This just about sums things up...

If you have seen the news recently regarding parachute payments, you may have also heard that many clubs originally were against the proposal, mainly those who were in league’s one and two. It could appear that the football league has somewhat been bullied into accepting this offer, and the implications of such a deal could create a number of problems for teams in the football league by creating a much larger gap between the leagues and also giving a lot of teams an easy way out. You may have read something I wrote recently regarding the situation at future Championship dwellers Portsmouth and their money problems, and although it would appear that the Premiership is attempting to follow the trend of money in football, it would appear they’re almost encouranging teams to build up more risk and spend more money to have a shot at the Premiership, when in truth they should be going in the opposite direction and making it so that clubs don’t have to spend ridiculous amounts of money in order to compete in leagues once they are promoted. This season should have been a wake up call, but instead it hasn’t.

You may have heard lately claims that Newcastle United have no desire to spend in the summer after a confusing statement was released by the club’s board, and much of the media have reported it in this way after reading the statement ‘there is no plan for new capital outlay’. The statement is extremely hard to read and there is an altered version here from George Caulkin which may be a better read for you, but what that statement supposedley means is that Newcastle do not plan on spending money they don’t have – e.g: no paying in installments, such has been the way of football in the past several decades. And this is the way football should be, because you see teams like West Ham and Hull in the Premiership who have spent ridiculous amounts of money and then realised that they don’t have those funds, and what success did they gain? They both fought a relegation battle and one got relegated. There is pressure from the fans today to spend money and bring players in, but this has been created due to the nature and culture of the clubs that has been created over the past few years and now there are a number of what would be considered badly managed businesses. Man Utd and Liverpool have a ridiculous amount of debt, now Liverpool aren’t in the Champions League next season, it would appear that things can only get worse. Newcastle are a club that are famous for spending vast amounts of sums in the Premiership, and before Ashley took over they were destined to go into administration, in one facebook group dedicated to rubbish Premiership players, I believe one person described Newcastle as ‘the king’s of rubbish Premiership players’. It is good to see that there is a change in emphasis, but there is still a fear that the gap between the two leagues due to the money being spent by a number of sides could see them relegated once again, as there is too much pressure to spend money.

But the best example I can give you is West Bromich Albion, who have again been promoted this season. They’ve been promoted and relegated for a number of seasons now, and they’ve never really spent a massive amount of money other clubs have once they have been promoted, with most of the same board in place I don’t expect them to do so this season either. But why is it fair that West Brom who are a club that spend their money correctly and have a manageable debt can’t compete, against a load of clubs that are spending money they don’t have in chase of an unrealistic dream, and the thing is, the majority of these teams are eventually crumbling. Sheffield Wednesday chairman Lee Strafford made a point of this before his team was relegated at the hands of Crystal Palace, and although he didn’t exactly say that they should be relegated as the Guardian quoted, he did make a point of there needing to be greater punishments for clubs and I agree with this only to scare them into not taking up unmanageable risk and if they do, they will just face the consequences.

Now that the parachute payments have doubled, it means teams that are relegated have a greater chance to establish themselves in the league, thus diminishing a league one sides potential at competing in the Championship. It is also encouranging clubs to spend ridiculous amounts of money they don’t have, safe in the knowledge that they will get that money. The biggest danger is that all of a sudden the English leagues get split into two, and although there will always be a gap between the Championship and the Premiership, a huge gap between league one and the Championship could spell disaster for the English game. Imagine if you supported a team in league one or league two, what would your dream be for your club? I bet it would be to some day see your side play in the top flight of English football, but these changes could make that unlikely. The greatest possibility of achieving this would be guess what? Spending loads of money the club does not have. I’m not saying don’t give teams parachute payments, they’re necessary for the game and they were at the right level before this game, but the Premier League’s obsession with being ‘the best league in the world’ is starting to hurt English football a bit now. At the least, clubs should be encouraged not to spent wild amounts of money they don’t have, if anything for the fans who will ultimately just suffer in the end. Germany is a prime example of how finances should be controlled in football, but I fear that this approach will never be taken in this country unless something terrible happens in order to force the hierarchy. This unfortantley is bad news for much of the English game.

