Jimbo

I couldn't believe the news when I heard, totally underwhelmed and disapointed, but, ultimately Kinnear has been brought in through no fault of his own to help NUFC win football matches, thats good enough for me, lets get behind him and the team and show our support.

Sorry to hear that mate, I hope everything turns out ok for you

The Uefa Cup is to be renamed the Uefa Europa League from next season, with the competition set to be extended. The new-look league will have 48 clubs in 12 groups of four, with teams playing each other home and away as opposed to just once as it stands now. The top two in each group then join the eight third-placed Champions League clubs in a 32-club knock-out stage. The competition will also have its TV rights sold centrally, in the same way as the Champions League. This switch should increase income to clubs. "I am convinced the new format will give the Uefa Europa League a successful new impetus," said Uefa president Michel Platini. "These changes will improve this historic competition, which is very important for Uefa and for European football as it gives more fans, players and clubs the thrill of European club football." A statement on the Uefa website adds: "The new name and logo will help underline the tournament's special character and unique sporting appeal. "Uefa's ambition in making these changes is to rejuvenate the competition in the light of the new European football landscape, which has shifted significantly with the continued success of the Champions League, so that the Uefa Europa League can establish itself as a major competition."

Tycoons Toons talk From Reuters, Friday: Four Nigerian tycoons are finalising a bid to buy Premier League club Newcastle United and could ask fans' hero Kevin Keegan to return as manager if they succeed, the businessman leading the bid told Reuters. Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley put the team up for sale two weeks ago, having fallen foul of the fans after Keegan resigned saying he did not have full control over the buying and selling of players. Chris Nathaniel, a London-based businessman who runs football and entertainment consultancy NVA Management, said four Nigerian entrepreneurs were ready to put up the cash to buy the club and that their bid was being finalised. "We're at the stage now where our end are doing the relevant security checks on the individuals who have the money," Nathaniel, who is coordinating the bid, told Reuters. "We have a lawyer here who is doing those checks before finally submitting a bid to Newcastle," he said by telephone. Nigerian media reports have said the consortium - whose members remain a closely guarded secret - have come up with £350m so far but want to find an additional £100-150m to secure the deal. Nathaniel said that until the British lawyers had finalised their checks and drawn up the paperwork, it was difficult to say exactly how much money had been put forward. "We don't know is the honest answer. We're not going to know that until it's lodged with the lawyers here," he said. "I've been told the money is there in Nigeria but I need to see evidence of it here before we can present it to the club." Ashley completed his £134m takeover of Newcastle in July, 2007, but his relationship with the fans has deteriorated rapidly since Keegan's sudden exit on 4 September, just eight months after returning for a second spell as manager. "Kevin's a legend on Tyneside and I think anybody looking to buy that football club would not be very smart if they didn't have Kevin involved in some capacity, that's if Kevin wants to come back," Nathaniel said. "If I was advising anyone that was buying the club I would certainly suggest Kevin would be the right man for the job," he said, adding he had not yet contacted Keegan about returning. Nathaniel, one of whose parents is Nigerian, said the idea of a Nigerian bid for an English club came during a trip to the soccer-mad West African country this year with Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, one of NVA Management's clients. "We met a few characters, individuals, and said to them it'd be good to get a Nigerian team buying a football club. We were talking about doing matches out in Nigeria, various other conversations came out of it, and one of them was to buy a football club," he said. "When it became clear that Newcastle was up for sale, that's when I suggested it to them, and they said fantastic idea, we'll go and raise the money." Nathaniel said he hoped the deal could create opportunities for young talent in Africa's most populous nation by using one of the local teams as a feeder club to Newcastle. Owning a Premier League club would also be a huge status symbol. "It's a chance for Nigerians to do an Abramovich," said one Lagos-based banker, referring to high-profile Chelsea owner and Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Nathaniel said the businessmen involved had requested anonymity until the deal went through. "They're used to whatever they go for they get, and they don't want to be seen as failing in their country if they don't manage to secure this deal," he said.

