Back to the future

[LeazesMag 0]

People need to understand the difference between what we expect of Ashley and what we believe Newcastle United should be going for. I expect that that Ashley will make an arse of things again and show no ambition. I believe though that this is not acceptable for a club of our size. We should be looking to get back into the top ten and beyond. If we don't manage it and we finish fourteenth or whatever fine then fine but it should not be because of a belief that we can't be better than the likes of Stoke or Birmingham (two much smaller clubs who have managed to be mid to top half of the premier league in their first season in the top flight).

Finishing just above the bottom three should be the ambitions of clubs the size of Burnley, Hull, Watford, Barnsley etc who don't have our stature or revenue streams and only make it into the top division once every god knows how many years.

There can be no guarantees of success and there is no expectation that we will be able to acheive a European finish (or even a top ten) but a lack of ambition to even try for that is a crime just as bad as forcing Keegan to sign players he didn't want to appease some foreign agent or appointing Joe Kinnear as his replacement. We should expect more and with the money we put into the club we deserve more. If you don't believe that, there are plenty of other clubs you could go and support who have no other ambition than to just survive in whatever division they are in!

 

quite refreshing to see people starting to agree with what I have been saying for years.

 

Nowt personal DK I'm talking about the general opposition I used to get when I used to say this all the time.

I'm actually a bit concerned at how much I agree with you on this now LM

 

The lack of ambition of some and the way the press seems to be ramming it down our throats that we've made mistakes in the past and should apparently be over the moon just to be back in the top flight is really starting to piss me off. I remember back in 80's when this seemed to be general attitude of the fans and board. That lead to us signing players like George Rilley, Pat Heard and Billy Whitehurst and ultimately almost led to us in the third league of English football for the first time in our history. Personally I don't want to see those days ever again but Ashley seems to think he can run the club like he runs his shops. If that's what he wants then he should have bought a smaller club that could deliver on the fans expectations under those constraints. We should never accept him dragging us down to that level! We should be aiming to compete for a European spot (the financial muscle of the top four might make the champions league impossible without one of them suffering serious financial meltdown or us getting some rich arab) but a wafa cup spot cannot be dismissed. We won't get there next season but have to aim for it!

 

I also said that, either on here or NO, early on in Ashley's reign when I rumbled him .......

 

It's so frustrating tbh, looking at the club, I honestly never thought we would go back to the days of Seymour, McKeag again.

Edited April 15, 2010 by LeazesMag

[David Kelly 1117]

People need to understand the difference between what we expect of Ashley and what we believe Newcastle United should be going for. I expect that that Ashley will make an arse of things again and show no ambition. I believe though that this is not acceptable for a club of our size. We should be looking to get back into the top ten and beyond. If we don't manage it and we finish fourteenth or whatever fine then fine but it should not be because of a belief that we can't be better than the likes of Stoke or Birmingham (two much smaller clubs who have managed to be mid to top half of the premier league in their first season in the top flight).

Finishing just above the bottom three should be the ambitions of clubs the size of Burnley, Hull, Watford, Barnsley etc who don't have our stature or revenue streams and only make it into the top division once every god knows how many years.

There can be no guarantees of success and there is no expectation that we will be able to acheive a European finish (or even a top ten) but a lack of ambition to even try for that is a crime just as bad as forcing Keegan to sign players he didn't want to appease some foreign agent or appointing Joe Kinnear as his replacement. We should expect more and with the money we put into the club we deserve more. If you don't believe that, there are plenty of other clubs you could go and support who have no other ambition than to just survive in whatever division they are in!

 

quite refreshing to see people starting to agree with what I have been saying for years.

 

Nowt personal DK I'm talking about the general opposition I used to get when I used to say this all the time.

