Dean Maynard - The man with the Midas touch.Many plaudits have been directed at manager Chris Hughton and the players in the past few weeks for what they have achieved on the pitch, and rightly so. But has there been a greater force behind us, driving us towards success this season? Psychic expert Dean ‘Midas’ Maynard believes so and cites the positive thinking that has increasingly emanated from areas of the club as a major contributing factor behind the stunning season the team have ended up having.
Some of our long term readers may remember that we last spoke with Dean back in December, and he tipped us to lift the title way back then, even as we sat amongst a sea of what appeared to be some dissappointing results at the time. It turned out he was right all along, something I’m more than happy about as we prepare to recieve the Championship trophy in front of the home crowd at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon.
Dean has an impressive track record of predicting the fortunes of celebrities and sports teams from around the world. He was part of the ‘Bring back Beckham’ campaign that resulted in David Beckham being reinstated to the England squad in 2007 and famously predicted that Stoke City would survive and thrive in the Premier League despite many people doubting the ability of the team. Dean also enjoys a track record of success in the Grand National and has beaten a panel of professional race tipsters for the last 4 years running. He also does a lot of charity work, including association with The Meningitis Trust, Clic: Caring for Children with Cancer, Comic Relief, St Teresa’s Hospice and the one that is most personal to me being a former Prudhoe resident, The Megan Armstrong Appeal.
Here at nufcblog.org, we decided to catch up with Durham lad to see what he has been up to, and what the future holds. (more…)
Chrissy has the balls to keep us going forward.Who would have thought it eh? Who would have thought way back at the end of last season when Newcastle were relegated that in just a year the fortunes of the club would have seemingly been turned around so dramatically?
The shame of watching such an abject display at Villa Park and the embarrasament of bowing out of the Premier League has been replaced with a healthy optimism and a feeling of pride has been restored to Tyneside. One man must take the broad chunk of the credit for it – Chris Hughton. Since being appointed as Caretaker back in pre-season, Hughton has hardly set a foot wrong. That in itself is startling when you take into account that the guy didn’t know from one day to the next whether he would have a job or if he would be working with the same players again or even who his boss would be. Yet he just got on with the job in hand, ignoring all of those factors from within the club and numerous factors from outside the club trying to undermine him. (more…)
Kevin Nolan: A leader amongst men.It’s judgement day for Newcastle United today as they face the very real prospect of becoming champions by this evening. If West Brom fail to beat Middlesbrough in the 5:15pm kick-off at The Hawthorns then we will be confirmed as champions.
It’s no less than the players deserve either as questions have continually been asked of them by critics, press and opposing teams. All questions have been answered where they should be, on the pitch, and part of that can be attributed to players such as Kevin Nolan who have stuck their head above the parapet, rolled up their sleeves, stood up and been counted or any other number of cliche’s that can be used. In fact Kevin Nolan has become quite the face of Newcastle United recently, not only for his goal scoring exploits and application on the pitch, but also for his comments and leadership off it. Some of his goals this season have been vital and without them we would not be in the position we find ourselves in today. Leading by example, something not seen since the days when Alan Shearer or Scott Parker donned the black & white stripes with pride and sadly something we missed so badly in our hour of need last season. (more…)
Kevin Nolan helped Newcastle United step within one point of picking up the Coca Cola Championship title, with a brace tonight against Reading at the Madejski Stadium. In a game which saw us below par, Reading may feel hard done by that any lingering hopes they had of making the play-offs all but disappeared with our victory by the odd goal.
However, as with many teams this season, Newcastle’s ability to score goals and grind out the result meant Reading would have to have a go and they were left wanting when it came to a cutting edge. In fact, it took a combination of Steve Harper, Jose Enrique and Danny Simpson producing an own goal before Reading got off the mark. At the other end, Kevin Nolan re-established himself as the club’s leading goalscorer with another two crucial goals, taking his tally for the season to 18 in all competitions. (more…)
Tangerine dreamers!I played a song recently for a mate who often goes to Newcastle games with me, though not the Blackpool game ironically. It was relevant because it was number one on his birthday back in 1991 and he’s just suffered the discomfort of turning 30. The song was “The One and Only” by Chesney Hawkes and it’s spun on ‘Old Skool’ nights in University and college dance-floors up and down the country.
It’s become a bit of a cult classic, as sh*t songs go, though unfortunately I’m old enough to remember it being released first-hand and to be honest I love it so bollocks to you all who hate it.
Anyway…, heading up to the Blackpool game on Saturday, with the sun bleaching down and a sea of black and white mixing in with the tangerine of the visitors, I couldn’t help but wonder about the words in the second verse of that song. Lowbrow though they may be to music snobs, the lines “High hopes and aspirations, and years above my station. Maybe but all this time I’ve tried to walk with dignity and pride”, hit home with a certain poignancy. Though I refrained from singing them out loud as I walked past the Strawberry… (more…)
Kevin Nolan helped Newcastle United step within one point of picking up the Coca Cola Championship title, with a brace tonight against Reading at the Madejski Stadium. In a game which saw us below par, Reading may feel hard done by that any lingering hopes they had of making the play-offs all but disappeared with our victory by the odd goal.