The dynamic duo is no more.It’s been around about a month since Colin Calderwood left his post as assistant manager at Newcastle to become the new manager of Hbernian.
Fair play, wish him all the best and all that malarkey, but his departure has left a rather sizeable hole in what was already a limited backroom staff setup.
As it stands we have only Chris Hughton and Paul Barron who are dedicated to working with the first-team, and the latter one of those is actually supposed to be a goalkeeping coach. Then we have Steve Stone and Peter Beardsley in the background floating around with the reserves and youth setup, which is all very good, but even if they pitched in and helped with the first-team it would still leave us stretched.
What Chris Hughton is missing, more than anything at the moment, is an assistant that he can rely on, and that man has to be someone of his choosing as he needs to be able to trust him and work with him. Perhaps something can be sorted in that department this week? (more…)
Deal or no deal for Hughton?Chris Hughton and his contract, or lack of it, seems to be a saga that has rolled on and on recently.
It’s been a source of scurrilous rumour making by the press as they have tried to destabilise things Newcastle United, and it nearly worked as it got a lot of fans talking about it.
The speculation and rumours gathered pace until they reached such a point that the club, with it’s ‘no comment’ policy, felt compelled to comment on the situation to clarify that Chris Hughton would indeed be staying on as our manager and would be offered a new deal in the new year. That statement was supposed to quash the rumours, but they continued, so a policy of just having to ignore them ensued as it appears that this is the only way to deal with these types of press reports.
But according to the News of the World, both the club and Hughton are ready to settle things once and for all by agreeing on a two-year, improved, contract extension that will keep Hughton in charge until the end of the 2012-2013 season. (more…)
Campbell backs Hughton.Sol Campbell has rallied behind Chris Hughton today to add further weight to the squad backing that our manager has already recieved.
Campbell is the latest in line of a number of Newcastle players who have backed Hughton throughout the recent media storm, that was generated by the press I hasten to add, that suggested that Hughton could be on his way out of St James’.
Speculation will continue over the future of Chris Hughton, but most Newcastle fans are happy with the way that Chris is dealing with life in the Premier League. Could we really be doing any better?
Well, yes, but in general we aren’t doing too bad. We sit in seventh place after 13 games, and we have 18 points on the board.
If we can keep that run going until the end of the season it will put us on around 52 points, which is top ten form. Anyway, there is a long way to go this season, but Campbell is pleased that Hughton, who he has known for a number of years through their association with Tottenham Hotspur, is doing well; (more…)
Comrade Hughton expresses his disappointment at only taking one point instead of three from the Fulham game after a few near misses in front of goal. However, he praises the organisation and solidity of Mark Hughes’s Fulham team.
Fulham manager, Mark Hughes, also praises the “professional away performance” of his Fulham team (below). (more…)
Video highlights of last nights 2-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers at St James’ Park, for anyone who wishes to watch them again. A word of warning – It isn’t pretty!
