Despite the dismal Johnnies amongst us, is this not a better season than the previous 3??

A fit Shearer, Cort,Dyer,Lee, Dabizas would have had us in a shout for something. We do need some more quality players that is obvious but what we do not need is another manager. Those calling for BR'S head to be replaced by GG!!! should consider carefully the repercuss

-- Anonymous, May 21, 2001

Answers

Yes, it was better in some important respects (well, I got to see a game!) But there are still some troubling issues. Why do our players get injured so much? And despite his efforts, Mr. Robson has not managed to flush all of the dross away.

Heaven protect us from GG!!

-- Anonymous, May 21, 2001

I certainly thought this team was better than recent form suggested and I was very concerned at the abysmal form when we got 1 point from 5 games. It hinted to me of a kind of malaise at the club such that the players were not playing to their potential - very worrying because that was Gullit's problem at the end.

Saturday showed us how well this squad can play and we can go forward with some hope for next year. Bobby has come out fighting saying that he won't quit and is commited to improving things. I'm heartened by that and contrast it to TSM just being rude to journalists as his work was justifiably criticised.

There is still much to do to get back to where we were 4 years ago and progress is too slow at present. I think Robson really must start to deliver significant improvement next season and I daresay that we can point to the injuries this year as probably the main reason for disappointment. Despite missing a vast amount of the season, YBR's main signing is top scorer so it makes you wonder what might have been achieved if he had been around longer this season.

-- Anonymous, May 21, 2001

The spectre of GG is one for us to beware - I could just see him and FS getting on famously together!

-- Anonymous, May 21, 2001

Last year we peaked - this year we troughed with the same end result - so IMHO we did better.

Some of the dross has gone, some more will be going - that brings the wage bill down.

Some fresh blood will arrive.

The average age of the 1st team is much lower.

Yep - Better than before and the beginnings of a solid foundation o build on.

People slag GG off for being boring and defensive - they're right - he'd be a disaster.

-- Anonymous, May 21, 2001

On balance we're probably slightly better off.
Some more of the dross has gone, and we've seen the emergence of Shola and Caldwell, and to a lesser degree CC. We've seen Aaron Hughes mature into a PL player, and it looks as though we've 'stolen' a good defender in O'Brien.
Shay Given has emerged from an indifferent start here, and blossomed into a top PL keeper over the last few months - in fact since his transfer request fiasco!
On the negative side, we've made no discernable progress on either the Youth Academy or Training Facilities, and there appear to be continuing problems with the medical support and possibly fitness training/preparation for the players.
Despite the increased capacity and the splendid entertainment facilities in the Milburn Stand, the standard of catering to the majority of spectators has remained abysmal.
Finally, our Manager and our most experienced PL players - Shearer, Lee, Speed and Barton - are all a year older and nearer retirement, and in the case of the former two, we are still far too reliant on them.

Overall, I feel there is cause for cautious optimism based on the emergence of some young talent in Griffin, Hughes, O'Brien, Cort, the Caldwells, Ameobi, and further back on the conveyor players like Chopra and Offiong.

-- Anonymous, May 21, 2001

At the risk of annoying the crap out of everyone (chuckle) here is that table that works out how many points we would have got for a full season of 38 games under each manager with the form they were showing each season:

Manager	Season	HW	AW	HD	AD	HL	AL	Total	Won	Drawn	Lost	Wins	Draws	Points	Dif
Kevin Keegan	1993-94	14	9	4	4	3	8	42	55%	19%	26%	62	7	70	n/a
Kevin Keegan	1994-95	14	6	6	6	1	9	42	48%	29%	24%	54	11	65	-5
Kevin Keegan	1995-96	17	7	1	5	1	7	38	63%	16%	21%	72	6	78	13
Kevin Keegan	1996-97	7	4	2	2	2	4	21	52%	19%	29%	60	7	67	-11
Kenny Dalglish	1996-97	6	2	1	5	1	1	16	50%	38%	13%	57	14	71	4
Kenny Dalglish	1997-98	8	3	5	6	6	10	38	29%	29%	42%	33	11	44	-27
Kenny Dalglish	1998-99	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	0%	100%	0%	0	38	38	n/a
Ruud Gullit	1998-99	7	4	5	6	5	8	35	31%	31%	37%	36	12	48	4
Ruud Gullit	1999-00	0	0	1	0	2	2	5	0%	20%	80%	0	8	8	n/a
Bobby Robson	1999-00	10	4	4	5	2	7	32	44%	28%	28%	50	11	61	13
Bobby Robson	2000-01	10	4	4	5	5	10	38	37%	24%	39%	42	9	51	-10

Far from being better than the three previous seasons Bobby has actually slipped a long way since last season. 17million spent and 31 players "got rid of". Must do better or face the consequences. Maybe a leaner ship will be a help. Time will tell.

-- Anonymous, May 21, 2001