And so ends one of the biggest (though one of many) farces in the modern history of 
Newcastle United Football Club. Joe Kinnear is no longer the Director of Football at the club. After an appointment which baffled the world of football, he has lasted barely nine months and achieved absolutely nothing.
Whether a rumoured flood of cancelled season ticket debits since Saturday has precipitated his departure is a moot point but he is a buffoon who brought absolutely nothing at all to Newcastle United and in many ways reduced the club to laughing stock.
He invited us to judge him on his signings and after two windows we have: he’s shit.
Any one of us could fill any amount of column inches slaughtering the self-satisfied moron but to be honest, I can’t be bothered with that.
There are major questions to be answered about Ashley. How could someone appoint this man to such a strategically important position and allow him to proceed delivering nothing for nine months before dispensing with his services. It is negligent.
Then what of the future? I don’t think any one questions the importance of having a Director of Football, someone who can set the strategy for the club’s development over the longer period with the establishment of scouting networks, the development of coaching under the first team squad and at the academy. How could you trust Ashley to be even be bothered to do this?
Then, there is the question as to how on earth, Ashley could have appointed Kinnear and allowed this to force the exit of Derek Llambias, the man who was slowly but surely improving the atmosphere around United (albeit he was responsible for the Sports Direct Arena and Wonga bull-shit).
Nothing has really changed with Kinnear’s departure and I’ll leave it to someone we trust to sum up matters:
“And the best day will come when someone buys it from him and runs Newcastle like it should be run. The club can never go anywhere under Mike Ashley, I promise you that” – Kevin Keegan 
What was JK’s job? No seriously?
If it was to do with transfers he couldn’t seal a deal if his arse was made of sweets.
Its not just JK’s fault (even though he’s a twat), MA has to take blame. It was his fault for the past FOUR transfer windows we have seen a star/strong player leave us in the dying hours of the transfer window closure without a replacement.
To add insult to injury, his only “major” signings were loans., Remy who truth be told wont sign for us cuz of the world cup coming up and fat MA wont stump up the cash. Then Luuk De Jong who again wont sign for us. There is far too much up rest for him to sign.
I hate to say this but yet again our beloved club is being dragged through all kinds of shit and we geordie’s have to accept MA’s lack of passion, love and ambition, making our club once again a laughing stock.
I miss the old days of passion for the club from the previous owner, the fight for the club from the players, granted against each other (L.Bowyer and J.Jenas). The roar when we travelled Europe, remember Barcelona CL game? How we celebrated to beat them 3-2. We need that back again, Not from the fans who week in week out back our club to the hilt but from the upper realms.
Confidence, ambition and passion stem from the board and if they don’t have it then it doesn’t pass down to the manager who wont be supported to buy players, who in turn our players get no fight.
I truly hope Barry Moat comes back and buys this beautiful club from MA and fuck him off.
Ian, speak to your bank and they’ll happily cancel any direct debit you have set up.
Has deadline for season ticket cancellation always been Jan 31st? Just been told it is not possible to cancel direct debits for next season?
Ian I cancelled on the 31st and beat the deadline. Anyone who cancels now will I believe have to make at least one additional dd payment before they will let you cancel. That means you would need to pay the mid march payment . In a nutshell it will cost you about £50.00 to cancel. If you are going to do it I would cancel sooner rather than later so you don’t incur further payments. This needs to be done in writing. I went to the box office to do this as I couldn’t get through on the clubs premium Cost phone line.
Joe Hawkins you echo my sentiments exactly, how people cant see through the bloke boils my piss, the innocent party, do me a favour!
I agree totally with what Joe Hawkins is saying but Pardew is a consequence and not a cause of where NUFC is being steered.
