Bassong AwayThe weekend has of course been largely given over to the sad death of Sir Bobby Robson and the rest of the news seems less important now. However I’m going to try and catch up a bit today.
In our final pre-season friendly we managed a 1-1 draw with Dundee. Our goal came from Andy Carroll and then Dundee equalised from the penalty spot late in the game. There are reports on the club site and on Sky Sports.
There seems to be a little bit of confusion about the Bassong transfer situation. According to Sky Sports, Harry Redknapp admits interest in the defender but is unaware of any bid having been made, yet the same article claims the Newcastle have rejected a £10m bid. Redknapp said (of the alleged bid):
“It is not true. Not since I have been here today.
“He is a player that I was interested in. I like Bassong, he is a young player with a good future and a good central defender.
“I don’t think we have made an offer as far as I know. I am sure the chairman has not made an offer.” (more…)
Different allegiances but talking the same languageNo one can sympathise more with your current situation than the Leeds United fans that preceded you. It seems unjust for a club with such an impressive fanbase to be totally annihilated and ruined by incompetent ownership and bad management, but the Premier League has gotten into such a crazy situation with money that teams wanting to compete put themselves so heavily into debt in a bid to do so that it can backfire catastrophically. The saddest thing is that the players, owners and pretty much everyone else associated with the club will move on and happily forget their part in causing this destruction whilst the fans are the ones that suffer most.
I am of course a Leeds United fan. I was approached by the sites admin before the match and asked whether I’d be willing to write a review of the night’s events from an outsider’s perspective. I was more than happy to do so as Newcastle is a club I’ve always been fond of. It comes from growing up near the Kellingley Pit (about 15 miles from Leeds) where many of your fellow Geordies moved to work. I became friends with a lot of these people, as did all the people of my hometown and a friendly rivalry between Newcastle and Leeds emerged. (more…)
Martins gone.Newcastle managed only a goalless draw last night against Leeds United. According to the Club Site, Ryan Taylor had the best opportunities for the home team before the break, with Bassong and Coloccini having the best opportunities in the second half. The Northern Echo contains a better report.
As reported by my colleague, it appears that the transfer embargo – if there ever was one – has been lifted and Obafemi Martins has been sold to Wolfsburg for £9m. There’s a report on Sky Sports but it mentions little beyond what I’ve already told you.
I wonder if this is Ashley facing the prospect of not selling the club before the transfer window closes and deciding he needs to starting getting things done himself. Or maybe it indicates that a new owner has been found who, whilst the legalities of a takeover are completed, has authorised some transfers in the interim.
On the subject of transfers, The Mail is claiming that Spurs will beat Arsenal to the signing of Seb Bassong with an £8m offer for the defender. (more…)
Shearer scores but still in limbo.Today I can begin with some good news. England beat Germany 3-2 to win the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy with goals coming from Les Ferdinand, Alan Thompson and Alan Shearer. The night, however, belonged to Sir Bobby Robson and his cancer research foundation to which the proceeds of the game were donated. Sir Bobby is, and forever will be, a shining example of the good side of football.
Alas I must now move on to less celebratory news. Shearer has spoken of his frustration about the current situation at Newcastle United, saying:
“I am the same as everyone else, I am in limbo – I don’t know what is going on.
“I know as much as you. I would dearly love it to be sorted out one way or the other then the club can move forward.
“Everyone is telling me there are people in to buy the club. If that is the case, then great.”
He was also keen to dispel rumours that he’s close to walking away from things:
“I don’t know where that’s come from, it’s certainly not from myself. I want it sorted out as quickly as everyone else does.
“I’m a fan like everyone else and I don’t like to see the situation the club is in.” (more…)
Bobby's 'Legends' game this evening at SJP.Well somewhat predictably, one of the top stories today has been United’s 6 -1 hammering by lowly Leyton Orient, a game which I attended and wrote a match report about. Our caretaker manager, Chris Hughton was right to describe the game in the post match interview as “disappointing and embarrassing” , with Coloccini, Enrique and Nolan being the worst of a throughly bad bunch. Only perhaps Beye and Martins came out of the game with any kind of credit, with Gutierrez, Duff and Taylor, and perhaps Carroll, after he came on, being the ‘best’ (a highly relative phrase in this case) of the rest in a truly awful display.
Further quotes from Hughton on the game included:
“We didn’t win and we didn’t perform.”
and
“There are ups and downs in football and this was very much a down.”
