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Are Newcastle The Old ManYoo?
I don't support NUFC, I'm not from the North East and in fact my only link with that part of the world is a boxed set of Likely Lads on DVD and an abiding admiration for James Bowlam.
But I am utterly mystified by the crowing, snidey and triumphalist emails from (mainly) ManYoo fans about the demise of the Toon.
They are accused of having a succession of crap managers (AKA Messiahs). Err... Wilf McGuinness, Frank O'Farrell, Dave Sexton, Tommy Docherty and Ron Atkinson anyone?
They are accused of having deluded fans with an overblown sense of
their team's importance. This from Manchester United supporters? Folk who redefine the term 'unwarranted arrogance'.
They are accused of thinking themselves a 'Big' club.
Well for all you Guildford, oops sorry Salford Reds out there, Newcastle United IS a big club. The club has been run badly and suffered the consequences, but being relegated doesn't make it small and insignificant. In 1974, something equally dreadful happened to a big club, but it bounced back and is now doing rather well.
I hope NUFC are back in the PL as soon as possible.
Steve ynwa
Summing Up On Misery
A few points on Newcastle this miserable Tuesday morning...
1) Although I do not doubt that the majority of the squad do not give a toss about Newcastle United, I'm not sure that is the reason for the failure to produce a single shot on target in that entire second half. They simply aren't good enough.
2) So much for Alan Shearer walking into a "no-lose" situation! It seems he is taking plenty of blame, especially in the football365 forum, for our relegation - which is ludicrous.
3) I'm sorry Damien, but we don't want you to stay next season!
4) Judging from the number of idiots walking around in next season's Newcastle shirt, the morons queuing up for his autograph a few weeks back and the lack of protest on Sunday, it looks as if Newcastle fans have forgiven and forgotten. I'm embarrassed.
5) Let's pray that Shearer does stay on next season. One look at the list of Ashley's managerial appointments would make anyone think that Ashley perhaps doesn't know what he's doing! If not Shearer next season, who on earth would we end up with instead? I'm thinking Bryan Robson or Gerry Francis.
6) Take a pay-cut and stay, or leave. Anyone who refuses to go with either option should be named, shamed, and dropped to the reserves. I know players were given those contracts and are entitled to see out the remaining years, but so what? Get rid.
7) I'm not sure how Michael Owen sleeps at night.
8) If we start next season with Shola Ameobi as one of our starting strikers I think I am going to kill myself.
9) Michael Chopra, David Nugent, Kevin Phillips (I know), Simon Cox - Just a few realistic names who could potentially score the goals to send us back up next season...
10) Will next season see a full blown touchline fist fight between Alan Shearer and Roy Keane? My money's on Shearer and his tag team partner Dowie.
Tom Fitzgerald
...So talk this morning is that Shearer will sign on the dotted line, and will have complete control over the squad. Whilst I am relatively happy with this in theory, a few thoughts will not leave my head...
1) Why would Shearer possibly sign on for four years? I would prefer him to stay for one year with an option to stay, IF the club is going in the right direction. There are two reasons for this, one is that Shearer might be the wrong man and we will have another managers contract to pay up. The second is that if we have another nightmare scenario, then Shearer will have to keep quiet on any details, like a certain Kevin Keegan.
2) Why could Ashley not have accepted he was being stubborn, you know just before we played Hull at home (and decided to implode). Keegan managed three premier league game this year and achieved 12% of our points total, in 8% of our games (which included man u and arsenal away). This is the reason we went down.
3) If we have now moved away from the joke of a management system we had last year, then why haven't we had Ashley, Llambias or any other suit tell us this? One press statement, one interview, anything. Steve Gibson of Boro is on the radio tonight in the North East. Is our PR team made up of Ashley? If not then are they all complete morons?
