Abdoulaye's going t'Souk transfer thread

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Because Newcastle have lost five on the spin, several of their type are saying that they've had a shit season when in reality it hasn't been bad at all.

It's more than five games: they've got 13 points from the 17 games after Boxing Day - almost half a season, and you wouldn't lay much on them improving it against Arsenal, Cardiff and Liverpool. They've got their own 'problems' up there, but their season is the equivalent of going 2-0 up and drawing 2-2. Trouble is for us, ours is more like going 3 down early on and gradually clawing two goals back (the eight-match unbeaten run in autumn with McNaughton pushing Ream alongside Mills, then the recent one-loss-in-13 buoyed by the Duke/Mason combo) without ever looking likely to level.

Next season is indeed a very big test, and if it starts as badly as the last few seasons, there won't be many at all who retain patience with Freedman, however you regard the circumstances he has to work under.

(Q: When did we last start a season "well"?)

[thebish]

Because Newcastle have lost five on the spin, several of their type are saying that they've had a shit season when in reality it hasn't been bad at all.

It's more than five games: they've got 13 points from the 17 games after Boxing Day - almost half a season, and you wouldn't lay much on them improving it against Arsenal, Cardiff and Liverpool. They've got their own 'problems' up there, but their season is the equivalent of going 2-0 up and drawing 2-2. Trouble is for us, ours is more like going 3 down early on and gradually clawing two goals back (the eight-match unbeaten run in autumn with McNaughton pushing Ream alongside Mills, then the recent one-loss-in-13 buoyed by the Duke/Mason combo) without ever looking likely to level.

Next season is indeed a very big test, and if it starts as badly as the last few seasons, there won't be many at all who retain patience with Freedman, however you regard the circumstances he has to work under.

(Q: When did we last start a season "well"?)

beating leicester 5-0 on the first day?

[Enoch]

I wonder what the odds are for Pearson, or Dyche, being out of work before Freedman?

[Vertigo]

Top of the Premier League after the first game before we went down

[Prufrock]

I wonder what the odds are for Pearson, or Dyche, being out of work before Freedman?

Dyche will be pretty safe I'd bet. Though other clubs may come calling. I reckon, provided he's still at Celtic come the end of the summer, than Neil Lennon will be a spectre hanging over Pearson if he doesn't start well.

[mrplow]

Because Newcastle have lost five on the spin, several of their type are saying that they've had a shit season when in reality it hasn't been bad at all.

It's more than five games: they've got 13 points from the 17 games after Boxing Day - almost half a season, and you wouldn't lay much on them improving it against Arsenal, Cardiff and Liverpool. They've got their own 'problems' up there, but their season is the equivalent of going 2-0 up and drawing 2-2. Trouble is for us, ours is more like going 3 down early on and gradually clawing two goals back (the eight-match unbeaten run in autumn with McNaughton pushing Ream alongside Mills, then the recent one-loss-in-13 buoyed by the Duke/Mason combo) without ever looking likely to level.

Next season is indeed a very big test, and if it starts as badly as the last few seasons, there won't be many at all who retain patience with Freedman, however you regard the circumstances he has to work under.

(Q: When did we last start a season "well"?)

beating leicester 5-0 on the first day?

I think we won our 1st three games that seaon and were top of the league. I remember Dean Holdsworth knocking one in under Liverpool's goalie.

This must be our lowest league finish for 20 years ?

[Puskas]

This must be our lowest league finish for 20 years ?

For exactly 20 years - since the 93/94 season (14th in the second tier).

Could still finish lower than that and make it 21 years.

This year, and the two before it have each had lower place finishes than the previous season. I'm not old enough to remember it myself, but my grandad told me that from 1979-80 we finished in a lower spot each season until 1988.

I wonder if we can beat that record with this drop?

[BWFC_Insane]

This must be our lowest league finish for 20 years ?

For exactly 20 years - since the 93/94 season (14th in the second tier).

Could still finish lower than that and make it 21 years.

This year, and the two before it have each had lower place finishes than the previous season. I'm not old enough to remember it myself, but my grandad told me that from 1979-80 we finished in a lower spot each season until 1988.

I wonder if we can beat that record with this drop?

I dread to think what will happen should that be the case. But we've been there before and it is a possibility.

I think some sort of a slump was bound to happen after period of riding high. Ups and downs of football.

[Harry Genshaw]

Top of the Premier League after the first game before we went down

Oi! We stayed up that year (& the next 10 years afterwards too)

[Gary the Enfield]

I think we won our 1st three games that seaon and were top of the league. I remember Dean Holdsworth knocking one in under Liverpool's goalie.

Sander Westerveld. Last game he played for them. I was in the South Stand for that game after a mix up with the tickets and being put in with the scousers.

