Hughton - Can he cut? Maybe he can...After a brief flurry of transfer activity and rumour on the Newcastle front, things seem to have settled down a bit.
Dan Gosling, as yet, hasn’t signed, and our players have been away for a week training in Ireland. Obviously this has meant that Chris Hughton has been away with them as he tries to whip his troops into shape in preapration for the new season.
The knives are out for Newcastle, again, and amazingly it is some of our own fans who are ready to stick the blade in if we falter. Despite claims from Danny Guthrie the other day, which suggested that the players will be ignoring the critics, there is no doubt that it will end up cranking up the pressue on the players over time, and it will probably be Chris Hughton who will pay the ultimate price if things do start to get out of hand. That price will likely be his job, but is he good enough to avoid that situation arising in the first place? (more…)
Martins - One of our former stars.It’s been a turbulent 12 months for Newcastle United, but after a season in the second tier we can now once again, ahem, look forward to the regular visits of Manchester United, Chelsea and all the rest.
It took some luck, some balls of steel, a bit of skill and many more factors to click into place all at once for us to secure promotion, but in the end it was very much a case of mission accomplished as Newcastle pretty much blew the rest of the Championship away.
Newcastle are back in the big time, back where it can be argued that a club with infrastructure and fanbase we have belongs, and we also have the chance to get back at those players who left us, the ones who got asked to shape up or ship out after that 6-1 pre-season defeat to Leyton Orient last season. That is not to say that I blame them for leaving, not one bit in fact, and I believe that those players leaving was the catalyst behind this new found team spirit that we keep hearing about. Having said that, it’s still always nice to get one over on your old colleagues, even Jose Enrique admitted recently he would be itching to do just that. So with that in mind, just what have they been up to whilst Newcastle have been away? Do we have anything to worry about from our former players? (more…)
Brunton Park - Where the journey begins.Is anyone starting to get that feeling? That feeling of excitement as the new season draws ever closer?
I know I am, and I can’t wait for us to kick off our pre-season campaign away at Carlisle in a little over a weeks time. At least it will give us something else to focus on, and it will give us a sneak preview as to how the team are shaping up for the forthcoming season.
I think perhaps my excitement regarding the new season has been cranked up a notch by what has been a disappointing summer, particularly on the World Cup front as England faltered at the first knockout hurdle leaving me with not much else to focus on apart from domestic interest. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had half an eye on the World Cup ever since England’s departure, but for me it just isn’t the same without them in the competiton and I have found it hard to sit there as a neutral and take in the dull game after dull game that has been on offer. (more…)
Fortress St James'.It may well sound like an obvious statement to make, but if ever a more obvious statement has been so vaild then I would like to see it.
We now know what the fixtures are for next season, we now know that it is Manchester United away on the first day of the season, again, and we know that it is highly unlikely that we will take any points away from Old Trafford and back to Tyneside, but stranger things have happened.
Realistically, a vast amount of our away games next season will be defeats, although that is not unusual for us in the Premier League. We may get a few draws, even the odd win, but deep down I think most of us now that a lot of the hard work is going to have to be done in the cathedral on the hill that is St James’ Park, which is why my initial annoyance at the way the fixtures panned out has been replaced by a careful optimism after I realised that we have no real back to back fixtures against the top teams as it stands, which is good. (more…)
Kevin Nolan: Future captain?The captains armband is up for grabs at the minute after being left vacant by the now departed Nicky Butt, but who, in your opinion, is the most deserving and most likely candidate for the role next season?
Newcastle are kind of lucky in that regard as we have a lot of players who have played at the highest level for a long time, they know what it’s about and they know what is required. With pre-season just around the corner, it gives all the likely candidates a chance to push their credentials forward for the job.
Obviously Nicky Butt didn’t play too much of a part last season, but it still didn’t stop him being the captain. Part of the theory behind that is because we have a lot of ‘on the pitch’ leaders, which fortunately meant Nicky Butt didn’t need to be on the pitch to perform his ‘duties’. Kevin Nolan, Alan Smith, Steve Harper and Fabricio Coloccini all had turns in wearing the armband last season, and considering all of those look likely to kick off the new season with us then you would have to assume that one of them has to be in the running to be named the captain on a full-time basis. So let’s take a look at the options. (more…)
