Hands up all those who believe this ??
If its true then Hicks does want out, but I’m not so sure

Hands up all those who believe this !??!
If its true then Hicks does want out, but I’m not so sure

id like to follow you around and criticise every damn decision you make every day, and then have dozens of morons write lies and half-truths about you all the time. you really need to read king kenny’s reasons for leaving the club (and think about the cataclysmic effects that that had) to know that it was when the supporters turned that he felt he had to go. if you dont like rafa then fine, but be an adult and have a bit of humility and admit that rafa benitez forgot in the last five minutes everything that you will ever know about football. you are not so smart. you really arent.

by George Caulkin

I was in conversation with a football club director (no prizes for guessing that it wasn’t anybody connected with Newcastle United) this week. He is a knowledgeable man, a man who has endured hardship as well as enjoyed success, who has coped with relegation battles, mid-table security, nervous run-ins and all the cliches that lie in between. He understands the pressure of making unpleasant decisions at frenetic times and has tended to get them right.

It was a general, informal chat and eventually it turned, as they often do, to the maelstrom that swirls around St James’ Park. What would you do, he was asked? The club’s manager is in hospital recovering from heart surgery, but you want him to return – or at least you claim you do – but your league position is a source of huge concern. Bring someone in or leave it to the coaches? Stick or twist?

Difficult to say, the director replied. You look at the madness of Newcastle and it’s impossible to think in rational terms like that. But one thing I would say is this: my experience has told me that at no time of the season is a manager less influential than now. Yes, I know this is when everything substantial happens, when clubs stay up or go down, win things or lose things, but even so.

Think about it, he said. Pre-season training, when a manager and his staff spend weeks honing the fitness of their players, getting used to tactics and systems, integrating new signings, is a distant memory. Footballers should be on auto-pilot in March; if they don’t know it now, they never will. The transfer window has gone, too, so managers can’t buy any more and they can’t threaten to sell either.

Of course, he said, there are exceptions that prove the rule. There are moments when a manager has become so corrosive to a club, if he has lost the dressing-room, for example, that a fresh voice may be needed. And yes, granted, with an inspiring team-talk or crucial substitution, an individual match can be won (or lost), but in overall terms, this time of year is all about players. They’ve been bombarded with ideas and advice and orders all season, but now is when we find out if they’ve been listening. It’s down to them.

In the context of recent events – and possibly future ones – on Gallowgate, it was an interesting argument. Is it relevant? That’s the thing about players, the director said. They love excuses. It’s never their fault. You build a nice stadium, they complain about the training ground. You build a great training ground, they blame the manager. They let a goal in, they blame the pitch. You lay a new pitch, they tell you that their family is unsettled. You look after their family and finally they say thank you. And the next day their agent is on the phone asking about a new contract to re-pay his loyalty. But, anyway, that’s what you try to do – build a culture where excuses wither.

At Newcastle there have been a myriad of distractions, a host of excuses. Most of them are pretty good. A manager they loved and believed in left the club when the season was still fresh. Rumours circulated that many of them had been put up for sale. The club was. And then it wasn’t. For those players whose contracts were due to expire, offers were slow to materialize and when they did, it came with a pay-cut. Morale slumped further. A caretaker manager was replaced by an interim manager. When the interim manager became the permanent manager – albeit one who is not committed to the club beyond the summer – he took ill. Now the caretaker manager is back. Too much confusion, not enough clarity.

Mike Ashley, Newcastle’s owner, and Derek Llambias, the managing director, are now both regular visitors at the club’s training ground and it is easy to see why. Ashley’s £250m investment is in the hands of his employees. To borrow somebody else’s joke, the £8m profit he made on signings in January can’t play up front. A pile of £50 notes won’t tear up the wing. Ashley may be a billionaire but he is now just as impotent as everybody else; bringing in a firefighter, a short-term manager, is his only substantive option, although he will not need reminding that after a number of rejections, that was precisely where Joe Kinnear stepped in.

