Enrique – “It would be a disaster for us not to get into the Premier League”.

Posted on December 3rd, 2009 | 19 Comments |

Talking the talk and walking the walk.
Talking the talk and walking the walk.
Following on from several others so far this season, next up to discuss Newcastle’s new-found team spirit and ‘togetherness’ is Jose Enrique. I’ll forgive Jose though because I think he’s a genuine legend in the making and his feet do most of the talking. Enrique has made a great start to the season, but he’s also been speaking about the expectations within the squad at the moment:

“It would be a disaster for us not to get into the Premier League now from the position we are in,”

“We are playing well so I would not be able to understand how we wouldn’t have got into the Premier League from this position. It’s good we are up there. Everyone wants us to win the league and it is good we’re in this position but the most important thing is to finish in the top two and get back up. That is most important.”

“Would it be a disaster to be in the play-offs? No, because you still have the chance to the get promoted but it is more important we stay in the top two positions. If we go up automatically the fans are happier and more relaxed.”

He then went on to elaborate about the morale and general good vibes amongst the squad at the moment, saying:

“The spirit is unbelievable, the team is doing well in the table and getting wins so the atmosphere is great,”

“Everyone feels like they are together. You can see that on the pitch and in games.”

“It is important to have that good spirit. When I was at Villarreal, it was the same thing and we qualified for the Uefa Cup. It is the one thing that has been the same in all the teams that I have played in that have done well – team spirit.”

“I think this season the team spirit is much better than last year. I don’t know why, but it definitely is. We have seen that in the games and in the way the team is doing so well.”

“The players mix off the pitch now. It’s important. A month ago we all went out and had dinner together, which is the first time since I have been at Newcastle that has happened.”

And it seems like this is a relatively new experience for him within the Newcastle camp, although that could have as much to do with results and performances as anything else. It’s an unavoidable fact, that everything seems rosier when you’re winning, but he thinks everyone has each other’s backs and it could be down to Smudger’s initiative:

“I played at Newcastle for three years and had never done that before. We all went out in Newcastle to a restaurant to spend time with each other.”

“A team that stays together off the pitch is together on the pitch too. I think it was the captain’s idea but everyone agreed with it and said it was a good idea.”

“In Spain it is normal to do these kind of things. In all the teams I played over there, we did that and the morale was always very good there, and it’s good for us. Everyone is together and it wasn’t just us, I spoke to the families of the other guys.”

“I think this is very good for the team, everyone is together now. When there are mistakes made by people everyone just says ‘Don’t worry, we will get over it’. Team spirit is very important and it’s good.”

So it sounds like one big happy family? But without detracting from the obvious good vibes, I’ll be interested to see how ‘together’ we are when faced with adversity and how far that ‘togetherness’ stretches when the fringe players are called on.

NUFCBlog Author: bowburnmag bowburnmag has written 234 articles on this blog.

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Comment on this post

19 Responses

  1. “We are playing so well”

    He does himself a diservice.  He is one of the few who is playing so well.  He should take the ‘we’ out of that sentance.

  2. Stuart – agreed the style is a long way from what we’d like to see but 5 straight wins means they ARE playing well. Hughton has surprised me. I thought he got the team, tactics and subs spot on against Swansea. The closing up of the game at 3-0 and hitting on the break – perfect. Not beautiful I admit but it really should have ended 5-0 (Smith/Ranger).

  3. The morale does appear to be better since CH was made manager, it wasn’t too long ago that jonas and colo didn’t seem to bond with the rest of the team, they didn’t even celabrate goals with the rest of the lads.

  4. Whatever they have been doing to forge their togetherness let it continue!
    “I played at Newcastle for three years and had never done that before. We all went out in Newcastle to a restaurant to spend time with each other.”
    Pretty sad that they hadn’t been out as a group before. The previously fractured team now seems to be glued together a bit. At least they’re trying.
     

  5. True, you can’t knock the lads for their effort, but the real test of character comes in the run in, we’ve had teams stumble and fall at that stage of the season before.

  6. true jay jay… still no depth in our squad and you can bet your bottom dollar that if we need to rely on our youth to sure up the gaps, our opponents will pounce.  no offence to those kids but CC loss to peterborough hi-lighted that perfectly. and its odds on we wont escape the rest of the season without a few mid/longterm casualties.
    i look forward to jan with trepidation

  9. thats the thing JJ, he knows he doesnt have to park the “for sale” bus outside the ground, he’s just playin that card as an excuse not to invest.
    with all the shenanigans gone on at the club every man and his dog knows the damn clubs up for sale just offer a realistic price.. he doesnt need to “put it up for sale” just another excuse not to put the money back into the club
     
    NOTE TO BBM/WORKY
    could you be so kind as put a thread together around our currant crop of senior players and when contracts are looking to expire etc? i know butt is due to leave end of season and geremi too? but who else do we need to keep an eye on, either to keep or let go?