I'm actually a bit concerned at how much I agree with you on this now LM

 

The lack of ambition of some and the way the press seems to be ramming it down our throats that we've made mistakes in the past and should apparently be over the moon just to be back in the top flight is really starting to piss me off. I remember back in 80's when this seemed to be general attitude of the fans and board. That lead to us signing players like George Rilley, Pat Heard and Billy Whitehurst and ultimately almost led to us in the third league of English football for the first time in our history. Personally I don't want to see those days ever again but Ashley seems to think he can run the club like he runs his shops. If that's what he wants then he should have bought a smaller club that could deliver on the fans expectations under those constraints. We should never accept him dragging us down to that level! We should be aiming to compete for a European spot (the financial muscle of the top four might make the champions league impossible without one of them suffering serious financial meltdown or us getting some rich arab) but a wafa cup spot cannot be dismissed. We won't get there next season but have to aim for it!

 

Is exactly what virtually everyone has said

Wrong. People like your good self have been suggesting that we should be looking to stay up this season and be happy if we finish 17. I am saying we should be aiming for the top seven and I would be happy finishing mid table. It's the ambition I'm talking about. You seem to be happy with the way Ashley is wanting to play it!

 

 

But its not a case of not having ambition, its just simply not realistic to aim to finish 7th next year.

 

I will remind you that the current top 7 looks like this....

 

Chelsea

Man Utd

Arsenal

Man City

Tottenham

Liverpool

Aston Villa

 

How on earth you think its realistic to aim for seventh spot and dislodge Villa or Liverpool in our first season back with a limited talent pool of players and a probable limited budget.

 

This is a weaker team than the one that got relegated. Most of those teams that were better than us then have strengthened while we've been away so simply surviving our first year back will be a great achievement, regardless of our name, reputation or past efforts.

I don't expect to finish in the top seven at all with Ashley in charge. I expect that we will go along with your plan and aim to just survive. I beleive a club of our size should however be able to compete with all but the top four (who because of finances are currently out of our reach) and I beleive we should be aiming to do so. I still wouldn't expect that we would be able to achieve a European spot next season though without a massive spend on players. But by aiming that bit higher I think we would push ourselves more and be able to attract better players. This would allow us compete around the top ten places and give us a much better platform for attacking Europe the next season (which I admit would still be a very difficult ask given the start the teams above us have.

See if you read what I have said you should be able to understand that I don't expect to finish in Europe next year or even the top ten. I only expect us to make that our goal. I don't personally see why out performing Stoke, Fulham, Birmingham or the makems should be that difficult a prospect.

[LeazesMag 0]

People need to understand the difference between what we expect of Ashley and what we believe Newcastle United should be going for. I expect that that Ashley will make an arse of things again and show no ambition. I believe though that this is not acceptable for a club of our size. We should be looking to get back into the top ten and beyond. If we don't manage it and we finish fourteenth or whatever fine then fine but it should not be because of a belief that we can't be better than the likes of Stoke or Birmingham (two much smaller clubs who have managed to be mid to top half of the premier league in their first season in the top flight).

Finishing just above the bottom three should be the ambitions of clubs the size of Burnley, Hull, Watford, Barnsley etc who don't have our stature or revenue streams and only make it into the top division once every god knows how many years.

There can be no guarantees of success and there is no expectation that we will be able to acheive a European finish (or even a top ten) but a lack of ambition to even try for that is a crime just as bad as forcing Keegan to sign players he didn't want to appease some foreign agent or appointing Joe Kinnear as his replacement. We should expect more and with the money we put into the club we deserve more. If you don't believe that, there are plenty of other clubs you could go and support who have no other ambition than to just survive in whatever division they are in!

 

quite refreshing to see people starting to agree with what I have been saying for years.

 

Nowt personal DK I'm talking about the general opposition I used to get when I used to say this all the time.

