Souness has been sacked by Newcastle.

Newcastle dismiss manager Souness
Newcastle have announced that Graeme Souness' contract has been terminated with immediate effect.
The Magpies have won only one point in six Premiership matches and are only six points above the relegation zone.

A statement on the club's website read: "The employment of Graeme Souness has been terminated with immediate effect.

"And an announcement will be made shortly regarding transitional arrangements pending the appointment of a new team manager."

Souness took charge of Newcastle in September 2004 after Bobby Robson was sacked.

Not totally out of the blue :)

The temporary arrangement seems to be Roeder assisted by Shearer.

ROFLMAO!!

This disillusioned club with its soft-in-the-heed fans should be sponsored by Oxo they're such a laughing stock (geddit?).

They've never won anything (not in AD anyway) and still their 'long-suffering fans' - their words, not mine - still expect their team to be challenging for first and second place in the Premier League! They appoint another 'high profile' manager (whatever that means is beyond me), give him a ridiculous salary and allow him to spend even more ridiculous sums on past-their-sell-by-date players and journeymen (and other injured crocks).

The Toon Army of course lap it up, turning up in their droves to see these fading 'stars' unveiled in all their brown-at-the-edges glory. (The fact that hardly any of them works explains why 20,000 of them can turn up at the drop of a hat.)

Sack the manager! Start afresh. 'We're definitely going to make Europe now' the sad, fickle fans will cry. They'll go and buy new shirts with their new manager's name emblazoned on the back.

Then in five month's time, the club will still be in the lower half of the league, a further £30 million in debt and the whole process will start again.

You've got to hand it to their tenacious yet rather silly fans, haven't you.

I think Bobby Robson - Ireland's new advisor (thanks!) - must shoulder a good deal of blame for Souness's demise. Souness signed Boumsong and stuck by him when it was obviously a big mistake. He looks to have wasted money on a few other signings but he also had to work with Robson's buys; Bramble, Ambrose, Robert and the rabble rousers of Dyer, Woodgate, Bowyer, and Bellamy - no pleasant task for Souness to have to address.
Souness must have been given the job in order to instil some discipline because his work at Blackburn was nothing to write home about. Ewood Park has been bouyed since his departure.
He'll move on to another job, holding aloft a club scarf and with another big pay-out to boot. As for Robson, time he retired from the game. Seemingly one shambles after another and Titus still on the books!

Hope you aren't planning on going to Newcastle EVER ousetunes, as you will not get out alive. especially your remark about " not working ". Newcastle people are very friendly, down to earth and tenaciously loyal to their team.
There's having a laugh and being downright rude. You fall into the latter category. :mad:

I think it really started to go wrong when last season they let Shearer extend his contract for another season - the message to everybody else being "the most important thing to Newcastle Utd in 2005/06 is for Alan Shearer to break Milburn's goal scoring record". Talk about one player being bigger than the club!

Hope you aren't planning on going to Newcastle EVER ousetunes, as you will not get out alive. especially your remark about " not working ". Newcastle people are very friendly, down to earth and tenaciously loyal to their team.
There's having a laugh and being downright rude. You fall into the latter category. :mad:

Thank you for the advice which I will file in the receptor more commonly known as the bin.

I would have presumed that the remark regarding the unemployed folk up in Newcastle was simply a case of 'poking fun', a bit like the songs which football fans sing, ie, In Your Liverpool Slums, and other songs of such intelligent ilk. (Or, if you prefer, substitute Lennon's 'We're bigger than Jesus now' comment.)

Obviously, such irony is missed by some (usually the somewhat intelligently bereft football fan) whose sole raison d'etre is to see their team top of a list of football clubs published in the Sun's pull-out section every Monday.

Wow, what a life that must be.

To be fair i don't rate souness as a manager at all!!! it was a big mistake takinghim on in the first place and the 50 million spent on players- what a waste of money- i wouldn't swap them for any of ours!

To be fair i don't rate souness as a manager at all!!! it was a big mistake takinghim on in the first place and the 50 million spent on players- what a waste of money- i wouldn't swap them for any of ours!

Precisely and this is why I love to see so-called Big Clubs fall from grace.

Newcastle and Everton are two clubs that have outstayed their welcome in the top flight. Sunderland, a club that will be back in the Championship before the first daffodil is visible will take with them their colossal debts, incurred through a Big Club Mentality (or if you prefer, lack of common sense and business acumen) and may well 'do a Nottingham Forest' and fall further.

