Isegrim

I think HTT is the source of the rumour that Hitzfeld applied for the job last time, which I have told him several times that I think it is totally bollocks. The focus on his spell with Bayern is not very clever as you can arguably say that his greater success was the work he did with Dortmund which rather qualifies him for the Toon job than his time at a club which already was a European force.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/4692714.stm

Precisely why there is little chance of him coming here... 90654[/snapback] Oh, I thinkt the chances are not as bad as some people make out. It all depends on which jobs are available at the time he makes the decision. At the moment there are only few, like the Real Madrid one or the English one. By finally sacking Souness Newcastle put them at the front of the queue. 90714[/snapback] Actually, screw Newcastle, I would love to see the FA try and appoint a German to the England role. 90742[/snapback] We were discussing this at Monday night after playing football. Though, the Irish lads and I think that Souness would be a better choice, because with Hitzfeld there would still be the chance that he was winning the fans and media over with success. Maybe I should set up the website www.sounessforingerland.com.

Probably right, but at least this time they took action, because the behaviour of some players, the offcials and the security staff was disgusting.

Too bad that in the past I stated that I prefer Hiddink...

Well, that's the same what NJS said a couple of times. IMHO the reasons of getting Hitzfeld are much better when we tried to sign Rooney, because of the lack of competition. That's unless by moving for Hitzfeld we force Ferguson to rethink his retirement plans or Arsenal parting company with Wenger etc. But as I said to NJS a couple of times, not moving for a top class manager because is an absolutely absurd idea. Basically would always have to settle for second best because of fear that a manager or player could get attracted by a 'bigger' club. And Hitzfeld has no track record of breaking contracts or sticking to his word. Far from it. 90717[/snapback] What do you thinkis the likelihood he would come Isegrim, assuming Shepherd contacted him of course, and the finances were favourable? 90718[/snapback] Let's say it wouldn't be forlorn hope, but as I said it basically depends on his range of attractive options. Newcastle would be very similar to his task with Dortmund, only that he already has better players to his disposal. And he wants to manage abroad and especially in England. We'll just have to wait and see what comes out of it.

Well, that's the same what NJS said a couple of times. IMHO the reasons of getting Hitzfeld are much better when we tried to sign Rooney, because of the lack of competition. That's unless by moving for Hitzfeld we force Ferguson to rethink his retirement plans or Arsenal parting company with Wenger etc. But as I said to NJS a couple of times, not moving for a top class manager because is an absolutely absurd idea. Basically would always have to settle for second best because of fear that a manager or player could get attracted by a 'bigger' club. And Hitzfeld has no track record of breaking contracts or sticking to his word. Far from it.

Precisely why there is little chance of him coming here... 90654[/snapback] Oh, I thinkt the chances are not as bad as some people make out. It all depends on which jobs are available at the time he makes the decision. At the moment there are only few, like the Real Madrid one or the English one. By finally sacking Souness Newcastle put them at the front of the queue.

Wszystkiego najlepszego zokazji urodzin!

Do I have to eat humble pie?

So you do think there is a racism problem in the UK? Because as I understand it the article is having a dig at the UEFA official who is implying that there is a big problem... 89856[/snapback] Fúcking hell, is there no end to it on this forum. In point of fact I was agreeing with the comments from Gemmill about the shite in the piece, so if you have a problem and want some kind of expansion about why it's shite, I suggest you ask him or anybody else who thinks it's crap and that Uefa is run by arseholes. Don't ask me 'cos I can't be arsed to get drawn into something else. 89869[/snapback] Well, by stating it is a "shite article" I understood you meant the article itself is shite. If you only meant it is dealing with a shite subject then fair enough. But I am willing to drag this further into a mulit-page argument if you want. I can even throw in the odd insult, you racist middle-class Englishman.

Hmm, well looking like Andres Segovia, Berthold Brecht and the Dalai Lama is one thing ... but Shania Twain and Hillary Clinton?

So you do think there is a racism problem in the UK? Because as I understand it the article is having a dig at the UEFA official who is implying that there is a big problem...

He won the Falkland war 99 times by beating Australia in the playoffs.

In front of the family enclosure?

Anyone else wondering why .com are really quiet about the record. No article. Nothing. I remember them making much more fuzz about Shearer's records in the past...

Nah, there was to much distraction on the field this time...

A clincher for any woman surely? 89451[/snapback] Catmag should spread the word under the nurses...

What's about flight fares? And I might come a bit late if this is no problem...

