Jimbo

A poor argument in my opinion, its the performances that seem to be getting the fans backs up rather than actual results, and how can you compare a Newcastle team that were probably favourites to either struggle or go down against a Newcastle team that were many people's "dark horse" for a European place at the start of the season.

From my point of view, the league position at the moment isn't my main worry, I'd have predicted anywhere around the middle reaches of the league this season, my number one concern is the manner of which we are playing, the mood of the players, the poor tactics and subsitutions, they worry me far more than actual results at the moment.

I'm not demanding instant success, nor am I calling for his head. What I've said is that what I have seen thus far has been very worrying, especially considering the quality of opposition we've faced. We've seen no sign of effective tactics or team selections, something which should be fairly basic for a decent manager. What I have seen is a manager trying to implement a system that was successful with his previous club but simply doesn't translate to the squad of players we currently have and this has been evident in the performances and results this season. 14 games should be more than enough for any decent manager to see the mistakes he is making and rectifying them, if results and performances don't improve between now and Christmas then I'll be calling for his head. Well said, one thing that does amaze me is how poorly drillled our defence seems, virtually all of our senior coaching staff were defenders and recent performances aside, we have bought some quality defensive players recently, I just find it so hard to believe that we have seen no improvement with our problems at the back.

In my own mind I've always countered the argument that Shearer has no experience with comparisons with Keegan, Dalglish to a lesser extent because of his inheritance and lately Keane. I think all three have the character needed to be winners. That doesn't mean I don't think Sam does bus as others have suggested I've always felt he just didn't "suit" us. This view has now been augmented by exactly the points DK makes here - the bargepole factor and the fans backing factor both being huge. Maybe with the right coach it could actually work. Agreed

Since when did you become chief fucking moaner? Honestly, I thought you had more sense than to advocate getting shot of a manager 14 games into a campaign. If we were rock bottom and hadn't won a game, fine, but fucking hell the way you're going on you would think we were dead certs for the drop. Changing a club from top to bottom takes time. I'm amazed you don't see that. Clearly Allardyce to me, is what Martins is to you. As I've said before, I don't understand the logic that giving a manager more time is the universal guarantee for success, I don't think Allardyce is going to turn us into a top side, his reputation is purely based on his record at Bolton, I don't see it as an outstanding track record of consistancy, and yes, taking a club from the bottom to the top does take time, but only when it works, giving a manager more time can equally guarantee disaster as often as it can guarantee success.

In truth, I'm not too alarmed by our current league position, what does alarm me is the manner of which we are being beaten, and the root causes, all of which lay at the feet of our illustrious manager. When we finished in disapointing league positions under Sir Bobby, we weren't suffering in the manner that we are under Allardyce.

I wish Souness and Roeder had been sacked 15 matches into their reigns. Ultimately giving a manager time only earns justification if he ends up getting it right. I'd rather folk laugh at us for ditching an inefective manager than for getting sucked into a relegation battle. We won't get relegated, we'll finish where we deserve to, which is between 10th and 12th. We finished 11th in our first full season under Robson by the way. I'm not suggesting we'll get relegated, but I do believe if we continue on this course we'll end up getting sucked into a scrap near the bottom.

We finished 11th in '99-2000 and '00-'01. When would you have advocated sacking Robson? Since when did more time become the universal cure for shite management ?[/paxman] Should Christian Gross been given more time at Spurs ? Should Howard Wilkinson been given more time at Sunderland ? Should Paul LeGuen been given more time at Rangers ? Should Alain Perin been given more time at Portsmouth ? Would more time have seen those loons turn things around ? Allardyce is bombing equally as badly as that sorry shower, football is a results business and not getting results gets you the bullet, harsh but a bitter reality.

Since when did more time become the universal cure for shite management ?

I wish Souness and Roeder had been sacked 15 matches into their reigns. Ultimately giving a manager time only earns justification if he ends up getting it right. I'd rather folk laugh at us for ditching an inefective manager than for getting sucked into a relegation battle.

ALAN SHEARER will ignore an imminent approach from the Football Association about the England job and take over as manager of his home-town club, Newcastle United, if they lose at home to Arsenal on Wednesday. He has been widely regarded as a contender to succeed Steve McClaren as England’s head coach, but he told friends in midweek that he would rather earn his black and white stripes at St James’s Park, given the chance. That opportunity became a definite possibility last night, after Newcastle’s 3-1 defeat away to Blackburn Rovers left Sam Allardcyce under extreme pressure, just four months after taking charge at Newcastle. Allardyce has now seen his team pick up just one point from their last five games, during which they have conceded 13 goals. The club’s owner, Mike Ashley, had told friends in midweek that he was “very disappointed” with his team’s start to the season, and that he would reappraise Allardyce’s position in the light of the next two games. Yesterday’s result therefore makes Wednesday’s match a win-or-bust situation for a manager who was interviewed for the England job only 18 months ago. Allardyce wants to stay and prove his worth, but he may not get the chance. The ‘Toon Army’ have not been impressed with his no-frills style of football and hanker after the appointment of Shearer, who has let it be known that he sees the club with whom he finished his playing days as the ideal starting point for his break into management. The day had started with Joey Barton condemning the fans’ treatment of the players and the manager. “I don't think I have heard a crowd that vicious,” he said. “Last Saturday I was sitting on the bench and after 20 minutes I had picked up on it. At half-time I was with Peter Crouch and he said, 'I've never heard a crowd so vicious.' It shocked me." That game had been marked by chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” aimed at the Newcastle dugout. Yesterday, Blackburn fans took their turn to mock the beleaguered manager. Arsène Wenger saw his Arsenal team continue their unbeaten run and establish a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League, after a 2-1 win at Aston Villa. Arsenal fell behind early on to a Craig Gardner strike but recovered with first-half goals from Mathieu Flamini and Emmanuel Adebayor. Behind them, Chelsea moved into second place after beating West Ham 1-0 at home with a goal from Joe Cole, who appeared to have scored from an offside position. Manchester United, a point behind, play Fulham on Monday.

