Joe Kinnear: It’s time for the playground bullying to end

Posted on June 25th, 2013 | 103 Comments |

Joe Kinnear - Newcastle United.
Kinnearophobia is really getting out of hand now.
It’s time for this ridiculous circus to end.

Criticism is one thing, but what has Joe Kinnear supposed to have done to deserve the vilification which has been heaped upon him in the last few days? Has he renamed the Newcastle United’s stadium the Joe Kinnear Arena? Has he sullied Newcastle United’s name by associating it with the UK’s most infamous loan shark? Is he swallowing the club’s identity by turning it into a gigantic free billboard for a retail chain so tacky it makes Poundland look like Harrods?

No, he has come in as a Director of Football to help with recruitment and act as a bridge between the football and the non-football sides of Newcastle United, something which might even turn out to be a good thing. Oh! and he has also given a couple of interviews containing some admittedly ill-chosen words since his arrival. That’s about it really.

All the important, substantive things mentioned above, things which have affected the very fibre of the club have been forgotten now in an orgy of blind hatred for one man who caused none of it.

The fact that Newcastle United could have been relegated with a team which should have been fighting for a place in Europe last season has been forgotten too. The way the media, and regrettably, a very substantial number of fans have been vilifying him, one would be forgiven for thinking he’d been caught abusing children or beating his wife.

I’ve written the following in a previous piece already, but one Newcastle United blog even went so far as wishing that Kinnear would have another heart attack. It make me feel ashamed to know that something so nasty and egregious had been written by a fellow Newcastle United fan. It does us no credit whatsoever, though one would expect that sort of thing from someone like the Mirror’s North East’s football hack, Brian McNally. Back in 2011, he was proudly bragging that he played a role in Kinnear’s last heart attack, probably thinking that would get plaudits for his warped piece. How did we get here?

Despite all the untruths put forward in the media about Graham Carr, Alan Pardew and several of the first team squad being all set to storm out of the club in disgust and righteous fury since Kinnear’s return to St James’ Park, the only person who has actually left is Derek Llambias. If Kinnear had a hand in that, I would say give the man a medal and a statue outside the ground, not wish another heart attack on him.

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103 Responses

  1. “one Newcastle United blog even went so far as wishing that Kinnear would have another heart attack. It makes me feel ashamed to know that something so nasty and egregious had been written by a fellow Newcastle United fan.”

    Me too

  3. Well said. Enough of this. And I am sick of reading the speculation in the tabloids that has absolutely nothing to do with reality, just pure speculation.

  4. One of the most sensible things written during this whole affair!

  5. You absolute coward. Never have I read such piss-poor “journalism”. You’re not a fan.

  6. Sorry but you call the author a coward?! Hes written a n article thats totally the opposite of what everyone wlse is saying….shut up you muppet.

    Everyone has their own views. I for one agree, the circus around kinnear is ridiculously overhyped.

  7. Are you serious?! The guy is a moron. How can you not see that? He’s our new PR guy who doesn’t even know his own players names and has made numerous outlandish claims in a tiny space of time. We’re a laughing stock, moreso than usual. He may not deserve a heart attack but we deserve someone better than him, he can sod off.

  8. I personally am going to give the guy a chance. Whether you like Kinnear or not, it might be the role that makes the man as if Carr is still scouting them and recommending them, we just might now have someone with the balls from a football side to secure the extra finance for a better player(s) rather than just the cheap options. Trying to hound the guy out before he has even got his feet under his new desk and his potted plant in the corner does not really benefit anyone. Also, all this fuss over a couple of interviews where he got some names wrong, so what. I hope the players in question were listening and it brought their egos down a peg or two. Lets face it, after last seasons debacle that’s exactly what was needed. Mark my words, this guy is genius. I don’t know if anyone else feels like this but I like the way he talks with confidence, almost bullish with fire in his words which I find really engaging, much better than Most of the monotone, boring specimens in football these days. If JK can rustle up a few players as good as he is at getting under people’s skin (former players included) then we just might be in for a surprise.

  9. What has he done ? Well, he has insulted the local and national press , lied about his accomplishments , ridiculed players past and present , sabotaged the free transfer of a defender we much needed , and delayed our transfer programme by unnecessarily reviewing Carrs research over the last few years to decide who he needs us to sign, his demeanour brings embarassment upon a proud club and may well deter goodto the club. players from signing for us , apart from these things he has been like a breath of fresh air to our club.I’m not a vindictive person , I simply understand the need for dignity and class in business dealings and this man lacks both

  10. Well said, Worky.
    It’s been pissing me off no end too.
    Kinnear is being used as a scapegoat for so much venom by the majority of fans. I just don’t get it. He’s been used as a smokescreen for Fatboy’s failings (although I’m not sure Fatty intended this). A smokescreen for how shite Pardew is etc…
    Anyway, that’s me done.