Interesting the number of posts arguing about the merits of KK (best we’ve had in my view but now history) vs actually trying to do something about Ashley as posted by Ian Fingleton and David Rutherford
Pete, where would Newcastle United be without Keegan, probably still a middling club like Forest or Sheff Wed, dare I say it Sunderland.Keegan boosted the Newcastle name, which we still benefit from today. There would be no 50 000 seater stadium, no Alan Shearer signing, no top 2 finish without Keegans contribution.
We’ll said joe hawkins
Dave, People really need to take their blinkers off where he is concerned.
Director of fuck all more likely, and good riddance , how could any one take him seriously? , and please CAshley Ashley stop playing the fans for mugs, it’s our club, your just a custodian, please start treating it with respect
A variation of the walk out, would be for no one to go in till 10 mins. after kick off.
Just imagine what that would look like as Sky went round the grounds.
With the added bonus of more time in the pub.
I really wish the sympathy for Alan Pardew would stop.
He is no better than Kinnear, And the club should be ridding itself of him as well.
He has proved on numerous occasions that he is just another apologist for this rotten regime.
What is all this, “That one was for Mike”?
Bollox to him!, He has made his bed, So let him lie in it.
He is in it up to his neck with Ashley, And is another “Front Of House” man for the scam Ashley runs.
He isn’t even that good of a manager when all said and done.
Okay he got us to 5th, But that will always be that jokers high water mark.
We have had some of our biggest hidings in recent history, Since he has been manager.
He breaks records for all the wrong reasons, The list is getting longer, The more stays in his position.
Look at the way Gus Poyet has Sunderland playing football, The basic passing and moving were too much for us to deal with.
Can any fan honestly hand on heart ever see a Pardew team put together a complete performance?
We have only ever played well in small patches of games, And we spend most of our time riding our luck.
Some of the football which has been served up under Pardew’s reign has been scandalous to say the least.
You will never see a Pardew team passing and moving, And the man has one way of doing things, And if it doesn’t work he has nothing else.
To call him generic is a complete understatement, And he is along with Kinnear a Dinosaur!
When has Alan Pardew ever made a substitution that actually changed a game?, Answers on a post card for that one!
The only thing he is good for is getting the odd result against the so called “Big Boys”
Because he doesn’t expect to win so these are the only games he is positive in, Ironically enough these are the only games when he has a cup mentality.
His players mostly French only seem to be up for the big games also, It’s as though they have the attitude that they have only come to England to play the Man City’s of the World, But can’t be bothered against a Fulham for instance.
As soon as Pardew comes up against a side that are in the Second to third tier of the League his small club manager psyche always kicks in.
He’s so obsessed with trying to stop the opposition, That he negates what damage his team can do.
He becomes way too negative, And is more worried about not losing a game, And playing on the counter attack.
Which ends up normally being the reality of what he is trying to stop from happening.
Hence some of the losses we’ve had against teams we should have beaten, Especially at home.
He has been in the North East for more than 3 years and still has no clue what a Derby game is all about!
Both Di Canio and Poyet were able to get their sides motivated for this game after only being in the area for 2 weeks.
Howay, What is Pardew’s excuse?
That shameful game of Rugby Union he served up on Saturday would have made The Newcastle Falcons Proud, He makes Sam Allardyce look Louis Van Gaal ffs.
He is a massive part of the problem that exists at the club, Poor Joe Kinnear was nothing more than a scapegoat to steer away from the failings of one of the worst managers The Premier league has ever had.
It will be a glorious day when that two bob conman is bounced out of Professional Football for good.
A complete and utter a**ecrawler and toady merchant with his fake flattery and all the smarm of a used car salesman.
It’s his inability to stand up to Mike Ashley that is letting “Jabba The Gut” pull more of his strokes.
He must be the only living Football manager that actually works against his own side, And if it wasn’t for moments of individual brilliance over the last few years, We would have lost a hell of a lot more games with his inane meddling, Poor team selection, Playing people out of position, Tactical naivety, Poor training ground fitness, Lack of team set up and no drills for set plays.
