Joe Kinnear Fights Back: Good on Him!

Everyone was surprised when Joe Kinnear was named as Kevin Keegan's temporary replacement as Newcastle manager. It came completely out of the blue.

It was Kinnear who took the job which nobody else wanted, and I respected him for that. Sure, he is being paid a huge amount for his short stint at St James' Park, but in accepting the job, he chose to take on the criticisms that would inevitably come his way.

His recent rant at the media, however, was a more direct way of fighting back.

In his 52 swear word outburst, he must have said everything that most managers think of the press. And well done to him for having the guts to say it.

He knew for a fact that when he went on his rant, his name will be over all the back pages, questioning his sanity and making him out to be the one in the wrong. For those who can see past that, however, it will most likely prove Kinnear's point.

Lies about clubs are printed every day in newspapers, and Newcastle have been the main topic on the back pages recently. With Joe Kinnear's surprise appointment adding to the things to discuss, the papers had themselves a gold mine.

I myself criticised the appointment. I still believe it wasn't a good appointment, not because the players won't respect him, but because he had been out of the game for so long. The appointment was more Mike Ashley's fault, for want of a better word, than Kinnear's.

Kinnear took the job no other manager wanted. People said it was a desperate man finding a desperate club. But when Kevin Keegan was appointed as Newcastle manager after also having a few years out, he was hailed as the Messiah who would turn Newcastle's fortunes around.

Kinnear faced the impossible of winning over the press, and was a victim of Newcastle's troubles.

He was slated by almost everyone, myself included, and he has, rightly, fought back. He hasn't taken charge of a game yet and we are already writing off his chances. Some Newcastle fans were cursing his arrival, but he has merely joined a sinking ship with the sole intent to drag it back up.

If Kinnear hadn't spoken out, the media would have ensured that he was remembered as the worst Newcastle manager in the club's history, whether or not his games in charge reflected this.

So I say a big congratulations to Joe Kinnear for standing up for himself!