    Roll on next season. Hahaha.

    Keep the faith!

    Laters…..

  11. WE needed a Director of football, but Kinnear’s last job was four years ago when he was in our dugout, and he wasn’t exactly in demand when he took the game. We need someone who knows the modern game. And the man is found guilty by association, we all know he only got the job because he’s good friends with Ashley. The upshot of this is that it seems to have triggered people to take action and try and finally push ashley out of our proud football club before he can desecrate it further

  12. I say give the man a chance. No one seems to have denied that there was a very bad rift between Pardew and Carr that needed to be fixed. It’s easy to understand given that Pardew had a diabolical season showing how inept he is with players, positions and tactics, and the only mad, mad, mad thing is that Ashley under the sway of the now-departed Llambias offered him an absurd 8-year contract worth about 10 million quid. If it was not for that, Pardew would be back down in East London looking for a job. Kinnear is now breathing down his neck to make sure he does better next time with the talent Carr has brought in. Frankly, I can only see that as a good thing.

  13. worky-I suspect, like AP, that ol’ Joe’s in on the con. The mask slipped when he roundly insulted any NUFC supporter who criticizes his appointment. Seems like he doesn’t give two shits about the fanbase and knows that keeping his job has nothing to do with pleasing them.

    You downplay the interviews. I’ve never heard anything like them from a manager or disgruntled ex-employee or a pundit, let alone a DOF. Something’s up there, they’re not to be dismissed. Again, I strongly believe he is a part of what’s being done to the club. (I have enough mental bandwidth to pay attention to his antics and AshleyCo’s shenanigans.) I’m fairly confident that will become completely obvious to anyone with eyes to see it if only they keep paying attention.

    Then there’s the observation that he’s unqualified for this job. His only work in football since 2004 was his stint with us and before that it was ten months at Forest. If this is the best we can do for a DOF, we’re even more screwed than I thought. I really think you’re whistling past the graveyard on this one, worky.

    Then there are the things GFH has pointed out @ 9 in a very civil manner. I hope you don’t consider what we’ve written here “vilification”.

    Also: if this is just a ploy to distract, what do you think of Kinnear taking that bait/not realizing (caring about?) it?

  14. That said, of course I’ll “give him a chance” because I realize I have no power to actually affect the situation. Also, as my dad taught me about the military: success absolves all sins…

  15. I wish Kinnear no harm at all BUT I want him out of our football club.
    He is nothing but a delusional idiotic fantasist.
    Give him a chance some of you say.

    “We were on a good run of form when I took ill. It looked like staying up was going to be a doddle.”- Joe Kinnear June 2009,

    JFKs last 8 results –
    Wigan (A) lost 2-1
    Liverpool (H) lost 5-1
    Hull (FAC R3) (A) drew 0-0
    West Ham (H) drew 2-2
    Hull (H) (FAC R3 Replay) lost 1-0
    Blackburn (A) lost 3-0
    Man City (A) lost 2-1
    Sunderland (H) drew 1-1

    The above FACTS and last weeks press and radio interviews are exactly the reason why this old dinosaur should not be employed by Newcastle United in any shape or form.

    That is unless he makes some more great signings like Tim Krul :-)

  16. I find it absolutely amazing that there are fans out there that are willing to give kinnear a chance. he is a total idiot who ,to my mind, knows very little about the modern football scene.It seems to me this is another ploy by fatash to sicken newcastle fans.Personally I think fatash wants to destroy our club.

  17. when have we ever just let people get on with things , ashley appointed his mate , not the first choice of anybody with any sanity but his club and its done .
    its been made worse by the fans soap opera style furor and the press baiting everybody and catching big fish everywhere .
    just lets get on with the job at hand

  18. Blah blah blah, I’m sick of all the negativity that always seems to surround our great club. History has shown us that no matter what we think Ashley will do his own thing to piss us off, he gets his kicks out of it. The only way forward is to get Ashley out, we deserve the best, we are a massive club, we are bigger than Pardew and Kinnear. Ashley settles for second best because it is cheap, he is only in this for the money, we probably don’t see the half of it that he pockets, he is not a fan, it is another money making scheme to line his very deep pockets. It’s time for a change, time for Toon supporters to boycott everything to do with NUFC, that’s the only way we can hurt Ashley, in time he will sell for less as it will not be making him money. We need a few influential figures who are willing to kick start a buy out with the help of the supporters, Keegan was friendly with a few billionaires in his time, surely there is someone out there who wants to buy a football club with a huge following??

