OFFICIAL: Big Sam exits Toonville

[Dogwatcher]

Jesus JTC, as much as I love reading about the deficiencies of Toon Town, you've depressed me! It reminds me of another Magpie closer to home!

BTW - commentators on tonight's match mentioned a possible Raffa move to Tyneside. That wa prior to Boro scoring the opening goal....

[devilsadvocate]

Liverpool haven't sacked a coach since 1953, if they do it to Rafa they'll have a riot on their hands.

Truer words, I'm yet to hear.

It will be bedlum on Merseyside if Rafa gets the chop.

[Dogwatcher]

Yowser - a week after Big Sam's departure, the Mags go down six nil to Man U! Ouch.

[johntheclaret]

If they wait 2 weeks they might be able to have Rafa Benitez...
Rumours are rife that Bayern Munich quickly appointed Jurgen Klinsmann for next season because he had an official offer on the table from Liverpool which the club has so far refused to deny.
Whilst the Moores dynasty of 50 years was successful and lacking cash towards the end, the americans haven't really brought much more cash in and definitely less stability to the club since taking over..
Liverpool haven't sacked a coach since 1953, if they do it to Rafa they'll have a riot on their hands.

You're kidding right Smithy. Didn't Rafa spend £54m in the close season alone. Aren't they spending £580m on a brand new staduim.

How much do they have to spend before you consider it enough. If Rafa goes, it will down to Rafa. He has chopped and changed the team, sometimes for what appears to many just for the sake of doing it. You don't shell out £27m (I think that is a record in the UK), for a player and leave him on the bench.

If there is a lack of stability then IMHO, it is Rafa's rotation policy that has been responsible for it.

I think you are wearing your red tinted specs there mate.

[johntheclaret]

Hot news, locally, is that Mark Hughes, the b4st4rds manager, has been approached. During the local radio interview, he refused to say he hadn't and his comments were very cryptic. The kind of phrases that usually come out of a pollies mouth. Things like, "I have ambition and relish a challenge" etc.

Newcastle press release is that they have already targetted their prospects, six in all and have already made contact with all of them. It went on to say that Redknapp was just one of them (although they ha openly said they had talks with him, so it was no big news his name was on the list), and that they will take as much time as they need to get the right man.

When pushed on the point, whether Newcastle had contacted him, Hughes would not confirm, but he also refused to deny it too.

As much as I loathe the b4st4rds and all things b4st4rds, Hughes would make a pretty good choice. He has got the right experience, attitude and personality. He turned the b4st4rds around when they were on freefall, and has the ability to do it at Toon.

[smithy]

Rafa spent about 47 mill and recouped 23 mill.....a total outlay of 24 mill......1 player for man utd or chelski and a similar outlay for an off season that Houllier was afforded every year when Moores was in charge.
The stadium is about 400mill now rising from 250mill when the yanks took over because they can't secure funding.
What good are owners that don't want to spend their own money and can't secure funding ?
RAFA is in the top 5 managers in Europe IMO and it would be a mistake to sack him.
If Bayern Munchen are to be believed, Klinsmann had an offer on the table to coach Liverpool.
What top football team in their right mind would appoint an unproven manager at club level not from within the ranks????
Fresh rumours are circulating that DIC are ready for a new takeover bid and personally I hope it takes place as the American honeymoon is over and their new "play thing" is proving harder than they thought.
Getting rid of Rick Parry might be an improvement as well.

[JK]

Rafa spent about 47 mill and recouped 23 mill.....a total outlay of 24 mill......1 player for man utd or chelski and a similar outlay for an off season that Houllier was afforded every year when Moores was in charge.
The stadium is about 400mill now rising from 250mill when the yanks took over because they can't secure funding.
What good are owners that don't want to spend their own money and can't secure funding ?
RAFA is in the top 5 managers in Europe IMO and it would be a mistake to sack him.
If Bayern Munchen are to be believed, Klinsmann had an offer on the table to coach Liverpool.
What top football team in their right mind would appoint an unproven manager at club level not from within the ranks????
Fresh rumours are circulating that DIC are ready for a new takeover bid and personally I hope it takes place as the American honeymoon is over and their new "play thing" is proving harder than they thought.
Getting rid of Rick Parry might be an improvement as well.

Sadly I can't see the DIC thing ever eventuating mate ... The American owners, it has been suggested, would be slapping a $1Bil price tag on the club and thats IF they were prepared to sell at all.