Gary (can't wait for Blackpool away mind), Newcastle
Shearer Isn't The Man To Save Toon
The various online sports pages today all suggest that Alan Shearer will be given the chance to manage Newcastle in the Championship next season, which represents the latest misguided blind panic emanating from the Toon. It looks like Mike Ashley will give Shearer the opportunity to rebuild the club and reshape them into a promotion winning outfit and Shearer, despite being totally out of his depth, will take the job. This will be as mad a decision as giving him the job in the first place with eight games to go.
What did qualities did Shearer exhibit during his eight game tenure to suggest he could get Newcastle back up? They won one game in that run - against Boro, who were already below them. However, the wretched form and slump of Hull offered them a lifeline - which Shearer must have been able to see - and they didn't take it. They should have targeted Hull as the team to overhaul; in retrospect, only one point from their last two games was needed to keep them up, but he couldn't inspire them to do that. Granted, he had a pretty useless bunch of individuals masquerading as NUFC players but he still couldn't get them to dig deep and pull themselves over the line.
Before the games last Saturday, Newcastle were out of the bottom three but then slipped into it after losing to Fulham and Hull's point at Bolton. However, I would argue they had the easiest game this weekend - away to a Villa side on almost a worst slump than they were on, whilst Hull and Sunderland were home to Man Utd and Chelsea, teams they were never going to beat, even allowing for Fergies "kids". The outcome ? A limp surrender against Villa and an end to 16 years in the top division.
The Championship is a very difficult league to get out of and Newcastle need an experienced manager with knowledge of the teams in it, not a so called "Messiah" who has spent most of the last few years sitting on his a**e in a comfortable TV studio watching Premiership teams. However, decisions in football are rarely based on logic or common sense, so I predict that Shearer will be given the job in the same blaze of glory that ensued when he was appointed two months ago. I will also predict that Newcastle will finish outside the automatic places and play off places next season and Shearer will then resign, his glorious Tyneside career tarnished for ever.
The man to resurrect Newcastle ? Steve Coppell...
Peter Nunez
A Newcastle Fan In Bath, Not The Bath
After the inevitable happened yesterday with Newcastle offering another pathetic showing despite Man Utd Reserves' reserves doing us a huge favour, I started to think about the future for this once-competent-ish club. So here is a list of what I would do right now if I were Alan Shearer:
1. Sign a 2-year contract for bugger all basic wage, with most of my income based on performance targets, promotion being the obvious big fat juicy one. If I truly love the club and want to get us back to the top flight immediately then I won't be taking away from my own rebuilding funds by demanding a fat wage packet when I'm already a multi-millionaire.
2. Ditch almost the entire coaching staff and start again. Obviously this could possibly take a fair bit of cash, but if it's at all possible then it should be done. Clearly there's a big problem going right down to the roots of the club, so the more we can change out, the better. Replace them with young, motivated, qualified coaches from clubs in the Championship and below, minimizing cost, and to create a culture of growing the club together.
3. Put the entire playing squad up for transfer. They're clearly not good enough and on the basis of this year wouldn't compete in the Championship, so out with everyone. As for fees in, I agree with the commentaries so far that have said we don't have many saleable assets, but Habib Beye, Sebastien Bassong, Jonas Gutierrez, and Obafemi Martins could all command a decent fee, and will have top-flight clubs interested in them. As for the rest, I'm sure one of the promoted teams (or Hull) will be thick enough to take them off our hands for minimal fees.
4. Go through the youth team and see who can make the grade for next season. I think we have Tim Krul, Tamas Kadar, Ben Tozer, Kazenga LuaLua, and Andy Carroll who have a chance of making it (off the top of my head).
5. Get some Premier League youngsters on loan. As Man Utd showed at the weekend, there's a lot of quality youth floating around the reserves of the big clubs, and I'm sure they'd relish the chance of first team action at a club who will be amongst the biggest in the Championship next season.