  19. Marshy, “fatash” is trying to figure out how, without a very fluky result away to bottom club QPR, we would be playing in the Championship next season. He brought in some supposedly very good players (we were all cooing at the end of January), he’s fixed up the training ground, funded an academy and balanced the books. It would now also appear that Graham Carr – a man Ashley clearly values – felt much like the fans that Pardew hasn’t got a bloody clue. By appointing Kinnear, he is able to focus more pressure on Pardew to get his finger out do a better job with the talent he has to play with. It is, after all, a squad that should be pushing for Europe, or replacing Wigan and winning FA Cups, but it isn’t.

  20. Thank god someone said it. I dit to nice to JFK but really who should be held accountable is the man in charge. JFK say the kinda stuff that I say when I’m drunk and want to lock myself away for a couple of weeks. But one I do not have a public role and please newcastle JFK should be alound to do his job but keep him away from the public. What ever a director of football is it sounds behind the scenes please keep him there for his own sake. To fellow fan stop pushing the man up against the wall your all provoking him he’s a live wire. The sadish thing is what I could see happening to nufc, so all you unhappy fan you don’t have to support newcastle, N matter of fact Ashley own newcastle even shearer say that all the time. Yes I doudt much about newcastle and that includes JFK I hope I’m wrong, but main piont is I don’t see the piont in publicly berating a man for any reason. But the sounds of must people he’s ment to be a descent guy and if that’s true I wish him good health for that. Still joe don’t talk to the media

  21. It seems to me that it is another split the fans episode.
    KK,Shearer,Houghton,Carroll,My take on Kinnear is the things he said in his misguided interviews were what he honestly believes.In the cold light of day he realised or was made to realise his mistake.and back peddled.
    There just could be some advantages in his appointment Getting rid of Lambias was one.I am certain there will be more of his “twelve pint drunk” type speeches.Lets just hope the good somehow out weighs the bad.

  22. It doesn’t matter what any of you think.. I am a Newcastle fan and quite ashamed with peoples comments towards JK. At the end of the day he is here weather you like it or not,get behind him and the team you muppets.

  23. Nah, no normal person wishes a heart attack on anybody. Thats just a couple of sick individuals and they should be ignored for what they are: ****ed up.

    It is however Ashleys fault for perpetuating the hatred towards him though and placing Kinnear in an impossible situation compounded by Kinnear’s tendancy to be a loudmouth oaf.

    There’s a different between wearing your heart on your sleeve (like KK) and someone who sponaneously combusts into foul mouthed tirades at almost no prov9cation just to regret it 5 minutes later when the damage (to OUR) club has already been done.

    I bare JFK no ill will at all but think his appointment is pathetic in terms of moving our club forward. Ashley, yet again, spins his roulette wheel of our clubs honour and makes it a laughing stock!

    The man is just scum in my eyes and always will be. I will be the happiest supporter in the world when he finally f***s off for good. The sooner the better!

  26. Worky

    I for one have my doubts that Joe will ever win over the Newcastle fans, nor do I actually care.
    He was dumb enough or over medicated enough to both insult not only the fans but one of their most famous hero’s.
    Is he capable of bringing stability and success to this club, no!
    He just happens to be someone Ashley could turn to, to try and understand why we went from a fifth place team to one fighting relegation.
    Which in turn gives one an idea of where Ashley’s head is at, if he needs a has been like Joe to explain it to him.
    The fact is Ashley has attempted to run a business he knows nothing about , hiring only cheap yes men to fill the roles that required professional people namely a GM and a manager.
    Now following five years of on the job training he knows as much as he did when he first took over and wants to find out from of all people Joe Kinnear.
    It’s almost unbelievable.
    His choice of people from Kinnear , Llambias, Pardew, Mort, not to mention Wise, was a litany of misfits, no wonder after over five years he has never learned anything.
    It smacks of a certain birds of a feather syndrome and I really don’t think he will ever get it.
    Better he advertise the club for sale, either that or hire the expertise he needs a GM and a manager who could bring some success to the side, and step back and enjoy it, cause if he continues to attempt to run things as they have been, it’s a certain recipe fo continued failure and frustration for all.

  27. And oh! Worky you are beginning to sound the same way about Joe as you were with Williamson, unwilling to admit you could possibly be wrong.
    And not all things are either media inspired or brought about by people with agendas,some like Ashley’s hiring of Joe and his consequential rants were simply either due to ignorance or an overmedicated (booze up) Joe.
    My predictiotion is this episode will not turn out well, it’s been a fiasco up until now with Joe furiously backpedalling and apologising, which unfortunately for him will never be accepted by the fans.
    Ah well, see how this fiasco turns out ?

