Big Sam Sacked?!?

UnitedIrishman

Newcastle target Harry Redknapp has again insisted he has not spoken to the Magpies and is keen to focus on his job with Portsmouth.

The Fratton Park manager is widely-reported to be the number one target for Newcastle owner Mike Ashley following the departure of Sam Allardyce.

But Redknapp, who signed an improved deal with Portsmouth in October, dismissed suggestions that his predicted exit for St James' Park was already a done deal.

Rubbish

"To say a deal has already been done is absolute rubbish," he told The News in Portsmouth. "I couldn't say anything else because that's the situation.

"There has been no approach. All I'm doing is trying to get a couple of players in before the Sunderland game (Portsmouth visit the Stadium of Light on Sunday) but I haven't got anywhere with that.

"Nobody from Newcastle has contacted me and in any case, that wouldn't be allowed. Nobody has contacted Peter Storrie."

Redknapp also insisted that he would not be tempted to turn his back on Pompey just because the Magpies were offering him an improved contract.

"Money would not be an issue to me," he stressed. "I wouldn't go anywhere just for the money."

Harry was at his press conference.

Mr Alan

SSN is saying that sources close to Shearer have said that if he is offered the job, he WOULD accept it. Obviously the strong noises about Harry have scared people from the Shearer camp into lettin Newcastle know he would be interested!

BaZmO*

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Arry's ego will love all this attention, but I honestly don't think there is anything in it.

Harry lives in Sandbanks and has done for a long time. Why would he want to move to the north east, to a club lower in the league than Pompey? He is very well paid, has money to spend and a team that is going places.

OK, I've seen some mad things happen in football so I won't be too surprised if he goes, but I really can't see it.

According to the Last Word tonight it's already a done deal. But as always with these ya never know until you see the press conference.

I'd say the bookies are making an awful lot of money on all this speculation.

Mr Alan

Harry is probably making a fortune from the bookies himself!

Sizzler

PHB wrote: »

The only reason I can see is that he's been promised a huge huge kitty, huge, and thinks he might be able to take them into the top 4.

He'll be taking them to the top 4 alright...to get beaten everytime at OT, The Bridge,Anfield & The Emirates

Bounty Hunter

Just wondering but would Harry with Shearer as assistant coach be a possibility

Mr Alan

Perhaps..........

Dr Galen

sounds like an ideal situation to appease the Toon Army alright, but to be honest I can't see Harry moving. Reports suggest that he's very settled on the coast and thus wouldn't be that up for working on the opposite end of the country. He's had decent money at Pompey and as they continue to progress, plus with the new stadium plans ongoing, he'll have cash to spend again.

Sizzler

Will Harry Redknapp appease the Newcastle fans

What odds on Big Sam taking the Pompey role

Bounty Hunter

If Harry took the Toon job then Sam would be the odds on favourite for the Popey job

Jazzy

Sizzler wrote: »

Will Harry Redknapp appease the Newcastle fans

no.

jesus himself couldnt so wat chance does that ginger have?

mike65

Harry Says NO.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_3041327,00.html

Mike.

ziggy

This post has been deleted.

mike65

Actually thats not a bad approach for Shearer to take. He knows that he can sit pretty on the BBC couch for years to come, its not any skin off his nose. If they really want him they can go looking for him. Rather than have a desperate team accept an approach by the Messiah.

Mike.

ronbyrne2005

Redknapp just used this situation to force Pompey to give him a bigger salary/longer contract i bet. Fantastic, Fantastic.

Thanx 4 The Fish

I would imagine that if Shearer went to Newcastle and was arse, some of his legendary status would definitely be lost, ala Souness at the pool.

Mr Alan

T4TF-a lot of wat happened with Souness was for off the field stuff too though dont forget.

