Jimbo

Travis - Selfish Jean

and has had a shit attitude.

Got to be dead cert for the job following his resignation comments :"The intensity of football at the highest level, although completely addictive, is also draining. "I feel I would be kidding the chairman, my players and the supporters if I was to carry on without being able to put in the energy and dedication I know is required to be successful at this level."

Shepherd remained in talks with Sam Allardyce and his representatives on Monday as he attempted to push through the deal they discussed at a meeting on Friday. Allardyce was at Old Trafford on Monday for the launch of the PFA Centenary Cricket XI v Football XI Twenty20 game, and told Sky Sports: "Obviously there is an interest in Newcastle, where we have had a discussion, and we will see where it goes from there. "Of course it has popped up a bit quicker than I thought and whatever happens in the next few days will be vital in terms of what announcement will be made." Shepherd is hopeful of being able to unveil the former Bolton boss later this week - perhaps on Wednesday - and he knows speed is of the essence for more than one reason. Stuart Pearce's apparently precarious position at Manchester City, who have also been repeatedly linked with Allardyce as takeover talk continues, has increased the urgency on Tyneside. Paul Jewell's resignation a day after preserving Wigan's Premiership status has thrown a further element into the equation with Eastlands tipped as his destination, but Newcastle's need is growing by the day. The bald facts of Dunday's trip to relegated Watford are that the Magpies returned with a 1-1 draw with left them in 13th place in the table with 43 points, their worst ever Premiership return. But as so often with the men from St James' Park, that told only a fraction of the story. Neither £10million striker Obafemi Martins nor talented French midfielder Charles N'Zogbia were included in the 16 at Vicarage Road. It emerged later that N'Zogbia had been withdrawn after reacting angrily to being named among the substitutes, and that leading scorer Martins, who had declared himself unfit on the morning of the game, did not go to the stadium and has not been since. The French midfielder, who insiders at St James' Park believe has had his head turned by speculation linking him with Arsenal, did travel back to Tyneside with the rest of the party and is expected to be disciplined this week. However, his behaviour and that of Martins, who scored 17 goals in his first season in England, is symptomatic of the malaise within the squad which has drawn a scathing response from some of the senior players. Keeper Shay Given, who is approaching 10 years as a Newcastle player, pulled no punches as he assessed a disastrous season. He said: "It has been disappointing and there's no papering over the cracks. We have not all performed and been at the top of our game this year. "A lot of players have got to look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves could they have done better this season? I think the answer will be 'yes' from a few of them. "At the moment, we are all frustrated, both personally and as a team. We are 13th and with no silverware again." Whoever is installed as Roeder's successor faces the task of identifying not only which players, but also which characters, he wants in his squad and ridding the club of the dissenters. His mission will be complicated by the need to generate his own transfer funds with Shepherd unlikely to be able to provide anywhere near the level of funding being suggested in some quarters after handing Graeme Souness and Roeder £65million in the last two and a half years. Whether or not that means cashing in on £17million striker Michael Owen, whose future remains the topic of intense speculation, remains to be seen, although the striker's main concern at the moment will be the concussion he sustained in a collision with team-mate Matty Pattison on Sunday.

Get Sam signed up quick Freddy !

Breaking news

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/p...m=1&bbram=1 BBC showing its class again !

Almost as good as winning a trophy.

FYP Touche....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6653123.stm Who is Lucas Leiva? What is his true position? And based on a previous article about South American youngsters leaving too early, eg. Gabriel Paletta, is Lucas ready to come to the Premiership just yet? Mark Williams, Leamington Spa (and many others) These moves are always a gamble, but I think this is a good one. He's an exciting player of a type that Brazilian football hasn't produced too many of recently. Of late their central midfielders have tended to be 'holders' who sit and allow the full-backs to push forward. Lucas is different. He's a big, blonde figure whose power and physical strength comes with attacking ability. He can pass well and loves to rumble forward. He gets on the scoresheet both with blistering shots from range and from bursting beyond the strikers. You can certainly imagine him playing alongside Javier Mascherano, for example. I don't have the same fears for him as I did with Paletta. He's had two full seasons behind him - one helping Gremio win promotion from the second division, and then last year's success when he was chosen as the player of the championship. In a perfect world you might want him to stay another year before moving on, but (a) Gremio need to sell to balance the books and ( with Liverpool's strength in depth in central midfield it looks as if his first campaign will be a bedding in season.

FYP

Someone should print off all the old stories where Oliver has slagged off Allardyce in the past and send them him if he takes over. See how far his arse licking gets him them. Aye I was thinking that actually, there's loads of times he's had a proper go at Allardyce. Would certainly stop the weasel in his tracks trying to sidle up to Fat Sam. He's clearly shitting himself that he'll be out of the loop.

What you need is a deluxe office commode !!

They deserve eachother.

Good, they can both cock off.