I've said for ages Liverpool need to stop spending $10mil on "useful" types like Kuyt, and sign 2 x $20mil "guns" each year ... We've seen the difference in class when you bring in a player like Torres.

The club has invested heavily this season in younger players that haven't really assisted in the "here and now" but I think they have done the right thing, in the hope that at least one of them develops into a "top shelfer".

I think Johnny's questioning of Rafa's rotation system clearly has merit ... It's a good move in principal, but it all too often jeopardises premiership hopes, if he can't get it to suit or the players to fit that system after this season then I think he would seriously need to consider dispensing with it.

Took sir Alex something like 7 seasons in charge at Old Trafford before he took the Manc's top, and very few can come in and win it immediately (Mourinho is the exception that comes to mind, but I still maintain that several others could have coached that heavily funded squad to a title), so I reckon Rafa needs to stay for at least another season, but he would need to show some improvement in the Premiership.

[johntheclaret]

To the satisfaction of fair-minded fans everywhere, loyalty triumphed over filthy lucre yesterday and Newcastle United got their just deserts for treating Sam Allardyce so shabbily when Harry Redknapp snubbed them and chose to stay at Portsmouth.

Newcastle sacked Allardyce last Wednesday, just 24 games into a three-year contract, in the belief that Redknapp would jump at their double-your-money offer to succeed him at St James’ Park. Instead, Pompey’s 60-year-old manager opted to stay put in the belief that security, job satisfaction and a congenial working environment were worth more than the fortunes on offer at a club that has hired and fired seven times in the past 11 years. Newcastle morale sank even lower after last night’s 6-0 thrashing by Manchester United, their heaviest Premier League defeat and the worst since losing 6-2 to United in April 2003. Last night one fan website posted the Samaritans’ phone number for the benenfit of deperate Newcastle fans.

Redknapp said yesterday: “Portsmouth is where I belong. I am happy here, this is a club I feel comfortable at. The players I have brought here, I sold the club to them and persuaded them to come here. To walk away would not be right. I had a great offer, and to be given the chance to manage a club like Newcastle was a fantastic opportunity, but at the end of it I had no intention of going. This is where I enjoy being and the fans have been great to me.”

Perennially described as a “sleeping giant”, Newcastle now seem dozier than ever, with informed sources on Tyneside indicating that Allardyce would not have been sacked so abruptly unless the club’s owner, Mike Ashley, had been sure of getting his man. The Times reported the decision in midweek under the headline: “Wanted: Man of stature and experience to take charge of madhouse”, which was spot on. The lunatics have taken control of the St James’ Park asylum.

Redknapp represented a perfectly good replacement but, as Sir Alex Ferguson asked on Friday, was a replacement really needed? “The thing that amazes me, with all the talk about Harry, is that he has exactly the same CV as Sam in terms of experience, presence and popularity, and the great jobs both had done with their clubs,” said Ferguson. “The only difference is that one is Mike Ashley’s appointment, the other wasn’t. Harry will be his choice, not Freddy Shepherd’s.”

Ashley and his right-hand man and chairman, Chris Mort, now have to look elsewhere and risk of being rebuffed by their second choice for the job, Mark Hughes, who has shown no inclination to leave Blackburn. Alan Shearer, who has finally admitted would love to manage his home-town club, can be discounted on grounds of inexperience. Ashley’s friend and adviser is Paul Kemsley, formerly vice-chairman at Tottenham, and when Spurs were looking for a manager to replace Martin Jol, Kemsley’s top three were Redknapp, Hughes and Juande Ramos. Kemsley wanted Redknapp but it was the chairman, Daniel Levy, who picked Ramos.

It is typical that Newcastle should think that they need only crook a finger for their chosen man to come running. For as long as anybody not in their dotage can recall, the black and white fraternity have had ideas above their station. For a so-called “big club” they have won little – no league title for more than 80 years, no FA Cup since 1955 – and for them to sack a manager just five months after letting him spend £27m and with the team 11th in the table seems capricious in the extreme.

How big are Newcastle? It is an interesting point. Having worked there in the early 1970s, covering the club on a daily basis for a local newspaper, it is my contention that they have no right to rank themselves alongside Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. Manchester City are arguably bigger. Not only are City higher in the table, but they have won the league, the FA Cup and a European trophy more recently. The attendances are similar - indeed, City’s “Blue Moonies” can claim to be more loyal than the “Toon Army”, whose ranks dwindled to 15,000 in 1992, before Kevin Keegan took charge. When City reached their own nadir and were relegated to the third tier in 1998, they still averaged 32,000 at Maine Road.