The right sort of passion

In Europe, following a football team can be a lot like gaining another sibling. You even see in places like Argentina, where money is scarce, people will come out to see their team and live every moment of their season no matter what. And that statement is never truer if you support a team in the lower leagues that may be seen as ‘unfashionable’, when comparing them to the likes of Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. Yet because the team isn’t ‘successful’ in any way, that doesn’t mean passion is any less in quantity, and some would argue that these fans have more commitment and feelings for their club.

If you have read some of my past articles, you will know I follow Newcastle United; a team with a rather large fan base considering the club hasn’t won any silverware since 1969. Considering recent events in the past few seasons, they may no longer appear to be a team that could draw a neutral supporter in yet despite troubles and relegation to the Championship, the club still has an average attendance that is larger than a lot of Premiership teams and has just about sold every away ticket up for grab this season. The Geordies love their club, I love my club; the team is central to the city and football is in the blood of people from the North East. Yet a lot of people don’t understand the supporters and I’ve heard a lot of people criticize how at times the fans lack insight and can even be some times ignorant. I’ve always stood up for my fellow Geordies, but i’m struggling this time.

I was listening to Toon Talk, which is a call in forum for all things Newcastle United, and I had to write in myself so I could get a point across which was met with agreement by the hosts and something that a lot of other people had realised too. To bring you to the point, here are some facebook status’ by ‘loyal’ followers who I am friends with after some of Newcastle’s recent games:

‘yet another crap display of football.’

‘Newcastle… You are an embarrassment!’

‘Wey what a waste of me time watching the toon, yet again dissapointing!’

That’s just three of the people I know (I won’t state names) who apparently were not too happy with some of Newcastle’s recent performances. Newcastle have been on a poor run of late, no doubt about that, yet statements like the above I find ludicrous. Yes the team hasn’t been getting win after win like we were earlier in the season, but as things stand we are top of the table and we’ve managed to do that with a squad that is a bit on the short side (albeit we’ve been blessed with injuries in the first half of the season). Please do not take this as me attacking all the Newcastle fans, I know for a fact that the majority of fans (as you can find out listening to Toon Talk) are realists and won’t jump on the teams back at the first time of asking.

Now I hear an abundance of people who are complaining at some of the signings we are making, saying they’re just ‘average’ championship players. Leon Best has been targeted by some and already written off as a poor piece of business. This is one of the worst aspects of football I believe – the fans that will write players off before they’ve even had a chance. I won’t judge Best until I’ve seen him in black and white stripes and I believe he is a great signing for the level we are at. Some of these fans have delusions that we should be getting the big names in and singing players for the Premiership. We are in the Championship and we’ve made six great signings that will add to our already impressive team. On the same day as signing Best we have got rid of Geremi – an awful acquisition who was bought more on reputation than ability and someone who had a hefty wage. In hindsight Newcastle United paid £700,000 for a player who was my hero when I first started supporting the Toon – Rob Lee. If a similar signing was made today I’m pretty sure these part time supporters would lambaste the decision as an aberration to the clubs ambition.

Like I said before, I am not saying this accounts for the whole of the Toon faithful, only a minority that will talk the talk and turn up to the odd home game when they can be bothered. If you’re passionate about your team you will know the type of fan I’m talking about for your team. It goes for all football clubs, every team has supporters like this – I only singled out Newcastle because they are my team and it’s something that has become apparent recently. The real supporters, the travelling away fans (and the level 7 corner at St. James!), will follow their team with all their heart and usually wish the best for every player and will focus more on the teams success than potential downfalls. The likes of those mentioned as deluded in this article are the sort of people that will leave the game 10 minutes early to ‘beat the traffic’ or if their team is 0-3 down. I’m not saying you have to be a fanatic – just not to be so negative without cause.

