Thinking of us?The traditional Sunday trawl of the back pages has begun, except technically I’ve gone all modern these days and access the back pages online (partly because I’m hungover and don’t fancy the walk to the paper shop). Anyway, so what do they have to say?
Well first of all, an amusing story of Freddie Shepherd and his righteous and gallant spirit in not pursuing the two million pounds, that he claims the club owes him from his contract when Ashley took over the club in 2007. This is because until Ashley makes indications that he will be here for the forseeable, Shepherd doesn’t want to jeopardise the sale of the club. He’s all heart is Fred…….In the same article from The Sunday Sun, they also mention the latest takeover news but there is no more conclusive evidence of who the ‘new suitors’ are and it’s just speculation that it’s an Indian-based group, as is the suggestion Moat and Sheard have sat down for a chat about poolin’ resources. Just speculation you say? Well it is Sunday. (more…)
Friday night lights!In a game that appears to bear the hallmark of our ‘The Entertainers’ period, with breathtaking attack and heart-attack inducing defending, England U21s nonetheless came out victors with Newcastle’s Andy Carroll playing a starring role in a 6-3 win.
The game was played at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena and a reasonable crowd of 20,000+ turned out to watch the action and saw the youngsters throw away the lead twice before turning the screw on their Macedonian counterparts. Theo Walcott went off with a dead leg and will be a doubt for the full squad for the game against Belarus.
There were a number of good performances in a pulsating affair but some questionable defending which will have left Pearce seething. But of course the main focus for us in the game was young Andy C and he didn’t disappoint with a brace in the second half. (more…)
Isn't it?Well it’s been a busy news day for Newcastle United fans today…….
Literally nothing of note to write up about except for a slightly tardy mention of Barton’s belated ‘olive branch’ to Alan Shearer, after his admission that there was a falling out. More on the story and Joey’s quotes can be found here, but frankly despite my initial support have some of his misdemeanours I think I’ve had enough of him.
Why does he have to keep admitting his mistakes and making his apologies? Because he keeps ****ing up. He has not yet offered enough on the pitch to outweigh the damage he’s done to our reputation, for acts either before we bought him or during his spell here. At times, he’s single-handedly dragged our name through the mud.
In other news, former Newcasle great (ahem) John Barnes has been sacked by Tranmere along with pal Jason McAteer. While our other favourite ex-player Michael Owen has been invited to join the England squad as a guest of Fabio Capello. Obviously he’s mixing with the right crowd these days. (more…)
That sinking feeling...There is growing uncertainty that the sale of Newcastle United will go ahead before the turn of the year, amid increasing fears that Mike Ashley will attempt to ride out another storm of controversy, with a view to maximising his return on the club. As both a cause and effect of the uncertainty is the impermanence of the set-up at the club, right from the top down to the bottom.
Considering the many club staff made redundant in recent months, a squad made up of a number of loanees and a board looking to jump ship at the best opportunity, St James’ still has the feel of a house built on sand. All this despite the good fortune on the green stuff, which is arguably the most important thing to us supporters.
The discomfort comes from not knowing how we would respond to a fundamental change at the top which would surely inevitably have ramifications throughout the rest of the club. We’ve discussed at length on here about the managerial position but what of the other ingredients of a football club? What about the physios and fitness staff who seem less keen to hang around in the current circumstances and would appear to be on rolling contracts? What about the coaching staff who, without promise of longer term prospects, may look elsewhere for a more solid future? (more…)
Here to save the world!With the air thick with takeover talk, real or imaginary, now feels like a good time to throw in a spanner, or two. It is widely acknowledged that, under impossible circumstances, Chris Hughton and his staff have done an astounding job thus far managing Newcastle United. With a pre-season filled with doom-laden mutterings of “Doing a Leeds”, crashing though the divisions and into financial meltdown….while nothing of the sort has transpired. There’s still time yet, of course, but to the untrained eye all in the garden looks rosey.
Let’s make an assumption. Let’s assume that Barry Moat’s bid goes sailing through and, within minutes, we have the mighty Alan Shearer at the helm. How do the collective feel about that? Is he a white knight riding in to save us or an egomaniac sating his need for attention, and doing us more harm in the process? As Stardust (and David Frost on ‘Through the Keyhole’ ) would say….”Let’s look at the facts”.
His managerial record:
Played 8, Won 1, Drew 2, Lost 5.
….it’s not great, it’s not even mediocre. But, is he really to be judged on eight, end-of-season, scrambled bunfights with a dispirited squad, and a ton of behind-the-scenes pressure? Arsene Wenger said, at the time of Shearer’s appointment, that any manager coming in, with 8 games left, and expected to turn things around. Well that man wouldn’t be a manager, he’d be a magician. (more…)
