There’s one thing we just have to put out sooner rather than later and now is a good time, and it’s very important because it’s a message to all the tremendous Newcastle fans out there.
Mike Ashley – determined to make Newcastle great again
And it’s even before a new manager is appointed at our club, which is perfect timing.
We need to give the new manager our full support, whoever he turns out to be.
We all presumably want Newcastle United to become a force in the English Premier League and eventually a football force in Europe. The next manager at the club will be the 7th new manager since Kevin Keegan left the club in January, 1997. So it will be 7 managers in a short 11 years with absolute no success whatsoever to show for it.
The managers in order have been Kenny Dalgish, Ruud Gullit, Bobby Robson, Graeme Souness, Glenn Roeder and Sam Allardyce. Everyone of those managers excited us (we’re talking about us on this web-site – we’re certainly not speaking for all Newcastle fans) when they were appointed – apart from Souness (to be brutally honest about Graeme). 😀
Dalglish had a wonderful track record, Gullit would bring sexy football to the club and had already been successful at Chelsea, Bobby Robson was born to manage the club, Roeder had a great start dragging Newcastle up to 7th place in the league in 2006, and Sam had a great record of getting the very best out of his players and could surely get the best out of the decent Newcastle squad.
It does look like our new manager will be Harry Redknapp, and we’re already seeing the cries of NO from some of our fans.
The question we have for those Newcastle fans is the following:
Is it more important for you to be right about how Harry will do at Newcastle – or do you want Newcastle to be successful – which is the more important?
We don’t care less if we are wrong about a Newcastle manager, as long as they are successful and we’ve had precious little success or stability at the club since Kevin left 11 years ago.
We would have been very happy if Souness had brought success to the club and it even looked like it when he put together an unbeaten streak of 12 games with 9 wins in 2005. That was just before the Dyer Bowyer punch-up on April 2nd, 2005, when Aston Villa beat us 3-0 at St. James’ Park to end the streak.
Bobby Robson was the sole manager of those 6 who had any kind of success, and he had us in 4th, 3rd and 5th place in successive seasons, but not even that was good enough to keep his job and he was sacked by Freddy Shepherd in late August, 2004.
We think Bobby Robson was a dream manager and we just loved it when he was at our club. It was a real privilege to have the great man as our manager for 5 years.
We don’t particularly care who the next manager is – but obviously we’d like him to be good and with a good previous record. But our point is that we’ll support him 100% for the good of our club.
Why is that? Because having Newcastle United successful means more to us than our opinions on any new manager.
We’d like our fans to get behind the new manager, from the very start, whoever he turns out to be.
Let’s start to take this club where it belongs – to the very top. Let’s all start pulling in the same direction and put an end to the name of Newcastle United becoming a laughing stock in the press.
Howay the Lads!
240 comments so far
nightfall
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:35 PM
Comment #41it’s not harry…it’s mourinho… you’ll see 🙂
Greg B
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:36 PM
Comment #42Im not a fan of Redknapp but I will admit that he has done well at portsmouth.
It looks like its going to be him that takes charge and I, along with many life long Toon fans are less than impressed with Ashleys choice of manager.
However we dont know the ins and outs, for all we know Ashley may have sounded out Mourinho, Hiddink, etc and got negative responses – so he may have actually got what he believe to be the best option for Newcastle, a realistic target with realistic wage demands etc
So in that respect i will back Redknapp if/when he takes charge, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he proves me wrong.
After all, its not as bad as the day Shepherd unveiled Souness is it?
Hadrian
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:36 PM
Comment #43what do you think is going to happen Ed?
if its an appointment not wanted by the fans ie; souness , roeder , allerdyce , dagliesh , gulit .
no coincidence the person to done well at the toon since kev was bobby , the guy the fan’s backed .
people sit outside this club and call us for being fickle , its nothing todo with that , we live this club so we see things earlier than them , stupid stupid stupid to go against the fans cos were not daft and we see what’s needed with this club more than anyone , look at your poll , top 6 of those managers were all quality with calibre , what do you think will happen if its not someone who meets those standards?
what always happens , the fans become disillusioned , gutted that the club doesnt aim as high as they do when we provide an income for them tobe able to .
each and every time we have sacked a manager we go thru this hype , ohh the possabilites , force to contend with yada yada , then we wake up and find souness in the job .
dcant see ashley making the same mistakes as sheperd , can see him walking into the shearer hype tho , who despite grumbles about experience, will get support.