  28. Chuck on the East Coast – I think Ashley would have avoided bringing in Kinnear IF he hadn’t signed up Pardew for eight years. If he could simply fire him, I believe he would now be looking to appoint a proven manager. With that said, the ten million plus he’d have to fork out to replace Pardew is chump change to a billionaire. One wonders why he doesn’t just do it, and one possible answer is that he can’t stand the idea of making Pardew a very wealthy man at his own expense. He’d rather just torment him by bringing in hatchet man Joe, and perhaps pray that he can hound him out!

  29. The thing that worries me the most is that Kinnear only enjoyed success by keeping Wimbledon mid-table some 15-20 years ago.

    And in the past decade he has been officially been with a club for what,six months or so withNewcastle?

    How is this man professionally qualified to run NUFC? I know he calls Wenger and Sir Alex all the time, but come on…

  30. What we have at NUFC is a state of chaos, with bickering ,infighting and a total lack of direction.
    It has just been announced that Carr and Kinnear have reached agreement on transfer targets, meanwhile the guy who is supposed to build the side and who aught to know who and what he needs is on vacation and has been excluded from the decision making process.
    Where else would you see something that ridiculess ?
    Actually I believe this is the reason behind the situation between Carr and Pardew, that in fact Pardew has always been excluded from any decision making ,apart from on the field.
    I mean this is a ridiculess way to run things and if you are looking to blame someone, just ask yourself who makes ALL the decisions at this club.
    Yes folks Ashley’s unwillingness to cede any control in regards to major decisions, that and through his policy of hiring cheap help, when in fact if he had hired the right people from day one it would have saved him from a season in the second tier and he could have been a popular figure with the fans.
    But through his ignorance and insistence in attempting to run the club by himself, making decisions like the name change, the present WONGA situation, you name it.
    Obviously the man does,nt give a damn about anyone, the fans least of all.
    Just look at what happened to Llambias, you think he quit over a matter of principle ?
    I don’t get it this guy is apt to do anything, except communicate and antagonises the fans at every opportunity.
    He should try to find a buyer for the club, because his whole tenure here has consisted of one screwup after another and the fact he might learn something soon is a stretch.
    Just fcuk off and concentrate on your rag trade business and let us enjoy our club, with someone sensible at the helm.

  31. Worky at 25#

    No one apart from yourself mentioned Kinnear as the Antichrist.
    What most fans are stating is they are unhappy about being insulted by someone who was either drunk or over medicated, as no rational person would give such an aggressive and insulting interview.
    That and the fact he has obviously a remit from Ashley to shake things up and possibly force Pardew to resign, saving Ashley from paying him for an eight year contract he was dumb enough to give him.
    Every dog in the street had that figured out.
    My personal opinion is the man (Kinnear) is way past his sell by date and is struggling to impress people he is current as far as the modern game is concerned, plus no doubt as with all Ashley hires, he comes cheap.
    Ashley i’m afraid is grasping at straws if he thinks Joe Kinnear can solve his problems.

  33. Paul-he has not balanced the books. Club debt is £267M according to Deloitte-higher than when Ashley bought. Please don’t repeat that myth. (Surprised you didn’t mention this, worky.)

    Also, you say Ashley values Carr. Then why does Ashley make him answer to a man who hasn’t had a sustained job in football for a decade?

    Nutmag @ 21-that’s the point. We were surprisingly unified in our disappointment with AP after last season. Now? As I said in another thread: Ashley’s PR folks earned their keep on this one.

    worky @ 25: If NUFC do buy Bony, should I think it was Kinnear’s idea? Would you? Again, very surprised at how you’re reading this. You’ve mischaracterized the reaction to Kinnear and I don’t understand why. Antichrist? Wishing him a heart attack? Those are strawmen, easily attacked and positions that don’t describe anyone here. The vast majority of people criticizing the appointment simply highlight that he’s a combustible character and hasn’t been around football much lately. Pretty f’ed up when Chuck is the voice of reason.

    Another thing-are you going to point out in response to Paul @ 28 that the 8-year contract “isn’t what it seems” as you have almost every time the subject of AP being dismissed comes up?

    Strange.

