Kitman

Thanks for clearing that up. As you may have said to Pete Sakes already

I notice you didnb't answer the question. Something to hide?

Who's Pete Sakes? And why would you need to change your underwear for him?

Never change your underpants. That's what he means.

Hughes is surely a better option than McLeish? Manager of their local rivals who's got them relegated twice - you can understand why the Villa fans are less than enthusiastic. Not that I've any sympathy for them.

He does seem like an underwhelming transfer target, if this is true

I think Nolan going may hasten his exit. Or it may be intended to.

Krul *New* -- Taylor -- Coloccini -- *New* Tiote *New* ---------- Cabaye Ben-Arfa *New* --- *New* Christmas Tree formation

Dunno about transfer in and out but this reminded me of the immortal Ali Dia story http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Dia Signed by Graeme Souness at Southampton on the basis of being George Weah's cousin, one dodgy sub appearance and 2 weeks later his contract was cancelled. Nice work Graeme.

Mate we played some awful football under Fat Sam. Plus as I recall the defeatist tactics in some matches were just terrible - hanging on for a draw from the kick off and hoping to nick a goal from a set piece. iirc we even managed to lose to Derby City in a season where they were wupped by everybody and in fact got the lowest points total in PL history. He bought some rubbish players like Alan Smith and Geremi and I remember that when Fat Sam was sacked the new coaches were shocked at the conditioning of the players - so much for the sports science approach which needed legions of extra staff apparently. I know some people rate him and said he didn't have long enough with us, but we didn't have a great experience with him. So I wouldn't be that trusting in the man. Oh man...that was the last thing I wanted to read just before i go to bed. Oh well lets hope he does not do the same at our club. I seriously cannot imagine him being even close as bad a Grant. He has also made a good start considering the fact he is still on holiday! At this rate he should stay there as it might work out better for us! Well it could work out OK, especially given he's effectively starting from scratch with you. But I think he's a moany bullshitter (and nothing is ever his fault), so I've never liked the man. Good luck anyway

Mate we played some awful football under Fat Sam. Plus as I recall the defeatist tactics in some matches were just terrible - hanging on for a draw from the kick off and hoping to nick a goal from a set piece. iirc we even managed to lose to Derby City in a season where they were wupped by everybody and in fact got the lowest points total in PL history. He bought some rubbish players like Alan Smith and Geremi and I remember that when Fat Sam was sacked the new coaches were shocked at the conditioning of the players - so much for the sports science approach which needed legions of extra staff apparently. I know some people rate him and said he didn't have long enough with us, but we didn't have a great experience with him. So I wouldn't be that trusting in the man.

I'm dubious that wholesale change is going to translate into instant success on the pitch. In real life if you replace 4 or 5 players from a team it takes time for them to gel and get used to playing together. If the replacements are foreign and have never played in the PL, it's even harder. I know that's what pre-seasons are for but it's different when the real matches kick off. Sorry if I'm stating the obvious.

I'm in two minds about this. I can see the logic of it. His legs seem gone already, he wants to see out his career with us, and he's probably not a guaranteed starter next season. Why not cash in now, especially as he won't sign a new contract? However....as things stand I don't think we can afford to lose his goals. Plus he obviously has great leadership qualities and is probably the heartbeat of the dressing room. I wonder what the knock on impact will be. As Stevie said recently, you can't put a price on good morale. We're losing someone who seems to understand the club, gives his all and won't let others hide. No doubt we'll get in some good foreign pros but don't expect them to give a shit. If we end up at the start of the season with a team that has pace, skill and goals in it, we'll probably not feel the lack of Nolan. If we end up with Best and Shola labouring up front, and a midfield that goes into hiding on a wet Wednesday night in Swansea or wherever, then maybe we'll think it wasn't such a smart move. Two things strike me about this. Firstly it feels opportunistic - it 's probably more about Fat Sam wanting Nolan than Nolan wanting out, and the club jumping at the chance to cash in. Secondly it makes Pardoo look more of a eunuch than ever. No way would he want to lose a senior pro like Nolan unless he was seriously undermining him.

