(23 Jul 2014, 7:15 pm)Andreos1 Genuinely have no idea.
Obviously the close season wheeling and dealing hasn't finished, with pre-season just starting.

It may be one or two teams clinch a signing that could change our thinking.

As for the most successful team - what would be classed as successful?
Obviously each team has it's own goals and aspirations that differ from others.

Touching on Gateshead - I am worried not all of the players Mills has brought in, are up to the standard needed to gain promotion.

Still have no idea why Magnay went.
The fact he has ended up at Grimsby, shows how he is highly regarded elsewhere.

The experience that Lester brought in on signing in January, would have been invaluable.
There isn't anyone of his ilk, to have signed.

Although Shaw has goals in him, Lewis Guy and the other striker - haven't really done it at a higher level in the several hundred games they have between them.

Rodman did impress me in the two games against Grimsby, so hopefully he can show his class.

Newcastle - they have signed a lot of players. Just hope it doesn't end in disaster. It could take them a while to settle in and Man City are first game up.

Sunderland - Are their purchases Premier League class?
Time will tell.

Boro - goodness knows...

Hartlepool - last season was a mixed bag and Hignett leaving led to a downturn in results. From pushing a Play Off Spot in early Feb, results tailed off and relegation was a possibility until the end of the season. I don't know much about their new signings, but they will miss Monkhouse and Barmby.
Luke James looks a decent player and can hopefully bag a few goals.

(28 May 2015, 8:01 am)Andreos1 Not sure the budget would stretch to Clough like.
He will be on a bigger wage than back in the day at Burton.

Would he want to step down a few levels too?


I said similar about Cooper/Hignett at the time.
Don't get down to the Vic as often as I did, but it was obvious he was out of his depth after Hignett had gone.
Similar to Martin Scott.

The problem with using his contacts as Boro, is the age and build of the players.
Appreciate the Conference is slightly different to league two, but not sure a team full of lightly built kids (presuming he would go down the same route), is the way forward.
Not too dissimilar to Ossie Ardiles in that respect and that style never really did owt for his managerial record either.

(28 May 2015, 8:21 am)Andreos1 My predictions/comments on the season just gone.

Even though I didn't commit to predicting league finishes, the other comments seem about right.
How did others do with theirs?

(28 May 2015, 8:47 am)MrFozz Can't remember if I posted my thoughts here last summer, but I did think

Chelsea to win the League
Boro to do something in the Championship(I don't think anyone would have predicted Bournemouth to come up)

I said Hartlepool would get relegated, I wonder what odds Ray Winstone would have offered me on there survival at Christmas '14 and was excited about Gateshead hopefully moving to the next level.

I will give a premature thought about Next season, I think Chelsea will win the League again, not confident about Sunderland now Big Dick is away, so I am predicting the now yearly tradition of the Great Escape, Newcastle won't fair much better either...

I fancy 'Boro to win the Championship and Hartlepool to push on mid-table, as for Gateshead, with the right man at the helm, I don't see why the Play-Offs could be beyond them, next season Tranmere are going to be the team to watch and I expect them to be there or there abouts next season.

Further down, Darlington should do well, we got promoted though our divisional Play-Offs, we are in the same league now as Blyth and Whitby, so a couple of local(ish) games to look forward, and we should be playing at Blackwell Meadows sometime soon as well...

Going down further I hope North Shields build on the Vase win, I read somewhere Darlo are thinking of putting a Reserve team into the Wearside League, I hope they do, I used to enjoy Wearside League Football a few years ago

(23 Jul 2014, 2:25 pm)MrFozz Also your thoughts and predictions for the following:-

Premier Legue
Championship
League 1
League 2
Conference
FA Cup
League Cup
Champions League
Europe League

My Predictions are...
Chelsea
Nottingham Forest
Sheffield United
Bury
Brizzle Rovers
Liverpool
Man Utd
Bayern Munich
Inter Milan

(23 Jul 2014, 3:25 pm)Michael Premier League - Man City
Championship - Derby County
League 1 - Sheffield United
League 2 - Plymouth Argyle
Conference - Kidderminster Harriers
FA Cup - Chelsea
League Cup - Man u
Champions League - Real Madrid
Europe League - Wolfsburg

The Europa league is still a hard to choose as they still don't have the full qualified teams so iv'e payed it save and gone for a team already in the group stages

(29 May 2015, 8:38 am)MrFozz Bet Victors odds for next Heed Manager

Odds for next permanent Gateshead Manager

Robbie Fowler 33/1 [FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY]

(29 May 2015, 8:38 am)MrFozz Bet Victors odds for next Heed Manager

Odds for next permanent Gateshead Manager

Robbie Fowler 33/1 [FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY]

(27 May 2015, 6:34 pm)Michael 3 Questions for everyone:

Who do you want as Sunderland manager?
Who do you want as Newcastle manager?
Who do you want as Gateshead manager?

(29 May 2015, 9:22 am)mb134 Anyone else wanting Moyes as Newcastle manager, proven with Everton he can do wonders with a smaller budget 

(29 May 2015, 9:22 am)mb134 Anyone else wanting Moyes as Newcastle manager, proven with Everton he can do wonders with a smaller budget 

(29 May 2015, 9:24 am)Andreos1 Not sure.
The papers are saying he turned down Sunderland.

I think he needs to do a Steve McLaren and turn around his career at a foreign team.
He can learn a lot by doing it and of course, it is away from the spotlight.

He may even come back with a Spanish accent, like McLaren had (all be it Dutch!

(29 May 2015, 9:28 am)MrFozz https://youtu.be/2ZnoP4sUV90

Anyone remember one Joseph Barton suddenly developing a French Accent

https://youtu.be/CwkUMFk4yTo

(29 May 2015, 9:29 am)Andreos1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-32898612

Didn't they say Bradford was the forgotten disaster?


That's the one.

(29 May 2015, 10:00 am)MrFozz Something I found myself thinking about recently...

Had the series of events in the 1980's not happened the way they did, Bradford and Heysel in 1985, Hillsborough and The Taylor Report in 1989, would we still have had the new Stadia we see today, or would the likes of Roker Park be still about or were we heading towards all-seated stadia anyway, was it coming maybe a few year later than it did.

As for standing areas, I don't know why there so frowned upon, I don't think the Taylor Report said at any point Terracing was to blame for Hillsborough, it was the penning system in place and things like perimeter fencing and bad decision making by an inept man who had minimal experience at policing football matches...

Anyone else have any thought's

(29 May 2015, 10:34 am)Andreos1 I have thought about the stadia thing for a while.

I am not sure whether it would have happened or not.
The influx of TV money from the likes of Sky, have possibly helped speed things up - but on the other side of the coin, I am not sure football would have been as marketable - with the old stadiums.

If you go back to the early days of Sky and the Premier League, there were old grounds. Oldham, Boro, Sunderland, Coventry, Southampton etc
With prize money and TV revenue, we gradually saw the stadia improve. Clubs could afford to do it.
Football became glamorous, as a result of three things: Taylor, Premier League and Sky.

There will be exceptions to the rule like, with SJP being extended the first time round via club money and a tie up with Cameron Hall (John Hall paying himself basically) and the whole ball started moving, prior to promotion into the top flight.