Gooderz
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:37 PM
Comment #44Redknapp has experience working with young lads, has an eye for a bargain, and isn’t afraid to gamble on foreigners and keeps working on players even if they don’t succeed from the off (think Benjani or Krancjar).
Redknapp might not be everyone’s choice, but it could be much worse; we could have had McLaren.
James
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:39 PM
Comment #45As much as we all hate the idea of Redknapp standing on our touchline, Mike Ashley has made BILLIONS from the decisions he has made in life. Something that none of us have done. So as much as we are against this, we simply have to trust his judgement.
Graeme
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:39 PM
Comment #46Ed. I completely disagree with you on this one.
Whoever MA appoints and yes, its entirely down to him, will be seen as a reflection on what direction he intends the club to go.
This can either be a “nice, cozy, middle of the table club” which is what we will get with ‘arry (ive achieved nothing in over 30 years) redknapp OR it could be an entertaining, attacking, want to win things, play in Champions League, win Prem Title sort of team that we would get with Morinho, Hitzfeld, Lippi etc
Now, you say you’re a fan of the club, which way would you want it to go?? If we go down the ‘arry route, mediocrity etc, are you going to be happy, are you going to be cheering to the rafters?? OR are you going to be like me, well pissed off that we have missed a golden chance to become something, appoint someone of stature, a world class manager who has won something.
As far as I’m concerned, you can take the mediocrity and shove it where the sun dont shine. I want to see NUFC back at the top, performing good football, entertaining, but most of all WINNING. I was at the “Fairs cup Final in 69, I know what it feels like and I want more of it. I was at wembley for both the Liverpool and Man City games and was gutted, both times.
So, please keep your happy ‘arry comments; he is not the direction the club should be going, he isnt the man to bring us the success we want.
I’m waiting, hoping and praying that you are completely wrong and that I and thousands of others get what we have always wanted for the club – Success, respect, SILVERWARE.
cooldj
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:40 PM
Comment #47to be honest our best chance of a class manager was ramos in the summer but fat freddy blew that one.
Back mourinho if he’s good enough for rome he’s good enough for us.
quote from gladiator earlier btw.
Wynn the Leap
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:41 PM
Comment #48I’ve never left this interweb thing for 36 hours. When will all end? I just can’t bloody log out. I’ve got that bug and I actually sh*t my pants at work today. My colleagues in the call centre were none too pleased. I’m too scared to go to the bog or go to sleep! Every time I sneeze I let rip. Can I have Terry Mac’s job?
benboy
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:42 PM
Comment #49Harry will do a job, no doubt, but this is a missed chance to get someone to really take us forward, someone to totally change the club, dont think ‘Arry will make us great again??
steve
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:43 PM
Comment #50Greg B – realistic wage demands – how do you call 5 million a year a realistic demand!! kinel I better hope your my next boss
carl
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:43 PM
Comment #51why would ashley and mort be apparently out the country and signing redknapp. i just cant believe it
cooldj
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:44 PM
Comment #52Graeme (souness?)
MY thoughts exactly just can’t be bothered to type that much! If the right man isn’t availivle now then we should wait. Harry would be a disaster he’s not right for the toon, a corrupt cockney and we should steer well clear. Why sack sam to replace him with someone worse. i only hope MA isn’t influenced by the 4-1 earlier in the season.
However others are still entitled to their opinions. That’s what makes football so good to talk about and i can accept other views without agreeing
I want mourinho but to be honest it does look like Arry and in fact the deal for the new mangaer, harry or not, might very well be done
Frankieboy
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:45 PM
Comment #53If sam had played exciting attacking football we would of all been behind him…even me who was convinced he was not the man for the job in the first place.
Redknapp not won nowt but he has turned Pompey into established Premiership club pushing for Europe……………. a la Sam at Bolton……..sound familiar?
Difference is Harry plays exciting , entertaining football, remember SJP (Pompey at home) this season. Bolton do not and never have done…….get it.
KK brought us success without winning nowt but boy were we happy and he was and still is hailed a hero.