I'm actually a bit concerned at how much I agree with you on this now LM

 

The lack of ambition of some and the way the press seems to be ramming it down our throats that we've made mistakes in the past and should apparently be over the moon just to be back in the top flight is really starting to piss me off. I remember back in 80's when this seemed to be general attitude of the fans and board. That lead to us signing players like George Rilley, Pat Heard and Billy Whitehurst and ultimately almost led to us in the third league of English football for the first time in our history. Personally I don't want to see those days ever again but Ashley seems to think he can run the club like he runs his shops. If that's what he wants then he should have bought a smaller club that could deliver on the fans expectations under those constraints. We should never accept him dragging us down to that level! We should be aiming to compete for a European spot (the financial muscle of the top four might make the champions league impossible without one of them suffering serious financial meltdown or us getting some rich arab) but a wafa cup spot cannot be dismissed. We won't get there next season but have to aim for it!

 

Is exactly what virtually everyone has said

Wrong. People like your good self have been suggesting that we should be looking to stay up this season and be happy if we finish 17. I am saying we should be aiming for the top seven and I would be happy finishing mid table. It's the ambition I'm talking about. You seem to be happy with the way Ashley is wanting to play it!

 

 

But its not a case of not having ambition, its just simply not realistic to aim to finish 7th next year.

 

I will remind you that the current top 7 looks like this....

 

Chelsea

Man Utd

Arsenal

Man City

Tottenham

Liverpool

Aston Villa

 

How on earth you think its realistic to aim for seventh spot and dislodge Villa or Liverpool in our first season back with a limited talent pool of players and a probable limited budget.

 

This is a weaker team than the one that got relegated. Most of those teams that were better than us then have strengthened while we've been away so simply surviving our first year back will be a great achievement, regardless of our name, reputation or past efforts.

I don't expect to finish in the top seven at all with Ashley in charge. I expect that we will go along with your plan and aim to just survive. I beleive a club of our size should however be able to compete with all but the top four (who because of finances are currently out of our reach) and I beleive we should be aiming to do so. I still wouldn't expect that we would be able to achieve a European spot next season though without a massive spend on players. But by aiming that bit higher I think we would push ourselves more and be able to attract better players. This would allow us compete around the top ten places and give us a much better platform for attacking Europe the next season (which I admit would still be a very difficult ask given the start the teams above us have.

See if you read what I have said you should be able to understand that I don't expect to finish in Europe next year or even the top ten. I only expect us to make that our goal. I don't personally see why out performing Stoke, Fulham, Birmingham or the makems should be that difficult a prospect.

 

nailed.

 

And - the next time we do qualify for europe/finish in the top 4,5,6 positions on a consistent basis, and then drop out of it for a few years, the way to get back is NOT by selling our best players and "starting again" with lower ambitions.

[peasepud 59]

How far we have fallen has just been proven to me in the last 5 minutes.

 

a group of 8 young lads, no more than 12 or 13 years old have wandered past my house from the local field, football in hand, all of them wearing football strips and not a single one was a Toon top.

 

Not one out of 8 local kids, the future of this football club wore its colours. I saw Man U x 3, Chelsea x 2, Argentina, Everton and even a Birmingham strip but no black n white or even yellow.

 

How can we ever expect to raise the bar if the future support of the club is non-existant? if we dont get the 13 year olds supporting us then we'll never get them at any stage. Yes they may attend a few games because they fancy watching a game or more likely, because they get to see their team play us but they're not going to pump the money in, they're not going to go to away games, buy the shirt, duvet or commemorative "we got a draw against Stoke" dvd.

 

In turn, their kids wont even contemplate supporting the Toon because their fathers wont even attempt to get them interested like some of these kids dads no doubt have.

 

Worrying.

[OTF 6191]

That is worrying.

 

Birmingham WTF!?

[OTF 6191]

aye. Stability doesn't create success, its success that creates stability.

 

Long term for sure. You need to be setup to allow for some bumps along the way though.

 

In 88-89 when we were relegated, in his third year at Manchester United the Alex Feguson lead side finished in 11th. The following year they only managed 13th, yet cooler heads prevailed and he kept his job. We all know how the story goes from there.

 

Ultimately though the key is getting the right man in the job, giving him the resources required to do what he wants, at the same time investing in the youth and training facilities for long term benefit.

[LeazesMag 0]

aye. Stability doesn't create success, its success that creates stability.

