Pardew vs Martinez - Let battle commence!Hello and welcome to my review of what the managers are saying in the run up to today’s fixture, with Newcastle United facing Roberto Martinez’s Wigan.
This being a Newcastle United ‘blog, of course, the first cab off the rank so to speak is our very own Silver Supremo, Alan Pardew. While Newcastle United may be undefeated and riding high in the top four, Pardew sounded a note of caution, suggesting that things may be tougher in the future. When asked if he still has much to learn about his team, Pardew replied:
“I think so, and I think Saturday will provide some different problems because the crowd will be expectant. We haven’t really had that this year, them expecting us to win, so maybe our first misplaced pass will be greeted with jeers. They are the sort of things we have got to overcome.”
“We might have a guy sent off, the ref might make a terrible decision – we haven’t suffered that yet, so that’s all to come, and it’s how we react to that.”(more…)
Ashley:Turned his back on Pardew for two months?It’s somewhat of a rare occurrence to hear from Alan Pardew, as it’s not often he conducts interviews…
Obviously, I’m being extremely sarcastic, and Alan Pardew has been talking once again, this time in regards to Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias. I’m not entirely sure where the interview originated from, but I picked it up via the Sky Sports website.
Interestingly, Pardew not only talks inevitably about the “efficient” job Mike Ashley is doing with Newcastle United’s finances, but also there is a little bit about last seasons final game, the 3-3 draw at home to West Brom. That game consisted of Newcastle having a 3-0 lead at one stage, only to be pegged back. This resulted in Newcastle dropping from a potential 8th placed finish, and ending up finishing in 12th.
Rumours circulating at the time said that Mike Ashley was extremely upset with the failure to protect that three goal lead, but these rumours were quickly dispensed. From Pardew’s recent comments I’ve included below, you’ll see that Ashley was indeed slightly annoyed with the result.
Same master plan for world domination.In the wake of Newcastle United’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon, Managing Director, Derek Llambias, has released another club statement.
The statement once sgsin highlights the clubs finances, summer transfers, youth development, managing / coaching staff, training facilities and supporters. Basically, I’m still struggling to dissect the differences between this statement, and the recent Q&A with the Evening Chronicle a few months back.
Either way, it’s good to have some communication from boardroom to fans, and below I have included the whole statement for your viewing pleasure. I hasten to add also that the statement, unsurprisingly, has a little bit of information about our new under-soil heating.
Enjoy…
Introduction
Now that the summer transfer window has closed and the new Premier League season is underway, the board of Newcastle United Football Club wish to present this review of our progress and set out our aims for the 2011/12 campaign and beyond. (more…)
1/150th of Newcastle United's debt.Of course, Newcastle United have been riding along on the crest of a wave in our first seven games in the Premiership, with our unbeaten start currently seeing us in fourth. However we also stand in fourth place in another table too, that of Premiership debt.
According to the table compiled by Deloitte, Newcastle are the club standing in fourth place with a debt of £150.385 million, which is over £26 million higher than it was when Freddy Shepherd left the club in 2007. Over £111 million of this is immediately repayable on demand to Mike Ashley should Sports Direct go tits up, or he gets a little carried away in Asper’s Casino one night, the rest being recouped in installments and secured on broadcasting revenue.
Of course, the club’s catastrophic relegation to the Championship, resulting in a huge loss of television and other revenue, was responsible for most of this, despite a huge cost cutting excercise by owner, Mike Ashley.
Here’s the debt table with the top five, along with the Mackems at number 11.(more…)
Sideshow Bob: It won't all be plain sailing.After Newcastle United’s very good start to the current season, which sees them in the top four after seven games, the clubs captain, Fabricio Coloccini, has joined manager, Alan Pardew, in sounding a note of caution.
Speaking in an interview, he suggested that while everything is good in the Newcastle camp at the moment, we have yet to see how the new look side will react when tougher times inevitably come. After describing the team spirit at the club as “outstanding” at the moment, he also described it as “different” to last season thanks to the club’s fortunes in the League so far. On this he said:
“We’re happy because we’re working well and things are coming right for us.”
“The team spirit is different to last season. When you start well everything is good, everyone is happy. It’s different. We’ll find out more when we have some bad times.
But now the spirit is fantastic. We have some good people in the changing room and I think that’s the key for us to keep winning and playing well.”
A sterner test may come when the Magpies face Tottenham Hotspur, who have looking threatening since getting over a dissapointing start in the Premier League, which saw them fall to bad defeats against Manchester’s United and City. They have won all of their Premier League games since including a comprehensive 4-0 demolition of Liverpool. Another sticky patch may come when the Magpie’s face a terrible trio of games against Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea in succession from the 19th November onwards. (more…)
