 10m players. The club needs a complete overhaul a complete clear out of players and back room staff. Those players who want to stay with us need to except massive cuts in wages. Also Joey Barton is not welcomed at SJP.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

The two reasons Newcastle are in the situation they are in are the owner and the previous owner. Both of them made poor decisions on managers and both of them brought the club under unnecesary pressure with being too public in the way they went about their business. If Allardyce had been kept Newcastle would at the very least face mid table mediocrity now. Newcastle would obviously want more than that. Allardyce has proved he can get the best out of players and given the time and cash would be challenging for Europe I'm not saying Champions League but who knows given the right set of circumstances. The fans deserve a decent owner/manager proposition and I hope they get one. As a Liverpool fan it brings me no pleasure seeing them in this state. If circumstances had been different it could have been us and still may be given our current headlines.

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posted Jun 7, 2009

watterswatto Thank you for the support unfortunately some fans believe everything their here about us Geordies which isn't true. I think they is always some supporters within the camp that are unrealistic and live in some kind of fantasy. But most geordies hate FFS too. Especially the treat of Sir Bobby Robson.

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posted Jun 8, 2009

The first line on the BBC webiste

"Newcastle United have confirmed that the Championship club is up for sale with an asking price of £100m."

Its just bizzare reading that Newcastle are a championship club - doesnt seem real!

Hopefully for the toon you can find a buyer and start to rebuild to get out of the league asap

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posted Jun 8, 2009

Any chance I could buy your club for what I raise on ebay?

Im a football fan first and foremost and hate to see any club losing any form of status in the league system. No matter how much I hate Newcastle United and the fans, it would be a travesty to see such a 'big club' disappear or simply fall down through the lower echelons of English Football

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posted Jun 8, 2009

From Ashley's original asking price of £450m to now £100m...and it could get lower. Ashley is desperate to get out no matter what.

Best wishes for a good buyer.

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posted Jun 8, 2009

That original asking price was probably based around Ashley trying to get most of the money back frmo wiping off all the debt.

The good thing is, NUFC has very little debt left (as far as I know) which makes it far more accessible for potential buyers. Lord knows what Ashley thought when he had to rid the club of £250m debt just so he could start to invest.

People forget how much Ashley has put into the club. Just because we don't have a new stand, a stupidly overpriced star player, or some sparkling new training facilities doesn't mean he hasn't spent millions for us.

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posted Jun 8, 2009

Definitely NOT Sheperd. He started it all off by putting in place Souness, who was awful. Top 6 to mid-lower table in one foul swoop. GS couldn't man manage a glove-puppet on his own hand.

I feel a little sorry for Ashley. His intentions were good and it's no lie that Sheperd left the place in a right financial mess. Ashley is basically losing £150m because he hired Dennis Wise. Oops.

We need a fresh start. Someone with tons of cash who'll let the football people do their thing. One who is also patient and will let Shearer stay for 6-10 years to make progress.

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posted Jun 8, 2009

Is it really so difficult, for a club with such a huge fan base, and with such consistent loyalty by that huge fan base, for the club to find a new owner with a decent and credible vision for the future?

shepherd isn't it. he had his chance and it led to ashley and then to this, relegation.

the new owners need to show a resilient hunger for change, because only change can rescue newcastle united, clinging to the past has led the club to the championship.

forget having keegan/shearer/titus bramble as manager, just because they had some cracking matches etc, forget holding onto all the terry macs, jimmy five bellies, all the auld names.

this is a club that needs to be built on youth, on the future, on completely new ways of thinking.

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posted Jun 8, 2009

comment by fear_my_googly (U7911761)
posted 12 Minutes Ago

That original asking price was probably based around Ashley trying to get most of the money back frmo wiping off all the debt.

The good thing is, NUFC has very little debt left (as far as I know) which makes it far more accessible for potential buyers. Lord knows what Ashley thought when he had to rid the club of £250m debt just so he could start to invest.

People forget how much Ashley has put into the club. Just because we don't have a new stand, a stupidly overpriced star player, or some sparkling new training facilities doesn't mean he hasn't spent millions for us.

-------------------------
It's not the amount of money that he's spend that's been criticised, rather his inability to run any sort of a business model at SJP. Add to this his handling of the Keegan incident, his appointing of Kinnear, then Hughton and Calderwood, doing nothing in the transfer market, when it was clear to anyone with even half a footballing brain that our midfield needed strengthening and then his numerous 'spitting the dummy out' incidents, that have been criticised.

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posted Jun 8, 2009

'It's not the amount of money that he's spend that's been criticised, rather his inability to run any sort of a business model at SJP. Add to this his handling of the Keegan incident, his appointing of Kinnear, then Hughton and Calderwood, doing nothing in the transfer market, when it was clear to anyone with even half a footballing brain that our midfield needed strengthening and then his numerous 'spitting the dummy out' incidents, that have been criticised.'

Yes the Keegan incident... he let the fans rule his decisions and should of brought in a decent manager instead of some fabled messiah. And Kinnear, actually a good move as no one else wanted the job!

As for 'spitting the dummy out'... Newcastle fans most likely forced him to respond as such... if I spent hundreds of millions on a club and never got a even a shed of recognition from the fans and listened to their deluded desire to see only former club heroes or true geordies managing the club (he brought in both Keegan and Shearer) then I would want to sell up as well.

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posted Jun 8, 2009

"I always like to think that the general concensus is that he shouldn't have been sacked at all."

Bobby did the best job in a bad bunch of managers, but anybody could have predicted when he was appointed that a few years down the line his age would become an issue. Even Clough predicted that at the time.

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posted Jun 8, 2009

£100 million for a Championship side is a lot of money

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