 

Long term for sure. You need to be setup to allow for some bumps along the way though.

 

In 88-89 when we were relegated, in his third year at Manchester United the Alex Feguson lead side finished in 11th. The following year they only managed 13th, yet cooler heads prevailed and he kept his job. We all know how the story goes from there.

 

Ultimately though the key is getting the right man in the job, giving him the resources required to do what he wants , at the same time investing in the youth and training facilities for long term benefit.

 

and people slate the Halls and Shepherd for doing that, and wax lyrcial over Ashley [and other clubs who never got anywhere near us during their 15 years] and say that they have a "superior business model", and we should be patient, and we should now aim for the same targets as they do.

 

You simply, just could not make it up.

[OTF 6191]

and people slate the Halls and Shepherd for doing that, and wax lyrcial over Ashley [and other clubs who never got anywhere near us during their 15 years] and say that they have a "superior business model", and we should be patient, and we should now aim for the same targets as they do.

 

You simply, just could not make it up.

 

You don't seem to understand that any targets that people are talking about for next season are just that - for next season. What do you think we should be aiming for next season?

 

I know it's not your style to answer a question in a response, but I implore you to give it a go.

[LeazesMag 0]

and people slate the Halls and Shepherd for doing that, and wax lyrcial over Ashley [and other clubs who never got anywhere near us during their 15 years] and say that they have a "superior business model", and we should be patient, and we should now aim for the same targets as they do.

 

You simply, just could not make it up.

 

You don't seem to understand that any targets that people are talking about for next season are just that - for next season. What do you think we should be aiming for next season?

 

I know it's not your style to answer a question in a response , but I implore you to give it a go.

 

 

explain with examples

 

I have ALWAYS said exactly as I am saying now, especially to those who insisted that during the 15 years we were the 5th most qualified team for europe that we were run by good directors rather than shit ones. Laughable.

 

I have stated my case and target clearly enough, it certainly isn't the levels of clubs with half the fanbase that we have.

[OTF 6191]

You don't seem to understand that any targets that people are talking about for next season are just that - for next season. What do you think we should be aiming for next season?

 

I know it's not your style to answer a question in a response , but I implore you to give it a go.

 

explain with examples

 

I have ALWAYS said exactly as I am saying now, especially to those who insisted that during the 15 years we were the 5th most qualified team for europe that we were run by good directors rather than shit ones. Laughable.

 

I have stated my case and target clearly enough, it certainly isn't the levels of clubs with half the fanbase that we have.

 

For the first, and perfect example see above.

 

I'll now ask you two questions (one being the one that you already failed to answer). So that I have two more examples to add within this very thread.

 

(1) What do you think we should be aiming for next season?

 

(2) What to you think I am saying we should be aiming for next season?

[dbsweeney 0]

I think that the only difference between the likes of myself, OzToon, CT etc. (and I hope I'm not being too presumptuous ), and that of LeazeMag, Swindle etc. is that we disagree about the speed at which we hope NUFC will achieve success.

 

LeazeMag, when I talk about expectations for next year, I'm not also discussing my expectations for the following years etc. Just because I think we should consolidate for 2010-11, doesn't mean I think we shouldn't aim higher (and start bringing in more expensive players) for 2011-12 and the following seasons.

 

I think we all agree a lot more closely than we realise. We all want success for the Club, I think we just disagree about our expectation of how quickly it can be achieved.

 

We certainly aren't being doomsayers and expecting NUFC to be a yo-yo club, I just think we have to be realistic about what we can achive next season given the circumstances as they stand at the moment.

[sammynb 2929]

aye. Stability doesn't create success, its success that creates stability.

 

Long term for sure. You need to be setup to allow for some bumps along the way though.

 

In 88-89 when we were relegated, in his third year at Manchester United the Alex Feguson lead side finished in 11th. The following year they only managed 13th, yet cooler heads prevailed and he kept his job. We all know how the story goes from there.

 

Ultimately though the key is getting the right man in the job, giving him the resources required to do what he wants, at the same time investing in the youth and training facilities for long term benefit.

