tinofbeans

I think he'll be in charge for our next game, rightly or wrongly....

Here we go, then, time to lampoon Kevin Keegan again. Time to repeat that he's a blubby man-child, that from the moment he returned to Newcastle in January he was a tantrum waiting to be thrown. Time to smirk knowingly that this was always going to end in tears. Well, maybe it was, what if his departure, which according to our information has indeed happened though it has not yet been confirmed by the club, wasn't Keegan's fault? What if the cliché isn't true? One of the underlying causes of the frustration that famously led Keegan to jack in the England job while in the Wembley toilets was that the FA had refused to let him hire Arthur Cox as his right-hand man (on the grounds, according to Keegan, that at 60 Cox was too old). At Newcastle he was able to resume his long and fruitful working relationship with Cox – until last month, that is, when Cox stepped down without public explanation. That was perhaps a sign of how grim the environment was, an environment in which Keegan was undermined not by his own emotional frailty but by a perverse structure that enabled celebrated football guru Denis Wise to exert more influence on the team than him. Owner Mike Ashley, who has admitted to not knowing the extent of debt he inherited when he bought the club, and who possibly knows more about the intricacies of Jupiter's magnetosphere than he does about football, lured Keegan back with extravagant dreams. They slowly unraveled, revealing a bleak reality. Word is that the two players Newcastle bought yesterday were not the ones Keegan thought the club would pursue when he very reluctantly agreed to last week's sale of James Milner. Even if Keegan did throw a wobbler during yesterday's board meeting – and there is no indication that he did - would such a reaction not have been justified? What would hurricane hairdryer Sir Alex Ferguson, who once threatened to quit Manchester United if club suits didn't sanction the purchase of Dwight Yorke, have done? What would Rafa Benítez, he of the public strops and regular pops at his employers, have done? Who would Brian Clough have punched? Even newbies like Roy Keane and Mark Hughes, what would they have done? Doesn't nearly every manager have a strategic diva inside them? Keegan may not always have deployed her judiciously, but on this occasion an outing would have been well in order. Hell, even the club's famously faithful fans have become exasperated, as proved by the 5,000 empty seats in their only home game of this season. In addition to sniggers about his sensitivity, the other gibe chucked at Keegan when he took charge eight months ago was that, having been out of serious football for the previous three years (his soccer circus doesn't quite cut it, apparently), he couldn't possibly know how things have moved on; he would, mocked the mockers, be blissfully, idiotically unaware that his juvenile idealism was even less likely to succeed now than before. The notion that he was the man to shore up Newcastle's notoriously feeble defence was openly ridiculed. And yet, shore it up he gradually did, even though arch-pragmatist Sam Allardyce couldn't. He also started to wring decent performances from Geremi, Nicky Butt and, of course, Michael Owen, none of whom he bought but all of whom improved under him. He started to grind out results; he exposed the patronising bilge. His record of six wins in 21 matches is nothing to boast about but those victories, and impressive draws such as this season's opener at Old Trafford, all came after a bad start. There were clear signs, then, that, unlike under Allardyce, Newcastle were getting better. But no, it turns out Ashley is making them worse.

and theirin lies the problem. neither did he

I could see this coming a mile off. Keegans known his weaknesses with regards the squad and it takes wise and his goons a while to assemble what will be the makings of some good squad players but not reinforcing the first team to make him go off on one. its a bluddy shame but i don't think ashley wants to splash the cash at all. if he'd have got more money for smith he'd have gone to everton, i reckon that was nailed on and he wanted rid of barton and i really think long term he wants rid of owen. thier link is of course that they are the highest earners at the club (with the exception of owen, earners may not be the best word!).... I can understand ashleys perspective but (as i reckon keegan would have said) you have to replace the high earning players with quality first or at least have a plan to get new decent players in. tis a shame.

50 Members: peasepud, paddy, canofbeans, adam_cann, Craig, Tom_NUFC, JonGoodwyn, Jimbo, khay, Holden McGroin, donaldstott, Besty, Scottish Mag, Jonny2J, Southern Geordie, Krug, grasshopper, trophyshy, ewerk, Fordy, jonpneumonic, maggiespaws, triggy99, ChezGiven, acrossthepond, robchester, Knackers, Andrew, Paul, Del Pede, Offshore Toon, Gejon, East Stander, Geordie Lad..., ElmptGeordie, Danny B, Barton7, Stevie, wykikitoon, marci, NJS, indigo, spongebob toonpants, Tecato, Yorkie-Geordie, Sicklee Sausage Roll, Shearergol, I R Toon Fan, mattypnufc, lQmmel server meltdown!

fuckinghell ... any more surreal news! can't beleive the robinho thing!

that what you call it nowadays!

hope so.

thats about right. Mate of mine's canned going to chelsea this year as he's unable to afford it and his kid can't come along to the games. sad state of affairs.

eh?

fuck all of that attitude shit. he's got the smallest ears of anyone i've ever seen. for that reason alone we must sign him!!!!

whats your point Jonny.

agreed. butt looked like he ouldn't cope, and their movement got through us a few too many times. Jonas and given were different class and i like guthrie's attitude and basic ability. shola and the zog looked shit.

that'll do me!

hopeful of a point. soak the pressure up and break using Jonas's pace. attack their weak defensive midfield positions.

thats a good one.... true as well. we all need our 7 hours. take some advice, don't stare into a computer screen all day, its bad for you. mix it up a bit, watch telly as well.

idiots for idiots. thats what music telly's all about.

15 goals. ha. the way villa play he's backup for ashley young, who is a much better player btw.

viana! hahah

the lads our best player, he deserves to be on the best wages. tie him to a deal based on goalscoring with a huge bounus per goal and a reduced basic wage. that'll motivate him to stay. does anybody know what his goal bonus is because thats the starting point.

Bit fucking petty all of this. but funny...

so far this season, both our non premiership players have done really quite well. I guess we'll know their impact at the end of the season though.

we can afford it. just depends who? would love to see joaquin/ joe cole here. very doubtful if either could be afforded though.

depends. whats Joaquins sell on clause?

true enough, the average charver cunt thinks he's good at football...