[BWFC_Insane]

Top of the Premier League after the first game before we went down

Oi! We stayed up that year (& the next 10 years afterwards too)

Think he means when we beat QPR away 4-0.....

[Riviman]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... reign.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Possible Mavies to Swansea, Sordell to Brentford according to the Mail

[TKIZ!]

We probably need to adjust our Managers' accordingly, too.

We might. But I'm far from convinced a managerial change will produce the magical result everyone seems to think it will.

I look at a lot of relegated sides who never came back, and many of them changed managers several times in very similar situations to ours and never got back. The odds are definitely way worse than many on here make out.

I think it is quite likely that managerial change in the next 12 months will see us relegated. IMHO Dougie is taking his time to slowly build this team, we have seen in glimpses what we have been capable of, were unbeaten in recent weeks ad yet the Freedman out brigade are still moaning. We are not going to get anywhere by sacking a manager every season or even every other season.

Bullshit!

How many times in this recent good run have we actually not looked like throwing it away? How many games have we had other teams on the backfoot? How many times have we thought thank God thats over when the refs blown?
Anyways Moyes is available

That adage could be applied to the last three managers before Dougie (LSL, Megson and Coyle) so to me it's Gartside's issue to get a better manager. Gartside out

[bobo the clown]

We've dominated 2 games ... Blackburn & Leeds. We had a couple of solid wins. The rest have been nail-biters, draws or losses.

Last seasons long, good run was similar. We were hard to beat but never thrilling, or dominant.

I suspect that, even if Mr. F's ambitions are to be achieved that's the style we're going to have to get used to.

[StaffsTrotter]

We probably need to adjust our Managers' accordingly, too.

We might. But I'm far from convinced a managerial change will produce the magical result everyone seems to think it will.

I look at a lot of relegated sides who never came back, and many of them changed managers several times in very similar situations to ours and never got back. The odds are definitely way worse than many on here make out.

I think it is quite likely that managerial change in the next 12 months will see us relegated. IMHO Dougie is taking his time to slowly build this team, we have seen in glimpses what we have been capable of, were unbeaten in recent weeks ad yet the Freedman out brigade are still moaning. We are not going to get anywhere by sacking a manager every season or even every other season.

Bullshit!

How many times in this recent good run have we actually not looked like throwing it away? How many games have we had other teams on the backfoot? How many times have we thought thank God thats over when the refs blown?
Anyways Moyes is available

That adage could be applied to the last three managers before Dougie (LSL, Megson and Coyle) so to me it's Gartside's issue to get a better manager. Gartside out

except those managers were trying to compete in the 'best league in the world' where realistically we'd expect our win rate and frontfoot rate to be much less and hanging on rate higher. we have played the last 1.5 seasons like we have come up from Div 1 not down from the PL

[bobo the clown]

http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/celtic ... ve-bolton/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bolton Wanderers winger Chris Eagles is set to leave the club this summer, with Celtic and Burnley interested.

Eagles, 28, has not featured for Dougie Freedman’s side since mid February, with Eagles being left out of the match-day squad completely in some cases. The former Burnley play-maker is reportedly on around £30,000 a week, and see’s his contract come to an end this summer, with the ruthless Freedman planning a complete overhaul at the club.

Eagles signed from Burnley in the summer of 2011, and despite being a real fan favourite last season, the player has rarely featured this year, with Freedman opting for Neil Danns ahead of him. The Hertfordshire born player turned down a loan deal to Charlton Athletic at the end of the month to stay at the Reebok for the next few weeks. Several Championship clubs, and even Burnley and Celtic have been linked with him in recent weeks.

[TANGODANCER]

I'm still desperately hoping Dougie F knows what he's doing. That we can afford not to play a £30,000 a week player at all, despite having him fit, is just a tad worrying, particularly a decent player like Eagles. I hope D.F doesn't turn out to be just an auctioneer and see all our decent players off before turning the lights off when leaving the building. He seems to want a team of kids and to dismiss his senior players as not part of his grand plan, whatever that is. Talk of us being a selling club doesn't cut much ice against having nobody left. We're a football club first and foremost....at least I think so.. The man's seriously worrying me.

[bobo the clown]

Very difficult to see why he'd have not selected him, not even on the bench, for 2 to 3 months. I can get that he's expensive and wouldn't get a new contract .... not at that salary at any rate, just why not use him while you have him ?

If I was petty minded I'd think DF saw his arse when he declined a loan to Charlton. So he sulks and cuts off OUR nose to spite OUR face. Oh, I've just remembered ... I AM petty minded.

[CrazyHorse]

Eagles is just suffering from a mystery virus isn't he?

[Enoch]

Or maybe he's just a c*nt.