Jimbo

You managed to find a buyer for those two discs than got 'lost' then, eh Pud? Mrs N has isformed me that she's not spending much on me this year. Fine, if that's the way she wants it as greedy as I am, I'd rather the kids have a bulging sack on xmas morning rather than me

I think me and the Mrs will just exchange £20, we've spent on the kids this year rather than eachother.

Performance > Position There were some shit performances mixed in there as well though, Jimbo. They seemed to die out once Wadsworth found a new job mind. I can't disagree mate, but one major difference is that we weren't scratching our heads at basic managerial decisions like we are at the moment.

Performance > Position

Good call, Layne Staley's voice was amazing.

tried it in a different slot ?

I hope he gets a collective "ssssshhhhhh" from the crowd on Wednesday night

He needs more time because he can't pick the right team, select the right formation, play his players in their correct positions, find the right tactics or make the right substitutions, clearly needs more time to get these basic managerial requirements right.

He can't sing tbh. Coming from you that is probably the best argument for my vote for Bono, you've saved me a lot of time. The man can't hit high notes. He just strains through every song. It's awful. I think hitting the hight notes is one of Bono's strengths but its all down to what sounds right to your ear, its not about specifics, its taste, I love Bono's voice, especially from around the era of The Unforgetable Fire and The Joshua Tree, incredible vocal performances on both albums, but I do believe his voice is no where as good as it used to be.

Alan Shearer is understood to be prepared to end his sabbatical from football if a managerial vacancy arises at Newcastle United. Sam Allardyce is under increasing pressure at St James' Park and, with Newcastle having taken only one point from their past five games, there are suggestions that defeat at home to Arsenal on Wednesday could prompt his dismissal. Although Newcastle poured scorn on such a notion yesterday and said newspaper reports claiming Allardyce was one game from the sack were "not worthy of comment", Mike Ashley, the club's owner, is believed to be giving thought to his manager's future. Last night friends of Shearer indicated that the former Newcastle and England captain would be interested in managing his home-town club should Allardyce, who witnessed a 3-1 defeat at Blackburn on Saturday, fail to turn things around. Currently working as a football pundit for the BBC and serving as a special ambassador at Newcastle, Shearer is admired by Ashley and the club chairman, Chris Mort. He has not completed his mandatory professional licence qualification but has been on several coaching courses since retiring from playing and would almost certainly be permitted to follow in the footsteps of Middlesbrough's Gareth Southgate and initially manage in the Premier League without one. The former striker has been touted as a potential successor to Steve McClaren as England's head coach but it is understood that he would be more interested in coaching Newcastle than his country. Ironically Allardyce, who left Bolton Wanderers for Tyneside six months ago, was beaten to the England job by Steve McClaren in the spring of 2006. After succeeding Glenn Roeder at St James' Park he oversaw Newcastle's best start to a season for a decade, but results have since gone awry amid rumours that certain players are underwhelmed by his tactics and training methods. Should Allardyce survive defeat against Arsenal, Saturday's home match against Birmingham City could further determine his, and Shearer's, immediate future. Big Sam v Big Al Sam Allardyce Worn Newcastle No9 shirt? No United goals Played for Sunderland? Yes Managerial trophies Father in local sheet metal business? No Dubbed 'geordie messiah'? No Alan Shearer Worn Newcastle No9 shirt? Yes United goals 206 Played for Sunderland? No Managerial trophies Father in local sheet metal business? Yes Dubbed 'geordie messiah'? Yes

I must agree here, seems to me that with a bonafide left-back like Enrique whom Sam brought in to play there, is fit and on the bench, why does Sam keep putting Zoggy there, OUT of POSITION. Seems to me that Souness & Roeder didn't use that tactic in the absense of a bonafide left-back(Babayaro) but resorted to the use of Huntington & Edgar even Carr. What benefit does Sam see in playing Zoggy there rather than wide left where he has given his best performences. And what benefit does Sam see in playing Milner OUT of POSITION on the left side? I don't see any. It may seem like a broken record to keep on about playing people OUT of POSITION, but something is very wrong somewhere. Maybe there are those who don't see N'Zogbia as a left-back and Milner on the left side of midfield as players being played out of position? Samuel Allardyce for one.

Bollocks. If we'd been playing pish and getting results there'd be a collective tug-a-thon on here. If we'd been playing well and losing just as many people would be picking holes in the side. As for the last part then you need to stop talking to these 'many people' because they're quite clearly nutters. I'm not suggesting folk would be happy, but they'd be showing damn sight more patience, of course you'll always get the boo boys, but no one was baying for Sir Bobby's blood in those first couple of tentative seasons in the manner that they have under Allardyce, mainly because fella wasn't taking the piss out of the fans with his team selection, and players clearly wanted to play for him, do our rabble look like they are playing for Sam ? They did against Blackburn. You honestly can't claim that half the side that Allardyce has brought in have decided they don't fancy playing for him anymore. It's a load of fantastical bollocks drummed up by the papers. Funny how when we were doing well the likes of Martins were coming out saying they'd "Stay as long as Sam stayed" yet today in the paper I read a drummed up bit of shite from Oba, originating from an interview months ago saying he was going to up sticks. Get behind the side and the manager rather than helping L.Taylor and her pals from the Sunday papers stoke the fucking flames. Since when can we believe what Martins says ! Trust me, I want Sam to be a success, I was delighted when he was appointed, I've just started having some serious doubts as whether he's the right man for the job, and I've been arguing the point that getting rid of the wrong man early, deserves as much kudos as giving the right man enough time. Time will tell.

Bollocks. If we'd been playing pish and getting results there'd be a collective tug-a-thon on here. If we'd been playing well and losing just as many people would be picking holes in the side. As for the last part then you need to stop talking to these 'many people' because they're quite clearly nutters. I'm not suggesting folk would be happy, but they'd be showing damn sight more patience, of course you'll always get the boo boys, but no one was baying for Sir Bobby's blood in those first couple of tentative seasons in the manner that they have under Allardyce, mainly because fella wasn't taking the piss out of the fans with his team selection, and players clearly wanted to play for him, do our rabble look like they are playing for Sam ?

He can't sing tbh. Coming from you that is probably the best argument for my vote for Bono, you've saved me a lot of time.

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.