It is true that Newcastle have not been playing well, but history suggests that Allardyce would have got it right, given time. He had warned that it would take every day of his three-year contract, and probably longer, to turn potential into achievement, and his employers agreed. Unfortunately for him, those employers changed within a month when Ashley bought out Shepherd, who had moved heaven and earth to lure Allardyce from Bolton, first attempting to do so in 2004, after Bobby Robson’s equally contentious dismissal. Ashley preferred Redknapp, and before the season started Allardyce told me: “The goalposts have moved.”

There was not as much money as he had been led to believe, and he had to cut his cloth accordingly. Hence the need to buy players from the second rank, such as Alan Smith, Joey Barton and Geremi, when he really wanted Nicolas Anelka, Richard Dunne and Croatia’s Luca Modric. Even Allardyce’s admirers have to concede that his buys last summer were not that good. Barton has always been trouble and Smith is neither fish nor fowl. He does not score enough goals to play in the role he favours, as a striker, and lacks the positional awareness to operate where Allardyce used him, in central midfield. Of the other recruits, Geremi looks like what he was, a Chelsea has-been, Jose Enrique, Claudio Cacapa and David Rozehnal are the latest in a long line of unconvincing defenders, and even a thoroughbred such as Mark Viduka was found wanting.

Where Allardyce was unlucky was with injuries. Barton, Viduka, Shay Given, Damien Duff and Stephen Carr were all unavailable for significant periods. It was understandable, therefore, that he should revert to the defence-oriented methods that served him well in adversity at Bolton, but the fans lacked the patience to stay with him and wait for something better. It did not help that some players professed allegiance while stirring disaffection behind the scenes.

As a condition of a payoff worth £6m, Allardyce signed a confidentiality agreement that precludes him from discussing such things, but he is a proud man, and he is prepared to admit that his pride has been hurt. He was warned by his many friends in the game that it was “a pig of a job” to take, working for a club where expectation is so out of kilter with reality, and after the intense pressure of the past few weeks his family, and particularly his wife, Lynne, are glad that he is out of it.

He was not at Newcastle long enough for his reputation to be tarnished to a serious degree, which cannot be said of a club that habitually sacks managers without giving them a decent chance to prove their worth. Seven have come and gone in the past 11 years, which is absurd, given that continuity is a prerequisite of success.

One board of directors after another at St James’ has been quick on the trigger since Joe Harvey’s extended tenure between 1962 and 1975. That was a different, much less demanding era, when “Uncle Joe”, as he was known, regularly finished mid-table in the old First Division without coming under any pressure. As soon as he left, after successive 15th places [he had got away with 20th in 1967], things changed dramatically. His successor, Gordon Lee, lasted just 74 matches before giving way to Richard Dinnis, who was fired after nine months, which has been the way of it ever since. Jack Charlton was gone in 12 months, Ossie Ardiles in 11. Kenny Dalglish lasted 78 matches, Ruud Gullit 52.

If ever a job was a poisoned chalice, this is it, although the toxin does tend to be sweetened by the sort of payoff that renders it optional ever to work again. The most obvious contrast with Newcastle’s act-in-haste repent-at-leisure habit is to be found at Manchester United, where Ferguson would have been sacked in January 1990, if not earlier, had the board at Old Trafford worked the same way as their black and white counterparts. A more recent example is provided by Everton, where David Moyes endured a similar start to Allardyce at Newcastle, taking 20 points from his first 16 games before coming good. The lesson is clear: any manager, even those as good as Ferguson and Moyes, needs time to build a team and create a style of their own. Allardyce’s successor must be allowed that time.

[johntheclaret]

Rafa spent about 47 mill and recouped 23 mill.....a total outlay of 24 mill......1 player for man utd or chelski and a similar outlay for an off season that Houllier was afforded every year when Moores was in charge.
The stadium is about 400mill now rising from 250mill when the yanks took over because they can't secure funding.
What good are owners that don't want to spend their own money and can't secure funding ?
RAFA is in the top 5 managers in Europe IMO and it would be a mistake to sack him.
If Bayern Munchen are to be believed, Klinsmann had an offer on the table to coach Liverpool.
What top football team in their right mind would appoint an unproven manager at club level not from within the ranks????
Fresh rumours are circulating that DIC are ready for a new takeover bid and personally I hope it takes place as the American honeymoon is over and their new "play thing" is proving harder than they thought.
Getting rid of Rick Parry might be an improvement as well.