A square peg in a round hole ? yes.

3-1.

Shut the fuck up !

BIG SAM'S BLACK AND WHITE ARMY !

MARTINS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Clearly Allardyce thinks 4-4-2 is just a magazine title.

Even though I'm not exactly Allardyce's number 1 fan, I can see a lot of sense in what Barton has said, although I question how productive pointing the finger at the crowd is, SJP becoming a theater of hate is not the way forward, but also if the crowd feel that their "loyalty" and intelegence is insulted by the manager's actions then they have the right to voice their objections.

U2 - The Joshua Tree - Remastered 2007 Special edition.

Happy Birthday dude !

By Michael Walker Published: 01 December 2007 In a rare and raw assessment of what it feels like to be a professional footballer under pressure from a club's own supporters, Joey Barton has described the atmosphere surrounding Newcastle United as vicious, surreal and detrimental. Barton said he was shocked by the mood at St James' Park during Newcastle's 3-0 home defeat by Liverpool last Saturday and has asked Newcastle fans to reconsider their relationship with the team. Until it changes and improves, Barton said there could be no progress. "It was surreal," Barton said of the atmosphere against Liverpool. "I don't think I have heard a crowd that vicious. I was sitting on the bench and after 20 minutes I had picked up on it. It was still 0-0 at that point. At half-time I was walking down the tunnel with Peter Crouch and he turned and said: 'I have never heard a crowd so vicious.' To be honest it shocked me." Large sections of St James' had turned on Sam Allardyce by the time Barton left the bench in the 51st minute and the serious nature of the divergence in opinion between manager and public as to how Newcastle should play may be witnessed once again today when Newcastle visit Blackburn Rovers. With one point from their last 12 and having endured defeats at Derby and Reading this season, Newcastle have still managed to sell over 5,000 tickets for Ewood Park. But another disjointed performance today and Allardyce and some players can expect fresh criticism from the travelling fans. Barton is pleading with them for patience and understanding. "I can understand their frustration," he said. "I'm not saying it's not deserved, but we want them to stay with us. "Unless it is addressed and we all get together as one and say: 'Well, we're not having the best time of it, but let's give my support to Newcastle United', then our next home game is against Arsenal and, if we are greeted by that sort of atmosphere, we will lose again. "Unless they change that mentality and get with it, start supporting the side through poor results, then things won't change. It's the easiest thing in the world to be negative, but I would like them just to try to be positive, to say: 'Even if 51,999 are going to be negative, I will try to be positive.' If we can all be positive, before we know it we will turn it around. "We want to earn the respect of the fans. If I had been watching the Liverpool game I would have been disappointed, but it's easy to be negative. As a club, as a city we have to try to be positive. "If we can get the crowd behind us then it lifts the place – it almost becomes a 12th man. I have watched Liverpool and the Kop become a 12th man in the Champions League. That is what we need. The amount of people, with their passion, it can have a similar effect at Newcastle; if it doesn't, it's detrimental." Barton did not excuse Newcastle's players, saying that they had yet to gel, but he argued that would not happen in the current climate on Tyneside. He added that if Newcastle United gains a reputation for being a difficult place to settle then existing players will wish to leave and others will not come. "People have talked about a fear factor up here and you sense it. The minute someone gives the ball away, or the minute someone does something wrong, or there's a backpass, they are greeted with disapproval and jeers. It's like England, the fear of failure. Without being unkind to them [the fans], the Keegan era is gone. In an ideal world we would be playing like that but this is not an ideal world. The squad is in transition, there's been injuries to players like myself. "This is a high-pressure football club. I can only speak for myself and how I feel. I know there are others feeling it. You look at the calibre of players over the last 10 years since Keegan and there are a lot of good players – the Kluiverts, Jenases and Parkers – and this crowd has been vicious enough to eat players up. They are top, top players and they didn't do so well here. When you think about it, you can understand it. It's easy for someone to buckle in that kind of atmosphere." Barton, 25, moved to Newcastle to replace Scott Parker this summer having endured "trials and tribulations" at Manchester City, as well as having touched "rock bottom in my private life." He sees a counsellor from Tony Adams' Sporting Chance charity in order to curb previous recklessness and, as became clear, has been told this week about the importance of remaining positive. "Negative breeds negative," he said. "Unless it is turned around here with some drastic change of thought, it's going to be the same here for this manager, the next manager and whoever comes in after that. Sam's a good manager and the players have to turn up on Saturday and do it, because he is getting the brunt of the criticism. It should be the players. He doesn't deserve it. "This is a time for coming together and seeing who the men are amongst us. If we don't, this club will be in big trouble. It's trench warfare, if you sit there in the trench you will be bombarded and overrun. I will go to war with them [blackburn]. It's not about passing the ball around and being nice. It's about going to Blackburn – one of the best teams in this league, one of the best units – and overcoming them. It's not the time to shirk responsibility. As the manager said this week, anyone who doesn't fancy it: leave."

RIP, what a legend, a childhood hero of mine, I tossed myself off many a ramp as a child in his honor.

This man should be shot for crimes against music

Agreed. I would put the block on the aid for a few months just to show them that we can't be fucked around with, then ban religion in this country, anyone found practicing will get 40 lashes apart from Pastafarianism, obvioiusly!

Still in a taxi looking for Happy Faces Aunties House? I don't think I've laughed as much as we did that night in months, although I do feel a tad guilty.