Harper warns against complacencySitting at the top of the Championship, it’s tempting to think Newcastle United have had it easy but the truth is we’ve had to work hard to get points in some games.
On paper we’ve arguably got the best team in the Championship, populated by ex-Premiership players with skill and experience. There have been moments when this has looked true – phases in games when we’ve looked a cut above other teams in our ability to pass and keep the ball. But at times we’ve also looked a little overwhelmed when teams have come at us hard and fast, like Blackpool did.
Steve Harper has been warning that we mustn’t underestimate our opposition:
“We’ve had a good start to the season and with a quarter of the season gone we are happy with where we are.
“But there is a long way to go. We haven’t achieved anything yet.
“We can not afford to underestimate this division.
“There are 23 other teams in there who could all stop us from getting promoted. There are a lot of games in this league, more games than we are used to playing with a smaller squad than we are used to having. (more…)
Dan the man.Black and white, sitting on top, doing alright! That’s Newcastle United, after another win in front of the watching Sky cameras puts us in the driving seat after five games. Leicester City came to town and although The Foxes showed wily endeavour in the first half, it would be hard to argue that the result was anything but a fair reflection of the game overall.
Having secured some match company for a change, I managed to borrow a season-ticket from an old mate who couldn’t make it. He still sits in the same seat we secured when the Sir John Hall stand first went up and so it was a flashback to my younger years as my temporary match mate managed to buy a ticket for my old seat.
Managing to break the car parking ticket machine at Durham station, we jumped on the 18.35 train, hopeful that we wouldn’t return to a £60 fine. The train got us into town with plenty of time spare and by the time we collected his ticket and made our way to the Sir John Hall stand, we also thankfully missed the downpour that some unlucky punters didn’t!
A couple of beers and a pie later and we took our seats just below the Leicester fans and below and to the left of ‘the noisy section’. The atmosphere cranked up as the players lined up and with both sets of supporters in decent voice, everyone, including the players, seemed keen to defy the elements. (more…)
O'Leary to be manager. Or not.The Guardian (amongst others) is reporting that Ashley will appoint David O’Leary as manager if, as expected, he takes the club off the market. The Guardian is also reporting that Newcastle deny they’ll appoint O’Leary.
It’s all looks like sheer press invention to me but let’s have brief look at O’Leary’s management career anyway.
O’Leary managed Leeds from 1998 until 2002, getting two top 4 finishes, a UEFA Cup semi-final and a Champions League semi-final, all on a budget of £100m over 4 years.
He then managed Villa from 2003 until 2006, lifting them 10 places to get a 6th place finish in his first season.
Unfortunately – maybe due to the severe spending restrictions imposed by owner Doug Ellis – O’Leary’s next two seasons with Villa weren’t so good as he only managed a 10th place finish and, in his last season, a 16th place finish, narrowly avoiding relegation.
I’m not sure what to make of the prospect of O’Leary at Newcastle. I guess my main concern is that he doesn’t seem to operate too well on a tight budget and I suspect he’d have to operate on an extremely tight budget under Ashley, possibly even no budget at all if his appointment’s after the transfer window closes. (more…)
Duff on target for the Toon.We got our Championship campaign under way with a 1-1 draw at West Brom last night.
In the first half we looked the more fluent side in possession but, rather like last season, the final ball into the box often lacked quality. Duff probably had the best chance of the half when Carroll set him up from 20 yards, but he shot wide.
Our defence was typically fragile and we can be thankful that The Baggies failed to capitalise on some of the early chances they had. They got their goal on 39 minutes though when Harper failed to clear from a set piece and a scramble in the box saw Shelton Martis punt it home.
During the goal mouth free-for-all, Ameobi tried to clear Harper’s head off the line and, although the goalkeeper played on until the whistle, he was substituted for Krul at half-time.
After the goal our heads went down a bit and there seemed to be some bickering amongst the players, but we managed to make it to the interval without conceding again. (more…)
McMahon gobs off A lot of the papers have picked up on The Profitable Group withdrawing their interest in the club. The Telegraph quotes Steve McMahon as follows:
“We have pulled out. How long can you keep hanging on?
“We have put a bid in and we have had no communication, no response – nothing.
“It really is poor form from Newcastle, but if that’s the way they want to run their business, good luck to them.”
There were some suggestions that The Profitable Group had not demonstrated their ability to pay the £100m that Ashley wanted, but McMahon refuted this:
“That is completely inaccurate.
“I just feel sorry for the supporters – they deserve much, much better. They deserve to know what is going on.
“We wanted to come in and turn the club round because it clearly needs something at the minute.” (more…)