From The Sun: Why I turned down Newcastle united, by Verry Terribles. THERE is one reason and one reason alone why I’ve turned down the chance to take temporary charge at Newcastle — time. Newcastle United means too much to too many people to take the job on a short-term basis. It demands total commitment and dedication from a manager who is prepared to throw himself heart and soul into the club. I didn’t want to move up to Tyneside and find myself surplus to requirements before I’d even had the chance to get my teeth into the challenge. The way the job was offered to me meant that I might be working at St James’ Park for two months, two years . . . or two weeks. There was far too much uncertainty involved. When I take on a job I need to know exactly what my goals and targets are. It would have been impossible to achieve any aims in the conditions they wanted me to work under. I was ready and willing to give it a real go but I was never offered the chance to do that. All they could guarantee was that I’d be in a job until Mike Ashley sells the club . . . whenever that might be. So as flattered and honoured as I was to be approached by Newcastle, in the end it wasn’t that difficult a decision for me to decline their offer. The Newcastle supporters have suffered more than enough in recent years. I didn’t want them to think I’d gone up there just to pocket a few quid from Mike Ashley and then wave ‘cheerio’ a couple of weeks later. But I want to make it absolutely clear that my decision had nothing to do with a fear of a fans’ backlash. I know only too well that many of the Newcastle supporters have been protesting about the so-called ‘Cockney Mafia’ running their club. But I honestly don’t believe it would have been an issue for me. All my work would have been done in the dressing room, not the boardroom. I understand the Geordies are proud of their city and their club — and rightly so. But I’m sure they will warm to any manager who gives his total commitment to their team and starts winning games. I could have handled one or two fans calling me a Cockney this or that. I’ve had to deal with a lot worse than that in my time, believe me. But if you are going to do that job seriously, the new man will need time to understand the club, time to get to know the players and time to work out all their strengths and weaknesses. No one is going to walk into St James’ Park and turn things around overnight. People might claim that was what I did when I accepted a similar fire-fighting role at Middlesbrough eight years ago. But let me assure you it was a totally different set-up. I went into that job at the beginning of December with the knowledge that I would be working alongside Bryan Robson for the rest of the season. We were nine points adrift of safety at the time but I knew I was going to get the time I needed to have an effect and make an impact. As it happened, we avoided relegation fairly comfortably in the end. During those seven months on Teesside I moved into the area with my wife, worked every day on the training ground and put all my other commitments to one side. I would have done the same for Newcastle. But that wasn’t what they wanted. Let me make it clear it was Newcastle who approached me about the job rather than the other way around. It was a complete shock when I received the telephone call this week asking me to meet them. Advertisement <A TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/click;h=v8/3747/3/0/*/o;207833921;0-0;2;24193884;4307-300/250;28370006/28387885/1;;~aopt=2/1/f0/0;~sscs=?http://video.flashtalking.com/tags/3086/27/click/0-c_3086-27.html?ftoobclck=&766483"><IMG SRC="http://video.flashtalking.com/tags/3086/27/image/VXR_300x250.gif?766483" BORDER=0></A> I met Dennis Wise, Tony Jiminez and Derek Llambias on Wednesday and we had a long chat about what the job entailed and what they expected from me. A number of senior players had told them that they needed to end the uncertainty as quickly as possible and they immediately moved into action to do that. But Mike Ashley wasn’t there and it was made very clear to me that it is the owner’s intention to sell control of the club sooner rather than later. And we all know that whenever a new owner takes control of a club, the first thing he does is appoint his own directors and his own manager. Ashley has been hurt and upset by recent events and feels that family issues mean he has no option but to let someone else take charge of Newcastle. We never discussed money, contracts or any sort of payment. I told them that I first needed to decide if I wanted the job. We could settle the financial side of things at a later date. I promised I’d give them my decision within 24 hours and thought about it long and hard over Wednesday night. But deep down inside I always knew it wasn’t the right job at the right time for me. And I don’t think the Newcastle guys were that surprised when I gave them my answer yesterday. But just because the conditions weren’t right for me doesn’t mean they won’t be right for someone else. I’m sure Newcastle will be inundated with applications from loads of top- quality coaches who are willing to take the job on a temporary basis. And I have absolutely no doubts that it is only a matter of time before the team starts winning games and moving back up the Premier League table. They have plenty of good players on board and as long as they can keep them all fit and available they won’t have any problems. We’re only five games into the new season, for God’s sake. A win tomorrow at home to Blackburn and they could go up as many as 10 places. When I was a young manager, I always regarded Newcastle and Liverpool as the two top jobs to aim for. I see no reason to change that opinion. If the circumstances had been different I would have been delighted to become the manager at St James’ Park. It’s been 10 months since I left my job with England and I haven’t been actively looking to get back into the game since then. But this week’s developments have made me think hard and if the right opportunity and the right conditions come along, I would certainly give it serious consideration. Who knows, maybe the new owners of Newcastle will want me. Somehow, though, I don’t think that is going to happen.

