When will this idiot ever learn? Making his mouth go again yesterday in the Sunday Beano; deriding the mackems for not entering the Intertwobob, claiming that no-one's turned us down this close season, we're a massive club, success juat around the corner etc. etc. etc.

What a knob.

Surely the time to gloat is when we actually win the Intertwobob and qualify for UEFA.

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

Answers

But in the best tradition of other premature ejaculators all over the world, why not start early?

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

Shut it wor lad ;-)

The guy is from the most ambitious set of directors this club has had for 70 years. I respect that.

P.S. whats wrang with speaking your mind? especially when the aim is to excite the herd with anticipation, which BTW the press include the beano have went out of their way to destroy.......

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

Infact the longer he keeps sticking in there, the more and more I admire him.

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

Come off it. We've got enough Mackems spouting this rubbish without us repeating it.

deriding the mackems for not entering the Intertwobob

The Good Shepherd said nothing untoward at all. He certainly didn't "deride" the Mackems - (although since when has that been a crime?!!!). If you read what was said and not the journo-spin surrounding it, all The Sunday Sun says is that "Shepherd - who admits to being surprised at Sunderland's decision not to enter ....". It is The Journo who interprets this as "a thinly veiled dig at Sunderland". What I read is Shepherd merely saying that he feels he made a good decision to enter and I think most of us now agree with that view.

claiming that no-one's turned us down this close season

Shepherd claims nothing of the sort. Read the article!!! What TGS says is that he has never heard a player say "I don't want to come to Newcastle". Zenden simply said he wanted to remain at Barca - ie he didn't want to go anywhere.

we're a massive club

I'm sorry - do you seriously want to disagree with THAT????!!! Second highest attendances in England, huge turnover despite no European football, spend about to reach £15m this Summer - how many clubs match that? This club is MASSIVE - no argument.

success just around the corner

I don't see that phrase or anything like it in the entire article. TGS says that "We are trying to move towards where this club should be. Trying? Move Towards? Now I don't know about your understanding of the English Language but that doesn't come close to saying "success just around the corner."

Surely the time to gloat

Come off it! Read the damned article! Where does he "gloat" for goodness sake? Find a single sentence that could be classed as a gloat. There isn't one.

You fail to mention any of the rest of the article which is very interesting and shows some hard-headed pragmatism from the grossly maligned United supremo and FAN. The Good Shepherd has interesting things to say about signing foreign players (you can't expect to keep them longer than 2 years - get a 4 year deal and sell), he prefers to buy in Europe although expects Bassedas to come good, and also states that "Those fans deserve better than we have given them over recent years."

Personally, I found the article very encouraging. There was no arrogance, no wild claims, just hard headed realism and a frank statement of facts. TGS views the future with optimism and has faith in YBR. What, in any of that, can you possibly disagree with?

I'm sick of reading anti Shepherd stuff on here. The man is a committed fan, has always made the max cash available (he signed Shearer for the World Record fee), is paid an almost nominal salary for a company director by today's gross standards, clearly loves the Toon and works hard for it's success. He has been badly let down by TSM, and to a lesser extent Gullit.

TGS is a part of the club we love. Support him. He has worked tirelessly for success at this club and it behoves us not to invent lies about him such as the first message on this thread. He is not beyond criticism but this attack is a disgrace.

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

I bit of tact, as DSS put's it, wouldn't go amiss. Although the press does distort, it's all too easy for them. Too many cringing soundbytes. I'd prefer it if the efforts on the pitch did our publicising rather than having to rely on press statements at all. But I suppose if he and others kept their gobs completely shut, we would be winging about lack of info and therefore seemingly lack of interest and ambition from the Board. Perhaps we ask too much...

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

The Freddie is my Shepherd, I shall not want...for controversy.
He maketh me pay through the nose for my seat
He lays me down by the Tyne, he restores my cynicism
He leads me in the paths of cynicism, for PLC's sake
Yea, though I walk through the Valley and see us get beat in London...again...Yet I shall not fear makem whinges
For he is there with his rent-a-quote and new home kit, and they comfort me
He prepares a table before me, as part of an executive deal (including luxury transport and meeting the players...at cost)
He annoints my bank account with direct debits
Surely makem mocking and baliffs will follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in The Strawberry and St James forever...until closing time

Those quotes in full

"No player says 'I don't want to come to Newcastle.' The attractions here are Bobby Robson and the fact that this club is bigger than anything around in this area,"

"We are respected outside the North East as a big club. Abroad, we are seen as a huge club."

"I got a lot of stick in going for the Intertoto - from fans and even one or two of our players who thought it was the wrong decision, but I feel vindicated now.

"You go to Torquay or Exeter in pre-season and they kick lumps out of you. But when your opponents have as much to lose as you do, they don't tend to take those liberties."

"If we can do the business on Wednesday night, we're in the final and all the doubting Thomases will be saying what a good idea it was.

"Five or six years ago it was a Mickey Mouse competition but it isn't any longer because European football has moved on and the Intertoto is now a serious means to a serious end."

