Carroll commits to The ToonAndy Carroll has insisted that he’s staying at Newcastle United despite the replacement of Chris Hughton with Alan Pardew as manager.
Carroll was in a buoyant mood yesterday, no doubt helped by the fact that the CPS have dropped the latest assault charge against him due to a lack of evidence.
In an interview with The Chronicle he appeared to confirm his commitment to the club.
“I’m just going to go out there and carry on doing what I have been doing. I’ve always worked towards being where I am now, and want to stay here – it’s as simple as that.”
Carroll expressed his appreciation for all that Chris Hughton had done for him – both on and off the pitch – and then turned his focus to the new manager.
“He’s gone now, and I just need to keep on working on what he’s taught me, and with the new manager, I’ve got to listen to him,” said Carroll.
He then went on to talk about Saturday’s game against Liverpool:
“All the lads stuck together after what’s happened. To play the way we did against Liverpool was great.” (more…)
Doh, why did I take this job?Alan Pardew has had a few things to say about how he intends to approach matters at Newcastle United.
First of all, apparently other managers have been telling him he’s mad to take the job:
“I’ve had a lot of texts from managers saying ‘you must be mad going there’. But it’s one of the top five clubs in England. It’s a daunting prospect but something I couldn’t turn down.”
Given that the club is run by clowns and the rate at which we get through managers it’s hard to argue with suggestions that he should be carted off to somewhere where they hand out regular cups of tea and strong medication.
He then goes on to say:
“The problem I’m going to have initially is the players.
“I need to get my message across quickly and with clarity so as not to get any resentment at a time when they are doing reasonably well.
“The battles I need to win are on the pitch. I understood what was going to happen if I took the job.” (more…)
New Toon Boss?In a move that can only be described as astonishing, Mike Ashley sent Chris Hughton on his way earlier this week and – unless it’s all one massive smokescreen – it looks like he’s about to replace him with Alan Pardew.
Pardew’s achievements include getting Reading promoted from division two to division one, getting West Ham promoted to the Premiership, losing on penalties to Liverpool in the FA Cup final, winning a Football League Trophy at Southampton and …. well, that’s about it really. Pardew’s tenure at Charlton was less successful, where he took them down from the Premiership to mid-table Championship obscurity.
I am however sure Mike Ashley will be appointing Alan Pardew for purely footballing reasons and it will have nothing at all to do with suggestions that Ashley, Llambias and Pardew are old gambling buddies and that it’s just ‘jobs for the boys’. So I won’t mention that.
I suppose some Newcastle United supporters may welcome the appointment of Alan Pardew at the expense of Chris Hughton, but I suspect it will make most madder than an albino hitching a lift in a snow storm. Ashley is certainly chancing his hand with this one and for the sake of the Toon I hope it pays off. If it doesn’t, I would anticipate a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth. (more…)
There's only one Martin Jol?Having ludicrously dismissed Chris Hughton, Newcastle United now begin the search for a new manager, but who are the likely candidates?
Is there a manager anywhere that can live up to the standards required of the top job at the Toon?
Chris Hughton had done nothing short of an amazing job, gaining promotion from the Championship at the first attempt – and breaking a few records along the way – and settling the club into a mid-table position in the Premier League with almost half the season gone.
And in doing that Hughton had to contend with the uncertainty around the sale of the club, a relatively small budget for players and few backroom staff to help him.
Yet it seems he’s not good enough and the club wants someone with ‘more experience’ to manage them. (more…)
Ashley - Why has he clarified agent payments?As many of you are probably aware, the club took steps yesterday to clarify just how much it paid in fees to agents last season by releasing a brief statement on the club website.
To me it seems like a strange move, especially considering the shroud of secrecy that seems to surround our club most of the time these days.
Most of us know that agents are leeches, parasites if you will, so it’s no real surprise that they have collectively pocketed fees of £2,417,776 during our season in The Championship. That still seems like quite a lot to me, especially when you consider our relative lack of incoming transfers last season, but it’s one of those things that has to be done. Like paying for your car insurance for example – You begrudge paying for it, but you have to pay it.
So why clarify it? I’m honestly scratching my head looking for a reason why. As I said, we all know that agents fees have to be paid so why highlight it in it’s own little statement on the club website? I could understand it if it formed part of the published accounts, but it doesn’t. (more…)
