That is our current record after the games vs Chelsea, Charlton, Everton (a), ManCty, Boro (h).

Gullit walked last season after a similar run although he had one extra home match. Spurs & Saints (a) Villa, Dons, Sunderland (h).

It's a grim record and questions need answering. Does Bobby know what he's doing? being the most important one.

Although it's a time worn excuse/explanation I think injuries have harmed our season a great deal. Our biggest asset (Dyer) is out for the rest of the season. Cort at £7m is Bob's biggest investment and has hardly played yet. Our top scorer Shearer is out. Then again Bassedas (the second biggest YBR buy) has been fit and not selected - very worrying. Gavilan & Lua Lua account for £5m approx and seem out of favour at present. Players for the future perhaps? But we need players NOW! Let's concentrate on the future when we've established we've got one!

The squad needs geeing up. It needs to play with more confidence and belief, and it is for the manager to instill this in the players. We do have good players who are underachieving. YBR's water walking abilities have become a failing attempt to tread water recently. If I see him with a snorkel someday soon I'm gonna be seriously concerned!

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

Answers

Gullit walked but he had spent a lot more than Bobby and his expenditure was a lot closer to his time of departure.

If Robson is ten-fifteen games into next season and having spent around !5-20 million and we're still being served up the dross then it will be time to call things to a halt.

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

I'm not sure of your point there DB. The fact that RG had only just spent the money suggests his buys needed a little time to gell. In that sense it diminishes YBR's performance relative to Gullit.

As for money spent, YBR has spent a sizeable chunk, about £15m or so before O Brien who has yet to play. I'm asking what's happening to Bassedas, Gavilan and LuaLua for whom we've shelled out £9m? That is NOT chickenfeed - you should be able to get 2 or 3 very decent players for that outlay.

My present take on this is to believe in YBR and blame injuries but my confidence is lessened. (None of the non-performing players I mention is injured). Too many times I've made excuses for TSM, then RG and now I'm finding myself doing the same for YBR. I love YBR but there's no room for sentiment in the game. I think things have to start improving NOW (if not sooner).

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

I wouldn't say either player on that list has had the run of games in their preferred position to make a mark on the team. Bassedas has hardly had a game where he hasn't been required to fill the left midfield spot.

How can he get round to thinking about directing the midfield if he is constantly worrying about the opposition's wingers and full backs? Gavilan is the same, how many first team appearances has he been given this year?

As for Lua-Lua, well he has had games but normally coming on in a losing side. He is very young and inexperienced but the raw talent is there, I would also doubt that we have actually paid the full amount to Colchester.

At the end of the day the players have suffered from too much shuffling around of players. Whether down to injuries or reliance on players out of position.

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

Using strategic analysis instead of a tactical analysis.

YBR has some funds that he will be given in small amounts. Coupled with what he can earn in sales.

He knows that when the transfer stuff settles down he will have an amount, lets say 100 million to spend. He can buy old warhorses to use in the side, not spend the money or he can assess the market and buy players for the future to come into the squad and play around the new big money signings.

If he buys well, the players if not right, can be sold again for the same amount or a little bit less/more. If they are right he has a squad og players to cover every position and they all would have first team experience.

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

My take on this is that BR was brought in as a short-term appointment to keep us in the PL after Gullits' disastrous tenure was thankfully ended, to steady the ship, advise the Board on restructuring the playing side of the business and on his successor.

He kept us in the PL, and has assisted Mr Shepherd in getting rid of the dross & idlers and in reducing the size of the squad playing and the wage bill accordingly.

We have no idea what changes he has recommended on other aspects of the playing side of the business, although from the frustration he has showed over the continuing absence of adequate training facilities, I assume he has 'suggested' that should be a fairly high priority.

In getting rid of a platoon of high-cost wasters, he has simply had to bring in a few replacements to keep things going. I have good reason to believe that Cort and Bassedas were signings of his choice - 2 of the 4 players he asked to be brought in last close season. Cort looks an expensive but useful signing: unfortunately, Bassedas looks like being a failure. I really believe the others have been bought because they were 'affordable', and not necessarily because Bobby felt they were of the quality we need in the long-term. He has tried to bring in a few some younger home-based players, but again players within his limited budget.

I believe he has been extremely unlucky with injuries. I also believe that without these injuries, or indeed if the Board had supported him three months ago, and brought in perhaps two decent players to support his injury-ravaged squad, BR could have taken us into the UEFA cup this season via a top 6-7 placing.

Having said all that, Bobby is 68 and it is time to be looking forward at his succession, be that this summer or next. This should have always been the plan, and must be now. It would be sheer lunacy to allow a 68 year old Coach to spend all the available dosh - and then retire.

IMO Bobby's done a splendid job in the most difficult imaginable circumstances. However, it is getting close to the time to say "thankyou Bobby", and move on. Hopefully that can be accomplished in an orderly manner, preferably with Bobby's active involvement, but nevertheless it has to be done - so for crying out loud, let's get it planned and get on with it.

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

Apparently, on the TV interview "Onside" last night, Robson said he wants to stay for 3 more years and then Shearer could take over. He wants to win a trophy for us. (yes, yes, it didn't escape me that that might be a lot longer than 3 years!)

Did anyone see this interview? I'm only quoting the extract I read on teletext.

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

nufc.com claim there's a link to the interview on BBC's site. Can't check it out myself just now as I'm at work on the dinosaur pc. Hope it's up though, cause I'd love to watch it when I get home.

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

i think that given the injury record, the nonsense of players handing in/withdrawing transfer requests/moaning to the press/going AWOL etc and if you look at the games we've lost and conclude that really we SHOULD'VE won them, we're not doing too badly.

Had we won those games, we'd be up there. However, we haven't and it's a very similar situation to last season - which for me is the real cause for concern. Have we really progressed in 12 months? Still have unhappy players. Still have a long [but more serious] injury list. Still losing vital games.

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

Jonno, that was pretty much the gist of what YBR said on the On Side programme.

John Inverdale asked him if Newcastle would be his last job to which he relied that his wife had told him it would be his last job, but that he wanted to win a trophy for the supporters before he went.

JI then asked if he would hand on the reigns of office to Alan Shearer to which he replied "that would be a good bet, its possible, but I want another 3 years of play out of him first

Into that, most people seem to be reading that YBR will continue for another 3 years......but he didn't actually say that.

It was a pretty superficial interview really - other than that they were mainly talking about the England matches this week, YBR's two World Cups and SGE's chances of keeping the England job long term.

Truthfully, the best bit of the interview was when YBR was talking/disagreeing with Nasser Hussain about cheating in sport. Nas was pretty much saying it was alright to claim a catch even when you knew the ball had hit the grund and it wasn't a catch, YBR was saying that he would chastise any player of his who dived for a penalty and the like in a match.

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001

Thanks ITK. The media headline was grossly misleading in the light of those quotes you've reported. No change there then.

-- Anonymous, March 28, 2001