Eventually, it will be reduced to what’s in the dressing-room. Managers can only deal with what they have. If circumstances were different, would Sir Alex Ferguson keep West Bromwich Albion up? As things stand, would the influence of Tony Pulis undermine Manchester United’s chances of becoming champions? Unlikely. In the likes of Steve Harper, Nicky Butt, Ryan Taylor and Steven Taylor, Newcastle have a core of decency, people who know what football means to Newcastle. In Harper, Sebastien Bassong, Jonas Gutierrez, Obafemi Martins and, when fit, Michael Owen, they have players who can win matches. They need to start.

One more thing, the director said. What gets your victories? Goals? Yup. But energy, too. He talked about a recent game at his club, where the atmosphere in the ground changed the flow of the match, where it visibly made the opposition shrink. You need your supporters, he said, now more than any at other time. This is where one or two percentage points make all the difference.

Newcastle fans scarcely need the reminder. If it wasn’t so obvious, if the irony was not so scarring, it would be funny. Their loyalty has been stretched far beyond breaking point, they have been ignored, squeezed financially and utterly mistreated by successive regimes, they have been mocked unfairly in the media and they have done nothing to deserve it. And yet, and yet. It comes back to what it always has done. Eleven black and white shirts and singing themselves hoarse. It is what they do. Hopefully it will be enough

1. Our team is not good enough.

2. We struggle to break down the smaller teams.

3. We dont have enough attacking options.

4. Our players are not played in correct positions.

5. When a player gets a run in the team and comes into form he is rested because he is “tired”

6. When we are in search of goals (eg against fulham at home) rafa throws on lucas.

7. Our coach thinks Ngog, kuyt, babel can do a good job filling in for torres. These players didnt even show form when Keane was there so why did rafa think they would come good all of a sudden after he was sold.

8. Playing 2 holding midfielders at home is too negative and playing kuyt on the right of midfield to track back leaves really 3 players on the pitch to do the attacking.

9. Apart from Insua there are no players from academy or youth team getting a look in and rafa bought a good few of these players.

10. His treatment of robbie keane was disgraceful, no matter if he missed the odd sitter(kuyt does every week and doesn’t get dropped), his spat with parry over the purchase with keane took precedence over the well being of the team, keane would have been a better option for a substitute against fulham at home but he persisted with lucas who if i am right has only scored against havant and waterlooville. Lucas has never delivered us with goals.

11. His stupid excuses point to a man who’s ego has gone too big and cannot take blame for anything. His explanation to why was skrtel played at right back instead of carra summed him up “he wanted to play there” skrtel had a nightmare and another tactical blunder by Rafa.

Rafa get out, we will never be a premier league force again under your guidance, he has had time but as rafa well knows 2nd or 3rd place will never be good enough.

Articale taken from football 365. Some good points well made. So it aint just me i do have a fellow antagonist somewhere in the world. ha ha

I think we will batter Sunderland tonight. I have a good feeling about this one. I hope and pray we go at them tonight and score a hatful, though i would take a boring 1-0 and 3 points.

Some interesting comments made over the last few days as this site bounces back into life.

Still the best Reds site on the web.

See you all later, come on you reds.

Can I simply say what a pleasure it is to have so many of you back on the site. Fantastic.

@ Cantos

Keep letting us know your views mate. I might not agree – in fact, I often don’t – but it at least let’s me know more about the other point of view. And shows that football, apart from results, is all about opinions.

@ everyone

These next few months are crucial.

Firstly, we need to solidify our hold on a top 3 finish.

Secondly, we need to get all contracts that need sorting sorted.

Thirdly, and most importantly, we, the fans, need to move our ire back to where it belongs: the boardroom. Ok, we were top and hoped to sail on through to win the title. But not many titles are won in Christmas. The real difference we’ve seen between us and our rivals is yes, budget spend but also, the chaos at the top.

When the Glazers took over United, their supporters thought it would be them. When Abramovich took over Chelsea, many questioned his intentions. When Hicks and Gillet got their hands on our club, we were largely pleased. Now, look who’s laughing!

We’ve an almighty fight on our hands. The ownership issue – particularly with Parry and perhaps Moores going – is what we need to be turning ourselves to resolving……….once we beat (fingers-crossed!) Sunderland tonight and get ready for a tight-game against Real Madrid next week.