  34. I think it fair to say that Mike Ashley did start this when, in purchasing the club, he took responsibility for it. What he no doubt thought would be a laugh soon turned into a nightmare when he found that he’d bought a lemon with massive hidden costs he’d failed to notice. (This may be a blessing in disguise because if he had noticed the real cost he, like other potential buyers, would have in all likelihood left the club in its very sorry mess and walked away.) Realizing he’d been fooled, he has done more or less everything on the cheap in an attempt to reclaim his lost cash. What he has since discovered, again to his cost, is that football is a very expensive game and that you can’t do things on the cheap unless you are very, very lucky. As for his consideration of the Toon fans, he no doubt feels “eff them, without me they wouldn’t have a club, certainly not in the Premiership.”

  37. pete @ 36-that he’d sell is very speculative from him but I think their assumption is right: any purchase would be contingent on MA recouping his “loan.” So, as I’ve said, until we become a consistent CL club or until a very rich person decides he or she would like to overpay for NUFC, he ain’t goin’ nowhere…

  38. These supporters groups, are they any use? They are for the most part ignored when the team is doing well. When the team is doing badly, 400 turn up for a meeting and most of them are from fanzines. When you see them on Sky they always come across like that Harry Enfield know-it-all character who says “only me”.

    When Man U came to Chicago I was at the game. In the pub before there were about a hundred fans and half had those green and gold protest against the Glazers scarves.

    1. it accomplished nothing, even though there were 10s of thousands of them.

    2. are they insane? How many titles and cups have Man U won since the Glazers took over.

    3. are they never satisfied, what would we give for owners like that?

    4. I think the value of Man U has increased 3-fold since the Glazers took over.

    Having said that, I am not sure if Moyes will work out but I am sure that is on Ferguson’s advice.

  39. pete_toon says:
    June 26, 2013 at 4:44 pm

    “tunyc @33. Yup, I just read a piece in the Independent about Ashley being willing to sell only if he recoups the full £267 million.”

    Pete, Martin Hardy’s always full of shit and has had the highest lie count of all journalists who have reported on Newcastle United in recent times and that is quite some achievement! As one of the comments on the piece said:

    “Another classic from the dark regions of the mind of ‘Martin Hardy’ – a place of mind bending fiction; a zone where truth, substance or quote do not matter.”

    Which is a fair assessment.

    In his latest story, Hardy describes Newcastle as “the industrial wasteland of south Scotland…”

  40. Pete-toon: The Liverpool valuation from that Telegraph report is a bit misleading as that was a hedge fund (FSG) seeing a loophole in bond financing and getting them on the cheap.

  41. Hardy is using the lowball/different era valuations for Liverpool and Citeh as a way of saying that NUFC at 267 million is way over market. It probably isn’t that far off I bet.

    By different era I mean much less TV money and Citeh was the start of the onrush of Sheiks and Oligarchs getting into football in a bigger way (I know there were the Glazers and Abramovich before).

  43. From Hardy:

    “Freddy Shepherd, the chairman during that period was not loved either. He had made comments about supporters in a national newspaper. Kinnear did it with much more gusto on the radio last week.”

    Wasn’t that a sting by the NOTW and Shepherd said much more disparaging things than Kinnear. Twisting facts to fit his story.

  44. Now I see people agreeing that Pardew should be the voice of the club (Ed for one). Pardew is a backtracking, blames everyone but himself, Gobshite. Yes, the perfect man for the job :)

  45. GS says:
    June 26, 2013 at 5:14 pm

    “4. I think the value of Man U has increased 3-fold since the Glazers took over.”

    GS says:
    June 26, 2013 at 5:34 pm

    “Hardy is using the lowball/different era valuations for Liverpool and Citeh as a way of saying that NUFC at 267 million is way over market. It probably isn’t that far off I bet.”

    But what are you doing, GS, when you say that Manchester United is now worth three times what it was when the Glazers took it over (which it isn’t BTW)?

    Are you just going by Forbes, and the Glazer’s ridiculous $3.3 billion share valuation of the club? That was absurd and Forbes are full of shit too. The Private Company Financial Data Authority said that valuation was over by around 280%. In reality, the club isn’t worth that much more than it was when the Glazers bought it for $1.2 billion, but they were trying to cash in on market sentiment, like Facebook.

  46. He has not really done much wrong, but i really doubt he will do any good. Im expecting carlton cole or vinnie jones coming out of retirement

  47. Danny b says:
    June 26, 2013 at 6:13 pm

    “He has not really done much wrong, but i really doubt he will do any good. Im expecting carlton cole or vinnie jones coming out of retirement”

    Danny, before Kinnear had his heart attack, the last two players he was looking at for Newcastle were from Marseilles, and that was before Graham Carr joined the club. One of the Marseilles players was Stephane Mbia (later of QPR) as a Butt replacement who could also play at centre back.