He is a disgrace to the Professional game, And people should start to open their eyes to Derek Llambias endorsed future Alex Ferguson ffs
Alan Pardew has only ever had a drink with a Football manager, Pardew out A.S.A.P!
Along with everyone else, delighted to Kinnear go. Useless idiot, who made eve TF lament Llambias’s departure (short memories, guys, when you talk about him “slowly but surely improving the atmosphere” etc etc – think your pre-resignation editorial may have told a different story).
In true “Ponts of View” style (youngsters – ask your da), please let’s stop this fucking Keegan idol worship that has been going on since the his last fuck off (with good reason, I grant you). The guy gave us a few seasons of highly entertaining football but (1) won fuck all – not even managed a cup final and (2) playing Fantasy Football with John Hall’s money – a man you constantly vilify.
Never have or will forgive him for pissing off the first time.
Keegan’s subsequent managerial career has proved him to be mediocre, at best, without an indulgent sugar daddy like Hall.
Criticise Ashley, Pardew et al as much as you like but be honest, genuine and realistic about what has gone before.
To be fair, we have hardly claimed Llambias as a prince amongst men and I note you omit to mention the bracketed comments made.
Hall – it wasn’t his money, it was yours and mine. The club was run on debt while he and Shepherd pulled it out for themselves by the tens of millions. That is verifiable fact.
Keegan? Saved the club from Div. 3, got us promoted and turned us into one of the most exciting teams to watch in the world. Aye, we didn’t win anything under KK. Nor did we under SBR. I think those of us who still have affection for KK are entitled to it.
Michael, with regards to the much-trumpeted idea of staging a mass boycott or a walk-out (both utterly necessary measures in my view) would True Faith be inclined to publicly endorse, encourage and get behind such an action? As I said elsewhere, every season ticket holder I know (plus several posters on here) believe this is the best and only option available in humiliating Ashley, bringing the issue to the attention of the masses and, crucially, letting him know that he can no longer rely on our unwavering support and take us for the lame consumers he’s treated us as for the past seven years. We always thought he didn’t care about bad publicity but look at how rattled the relatively small-scale protest march and the Chronicle’s coverage of it got him last year – imagine the impact if tens of thousands exited the ground in unison mid-match, all lovingly captured by the Sky Sports cameras and beamed around the world?
The point is however, this can only happen with co-operation, organisation and old fashioned word of mouth so my question is : are the likes of True Faith, NUST, NUFC.com, Time4Change etc willing to actively encourage and implore fans to adopt this course of action (and I’m fairly certain most supporters would) or is the policy to steadfastly remain in the Support The Team Not The Regime camp? Because if it is then I’m afraid the fat gentleman who pockets the cash and drags this club’s name further through the dirt every minute he remains will continue to do so for a long while yet.
Hard to argue with that, very relevant questions. Interesting that there’s a lot of negative coverage (bloody rightly) across all the fanzines / websites but none will ‘officially’ deviate from the ‘support the team not the regime’ line (which I agree is utterly ridiculous). I know there’s the usual arguments about not speaking for individuals etc. but, like it or not, fanzines / sites are a powerful and influential voice. I do think you deserve an answer, at least.
Keegan left every club team in a better position than when he took over, that’s a fact.
A serious question as it appears to me that since the Keegan/Wise carry on and subsequent court case during which KK had our total support Ashley has done everything he can to piss us off. If he decides to fuck us off completely could he literally close the club down. If he walked out and took what he is owed and refused to sell until somebody offered him what he wanted what would happen?
That’s a genuine concern of mine. If ever a situation arose whereby shutting the club down would benefit Ashley in any way, he would do it without a second’s hesitation.
