Forget Pardew butting a player, Roy Keane hunting through the crowd / corporate suites for MA during a game is the comedy moment we never knew we needed until now!!
To be fair boys and girls, I have never understood the Benitez love in, nor the ridiculous internet 'fact' creation about him that predominates here, and on other sites. Takeover or not, Newcastle would be hard pushed to spend yet another half to two thirds season in and around the relegation zone, regardless of who the next manager may be. In the event of bottom 5 at the end of December, I'll just **** off and never return. I'm looking forward to much much more enterprising and entertaining football, which gives Almiron and co the chance to express themselves and show what they can do. Viva la revolution.
That would be the problem with it. However he could do a Rafa. Agree to work under the constraints in the hope that something changes, then when it doesn't just see out the contract. We could be a good stepping stone in that regard. Not that I have any reason to think Roy Keane would be capable of working under those constraints mind. That's not to say that Rafa is some irreplaceable genius, because Pardew achieved 5 years of PL under the same constraints and he is far from a ****ing genius. Its a doable job but it isn't a very exciting one. Keeping your head bobbing above water while making sure the books balance isn't exactly managerial utopia. That's why I don't buy into the over dramatic response though. He is very much replaceable. Whether I have faith in the club to get that appointment right is a whole different question though.
At least he is doing something, embarrassing or not. The vast majority will do nothing and get what they deserve, ie Mike Ashley and Co.
Organising faux funerals, carrying out protests, embarrassing or otherwise has absolutely no impact on the situation in a positive way. At best the only tangible outcome from these types of action appear to be a general negativity surrounding the club. The clubs performance in that atmosphere inevitably suffers as a result. So actually doing nothing would be better.
You have given me a massive shock there mate. I thought you suggested Shola taking over as a manager!
The money to do what? We don’t know the reason Rafa has decided not to stay. He might even be happy with what is being offered, we don’t know. What we do know is that we have more money now than we ever did before due to the Sky deal. Last published accounts year we made an £18M profit or thereabouts. Rafa was promised every penny. Rafa didn’t get every penny. Rafa was promised the final say on transfers. But we can’t sign Rondon. Accounts can be made to look more favourable or less favourable as there are subjective/flexible parts to accounts. Ashley has the accounts look worse to favour his agenda. I agree there has to be a bit of reality. The last 3 statements are the reality.
I think there are very few of us on this forum that can blame Rafa for walking away. He made us into a competitive team on an extremely limited budget and for that we should all be grateful. Most importantly, and sometimes forgotten quickly, he changed the mood of the club and made it into something that we were all proud of. This wasn't just seen on the pitch where players fought for everything but the class and charisma shown off it. Once again this shows the lack of ambition in the club and the stubbornness of our ownership. My only hope is that this isn't the end for Rafa and Newcastle. Perhaps the takeover won't be completed by next week and therefore not before Rafa's contract runs out - it's telling that Rafa has stayed quiet (when he's extremely good at the political interplay). If it is, then he'll leave nothing but good memories.
Not to mention his tactical incompetence and his absolute godlike ability to have everyone around him dislike his presence. Remember the reported cheering in the dressing room when he was fired by Sunderland?
If that didn't shock ya then this will. The harsh reality of this situation has just suddenly dawned on me. Joselu, Gayle and Colback could well be in our starting line up for our first game next season!
All the "that's me done with the club til he's gone" crew - why's it taken them this long to realise. Same sh/t different season
The money to do what Rafa wants. Our clubs generates money that will see you battle relegation - fans may not like it but on all known evidence that is reality. Rafa has openly stated he isn't interested in doing that. The only way round it, as other clubs do, is to borrow or be gifted by your owner. We have neither option available to us. I'm not bothering with the Rondon comment as that is just press speculation. As for the surplus the club I believe have promised the surplus from last year will be added to this years budget. It was also stated that money was available to Rafa last season. Why he chose not to use it is obviously unknown. 18m doesn't go all that far so perhaps the manager felt the options available were not worth it and he'd prefer a better budget for the next season and would likely get better value for money in the summer. On tight budgets that can be important. Perhaps the players wanted were not available or a deal couldn't be done. Its not really worth speculating on. As for accounts being doctored I'm not getting into this silliness. As I say even if you want to level that at Ashley, how do we explain all the of the PL clubs accounts suggesting PL clubs are generally not massively profitable? Why would we be a unique case? Plus the level to which you can doctor accounts of any business without a seriously shady accountant in tow is limited. I'd imagine a club of Newcastle's size is using a fairly reputable company for their accounts. The reality is for me our fans took that line about everything we generate, did some amateur maths and got it very very wrong. I openly admit I thought PL clubs generate more than they do because of the TV money. All the while Ashley knew full well the club couldn't generate what the fans wanted to see or Rafa wanted. He knew what he was doing when he put that line out there.
Time to change the name... Don’t the hierarchy ever think of the consequences of their actions!! Pfffft!
