Moussa Sissoko arriving for Euro 2016 Following a disastrous season to forget at Newcastle United, thoughts among some might be turning to the European Championships starting tomorrow. Moussa Sissoko (France) and Rob Elliot (Republic of Ireland) will be Newcastle United’s only representatives there, though bearing in mind that this will be the biggest shop window for footballers short of the World Cup, this might be a good thing.
Some might wonder how Sissoko managed to book his place with one of the more fancied teams after some of last season’s performnances, some might praise Elliot for some good performances standing in for the injured Tim Krul despite everything. However, players like that will not be the focus of this piece. I’m sure that pretty much all of you will know what they have been up to, along with high profile ex-players taking part such as James Milner (England) and Yohan Cabaye (France). Instead, I will look mostly at the “where are they now” players who will be there who used to ply their trade on Tyneside. Of these, the majority of the players (three out of four) will be playing for the two Irish sides in the competition, and another will be managing the Northern Ireland team.
It's Pimms O'Clock for Pardew.Well, Wimbledon born Alan Pardew loves a bit of tennis (or so he said), and often attends the Tennis championship his birthplace is famous for.
So, Radio 5’s Richard Bacon pulled him in for an interview during the station’s coverage of the latest Wimbledon tournament for a chat. In it he talked about tennis, the recent European football championships in Poland and the Ukraine, as well as some things which undoubtedly be of interest to Newcastle United fans about his tactical thinking for next season, as well as Papiss Cisse, Demba Ba, and also Leon Best’s move to Blackburn Rovers. Here, I’m dropping in at the point where Bacon “grilled” Pardew (sorry for that) on what he can take from the Spanish national side’s performances for his work with Newcastle United.
Take it away, Richard!
Richard Bacon: “As a manager, do you look at Spain and think ‘Do you know what, let’s nick that, whatever they’re doing, I’m going to borrow that’?” (more…)
