Newcastle United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2022/2023

I posted this link to the official statement from the premier league about the take over a couple of pages back. It says in the statement that "The Premier League has now received legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control Newcastle United Football Club." I think your claims of direct Saudi control are completely in contradiction to those made by the premier league and I have no reason to believe anything you are posting is more reliable and trustworthy than anyone else.

You even posted a picture of a starving child during your last rant about Saudi Arabia and your persistent whining has made me consider your point about "sportswashing". I now think that it is great that some of the oil money from the middle east is being pumped into promoting sport in the UK in a part of the country that has had more economic difficulty than some other areas. The UK looks to be in need of all the help it can get over the next few years when the full impact of their idiotic decision to leave the EU plays out in their wider economy. If the middle east country that has committed to further investment in Newcastle is doing so to improve its image on the international stage that is a great thing in my opinion and may make it more considered about its actions that impact that image in future. This discussion is more fitting to the politics or economics forums than a thread about the Newcastle United football team which according to the premier league is not under the control of Saudi Arabia. I usually don't repeat myself so often but for you I see no other choice but to again ask that you get down off your high horse and find somewhere else to show off your moral superiority.

Maybe its a sign that there was no truth to the stories about Graeme Jones taking charge and they are working to appoint a completely new manager with their own team of coaches which I imagine would take a few weeks at least to organise. With the way the team has performed so far this season I could understand the idea that a full clean out of the existing management and coaching staff would be in the best long term interest of the club.

I was going to put my 2 cents in on this, but the above explains it for me.

I will not stop supporting my club due to actions of the owners, I didn't do it with Ashley and I can't do it now.

If Ireland go to next years world cup, would we not support Ireland because 6500 practically slaves have died building stadia?

"support the team not the regime"

My one point is, billionaires no matter their background are entitled to do what they want, its up to the governing bodies to stop that.

Premier League held firm not allowing the deal to go through (which for some part I agreed with), BUT as we found out last week when Saudi struck a deal with BEIN sports the deal was approved within hours, this proved it wasn't because PIF couldn't prove "their funds are separate to Saudi money" it was to make sure their $500m deal with BEIN was safe.

@glasso You make valid points, but start a thread over on After hours or the likes

Leave this one for the 10 NUFC fans that want our team to succeed and if it makes you feel better, the Reuben brothers are estimated to be worth 17 Billion and they own 10%, so lets count the first 1.7 billion spent as their money to help us all sleep better at night.

Being outside of the transfer windows, I'm not too bothered keeping Bruce in charge ; we've Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal in the next 6 games.

While points are no doubt a must to get it's probably better if we are to lose some of these games that its Bruce in charge.

At least Bruce will eventually be the fall guy; and we'll still hopefully get the new manager "bounce" when the new regime find their manager.

As an outside observer, I don't think any of them are the right fit for the club right now.

Lampard isn't worth talking about.

Favre is great in terms of tactical adaptability, but the PL would be a big learning curve without some stability behind him.

Gerrard would be a wildcard. He has done well at Rangers but he has thrown players under the bus when things haven't gone his way. I don't think he is anywhere near the experience level required for the pressure of managing in the Premier League.

Rodgers would need a squad of quality players to get results. He was smart enough to jump ship at Celtic when he realised that the tide was turning and Rangers were going to be in a position to challenge again. He's a great coach but a poor man manager and he has trouble adapting his methods when fixtures pile up. He also has a massive ego which can be a problem as he demonstrated during his time at Liverpool.

Howe is settled on the south coast and has said previously that it would be very difficult for him to uproot his young family.

If the new owners decide to install a new manager for the long term they should get the structure in place to support them beforehand.

Gerrard still has a huuuge amount to prove - but that's a pretty weirdly negative way of interpreting Rangers performance in the league last year... in what has firmly been a 1 team league for a decade, he convincingly won the league with not-that-team. And pulled off an invincible centurion season at the same time. And overachieved in Europe as well. It was a really impressive season all in all. Like, even with Celtic themselves underperforming, out of nowhere and for a lot less money Rangers put in a season that Celtic haven't managed since 16/17.

He has more to do for sure, but it's fairly tangible proof that he actually does have some merit as a manager. Wouldn't think the time is right for him for the Newcastle job though, feels like a bad fit for what's required in the immediate future.

Jeez, relax - I'm not saying he's the second coming, and I've already said I don't think this is the job for him and he has more to prove. I'm simply answering the assertion that he's literally shown nothing at all of being a decent manager. I presume there's some personal reason to be so negative on him? Like nitpicking the invincibles thing - it's entirely accepted as a term for teams that go an entire league season unbeaten. The Arsenal Invincibles obviously being the most famous example (who also lost in every cup).

And I myself pointed out Rodgers also-brilliant - truly exceptional - season. Both were excellent seasons. Rodgers Celtic performances springboarded him into the Leicester job after all, so obviously they were considered to have merit.

Winning a league with over 100 points, unbeaten, is impressive. Especially when another team has won that league for 9 years running. Like, it's good. You can argue back and forth about 'how' good, but it's good. It's a sign of a fella doing a decent job.

Yeah, I think a lot of that second paragraph is fair enough, as I said myself he has a lot more to prove. I think we've seen growth over those 3 seasons though, and him improving and changing his methods. The football itself improved, and the training-ground patterns of play improved, and I think his demeanour also improved. I get the sense he's pushed past the 'under the bus' thing, which he was a fecker for in 19/20. As you say it'll be interesting to see, but he's already doing more than I expected of him. His decision making from here on what jobs he takes is crucial, and Newcastle should be down the bottom of that list for now.

Surely, any manager coming in would have to be of the calibre to cope with the egos and shenanigans associated with the kind of players that this money could bring in.

Of that list up there only Conte fits the bill.

I'd be throwing Ancelotti, Allegri and Zidane onto the list.

Honestly, for the immediate task ahead of them, and the build into midtable that'll be the first order of business next year, I actually think the best man for the job is Dyche. Give him a 2.5 year contract to keep them up, and build a platform, and after next season see how he's doing. If he's looking like midtable is his ceiling with a good team (as they will have by then), then throw him off and bring in the next level up.

He's not sexy, but the job right now is not a sexy one. And no-one keeps a team up and gets a club pulling in the same direction like Dyche. As a bonus, it also destabilises Burnley, and makes them and Norwich pretty much certs to drop, so Newcastle would only have that last spot to worry about.