Jimbo

WHATEVER ELSE one might say about Sam Allardyce, he is bound to change the way Newcastle do business. The newly-appointed St James' Park manager signed or took on loan no fewer than 49 players from the summer of 2002 to the present. In that same time, Newcastle United brought in just 29, despite the fact that they had three different managers - Sir Bobby Robson Graeme Souness and Glenn Roeder - each of whom, presumably, was eager to bring in "his guys". It's worth contemplating that number again: 49 players in five years, almost a full side every 12 months. By contrast, in the same period, Sir Alex Ferguson acquired 22 new faces, Arsene Wenger 32 and even a guy like Alan Curbishley, forced to make emergency buys to avoid relegation year after year, limited himself to 38. Allardyce's buys span the gamut from hidden gems to guys who simply remained hidden. Imagine the following XI: Ian Walker; Ibrahim Ba, Cesar Martin, Zoltan Harsanyi, Blessing Kaku; Fabrice Fernandes, Bulent Akin, Dwight Pezzarossi; Javi Moreno, Chris Armstrong, Mario Jardel. All of them are players Allardyce signed for Bolton, between all 11 of them, they made just one Premiership start. And that has pretty much been the Allardyce way: chuck as much as you can against the ceiling and see what sticks. Thus, for every Jay-Jay Okocha there are a handful of Delroy Faceys, Salva Ballesta and Steve Howey (three Premiership starts between them). And for every Tal Ben Haim, there is a cluster of Les Ferdinands, Ali Al Habsis and Matt Jansens (a trio who started just four league matches). This is not to denigrate Allardyce in any way. On the contrary, his approach took Bolton to four consecutive top-eight finishes. What's more, he did it without jeopardising the club's finances: rather than signing players to long-term deals, most of his arrivals were either on loan or one-year contracts which meant, even in the case of relegation, Bolton would not have been saddled with an unwieldy wage bill. Of course, Newcastle is an entirely different proposition. The funds are there, fueled by the loyalty of the Toon supporters and the notion, repeated so often - and most recently by chairman Freddy Shepherd - that it must be true, they are "one of the twenty biggest clubs in the world". The club's prospective new majority shareholder, the reclusive Mike Ashley is a very wealthy man and the Newcastle supporters expect him to pull, if not an Abramovich, then at least a Dave Whelan. On Friday, Ashley announced a full review and it remains to be seen what role, if any, Shepherd will play in the future: given that, under his stewardship, Newcastle's share price lost nearly 25% of its value, it may be wise to show him the door. In any case, every indication is that Allardyce will rebuild the side top to bottom, which is good news for agents and intermediaries. One of his first moves as Newcastle manager was to axe in one fell swoop no fewer than six players (Oguchi Onyewu, Olivier Bernard, Craig Moore, Pavel Srnicek, Titus Bramble and Antoine Sibierski): a necessary move to clear space for the new faces. With Lee Clark moving into a full-time coaching position and Scott Parker shipped off to West Ham, his squad is left with just 15 senior professionals among the outfield players which is, no doubt, the way Allardyce likes it, because it leaves plenty of room for new signings. And there will be lots of work to do, particularly if Allardyce is to replicate at St James' Park the style and formation which were so successful for him at Bolton. Simply put, he and Roeder have diametrically opposing views of the game, which is why something radical is about to happen: either an overhaul of the squad or an overhaul of Allardyce himself, which is rather unlikely. Start with the forwards. At Bolton he like them brawny and strong in the air. At Newcastle, his two best strikers are Obafemi Martins and Michael Owen, both of whom are of the small and quick variety, which is why he secured the services of a bruiser like Mark Viduka on Thursday. Owen is still untouchable in England, which would suggest Martins is either headed for the bench or the wing or another club which is a bit of a shame for a striker who, at 22, was the clubs' top scorer last season. Allardyce likes his wingers and in James Milner, Damien Duff and Kieron Dyer he has a ready-made trio, provided they stay healthy. Joey Barton, his top midfield target, looks to fill the role that was Kevin Nolan's at Bolton, but the rest of the middle of the park is up in the air. At the Reebok he could count on Gary Speed and Ivan Campo, big, slow veterans who were also exceptional in the air and dead-eye passers of the ball. Now, he's stuck with the pixieish Emre Belozoglu and the ageing Nicky Butt, neither of whom seems to fit the mold, which would suggest more signings. But it's at the back where he'll have to do most of his wheeling and dealing. With the exception of Steven Taylor, who seems the prototypical Allardyce central defender, the rest is up for grabs. Ben Haim, who was so effective for him at Bolton, is already pencilled in as his next signing, not least because he, like Viduka, is on a Bosman. Don't be surprised then if, when Newcastle kick off the 2007-08 season, goalkeeeper Shay Given is the only survivor from the XI that started in last year's opener. It's not just a function of Allardyce's penchant for wheeling and dealing, it's the necessity to rebuild a squad which has lacked an identity for too long. Reconstructing it will take time, especially if the goal is to rebuild it in Allardyce's image.