It depends on the manager who comes in and the players who go out. If we get a decent manager and keep hold of important members of the current squad (especially Michael Owen) then a challenge for a top six spot has to be the ambition. You can fail if the performances are all right, but I don't want a season like this to be happen again.

Fair enough. Daft question then. I was trying to find out the criteria people are looking for in a manager, nobody seems to know, instead just throwing names into the ring. Seems people still don't really know. I also expect a bunch of posts touting Roeder for the job if we win the FA Cup and he becomes a 'legend'. Hence my reference to the FA Cup. I think he'll do a decent job, certainly better than the retard who has pissed away £50m of the club's cash, but I'm hoping FS appoints a top class, proven manager. If that's not possible then he needs to look at someone young but who is showing potential to become a top manager, the only one I can think of is Pearce, maybe Paul Jewell. Early days for Pearce though. Anybody is a gamble though. 89407[/snapback] Ok, I misread your first post and admit I only was skipping through. Here is what a new manager needs for me: - he has to really want the job (and not just seeing it as a challenge because he failed at his last one) - he has to have an idea about what he wants to achieve and how he is going to achieve it. - he has to have ideas about the strengths of the squad and the weaknesses and adjust his gameplans and tactics as they fit - he has to work on the player's fitness and minimize self-made injuries - he has to have the right eye for players, either new signings or players coming from the own youth set-up - he has to have good motivation skills as the confidence of players is one of the most important aspects in football. - he has to be able to manage difficult characters, because bad persons can be great footballers. - for game tactics itself: he has to want to dominate games and try to have a go at other teams, i.e. not playing to not loose games, but to play to win games. There are probably more points my ideal manager has to fulfil, but these are the most important. There probably is no manager who fits every condition but he has to fulfil the majority and not (like the last one) nearly none. I am not sure about Pearce yet, but admit he does a good job so far. But there are the likes of Hiddink and Hitzfeld who I think would be fantastic choices. Allardyce has a lot of positive aspects as well, so has Martin O'Neill. I just don't want Bruce because he is a Geordie or other uninspiring managers of the same calibre (like the one from Middlesbore)...

Well, working at the back four + 'keeper isn't easy in 5-a-side games...

Torygraph.

Toon army love taste of chopped Souey By Matthew Norman (Filed: 05/02/2006) A few weeks ago, contemplating the imminent union of Graeme Souness and a redundancy cheque, I mentioned briefly meeting him and asking if he saw himself as the man to resuscitate Spurs. "Son," he said, "the club I couldn'ae turn round has yet to be built." The question that occurs today is not why this winsome self-belief proved misplaced, but whether anyone alive could do for Newcastle United what he could not. Is it possible that the club are beyond redemption, and if so why? Newcastle United, their supporters love to remind us, are a "sleeping giant", and as such begin to make Rip Van Winkle look a chronic insomniac. Yet after 37 trophy-free seasons, many spent outside the top division, Newcastle's colossal fan base sustains a state of heightened expectation. For them, as for other weird religious cults, salvation is always imminent. So preposterous is this faith that you wonder whether secretly these fans share with compulsive gamblers a craving not for success, but defeat. We know them to be exhibitionist sadomasochists from all their bare-chested posing for the midwinter cameras, and they seem to relish perpetual disappointment as much as hypothermia. To hear foot soldiers in the Toon army interviewed the day Souey departed was to hear the authentic voice of rapturous self-pity. They loved it, to borrow from their least unsuccessful manager in memory, really loved it, knowing full well that spectacular failure is the only realistic method by which a habitual mediocrity can excite interest. Provoking continual gossip about managerial sackings with exaggerated intolerance is the way to attract national attention, and so warm the shirtless on icy nights. No wonder, then, that they drive a manager out most seasons. They need a permanent state of melodramatic crisis to create the facade of relevance, much as the Tories did in the barren years between Major and Cameron. Souness was hired only because no one whom the board wanted would touch the position, and now Glenn Roeder and Alan Shearer cannot wait to rule themselves out. These are ambitious people, yet they knock each other over to escape supposedly one of the great jobs in domestic football because their instincts tell them that Newcastle cannot be turned around, and that whoever takes the job will fall into the chasm between the fanciful expectations of the supporters and the prosaic reality of life as a medium-ranking Premiership non-entity. Only an idiot or a madman, or a combination of the two, would want to follow Messrs Souness, Robson, Gullit, Dalglish, Keegan and the other lustrous names who have failed at St James' Park. My tenner's on Roy Keane.