  48. My love for my hometown club is dying.
    I can’t think of anything NUFC that actually makes me happy or proud.
    The football being played is totally shit and I hate everything the club now associates itself with.
    Pardew,Ashley,Puma,Wonga,Kinnear,Sports Direct…….the list goes on.
    Abysmal/Nightmare.

  49. GS says:
    June 26, 2013 at 5:48 pm

    “Worky: is this what you were referring to about Hardy and his sh*t”

    I’m referring to many stories Martin Hardy’s written, GS, expecially recently since Kinnear’s second coming. He’s been one of the very worst with some really nasty, personal stuff and egregious lies. I think that one you linked to is syndicated from the Independent, which is Hardy’s newspaper.

  50. Worky: even if what you say about Man U valuation is true, the Glazers have still used Man U cash flow to pay down debt and enrich themselves. The Man U fans would say that is foreign owners taking advantage. I would point to results, which were maintained.

    You know I don’t care about Man U’s finances, I was making a point about supporter’s groups sometimes going overboard and being a bit delusional. And now that the new Yank owners have replaced the old Yank owners at Liverpool, and are spending on players, you don’t hear the Scouse complaining about the Yanks anymore.

    Don’t supporters groups always find/get in bed with some local businessman wanting to put together a consortium of local business people to buy the club? Then it turns out they never have the finances and wanted to buy the club for half its market value. They usually own a few buildings and overstate their value anyway.

  52. What am I stereotyping Worky? What I am pointing out, in perhaps a clumsy way, is that the supporter’s associations are never satisfied and always find something to moan about. I used the most successful English club of the last 20 years as an example.

  55. GS says:
    June 26, 2013 at 6:54 pm

    “What am I stereotyping Worky? What I am pointing out, in perhaps a clumsy way, is that the supporter’s associations are never satisfied and always find something to moan about.”

    Er, that’s called stereotyping, GS.

    How about the supporter’s group who saved Swansea City from extinction in 2001 and put them where they are today? What about all the fan owned clubs overseas like Barcelona, Bayern Munich etc?

  56. There’s also an element of truth in a lot of stereotypes. And I would challenge you to say you don’t use stereotypes for effect sometimes (Mackems).

  57. I knew you would bring up Barcelona. People always use that example. Both they and Bayern are super-regional teams from areas with lots of money to go with their regional identity.

    NUFC became a semi-public company and look how that worked out for those supporters who put their money in.

    Where were Swansea when they were saved and how much did it cost? That’s not really a valid comparison.

  58. Isn’t there also a special ownership structure in Germany where the fans own a portion of each club? So, the fans will own unsuccessful teams as well as successful teams.

  59. GS says:
    June 26, 2013 at 7:03 pm

    “There’s also an element of truth in a lot of stereotypes.”

    Which ones, GS?

    Even if there is truth in some stereotypes, you have to examine them very closely first.

  60. Worky @59: that’s going way off subject. Most are offensive because they are taken too far. I am certainly not going to open myself up to your righteous indignation. I like your writing and most of your comments, but, like most of us you can get on your high horse and I can see you trying to set me up.

    What I will say is that you use sweeping generalisations as much as the next man to justify your point. Saying Barca and Bayern are fan owned and implying that fan ownership is good. Saying Swansea were saved by a fan group means it is possible, but it doesn’t happen very often.

  61. How about this – Chicharito to Toon. Let’s say Man U get Lewandowski. They wouldn’t want to sell to a rival, so why not us?

  62. GS says:
    June 26, 2013 at 7:39 pm

    “How about this – Chicharito to Toon.”

    For how much, GS?

    Checkmate on the last one unless you can back your point up with some examples. ;-)

  63. Worky @62: who knows, 15 million? Tevez is supposedly off to Juve for 8, and Bale is said to be valued at 85. So, who knows?

    I don’t think it is checkmate but I am certainly not getting into an argument about what stereotypes are valid or not :)

    Watching Uruguay. Forlan, Suarez and Cavani? When did they get this good?

  64. I do know Uraguay got to semis of last World Cup, but did they do anything before that?

  65. GS says:
    June 26, 2013 at 8:08 pm

    “I do know Uraguay got to semis of last World Cup, but did they do anything before that?”

    They’ve won two World Cups, GS.

    ps: And after checking, it seems they’ve won 15 South American Championships / Copa Americas too. That’s the highest, higher than Brazil or Argentina.

  66. They have Worky :) :) :) That sort of invalidates any pretense I have ever had about having any football knowledge whatsoever :)

  67. However, Ian Darke is commentating as though Uruguay are considered to have no chance (contrary to what you just told me about their football history/pedigree).

