Newcastle United Season Review Videos, Interactive Guide and Text.

12 Responses

1. Alan Pardew the pop star back in 1990:

2. UTD111:

   John Terry: Captain. Leader. Mascot.

3. Eh GS? Are you two still chuntering away about him?

   Pair of Cockneyists!

4. C’mon Worky: Just having a bit of fun. Even Gary Lineker is joining in. And the photoshops are funny.

5. Fun? FUN? We’ll have no fun on here! This is a miserable blog for miserable people. Where’s Chuck?

6. Worky: you know I am not a football historian or tactician but you and Chuck have got me thinking with talk of Carpaccio(sp) and Total Football.

   Was Bobby Robson influenced by total football before Barca? The reason I ask is that he brought in the two Dutchmen at Ipswich, Murhen and Theisen, and I hadn’t really thought about a connection before.

7. GS says:
   May 22, 2012 at 3:21 am

   “Was Bobby Robson influenced by total football before Barca? The reason I ask is that he brought in the two Dutchmen at Ipswich, Murhen and Theisen, and I hadn’t really thought about a connection before.”

   Er, no, not in any discernable way. Bobby Robson was a bit of a football nomad later on, managing in the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain and I suppose that he was influenced by all sorts of things eventually.

   But although Muhren was a part of the great, great multi European Cup winning Ajax side of the early seventies before he joined Robson at Ipswich, I wouldn’t read too much into that. Back in those days he was quite a traditional “English” manager at heart, though he could be flexible and pragmatic when he needed to be.

   One example of this was much later was at the 1990 World Cup, which started as an absolute mare for England, and Robson was indeed criticised for being too rigid and “English,” though of course, much of that was from idiotic, no-nothing football journalists. However, the 1-1 draw with Jackie Charlton’s Ireland in that competition was (rightly) regarded as one of the most excruciating exhibitions of Anglo Irish “hoofball” in the history of the game. It wasn’t a great advert for Geordie managers by any means! :-)

   However Robson showed his flexibilty and pragmatism by ditching his rather rigid English 4-4-2 and listening to Chris Waddle and some of the other players, eventually switching things around in the nick of time and utilising Mark Wright as a sweeper. Of course, they were much better after that and were very unlucky to go down to the Sausagemunchers in the semi final. The ref kept awarding them seemingly endless free kicks every time they fell over with little or no help, especially Jurgen bloody Klinsmann! But anyway, I’m digressing and would say “no” to his time at Ipswich and no to his England time too. He did say once though that going there to manage PSV after that “completed my football education” (or words to that extent).

   To be honest, I’m no expert on his tactics at PSV but I did watch him at Barcelona, where he filled in for a year between Cruyff and Cruyff’s greatest sparring partner, Van Gaal, with great success in what was, perhaps, the best year of his whole career. There was also Michels himself and Rijkaard at Barcelona, who was brought up in the Michels / Cruyff tradition which had been established there.

   As I mentioned earlier, that single year as Barcelona was perhaps his best. When you manage there, a part of you has to fit in with that Dutch-Catalonian tradition inculcated by the two great figures of Michels and Cruyff, it’s compulsory, and Robson did so beautifully whilst remaining true to himself also.

   I hope this answers your bloody question, GS! You and that Paul in LaLa land seem to be in the habit of asking me questions which involve me having to go off into some kind of long essay which takes ages! ;-)

8. Thanks Worky:

   I moved to the US in Feb ’90 and there really was terrible football coverage here until Murdoch picked it up in about 2002. For example, I had never seen the Keegan Howay 5-0 until I was in a London Hotel in 1998 and they showed a re-run on Sky.

   Remember also, there really weren’t papers on the internet until later in the ’90’s.

   So, even though I knew some of what you wrote you filled in some gaps and reminded me of some things I had forgotten.

9. GS, I know I’ve posted this before, but this is Michels’ Newtherlands side of ’88 completely bamboozling Robson’s very English side on their way to winning the European Championships.

10. They made everybody look stupid though. As did Meelan.

    A confluence of players, style and managers in the case of both teams that doesn’t happen very often.

    Truly a “golden generation” in Holland with something to prove.

11. Yeah, it’s true SBR was something of a nomad, managing in a number of countries.
    There’s something to be learned from each culture and their differing approaches to the game.
    A more astute learner was his translator, Morimho, who obviously from watching his sides play, understood what it took , from a tactical point of view, to win.
    Using horses for courses football, either an adaptation of the total football played during his time at Barca or the defensive variation of the Italian “lock the door style” (dont wanna raise workeys blood pressure by calling it the cat…….)
    SBR was a decent manager, but far from a great, he made some decent signings and some bum deals also, his sides in the then EPL, were decent.
    But probably worked under a lot of interfearance, as do many managers, if only owners would stick to their core buisinesses and leave managing the side to those who understand the game, (within reason of course)
    I suspect our silver supremo, makes few actual decissions, (sure he’s asked but…) concerning who is bought and sold in the market place.
    I suspect they are a joint agreement, made by Carr and Ashley.
    Tell me is Liverpool still (if in fact they ever were)interested in Pardew as a manager, i’m burning incense and praying to the great god bud in that slim hope.

12. Chuck, perhaps I’ve overstated how much Robson adapted to the Barcelona style when he was there, for instance, he stuck to his 4-4-2, though that isn’t necessarily just an “English” thing. It was originated by the great Russian coach, Victor Maslov, and in a more recent example, two of the greatest Italian coaches of recent times, Sacchi and Capello, used a 4-4-2 in one of the greatetst teams ever, the AC Milan team of the late 80s / early 90s.

    Pep Guardiola (or “Pep Gladioli” as Robson used to call him) was very much Cruyff’s protege and spiritual descendant and he didn’t agree with Robson’s 4-4-2, but he admired and respected Robson enormously as a manager.

    Cruyff’s time as Robson’s predessor saw the emergence and development of what is now known as the “Tiki-Taka” or “Tiqui-Taka” philosophy which does have it’s roots in the “Total Football” of Ajax, but is not the same thing!