With Newcastle United, the pen is mightier than the sword!
Posted on July 2nd, 2009 | 16 Comments |
The latest debacle is the letter Peter Lovenkrands received through the post informing him that his services were no longer required. He’d earlier gone on record as saying he’d be happy to stick around if offered the right deal. And in return he receives this unwarranted kick in the teeth.
It makes you wonder whether for some reason they’re doing a lot of this on purpose. But perhaps the right hand literally doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. Maybe the right hand meant for the left hand to give the letter as a matter of formality once he (the right hand) had maybe had a quiet and decent word in Peter’s ear first, instead of as a direct alternative. And while the right hand is organising a well deserved charity game and honouring Sir Bobby Robson at St James’ Park, the left hand decides it would be a great idea to send many potential punters across to Holland on the very same day for a game in Utrecht. This presumably for a low-key outing inside the stadium and a higher-level kick-off away from it, what with the makems an hour down the road and the fact we’re in notorious hooligan territory to begin with. If that’s not grounds for intent to incite a riot or someones idea of a late April Fool, I don’t know what is. The left hand has a lot of explaining to do.
But I digress.
Since Chris Mort left, the vast majority of updates we’ve received (when they’ve actually bothered to update us that is) have come via the media but via the written word. The statements have lacked charisma and inspiration and quite often substance and so ultimately having waited long periods between communication we’re often left fairly disappointed by what they have to say.
This ‘letter’ incident again seeks to prove the current regime lack class and definitely lack the business acumen to survive in this game. Binning Johnny Bloggs off the golf section at Sports Direct via a curtly worded and cowardly letter is something they might have got away with in the past. But doing so with a reasonably high profile footballer and at a club so media-drenched as ours, I mean how did they think they’d get away with that?
Conversely, the cynical hacks out there with their pithy remarks and damning reviews use the written word effectively and smartly to condemn a club dying on it’s feet. Despite us not being a ‘big club’, the media and opposition fans don’t half take an interest in us and a delight in our misfortunes and misdemeanours. More often than not it’s because we provide them with the ammunition to hurt us. This being just yet another opportunity for them to sharpen their weapons and inflict more wounds. How many more of these gaffs do we need to endure before we’re rescued?
I’m not a violent person, but the recent turn of events at our club is enough to turn me into a full on black garter pub radgie.