If harry brings us a high win percentage playing good attacking football then it will be a repeat of those KK days and a trophy will be a huge bonus.
What I am saying is that if we turn out at SJP, win most games playing the game the way we Geordies like it to be played then the “feel good” factor will return and we will all get behind Harry or whoever, as long as we go home happy on a Sat night.
Greg B
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:45 PM
Comment #54Steve – comapared that to what Mourinho, Lippi etc would cost… and as good as they are they are not guaranteed to bring us success are they? A big gamble.
valle
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:46 PM
Comment #55Ed… Well said, u do allot of work to get our fans to think positive and back our team… Just a question tho… U really got exited about Roeder?, i thought it was typical Fred and doomed from the start, but ofc i supported him all the same, just in case 😉 .
Ross
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:47 PM
Comment #56nightfall why are you so sure its mourinho?
fair enough its just the press, but surely there is some truth in the amount of coverage harry redknapp is being given?
surely the small truth is the immediate fact that yes, he is no1 to take the job?
James
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:49 PM
Comment #57The comments I’ve read about other managers may have turned us down, I simply don’t agree with. Mike Ashley is very single minded and will get the man he wants regardless of who it is. If he wanted Mourinho he would get him. If he wanted Hitzfield, he would get him. Financially he can offer them deals they wouldn’t get anywhere else. So the thought that he sees Redknapp as the man to bring success to Newcastle doesn’t make any sense….unless of course it is a smokescreen…
steve
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:50 PM
Comment #58Frankieboy – Redknapp has a lower win percentage than Sam Allardyce over the last two seasons, what was the point of getting rid of sam for harry – apart from that it’s likely he’ll be in the nick with joey barton at some stage, he seems to get arrested on a frequent basis over …. ahem money affairs
Graeme
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:51 PM
Comment #59cooldj, no mate, just a long suffering fan from way before that pratt souness turned up.
GregB, life is a gamble, going out the door is a gamble, crossing the road is a gamble. Some take them and achieve things; others dont and achieve nothing.
I would gamble on mourhino 1000 times before I would back a redknapp.
Greg B
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:51 PM
Comment #60James – whilst I dont totally agree I can see your point and agree to an extent. All I can say is that maybe money isnt everything, doubt it but maybe.
Frankieboy
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:52 PM
Comment #61Cooldj
Opinions are like arseholes.
Everyone has one but they all stink.
Slipped my mind about the “bungs”, Harry, Sam, Souness and Bond…they all have one thing in common…..Newcastle United. Srange or coincidence ??
Not implicating the club here.
James
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:54 PM
Comment #62Nobody in the world believed the story that Mourinho would be interested in the England job. The next day he was in London for talks. Because the FA offered him a massive contract. Mourinho is the type of man who wants to feel wanted, needed by a club, and he will repay that faith in spades.
UTD111
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:54 PM
Comment #63S’cuse me “Wynn the leap” – sorry to add to your problems but if your name is meant to reflect one of the greatest centre forwards ever to grace the black and white shirt – at least spell it right.
WYN Davies.
ie Wyn the Leap. Born Ronald Wyn Davies on 20th March 1942.
Thanks
LeazesEndLoyal
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:54 PM
Comment #64Don’t you dare tell me I should support the next manager unconditionally!
I’ve paid my money to see that club year after year, and I don’t need somebody to tell me to get behind the manager whoever it may be.
If I don’t think Mike Ashley matches my ambitions for the club and appoints a nob like Redknapp I will most deffinately not support Redknapp OR ASHLEY ANY FURTHER FOR THAT MATTER!
Greg B
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:54 PM
Comment #65Very good point Graeme, I would gamble too but we are talking about a billionaire chairman who has only just jumped on the good ship Newcastle, he has not sailed through all the storms that we have, put up with all the crap over the last decade, he has only endured 6 months of it.
Maybe if he had been on board since the Keegan days he would go that extra mile to get the dogs conkers instead of ‘arry.
James
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:57 PM
Comment #66Greg B – Here’s £8 million a year and £150 million transfer kitty, would you like the job?
cooldj
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:57 PM
Comment #67frankie 🙂
though some people are arseholes too
harry, sam, souness ect.