Hey smithy, C_P.

Here is an article from the sunday press over here. Truth or conjecture....who knows ??

Jose Mourinho is a shock contender for Liverpool manager following confirmation that Jurgen Klinsmann had been offered Rafa Benitez's job at Anfield.

The former Chelsea manager has made it known to the Liverpool hierarchy that he would be very interested in taking over if they decided to dispense with the services of the Spaniard, who is under pressure despite being allowed to spend £6.5 million on Martin Skrtel last week, a club record for a defender.

Mourinho has a long-held affection for Liverpool and believes he can end the team's 19-season wait to win the league title.

Although Liverpool supporters are still backing Benitez, the Portuguese Mourinho — who has been linked with Barcelona and AC Milan since he turned down the chance to manage England — would be a popular choice with the Kop if the job became available.

[JK]

Although Liverpool supporters are still backing Benitez, the Portuguese Mourinho — who has been linked with Barcelona and AC Milan since he turned down the chance to manage England — would be a popular choice with the Kop if the job became available.

That last part I would find difficult to believe, but then again I can only go by press reports and forums, and not actually being over there I couldn't be sure of.

Would be incredible to see Mourinho, someone so lambasted by Liverpool fans, at the helm of the club.

[smithy]

Rafa spent about 47 mill and recouped 23 mill.....a total outlay of 24 mill......1 player for man utd or chelski and a similar outlay for an off season that Houllier was afforded every year when Moores was in charge.
The stadium is about 400mill now rising from 250mill when the yanks took over because they can't secure funding.
What good are owners that don't want to spend their own money and can't secure funding ?
RAFA is in the top 5 managers in Europe IMO and it would be a mistake to sack him.
If Bayern Munchen are to be believed, Klinsmann had an offer on the table to coach Liverpool.
What top football team in their right mind would appoint an unproven manager at club level not from within the ranks????
Fresh rumours are circulating that DIC are ready for a new takeover bid and personally I hope it takes place as the American honeymoon is over and their new "play thing" is proving harder than they thought.
Getting rid of Rick Parry might be an improvement as well.

Hey smithy, C_P.

Here is an article from the sunday press over here. Truth or conjecture....who knows ??

Jose Mourinho is a shock contender for Liverpool manager following confirmation that Jurgen Klinsmann had been offered Rafa Benitez's job at Anfield.

The former Chelsea manager has made it known to the Liverpool hierarchy that he would be very interested in taking over if they decided to dispense with the services of the Spaniard, who is under pressure despite being allowed to spend £6.5 million on Martin Skrtel last week, a club record for a defender.

Mourinho has a long-held affection for Liverpool and believes he can end the team's 19-season wait to win the league title.

Although Liverpool supporters are still backing Benitez, the Portuguese Mourinho — who has been linked with Barcelona and AC Milan since he turned down the chance to manage England — would be a popular choice with the Kop if the job became available.

A representative of Jose Mourinho has angrily denied the former Chelsea boss is trying to engineer a move to Liverpool.

Mourinho has been linked with several high-profile positions since leaving Chelsea in September but Eladio Parames insists the media speculation is not of Mourinho’s own making.

Reports over the past few weeks have suggested Mourinho is interested in taking over from under-fire Rafael Benitez at Liverpool should the Spaniard get the sack.

Parames said in a statement: “These are aberrant and heinous ideas.

“Some media have consistently linked Jose Mourinho’s name with various clubs without, as they are ethically bound to do, trying to determine the truth of these reports.”

The statement insisted that neither Mourinho nor his agent Jorge Mendes had had contact with any club regarding a possible return to management for the self-titled ’Special One’.

And Parames slammed the media for taking advantage of Benitez’s current problems at Liverpool.

“It is unacceptable that the unscrupulous press uses the name of Mourinho when they try to create or profit from current controversial situations in different teams as has happened recently,” he added.

[johntheclaret]

Yeah, I read that article today. It was even in my local rag, but that's not suprising as my local rag covers the Blackburn area and the big news is about Hughesy.