Some times optimism isn’t an option (take Portsmouth for example at the moment – I’m pretty sure no one would deny one of their fans having a moan at the current situation) but let’s face it – we’re top of the league by four points.

Less complaining – more backing the team!

Don't make the same mistakes of the past...

In a weekend hit by weather misery here in the UK thanks to the government’s clear lack of contingency, Derby did manage to get their game against Scunthorpe United kicked off but in hindsight would rather they’d followed the lead of many of the other English clubs decision. The Irons battered Derby 4-1 at Pride Park thanks to a lot of lack lustre defending from the Rams as home fans watched their side crumble from start to finish. Although Derby (who were 2-0 down at half time) did get back into the game after half time, largely down to the introduction of the coveted Kris Commons, they lacked any sort of commitment and were often statues when Scunthorpe pressured them. Listening to BBC radio five live phone in the evening I heard one Derby fan e-mail in his disgruntlement at Nigel Clough’s management of the team and suggested that he wasn’t capable of taking the club forward. Derby fans seem divided on Clough but I personally think he deserves time. You can say “you don’t know what it’s like being a fan of this football club” but I have my reasons.

All season Derby have had a depleted squad and that isn’t just through injuries. There has been some confusion over the American investors of the club and what they have actually offered the club. General Sports & Entertainment Ltd have so far provided little in substantial funds for the Rams and Clough and the wage bill has been constantly slashed. The threat of financial troubles over Derby seems to be present all to often in the clubs recent history, Billy Davies (who is now manager of bitter rivals Nottingham Forrest) quit after getting the club to the premiership due to the boards reluctance to provide funds for new players. That wasn’t the USA group that currently own the club either, so the club needs some serious investment to balance the books.

This past summer the club sold a number of players and brought few in for as little as possible, a definite move to slash the wage budget at the club. Fans have been unhappy with the signing of Jake Buxton, a player who was a key figure in Burton Albion’s climb up the leagues when Clough was in charge and in all honesty has struggled to adapt to the pace of a much higher league. This January could be a tough one for the team, with a number of fellow league teams aware of Derby’s clearout, particularly Wolves and Ipswich keeping an eye on Kris Commons and Jay McEveley respectively.

Then there are the issue of injuries and older players. Robbie Savage is 35 now and although a prominent figure in the football league I don’t think he can play at this level any more. But who to replace him with? Lee Henrie who is injury prone and also getting on in years? I don’t think so but that is what Clough has to work with and he doesn’t have much choice because money talks loudest in football. If you were in Clough’s position, sure it doesn’t look great that you’re just above the relegation zone but wouldn’t you want sympathy because of the resources available to you? Also look at Kris Commons coming back into the Derby fold all of a sudden, looking dangerous and confident; Clough has been hit by a number of injuries to key players.

It should be reminded that Clough only got Burton promoted in his fourth season at the club and that was after the club had sorted itself out and was finally able to pour a little money in. Four years might seem a long time but that’s what it can take in this business and Derby definitely need some sorting out. Clough is just trying to battle this situation out and I believe he’s doing a great job at it, last season Derby narrowly avoided relegation thanks to Clough coming in and managing a poorly formed side created by Paul Jewell. So far I don’t think Clough has been given any substantial funds to buy players since he’s been in charge.

Its frustrating being at the bottom of the table and seeing your side lose games but that is just the cards you’re dealt. Derby don’t have the depth or talent the likes of Newcastle, West Brom or Cardiff have and that’s why they are in the situation they are in. Sacking Clough does nothing to solve that problem, it’s just a difficult period and the club needs investment from somewhere else. I know the Derby fans are some of the most passionate supporters I’ve met and I hope that they can see it from this viewpoint as well. An already stretched wage bill will delve more into the red if you sack Clough and his back room staff and then bring in someone else. Would someone else really make the situation better? I don’t think so. We all know what the last Clough achieved after leaving Derby over an arguement over funds…

It's that time again!