At least they've got a striker to sell

Terek Grozny coach Ruud Gullit was fired on Tuesday after they lost a match that Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader billed as the Dutchman's last chance to prove he cared more for their poor league form than partying. The former World Soccer Player of the Year, who took the job with the Chechen team at the start of this year, was told on the Russian Premier League club's website he would be sacked if they did not win at Amkar Perm. After they lost through an own goal in the dying seconds, the leader of Russia's volatile Muslim Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, who is also the club president, said: "Gullit will no longer train Terek. "He was unable to prove himself as a trainer. Under his command this season the team managed only poor results in every game," Kadyrov told the Interfax news agency. Terek are languishing in 14th place in the 16-team top flight. "We hoped Gullit would look after the players, that he would bring an improvement. But our hopes were dashed and we are obliged to do without Gullit's services," Kadyrov said, adding the Dutchman refused to accept any blame for poor performances. Instead of rolling up his sleeves and working to improve the team's league position, Gullit, 48, was "thinking about bars and discotheques," the club had said ahead of the match. "Considering all this Ramzan Kadyrov is presenting Ruud Gullit with the task of bringing back three points from Perm. "In the event of the opposite outcome Gullit will be dismissed from the position of head coach." When the Dutchman signed an 18-month contract, Kadyrov said his task was to help the club qualify for European competition at the end of the 2011-12 season. Terek finished 12th last year. Gullit, named World Soccer's Player of the Year in 1987 and 1989, is one of the most successful Dutch footballers of all time. He captained a scintillating Netherlands side to the 1988 European Championship title and at club level the forward helped AC Milan win the Champions League in 1989 and 1990. Gullit has also coached English Premier League sides Chelsea and Newcastle United along with Dutch giants Feyenoord and Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy.

Don't bother with him man, he's aloof

Dunno how they prove something like that anyway. They'd be better off coming to a quick agreement with Villa to bung them some compo and invest their energy on getting in a decent replacement imo. McLeish might do them a favour and get Villa relegated......

So you've taken a disliking to him because he was aloof with you when you met him, and from that you conclude that he won't make a successful manager? Sorry mate but it hardly sounds like a considered opinion to me. I think you'll find few people are saying he WILL be a good manager at Cardiff or elsewhere. Just that it's too soon to say he won't be. So you might be right, but it'd be no more than a lucky guess at this stage.

I think unless they're from the North East, most players we sign will only care about the money, profile and winning things. In time they may grow to love the toon and its people but that's not the initial attraction.

Based on what though? Kean's failed at Sunderland and Ipswich. Shearer had 8 games at NUFC when they were all but relegated. How can you compare the two, unless you've worked with Shearer and know him well? Even then, he hasn't had a proper run at the job, so it would be prejudicial to draw any conclusions about his character. Plus you're ruling out the possibility he's smart enough to learn and adapt. I don't think you've thought this one through. I think its an opinion. Given theres a 50% chance of one of us being right, I aint losing any sleep over the sheep, Ba'iiiiinnnnngggggg Wasn't it Rodney Marsh who said "Yes, the game is all about opinions, except yours is shit"? Usually an opinion has some basis in fact. I think what you're talking about is a gut feel? Why is your opinion any more right than mine?????? Because yours is shit Seriously, I'd respect your opinion on this if it had any basis. But as it stands it just sounds like you're prejudiced against him, I'm not sure why.

Based on what though? Kean's failed at Sunderland and Ipswich. Shearer had 8 games at NUFC when they were all but relegated. How can you compare the two, unless you've worked with Shearer and know him well? Even then, he hasn't had a proper run at the job, so it would be prejudicial to draw any conclusions about his character. Plus you're ruling out the possibility he's smart enough to learn and adapt. I don't think you've thought this one through. I think its an opinion. Given theres a 50% chance of one of us being right, I aint losing any sleep over the sheep, Ba'iiiiinnnnngggggg Wasn't it Rodney Marsh who said "Yes, the game is all about opinions, except yours is shit"? Usually an opinion has some basis in fact. I think what you're talking about is a gut feel?

Based on what though? Kean's failed at Sunderland and Ipswich. Shearer had 8 games at NUFC when they were all but relegated. How can you compare the two, unless you've worked with Shearer and know him well? Even then, he hasn't had a proper run at the job, so it would be prejudicial to draw any conclusions about his character. Plus you're ruling out the possibility he's smart enough to learn and adapt. I don't think you've thought this one through.