Leeds and our neighbours across the city are two other clubs who are still suffering from their ridiculous policies of trying to compete with the Big Boys whilst in the top flight of football. And I bet that if Leeds were to be promoted, this year or next, they'd still play the big club game, spending millions of pounds they simply don't have.

This is why I applaud the common-sense approach that Sheffield United adopted some 6 or more years since. I also applaud Wigan, Bolton
and Charlton for showing that smaller clubs can make a go of it in the top
flight.

The point is: Why should football clubs be any different from every other business?

I am mystified as to why anyone could think that Souness has managerial capabilities. He has managed three top clubs and has failed in them all. I have nothing against him personally. He was a great player. I can't think that any other top club would now be interested in him (why Newcastle thought he could succeed there, given his abysmal performance at Blackburn and Liverpool) remains a mystery.

Actually (Newcastle aside) I am sure he has won a trophy at every club he has ever managed which hardly constitutes a failure in my eyes.
That's a lot more than a host of other so called elite Premiership managers, and others (a lot of whom are being touted for the England job)

Note to Ousetunes : Your first post in this thread summed up EXACTLY my feelings on Newcastle United.
When Souness first took over the geordies were up in arms...cue the signing of Michael Owen and all of a sudden he was a saviour..cue some bad results and he gets sacked. What makes me laugh even more is the fact that most of the fans are calling for Sir Bobby "I can't remember the names of my players" Robson to make a return...the same man they were so happy to demand the sacking of previous to Souness.
What gets my goat about this joke of a club is how the same old phrase gets trawled out my unimaginative pundits and fans alike "Such a big club like Newcastle deserves success and trophies"..what utter twaddle

Actually (Newcastle aside) I am sure he has won a trophy at every club he has ever managed which hardly constitutes a failure in my eyes.
That's a lot more than a host of other so called elite Premiership managers, and others (a lot of whom are being touted for the England job)

Note to Ousetunes : Your first post in this thread summed up EXACTLY my feelings on Newcastle United.
When Souness first took over the geordies were up in arms...cue the signing of Michael Owen and all of a sudden he was a saviour..cue some bad results and he gets sacked. What makes me laugh even more is the fact that most of the fans are calling for Sir Bobby "I can't remember the names of my players" Robson to make a return...the same man they were so happy to demand the sacking of previous to Souness.
What gets my goat about this joke of a club is how the same old phrase gets trawled out my unimaginative pundits and fans alike "Such a big club like Newcastle deserves success and trophies"..what utter twaddle

But its his record in the Premier league which has been dreadful. Moreover, he seems to have got worse the longer he has been a manager, whereas other managers get better after shaky starts. In terms of the support they have, and the money they can generate from this support, Newcastle is a big club.

But its his record in the Premier league which has been dreadful. Moreover, he seems to have got worse the longer he has been a manager, whereas other managers get better after shaky starts. In terms of the support they have, and the money they can generate from this support, Newcastle is a big club.
Big in size, but not big in status. I can't recall this "big" club winning a single thing in my lifetime.
Teams like Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday can attract a large fan base but it doesn't give them the right to win things.
I think it's about time the fickle Geordies woke up and realised what their club actually is...a mid table Premiership club capable of the occasional UEFA and FA cup run, and that's at best.

I think it's about time the fickle Geordies woke up and realised what their club actually is...a mid table Premiership club capable of the occasional UEFA and FA cup run, and that's at best.

I think this is a fair summation that applies to a number of clubs in the Premiership; add the Villa. Everton, Spurs, Bolton, WHU and you can see why the Premiership contains three 'divisions'. Very few can be winners.

I wouldn't call the Geordies 'fickle' they have supported through thick and thin and have been served up rubbish for many years. Even when Keegan was manager, their defensive play was dreadful and little has changed, except for Given who has had to perform to a high standard behind joke defences at Newcastle and for Ireland.

Blackburn have improved since Souness's departure but I don't know how much more Newcastle has to spend. Owen is injury prone, Shearer soon to retire and Ameobi - not a Prem player, so as well as the defence, the attack will soon need addressing.

I'm not a fan of "short termism" in football, so I don't generally agree with managers being given less than two years. Souness hasn't done well at Newcastle, but he's only been there 16 months. That's not long enough for a manager to have a true effect on a club.