Verry Terribles is an improvement on Houghton, in the same manner that Syphallis is an improvement on AIDS.

Bring it on, something needs to happen fast !

I cannot understand for one second why anyone rates the kid, he's fucking shite.

One good game against Holland, in my opinion.

Try The Tudors, it will more than make up for Rome.

I'm not even going to watch it.

Something I spotted in this weeks Lowestoft Journal. Perhaps some vile union between Geordie and Mackem ?

A NIGERIAN consortium of media moguls and oil barons want to buy Newcastle — and bring back Kevin Keegan as boss. The eight-strong group are willing to pay more than £300million for the club and are eager to get down to talks with Toon owner Mike Ashley. Ashley has been in the Middle East looking for buyers after accepting the supporters want him out. But the Nigerians represent a previously unexplored avenue. The consortium has already lodged a bond of £200m with a respected lawyer so Newcastle can see the colour of their money. Two months ago, they made a flying visit to the UK to watch the Geordies’ game at Manchester United and have been working on a buyout plan ever since. Chris Nathaniel, who organised a high-profile visit by United star Rio Ferdinand to Nigeria in the summer, has been taken on as a consultant and insists the consortium are deadly serious about their proposition. He said: “These people are not messing about. They are genuine, highly-regarded businessmen in Nigeria who want to make a deal happen. “They will bring back Kevin Keegan immediately as manager and there will be £75m made available to buy players. “The interest in the Premier League in Nigeria and the whole of Africa is huge and buying an English club is seen as the next big step for a football-mad country. “We have made contact with people at Newcastle and let our interest be known but our group has not yet spoken to Mike Ashley himself. “The ball is in Ashley’s court. The money is there and if he is determined to sell, these men will be round the table with him as soon as he gives the word. “They realise how important Keegan’s presence is to the fans and they will be delighted to bring him back.”

Offer him the job, he'll take anything......

I'm not against the idea of the Nigerian bid, there is some serious oil money in Nigeria.

3rd in a row I think

This feels like Live Aid in reverse, African's clubing together to help us in our hour of need.

Congratulations Magma

Jeremy Piven !

It was only a charity do – a dinner at the Hilton hotel in Gateshead for the Prince’s Trust – but in the community it meant a lot. So Gareth Southgate, the Middlesbrough manager, was there and he had brought his players, including Stewart Downing, the England winger, and David Wheater. Sunderland sent Anton Ferdinand, one of their new signings, and Craig Gordon, the Scotland goalkeeper. And representing Newcastle United: nobody. “Magpies snub kids” the headlines read, but this was a clumsy oversight, not a snub; a slip that encapsulates the rudderless mess that the club have become. The same absence of purpose and responsibility weighs down each aspect of Mike Ashley’s floundering regime. From the pitch to the board-room, Newcastle have become a big no-show. The directors are too frightened to turn up and the players are hiding behind excuses, while the management thinks that each day could be its last. It is not a recipe for disaster because, in terms of the direction the club are taking, that has happened. It is a recipe for relegation. Footballers do a lot for charity, but like most of us they need a nudge. That is why fundraisers exist – to organise and direct donations and to jog the consciences of those in a position to help. If we put our hands in our pockets without reminders, we wouldn’t need Lenny Henry and Comic Relief every two years. And, hey, that sounds like a fair exchange, but the point is it would have taken a bit of cajoling and work to get all the local celebrities in the same place on the same night in Gateshead. Southgate’s presence would have helped to get Middlesbrough’s star players along and one look from Roy Keane would probably have done it at Sunderland. Even so, behind the scenes there would still have been a put-upon club official making sure that this famously unreliable breed knew times and places, dress codes, whether a car would take them home, whether there would be an auction or a raffle and if memorabilia was required or had already been donated. A reminder of the good cause in question might have been necessary, too. Except at Newcastle, where no one bothered because everyone is too busy looking over their shoulders for an angry mob, or a new manager, or Dennis Wise, or an Arab sheikh with £400 million burning a hole in his pocket that he is just looking to sink into an expanding black-and-white abyss. Even if someone had rallied Newcastle’s players into attendance, the last thing they want is to spend the night in a room full of ticked-off Geordies, tongues and inhibitions loosened by hours at the bar. Handed an invitation, the players would have shuffled awkwardly, offered a few lame excuses and made a sharp exit. And, right now, no one at Newcastle has the authority to stop them. It is an indictment of Ashley’s regime that Freddy Shepherd, the former chairman, is increasingly remembered with fondness. Who is in charge here? Who was in charge as the club slipped into the relegation zone on Saturday, with no prospect of a steadying hand on the tiller? Chris Hughton is the caretaker manager, but no one is taking care of this club. There is a void filled only with angry voices and the occasional bleating of the owner and now the players have gone into hiding, too. The turmoil has become mitigation for performances that have worsened since Kevin Keegan departed. Newcastle were poor against Arsenal in Keegan’s last game, but now the players have an excuse. Meanwhile, Ashley is flying around the world in a desperate attempt to hawk the club to a buyer as impetuous and foolish as he was. He has an executive structure that acts as a repellent for any manager of substance, a painfully underpowered squad of players and an overpowered mutinous army of supporters. But if he will not turn up for games, why should anyone else? No one is poking his head above deck at Newcastle, for any cause, and certainly not for charity. The ship is drifting and the crew is nowhere to be seen. Some compare Newcastle to the Titanic. Not quite: it’s the Mary Celeste.

