An Article in the Ronnie today regarding Shearer's recently-repaired knee scares the hell out of me. The following is an extract:

Alan Shearer is ready to play through the pain barrier to get Newcastle United back in business.

United have stuttered recently but they took their inspiration from their skipper to pick up a good point in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Everton. It was Shearer's second comeback game following his knee operation and he admitted: "While we were disappointed at not winning, it was good for me to get another game under my belt. There were a couple of blockbusting tackles on me and the knee stood up to them. But I would not be telling the truth if I said my knee felt great because it doesn't. It was stiff and sore and I was in a bit of pain after the game, but it is just something I will have to put up with. The physios have told me to expect this right up till the end of the season".

United are not in action again until they entertain Middles-brough a week on Saturday. Shearer added: "This will give me two weeks of good training because obviously I am not as fit as I would like to be. However I am in a bit of a catch 22 situation. I want to play and get fit but I don't want to push the knee too hard."

Bobby Robson is delighted at the way his skipper has come back after his two-month lay-off, saying: "I thought his performance at Everton was heroic. Yes, his knee is sore and he's going to have some pain. The surgeon has told him that. There will be days when he cannot train, so then we will give him two days rest and pick it up from there."

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2001

Answers

Step up to the Magic Injury Roundabout, next victim rider please. Don't be shy. Oi, Slapheed, you seem to keep jumping the queue!

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2001

Seems this is under the specialist's approval, but surely any pain lasting that length of time is not helping him.

So are we back to where we were before Xmas where Shearer is playing at about 80% fit? That is not helping us and I'd like to see Cort come back so we can rotate the strikers more.

Hopefully Cort can get back to the robust injury free player he was before we messed him around and he can be the first picked.

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2001

Give the man a break, for God's sake! We are safe from going down, no chance of Europe (Ok, mathematical chances for both but let's be serious...) so leave him out until whenever he's not in pain. And if that's not til next season, then so be it.

Wouldn't want to see him crocked for half next season just to save our blushes in this one.

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2001

Nick, I've got to say I agree with you on this one. We have nothing left to play for in terms of achieving anything, so this could be an ideal chance to get our unfit players to 100% and maybe give our fringe and younger players some first team experience. Players like Bonvin, Gavilan and Gary Caldwell have never really seen first team action for more than a game or two and would probably put in more effort than some of the regulars have recently because they would be playing for another chance in the team.

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2001

When we are safe we can do that. 38 points is not enough

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2001

Are we going to give up hope on getting into europe,we're only a few points shy of a uefa spot. I don't think I'll be able to stand it if the mackems get in and we don't, our luck has to change sooner rather than later. We aren't a bad side, too good to be where we are now, all our games are winnable. The point is don't get beat away and win at home, that's not too much to ask is it?? Europe is there for the taking.

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2001

You're spot on Syme - and this is what is so bloody galling. There is so much money attached to qualifying for the UEFA Cup that puts into true perspective for me the myopia involved in our current approach.

If we do fall short, as seems likely, it will be equivalent to failing to win the PL with a 12 point lead!

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2001

The players and coaching staff, seem to have given up on getting into Europe this season. Looks like they'll settle for mid table mediocrity.

Next year will be different, we'll have a new owner, seven new players, a lovely new training complex and lots of promising youngsters coming through.

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2001

What happens if we strive for Europe all guns blazing but suffer the same sort of form that caused us to lose that 12 point margin? Where would we end up in the league then?

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2001

That's already happened, hasn't it?

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2001

I don't agree with the coasting attitude. If we mentally give up, we won't learn anything about ourselves and it may also be difficult to kick the players out of their apathy. Got to keep going till the last and be positive. I'm not saying flog Shearer to death, but we do need a fighting spirit to help bind the team, and some good results to boost morale and confidence.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2001

And sell Season Tickets of course.

Must go now I'm off for another lesson at the Screacher School of Cynical Business Minded Football Team Supporting: Lesson Three,The real reasons behind the purchase of Des Hamilton!

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2001

Are we seeing anything that should encourage us into thinking this season is just another 'blip' ?

