Who is right?Speaking in recent interview on Swansea City’s Europa League campaign next season, Chairman Huw Jenkins knocked Europa League knockers such as Alan Pardew, who has frequently used midweek European competition as an excuse for his poor League form this season (amongst other things), with Jenkins dismissing such talk as “rubbish.”
Meanwhile his manager, Michael Laudrup, has also welcomed the extra games next season, seeing no need to significantly increase the numbers of his small squad (around 23 currently) for next season’s European campaign. On this Laudrup commented:
“I know one year that Barcelona played with 19 first-team players, as well as a few younger players, and they played every three days. It is possible.
“I know again the risks if you get an injury. Look at what happened to us when Neil Taylor broke his ankle the day after the transfer window shut. That has special implications, but I don’t believe in having 27 or 28 players (27 was about the size of Newcastle United’s first team squad before the new French player were beought in). You won’t have 27 players who are at the same level, so you will still have five or six who never play.(more…)
Ahhh the memories…Going against my parents wishes was nothing strange to me, but the day I am about to describe where I did just that definitely set the course of my life.
I was born in Brunton Park, Wideopen, to Cynthia and Bert, a firm upbringing but nontheless loving. I mostly had a carefree childhood ’til my little brother came along when I was 4 and everything was my fault from then on! Then, for some strange reason, we moved to Jesmond and without realising it, that was the start of love and despair following the glorious Black and Whites.
Perhaps my parents fell on tougher times, I never found out or even asked the question. However we arrived at Clayton Park Square, just behind the Brandling Park. I’d settled into my new school, made some mates, and managed to get to seven years old without too many scrapes. As with most young tear-arses, I was up to all kinds when one Saturday morning, I was playing with all me new mates in the Exhibition Park who were all alot older than me because I was always very tall for my age, when they all decided it was time to “nick into the match”. Whats this aal aboot? I’d never even heard of “the match.” (more…)
Ashley: £100 million windfall.It may not have escaped the attention of you fans out there that Mike Ashley has recently had a windfall of around £100 million after selling aprroximately 7% of his holding in tacky sportwear retailer, Sports Direct.
Reading about it in the Guardian’s “Market Forces ‘blog” this morning as I enjoyed my Eggs Benedict. I noticed this part of the article:
“Supporters of Newcastle United, which Ashley owns, must be hoping some of the money is destined for new players in the summer.”
Which made me curious. If YOU were Mike Ashley, and you wanted to invest the whole of that £100 million in Newcastle United, how would you spend it?
After all, Ashley and his Tat Direct have already had tens of millions of pounds worth of free advertising out of the club, so it would only be fair! Of course, as Ashley is as tight as a gnat’s chuff, it probably won’t happen. But nonetheless, I thought it would be an interesting excercise in seeing how you might want to improve the club. (more…)
Pochettino playing for Argentina in the 2002 World Cup.In our game against Southampton this afternoon, along with our next one against Swansea City, we will be facing the teams of the two most talented and admired young coaches in the Premiership, Mauricio Pochettino and Michael Laudrup.
Of course, English fans including those of Newcastle United are very familiar with Laudrup the coach now, who has guided the Premiership minnows of Swansea to their first ever major trophy final later today in only his first season at the club. However, some of you might be less familiar with Pochettino, and may well (with good reason) have been somewhat bemused by the sacking of his Southampton predecessor, Nigel Adkins. This is especially so as it came just when things seemed to be starting to go fairly well for the Saints under a very decent manager. However, despite a record with his previous club Espanyol which hardly seems earth shattering on a cursory inspection until you understand the context, there is an excitement being generated about the young coach at the very highest levels of the game. Guardiola is a fan, as is Rafa Benitez, and despite beating them 2-1, Alex Ferguson thought his Southampton side was the best he’d faced at Old Trafford all season. (more…)
Newcastle United – A long ball dinosaur?Since I wrote a few pieces on how Alan Pardew’s Newcastle United had become the biggest “long ball” side in the Premiership this season some time ago, It piqued my curiosity to look beyond and see how the “route one” style favoured by Pardew this term compared with that of his predecessors, and possibly, what we might be able to learn from what comes out in the wash so to speak.
The stats contained in the table below go back to the start of the 2008-9 relegation season. Hence, the managers I have included are Kevin Keegan, Joe Kinnear, Alan Shearer, Chris Hughton (x3) and Alan Pardew.
Admittedly, some of the managerial spells are ridiculously short, and one would prefer at least a whole season for each manager, where every other team in the division was played with their varying tactics pitted against Newcastle United’s would have been the ideal. However, in the crazy world of Newcastle United since the blundering Mike Ashley took over, the longest continuous run of Premiership matches for any manager apart from the current one has been Joe Kinnear’s nineteen. Although Chris Hughton at least had a full season in the Championship, his spells as caretaker apart, he only had sixteen games in the Premiership before being sacked. Anyway, the point of this is more to take a look at Newcastle United’s long ball style as a whole in recent years, rather than just focusing on one particular manager. This brings me to my final point in this section, why I haven’t included that Championship season. This was for two reasons: Firstly, because I do not have the same stats for that season (I only have Premiership stats from “OPTA”). Secondly, it is also (literally) a different league, a different paradigm where different standards apply. (more…)
