stinhk

Wow, I really wasn't prepared for that! Admin's please can you flag the thread title so we are aware that we will be stepping into an alternative universe. But it did make me wonder how many home-draw/away-loss sequences we have had over the years - maybe not too many? I've had a browse around the forum today and there's been some crackers. Cheered me up no end!

Yeah, they've made a real hash of it over there at Norwich in recent years.

Reckon it's designed that way to give our guys a broader upper body look! Boggin' awful as far as I'm concerned.

Hmmmm...as I said it's a pretty cloudy memory. Was definitely a night game. I will have to start a little research into this now that is has popped back into my head.

A bit off thread I know but I have always carried a Phil Boyer moment in my head, but my memory of it is very cloudy. I'm pretty sure it was a European night fixture, and was probably Anderlecht. It was at the Milton Rd end coz I was in the chocolate boxes. He executed an overhead kick from around the penalty spot that my memory tells me hit the bar. Does anyone have a memory of this or is it a figment of my imagination?

No! The five year plan was Pinnacle.

It would be interesting to analyse the goals scored in this division. I mean how many each from corners, free-kicks, long-range, tap-ins etc. We could figure out how best to do it and equally important how best to defend. I know it's a bit Graham Taylor but, any sports scientists out there?

Bar one or two obvious names, who else? I would be interested to see the list of successful players scouted from the NE. IMO our scouting system has been extremely poor for a very long time. Yes we poached some youngsters into our academy over the last few years and called them our own. But really, what has been our hit-rate of uncovering hidden gems over say, the last 20 years? Not sure it would stand up to scrutiny. Terry Cooper....bah!

We were told by Pinnacle of a five year plan, I didn't notice that from ML.

I'm astonished that so many on here appear to be happy with the thought of having Dennis Wise as manager or DoF at our club.

Hmmmm...? So who has identified the transfer targets (out and in)? A new manager would want to assess the squad and they need to be in place to do that, it can't be done from a distance. Furthermore I'd be suprised if incoming manager would sanction out and in transfers made by another. "So Mr Strachan we want you to be our new manager, by the way we plan to sell Tom, D1ck, and Harry and buy John, Paul and George" Nope! There's too big a hole in that rumour. P.S. Sorry Ringo!

Agreed re the building from scratch. We need to blend in some new faces in those crucial areas (e.g. someone with guts and drive on the field) and make the best of the rest of the dross we have until they can be replaced. It wont be done overnight. Surely they need to improve their fitness levels and someone needs to instill some fight into this team. IMO rebuild in two broad phases (1) Stop the rot, stabilise and change the mentality of the club to get us back to the CCC. (2) The leap from the CCC to the PL and the ability to stay there I think requires a different skill set. Sturrock being a prime example of not being suitable for the top-tier. There is as little need for a big name manager as there is for big name players at this time.

Exactly. He said his biggest mistake at Coventry was not leaving a year earlier. He clearly wasn't going to make the same mistake with Saints, done it again now with Celtic - get out before it goes completely TU, with reputation largely intact. I think he has honed timing of his exit pretty well now. He could be a viable short (ish) term appointment and you might get one cycle out of him but is he able to develop, adapt and rebuild a team as required according to the level we are playing at? As ML has said, the strategy will be to buy players appropriate for the current level and upgrade as we hopefully move upwards. I have never been keen on Keegan as a manager as I still see him as a quitter , but this is exactly what he did with Fulham.

We were told that Matt and Tony were good friends, so isn't it rather unlikely that TL has intentionally misled MLT?

Hmm..? three men and a woman in white suits - are we talking Tony Manero or Nurse Mildred Ratched?

"Ulimately, anyone can now trump us and steal this from under our feet. " Don't you steal from under someone's nose?

We'll have a franchise. Newcastle become the Southampton of the North, Stoke already the Southampton of the West Midlands. Whatever next?

Why does everyone assume the KK contact is in relation to the manager's job? Wouldn't something less demanding be more suitable?

Good point. Once the exclusity period is over - what then? Not much other than wait I suppose while Pinnacle are still 'in the box seat'. Maybe another party would care to pay the non-refundable deposit and enjoy their own period of exclusivity...!

Potential...? What age is he now, ....24 or something?

According to my source the Premier League are introducing new standards of stadium quality from the start of the 20010/11 season. Fratton is officially recognised as unsuitable for top-flight football and PFC will be demoted to the Blue Square league. In order to maintain the geographical spread of PL football, a south-coast club will be awarded bonus points in the upcoming season, enough to see them fast-tracked to the Premier League. My source does not know which team is to be fast-tracked, however the FL chairman was seen exiting the latest meeting bearing a smug grin and it has been rumoured that the selected club has a name starting with the letter "B". Oh well...!

No, It's the famous French-Irish village idiot Twerp O'Leur

My theory for the secret identity of the person behind the deal is that she/he is so stupendously wealthy, to have that public knowledge would inflate the asking price of players when we go player shopping. :smt003

Very nice! Im sure it would be entertaining if that were played during the game whenever any player (away team) made a cok-up. I'm sure it would bring smiles to all, even the away fans. Even if the footy was dire it would still be fun to watch the game. Oh and that's reminded me..... That's Entertainment by The Jam (if only!)