If Shearer gets the job, i will laugh my ****ing arse off

kinaldo

Mr Alan wrote: »

If Shearer gets the job, i will laugh my ****ing arse off

Right now I'm laughing my ****ing arse off at all these Liverpool fans with their deluded title pretensions.

herbieflowers

hmmm Shearer being touted makes me laugh, has he any experience? No, he's just been mooted cos he's a Toon legend...in all fairness, Newcastle aren't going to get a better calibre of manager than Big Sam, who'd want the job? It's a death-trap!

kinaldo

Klinsmann, Rijkaard, Van Basten etc. have all walked into high profile jobs with little or no experience. Capello had no managerial experience when he took over at Milan and look how that turned out. Liverpool gave Dalglish the job whe he was still a player which worked out pretty well for them. Souness on the other hand had lots of experience at Rangers when Liverpool gave it to him. Why is everyone so certain Shearer would fail?

herbieflowers

well, judging from his performances on Motd, his analysis of things and matches, he'd be as goiod as appointing Stan imo

Mr Alan

Newcaslte fans chanting Shearers name in Old Trafford?

Kinaldo- i thought the "real" newcastle fans dont want that appointment? cant get much more "real" than away fans surely?

Villain

Yep there was a big sign saying they wanted him too, Shearer would be a huge gamble and I think the last thing Newcastle need is a gamble, get some decent expeirence in for a few years and then maybe give Shearer a go but giving him the job now would be mad imo.

leeroybrown

herbieflowers wrote: »

well, judging from his performances on Motd, his analysis of things and matches, he'd be as goiod as appointing Stan imo

In fairness to Shearer I think that's more the BBC's fault than his. The MOTD producers have turned the 'analysis' into insipid platitudes. It's been a few years since a pundit has been allowed to properly analyse a game.

kinaldo

I will run this club my way
Mike Ashley breaks Toon silence
Exclusive by Rob Beasley

Mike Ashley dramatically broke his silence over the turmoil on the Toon and defiantly declared: "I had to act and now I'll do it MY way!"

Newcastle's' billionaire owner insists he is ready to step out of the background to run the club the way HE wants to from now on.

On Tuesday he will jet back from a Far East business trip to join forces with chairman Chris Mort as they strive to bring success to St James's Park.

And there will be times when he swaps his trademark Newcastle shirt and returns to civvies as he plots the way ahead in the wake of the departure of boss Sam Allardyce.

Today, in an exclusive News of the World interview, Ashley outlines his New Year vision for Newcastle including the qualities he's looking for in the club's next manager.

He said: "I want a team that will go all out to try to give Chelsea a walloping, that'll try to stuff Tottenham and that will be brave and bold enough to attack Man Utd.

"To date I have invested £250m to try and make it happen.

"And I'm not the only one who could see it wasn't working with things as they were.

"So when my chairman told me it was time for a change I knew it had to happen.

"I just knew it was time for me to become involved.

"After all I bought this club to make it a success and the harsh truth is there wasn't much prospect of that.

"I bought this club to have some fun and I wasn't having much fun at all. So I did what I should have done in the first place and decided it was time to run the club the way I wanted.

"I must admit that when I bought this club my gut instinct was to bring in my own team to run it straight away, including a new manager.

"That's no reflection on Sam, that's just the way I have always done things.

"But for once in my life I ignored my intuition and, looking back, that was a mistake.

"My instinct had never let me down in the past, in fact it's been one of my biggest strengths, one of the major reasons behind my success.

"Yet I went against that better judgement after buying Newcastle.

"Now is the time to put away my Newcastle shirt. I'm not saying I will never go back on the terraces but now I have to be in the boardroom — I have to be hands on."

Ashley was left desperately disappointed with the return on his massive investment.

A procession of poor performances, ropey results and off-field problems was a shocking reward for his massive outlay.

It was not Ashley's vision for the sleeping giants of English football.

Passion

He added: "I want a team that is going to be admired up and down the country because of our brilliant, attacking football.

"Like they did when Kevin Keegan was in charge here.

"In those days everyone in the land loved to watch Newcastle in action. I certainly did.

