When the final whistle blew on the 9th May, and the perils of a horrible season on Tyneside were put to bed, I and probably every other Toon fan breathed a quiet sigh of relief that the unthinkable (relegation) had been avoided.
On reflection Sam Allardyce's sacking was the right decision, because it was clear he had lost the dressing room, the players were not playing for him and we were headed in only one direction ie; the Championship.
The contrast between the way I felt this time last year, and the way I feel at the moment with regard to the coming season couldnt be greater.
This time 2007 we had a new manager who was regarded at the time, one of the best in the league and seemed the right choice at the right time for NUFC.
Mike Ashley, a billionaire with an "Ambitious plan for a great club" was finalising his takeover of the club and would "Restore NUFC to the top tier of the EPL". Dreams of an Abramovich type revolution at Newcastle were sweeping the Toon.
Allardyce sold the like of Kieron Dyer, Scott Parker, Sibierski, Solano and brought in a few replacements with a net spend of £5.8m. The takeover and boardroom restructuring meant the manager had to wheel and deal, so to speak.
Kevin Keegan did a fine job in halting the slide and stopping the rot in the second half of the last season, but it was still plainly clear that the squad was not up to competing in the Premier League both in quality and numbers.
His appointment was met with great enthusiasm throughout Tyneside and the memories of the "Entertainers" came flooding back,(all be it briefly).
Keegan took charge on 17th Janurary, with 2 weeks still remaining in the transfer window, Newcastle fans waited eagerly to see who he would bring in to strengthen the squad and add a bit of flair and quality. They were to have a long wait however as no new faces arrived. The explanation given was, the board were reshuffling and Dennis Wise, Jeff Vetere and Tony Jiminez were to form a new scouting network and to oversee squad recruitment.
Jeff Vetere had been previously employed in a similar roll at Real Madrid. I wonder if this was the same man who decided Thomas Graveson was a better player than Claude Makalele and the same man who targeted David Beckham, Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate as good signings for Real?
My mood this summer has never been so negative as I look forward to next season at Newcastle. To date no new recruitments, only rumours of players outgoing. Keegan must be furious and dissappointed at the lack of funds and freedom being afforded him, and lots of fans are feeling the same.
I have been a Newcastle fanatic for 25 years and followed English football closely all my life, I understand the importance of a good youth policy and recruitment for the future, but NUFC have more desperate and important issues with the first team squad that need addressing RIGHT NOW, before we fall even further down the EPL pecking order.
I wonder if it is just coincidence, that for the 3rd transfer window running Newcastle are in the process of boardroom reshuffle with the resignation of Chris Mort as Chairman? Or is it just a convienient distraction from the issue of investment?
I was never Freddie Shepherd's biggest fan, I thought he made a shocking mistake in sacking Sir Bobby Robson, and some terrible appointments thereafter however, he always backed his manager and provided the funds needed to improve the squad and aspire to make Newcastle an attractive and forward-moving club. I am begining to wonder if maybe this is a case of, Better the devil you know than the devil you dont.
Time to put your money where your mouth is "Big Mike" because, buying pints for the Toon Army down the bigg Market wont save you from their wrath should another season like the last one follow.
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3 months ago
Good piece Chris...good to have you back..I recently wrote an article on Newcastle..I think it's worth a read...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/33459-put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is-magpies-tell-mike-ashley
3 months ago
Thanks Salaar, now Euro 2008 has finished maybe we will see some movement in the transfer market.
I doubt however whether many top players will fancy a move to Newcastle looking at the clubs lack of ambition at the moment.
3 months ago
Well we have Spiderman who might have cost us nothing because he activated the webster clause....no pun intended....
2 months ago
Good article Chris.
Sadly, I think it'll be a long time before you see a quality team at Newcastle again. There's been too much reshuffling both at board and management level, and that always has a negative effect on potential signings.
Although you could say that the board aren't providing money, you only have to look at Arsene Wenger and Arsenal's signings to show you can build a great team with very little financing. The major difference is that Arsenal have a great board who believe in letting the manager do the job - something that, sadly, can't be said about the Toon board.
I hope you get something sorted out, as I'll never forget the glory days of Robert, Asprilla, Ferdinand et al - now THERE was a team that every neutral loved to watch play!
from 2 months ago
Thanks Danny.
I am uncomfortable with the set-up of the " 3 WISE MEN ".
Maybe I am old fashioned, but I believe the manager should have complete control when it comes to transfers.
You couldnt imagine Sir Alex putting up with someone coming into his office and saying, " Hey eck, we have seen this boy in Australia play on youtube and he looks the bizz, so we are going to sign him for you okay "
Could you imagine the response? lol!
Ahh, Tino, Beardo, Ginola, Sir Les, them were the days.
2 months ago
Haha, "saw this guy play on Youtube"... quality mate!
But you got it bang on - all the successful teams are the ones that have had stable managers and boards - even when the Glazers took over Manu Utd, they knew they had one of the greatest managers of all time and let him do his job.
Contrast that with Newcastle, Chelsea, Fulham, etc - success will always allude the teams that make too many changes over small amounts of time. Fair enough, Chelsea were successful under Mourinho, but now that Abramovich seems to want to be involved more, you have to wonder what kind of effect it will have, especially with Big Phil onboard!
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