Will Newcastle ever learn?
Posted by JamesB in Newcastle | 13 April 2006
This article is a submission from Newcastle fan Neil Crossley, who will probably be writing some more for us over the coming weeks.
The management has a multitude of drivers, but not one of them appears to want to take the exit marked “St. James’ Park”. Why this is, we can only hazard a guess, as the way there is clearly marked:
“Wanted – one manager, good pedigree, good psychology, good track record, standing in the game of note.” roundabout
As the number of people going round this roundabout dwindles, with Guus Hiddink the latest to ignore the road to the North East, this time in favour of an all expenses paid trip (thanks, Roman) to Moscow, so the furrowed brows of the Geordie folk deepen.
It all started so brightly one forgettable night/unforgettable morning in February as the chairman of our club decided, after 16 months of varying sizes of failure, to drop the axe on possibly the worst manager we’ve ever seen here. The timing seemed to be ok – we were still in the cup and there was a list as long as your arm of decent managers who all ticked the biggest box on Freddy Shepherds list – zero compensation, as so many were (yes, were) unemployed. Where do we begin? The much touted Paul Le Guen, triple Championnat winner with the mighty Lyon. Ottmar Hitzfeld, double Champions League winner, with both Dortmund and Bayern. Guus Hiddink, double World Cup semi finalist with South Korea and Holland, no less. Martin O’Neill, much lauded Scottish Prem and League Cup double winner. Luis Felipe Scolari, the Portugal managaer with an outstanding pedigree looking for pastures more, erm, English. It all looked so bright. However, for a reason I cannot figure out, we all overlooked one decidedly negative factor in all this – Mr. Shepherd.....
One by one they have fallen by the wayside. First up was the Hitzfeld ‘campaign’ – I’m sure someone reading this is aware of, at least, the internet belief in Ottmar. Shepherd, however, had other ideas:
“But I can state here and now that there has been no approach to Hitzfeld and there are no plans to approach him”
From the horses’ mouth, ladies and gents….Personally speaking, this sentence has left me the coldest and remained with me throughout this sorry saga. I mean, heaven forbid NUFC should be linking themselves with a Champions League winning legend……Oh dear. One down, but at least Paul Le Guen is still undecided on his Rangers future. Until, of course, he opts for Ibrox – home of Nacho Novo, Barry Ferguson and, erm, some others, because the powers that be….sorry, POWER that IS at SJP decides against even asking him to consider managing Michael Owen, Emre, Scott Parker, etc. Two down.
All the while Martin O’Neill sits atop any tree of “favourites”, with constant backing not only from Mr. William Hill, Mr. Paddy Power and the rest, but also the clear assertion from the Evening Chronicle (Alan Oliver, to be precise) that he is Sheps man. Great, but isn’t this a two-way thing? Back to that in a moment – Guus Hiddink is still available. Well, obviously not as you read this – he has, as said earlier, announced he’s off to Russia to do a part time job. I’m sure the Rubles are good, but did we even try? Don’t answer – it’s too depressing.
So here we sit, with Martin O’Neill the only man left on our pathetic roundabout. And every time he goes round, he passes closer and closer to the exit marked “England”. Barwick wants him and Shepherd wants him. Problem is that one is a petty minded, over-confident scrap metal salesman who thinks he gets whatever he wants. The other, of course, is ultimately responsible for the England job. Now, call me crazy, but it doesn’t take a genius to work out what the likely outcome is here. Hitzfeld is off to manage Germany after the long-overdue sacking of Klinsmann, Eriksson will bow to the powers that be(ckham) and manage Real Madrid – I’m sure it pays ok. And who are we left with? Oh look – we’re down to 5th choice again. Step up Curbs, Bruce and Jewell. But here’s the crux of the problem: we have seen this all before. The man who in 1997 managed to annoy Keegan enough for him to go, the man who appointed Gullit, Dalglish and Souness, the man who sacked THREE managers directly after the Summer transfer window shuts is STILL sat taking £3m a year out of the club. We may well get annoyed if and when a fourth choice is appointed, but what are we going to do? Hit him where it hurts, boycott matches and demo outside the ground? Or whine on message boards….
We’ll do what we’ve done consistently under Shepherd – bend over and take it. In return, he’ll throw OUR cash at Luque, Owen, Cort, Viana and any manner of other average players in return for your inexhaustible loyalty. He’ll do it, because we buy it. And when it invariably goes tits up under the next obvious loser? Step up Mr. Alan Shearer, to save the day. And by ‘day’, I of course mean ‘the skin of an ill-equipped, ill-informed chairman’. One day we may actually learn something about the way this man operates. Sadly, that day won’t come while this impossibly poor chairman remains. If balancing the books and nothing else makes a chairman ‘great’, then I’ll sit down. However, I won’t be pulling my chair up just yet…….
Comments
I think this article is stupid. Newcastle want a top manager, but all the top managers are waiting to see what opportunities will arrive over the summer. No-one is going to join them at the moment, so Newcastle have to wait.
Independently Hitzfield has said he's not interested in the Newcastle job, so why bother to approach him?
Newcastle have to accept, they are no longer the draw they were 5 years ago. If they get Paul Jewell, they should be thankful. A young manager who might turn out OK, is a better bet than a high level discard taking the job as their sixth option.
Surely even Mr. Shepherd is no longer convinced by the staggeringly mediocre Steve Bruce.
The problem with Shepard is he owns over 25% of the shares. Whether he resigns or not the new Chairman would have to be big enough to challenge Fred in the decision making at boardroom level. Unless someone actually puts up the millions to buy him and the Halls out there can be no change. Probably the best the fans can hope for is Martin O'Neil and I'm confident that despite the chairman's pathetic record of appointments this would be a good one. If he fails to bring in O'neil and we end up with another second rate appointment then this time there should be an organised attempt by those who pay for the club to oust Shepard.
A lucid and excellent but depressing article and not in the least "stupid" as Mr. Marshall asserts.
We do not wish to become like Aston Villa, a club shackled by it's own lack of ambition nor do we wish to return to the mediocrity which blighted our club and could have destroyed it.
We need to keep progressing and that requires the best personnel so in my opinion the calibre of manager that Mr. Crossley referred to the Hiddink's, Hitzfeld's etc. should definitely have been approached after all nothing ventured nothing gained.
When will Shepherd ever learn?
Great article. We are being held back by the current regime. Its time you removed the blinkers Mr. Shepherd and employ people who are real football folk. NUFC must broaden their outlook and be brought up to date by coaches who have the knowledge of Hiddink and Hitzfeld. Some time ago Shepherd stated that the club would be restructured from top to bottom. That restructuring has yet to start. The club continues to float along on the back of its wonderful support and that same supports hard earned cash. Come on Mr. Shepherd make our club proud again, and stop serving up 2nd, 3rd or 4th best. Appoint a coach and staff that are knowledgable in world football, and have them scour the globe for the bst young talent. Instead of attempting quick fix signings, the majoity of which come with inflated egos transfer fees and wage packets. YOUR PUBLIC AWAITS.