"And I am determined it will be like that again."

That sort of stylish, buccaneering football has only been rarely glimpsed at St James's Park this season and Ashley makes no apologies for demanding Newcastle play the way the loyal Toon Army desire.

He added:"People might mock me for that and reckon that's all pie in the sky.

"But this is a football club, remember — it's about passion, about dreams, about glory. If it's not, then why bother?

"Make no mistake I bother, I care and so I will try my hardest to make this club successful.

"And I know I don't stand alone — I stand at the head of the Toon Army.

"Remember this is a club with a real passion running through it — not least from all those Geordie fans.

"And I share that passion."

Yet Ashley has still taken a battering over events last week with Allardyce elbowed after just eight months in charge of the Magpies.

But those pundits who would have you believe Ashley's a mug punter who does not know what he is doing should beware.

After all this is a guy who built his Sports Direct business empire up from nothing.

A man who at just 41 years of age boasts a fortune of £1.6billion — put it another way that's one thousand six hundred million pounds.

Some mug, then!

Yet Ashley is big and brave enough to accept some of the blame, even though he sees positives in his controversial decision to take a back seat so far.

He explained: "My thinking was to come into Newcastle United and examine the club from every angle and from every aspect. I wanted to see how it ran, how it worked, what the staff could offer and what the supporters were all about.

"I wanted to understand what made this club tick, I wanted to find its soul.

"I have done that now and taken a lot of flak along the way.

"People have complained I have been in the background too much, not done enough. Are you sure?

"Let's get this straight. I paid £140million to buy this club.

"I've also paid off £100million worth of debt so today this club doesn't owe a buck to anyone.

"And I also gave Sam funds for new players.

"Yet I've been hammered by certain people and for what?

"Yes, wearing my Newcastle shirt and sitting with the fans.

"The critics were suggesting in some way that this was just a cheap trick that would boost sales of shirts in my own stores.

"But anyone who knows anything about Newcastle knows all the fans already have their shirts so it's all nonsense, just unbelievable.

"And do you know something? I don't regret those days with our supporters at all.

"I might own the club but they are the heartbeat and I had a lovely time with them.

"And I guarantee that you haven't seen the last of me out there with the lads and lasses.

"I will do it again from time to time. That's because among the fans he felt at home but when he sat in his own directors' box he was condemned as unconventional.

He explained: "I can't stand this self-imposed etiquette in the boardroom and directors' box.

"You're supposed to wear a suit, a shirt and tie and behave like a headmaster.

"Why? It's like one of those , snobby, snooty golf clubs where they have rules for this and that. It's nonsense and I won't go along with it.

"I want to go to football and enjoy it.

"I want to celebrate when my team scores, when my team wins.

"It's a game of drama and emotion — of highs and lows, of highlights and heartbreaks. And I want to live it.

"So from now on it's all down to me.

Dream

"I am here because I want to be here and because I want to win trophies.

"That's it — period — to get trophies in the cabinet and have a ball doing it. I can't see anything wrong with that at all.

"Buying a football club is something I've always wanted to do so it's living a dream.

"I always said I bought this club to become part of its passion.

"I'd like to think I've done that. Now I want to channel that passion into bringing success and I just can't wait until it happens"

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/1301_ashley.shtml

ronbyrne2005

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

Redknapp just used this situation to force Pompey to give him a bigger salary/longer contract i bet. Fantastic, Fantastic.

Portsmouth have doubled Harry Redknapp's wages to £3m a year after he turned down Newcastle. (News of the World)
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/1301_redknapp.shtml

theCzar

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

Portsmouth have doubled Harry Redknapp's wages to £3m a year after he turned down Newcastle. (News of the World)
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/1301_redknapp.shtml

Would explain a few things if true (I instinctively think the opposite of anything that appears in the rags). I don't think much of dodgy 'arry's morals so I was somewhat surprised for him to turn down some extra wonga