Cautiously optimistic?Newcastle United captain Kevin Nolan reveals he’s ‘hopeful’ about the future of the club, whilst Alan Pardew praises Nolan as a better player than he thought he was.
Kevin Nolan’s goal against Bolton on Saturday means he now has 11 for the season, which is not bad for a midfielder, albeit one that often slots in close behind the striker(s).
Personally I find Nolan a bit frustrating. He sometimes seems to ‘disappear’ for large portions of the game in terms of his general midfield contribution, but he frequently ‘reappears’ to put the ball in the back of the net, which is not to be sniffed at. Although feel free to sniff if you wish – I’m not a man to stop professional sniffers.
Nolan seems to be cautiously optimistic about the future of the club in the hands of Ashley and his bespectacled sidekick, particularly after the club managed to sign Cheick Tiote until 2017. Nolan said:
“I hope and I think that Mike and Derek are in it for the long haul here.
“We’re all working together to get Newcastle back where it belongs. It’s going to be bit by bit and we can’t get carried away but it will be nice when they get us back. They can sit and smile knowing they’ve worked so hard.
“All we’ve asked for is a bit of stability and giving lads new contracts when they deserve it.
“Hopefully we can build a team for the future around Cheik.” (more…)
Pardew: "No one's unsaleable" at Newcastle.Newcastle United manager, Alan Pardew, has been speaking on the stalled contract negotiations with Joey Barton, how Mike Ashley is at Newcastle United to stay, and trumpeting Cheik Tiote’s new deal as a sign that Mike Ashley is willing to spend on the club.
He started with Barton, who’s contract negotiations have now been shelved until the summer, with the midfielder’s current contract having around eighteen month to run. It is thought that the current deal on offer sees Barton facing a pay cut, but that it is the length of the contract extension, two years rather than three that is causing problems in the Barton camp.
Speaking of the current deal on offer, Pardew said:
“We have made a decent offer, but it’s difficult negotiating with any senior player at this level and I think Joey’s view is to perhaps see what happens in the summer.(more…)
What's the plan Mike?Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley continues to be a perpetual source of confusion, at least for this writer.
I’m confused. Which is to say that I’m more confused than normal. For starters I’m confused as to how an email address that has never been used by me anywhere and was only set up last week has ended up on some spam lists. It’s already getting about 10 emails a day offering to increase the size of certain parts of my body, reduce the size of others or somehow make me rich from under my duvet.
But that’s an aside. What I’m confused about for the purposes of this article is Newcastle United.
We have at the helm of our club a certain Mike Ashley and I confess to not having a clue where he’s coming from and, more to the point, where he’s planning on going.
Ashley has threatened to sell the club more than once and the last I heard was that it was still his intent to sell it, but that he needed to secure Premier League safety in order to get his asking price. Has that changed?
I ask because a man whose sole purpose is to create something to sell is going to approach things with a different intent than a man whose purpose is to build something for the long-term. I think this is important and I haven’t got a clue which category Ashley now falls into. (more…)
I'll get me coatNewcastle United manager Alan Pardew talks about the coaching structure and transfer policy at the club.
Alan Pardew has been giving people an insight into the coaching and player analysis setup at Newcastle, which apparently includes a £3k per player GPS system to monitor training.
Pardew said:
“I have changed a lot of analytical stuff. I brought in two new analysts who put together reports about how our defence, our midfield and our attack are doing. They look at how our opposition are doing, plus our scouting.
“We have four analysts now and we only had two. We have John Carver here, whose brief is to ensure he keeps on top of our attacking side of things. I concentrate on the defence and the organisation of the team.
“That, in a nutshell, is the changes I have made. I’ve also used some of the stats that we get more than perhaps this club did in the past.”
It seems like quite a technical setup with all these analysts and is perhaps reminiscent of Sam Allardyce’s own ‘technical approach’, although perhaps without the sheer number of back-room staff that Big Sam seemed to favour. (more…)
Dynamic duo or terrible two?Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has always divided opinion in the past, but what do we think of him now?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy had some advice inscribed on the front of it for galactic residents challenged by such things as hyperspace bypasses, Vogon poetry, Ravenous Bugblatter Beasts and The Triple-Breasted Whore of Eroticon Six. It simply said: ‘Don’t Panic’.
I’m wondering if the same advice should be appear on the front of The Supporter’s Guide To Newcastle United. Or maybe ‘Divvent Panic’ would be better.
The reason I say this is because, as ever, there seems to be a divide between fans as to whether Ashley is right for the club, whether Pardew is any good, whether selling Carroll was good or bad, whether selling Enrique would be good, etc. etc. etc.
So what I’d like to do is look at the situation without emotion or sentiment. (more…)