6. Start working on a new system as soon as pre-season training starts again. Get the players passing the ball and playing attractive football. We need to play better stuff, or we'll have no chance of getting the fans in in the Championship. If we can get 40,000+ every home game that would help to alleviate the financial problems we'll undoubtedly face, and having some decent football to watch would definitely help that.
7. Force the club to publicly apologise to Sir Bobby Robson. I'm ashamed of how we treated him, and never wanted him gone, but it's important to show the world that the club and everyone associated agrees with this.
8. Get the fat buggers to put their shirts on.
Okay, so the last one might be fanciful, but let's hope that whoever is the manager next season at least attempts a few of the previous.
Alex K, NUFC Fan in Bath
Not Such A Wise Move
Newcastle were relegated because they chose Wise over Keegan. Up until
that point no one even thought they would go down, and they were looking quite tidy. Collocini and Gutierrez looked like decent buys, Owen, when fit, was having success as a withdrawn striker, and the players looked like they gave a crap.
It's easy to take a pop at Keegan, but for all his flaws they wouldn't have gone down if he'd been left to manage the team. He asked for a defender and they signed him Xisco, which Wikipedia tells me is their seventh choice forward. For all the talk of him bottling and doing a runner, it's clear that the boardroom weren't supporting him properly, but instead backed Wise as Director of Football.
Dave H (LFC)
In The Know
Just a quick riposte to AJP's letter, Barca's available defenders are: Sylvinho, Martin Caceres, Gerard Pique, Carlos Puyol, and it is in that order that they'll most likely line up across the back
Mani, Blackpool
...The buzz around Barcelona is that Yaya Touré (arguably the best defensive midfielder in La Liga, and certainly a major part of Barca's success this season) will be slotting back to central defence; Puyol and Sylvinho would take the flanks as Pique will definitely be the other central defender.
That said, I do not like the thought of Ronaldo or Rooney attacking Sylvinho all night long...there is a good reason why Barca bought Dani Alves.
Another thing...despite amassing like 1,000,000 goals this season, Barca are only going to finish on a maximum 89 points this season, which would not have been enough to win the Premier League... so they are maybe something of a flat track bully, and I add beating Real to that list, as Real have let in 50 - 50! - goals this season. To put that in context, Huelva (who are going down), let in 55.
Now, I sincerely hope Barca beat Man Utd in the final, but on past and present form, weighing up the strengths of the very top clubs in the two leagues at the current moment and also due to the fact that the Blaugrana's already average defence is going to be quite patchy, it would take a brave man to bet on this.
Philip Law
The Wrong Kind Of Bottom Ten
Ten of the teams in the Premier League next year will be Wigan, Bolton, Sunderland, Hull, Burnley, Blackburn, Wolves, Birmingham, Stoke and Portsmouth. If I can find a bookie offering odds against these ten making up the bottom half of the final 09/10 table, it's a mortgage job in my opinion.
Given that the top six has now been the same for two years, has the predictability of the Prem reached a new level?
Neil Raines
...Before the euphoria of Rome sets in, just a quick thought on next season's relegation battle. Now the mighty Hull and Stoke have stayed up, exploding the myth of promoted teams struggling in the premier league, will more established teams be in danger next year?
Will a summer of Allardyce signings help or hinder Blackburn (see Newcastle: Reasons for Relegation for answers), will Sunderland be able to attract the quality attacking players whose absence is a major reason why their neighbours have been relegated? Will Portsmouth continue their decline, perhaps after losing a few more key players in the summer?
This summer looks at the outset to be a defensive one in the transfer market for many clubs that struggled this year, with the likes of Blackburn, Portsmouth, Wigan and Sunderland all battling to hold on to their key players. This may give the well-managed and well-run newly promoted clubs a greater chance than ever of staying up this year, if they can get it right in the transfer market.
Kevin, Tipp native in Melbourne
Praise For Strachan
Whilst I'm aware that many Celtic fans are delighted to see the back of Gordon Strachan, I'd just like to thank him for all he's done at the club over the last 4 years.
