Moving on from the last chapter in out one year retrospective, we come to the end of October. With the club still in a state of flux, now departed midfielder, Nicky Butt, was calling for the permanent appointment of the then caretaker mananger, Chris Hughton. Of course though, back in those days there was still one giant figure in Newcastle’s history looming over the position, despite having it already at the time of our relegation and things not working out. I am of course referring to Alan Shearer, who many still presumed would be the choice of a new owner, an owner who never came. So we come to another story by Hugh de Payen which tackled the issue of our next permanent manager. It was titled “Next Toon manager: Shearer v Hughton.“. Despite the title though, he also looks at other options for the position. It’s an interesting read for many reasons, not least to see how much things have changed since those days. (more…)
St James' will be rocking against Ipswich.The final home game of the season looks set to be the stage for the biggest party seen on Tyneside for many years as Newcastle United take on Roy Keane’s Ipswich Town outfit. Of course, there isn’t just the match to be considered tomorrow as we also get the chance to see our players lift the Championship trophy on home turf in front of what will be a fifty-thousand plus crowd.
Should we remain unbeaten tomorrow, then we will have set another three records, one for becoming the first team to gain promotion to the Premier League with an unbeaten home record, another one will see us grabbing the record of the biggest Championship attendance in history, a record we already hold but look set to improve upon, and the final one will see us become the first Championship team to have 1 million fans pass through our turnstiles in a season. Add that to the records we have already set this season, such as being the team to secure promotion in the least amount of games, and the list looks really quite impressive, and indicative of the fact that maybe, just maybe, we do belong in the Premier League, even if the result’s of last season suggested otherwise. (more…)
Butt in action, but for how much longer?Newcastle United manager, Chris Hughton, speaking in an interview, has given a very strong hint that this may be Nicky Butt’s last season at Newcastle, and that he may be retiring from the playing altogether as our spell in the Championship reaches it’s close.
Hughton said of Butt:
“If I look at the period of time I’ve been here, Nicky has been a wonderful ambassador,”
“I knew of him before, of course, and his achievements at United when he was one of that group of young quality players.
“What I’ve seen of him in my time here is exactly that – someone with the grandeur he had at United.(more…)
Will Chris Hughton roll the dice in the middle of the park?I’m sure I will be met with many in agreement when I say that right now, our main problem is in the middle of the park. It’s a position that blights us in my opinion, filled with high earners and also very over-subscribed. As it stands right now, we have Nicky Butt, Alan Smith, Kevin Nolan, Danny Guthrie, the imminent return of Joey Barton from a long standing injury, and likewise with young Haris Vuckic.
So, what’s the problem?
Realistically, you just have to look at those players and it becomes obvious. 6 players jostling for 2 positions in the starting XI, that’s what I mean about over-subscribed. On paper, you could argue that the players we have in the middle should be bossing this league. The fact is that they are not, be it through old age, lack of form, injury or being played out of position or any other reason for that matter, it’s no excuse for the tame midfield we seem to have at the minute. (more…)
Shola: "50-50" for Palace clash.In an update to our earlier story, more news has come in from Chris Hughton on the Newcastle United injury situation with centre back, Steven Taylor, midfielder, Nicky Butt, and striker, Shola Ameobi.
As reported earlier, the three hapless unfortunates were all knacked in the two titanic encounters with the butchers of West Bromwich Albion, with Shola’s shoulder, Taylor’s knee and Butt’s calf all under the spotlight.
Speaking to NUFC tv, the Stratford Supremo reported firstly on Taylor, saying:
“Steven will miss Wednesday’s game. He tweaked his knee last Monday and we’re still assessing the injury”
Although things are far from certain until all the test results have been assessed, the current Taylor situation seems a long way away from the prognosis of the Times’s North East football scaremonger, George Caulkin, who confidently asserted that the centre back had knee ligament damage that would keep him out for the rest of the season.
Moving on to Ameobi and Butt, Hughton said: (more…)
