Newcastle United’s series of pre season fixtures starts this evening in Chemnitz, as the Magpies kick off their European tour, playing six games (if you count one against the Dutch Den Haag which is yet to be officially confirmed). Two of the games will be played in Germany, one in Hungary and two in Portugal, though not necessarily against local sides.
The teams will be Chemitzer at their place in Saxony, AS Monaco in Bavaria, Fenerbahçe in Hungary, Olympiacos and SC Braga at Braga’s unusual Estádio Municipal de Braga, which has a huge rockface at one side of the stadium instead of the usual terracing. Finally the as yet unconfirmed one against ADO Den Haag will be played at Den Haag’s Kyocera Stadium in the the Hague. Although not officially confirmed by NUFC, the game has been definitely been confirmed by Den Haag.
Finally (for the moment), back in the UK, there will be another “Battle of the Birds” as the Magpies take on the Bluebirds of Cardiff City at their place, and the reserves / bairns will also take on Gatesheed at the Intenational Stadium. (more…)
Onwards And Upwards?Imagine you’re 67 years old, and the Club you’ve supported all of your life, your home town club, offers you bucket loads of cash, plus expenses, to travel abroad and watch football – lots of football. Stay in nice hotels, eat at the finest restaurants – but best of all, watch loads and loads of football. A dream for most fans, but it just came true for arguably one of the biggest United fans of them all – Graham Carr, superscout!
And of course when you’re not away on United business, you can watch the mighty Magpies – without having to buy a seasons ticket!
Graham Carr has just signed a new contract with Newcastle United for the next 8 years! This is excellent news for Newcastle United fans everywhere. Graham, of course, has been digging up diamonds for the Toon ever since he came here. Apparently, he got a phone call from Derek Llambias asking if he could pop in and chat to Mike Ashley about transfer targets. This invitation turned into numerous chats over a few days, then Graham was hit with the contract offer! According to the NUFC Official website, he signed on the spot! (more…)
Will he still be smiling this time next year?My esteemed colleague, Jimbob, has already taken a look back at the season past, you have already voted Fabricio Coloccini as our “Player of the Season,” but now it is time to look forward to next season.
Being the hopelessly deluded, stereotypical Geordies that we are, Alan Pardew seems to think that our expectations will go into overload now that we have finished fifth, and that he needs to embark on a mission to “educate” us to lower our expectations now that a new European front has opened in Newcastle United’s war for supremacy.
Well let’s find out how deluded we really are!
Undoubtedly, we had a very good season. However, though we did well, perhaps our expectations have been just a little on the low side if anything. Our fifth placed finish wasn’t, perhaps, quite the miracle some have thought bearing in mind what Pardew had at his disposal. Bearing in mind previous catastrophes under the current regime though, it has been understandable that expectations have been lowered somewhat by experiences in recent years. (more…)
Hughton: It woz me!In a brief but revealing interview for the Independent on Saturday, Chris Hughton has decided to put the record on misinformation about his role at Newcastle United.
Speaking on his time at the club, he said (amongst other things) what some knew already, that it was actually he who brought Graham Carr, Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheick Tiote into the club.
Whilst he was managing at the club, the now Birmingham City manager was dogged by rumours in the media that he a mere cipher at the club, that the team was run by a committee of senior players who actually picked the team, and that player aquisitions were out of his control after Hughton brought his old Tottenham collegue, Graham Carr, to the club as Chief Scout. The rumours about the players running team affairs were eventually refuted by Hughton himself, who described it as a “slippery slope,” and also by Kevin Nolan and other senior players. Now, Hughton has finally hit back at other misinformation about the recruitment of key signings, Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheick Tiote, and also the recruitment of the club’s current Chief Scout, Graham Carr. After talking about the days following his sacking by Derek Llambias and Mike Ashley on the grounds they were looking for someone “with more managerial experience,” Hughton had the follwing to say, firstly on whether his sacking was “unjust,”:
“Was it unjust? Yes, and that’s how most people felt at the time.”
Carr (circled) in his Telford United heyday.Newcastle United chief scout, Graham “Fatty Man” Carr, the less than svelte father of Alan, has, of course, built something of a reputation amongst Magpies fans for his player spotting abilties.
Carr, a Northumbrian who was born in Corbridge like Steve Bruce, was brought into the club in February of 2010 by previous manager, Chris Hughton, renewing a working relationship they had at Tottenham, where Carr was brought in as a scout by Tottenham’s then Director of Football, David Pleat. Since then of course, his reputation has gone from strength to strength on Tyneside with the quality of players signed since he took control of Newcastle United’s scouting department. This interview for Talksport was conducted by Adrian Durham and ex Yorkshire and England cricket legend, Darren Gough, for the station’s “Drivetime” slot yesterday evening.
Below is a written transcription of the whole interview, well, minus a tiny “chatty” bit at the end about Alan Carr’s lack of football skills as a bairn.
Adrian Durham:“So describe exacly what your job is, Graham.”(more…)