I remember when the January transfer window first came to football. Forgive me if I can’t remember the exact year but I remember FIFA decided that it was a good idea to help all the small clubs hold onto their top players for larger parts of a season. Nobody could have predicted the level of insanity and inflated pricing that it would have brought, but now January is a special time for football fans; almost like Christmas in the footballing world. Especially the last two days where we see all the panic buys, prompting many of us to ask why managers didn’t use the previous 30 days available to them – but that would be silly wouldn’t it? Just about every team in the Championship could arguably do with strengthening in the first month of the year and it will be interesting to see who is welcomed to the league and who we will be saying goodbye to:

Barnsley:

Mark Robbins has done a fine job so far but his biggest desire will most likely be a striker and Billy Sharp has been one of the names thrown around. Sheffield United may well want return him from his loan at Doncaster so they can cash in, but expect Yorkshire rivals to try all they can told hold onto their top player this season. Barnsley have agreed to extend the loan deals of Stoke players Ryan Shotton and Carl Dickinson so Robbins will be delighted that have those players as options. As far as departures, no major players have been rumoured to be leaving the club so watch this space.

Blackpool:

How much ambition does the Blackpool board have? Playoff contenders Blackpool have surprised many this season but they still have a lot of work to do. They’ve already supposedly failed to sign Roman Torres and there’s been and Holloway has admitted that players will only be coming in if they have the right character. No offers have come in for their players yet, but few would be surprised if some clubs tested the Seasider’s resolve on in form midfielder Charlie Adam; a player who has been a joy to watch all season.

Bristol City:

Not to look too much into anyones personal life but does anyone else think there was a heated Christmas affair at the Johnson household? Lee Johnson, son of Robbins manager Gary Johnson, has left the club for the injury struck Derby, on an original one-month loan deal; guess it wasn’t a Merry Christmas for all of us. The club is currently in a defensive crisis, so City fans should expect Christian Ribeiro to return to the club from his loan spell at Stockport. Targets have been discussed this week, but Johnson will no doubt be disappointed to learn that he must fund himself this month by selling players first.

Cardiff City:

Peter Ridsdale will become the most unpopular chairman in the country for a second time if he is lying about the club’s potential administration possibility, but Cardiff do need to strengthen their team if they want to keep up with those around them. Fabian Delph is thought to be high on Dave Jones’ list, as a midfielder appears to be the priority for this month. Villa don’t seem keen on loaning out young star Delph but there is no doubt that Cardiff will enquire and if they can bag the player in on loan it could allow another player to come in at the same time as Jones has been promisd £3 million to spend. Bristol Rovers star Chris Lines has also been touted, a player who’s contract is up at the end of the season; the right bid may be too good to turn down as Rovers will not want to risk losing him for nothing. An unusually quiet window in terms of rumours for Joe Ledley may be explained by new kid on the block Adam Matthews, who is courting interest from big teams such as Manchester United and Arsenal. Let’s see if the Bluebirds can hold on.

Coventry City:

It’s common practice for English clubs to raid the Irish leagues these days, and Coventry have moved quickly to snap up Gary Deegan. Richard Woods and Chris Hussey have made their loan moves permanent, business Chris Coleman is delighted with and their is a move in the pipe line for league one stand out Carl Baker who has impressed many this season. It certainly appears as if Coleman is doing all he can to fight off the relegation threat to the club and we may even expect more new arrivals at the Ricoh arena. Coleman will not be happy however to hear that Sunderland have an eye on goalkeeper Kieran Westwood and the club must do everything in their power to keep one of the leagues top goalkeepers.

Crystal Palace:

Will any money be spent? No. Palace have struggled to find the green stuff this season and a team that was already quite inexperienced may get even more so by the end of the window. Palace are even in danger of losing their manager Neil Warnock as he eyes up the chance to manage league counterparts Sheffield Wednesday. You must have been living under a rock if you haven’t heard the name Victor Moses linked with just about every club above Palace in the country and Palace have certainly shown they aren’t going to be pushed over despite their monetary problems as they’ve set an asking price of £5 million. Expect more stories about players going out this month as opposed to players coming in.