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

well posted bobby.... perhaps Jonno will read what he said instead of what he thought he said or would like him to have said.....

now who was playing in the south west???? and who else is in this area?????

mmmmmmmmmmmm

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

This cut and paste job from 365 sums up what fans and journos outside of the north east make of our esteemed leader (gives me NO pleasure posting this by the way):

Fun & Games > Who's Talking Bollocks? Last Updated: Monday 30 July 2001 13:24 LOOK WHO'S TALLKING BOLLOCKS TODAY!

FOOTBALL365 hails Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd for one of the greatest bollockular interviews of all time, published in the North East Sunday Sun at the weekend. Among the gems within:

* "Abroad, we are seen as a huge club."

* "Get another striker in and Bobby Robson would have a nice selection problem on his hands." (Yes, which four of the five Newcastle strikers who averaged less than six goals between them last season will be unlucky enough to miss out?)

* "No player says 'I don't want to come to Newcastle.'"

* "We've got the best stadium in the country."

And of course the old chestnut:

* "We've got the best fans in the country."

But best of all is...:

* "There's no way we can compete with Manchester United money-wise, but we're not just playing for second place in the Premiership. Anything can happen."

Freddy, king of all bollocks, we salute you!

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

Roly - I think I might not have quoted all that Shep said, actually. But I think it's true that some of what I've seen quoted is directed at SAFC, and they are reasonable digs at our closest local rivals.

I'm gonna sit on the fence. Freddie has definitely put his / our money where the manager's mouth is (bar last season), which nobody can deny. And we are the biggest club in the north east by a large margin - sorry Roly, Soooooooopah kev et al, but simply true.

But it's equally undeniable that to give the impression we are seen globally in the same terms as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manure, Milan etc is a nonsense.

And he deserves a slap for bringing up the 'best fans in the world' crap again. WE KNOW it, but it's making a rod for our back if we fail to get owt again next year.

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

Jonno, I hate to disagree, but there's a difference between letting the fans know that your ambition matches theirs and prattling on about being a massive club. All we have done is piss off the Makems and Boro. I'm not saying the Makems aren't guilty of this - Bob Murray said Sunderland were the biggest club in the North East when they went on that run in their first season back up: he hasn't made the same mistake twice. I am not saying that everything Shepherd does is wrong but I think he could occasionally have the sense to use the word "if" instead of "when".

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

Roly, you'll start annoying me if you start referring to Lovely Aaron Hughes as arrogant ;-)

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

Look, What was written in that interview was standard local paper stuff. If Freddie has managed to piss off Boro & the Makems we should be pleased but if that article pissed them off they must be pretty thin skinned.

Massive club, well we're 2nd biggest in England so I'd say a fair shout. Best ground, visually and from a civil engineering point of view the leazes & milburn are indeed the best. Ambitious, yes I'd say we are. Bobby is a big draw - well, who'd be up in arms if they said he was a liability? Are we in danger of sounding like Sun readers moaning about the hilarious Brass Eye?

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2001

DSS - you have attacked a senior official of the club I love and if you re-read thread 1 and the Shepherd quotes you will see that your attack has no substance and is packed with inaccuracy. If you want to criticise FS all well and good but you must do it with facts and not the fiction you have written.

I suppose you're 100% behind Mr Shepherd regarding his policy of increasing the prices for the Munich game too?

Never mind the underhand tactic of "supposing" what I'm thinking about a separate issue - concentrate on the main issue (Wednesday's prices can be a separate thread if you want) and stop throwing up this smokescreen.

The man can obviously do no wrong in your eyes.

Yet another LIE inaccuracy. Look at my post - it contains the words He is not beyond criticism. You're conducting a debate in an extremely underhand fashion here. You are making (false) assumptions about what I think - concentrate on what I've said. I can accept criticism about FS if it's justified. I can't accept an attack on him which is full of things he did not say . The only thing in thread 1 that is correct is the word massive. And in your later post you accept that that is true! The reason he used the word was to indicate that this club is attractive to foreign players who (contrary to opinions expressed elsewhere on here) have not being rejecting us in droves.

I note that in defence of your position you wheel in the might of that paragon of virtue and truth Football 365!!!!!! :-))))) (This seems to me to be the equivalent of a defendant in a rape trial getting a character reference from the Daily Sport!) Well at least the quotes are there and don't match anything you said in thread 1. It's a pathetic jibe in 365 and doesn't hold water. Particularly amusing is their snide remark about our strikers averaging less than 6 goals last season. Does anything strike you as underhand there?????? No mention that the top 2 (£22m worth) were injured for half the season!!! The 365 piece is rubbish - and does not justify thread 1 in any way whatsoever. It only serves to show that thread 1 looks as though it was written by Mackems or people who don't like Newcastle.

You have made a completely unjustified and untrue attack on Shepherd. Criticise him by all means but not with words he did not say.

