First things first, here’s to two great years with Glenn Roeder as manager. The last few months have been a breath of fresh air. He has got the job and he gets my support 100%. Aside to the fact the guy is a survivor and all that blah blah blah the fact is he has got the club back on track after 18 months of doom and gloom. The terraces at St. James have been electric of late and Glenn deserves the job.

However, Mr. Shepherd can you please inform us what the hell you have been doing since February? Who were the men who applied for the job? Were any of them interviewed? Why was Mr. Oliver branding around different names who were to become manager?

Names mentioned in the media included Martin O’Neill, David Moyes, Sam Allardyce, Sven Goran Eriksson etc… I wonder if Dick Van Dyke had applied if he would have been offered the job? In all seriousness, I think keeping with Glenn Roeder is a good decision. I prefer Glenn as manager instead of plumping for he likes of Bruce, O’Leary etc… I just can’t help thinking that when Shepherd et al. sacked Souness that the plan of action was A) No Plan B) No f***in idea.

So Glenn came in. The decision was made for our chairman and it’s all settled. Or is it? What if Newcastle are sitting bottom of the Premiership come the end of September? What if we get knocked out of the Inter Toto Cup? I hope Mr. Shepherd et al have thought about this. Honestly, I doubt it.

I’m not assuming being chairman of Newcastle United is an easy task but I think that this managerial merry-go-round has shown us three things. 1) That the communications between the fans and the officials of our football club is a non-entity. 2) The xenophobic, inclusive nature of the club has been revealed by the local media and does not give a fair representation of the fans views3) Newcastle United is cursed by a chairman, board and media that say one thing and do another.

Shepherd, Oliver etc… preach about how the manager needs to be local, a ‘Geordie’, yet if Shepherd really meant this why doesn’t he go appoint Bruce, Robson? Okay so both are poor manager but the fact remains; if he wants a Geordie manager then appoint one. But he doesn’t, because it appears the required fortitude is missing. “You have to know the area and have a feel for the area,” or something like that was said by a chief figure in our local media. Aye Yeah you’re right…I mean look at Mourinho, Benitez, Wenger!

Aside to the general rant, the fact is that Roeder doesn’t have the required qualifications and the club has had its name rung through the national press over the fiasco. Thanks a lot, once more the club becomes a national joke. The rules are the rules and who the hell do we think we are that we can break them? Liverpool? The bottom line is that we are in danger of being alienated from the rest of the football community through stereotypes being sprayed upon us by men in suites who dictate what happens at our club. Moreover, the xenophobic undertones of the club is both insulting and disgusting. Public Relations not a strong point then?

Now a message to Glenn Roeder- The black and white stripes, the city, the fans - you know you couldn’t manage a better club. Congratulations and good luck. But with regards to the board, chairman and media…you deserve better!

Whatever happens in the next two years, it cannot just be Glenn Roeder who is going to be “kept on his toes”. Heads (including a bald one) need to role if it all goes tits up this time!