Rob Lee in his playing days.Former Newcastle midfielder Rob Lee has tipped his old club to survive in the Premier League this time around, even if there are no significant additions to the team over the summer.
Lee is very much the poster boy from the last time Newcastle embarked on a return to top flight football back in 1993, and clocked up and impressive 303 appearances during his ten year tenure on Tyneside.
It’s nice to hear some positivity coming from our former players for a change, especially as a vast array of former players appear to have already written off the current squads chances of survival. Unfortunately it isn’t all sweeteness and light from Lee though, and whilst he does believe that the current squad is capable of ensuring survival, he has also warned that money will be needed in the future if the team are to progress to the next level. (more…)
Another award for the Cockney Colossus.Newcastle United manager, Chris Hughton, accepted his award as the Championship’s ‘Manager of the Year’ in what has proved to be a year for the good guys in football, with the venerable Roy Hodgson claiming the biggest prize for Premiership Manager of the Year.
As is usual with Chris, he wasted no time in spreading the praise around, and claiming it as an award for the whole management team. On receiving the award, he reflected:
“I am honoured to be recognised by the LMA and I accept the award on behalf of everyone at the football club,” he told nufc.co.uk, “But with this being a managerial prize I think special mention should go to the staff.
“Colin Calderwood and Paul Barron have offered me tremendous support throughout the year. We are a managerial team and this award is for them as much as it is for me.(more…)
A beautiful strike from the Great Dane!As I took my seat at a rainy Loftus Road, it was amongst the home supporters, so it was always destined to be something of a quiet afternoon for me! As we waited for the game to commence, I reflected on my first visit to see the team in the capital this season, the 6-1 thrashing by Leyton Orient, and how far they had come since that time under the leadership of dynamic duo, Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood. From an uncoordinated rabble that was riven apart by division and lack of leadership, to a cohesive unit.
After a minute’s applause for recently deceased QPR legend, Tony Ingham, the kick-off was taken. There was some excitement as Newcastle went on the offensive almost from the off. Wayne Routledge fired in a cross, which was headed behind the goal by QPR’s Leigertwood. The resultant corner was also dropped invitingly into the area, this time by Guthrie, but the effort was cleared. A few minutes after this (about five oir six minutes in after checking), Guthrie attempted to supply Ameobi with what would have been an excellent chance, but the ball was out of control, which may have had as much to do with the highly ‘greasy’ playing surface as anything else. Around a couple of minutes later, Routledge made a decent turn and shoot, but, alas, he fired stright into the arms of the QPR goalkeeper, Radek Cerny. (more…)
Calderwood: The quiet man.It’s a simple yet poignant reminder of just how well the team has done, and it seems that this is the weapon in the armoury that Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood will use to push Newcastle over the finishing line and win the promotion race.
I’m sure we all know the reasoning behind this which goes back to the summer. Recently relegated and with a team in disarray that seemed to generate negative news stories and revelations on a daily basis, an owner that didn’t know whether he was selling or staying and a management duo in Hughton and Calderwood that were never sure if they were going to have a job the next morning, let alone next week, were among contributing factors that led to us all being ridiculed by fans of teams across the country and gave a carte-blanche to the newspapers to print some horrendous stories.
The former Tottenham defender has been far from vocal during his time on Tyneside but in an interview today, Calderwood lifts the lid on what is driving the players on. Calderwood had this to say: (more…)
Newcastle's defensive dream team at work.Whod’ve thunk it after our defensive problems of the past? With a goal conceeded only every 131 minutes on average, Newcastle United can now boast not only the joint best defensive record in the in the Championship (along with Paulo Sousa’s Swansea), but also the joint best defensive record in the country.
With an ex full back as manager, and an ex central defender as his assistant, it hardly surprising that defence is an area which has been tightened up somewhat, however for the Toon to now boast the meanest defence in the whole country is still something of an achievement.
Self effacing manager, Chris Hughton, who found it hard to believe that the Toon fans would be singing his praises initially in our last game, tried to pass most of the credit on to the players as usual, saying: (more…)