 

TBH Ferguson took them to 2nd in 1987/88 and it's a well known fact that winning the FA Cup in 1989/90 saved him from the chop, so the SAF argument really is moot point. A result the other way in the FA Cup and chances are Man U wouldn't have equalled Liverpool's record for the most top flight championships.

 

And not that I'm putting words in LM's mouth but shouldn't every club, no matter what league they are competing in, be aiming to win their league?

Yeah we all know the harsh realities but to just aim for survival is defeatist.

If we're meant to have "measured" expectations then we would all be supporting our local lower league teams but we don't because as good value it is to see Darlo, etc for a 10 or 15 quid, who the fuck wants to give their heart to a club with a limited future???

[OTF 6191]

And not that I'm putting words in LM's mouth but shouldn't every club, no matter what league they are competing in, be aiming to win their league?

 

Should definitely be aiming to win every match that is played, that's for certain (tough for clubs with managers like Sam Allardyce!) but to over romanticise it all and harbour a realistic aim to win the league is delusional in the current climate.

[OTF 6191]

aye. Stability doesn't create success, its success that creates stability.

 

Long term for sure. You need to be setup to allow for some bumps along the way though.

 

In 88-89 when we were relegated, in his third year at Manchester United the Alex Feguson lead side finished in 11th. The following year they only managed 13th, yet cooler heads prevailed and he kept his job. We all know how the story goes from there.

 

Ultimately though the key is getting the right man in the job, giving him the resources required to do what he wants, at the same time investing in the youth and training facilities for long term benefit.

 

TBH Ferguson took them to 2nd in 1987/88 and it's a well known fact that winning the FA Cup in 1989/90 saved him from the chop, so the SAF argument really is moot point. A result the other way in the FA Cup and chances are Man U wouldn't have equalled Liverpool's record for the most top flight championships.

 

Aye, but it's not a moot point is it? It shows, regardless of the reason for keeping him on, that not sacking him for finishing 13th in the league was a good decision that ultimately contributed to a phenomenal run of trophies for the team under his stewardship.

[peasepud 59]

And not that I'm putting words in LM's mouth but shouldn't every club, no matter what league they are competing in, be aiming to win their league?

 

Should definitely be aiming to win every match that is played, that's for certain (tough for clubs with managers like Sam Allardyce!) but to over romanticise it all and harbour a realistic aim to win the league is delusional in the current climate.

 

I dont think it is though, but before anyone starts slating me as delusional I dont for one second believe we can or will do it or that we as fans should be shouting that we're going to even though as a delusional Geordie its what I should do. What Im saying is that every single club in every single league should be aiming, as sammy said above, for the top.

 

It happens in every other business, do you think that the local family run supermarket doesnt dream of making it as big as Marks and Spencers? Their dream, their hope is that one day they'll have a string of shops around the globe. Theres nothing to say they wont do it just because they dont have the resources M&S do, with a lot of hard work and good business brains then they can do it.

 

We have this belief that the only way to get that dream is to put ourselves into considerable debt, who says this is the case? My point is, once you know that you cant take that route, then you find another. What you dont do is accept mediocrity and decide that your place is at the bottom of the pile, as we seem to be doing here.

 

I keep banging on about this but our problem as a football club is ultimately NOT on the pitch, our problems are behind the scenes, in the space of a couple of years we've gone from a major global brand to a second string outfit and we dont look like we have any plan for achieving that again. Yes, our wages to income ratio was too high so we've reduced that but what else? nothing, we've done nothing to increase the turnover instead we'e being asked to accept mediocrity with the view that "theres nothing we can do about it, the big boys have the money and we cant compete".

 

How do we think Birmingham are competing? whatever it is, its working because theyve managed to get a 12 year old in Newcastle to buy their shirt, they're obviously doing something right and we should be looking to do the same. Instead however we appear to be saying "we have £xm income, £ym outgoings and thats it, we need to survive on that so we'll look to finish 17th".