  68. I must have been thinking of a different country. They call them “Urr-wur-gway” here.

  69. GS says:
    June 26, 2013 at 8:34 pm

    “They have Worky :) :) :) That sort of invalidates any pretense I have ever had about having any football knowledge whatsoever :) ”

    To be fair, GS, they were two of the earlier World Cups, including the very first one in 1930. They didn’t enter the next two, then there was the war, then they won the next one they entered in 1950.

    BTW, are you turning into one of Toonsy’s punters with the multiple smileys? Would you like some crayons to play with too? :-)

  70. Worky: the multi-smiley’s were for emphasis. I don’t do it often.

    By the way, Saint Roberto of getting-Wigan-relegated is a pundit for the game over here. They had his name on screen and under it had “Current Everton Manager, Won FA Cup with Wigan 2013”. No mention of you know what.

  71. I read Toonsy’s stuff on occasion and most are sensible. I would never comment as I would never want to get into a conversation with Troy.

  72. WERE NOT FOR KINNEAR, WERE NOT FOR KINNEAR, WERE NOT FOR KINNEAR, WERE NOT FOR KINNEAR,

  74. Oh, and Worky, there is a certain smiley policeman on here (not you) who I would never think of offending.

  75. I hear Sir Jason Toon @ 48. I think everyone at NUFC is feeling dejected right now, including Ashley who has lost his sidekick and replaced him with his dog. Pardew’s properly pissed off, which may actually be good for him. Carr’s of retirement age and is probably just shrugging his shoulders and settling down with a nice tidy income, while the players half-heartedly kick a ball around.

    We either need a multi-billionaire or a massive stroke of luck. That would come in the shape of some surprisingly good football and a great set of results. Of the two, I would chose the latter, but either way I’m prepared to be (positively) surprised. Remember, it’s always darkest just before the dawn… (yawn?)

  76. tunic

    Please don’t suggest I might be the voice of reason, I may begin to believe you !

    Worky
    …hardy described Newcastle as “the industrial wasteland of southern Scotland” ,
    Should that not have been,”the post industrial wasteland of southern Scotland” ?
    Oh ! That’s right I always confuse the England doesn’t want them, Scotland won’t have them, as being the opposite way around, sorry.

    Soh! Is that the last word on Joe, what was the decision ? anyone tote up the yeas vs nays ?

  79. The problem is in this era of money only going in one direction, upwards.
    Possibly your average fan is probably finding it a bit more difficult to afford a season ticket.
    But there’s a positive side, them that’s got are finding it increasingly difficult to increase their millions, buying up art, yachts, and anything that will either increase or at least retain it’s value.
    Just look at real estate values in both London and New York.
    So what’s this got to do with football and specifically NUFC ?
    Well the fact that the EPL is currently the richest league in the World, with increasing revenues with every new contract, I believe it amounts to either three billion, divided among twenty sides during the next three years, though I have also heard five billion.
    Now that’s a lotta dosh !
    In which case it would appear there’s money to be made through club ownership, therefor would that mean NUFC would be more likely to attract a wealthy owner, looking for somewhere to park his wealth.
    Yeah, it’s not London, but neither is Manchester or Liverpool and clubs there seem to be doing ok.
    One thing in favor of a Newcastle being sold is it has in place a decent sized state of the art stadium, whereas if say one bought either a Liverpool or an Everton the price would double due to having to provide a larger stadium, no?
    Though location is a drawback, it being a good distance from the capital.
    But I’m not giving up on there being someone with the dosh and desire to own a football side, who can afford to replace El Gordo !
    And spend like a drunken sailor on great talent which we can watch win everything in sight.
    Hey, why not, none of the present big sides were anything special before they found their oligarchs, it’s gonna be our turn next.

  83. Can’t believe we a contemplating getting rid of Gosling….I am totally devastated :lol:

    Cheers Mr Hollywood BTW :)

  85. GS says:
    June 26, 2013 at 11:06 pm

    “There is no way Pardew will see this as stepping on his toes or undermining his position/authority is there? If not, he is not as arrogant as I think he is.”

    Battle of the Silver Supremos. Who will be left standing when the war is over?

  86. Worky
    So do you also find that your pal Joey purposely insulting players by calling them names is in any way funny ?

  87. Bony Going to Swansea??…I reckon Joe called him and asked to speak to Willy Boner :lol:

  88. Battle of the Silver Supremos. Who will be left standing when the war is over?

    Hopefully neither Worky.

