The end is near... (football relegation talk)

[Biscuit]

I'm just flat out gutted and whats making me even more furious is that the word on the street is that Charnley and Carr (our MD and Chief Scout) who (if you put Ashley aside from hiring them) are completely to blame for the state of the club are not even being considered for the sack.

The atmosphere at the weekend is going to be horrendous. I predict riots.

[Biscuit]

Statement from Cashley:
"I am writing to you in the immediate aftermath of the relegation of our club - a bitterly disappointing outcome for all of us.

"Newcastle United rightly has a proud and long tradition of competing at the highest level and I therefore understand and share the pain that supporters will be feeling at this difficult time.

"Many of you have expressed strong views about what we could have done differently. I respect those views but I would like to reiterate that it has always been my intention to try to achieve the very best for Newcastle United.

"We invested heavily in the squad over last summer and again in January, but we have been unable to secure Premier League status despite the recent efforts of the team under the formidable stewardship of Rafa Benitez.

"I've said in the past that when I take on a challenge I am prepared to go through both good times and bad. There can be no doubt that relegation is a terrible blow but I want to assure you that the Club will now be doing everything it can at all levels to try to ensure a swift return to its rightful place in the Premier League.

"We have done it before - we can do it again.

"In the meantime, I thank the fans for their passionate support, in particular for Rafa and the team at recent fixtures, both home and away.

"Clearly it is now time for a period of careful consideration whilst we reflect upon the lessons that need to be learned from the last 12 months to restore this great Club to the very top flight of English football."

As much as I hate him, I think he handled that quite well. Certainly better than Charnleys statement; the penfold faced plonker.

[Biscuit]

My exact feelings today.

[Smudger]

Spoiler alert!

After a week to reflect, I think we'll be OK, as long as Rafa gets the promises he needs and signs to stay on. I think if he does, we'll come back far stronger, possibly strong enough not to have to worry about relegation for a long time. Let's just hope the board aren't doing the same as they did to Shearer, making the right noises then going off in a completely different direction...

[ik9000]

Shall we place bets on whether a) Benitez is stalling waiting for Everton or Watford to make an offer... (as quoted by Danny Murphy in this morning's metro)
b) United don't do any better under Mourinho than under Van Gaal.

Gutted for Palace - dodgy reffing cost them the cup. Doubly gutted considering they still sacked Van Gaal. Shows united don't care about the cup, whereas for Palace it was clearly a big deal.

[Jowsey]

I really should start a new thread for next season talk.

But in reply to your questions IK9000.

Yeah, I think he is holding out for a Premier league team but only because Mike Cashley isn't meeting his demands over fund yet. That's my guess.

And personally I think United will do exactly the same as they did under LVG. Except people will hate them even more. If Chelsea pull there finger out then I think they could possibly miss out on European football all together. I just don't think he is the man for the job. He's far to abrasive.

[Biscuit]

Shall we place bets on whether a) Benitez is stalling waiting for Everton or Watford to make an offer... (as quoted by Danny Murphy in this morning's metro)
b) United don't do any better under Mourinho than under Van Gaal.

Gutted for Palace - dodgy reffing cost them the cup. Doubly gutted considering they still sacked Van Gaal. Shows united don't care about the cup, whereas for Palace it was clearly a big deal.

A) Its Newcastle, so everything takes at least a week longer than other clubs... but I have suspected this for a little while also.

B) Nope, same style of manager really, I don't know what they are actually expecting. I give him half a season before the Mourinho out brigade start whinging about it.

C) In fairness, Man U were the better team throughout the whole game and it was only glimpses of quality here and there that flattered Palace. Gutted for the fans definitely but after that cocky dance Pardew did, I'm glad he didn't add a trophy to his bizarrely inflated reputation.
Bar the odd flash in the pan season here and there, he's been utterly average (at best) at every club he has managed and somehow he thinks he should be England manager.
I don't see Palace holding on to their top players (Bolasie, Dann and Zaha) and I predict them in the depths of the relegation scrap next year.

Yeah, I think he is holding out for a Premier league team but only because Mike Cashley isn't meeting his demands over fund yet. That's my guess.

Apparently not. Word on the street is that Cashley has green-lit the whole deal including giving Benitez full control over... basically everything and his revised contract deal is said to be done and announced later this week. It's still really hard to believe though.

Carr is finally on the way out the door either way so thats a positive.

