Jimbo

Not tall enough in my opinion to be a truly great keeper.

Big Sham? Sounds spot on to me !

Which two? I thought Souness, Roeder and Allardyce would be equally unpopular with you and Jimbo and that. I'd be happy see Allardyce go if we had a quality replacement. I'd have been happy to see Roder go if we had a quality replacement. But we didn't then and we don't now. When names start getting linked with the job, if they're any good I might hop on the bandwagon. Until then I'll just keep supporting the bloke who's there who's not been any worse than anything served up in the last 3 years. Indefensible? With his selections, it looks to me like he only came for the pay off, a sort of legitimate bung, and I don't want to give him that satisfaction. Hang on, I was fully behind Allardyce's appointment, and as for the "not been any worse than anything served up in the last 3 years" are you really sure about that ?

I'm sure they looked into his past to see if he is a Muslim asylum seeker that has links to the Diana conspiracy.

Well, that's the price on the ticket with Barton.

The career Joey Barton was in jeopardy again after he was arrested over an alleged assault following an all-night drinking session. The Newcastle United midfielder spent yesterday in police cells after being picked up in the early hours following his team's 1-0 defeat at Wigan Athletic. The incident is the latest in a string of scandals involving Barton, 25, who is regularly in trouble on and off the pitch. He is currently awaiting trial over a training ground fight with a team-mate at his former club Manchester City. According to police sources, Barton was spotted on CCTV cameras in his home-town of Liverpool allegedly 'acting aggressively and bouncing from one group of people to another, apparently looking for a fight' at around 5.30am. Officers were called and found two men who had allegedly attacked by Barton, whose brother Michael, 18, was convicted of the racist murder black A-level student Anthony Walker, and two of his companions. They claimed they were assaulted by the footballer during a 'scuffle' outside a mobile phone shop on Church Street - the city's main pedestrianised shopping thoroughfare. Last night police refused to reveal exactly what injuries the pair suffered or whether they needed hospital treatment. However, a spokeswoman for Merseyside police confirmed that a 25-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of assault, as well as a 19-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman. Barton was allowed time to rest before officers began questioning him at Liverpool's St Anne Street police station yesterday evening. He was also expected to be tested for illegal drugs. Barton, who earns £45,000-a-week, is believed to have been partying with friends in his native city after being ruled out of Newcastle's match on Wednesday night with an ankle injury. It was unclear whether the player had been given special permission to stay in the North West by manager Sam Allardyce or had been out against the club's wishes. The rest of the Newcastle team travelled back to the North East after the game and reported for morning training as usual. Barton's arrest is the latest scandal to beset the troubled Liverpudlian, who is more famous for his bad behaviour on and off the pitch than for his footballing skills. He is already awaiting trial for assault in June next year following a training ground bust up with his former team-mate at Manchester City, Ousamane Dabo. The 30-year-old French international was floored and suffered bleeding after allegedly being repeatedly punched in the face by Barton. He was suspended for the rest of the season and fined a record four weeks' wages - £100,000 - before being sold to Newcastle over the summer. Two months earlier he had been arrested on suspicion of assault and criminal damage after an argument with a taxi driver and in December 2004 was fined £60,000 by the club for stubbing a cigar out in the eye of junior team-mate Jamie Tandy at a Christmas party. He was also sent home from a preseason tour of Thailand two summers ago following an altercation with a 15-year-old Everton fan. Barton's behaviour on the pitch has also caused him to come in for criticism. In September last year he caused controversy for pulling down his shorts and exposing his bottom at an Everton fan during a match at Goodison Park, and, more recently, has been slammed for kicking a Sunderland player in the private parts during a game. Although he has not spoken to his brother Michael, 18, since he was 14, Barton has also come in for abuse by rival fans over his sibling's role in the murder of Anthony Walker two years ago.

Pud. what do I win? seems to me that Sam is as frustrated with the performances as we are which leads me to believe that they're failing to meet his and our expectations despite his efforts. Getting rid of him is not the answer now. I think any new appointment would enjoy a purple patch then slump back into mediochrity because he'll yet again lose the fickle crowd who will boo and hiss like panto audiences after two or three bad performances ont he bounce. Then his head will be called for by those fickle fans who will say anything is better than who-ever we've thrown millions at to get and we'll be right back at square one. We are the laughing stock of the premiership and it's the fans who want results immediately who perpetuate it. There's only one factor to blame for Big Sham's position, and thats himself, you can't point the finger of blame at the fans, apart from pockets of abuse, he's had support, his brand of Anti-football and his stuborness and lack of a plan B is his undoing, its not about expecting results, its about expecting to watch a team trying to win, with a level performance, spirit and comitment, and under Allardyce we've not seen it.

Then start an "Official Shearer Out Thread" thread. Zip it ball-bag.

agreed, but I wanted the same against Derby and Wigan.

Blaming players smacks of desperation.

Autumn ??

I'd cringe.