😉
chris
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:59 PM
Comment #68Ok look, this Redknapp thing could be nothing more than smoke and mirrors, ditto this talk of the board wanting ‘experience’.
MA and CM are very smart operators and Mike’s business acumen is second to none. NUFC is *his* asset and he doesn’t do deals lightly when hundreds of millions of pounds are at stake. Sam wasn’t his choice, and he has had plenty of time to weigh up the options. They know who exactly who they want, be sure of it.
Mike is not the type to conduct his affairs through the media. Never has done, never will. Don’t believe the hype, nor Sky News ‘sources’. It’s all guesswork from the media, and you can bet Mike loves it.
For me, the obvious choice is still Shearer, and maybe KK will return in some guise? That’s the dream pairing, no? I think Mike wants to please the fans, but also to make a smart move and back his choice over the duration.
The likes of Mourinho and Hitzfeld are also big candidates. Mike can afford JM, and he can afford to pay off Chelsea whatever they’ve paid JM to take gardening leave from English football.
Mike is known for parking his tanks on people’s lawns. He’s a highly combative operator and typically gets what he wants. And I think he wants a big, big name at the helm.
It might be Redknapp, but somehow I don’t think he quite matches the scale of Mike Ashley’s ambition.
I’m sure all will be revealed in the coming days, but until then take everything you see and read with a big pinch of salt.
Frankieboy
Jan 11, 2008 at 9:59 PM
Comment #69Steve
Not this season he hasn’t. that is down to progression.
No matter who we get what I am saying is if he is successful we will get right behind him….if not we will not and that is whether he (whoever he may be)
was our individual prefered appointment.
I was against Sam being appointed but if he had brought success I would of been right behind him.
Tom_Toon
Jan 11, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Comment #70Houllier has just shot up if anyone is interested
as has coppell
both of those over arry
andyc290
Jan 11, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Comment #71I have it on good authority that Mourinho was seen in Superpie on Coatsworth Rd today buying 2 meat and potato squares and a cheese and onion slice. He was heard mentioning something about househunting in the Bensham area. You heard it here first!
cooldj
Jan 11, 2008 at 10:01 PM
Comment #72frankie
agree again.
if harry takes over and does very well we can’t help but back him but the difference him and jose is that jose will have my backing and respect from the beggining whereas harry will have to earn it and thus i will be much less tolerant and jump on him quicker if we (inevitably) play badly.
Nobby's dad
Jan 11, 2008 at 10:02 PM
Comment #73Regarding Mourinio………anyone who listens to Talk Sport will have heard their Portuguese correspondant (who knows Mourinio) state weeks ago that he is lined up for one of the big European sides – Barca or Inter are suggested. He put his name into the England hat to force their hands and there is a belief that he has already agreed to manage one of these clubs in the summer.
James I’m afraid that Ashley CANNOT offer deals that could not be offered anywhere else. Ashley is wealthy – but he’s not in the same league as Abramovich.
Wynn the Leap
Jan 11, 2008 at 10:02 PM
Comment #74UTD111. re the Wyn The Leap. He’s a different bloke to me. I’m someone else. Do you really think he would be joining in with this debate? By the way, should your name be spelled UTD11?
Frankieboy
Jan 11, 2008 at 10:04 PM
Comment #75Cooldj
Correct,
Even me at times, and thats not just my opinion, ask my makem brother-in-law.
You forgot –
Barton, Boumsong, Bramble Dyer etc
James
Jan 11, 2008 at 10:06 PM
Comment #76They say it is a massive gamble taking on Shearer. I personally think it is a bigger gamble putting someone in charge who none of the fans want. We’ve all seen where that leads to….enjoy it while it lasts Harry…
James
Jan 11, 2008 at 10:08 PM
Comment #77There is one single positive about Harry Redknapp – he hates Barton. Called him a thug when he was at Man City. So we can safely assume he’d be thrown out of the club very quickly
Tom_Toon
Jan 11, 2008 at 10:08 PM
Comment #78harry aint gonna be the manager.
Tom_Toon
Jan 11, 2008 at 10:09 PM
Comment #79the manager is hiddink
Jack
Jan 11, 2008 at 10:09 PM
Comment #80Well, we have appointed lots of experienced managers in recent times and all have failed, except Sir Bobby. Keegan wasn’t experienced and he nearly won the league.