[JK]

Apparently H & G have confirmed that they had spoken to Klinsmann about the possibility of taking over at Anfield ... According to the yankee bastards .. I mean owners .. It was just a contingency in case Rafa decided to leave (*cough* or be pushed with a whacking big Knife in his back *cough*)

[devilsadvocate]

CP, it's a disgrace. An exact mirror image of what happened to Jol. This is a dirty game. Once the media really ramp up their pressure and speculation, he'll be in real strife.

Rafa needs some good results in the next 3-4 matches (especially at Anfield) to take away some of the pressure.

[JK]

CP, it's a disgrace. An exact mirror image of what happened to Jol. This is a dirty game. Once the media really ramp up their pressure and speculation, he'll be in real strife.

Rafa needs some good results in the next 3-4 matches (especially at Anfield) to take away some of the pressure.

I think it's a disgrace, no question the jury is still out over his ability to take us to an EPL title, but surely he's made better inroads than those before him and deserves at least another year, without distraction or belligerence above, to achieve the required goal.

I think how we fare in the CL could decide his fate - Who would have thought a bloke who takes his club to 2 CL finals in 3 seasons could be out after 4!

Club should never have sold to anyone (particulary these pricks) other than the DIC.

[Dirko]

KEVIN KEEGAN IS BACK

Tyneside was preparing itself for the third coming after Newcastle owner Mike Ashley handed Kevin Keegan a sensational return as manager.
Eleven years after ending his first spell in charge, Keegan is on his way back to St James' Park as Sam Allardyce's replacement.
Ashley and chairman Chris Mort found themselves under fire at the weekend as it emerged that Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp had withdrawn for the race to succeed Allardyce.
However, the pair tonight gave the fans what they wanted when they appointed a man who achieved legendary status both as a player and as a manager during his previous spells with the club.
They did so under cover of an extensive smokescreen which had seen a bewildering list of names linked with the post as they cast their net far and wide.
The Magpies confirmed Keegan's appointment shortly before 4.30pm this afternoon, although details remain sketchy.
Indeed, while the confirmation answered one burning question, it left another up for debate as joyous fans wondered if their other long-held wish, Alan Shearer's addition to the management team, would also become a reality.
Their response was immediate as lengthy queues formed at the St James' ticket office with fans who might otherwise have stayed away from tonight's FA Cup third-round replay against Stoke voted with their feet on hearing the news.
The joy at Keegan's arrival is understandable - his arrival as a player in 1982 helped to rejuvenate the club's fortunes on the field, where they won promotion to the top flight in his second season.
As he was unveiled, then club secretary Russell Cushing famously said: "We're in heaven, we've got Kevin."
Keegan's iconic departure from St James' by helicopter after his final game - a match which saw a young Shearer take his place among the ball boys - apparently signalled the end of an era.
But eight years later, Sir John Hall staged a major coup to hand the former England international his first job in management and spark one of the most remarkable periods in the club's history.
Backed by Hall's millions, he put together a side which thrilled audiences far beyond Tyneside and went desperately close to lifting the league title for the first time since 1927 at the end of the 1995-96 season, only to be overhauled by Manchester United.
The longed-for trophy, however, never arrived - indeed, the wait goes on - and Keegan finally called it a day in January 1997 for reasons which have remained largely private ever since.
News of Allardyce's departure last Wednesday sparked a flurry of speculation over who would be installed as the club's seventh manager since Keegan first headed off into the sunset.
There was massive popular support for him to return, either in his own right or in partnership with Shearer, but as time wore on and the club privately set out their requirements, his chances seemed to recede.
Keegan was non-committal when the suggestion was put to him by a television crew earlier this week, and as the names Mark Hughes, then Gerard Houllier and Didier Deschamps started to loom large, it appeared Ashley and Mort were looking in a different direction.
But when they made their move, they did so to maximum effect to set the city alight once again.
Keegan faces the task of assembling a backroom team, but perhaps more importantly, strengthening a depleted squad during the remaining two weeks of the transfer window to ensure that the club is not sucked into the fight against relegation from the Barclays Premier League.
Newcastle entertain Bolton on Saturday when a full house is guaranteed with the Geordie nation preparing to welcome back their most cherished adopted son.
The rollercoaster ride continues.
Keegan told Sky Sports News tonight: "It's nice to be home. I'm delighted to be back."
And Mort added: "I think we've got the right man in the end.
"We didn't think we'd be able to get Kevin back to the club but he's the right man and we're absolutely delighted."

[JK]

WOW Didn't see that coming!! Still

[Punk Rooster]