The 12th man?It’s an accusation that gets thrown about quite often, usually by the press in fairness.
The concensus of the media seems to be that we are a demanding bunch of fans who have aspirations that have been fuelled by a couple of years of heady heights under Kevin Keegan and a couple more years of heady heights under Sir Bobby Robson, and when they aren’t being matched we, apparently, turn against our own team, manager, etc.
Those nasty nasty Newcastle fans, eh?
But is there an element of truth in those accusations? The latest media frenzy regarding Chris Hughton’s position suggests that there might have been, to me anyway. Most of us are aware that the story started off in the minds of the media, and in particular a certain Anal Oliver, but it did get through to players and, rather ridiculously, some fans aswell. (more…)
Oliver: Risible buffoon.Writing for the People newspaper yeterday, Alan Oliver, who is renowned throughout the region for his completely innaccurate and malicious reporting about Newcastle United, and still banned from St James’s Park for spreading falsehoods about the club, was still persisting with the story that Chris Hughton is about to be sacked.
Despite Newcastle’s victory at West Ham which left them in the top half of the table, Oliver insists:
“CHRIS HUGHTON is fighting for his job at Newcastle, with Mike Ashley yet to start negotiations on a new contract.
“Toon boss Hughton’s deal runs out at the end of the season but owner Ashley is in no hurry to begin talks after Newcastle took just one point from three Premier League home games – against Blackpool, Stoke and Wigan.
“And despite impressive defeats of Aston Villa and Everton in the league, as well as a stunning win at Chelsea in the Carling Cup, it is the results at St James’ Park against fellow relegation candidates that have set the alarm bells ringing with the top brass.” (more…)
Nile Ranger in action yesterday.Firstly, apologies for the lateness of today’s roundup.
Well, first cab off the rank today is, of course, Newcastle United’s first friendly of the season. Toon emerged fresh from their gruelling Irish “boot camp” to face the mighty Shamrock Rovers at Shamrock’s Tallaght stadium.
The Mirror’s Ciaran O’ Raghallaigh describes how “wobbly” Newcastle teetered on the brink of disaster, finally managing to “scrape” through by the narrowest of margins, three goals, scored by Steven Taylor, Shola Ameobi and Nile Ranger respectively.
Meanwhile, a report in the Mirror’s sister paper, The People, focused on Joey Barton in a piece by the risable Dale Finnigan, which describes how the Toon blacksheep, apparently, “failed to finish the game” and was “continually abused by the Irish supporters”. Translation: Hughton let the bairns have a bit of a run in the second half, and Barton received a few boos from the crowd when his name was read out. (more…)