Derby County:

Derby need new faces fast. They’ve been hit so badly with injuries that Nigel Clough has struggled to get a consistent team together that understands how they play. An ambitious side that would be appealing to any player really, a striker is top of their list. Michael Symes, James Vaughan and Fredrik Stoor are all on Clough’s radar as the Rams look to get someone quality up front. Danny Buijs of Ado Den Haag was keen on a move to the club but this may have fallen through due to his clubs reluctance to loan him out. Recently fit again Kris Commons is attracting interest from the Premiership, Wolves have their eye on the talented midfielder.

Doncaster Rovers:

There’s not much coming out of Donny at the moment. Billy Sharp has recently won PFA player of the month and the Keepmoat outfit will be hoping that Sheffield United don’t exercise their option to recall the front man. A rumoured move for Daniel Cousin seems unlikely, especially considering that QPR are in advanced talks with the player. Martin Woods has been making some eye catching performances this season and the club will be trying to fend off the likes of Cardiff and Middlesbrough this month so they can hold onto him.

Ipswich Town:

Roy Keane has already spent quite a lot of money as manager of Ipswich and results on the pitch have not reflected this. Giovanni Dos Santos is wanted by the tractor boys once again and may well be one of a few signings coming in this month unless players move out. Tamas Priskin has been a flop since his £1.7m move and may well be heading towards the exit door this month and could well pave the way for Derby striker Rob Hulse.

Leicester City:

If Nigel Pearson had plans at the start season for this transfer window then he may well want to throw them out of the window and reassess. City are another admirer of Chris Lines and will be part of a bidding war for him. A bizarre move for Edgar Davids may materialise as well, chairman Milan Mandaric has spoken of his admiration of the former Dutch international recently; paying his wages may be another issue though (maybe he has another with all that tax dodging he’s been up to). Top scorer Matt Fryatt has been watched by Wigan recently and Pearson will not fancy losing him.

Middlesbrough:

Kris Boyd would be a huge capture for the troubled North East side and Boro are certainly considering that avenue due to Rangers current financial difficulties. Signs would suggest that Strachan is keen to utilise his knowledge of the Scottish leagues, as his former players Gary Caldwell and Scott McDonald have both been suggested as Boro arrivals. In any case expect many arrivals for the short-handed side as Didier Digard prepares to depart the Riverside.

Newcastle United:

Chris Hughton has got money available to him and Jermaine Beckford seems more and more likely to join the Geordies after recently handing in another transfer request. A defender is also a desire for the Toon, but don’t expect Matthew Killgallon to move to the North East, the defender has now committed to Sheffield United until the end of the season. Former Ballon D’or nominee (that’s right) Geremi made a little unannounced detour on his way to Angola to meet up with potential new club Ankaragucu. Although they haven’t actually agreed anything with Newcastle the Turkish side still decided to throw the confetti and a party for the player; talk about confidence!

Nottingham Forrest:

Could anyone really play their way into this in form side? Forrest fans will be hoping that Billy Davies can make some signings as to maintain their promotion push and former England international Nicky Shorey is their first priority. It’s been highly reported for a while that the club has an interest in Tottenham’s Gareth Bale but this may be quite unlikely as it is unknown what Harry Redknapp wants to do with the player. Swindon’s Charlie Austin could be a more likely transfer although this is a light rumour as of now. There has been little interest from any clubs so far in Forrest players.

Peterborough United:

Another non-league player comes in (surprise Posh fans!) Josh Simpson. Aldershot’s Marvin Morgan has been attracting interest, although this may seem unlikely now the club has captured Reuben Reid from West Brom. Izale McLeod is the subject of interest from the Posh, but they face interest from Scottish Premier League side Hearts. The traditional round of Joe Lewis leaving rumours have begun already, particularly after Barry Fry told Harry Redknapp he had first option on the player – Redknapp later telling everyone. Good one Barry.