It's an excellent programme, the last episode with David Suchet was filmed in Lowestoft library, it must have felt like time-travel......

The first episode of the mentalist leaked a few months ago - didnt look out special tbh. Yeah, I saw it at the time, I liked it, but as I said, it looks like it has potential, but we'll see I suppose.

Entourage The Shield Lost I'm trying to get into The Fringe but am finding it rather dull, I've all but given up on Prison Break, The Mentalist starts soon, that has potential but we'll see.

"if" its true, I would say it's because there are few managers willing to work in this "continental" style structure and are unwilling to join the club whilst it is in a state of flux.

Eight managers have rejected the chance to become Newcastle’s new boss. Owner Mike Ashley’s search to find a manager as well as a buyer for his club is turning into a farce. The bosses – from home and abroad – believe succeeding Kevin Keegan is mission impossible. They will be tainted in the eyes of Geordie fans as Ashley’s stooge appointment. And it was another humiliating day for struggling Newcastle as they were thrashed 3-1 by West Ham at Upton Park. Newcastle ended a nightmare week with a sorry defeat that left them in the bottom three of the Premier League. Put up for sale by controversial owner Mike Ashley, the Toon subsided meekly to a West Ham side led into action for the first time by Gianfranco Zola. And the travelling Toon Army had to endure home fans’ chants of: “There’s only one Mike Ashley.” Caretaker Newcastle boss Chris Hughton could only hope for better in the midweek Carling Cup tie against Tottenham at St James’ Park. Hughton said: “It was always a massive game because it is important for a big club like ours to stay in the cup competitions for as long as is possible. A win is the best way to lift morale.” Hughton insists the players prepare as they always do and that he has not considered the prospect of taking the job at the crisis-ridden club on a permanent basis. “All my thoughts are getting the team ready and preparing them for the next game. All I think about after the game is whether there is anything I could have done better as a coach.” Hughton admitted that the sooner the uncertainty at Newcastle is resolved, the better. The furore surrounding the departure of Kevin Keegan and the decision by owner Ashley to sell up has clearly had an affect. “The sooner it all gets sorted out the better,” said Hughton. “That has been the case from day one. All we can do in the meantime is our best.” Hughton was at least heartened by the response of his team to going three goals down against a West Ham team rejuvenated by the arrival of Zola. Advertisement - article continues below » “We were unlucky with the first goal because there were two deflections,” he said. “The last thing you want to happen is to concede an early goal against what we knew would be an offensive side. “Then we let in a second and the third early in the second half. But we showed spirit to come back and now all we can do is prepare the players for the next game.” Zola basked in the delight of his first win as West Ham manager – then apologised to the fans for failing to acknowledge their welcome. “I am sorry,” he said. “The reception was fantastic but I couldn’t hear anything! My mind was completely closed.” He declared his immense satisfaction at the manner of the victory. “The last 20 minutes we were a bit tired because we had put so much into the game in the first 70 minutes. “It was a hard week for me. Was I nervous? Every single moment! This is a new adventure for me. “You don’t know how the players will react to what you are telling them but I have to say that the players made it comfortable for me. “I was happy with two goals from David Di Michele and he could have had a hat-trick. But Carlton Cole was also excellent. He has all the qualities to be playing for the England team.”