 

Raise that income, do things that will actually promote NUFC as an investable company, as a place businesses will want to be associated with. Promote the brand world wide with whats going on on the pitch and get kids in Birmingham wearing our strips again not the other way round. Get their money in and use that money to buy better players. Strive to get in the upper echelons of the league and hopefully a Europe spot then see where that will take you. If we were looking to do that and then failed at least I, as a fan would be happy we tried.

 

Accept mediocrity though and maybe we'll stay up, more than likely though we'll drop like a stone.

 

We should not be complacent about relegation, ok so we did it last year and bounced straight back up with 43k attendances, do it next season and I'll gurantee it wont be so easy again, the fanbase will not accept us being a yo-yo club. Last year can be seen as a blip but only if its a one off, drop next season and we're screwed. No fans tied in on 3 year contracts, a lot less willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[bobbyshinton 59]

How far we have fallen has just been proven to me in the last 5 minutes.

 

a group of 8 young lads, no more than 12 or 13 years old have wandered past my house from the local field, football in hand, all of them wearing football strips and not a single one was a Toon top.

 

Not one out of 8 local kids, the future of this football club wore its colours. I saw Man U x 3, Chelsea x 2, Argentina, Everton and even a Birmingham strip but no black n white or even yellow.

 

How can we ever expect to raise the bar if the future support of the club is non-existant? if we dont get the 13 year olds supporting us then we'll never get them at any stage. Yes they may attend a few games because they fancy watching a game or more likely, because they get to see their team play us but they're not going to pump the money in, they're not going to go to away games, buy the shirt, duvet or commemorative "we got a draw against Stoke" dvd.

 

In turn, their kids wont even contemplate supporting the Toon because their fathers wont even attempt to get them interested like some of these kids dads no doubt have.

 

Worrying.

 

 

 

Perv.

[bobbyshinton 59]

We are NUFC we should be in the top 4 of the Premier or at least rattling the door. When will this happen I have not got a clue but it will.

 

Never known a bunch of supporters being so negative we have just walked a league championship (the same one Birmingham, Stoke came out of)

 

Lets enjoy because no one knows what is going to happen. Even (try and imagine it) if we spent 100M like in the past buying superstars we can still manage to fuck it up. If we stick with what we have and add a few new players we could storm the league (keegans first season in the premier)

 

Like I say just enjoy the ride known as NUFC.

 

Nowts changed from the 60's

[sammynb 2929]

We are NUFC we should be in the top 4 of the Premier or at least rattling the door. When will this happen I have not got a clue but it will.

 

Never known a bunch of supporters being so negative we have just walked a league championship (the same one Birmingham, Stoke came out of)

 

Lets enjoy because no one knows what is going to happen. Even (try and imagine it) if we spent 100M like in the past buying superstars we can still manage to fuck it up. If we stick with what we have and add a few new players we could storm the league (keegans first season in the premier)

 

Like I say just enjoy the ride known as NUFC.

 

Nowts changed from the 60's

 

Yes it has berb, your jokes have got older

 

BTW read Englischer Fussball - A German View of Our Beautiful Game if you really need to confirm mediocrity isn't the way to survive as a PL club.

[LeazesMag 0]

You don't seem to understand that any targets that people are talking about for next season are just that - for next season. What do you think we should be aiming for next season?

 

I know it's not your style to answer a question in a response , but I implore you to give it a go.

 

explain with examples

 

I have ALWAYS said exactly as I am saying now, especially to those who insisted that during the 15 years we were the 5th most qualified team for europe that we were run by good directors rather than shit ones. Laughable.

 

I have stated my case and target clearly enough, it certainly isn't the levels of clubs with half the fanbase that we have.

 

For the first, and perfect example see above.

 

I'll now ask you two questions (one being the one that you already failed to answer). So that I have two more examples to add within this very thread.

 

(1) What do you think we should be aiming for next season?

 

(2) What to you think I am saying we should be aiming for next season?

