Carver - Back in Toon?Since our Championship winning season drew to a close a few weeks back, Newcastle United have had more coaches departing than the local bus station.
The latest one to break rank was Alan Thompson, who relinquishes his role as reserve-team coach in favour of a move up to Celtic where he will become Neil Lennon’s new less than glamorous assistant.
Thompson’s departure follows hot on the heels of another one of our backroom staff, Kenny Wharton, and that leaves us with only a manager, an assitant manager and a goalkeeping coach working behind the scenes with the players. So is this little backroom reshuffle Hughton’s chance to get his own men in? Something he didn’t have a chance to do when he first took on the role as manager. (more…)
A cup...We’re still on course for some silverware this season after the reserves came through a tough test against their non-league foes, to reach the semi-finals of thecup. Newcastle Reserves lined up at home to Newcastle Benfield of the Northern League, in the quarter final stage of their defence of the Northumberland Senior Cup.
Last season saw the second string side beat Benfield 2-1, at the semi-final stage of the competition and at the same ground with goals from Mark Doninger and Wesley Baheng. Newcastle Benfield sit in 8th place in the Northern League and have a spattering of former YTs of various professional clubs (including United) on the books, including one who’s a physio at the town.
At a blustery Whitley Park, Benfield took an early lead, when a speculative shot from Shaun Bell was carried over the fingers of Robinson and went in off the underside of the crossbar, to put the Northern League side 1-0 up. The wind did it’s best to spoil the game but the youngsters of Newcastle tried to combat it with good interplay, though Benfield largely kept them at bay initially. (more…)