FYP

There wasn't much of gap when you were appointed you fucking cock.

Aye but after I posted... ...you chose to drag it back up and continue something I am sure most on here do not care about it. Why not simply PM him if you want to contact him?

Bakari Sagna (born February 14, 1983 Sens, Bourgogne) is a French soccer right-sided defender who has been playing for AJ Auxerre in the top division of French soccer since the 2004-5 season. Sagna has played for the French under-21 team during the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. He has been linked with English giants Arsenal and Newcastle United. He received his first call-up for the senior France National Team on May 24, 2007 for the Euro 2008 Qualifiers against Ukraine and Georgia.

The Who - Won't get fooled again

Rocky blocked punches with his face.

TRANSFER RUMOURS Manchester United are close to sealing a deal to land West Ham's Argentine star Carlos Tevez but face a battle with Inter Milan. (News of the World/The People) Gunners manager Arsene Wenger will "categorically" remain at Arsenal next season. (News of the World) Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez will not be given mega-bucks by the club's American owners to splash out on top stars. (News of the World) Manchester United could face a £10m battle with Juventus for Dutch star Klaas Jan Huntelaar. (News of the World) Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler has had talks with LA Galaxy. (News of the World) David Beckham could be reunited with former Real Madrid team-mate Luis Figo at LA Galaxy after the Portuguese star was released by Inter Milan. (Sunday Express) Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele could be poised for a move to American side Houston Dynamo. (The People) Newcastle are hoping to pip Arsenal for Auxerre full-back Bakari Sagna. (News of the World) Newcastle have made a £9m move to take Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy back to St James' Park. (News of the World) Birmingham manager Steve Bruce wants to sign Liverpool keeper Scott Carson on a long-term loan for next season. (News of the World) Birmingham are the target of a £70m takeover bid by a mystery Far East businessman. (News of the World) Sheffield United boss Bryan Robson is targeting Blackburn star Robbie Savage as his first major signing. (The People) Bolton are set to sell midfielder Kevin Nolan, sparking the interest of Everton, West Ham, Middlesbrough, Manchester City and Sunderland. (The People) Sunderland are hoping to sign former Newcastle defender Andy O'Brien . (News of the World) Reading have joined the battle to sign West Brom's Wales midfielder Jason Koumas for about £6m. (News of the World) Spurs striker Jermain Defoe has snubbed the chance to make a £12m return to West Ham. (News of the World) Bolton are leading the chase for Reading's Irish winger Stephen Hunt. (News of the World) Birmingham boss Steve Bruce is chasing Everton striker James Beattie. (News of the World) Aston Villa chief Martin O'Neill is lining up a move for Hamburg's Dutch international midfielder Nigel de Jong. (News of the World) West Ham are demanding £10m for unsettled skipper Nigel Reo-Coker. (News of the World) Yakubu is on the brink of walking out on Middlesbrough (News of the World) Rising Brazilian star Kerlon is set to join Middlesbrough from Cruzeiros. (The People) Preston striker David Nugent will definitely leave the club to play in the Premiership next season. (News of the World) OTHER GOSSIP English football is set to be rocked by a wave of arrests as investigations into transfer bungs intensify. (News of the World) Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce says he is powerless to to prevent Michael Owen from leaving the club. (Sunday Mirror) Former England chief Sven-Goran Eriksson has seen his bid to buy South African club Hanover Park fall through. (Sunday Mirror) Back to top AND FINALLY It's cheaper to watch Barcelona than Wigan. A JJB Stadium season ticket will cost £250 next season, the cheapest in the Premiership but a season ticket at the Nou camp is just £110. (Sunday Mirror) Antoine Sibierski turned down a move to Bolton after they asked him to undergo a three-day medical. Instead, he signed for Wigan where the procedure took 20 minutes. (The People) Back to top

Creed - My Sacrifice

http://www.heatworld.com/Article.aspx?arti...fter+losing+bet

Instead it's being done with cash fleeced from the charva public. I don't see a problem He's already flogging Toon shirts at a discount: http://www.sportsdirect.com/category.pasp?...allNewcastleKit

With all the takeovers of other clubs I had been thinking for a good while that surely our time will come, and it seems it has, and I'm glad its being done with English money rather than cash fleeced from the Russian or Thai public.

That's the kind of drink I'd expect the Fish to drink I'm sure he does, but only when the butler serves it.

Proper farting material that Jimbo Just had some frosted shreddies. Got three massive pork chops in the fridge that need used so I'll probably have an OD on Pork later You aren't wrong dude, my arse is like a trumpet at the moment.

Heinz Sweet chilli Mean Beanz with uncle Bens rice and a toasted cheese and onion Panini.

Foo Fighter - All My Life

Christmas Avatar? Worse than having a tree up in October tbs tbs Who says it's snow...? After all, the volcano has erupted, big style, over the last 24 hours

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007260630,00.html

Feeder - Feeling a moment

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtm...09/sfnnew09.xml

Justice !

I was going to say that Forever now to be known as The Gay Emre