Dec 27 2007 by Alan Oliver, Evening Chronicle NEWCASTLE United chairman Chris Mort was tight-lipped when he left the JJB Stadium after the dismal defeat by Wigan Athletic. But in contrast, a lot of supporters were up in arms against manager Sam Allardyce after what can only be described as a wretched performance and result by United, coming hard on the heels of the embarrassing 2-2 home draw with Derby. United had a magnificent and vocal 5,000 following at the JJB Stadium – but their chants after Wigan took the lead left nobody in any doubt what they thought of the team. And they also included calls for Alan Shearer to be brought into the St James’s hotseat. A grim-faced Mort sat at the front of the directors box, but the man who makes the big decisions – owner Mike Ashley – was right in the middle of the Toon Army once again, wearing his black-and-white strip. Nobody knows what Ashley is thinking, but Allardyce still has two-and-a-half years of a £3m-a-year contract to run, and there is also the little matter of the 20 or so backroom staff who have joined the club recently, and who are presumably under contract. When I approached Mort after the game he was friendly and affable, but he refused to make any comment. To be fair to Allardyce, he did not duck the situation and he told me after the match: “It’s the same old story isn’t it? “You lose a game – and lose it badly – and you are under the cosh, especially if you are the manager. “I cannot blame the fans for what they were singing. We weren’t good enough and you don’t need to be an expert to see that. “They spend their hard-earned money and they want to see us fight and do an awful lot better than we did here today.” It was noticeable at the JJB yesterday that, unlike 11 days earlier at Fulham when there were chants from the United fans of “Big Sam’s black-and-white army”, there was no support for the manager. This was probably payback time for Derby when United’s loyal fans must have thought things could not get any worse – until yesterday. I watched United file off the bus at the JJB Stadium and they looked a beaten team before the game. I hate to think what they will be like when they arrive for Saturday’s game with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge – a ground where they have never won in 14 visits in the Premier League. After that United’s next four away League games are at Manchester United, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Liverpool, with a potential banana skin in the third round of the FA Cup at Stoke City a week on Sunday. By then Oba Martins, Geremi, Habib Beye and Abdoulaye Faye will be heading to the African Nations Cup, and Alan Smith’s booking yesterday means both the stand-in skipper and Nicky Butt are now both just a couple of yellow cards away from a two-match ban. On a rare bright note, Michael Owen was at the JJB Stadium in the company of Joey Barton yesterday, and when I asked him about his fitness he said that he expected to be on the bench at Chelsea on Saturday. Indeed, Allardyce added: “Michael has not had enough match practice under his belt and it’s the same with Damien Duff – he’s not fully match fit yet, but he’s back in where he wants to be. “Joey Barton has a bit of an ankle problem. He could have started at Wigan, but another knock might put him out for a while, and we want to make sure he’s free from any pain he might have.” Chelsea are having their problems for the visit of United, where they are protecting a run of 72 matches unbeaten in the Premier League. They are without injured pair John Terry and Didier Drogba, while Ashley Cole and Ricardo Carvalho were sent off in yesterday’s thrilling 4-4 draw with Aston Villa and face suspensions, although Cole has appealed.

Sam Allardyce was scathing of his players after this defeat and said he was not happy to have his future as Newcastle United manager in their hands. "It was a poor performance," he said. "We couldn't cope with Wigan being high-tempo and hard-working. Some of our players have not lived up to their reputation. The front players have not held the ball up and the creative players have not created. Today the appetite to beat the opposition was not there. I'm not happy to have my future in their hands. We can't shrivel up and die under pressure." United have wasted an easy run of fixtures with a home draw against Derby County and defeat yesterday. Even this season they can rarely have played as badly as this, devoid of passion and purpose. They handed Wigan a first clean sheet for 16 matches, a record that stretches back to mid-August and a 3-0 defeat of Sunderland. Steve Bruce, Wigan's manager, had been up half of Christmas night with a bug and a burst blood vessel in his eye. "I can't keep anything down," he said - but he might yet keep Wigan up. Bob the Builder was the winner of the Boxing Day half-time fancy dress competition and, on the evidence of the season so far, he would not particularly fancy either of these rebuilding jobs. Can we fix it? "More than my job's worth, mate." But Wigan's hopes of escaping relegation will be rekindled after Ryan Taylor's 65th-minute free-kick gave them only their second win in 16 games and lifted them out of the bottom three. Taylor's winner was a heart-warming Christmas tale of which Dickens would have approved. He broke a leg badly in a reserve game against Newcastle and, given a first-team chance in the final game of last season against Sheffield United, broke it again. Perhaps life is beginning to go his way. When he stroked the ball into Shay Given's top-right corner, it was the only decent shot from both sides in the game. "He has a great delivery of the ball," said Bruce, "as good as anyone you have seen. We won't go overboard but we look as if we have the stomach for the fight. We showed a lot of endeavour and for a couple of minutes we saw a bit of football." It was an execrable first half. Nothing of any consequence happened, no skill to stir the soul, no rumbustious physical confrontation to make the heart beat faster, no comic moment to give us all a laugh. It was 52 minutes before either goal was threatened. Mario Melchiot, his ponytail quivering, dallied in front of his own goalkeeper, Damien Duff challenged, Mark Viduka attempted an overhead kick but Paul Scharner raced back to hack off the Wigan line. Allardyce immediately resorted to 4-3-3, bringing on Obafemi Martins on the right of the attack and his enterprise made him comfortably the most dangerous of Newcastle's strikeforce. How any manager of a struggling side can stomach Viduka's immobility remains one of life's mysteries. Given went on to give Newcastle palpitations eight minutes from time when, under pressure from Steven Taylor's back pass and with Marcus Bent bearing down, he chipped up a volley and then contrived to back kick it wide of his own posts. This team will never perform for Allardyce and he knows it but his record suggests that Newcastle should entrust him with the rebuilding work. Bruce remains a fan. "Sam got the job because of his great record at Bolton," he said. "He can turn this round. He needs time to put his stamp on it." Man of the match Ryan Taylor Provided the one moment of skill in a match where Wigan showed endeavour and Newcastle revealed nothing Best moment The deft free-kick which earned Wigan a rare victory