  89. It appears we are being turned down by most clubs or players we go after, at least as far as strikers are concerned.
    My fear is we will sign both Bent and Tomkins.
    Just wondering could the present fiasco featuring Kinnear have anything to do with it.
    The other concern I have is will we lose Cabaye, it appears from what we read , he is more than willing to leave Tyneside for either Monaco (on the riviera). Or PSG (in the city of lights) and who could blame him.
    I’m not sure if it’s coming from the club or the media, but every day there’s a new article centred around the trio of Carr, Pardew and Kinnear, with the emphasis on what a fcuked up club this is
    and if it’ coming from the club, then it’s time to put a gag in place, as it does this club no good.
    I’m afraid I don’t see any sign of this situation ending until both Pardew and Kinnear are gone, which IMO is going to be a continual protracted campaign to get him to quit.
    I mean it’s unbelievable that any owner would give a manager an eight year contract, let alone this clown Pardew.
    Most of us took for granted it was a rolling contract for Pardew and an eight year deal fo Ashley.
    At least that’s what Worky was claiming, but to find out it’s eight years for both, only emphasises how actually ignorant Ashley is concerning the footballing side of things.
    Even the great one or Guardiola have never had such an offer FFS.
    If we hadn’t all witnessed this present situation, we wouldn’t have believed it, crazy !

  90. Chuck says:
    June 27, 2013 at 12:48 pm

    “Worky
    So do you also find that your pal Joey purposely insulting players by calling them names is in any way funny ?”

    What does Joey Barton have to do with this, Chuck?

  91. Ashley must look on the various blogs and say “ahhhh this divide and conquer stuff is working a treat”

    :lol:

  92. I remember when it all started going shitty under Ashley and Co when everyone was trying to be an accountant and it was like supporting Deloitte United….I think things are way too far down the Ashley road to see even simple changes anytime soon and I expect us relegated (again) next season.

  94. GS @ 80: I’ve always thought he was more of an ass-crawling sycophant than arrogant. His bluster is transparent projection and the stress of his precarious position shows on him almost as bad as Hodgson. It’s like he’s constantly drenched in flop sweat.

  95. SJT @ 87: Indeed.

    @ 91: Absolutely. Again, forget that our only dangerous forward has a problem wearing our shirt because of the sponsor, or that the only players we’re linked to are Bent and Tomkins (only market geniuses could come up with those…), or that we barely eked out survival last term.

    LOOK, JOE F’IN KINNEAR!!1

  96. sirjasontoon says:
    June 27, 2013 at 1:47 pm

    “I remember when it all started going shitty under Ashley and Co when everyone was trying to be an accountant and it was like supporting Deloitte United”

    With me it was Keegan. That’s nothing against what Keegan did in the past, but when some managers seem like they’re out of football, they still keep their hand in, like Rafa the Gaffer after Internazionale. He watched lots of games, keep dossiers on tactics and players like he was still managing. On the other hand, Keegan bragged about having not seeing a game in years. it wasn’t right and then of course there was the brilliant Wise desision shortly after Keegan was appointed. Pure madness.

    The “Deloitte United” bit started coming after that with Ashley’s dishonest revisionism, where he did the thing Governments do, taking the spotlight off his own incompetence by blaming everything on the mistakes of the previous administration as if he had nothing whatsoever to do with the signings of players like Geremi, Alan Smith and Cacapa, not to mention the ones which were totally his like Xisco.

  99. On Keegan. Everybody gives him a free pass but he flounced out at least 3 times, twice on us and once on England.

    I know there was a tribunal and he was awarded compensation but Keegan was always the man most likely to throw his toys out the pram if things didn’t go his way (how about that for trashing an icon Worky :) )

  100. GS, you can have a legal dispute where both sides are wrong.

    Keegan said he was out of management for good before he returned to Newcastle. However, when he sued he had the brass neck to demand over £25 million to compensate him for what he would have earned in the rest of his career as a football manager!

    He wasn’t interested in managing at all anymore, the whole thing was just to raise funds for his real dream, the Soccer Circus which was ailing at the time. Ashley and co gave him the perfect opportunity to go for the jackpot at Newcastle United’s expense. He didn’t get it but he did come out of it with a consolation prize.

  101. Bony to Swansea? We must have a cunning plan to find someone better, otherwise this must be worth a punt. I know they have Laudrup and finished above us, but…

  102. Bony speaks better English than most Geordies too, and French, and Dutch. He could be the club translator.

    I know more about him than his mother now.

  103. Snob? Really? To quote Tupac: “take it like you wanna take it.” You’re very sensitive about this so I’ll stop commenting. I’ve made my opinion known.