[ik9000]

Agreed that dance wasn't appropriate. Whether united were the better team is debatable - but those two breaks Palace had that the ref blew early on were key moments, and the game could well have been swayed by those. Would it have gone to extra time if proper advantage had been played? Equally against CP - Cabaye's stamp on Rashford. What a prickly pear - and just before the Euros as well. No need for that kind of BS. Will the FA investigate that? If Huth's hairpull on Fellaini gets 3 matches, what about stamping? Or is it different rules for cup finals?

[Biscuit]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36377851

Former Liverpool, Chelsea, and Real Madrid boss Benitez will have control over "all football-related matters" at the club, Newcastle said.

Boom.... Lots of happy people in Newcastle tonight, I should have gone up for a night out

[Jowsey]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36377851



Boom.... Lots of happy people in Newcastle tonight, I should have gone up for a night out

Best of luck to you. As much as it pains me to say it's going to be different not taking points from you like the proverbial child with sweets. I just hope Rafa really appreciates that the championship is a different kettle of fish compared to the PL. 46 matches, reduced crowds and visits to some TINY stadiums. It's a much more physical game and he will need to buy players that will put the hard miles in and really scrap through a game.

On that topic, do you want Cattermole? Have him on free as a parting gift...

[ik9000]

Best of luck to you. As much as it pains me to say it's going to be different not taking points from you like the proverbial child with sweets. I just hope Rafa really appreciates that the championship is a different kettle of fish compared to the PL. 46 matches, reduced crowds and visits to some TINY stadiums. It's a much more physical game and he will need to buy players that will put the hard miles in and really scrap through a game.

On that topic, do you want Cattermole? Have him on free as a parting gift...

You could probably pick up Fellaini very soon too - he's not afraid of sticking the elbow in. And try getting Carrol back. He's more suited to the championship too!

[Biscuit]

Best of luck to you. As much as it pains me to say it's going to be different not taking points from you like the proverbial child with sweets. I just hope Rafa really appreciates that the championship is a different kettle of fish compared to the PL. 46 matches, reduced crowds and visits to some TINY stadiums. It's a much more physical game and he will need to buy players that will put the hard miles in and really scrap through a game.

On that topic, do you want Cattermole? Have him on free as a parting gift...

No thanks, the last free we got from Sunderland has been a bit of a mixed bag

I don't think the home crowds will reduce as much as they did last time, and even then it was down from 46-50k to 38-45k so it should still be an atmosphere. If we're winning games and Rafa's in charge, I would expect home games to sell out regardless.

Most of our players are under a long term contract and the word in the papers is that we arent letting them go unless the serious offers come in, so whilst we will need some different players coming in to cope with the differing conditions, we should still retain some quality. Honestly I would love to see some of the regulars in our squad get shipped on and put some faith into the youth.

I'm quite looking forward to going to the the small stadiums with my mates and family. I have quite a few mates who are serious Leeds fans so they have been doing it for years now, looks like a laugh... not like we have a choice in the matter, might as well make the most of it.

You could probably pick up Fellaini very soon too - he's not afraid of sticking the elbow in. And try getting Carrol back. He's more suited to the championship too!

Fellaini will be on the market but do you really see another side picking him up in England? He will probably go to China or something.

Funny thing about Andy Carrol, and I wish I had got some pics, but I did see him in Newcastle last time I was there (March-ish). He was coming out of the Crown Plaza behind the train station, then on the way to my room I noticed Charnley was in the club suite. Don't really know what to make of that if I'm honest but I cant see him wanting to go down a league.

Honestly I would welcome him back if he can keep on the pitch and off the physio table, he's a bit liek Wilshere in that he has a lot of potential but we never get to bloody see it.

[Biscuit]

Another bizarre managerial appointment with Roberto di Matteo to Villa. I wonder why he wasn't considered for the Everton job?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36442555

Do you think he has the skills to build a squad from scratch?

Villa have maybe 1 or 2 players worth keeping in the first team so they really have a tough job if they want to secure an automatic promotion spot.

[ik9000]

yeah that surprised me too. I'd have gone for Pearson but he's now at Leeds. for that matter I'd rather have Pearson for the England job than Roy but that's for the euro 2016 thread

[PES2018]

Leicester look like they may go down, from being Champions to playing in the Championship.

[Biscuit]

Leicester look like they may go down, from being Champions to playing in the Championship.

I think they're in the scrap for sure, but it wouldnt be the first time they have faught their way out of that kind of situation. Honestly, I dont see it happening.