It was mentioned when he took over the club but I don't believe it came from a direct quote, although Sir John Hall might have mentioned it in his statement.

I agree, although I seem to be chairman of the Sham Sam out campaign, sacking him without any plans of a replacement would be foolish (although I do wonder if Pearson or Round as caretakers could do worse) what Mort and Ashley need to do is find a replacement and then and only then sack Allardyce.

Agreed, his record in his final months was worse than Roeders. and as for losing it on the pitch, that is quite correct, but the architect of this failure is the man that selects formation, players, tactics and motivates them, of course the pitch is the arena of failure or success, but ulitmately it is the preparation and decision making that is the under-riding reason.

Allardyce close to breaking point at Newcastle By Mark Ogden Last Updated: 9:53pm GMT 26/12/2007 Wigan Athletic (0) 1 Newcastle United (0) 0 Having been subjected to nothing short of a savaging by his own club's supporters as his team suffered one of their more depressing defeats of a turbulent season, manager Sam Allardyce treated his Newcastle United players to a similarly stinging rebuke after Ryan Taylor's second-half free-kick pushed him closer to the precipice at St James' Park. Booed en masse by the 5,000 travelling supporters when he merely caught a ball on the touchline, and treated to chants of "Shearer, Shearer" by the disillusioned Geordies, Allardyce opted to go on the front foot in an effort to restore his authority and shift the spotlight of blame on to his failing players. It is a risky tactic. Dressing-room discontent has already been mooted on Tyneside, but if the players are unhappy, they will be even more so after having their commitment, desire and quality questioned by Allardyce - rightly so in most cases - after this woeful performance. "I don't blame the fans. If I was one of them, I'd be singing what they were singing because it just wasn't good enough," Allardyce admitted. "I'm a top man in my field and I know it's not good enough. They have been watching for long enough, so it doesn't take them long to realise it isn't good enough as well. They are not daft. "These are the players that I've got, but too many are showing me what they are about on the bad side of the game. In the end, some of the individuals in my team failed to live up to their reputations. "The level of form that they drop to is unacceptable, but they have to accept the pressure and use it as a positive, not shrivel and die. Roll your sleeves up and go and fight because we can't rely on ability alone." advertisement Mike Ashley, the Newcastle owner, probably kept a dignified silence when the supporters alongside him in the away enclosure at the JJB Stadium began to vent their anger at Allardyce by chanting Shearer's name towards the end of this dismal defeat. Ashley might have bitten his tongue, but he would not have been able to cover his ears to blank out the discontent. Allardyce has lost the support of the demanding Newcastle public, who continue to adore former club captain Shearer, and he will not win it back if his side continues to play as badly as they did against Steve Bruce's team, who escaped the bottom three for the first time since October thanks to Taylor's second-half goal. "We're s*** and we're sick of it!" was another chant aimed in Allardyce's direction after Taylor's 20-yard free-kick. Too many of Allardyce's charges let him down, but changing a manager is easier than shipping out 20 players and that is Allardyce's problem - and Ashley's. # Football fans' forum For Bruce, only a month into his job at the JJB, the honeymoon period is still in full swing, however, and the former Birmingham manager is now confident that his team can escape relegation. He said: "A month away, we looked adrift with Derby, but we have now shown that we have the stomach for the fight. Let's hope we can stay out of the bottom three all the way now."

Aye, he had a face like a slapped arse, I've only ever seen him grinning.

Some folk call that humour.

Top marks, you are willing to defend the undefendible, that takes guts, hats off to you kid for your bravery.

Was he filling out a P45 ?

Players must shoulder some of the blame but the majority of it must always be the manager, it is he that selects the team, selects the formation and delivers the team talk, is it any coincidence that so many of our goals conceeded are within ten minutes of the start ? or half time ? perhaps his team talks aren't as inspiring as he'd have us to believe !

Is it any coincidence that all thost teams have new managers ???? Of course not, changing manager does nothing, does it ? Missed Bolton as well. I'd rather have fans snigger at us for changing manager than sniggering at us week in week out for fucking up against the likes of Derby and Wigan etc.

Is it any coincidence that all thost teams have new managers ???? Of course not, changing manager does nothing, does it ?