 

1. I think that the aim should be to get back to the position where Mike Ashley found us as soon as possible ie a couple of players short of qualifying for europe. Anything less is a disgrace, don't let the fact that he has taken us 5 steps backwards blind you because he's took one step forward again. And say this intention. Do you get the likes of Liverpool etc talking about "safety" ? Do you bollocks. Their intentions are quite clear. They know they are one of the biggest clubs that should be winning trophies and say so and try to do it.

 

2. I think you are settling for mediocrity.

 

Happy ?

 

I have always, always said this club should be aiming high and showing itself to be aiming high. Its only now that a lot of people are understanding.......

[LeazesMag 0]

We are NUFC we should be in the top 4 of the Premier or at least rattling the door. When will this happen I have not got a clue but it will.

 

Never known a bunch of supporters being so negative we have just walked a league championship (the same one Birmingham, Stoke came out of)

 

Lets enjoy because no one knows what is going to happen. Even (try and imagine it) if we spent 100M like in the past buying superstars we can still manage to fuck it up. If we stick with what we have and add a few new players we could storm the league (keegans first season in the premier)

 

Like I say just enjoy the ride known as NUFC.

 

Nowts changed from the 60's

 

you mean we have gone back to the 60's mentality since Ashley bought the club.

[TheGreatNUFCSwindle 0]

Even Ned thinks top ten is possible ...

 

 

http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/sport/newcastle...79310-26265081/

[LeazesMag 0]

There has to be a difference bewteen idealistic ambition and reality.

 

The thrust of LM's argument has always been right - we should expect to be a club that can challenge. Unfortunately apart from a forlorn hope that Ashley will dig deep, there is no source of the necessary money.

 

Once you accept reality you can then talk about realistic ambitions to go with that - even allowing for West Brom and Forest/Whoever, I still think we will struggle to finish above a few teams next year having said that I think we should aim at a "Stoke" etc level but I think we'd be lucky to get there.

 

who mentioned Stoke ?

[NJS 3986]

There has to be a difference bewteen idealistic ambition and reality.

 

The thrust of LM's argument has always been right - we should expect to be a club that can challenge. Unfortunately apart from a forlorn hope that Ashley will dig deep, there is no source of the necessary money.

 

Once you accept reality you can then talk about realistic ambitions to go with that - even allowing for West Brom and Forest/Whoever, I still think we will struggle to finish above a few teams next year having said that I think we should aim at a "Stoke" etc level but I think we'd be lucky to get there.

 

who mentioned Stoke ?

First year back you complete and utter imbecile - another example of your cherry picking cuntishness and you wonder why people think you aren't worth bothering with.

 

Her's an idea - go and look up "context" and then fuck off.

[LeazesMag 0]

There has to be a difference bewteen idealistic ambition and reality.

 

The thrust of LM's argument has always been right - we should expect to be a club that can challenge. Unfortunately apart from a forlorn hope that Ashley will dig deep, there is no source of the necessary money.

 

Once you accept reality you can then talk about realistic ambitions to go with that - even allowing for West Brom and Forest/Whoever, I still think we will struggle to finish above a few teams next year having said that I think we should aim at a "Stoke" etc level but I think we'd be lucky to get there.

 

who mentioned Stoke ?

First year back you complete and utter imbecile - another example of your cherry picking cuntishness and you wonder why people think you aren't worth bothering with.

 

Of course, there's nowt "cherry picking" by picking 3 years out of a 15 year period is there ?

 

 

Her's an idea - go and look up "context" and then fuck off.

 

and 2nd year back, first good season in 5 years proves we are competing above the likes of Stoke, Bolton and Blackburn, who have also played briefly in europe in recent years but fell away again ?

 

I think that you and others should wait and see if the club seriously attempt to consolidate and move further forwards from here before proclaiming anything, you are setting yourself up for huge disappointment, its astonishing someone who has supported the club as long as you say you have can;t see it.

Edited April 16, 2012 by LeazesMag

[BestBaNone 0]

Blackburn won more titles during your man's reign than under Ashley's thus far, if I'm not mistaken.