Meet the new boss, same as the old bossLet us think this thought in its most terrible form: existence as it is, without meaning or aim, and yet recurring inevitably, without any finale in nothingness: “eternal recurrence.”
Friedrich Nietzsche – The Will to Power
I quoted the great proto-existentialist philosopher there because it seems such a perfect summary of all that Mike Ashley has to offer Newcastle United fans, in the past, the present and in the future; existence as it is, without meaning or aim, and yet recurring inevitably This includes the humiliation of being lied to and treated as fools on a regular basis, and paying hundreds of pounds for the privilege in many cases. Mike Ashley’s latest alleged overhaul is just as superficial and dishonest as the previous ones, which is why everything coming out of the club must be so strictly controlled. In his hubris, Ashley still hasn’t learned that a Premier League club the size of Newcastle United has to be like Rolls Royce, not Sports Direct. The faces might be different, but the thinking which has taken Newcastle United nowhere is still the same, recurring inevitably. (more…)
NUFC: Still no decision on a head coach.I couldn’t help feeling there was something odd about the story of Patrick Vieira coming to Newcastle, as there is about most unsubstantiated football stories.
Some fans seemed to believe it though, even embroidering it further to their own tastes as it gathered a momentum of its own in a few short days. My curiosity piqued, I looked but I couldn’t find any real evidence that Newcastle United made an approach for Patrick Viera to be the next ‘head coach’ at St James’ Park. Even the guff I’ve read about Steve McClaren coming to Newcastle (and I’ve read alot) seems to be based on the same kind of unsubstantiated “it is understood / sources say” style drivel we see so much of nowadays in the media. Concentrating on the Vieira story first though, I traced the threads of it back to the beginning as I usually do, and in this case it was ‘broken’ by North East Sky Sports reporter, Keith Downie with two tweets below on 30th May, though it seems like longer: (more…)
Is Carver under orders like McDowall?By his own admission, Rangers’ current caretaker head coach, Kenny McDowall, has been told not only that he has no say in the players they sign, but also that he will only have a limited input into team selection too.
According to McDowall himself, he has been ordered by Mike Ashley and his henchman at Rangers, Derek Llambias, to play ALL of the five new Rangers players (Vuckic, Ferguson, Bigirimana, Streete and Mbabu) on loan from Newcastle. Speaking in an interview at Rangers’ Murray Park training centre, McDowall, who wants to leave at the end of the season said:
“When I was given the job I was told players incoming and outgoing wouldn’t be my responsibility. I take the team and coach the team and I am more than happy to get on with it.”
Which is hardly news to both Rangers and Newcastle United fans. However when pressed on whether he was obliged to play them, he dropped his bombshell, replying:
NUFC’s latest accounts: Turnover up, profit down.As many of you out there will be aware, Newcastle United recently announced their figures for the year ended 30th June, 2012. This corresponds to our second season back in the Premiership which, of course, is last season.
In the last few days the accounts were finally made public thorugh Companies House, and as usual, I obtained a set there to publish online here. You can peruse these at your leisure by downloading them from the link below:
Pardew: No sense of irony.Alan Pardew, the manager of the club who turned down £30 million for Andy Carroll, and insisted on £35 million “upfront” (plus “12 grand ****ing interest”) for a player the club’s Managing Director later said was worth “**** all,” has blamed Newcastle United’s lack of success in the transfer market on greedy clubs such as Ajax, Lille and FC Twente for valuing their players too highly once they know that big clubs such as Newcastle United are interested in their prize assets. He also pointed the finger at greedy agents and players too.
As well known Daily Mail bigot, Richard Littlejohn, is rather fond of saying, you couldn’t make it up!
The Silver Supremo was asked a remarkably stupid and inaccurate question about why the transfer market has taken so long to get going. Premier League clubs have brought in no less than sixty nine players as of yesterday. That is an average of 3.45 players per club so far, with hundreds of millions changing hands in fees alone, even though it is well known that much of the activity in the English window often happens towards the end.
But before I continue, let’s take a look at Pardew response to this silly question, which seems to be lacking the slightest trace of irony: (more…)
