Freddie et al have come in for enormous stick these past few years (I for one have never been shy of a few choice 'comments'), but they've really come up trumps this Season. If Jenas does sign, and the unconfirmed reports that Emerton is on Tyneside this morning turn out to be true, then I reckon we all owe the board a huge thank you.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

Answers

Always liked the bloke. Top man. My favourite Chairman. Generous and handsome to boot. Good with children and animals too, I'm told. (that's enough sycophancy - Ed)

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

Part of me agrees, but part of me thinks 'that's our money anyway' :-) Churlish is the word, I think...

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

If we get Emerton, I would put money on one of SOLANO or ROBERT being sold in the summer to pay for the new player.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

naaa... paving the way to cash in on Dyer

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

what happened to just adding depth to the squad? c'mon u pesamists

i cant see robert or solano leaving

lees out of contract & so is barton so y not emerton @ r.back

jenas @ centre mid with dyer

if all this comes true hows this for a starting XI come march Given Emerton, OBrien / Distin, Dabizas, Elltiot Solano, Dyer, Jenas, Robert Shearer, Bellamey

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

Not a bad line up. Now all we have to do is get rid of Shearer. ;-)

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

bobby zamora? if we're investing for the future surely hes worth the 3m that brighton want for him. give him a couple of years and he'll be the new number 9

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

As one who suffered for years with Westwood & McKeag I've never wavered in my support for this board and am always amazed at the flack and innuendo directed against them. They have built the 2nd biggest stadium in the country, (enabling the attendance of many on here who couldn't get in not so long back), and this season we have spent more money than any of the teams who did not qualify for Europe, and more than several who did.

Since the arrival of SJH and promotion to the Premier, this board can never be said to have been stingy, indeed, it would be more appropriate to argue that they were imprudent to back TSM and RG to the extent they did. YBR has also been well backed with his transfer spend now exceeding £30m! But the moment a player is signed the chorus of "Dyer for sale" goes up, probably from the same people who said he was for sale last summer, possibly the same people who said furiously that Shearer would be sold as soon as Big Dunc arrived! The fact of the matter is that all the dire (Dyer?) predictions of what the board is up to are invariably wrong but that doesn't stop the cynics.

Despite the clear evidence of the board's ambition, still the cynicism about them continues. Let me just say this. Freddie Shepherd is an out and out United fan, will do whatever is in his power to get this club to the top, and deserves our full support. He would be well advised not to hold his breath waiting for it.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

I agree with you on this one, Jonno. Why would a club which has so much ambition want to sell one of it's brightest stars? I'm not a fan of the let's build the team around a certain player mentality, but YKD is worth much more the NUFC as an NUFC player than any amount of money he would bring in if sold. I think the current board recognises this and is starting to help Bobby build a genuine title challenging team.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

I'm in the class of critics. Having nothing to compare them to, don't know of worse(or better). But I have to say well done on this one. The times are certainly changing!

Now about the training facilities..... ;-)

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

I think it has more to do with what else is available to distract us. Now that things are starting to look up a bit, we're more inclined to live and let live.

The reality not so long ago was that the team was crap and the board was crap, so everything was fair game.

The reality now is that the team are doing what we hope will be the norm, and even though the board still might have it's detractors, we're more inclined to keep quiet about their various perceived failings.

But FS is still the FS who couldn't keep his gob shut.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

"YKD is worth much more to NUFC as an NUFC player than any amount of money he would bring in if sold".

Actually Kieron Dyer is probably worth more than NUFC plc, and there's the rub!

Looking at FS as the old-fashioned Chairman of a Footy Club we could do a helluva lot worse. He is fan, and has worked tirelessly since he took over from SJH. He has however made many, many mistakes, some of which could have proven terminal had he not had the good sense to appoint "Sir" Robert Robson. Without a shadow of doubt BR saved his bacon - but credit to him for making the appointment.

As the Senior Director of a plc his primary responsibility is to his shareholders, many of who are also fans. In that respect he has been a complete disaster - overseeing an 85% decline in shareholder value during his tenure. This is not all market/sector sentiment, and in the long haul it is actually rather important.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

Jonno, I apologise if my tongue in cheek (although not indicated by the ;-)) ) comment about selling Dyer has rubbed you up the wrong way (oo err missus!)