It’s pretty unlikely. Remember Ashley has around £240m tied up in the club. Money is his god, no way would he be writing that off. He’s making considerable money now, £35m profit in the last 2 years accounts (and those are the ‘official’ books, drafted by clever accountants and perfectly legal, but obviously they can be presented in the most favourable way). Not to mention the commercial revenue being siphoned to SD and the free advertising. He’d be giving that up. Other assets are not great, he doesn’t own the stadium / land so he’s looking at a fire sale of players, which wouldn’t cover the money he’d lose overall. Wouldn’t come close. As much as he might hate NUFC / the fans, would he write off hundreds of millions? Doubtful.
I have to say I like the idea from Ian Fingleton above, of a mass walk out in front of Sky cameras. What better way to highlight our plight to the world?
Feelings have never been stronger about the way Ashley is running the club and the message is (very) slowly getting through to the press. The least that could be achieved is further loss of credibility for Ashley.
Following the impressive victory in the bubble travel fiasco I believe the necessary skills to articulate a credible communication to fans already exists via True Faith, The Mag, NUFC.com, NUST, Time4Change, etc and, thanks to Ashley, probably NCJ.
What have we got to lose?
well there goes another one of ashleys transfer window smoke screens!!
i hate to think what new lows the FCB is going to stoop to next in order to stop him from putting his fat hand in his skinny pocket?
i can just imagine his check list:-
fake club sale… done that already
sack first team coach just before transfer window…. yeah done that aswel
get relegated… tried that one too
sell clubs main player at last minuet of transfer window so not to bring in replacement… genius
hire stooge as director of football to deflect all blame onto while i sell another key player … why didnt i think of this earlier
POCKET ALL THE CASH!!!!
…………………………yeah were onto you ashley!!
#TIME4CHANGE
Good riddance to utter shit. I have cancd my ST direct debit (30 consecutive years as ST holder), this is as low as it gets and no more money going in until that FCB goes, simple. The Cockney Mafia have defiled the ground, the city, all tradition, the club, ex-players…..far short of a single finger on the badge, but there’s time yet.
JKF’s job was to take the blame for the club’s penny pinching zero ambition recruitment strategy; to draw attention away from the real reason we’ve made no permanent signings in the last two transfer windows. Who better to carry the can than the clown prince of bullshit. We have SAFC to thank for his departure, not a change of philosophy in the boardroom.
I think the only slight thing that might bother Ashley’, is for there to be a mass walk out in front of a Live Sky Cameras after say 30 Minutes, this would at least highlight the situation to a wider audience.
The Protest Walk obviously got under his Skin otherwise he wouldnt of Barred the local Press.
My immediate reaction when I saw last night that he had gone was to think – how can you tell?
Yes, that crossed my mind as well….
the rest of the premier teams fans will be waiting with bated breath,hopefully the joke will stop but i doubt it,with the buffoon who owns the club,no doubt he will have another joker up his sleeve ready to play it out for everyones amusement,apart from the newcastle fans of course.
Whilst I am glad and relieved that JFK has gone, I worry about who Mike Ashley will put in his place.
I felt for Alan Pardew the other day. It should have been JFK fielding those questions, not him.
I hear that the real reason that jfk has left is because he was worried about the death threats he was receiving from unhappy fans . He has now decided it will be safer for him to go into politics and stand for Mayor of Newcastle . Oswald was a mackem according to sources
Ashley’s appointment of Kinnear showed once and for all he does not care (really care) about Newcastle United.
To quote a journo on 5Live at the time : “with no statement from the club, we had assumed this was all Joe’s imagination” – Wish it had been! Good riddance.
one down, two to go.
The problem is that no top class professional operator will touch Ashley and NUFC with a barge pole. Ashley only knows wheelers and dealers so all we can look forward to here is the next lamb to the slaughter in the name of Ashley’s ego.
I was a union rep for several yearsand learned early on that those at the top surround themselves with people to blame when things go wrong and this is a perfect example. You’d have to believe the moon was made of cream cheese if you believe that JFK had any influence on transfers but he’s a convenient fall guy now the heats on. “Cheers Joe, job done”.