Despite having less money for transfers than Martin O'Neill had, Strachan made some fantastic buys in Nakamura, Boruc, Brown, Caldwell, Hinkel, McDonald and VOH. He took the club to the last 16 of the Champions League on two occasions, with memorable victories over Man Utd and AC Milan along the way. He was also the first Celtic manager to win the league 3 times in a row since Jock Stein. As much as I, and all Celtic fans, admire Martin O'Neill, these are two things he failed to achieve.
So, cheers Gordon. Shame you had to go because a few failed to recognise your achievements.
Connor (Moyes for Parkhead!) O'Hanlon
...I'm writing in about Gordon Strachan's departure from Celtic Park. I cannot see why so many of our fans wanted him to leave. Admittedly he made strange decisions in old firm matches but at the end of the day he won 3 titles out of 4 and helped as advance to the last 16 of the Champions League, a feat we had never achieved before, twice. He arguably did better than O'Niel.
What worries me is what happens next. If whoever takes up the reigns does well then brilliant. However if we get a Le Guin type manager who completely flops what will we do? we'll wish for the days under Strachan and then realise how lucky we were. I just hope we don't turn into a Newcastle and stop the club from achieving due to our ridiculously high expectations.
I do realise that Strachan resigned however I feel this was down to the harsh treatment by the fans.
Joe McAweaney- Hoping for Moyes
Blame Ole
I was re-reading Pete Gill's Premier League Winners and Losers article, and especially the part about the Premier League being a loser, with the ability of the big 4 to keep and manage large squads of players, many of whom would walk into any other team in the league, but seem to be content to spend large amounts of their time on the bench and picking up their (very large) paychecks, all in the name of "winning something". I was wondering when this attitude set in and after discussing with a few mates we came up with one name:
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
A player who would have been a guaranteed starter for just almost any club in the Premier League, but who was prepared to sit on the bench and largely be used as a super sub, admittedly scoring many crucial goals for his club.
Was that the time when the attitude of players changed and rather than wanting to play the game every week, and not being satisfied with a place on the bench, they decided to look at "winning something" as more important?
What do you chose? Play 30+ games for Tottenham/Aston Villa/Everton and win nothing, play 10 games for Man United/Chelsea and get a Premier League Winner's Medal?
Thomas
May 26, 1989
Its been 20 years today since the greatest end of a season in history.
Happy St Michael Of Thomas Day everyone.
Jools The Gooner
Grammar And ***t
Adam not find it ironic that he's having a hilarious pop at Arsenal fans' ability to punctuate correctly when he begins his message with "Re: MOTD on Sunday night".
Admittedly the semi-colon should be hyphenated but otherwise he gets an A for grammar; proving that being thick as s**t isn't an essential credential for a football supporter.
His is, I fear, a s**t correspondence, and he knows it is.
Teacher's Pet (notice the grave accent in Arsène, mutha fuka), Gooner in Cambridge
Keeping Hansen's Defence
Wayne, Manchester. It's not only a question of how many goals 'Boro conceded over the entire season though, is it? Had Brad Jones made just 2 more saves against West Ham, they would have been equal on points to Hull. Schwarzer would have saved at least 1 of those. Admittedly they'd still have gone down on goal difference, making your point about not scoring enough goals valid, but still... that's just one game.
Despite being an Everton fan, I actually value what Hansen has to say, especially compared to Lawrenson, Shearer etc.
Jethro Shepherd
Ouch
Good to see that Sheffield Utd are going to use the Tevez cash wisely. All that money saved not having an open top bus!
So Sean Bean, who are you going to blame this year?
Up the Hammers!
MC, Brentwood
And Finally...
If it's not ok for Fabregas to go on the pitch after the final whistle because he didn't take part in the game and was wearing a hoody, what's Phil Brown's opinion on non-players entering the pitch after a game and performing a full blown karaoke!?
Jay, Acton