I 100% agree with your statements above. However.... I would put forth the argument that selling Dyer may not be a bad thing, may not indicate any "lack of ambition", and may indeed be good management of the club!

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

But why ?

Buying Jenas and then selling Dyer leaves us in exactly the same position we're in now.

I would even argue against the commercial sense of doing that.

The umptynine million quid we got for him wouldn't help us find a better, or even as good as, replacement. It would only make one easier to pay for if one were found, but again, what's the point ?

Unless the idea is to cash in on Dyer, and buy cover for other positions. Plans to get cover for other positions are probably in the pipeline anyway, and besides, how does anybody know that the cover isn't already at the club, and just needs the opportunity ?

I think we should concentrate on CL qualification, with the cup as a diversion. Players will be queueing up to join us then.

Team strengtheng should be allowed just to take it's course, because I don't think there's any need for desperation buys at the moment.

Okay, one or two more long term injuries might screw things up, but Bobby could go crazy trying to anticipate every eventuality like that.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

Football management is a battlefield - there are very few winners and even on the way to the top there are lots of slip ups. I think the present board are doing an excellent job, along with Mr. Robson of course. They are now spending good chunks of money - and spending it wisely (Robert, Bellamy, Jenas). As "fans" we exhibit a helluva a lot of ignorant whining, when Bellamy was signed, when Robert has an off day. The management and board at NUFC have repeatedly said that Dyer is not for sale. I can see no reason to disbelieve that statement. All the signs of the way that they do buisness it that it is marked with sense (no O'Dreary/Hollier-than-thou tactics), they do not advertize their targets, but when they have decided on someone they really get them even if it means some extra money, e.g., if you really want Jenas then pay the extra million - that's what being a top club allows you to do (no Peter Reids here thanks). It still does not mean we will win anything this year =- but they are putting us in with a chance.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

Sounder - did you think the present Board were doing an excellent job before they appointed BR? Do you think the turnaround is a coincidence?

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002

I would put forth the argument that selling Dyer may not be a bad thing, may not indicate any "lack of ambition", and may indeed be good management of the club!

Indeed. It's good to be bringing money in from transfers as well. Ferguson at OT has made some very good sales. (Stam, Ince, Cole etc) Good in the sense that they were substantial amounts of money but he felt he had the replacements already in the squad.

Keegan sold Cole to our amazement but built a better side (although I still think he got that one wrong - esp selling him to Manure). We also made a very good sale in Sir Les but managed to squander the cash that came in. But it's always the same - the moment one of our players is put up for sale (or, more often than not, when a player is RUMOURED to be for sale) the cacophony of misplaced criticism goes up, the term "selling club" is reintroduced (anybody who cares to do the arithmetic over any period of the last 10 years will see how silly that term is). There's even been wild suggestions that the directors will be lining their own pockets with the proceeds.

The people who come up with these fanciful ideas are almost always proven wrong and yet they return with the same cynicism whenever the board is discussed. Can you remember last Summer when so many here were taking wild swings at the board for not having signed anybody just TWO WEEKS into the close season! We wound up spending £16m and with a team good enough to challenge for honours. (£6m on a player who was subject to the most disgraceful criticism on here BEFORE HE HAD KICKED A BALL for us! - and how he has rammed that back down some throats!) At least many came back to eat humble pie over Bellamy but very few will ever take back their mistaken criticisms of the board.

The board has certainly made mistakes, (poor PR, badly handled SOS issue, sticking with TSM for too long etc). Everyone makes mistakes. (YBR got it wrong with the likes of Bassedas, Gavilan for example.) But the net effect of what they have achieved is a team challenging for the title. Now - FFS - what more could we ask for?

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002

did you think the present Board were doing an excellent job before they appointed BR?

The only thing that matters is what's happening on the pitch and apart from choosing the manager and supplying him with funds there's not a great deal more the board can do surely in terms of getting the results we want? In that respect I personally don't feel the board is doing any better or worse since the Robson appointment. Things have looked up for us because Robson is better than his 2 predecessors. So one can say why did they choose Dalglish then Gullit, but there weren't too many who disagreed with those appointments at the time.