Me too

AWOL - Martins goes missing May 14 2007 By Alan Oliver, The Evening Chronicle Newcastle United's £10m man Obafemi Martins walked out on the club yesterday, putting his future at St James' Park in doubt. And to add to United's misery, caretaker manager Nigel Pearson was forced to remove French midfielder Charles N'Zogbia from the subs' bench for the game at Watford during the pre-match team meeting in their Hertfordshire hotel. Now United will be even more determined to push through the appointment of Sam Allardyce because it will take a manager of his standing to sort out the mess at St James' Park. United flew back to Tyneside last night after their 1-1 draw with Watford without Martins. But N'Zogbia travelled back with the team group and at least had the good grace to look sheepish after his tantrum. A United source told me today: "When the team reported on Saturday for training, Oba Martins declared himself unfit, even though the medical people could find nothing wrong with him. "He did not want to travel, but Nigel Pearson and Lee Clark, who were in charge of the team, told him he had to get on the plane and that he would have to undergo a fitness test at Watford yesterday morning. "On Sunday morning he did not have a fitness test but declared himself unfit. He said that he had no intention of going to Vicarage Road, even though he was ordered to by the coaches as he was still a member of the squad and everyone should stick together. "As a result, Martins did not go to Vicarage Road. He did not fly back with the team and at this moment in time nobody knows where he is." While all this was going on with Martins, N'Zogbia was infuriating senior members of the United team with his behaviour. The source added: "In the team meeting, while Nigel Pearson and Lee Clark were going over tactics, N'Zogbia was texting on his mobile phone. "Some of the senior palyers were furious, and as a result N'Zogbia was removed from the substitutes' bench." In my view, N'Zogbia has contributed very little to United this season, and Glenn Roeder substituted him at half-time in the recent defeat at Portsmouth because of his attitude. Martins has scored 17 goals in his first season for United, some of them truly fantastic, but in the nine games since the UEFA Cup defeat by AZ Alkmaar in Holland, he has only managed one. In the first leg at St James' Park he scored twice and had a blinder, but he refused to go to the sponsors' lounge and accept his man of the match trophy. As a result, United have now implemented a rule that any player not meeting the sponsors - who pour millions of pounds into the club - will be fined a fortnight's wages. Despite having some truly great professionals at the club like Shay Given, Steve Harper, Nicky Butt and youngsters Steven Taylor, James Milner and Peter Ramage, there is no doubt that morale and discipline has been lacking from some players in the latter part of the season. Earlier in the season, Nobby Solano and Albert Luque had been ordered by Roeder to board the team bus going to Middlesbrough after they found out they were not in the manager's starting line-up. In addition, Craig Moore has been conspicuous by his absence lately because United felt he was spending too much time in Glasgow. And what about Kieron Dyer? His lack of celebration when he scored yesterday gave fans I have spoken to the impression that he could be on his way out of St James' Park in the summer. And, in my opinion, so too will Michael Owen. On the N'Zogbia situation, caretaker manager Nigel Pearson said: "He was on the bench originally, but I changed it. Charles did not really want to be there (on the bench). "I have no idea whether he stayed at the ground to watch the game. "You can make your own judgements about it, but it is very important that everyone associated with the club acts in a professional manner. "Will there be disciplinary action taken? That is something for the coming week."

I downloaded it too, not used it yet though, I might install it on the kids PC if I get bored.

Yes, he did exactly the same thing

wash your mouth out with soap !

Breaking news on SSN

Some of the UK's best-selling chocolate bars, such as Mars and Twix, will no longer be suitable for vegetarians. Also affecting brands such as Snickers and Maltesers, owner Masterfoods said it had started to use animal product rennet to make its chocolate products. Masterfoods said the change was due to it switching the sourcing of its ingredients and the admission was a "principled decision" on its part. The Vegetarian Society said the company's move was "incomprehensible". 'Extremely disappointed' Masterfoods said it had started using rennet from 1 May and non-affected products had a "best before date" up to 1 October. Rennet, a chemical sourced from calves' stomachs, is used in the production of whey. It will now also be found in Bounty, Minstrels and Milky Way products, and the ice cream versions of all Masterfoods' bars. "If the customer is an extremely strict vegetarian, then we are sorry the products are no longer suitable, but a less strict vegetarian should enjoy our chocolate," said Paul Goalby, corporate affairs manager for Masterfoods. The Vegetarian Society said it was "extremely disappointed". "At a time when more and more consumers are concerned about the provenance of their food, Masterfoods' decision to use non-vegetarian whey is a backward step," it said in a statement. "Mars products are very popular with young people and many will be shocked to discover that their manufacture now relies on the extraction of rennet from the stomach lining of young calves," it added.

SSN just quoted the back page of the chronicle saying that N'Zogbia was texting on his mobile during the team talk and was removed from his position on the bench, but flew back with the squad, but they seem to be making more of Martins pulling a Bellamy.

Manic Street Preachers - Your love alone is not enough