Waiting for another bite at the cherry?It’s a debate that’s raged for months but I thought I’d raise it again simply because the end may be nigh, one way or another. Who wants Alan Shearer at the helm? All in favour, say wheyaye. OK, a little more serious then, why is there even a debate?
I’m reasonably certain an overwhelming majority would have been either fully in favour or at least apathetic to his permanent appointment before his brief and ill-fated sojourn into the managerial hot-seat. So partly the reason more supporters are against the idea is due to the fact that Big Al fairly spectacularly failed to save us from the drop. What portion of blame you attribute to him is also very debatable, though to my mind he’s pretty blameless.
However, there’s no getting away from the facts, he failed to do what many hoped and secretly believed he might do. That was to re-unite the dressing room and galvanise this stricken club. Alas, despite his monumental presence on the field during his playing career, Shearer wasn’t able to transfer his influence on the dressing room sufficiently to prevent the inevitable slide.
Supporters on the flip side of the coin will take umbrage at that view and will point to the very word ‘inevitable’. They would argue that nothing and nobody could have prevented our demise once we hit the final straight and that our place in The Championship was booked long before Big Al was given the opportunity to try and turn it all around. So are these people blinded by regionalist bias and a weird penchant for the messianic? Is he really only the right man for the job because he’s ‘one of us’? (more…)
An unlikely story That’s what The Daily Star claims anyway.
Basically what they’re saying is that Moat can’t get the money together to buy the club but Ashley plans to take the club off the market and appoint him as chairman. Moat will then apparently appoint Shearer as manager and take charge of the day-to-day running of the club with Ashley taking a back seat.
The Star then goes on to say that Shearer plans to bring £6m rated Michael Chopra back to the Toon as his first signing.
And all this will happen within the next 48 hours.
The Star’s short article contains no direct quotes from anyone, not even from unnamed ‘sources’ or ‘insiders’, so the temptation is to treat the story with as much scorn as the one about Naughty Noirin’s views on how to save Big Brother (not that I’ve read it of course). (more…)
The hopeful faithfulYoung or old, lad or lass, living just round the corner or at the other side of the world, if you’re a Newcastle fan then you’re in all the way. Over-the-moon one minute and kicked in the teeth the next, you learn to deal with adversity early on or you sink with the tide of pessimism. That’s what being a Mag is all about, it’s what being a football supporter is all about. Dealing with the swings and roundabouts and dealing with the cliches (ahem).
Life as a Newcastle fan is never dull and the last two years have been a prime example of how the club can leave you in despair. It brings out the best and worst in us. It means so much to us that it fills almost our every living moment and not least our dreams of future glory. Yet we find ourselves with the soul of the club ripped out and fans fighting amongst themselves, such is the torment of recent events. And still inexplicably, the fans with no reason other than the love for their club turn up in their thousands. Pilloried for their loyalty but proud of their faith in something which will always mean more than winning trophies and trading one-up-manships with rival supporters. (more…)
Nile hopes to impress.Yesterday’s biggest news is of course our 2-0 win at Crystal Palace, which puts us in second place, behind ‘Boro on goal difference. Hughton, reflecting on the game, said:
“It was very pleasing to get the three points, and especially the clean sheet, away from home.
“We said to the players before the game that we expected a tough match, and that’s what we got.
“But to get a goal after just two minutes was a dream start – it gave the players and the fans a massive lift.
“It was then a very good time to get the second goal and again, like Kevin’s, it was a very good finish.
“We had to defend a little bit more after the break but I felt were always in control.
“I thought the effort and desire was tremendous.
“We’re going very well at the moment but we have to keep that going because all of the hard work is in front of us – but it’s been a great start.” (more…)
Off to Spain perhapsAs far as the sale saga goes, this week really must be it.
I can’t believe Ashley would let it run into the last week of the transfer window to sell the club, leaving mere days to strengthen the extremely threadbare squad. According to press articles of late, ‘D-Day’ is either today, tomorrow or Friday. Thursday is reported to be upset about being overlooked.
So what’s the latest? Well there’s nothing much new. Yesterday’s Journal claims that Barclays Bank will make a decision about Moat’s loan by Wednesday and claims that Shearer will be manager in time for the Crystal Palace match on Saturday if Barclays gives it the thumbs-up.
Meanwhile it seems that Joe Kinnear has been telling ‘friends in football’ that he will be manager by the end of this week if the sale falls through.
Personally I have no faith in Barclays. When I was 18 I applied for a loan from them myself in order to buy a MkI 3-litre Capri and they turned me down. If they couldn’t afford to lend me £700 I can’t see how they can lend Barry Moat £20m. (more…)