I daresay that if we had got Robson when we wanted him (to replace Keegan) the board would not have come in for as much criticism as they have. In my view I think that most of that criticism should have been directed at the true villains of the piece, Gullit and, more particularly, Dalglish.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002

I don't care what our board get up to in their own time. In my mind the only mistakes they have made are in the appointment of team managers, or as you say, not getting rid early enough once their mistake was shown up. In fact in those cases the problem was giving too much backing to the managers.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002

Dalglish and Gullit were two managers with pretty good track records. There is no way you can blame the board for appointing them.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002

Exactly jonno and Paul. I remember we were pretty happy when Gullit arrived and was also one of the most popular managers when he was here. And like you say they both had a nice track record so you really cant blame the board for making the elections. Bad luck really.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002

I think it's worth noting that there are a hell of a lot of things for which the board can be criticised over the last few years. Derogatory comments about supporters, calling Geordie women dogs (which according to Superkev's comments on another thread is completely untrue!), reneging on the bond deal, excessive ticket prices for Intertoto games, disgraceful away ticket policy, dotcock, lack of training facilities - take your pick. You could even throw in them allowing TSM to spend a fortune in the summer then sacking him after 2 games.

I wouldn't question their ambition for a second though - even if that ambition is to make wheelbarrow-loads of cash, at least it seems that they see the best way of doing that is to achieve success on the field. As someone who was dead set against the appointment of Dalglish, but who thought grabbing Gullit was a master-stroke, I can appreciate that choosing a manager is a lottery to some extent and wouldn't hold that against them, but I find it hard to rid myself of the impression that as supporters they view us as an unavoidable inconvenience rather than an asset. I personally find that very hard to forgive, and it's a real shame that whenever they do the right thing I find myself questioning their motives.

Delighted about Jenas though, never seen him play but everything I've heard about him suggests that he's exactly the kind of player we should be buying.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002

Clarky: I do think that Mr. Robson has been the crucial difference. I also think the board have done some silly things (ticket policy, etc) - but those are the fortunes of war that I was talking about. The Board are rightly concerned about money, and lots of other things, and they do make mistakes like that when faced with conflicting issues. I agree with previous posts that the board did have to back previous managers having appointed them and probably could not have let them go/sacked them before they did. What I am really impressed with is that they are purchasing young players and not trying to buy established players for "immediate" success. Not to say that thats not necessary sometimes.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002

Don't get me wrong Sounder - they are doing a lot of things right, and we are gradually building a very good squad that is increasingly full of young players. However, I really believe this has largely been due to the influence of Bobby Robson.

Let's just agree that they are learning from past mistakes, and from the guiding influence of the Master.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002

Yes Clarky - lets agree to agree! I think the board, or at least the Chairman have been cast by Mr Robson into a responsible role. Our manager continues to impress me with his all round effectiveness. He makes crucial tactical adjustments, he brings qualities out of players who have not previously demonstrated them, he is building for the future when the temptation to go for quick success would be more than understandable for someone of 68, and he does not whin like O'Leary, Taggart and Wenger. Only occasionally does he give the impression that he dislikes some current attitudes in football, his comment at Arsenal about people having to learn how to loose for example. But I'll forgive that - for certain.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002

You could even throw in them allowing TSM to spend a fortune in the summer then sacking him after 2 games.

I agree that this decision was perverse although obviously TSM was not sacked - he resigned. :-)

Oddly enough we did very well out of those Summer signings. We signed Hamman - later sold at a substantial profit, G'uiv'ar'c'h who was immediately sold for the same price we paid, and the one and only Nobby, still almost a fixture in the team and worth a great deal more than the £2m we paid for him.

It's odd that TSM signed quite a few decent players besides (Dabs, Speed, Given, Griffin) and yet was quite unable to get them to play in a coherent manner.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002

Agreed Jonno, it wasn't so much the players we bought as the way we played. Mind you he did by some absolute dross - Anderson, Rush, Guivarch, Thomason (who I'm prepared to accept was misunderstood!), Brady, Ketsbaia (who admittedly wasn't all bad, but would never be part of a title winning side). Could say the same about Gullit I suppose - Dyer was a good buy but Ferguson was ludicrous.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002