I shall continue to SUPPORT all the players and officials of Newcastle United until such time as any of them prove unworthy of support. Certainly FS said nothing wrong in The Sunday Sun and anybody who thinks different should read and reread the article very carefully.

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2001

Alright Jonno I don't want to fall out over this; I didn't quote Shepherd's original article verbatum as i didn't have it to hand - I was merely recounting my out-take of the piece, and I'm sorry but I still see it as a bit of a self-satisfied gloat. Moreover, introducing the price increase for the Munich game IS valid in my opinion if we're discussing the integrity of the man and the way he goes about his business. If you want to give him your unstinting support that's fine but I'll reserve my right to have a dig. Of course I'm not holding up 365 as the paragon of all things that are right regarding football - I was merely highlighting the sort of press we get every time FS waxes lyrical.

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2001

What astonishes me, even more than Hall and Shepherd's audacity, is the gullibility of Newcastle United fans that believe the guff they spout.

If a dodgy car dealer told you a B reg Lada Riva was the fastest, safest car of it's class, could do 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds and was worth £14,995 "on the road" would you buy it?

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2001

Mr Mackem I swear I saw a Lada of said description with the number plates PRMH 1 only last week in Washington. Some funny little bloke in the driving seat got very agitated when I offered to buy it from him for a bag of pork scratchings and a pint of Vaux. Said it was his favourite motor, given to him by a Mr Reg Varney or some such. Told me to f.....g f..k off. Mind you, he soon saw the funny side, and gave me and the lad a season ticket each to watch some Sunday League outfit he's pulled together to help them see their careers out. Said there were plenty more where they came from, and did we have any mates who might want to watch the odd kick-about. Said he wouldn't be needing them soon - he's off to another part of the country to play with his old mates "when the f.....s get their f.....g ground f.....g sorted". You don't know him do you?

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2001

Every football fan is guilty of that to a certain extent ML3 - we're all so desperate for success that we'll always listen to stuff more readily that comes close to what we WANT to happen - I think its called 'blind faith' or something. It's just that as you get a bit older you tend to take more of this big talk with a pinch of salt - I know I do anyway, Jonno's obviously very young and idealistic ;-)

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2001

Either that or it's the new medication he's on dave ;) maybe not mind....this is the chap who started all that TIWY ;))

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2001

Hall and Shepherd's audacity

The thread is about Shepherd only - can people try and stick to the issue here. If you've got a different point a different thread is called for.

the guff

OK ML3 - I challenge you (or anybody else) to tell me what FS said in The Sunday Sun that is not true. Concentrate on what was said not on opinion or spin.

Your car example is silly. Colourful, but silly. Newcastle United is not a B reg Lada no matter how much you might like it to be. The simple FACT is that Newcastle is one of the biggest clubs around. In terms of success it is not the best (and nor did Shepherd claim as much) but in terms of support and turnover Newcastle is unarguably massive. So is Sunderland BTW (even when they were in the first division) - a fact I can readily acknowledge.

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2001

Jonno's obviously very young

Well - perhaps my response was a little hasty Dave. :-) I can see that you're a man of considerable judgement after all. :-)

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2001

The parts of the interview I've seen have at least 2 debatable points:

"No player says 'I don't want to come to Newcastle.'-"

This is highly debatable, and even proven given the bother with Zenden

"We are respected outside the North East as a big club. Abroad, we are seen as a huge club."

WE KNOW we are a massive club, but I'm not sure we're seen as that abroad. If so, quite why we've found it so difficult to line up big name signings is difficult to see. I don't believe the best players in the world see us as serious European competitors to the likes of Barca, Real Madrid, Milan, Lazio, Bayern Munich, Man U. When players like Veron or Zidane start saying "I've longed to play for Newcastle United for years" then maybe wor Shep's remarks can hold a little more water.

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2001

Ya, I agree with you Bobby. Maybe hasnt any player said he dont want to come here, but saying you want to stay at your current club or going to another club is almost like saying that.

No I dont think people abroad see us a huge or massive club. Like you say Bobby, we know it but not so sure ppl all over the world agree with that.

Otherwise a good interview by FS this time I think. He has worked like a maniac this summer and deserves all respect. Im behind him.

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2001

Dss, when will you ever learn. Don't jump to conclusions, only read the quotations in " " and don't believe the crap added by a half wit like Farrington.

The club has been slagged off by the media claiming we can't attract any decent players. The quote was "We want to dispel this notion that players don't want to come here because we're not in Euorope or it's too cold. I've never had a player say that to us. NO player says ‘I do not want to come to Newcastle’"

I’ll report the next bit with a little more integrity than farrington, the 365 or DSS, he says we’re respected outside the NE as a big club. We're not up with Manu but that's no reason to only aim for second place . Zenden did not want to leave Barca full stop, he didn’t want to go anywhere whether it was Milan, Manure or us, he wanted to stay at Barca. HE thought the Intertoto was a good decision as we had to take the chance to move the club forward.

I can't believe anyone on here has a problem with this or that you've taken it so our of context.

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2001