  10. ref to first post – its probably a royal we.
    I don’t think we are playing well, had we played any team with any decent strikers at best we would be mid table.
    I’m dreading getting promoted lol. It isn’t going to be pretty.
    HWTL

  11. Decent strikers? I don’t think there is one in the championship! However, you’re right . . . if West Brom, Donny, Cardiff, QPR etc had one we would be mid table.

  13. We  probably will get promoted and it`s not a bad thing to have a team with good moral and a sense of to-getherness.
    The point is this present team will struggle if promoted regardless of how to-gether they are, we have lost a great deal of quality during the last year.
    And before anyone starts with the , yeah but they were the ones who got us relegated, I say that`s bullshit.
    Having lost players like Shay, N`zog., Duff, Beye, Milner, etc.what we have now is a few PL  quality players and enough others to make us too good for the second tier but barely good enough for the PL .
    My fear is MA will do the minimum to gain promotion, then again attempt to unload the club, leaving it to the prospective buyer to strengthen the side.
    If this team is to survive the first season back it`s essential to strengthen the side during both the winter and summer windows, otherwise we will end up on the down going escalator.
    Resulting in any quality players wanting out and a more difficult time gaining promotion.  

  14. Agree with that Chuck. Remember KK’s inspirational signing of Cole when we were already strolling the league. He’d already done it with Sellars, Peacock etc. It takes a long time for a team to gel not just pre season. The idea we’ll spend big on 5 players and then instantly have a good team is madness (notice I’m not mentioning money or MA here, just the idea). Look at Man City. It also backfired on KK too – Batty and Asprilla. Teams take along time.

  15. Perhaps  is the time to test the resolve of Man. U. in regards to Cleverly and Simpson,  it also appears they have backed out of aquiring the Serbian wonderkid Ljajic and are making his fellow Serb Tosic available.
    Perhaps out of the four we could aquire two or three, would go a long way to-wards improving the side, though not sure about the overall amount it would take, or whether MA is interested.
    Geremi and Butt are both comming to the end of their contracts soon should free up some funds if sold or let go.
    Time to rebuild with a re-evaluation of everyone and some serious decision making , if MA is not about to spend, there are plenty of youngsters at the top level teams who cant get  a game and could be brought in as loans.
    Teams like L/Pool and Man U. who have financial problems would probably be glad to hang onto their youngsters and have someone else pay their wages at the same time give them experience of league football.   

  16. chuck, we cant have a team of loanees, especially in the prem. there is no longevity and ultimately no benefit to us. investment is the only way
    we will need 7/8 decent signings next season all being well, with only geremi and butt leaving plus the loanees we wont want to keep.
     
    we need depth and competition in the team.
     
    the way i’d want to see it played out is that give it till march, if the league appears to be wrapped up (bar a major f**k up) then we need to start some serious scouting, hell, even look at some of the players that as you say, manu arse and chels have dropped their interest. 3/4 players in with a good make ground and then the same again in canny signings
     
    oh aint it great to dream a little dream

  17. I think the whole morale thing and lack thereof in the past can be traced to some the type players we signed.  Zog, Martins, and likely Bassong seemed like me-first characters.  Good players, but I think a bit of what is going on is addtion by subtraction.

  18. Hey I would like to see Hughton recruit a half dozen decent players, but we know thats not gonna happen, therefore we will have to cut our cloth accordingly.
    Within the next two windows would it be too much to expect a couple of defenders, a playmaking inside midfielder and someone who knows where the goal is.
    We have three wingers, both Barton and Smith can play the DM  role, Nolan can play behind the strikers, but no real playmaker or strikers.
    Face it we all love to watch a Beardsley type, someone to score or set up plays.
    Looks like Harewood will be somewhere else come  the seasons end, with  Shola, Carroll and a not quite ready Ranger our only front men, not good enough for the PL i am afraid, we need help there.
    In which case perhaps a couple of decent young loanee`s from the top clubs, beggars cant be choosers.
    And from the sounds comming from Hughton (gonna be a quiet window)  looks like MA is not about to dig into his pocket, which probably means he believes the current side will get promoted, so why invest.