Saying that though, as a Liverpool fan I dislike him for the S*n episode in 1992, so I've got no sympathy for him.

I'm not a fan of "short termism" in football, so I don't generally agree with managers being given less than two years. Souness hasn't done well at Newcastle, but he's only been there 16 months. That's not long enough for a manager to have a true effect on a club.

Saying that though, as a Liverpool fan I dislike him for the S*n episode in 1992, so I've got no sympathy for him.

As a fellow 'Pool fan I hear where you're coming from.
I do feel somewhat sorry for him as he did have major probs with his injuries, however he bought Boomsong who turned out to be rubbish, and stuck with him throughout!

I think he was only appointed to bring in some discipline in the wake of Robson's assembled rebel-rousers. He hasn't had an easy ride, he has had his squad decimated with injuries but Boumsong has been a complete failure and he has continued to select him, along with Bramble. Luque, hitherto, has been an abject failure. Souness couldn't have been appointed for his achievements other than a reputation for being a hard man and at least he sent Bellamy packing!

Anyone who has been to a game at st james park will know the atmosphere is what you would want at a match, home and away players love it.
Souness spent most of last season trying to sort out the club bad boys who could'nt speak to eachother let alone play together, i think they will always go for a big name manager to try to please the fans but it will always be a thankless task when the fans are calling for the sack if results don't come straight away.
The North East is hardly the first choice for top players who regard their image off the pitch more important than on it. less paparazzi up there.
When the media keep reminding them they have'nt won anything for 50 years it puts the pressure on to try to buy instant success, like chelsea did.

Let's not forget that some of these players are so dim, McDermott was appointed in a pastoral role to help them! More expense.

As a fellow 'Pool fan I hear where you're coming from.
I do feel somewhat sorry for him as he did have major probs with his injuries, however he bought Boomsong who turned out to be rubbish, and stuck with him throughout!
And he could have been a Liverpool player. I can't remember who Gerard Houllier compared him too but I'm sure it was as accurate as his description of Bruno Cheyrou as the new Zinedine Zidane.

And he could have been a Liverpool player. I can't remember who Gerard Houllier compared him too but I'm sure it was as accurate as his description of Bruno Cheyrou as the new Zinedine Zidane.


please dont mention Houllier! Aghhhhh we've still not recovered from his crazy buys! He sold Fowler and bought in players who aren't fit to play in a park on a Sunday.

What many tend to forget is that Souness had a triple-heart bypass not too long ago and STILL returned to the stresses of football management.

That shows either incredible determination or a stupid case of getting one's priorities wrong. Whatever, I admire the guy's courage and hope that he'll now take a well-needed break away from the game (maybe he'll be given George Best's seat on Sky Soccer Saturday?).

He might then have the advantage of watching Newcastle on the box and might finally realise what some of us have known for years:

Titus Bramble is not even a footballer, never mind one capable of playing in the Premier League.

As a Liverpool supporter I have a lot of time for Souness. A lot of my personal admiration has come as a result of reading Robbie Fowler's autobiography and the comments he made about Graeme Souness. It's suprising how much goes on in football that we are never aware of.
Not for the first time in his career he has taken on an impossible job and never hidden from his responsibilities. When he took over from Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool he had to rebuild a whole team (with no support from the senior players). If it weren't for him we wouldn't have had Robbie Fowler (or at least not as soon as we did)...recently he took over Newcastle with a trigger happy chairman, a relic of a centre forward, a joke of a centre back (arise Sir Titus) and an unrealistic fanbase but yet conducted himself in a manner a lot of other managers could learn from.
He has managed at the top level pressure wise (Glasgow Rangers, Galatasary, Liverpool, Newcastle et al) and been reasonably successful.
I'll never forget the story of him running onto the pitch at Fenerbache after Galatasaray had beat them in a game and stuck a huge Galatasaray flag into the centre circle.
I personally think Newcastle have been far too hasty in their decision and given the circumstances should have at least given him till the end of the season..but that's Newcastle for you...the joke club of the Premiership.
I hope he makes the correct career decsion for himself and his family in the future and hopefully be successful in whatever else he decides to do.
Although his management skills maybe aren't up to top flight Premiership standard I reckon he'd do a top job at a First Division club...that level of player is more receptive to his style of management.

Well said wibbles, I agree with everything you have said here.

It was a mistake to appoint him in the first place. There has been talk about Keegan replacing him, and he is the biggest quitter in the business.