The ultimate prize. I think it’s fair to say that this year’s Premier League campaign has been one to remember so far, and that’s for all the right reasons. With the well-publicised wealth from the club’s owners, the Magpies have gone from strength to strength both on and off the field, which will of course, raise the expectations of the St James’ Park faithful.
Eddie Howe’s appointment back in 2021 has been nothing short of brilliant, and the former AFC Bournemouth boss is well on his way to taking the Magpies to the next level in what will be a hugely exciting project. Many Newcastle supporters could have been forgiven for thinking that it would take a couple of seasons to transition and solidify themselves as a club in the top-half of the Premier League, and so they will have been pleasantly surprised with the progress that the club has made in a relatively short space of time. (more…)
Would UEFA close the door on Newcastle? When a football club takeover involves a cast of characters including the World Trade Organization, the United States Trade Representative, Amnesty International, Saudi Arabian Pirates, Neil Kinnock, a Middle East proxy war, the fiance of a brutally murdered journalist, a former World Chess Champion, FIFA, UEFA, AFC, The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and many others it could only be for one club, Newcastle United.
At this time, the Saudi led consortium’s bid to take over the Magpies hangs on the (much delayed) decision by the Premier League as to whether the prospective buyers are ‘fit and proper’ people to take over a Premier League club. Many column inches and web pages (mostly drivel) have been wasted on it. However, there is another aspect of the deal which doesn’t seem to have been thought of at all. What I mean is that overcoming the Premier League hurdle will not necessarily be the end of the story if the new regime have ambitions for the Magpies to compete in UEFA competitions such as the Europa League and the Champions League. (more…)
Mike Ashley: A heavyweight who’s always up for a fight With Mike Ashley’s recent attempts to take over at Rangers, and specifically his problems with the Scottish FA for having an interest in both clubs, it has often been said recently that Mike Ashley would be willing to leave Newcastle United so he can take over Rangers completely. There have been several hypotheses put forward for why he might do this
Champions League exposure for Sports Direct?
One which makes no sense at all is that Ashley would be willing to sacrifice Newcastle United and the English Premier League to expose his cheap sports goods in that great league of leagues, the Champions League. This would be once Rangers get through the small formalities of getting promoted back to the Scottish Premiership and then beating Celtic to win the Scottish Premiership title. This one is a complete non-starter though as there are two crucial things the proponents of this hypothesis have overlooked.
1. As both Newcastle United and Rangers fans should know from previous European competition, Rangers or any other side are only allowed to display advertising for their shirt sponsors and kit sponsors. There could be no pitch side hoardings or anything else emblazoned with cheap Ashley brands like Sports Direct, Firetrap and all the rest. Only UEFA sponsorship partners are allowed to advertise in both the Europa and Champions League competitions. (more…)
Pardew: Sticking with his old excuses.After Jonas Gutierrez publically criticised Newcastle United’s lack of intensity in their training sessions last season, Alan Pardew went away for a while, had a think, and has decided that both his staff and himself “need to be honest about it” and admit that mistakes were made.
He then goes on to suggest that Gutierrez saying training sessions are “a bit too easy” was a little misleading at least by once again pointing the finger of blame at the stresses of playing in the Europa League, injuries and a lack of quality players.
“You’ve got to be open and honest about it as a staff,” the Silver Supremo began, continuing:
“My staff – my immediate staff and myself as manager – need to be honest about it, mistakes were made. You need to be honest enough to admit them and look at when and why they were made.”
Pardew then went on to discount Gutierrez’s critique, falling back on his old chestnuts:(more…)
Kinnear and Carr: NUFC’s scouting “dream team.”They are two chubby old men who swear so much, they even make Bernard Manning and Chubby Brown sound like a pair of Vicars.
One is reviled and one is revered by significant sections of Newcastle United’s fanbase, yet they are almost like peas in a pod. Two chubby, foul mouthed, old school pros with two lifetimes worth of experience in football. Carr has already been an excellent scout for Newcastle United, and there is no reason why Joe Kinnear can’t add to that significantly too, as a scout himself, as well as a bridge between the football side of the club, Mike Ashley and the future Managing Director, whoever that might be.
Since Kinnear’s return to the club, the first lazy stereotype of uninformed newspaper hacks was that Kinnear was putting a stop to the foreign signings because he’d never heard of them, that he was looking to sign more Kevin Nolans and Ryan Taylors, and also that Carr was set to walk out of the club in disgust. However, if you cast your mind to his time as interim manager at Newcastle, Kinnear was actually exploring the French market long before Carr came to the club. One transfer target Kinnear bid for was potential Butt replacement, Stephane Mbia, then a Stade Rennais player who eventually moved to Marseilles for over £10 million and eventually, QPR. There were others too such as Toulouse right back Albin Ebondo, who was looked at by Kinnear before he eventually moved to St Etienne. (more…)
