Next permanent manager?Nicky Butt has recently called for Chris Hughton to be made permanent manager of Newcastle United, but what are the options?
Apparently Derek Llambias will shortly be reviewing the positions of Hughton and Calderwood in light of our great start and Nicky Butt hopes that their positions are made permanent until the end of the season. Butt said:
“The team is showing there is belief here, and Chris and Colin deserve the job now.
“Hopefully they get it and that will mean we can all concentrate on the job in hand.
“People keep looking at us and say ‘they still haven’t got a proper manager’ even though Chris is acting manager.
“He’s not done anything wrong, but he hasn’t been named as boss.
“So it would be nice to see Chris get the job.”
Personally I don’t want to see a manager appointed ‘for the rest of the season’ – I’d rather see someone appointed for 3-5 years. The frequent changes of manager have been one of Newcastle’s main problems and one of the reasons why we were relegated last season. We need to get away from this short-termism. (more…)
Newcastle v PlymouthBottom of the table Plymouth make the pilgrimage to St James’s Park today as the Toon hope to get back on track after the midweek defeat at Blackpool.
Plymouth have a paltry 2 points from their opening 7 games, picked up via an away draw at Crystal Palace and a home draw against QPR in the first 2 games of the season. Since then they’ve lost to Cardiff, Derby, Sheffield Wednesday, West Brom and Watford, scoring just 6 goals along the way. Alan Gow – a £200,000 signing from Rangers in the summer – is Plymouth’s top scorer with 2 goals and they also have Bradley Wright-Phillips on the books.
Alan Smith returns from suspension for us which means we only have Ameobi and Jonas unavailable for selection. I’d expect Smith to come straight back into the team, most logically at the expense of Butt although I’m not entirely convinced Hughton will drop Butt. We shall see. (more…)
Strength in numbersThe slant on this is two-fold. I’m talking both about the new found optimism and feel-good factor surrounding the team on the pitch, and also about our ability to keep that pitch chock-full of experienced professionals.
Clearly our start to the season has given cause for genuine surprise throughout the football world, none more so than up here. To land on our feet and start making progress in the right direction was probably the last thing we expected.
So we can also probably safely assume it was also the last thing the media and our detractors were expecting. Therefore a pleasant surprise, as it’s a bit of a two-fingered salute to them.
Sunday’s game against Cardiff City could well prove to be the biggest challenge yet but ultimately if we succeed, it’s yet another piece tacked onto our new-found and developing cloak of pride. Even if we manage a draw, our reputation will be upheld and so there is a lot to be look forward and much to be gained in that game. We just seem to have picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves down and started getting on with it, everyone putting in a hard, honest and decent shift. For every point we pick up that goes towards our tally in the league table, we also pick up a voucher of dignity that will hopefully be redeemed in the near future. A day when we hold our heads high and we’re regarded as a proper football club again, for the right reasons. (more…)
One of these will own the club.There are rumours that Newcastle United will make an announcement about the sale of the club on Monday, although I can’t find a direct quote from anyone at the club about this announcement. Other rumours suggest it may be late next week before we find out anything.
Sky Sports claims that talks are continuing with Barry Moat and two other consortia, as does The Guardian, and both claim some sort of announcement is set for Monday.
The Telegraph claims that negotiations between Moat and Ashley are at an advanced stage and some sort of deal could be closed next week. They also mention that Barclays would like to see a reduction in the £40m loan the club uses to operate before they’ll stamp their authority on any deal for Barry Moat. (more…)
Number one super guyPoor old Chris Hughton deserves a fair bit of credit for quietly taking over a job he doesn’t want and just getting on with it.
Ashley’s dumped him in it a few times now but Hughton simply remains unruffled, appearing to treat his frequent calls to stand-in as manager of one the most media-exposed teams in the country with no more alarm than he’d treat a hole in his sock.
According to The Chronicle, Hughton had this to say about the club sale saga at the club’s Benton training ground:
“I think the sooner there is a line drawn on the situation the better for everybody.
“I think that’s what everybody wants.”
That’s about as close as he gets to a complaint. If the man was any more relaxed he’d be horizontal. He puts me in mind of Hong Kong Phooey actually, although that’s probably more to do with my insane, laterally-articulated brain than anything else. (more…)