For me, it certainly isn't coming through on the pitch, and I'd far rather be in a position to ignore the turmoil behind the scenes if I could come away from games with the 'Howway 5 0' feeling a bliddy sight more often than we have (if at all) since then.

If they were doing it consistently on the pitch, they could just about get away with murder off it.

How long is 'long term', and does it really matter these days when outside influences can change just about over night and screw up even the best laid long term plans ?

My very limited knowledge of this sort of stuff always leaves me with the feeling that a long term plan is okay, but make bliddy sure you've got enough contingency plans in place, just in case.

If there is any science involved, I can't see how Manure, for instance, should be any better at it than anybody else. It always looks to me as though they're where they are because of their priorities, which seem to me to be 'get it right on the pitch, and the rest will be dragged along in the wake'.

If I was a gambling man, I could easily be tempted to put money on their business plan being no better than ours, once they start to lose games consistently and fail to win things on a regular basis.

I'd say in our case, get the team sorted, even if it means risking a lot more dosh, and put the rest of it on a back burner.

I know, I know, you can't buy your way out of bother, but is that an absolute truth ? The only time we become aware that it's happened is after the event, the clubs that try to ensure they have the best players (ie buy their way out of bother) it seems to me are generally the most successful.

If we did try to attract real world class players, I wouldn't have thought the long term business plan would be very high on the list of attractions we'd use to try to tempt them. Harking back to manu, their initial climb probably had very little to do with a brilliantly devised long term business plan, and a helluva lot more to do with getting it sorted on the pitch, time after time.

I think what I'm trying to get across is that maybe it's time for a shift in priority. Something along the lines of 'bollix to long term, sort it in a series of consecutive short terms', cos I can't see we'd be that much worse off - I reckon we're just as likely to end up bust from failure on the pitch as from failure of a business plan.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2001

Mr. P. Bill - I'mm gannin oot fer me bait, but I'll talk to you later!

SHOP CLOSED. BACK SOON.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2001

So if the players and coaching staff have given up on a uefa spot then it follows that the thousands who pay good money should give up paying for the privilege. The next few weeks are key, to determine who stays and who goes. For months (bar the odd result) Newcastle have failed to serve up anything like value for money, they owe the paying punters big time. plus the amount of sleep and worry we all go through.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2001

PB,

At the risk of being accused of jumping back onto my favourite hobby-horse, it surprises me how many people on here believe that success in either business in general, or football Clubs in particular, somehow happens by chance - the result of a throw of the dice - and that it doesn't really matter who is managing the business/Club, or how it is managed.

From your post, you also seem to believe that long and short-term business planning are mutually exclusive. They aren't: well managed businesses will have both, will aggressively and doggedly pursue them, and frequently update them to reflect changing circumstances.

Effective leadership from the very top sets a clear agenda for the entire organisation; the clear resulting priorities and consistency of policy makes management further down the organisation easier.

Of course, I can't prove it Alan, but as a keen observer, I firmly believe the best managed Clubs in the PL are are the most consistently successful over the last decade - manure and Arsenal.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2001

Clarky
It must have been the way I put it cos I wasn't unaware that long and short term planning are not likely to be mutually exclusive.

What I was trying to get across was that it always seems to me that however well you think you've planned long term it's always the tweaking because of short term influences that seem to have the most noticeable effects.

I'd sort of liken it to the way a tree grows. There's all this long term activity going on under the ground and among the leaves converting sunlight etc, but it's the effect of short term things like a sudden frost on the foliage or a drought that has the most noticeable effect, and can in fact kill the tree.

The point being that it seems to me you'd be better off putting the emphasis on coping with these potentially lethal short term influences and leaving the long term stuff to take it's chance, until, going back to the tree analogy, the ground starts to become infertile or poisoned or summat, then tweak the long term stuff.

It's starting to sound like we're saying more or less the same, only I'm gob shiting, but I'm off ome now so it's getting posted regardless. :-))

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2001

Points well made, and readily accepted. BTW, brilliant analogy.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2001