Joey Barton: Saying what he sees.Well, Joey Barton did promise on Twitter that he would “tell all when the time was right” and he’s finally kept his word.
Speaking in a long audio podcast interview for the Queen’s Park Ranger’s ‘blog “Open All R’s,” he finally lifted the lid on his time at Newcastle United and his strained relationship with the infamous Ashley / Llambias regime. In the interview, he revealed what he felt were the real reasons why he and other senior members of the squad have been forced out St James’ Park, how the club tried to force him to sign a contract on a fifth of his old wage whilst he was in Walton prison, what he feels were the real reasons behind the sacking of Chris Hughton, how despite his profound hatred of Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias, he still feels a strong affinity with the club and more…
Some (misquoted) sections of the interview have already appeared in the media and other ‘blogs, so I decided to make a more accurate and extensive transcription of all the sections which related to Newcastle United. I’ve have also included the mp3 podcast of the entire interview at the bottom of the piece.
Responding to a QPR fan’s question on what swung it for him to come to Queen’s Park Rangers, Barton began by outlining the reson’s why he had to leave his former club saying:
“I was obviously deemed by the board at Newcastle “Persona non grata” (Person not welcome). They didn’t want me because I asked questions.(more…)
Captain Colocini: Level headed.He’s come a long way since he joined the ranks of Newcastle United as a £10.3M Centre Back under the control of Kevin Keegan.
It’s probably debateable whether Keegan even wanted him in, but I don’t remember there being too much dissent when he transferred.
We all knew of him through his days playing for Argentina, so we expected big things from him. His first season started really well, putting in some top class, assured performances, starting away at Man. U. in the league. It was clear that he’d be a great acquistion. But as that ‘ill fated’ season progressed, things started to go wrong ‘upstairs’ at the Toon, all of which well documented, so I won’t go there. Suffice to say, Keegan ended up leaving, the club went into turmoil, a series of caretaker managers presiding over the drop down to the Championship by the end of that chaotic season.
After the “deadwood” was shipped out, the players that stayed got their heads around plying their trade one league down. Some of our ‘better’ players hung around, when no doubt they could have moved on to top league clubs, Fabricio Coloccini being one of them. (more…)
New look midfield: Cheik Tiote and Yohan Cabaye in actionAfter the comings and goings of the ‘off season’, some of them obvious,, predictable, profitable and manufactured, it’s safe to say we now have a far more fluid midfield.
On top of the fluidity, we have also aquired a hell of a lot more pace. We seem very midfield focused at the moment, what with the possibilty of Yohan Cabaye being missing for the upcoming Spurs game. We also will lose the services of one Cheik Tiote when the African Cup of Nations swings around in January. No doubt losing his services a week or so before, as he meets up with his Cote d’Ivore team mates.
Both players will definitely be missed whenever they don’t play, whether by injury or suspension, but can we fill the sizeable gaps left? We have midfielders like Hatem Ben Arfa, Sylvain Marveaux, Dan Gosling, Haris Vučkić, Danny Guthrie to come in, not bad stand-ins, if you ask me. We also have versatile players like Ryan Taylor, James Perch and Shane Ferguson to come and ‘do a job’ if we get Davide Santon, Mike Williamson back into the defensive fold. So, as I was saying: We have a much more fluid arrangement from midfield to defence. (more…)
Pardew: Missing the old codgers in midfield?Speaking in a rare interview, Newcastle United manager, Alan Pardew, bemoaned the loss of experienced players such as Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton from the side in games like yesterday’s against Wolves. He also added that Newcastle United still need to learn to see out games.
Of course, Newcastle chalked up their fourth win of the Premiership season against Wolves, though they took something of a battering in the latter stages of the game, and were undoubtedly helped by a couple of incorrect decisions by the referee, Mark Halsey and his linesman. The first was a free kick which should have been a penalty for a Steven Taylor foul which took place a yard inside the area, and the second being a perfectly good goal which was ruled out by the linesman. Pardew acknowledged the luck in his post match interviews, and also gave credit to the performance of Mick McCarthy’s Midlands men.
Speaking on the lack of experience in the revamped side, Pardew said:
“We haven’t got that experience of a Kevin Nolan or Joey Barton who might have stopped or slowed down the game.(more…)
Llambias: Understands fan's frustrations?Most of you will be aware by now that yesterday, Newcastle United’s Managing Director, Derek Llambias, issued a statement on the club’s performance in the latest transfer window. It read:
“Now that the transfer window has closed, we have had some time to reflect on the business we have conducted over the summer.
“Our aim was to secure young players who represented value for money and could add real strength to the squad. The majority of our transfer dealings were completed in the early part of the window and we feel we have signed some players of exceptional quality. Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux, Mehdi Abeid, Demba Ba and Gabriel Obertan were all brought in early and we have seen these players settle quickly into the squad and perform well on the pitch.
“Earlier this week we were delighted to sign Davide Santon from Inter Milan to fill our left-back position after the departure of Jose Enrique. Davide is an excellent young prospect and we’re sure he’ll be another superb addition to the squad. We also welcomed young goalkeeper Rob Elliot from Charlton Athletic who will help us retain healthy competition for that position after loaning out Fraser Forster to Celtic.(more…)