Plymouth Argyle:

So far for Plymouth its been more a case of who’s leaving this month. However, the green army could be tempted to bring back out of favour Hull player Peter Halmosi. It is a bit unknown who new boss Paul Mariner is after, as the club have seen defenders Kirsztan Timar and Marcel Seip both leave already and Steven MacLean is more than likely on his way out too. Tough times on the south coast.

Preston North End:

Darren Ferguson returns to the Championship almost instantly and has taken the reigns at the famous outfit of Preston North End. If you’ve read Daniel Cragg’s post on this site then I don’t need to tell you that there isn’t a lot of money for Preston, but changes need to be made. Neil Collins has joined on a permanent deal already but due to Ferguson’s arrival being so recent its hard to tell who he wants to bring in at this time. Sorry Preston fans!

Queens Park Rangers:

Signings galore for the London outfit? You wouldn’t be wrong. The team has already apparently agreed a deal for Daniel Cousin who will join up after the African Cup Of Nations and the club also has apparently made an enquiry about the well-travelled Amdy Faye. Markus Jonsson of AIK in Sweden is also hoping for a move to England and QPR may well be his outlet to fulfil that ambition. Adel Taarabt may return to Tottenham unfortunately for QPR, but the player has his heart set on staying with Rangers.

Reading:

Gunnar Thorvaldsson has become another member of the ever-growing Icelandic contingent at Reading but apart from that there are few players being linked with the club due to their lack of a manager. Reading have managed to hold onto Simon Church after he signed a new deal with the club and they also harbour an ambition that Gylfi Sigurdsson can continue his impressive displays with Reading as opposed to someone else.

Scunthorpe United:

Craig Dawson of Rochdale is a player Nigel Adkins would dearly love at his disposal, but Rochdale seem adamant he is going nowhere. Scunthorpe seem to see Rochdale as somewhat of a market stall this January if you believe their interest in striker Chris O’Grady. Michael Raynes seems a very likely arrival for the Irons, the Stockport defenders contract is up in the summer and his club are likely to want to make some sort of profit on him. George Friend has been recalled by Wolves, meaning the Irons only have one left back at the club, so that position is likely to be Adkins priority.

Sheffield United:

Due to Matthew Killgallons apparent commitment to the club, Kevin Blackwell is unlikely to have the money he thought he would this window. Richard Creswell has come in from Stoke already but former loanee Greg Halford will not be returning to the club as he wants to battle for his place at Wolves. As mentioned above, Marcel Seip has joined on loan for the rest of the season and it may not be the end of the dealings for a heavily injury struck squad.

Sheffield Wednesday:

The club is looking to the future, as ten Australian players are currently on trial with the club. Tom Soares has extended his loan deal but the most prominent potential transfer for Wednesday at the moment is their managerial position. As mentioned above, Neil Warnock is interested in the job and is the bookies favourite to get the job.

Swansea City:

Could Paulo Sousa, the manager, leave Swansea this January? Burnley have an eye on the talented Portuguese gaffer but the Swans want to hold on. Lee Trundle has extended his loan deal at the club, much to the fans delight and the club may be in the market for another striker to solve their goal shyness. Kevin Phillips, Vincent Pericard and Tamas Priskin have all been linked with the club, so watch this space. The club will also be doing everything they can to hold onto Andrea Orlandi as a few scouts have been watching him over the past few weeks.

Watford:

Your guess is as good as mine? Probably nothing will be happening this month as Malky Mackay wants to keep all his players, particularly Scott Roach and the threat of administration means there will be few arrivals for the hornets.

West Bromwich Albion:

Ishmael Miller is almost back from injury and will feel like a new signing upon his return and it remains to be seen whether or not the club can meet Crystal Palace’s valuation of Victor Moses. Gabriel Tamas has joined on loan from Auxerre and brings a wealth of experience with him. Marcus Haber may also be on his way in, while Robert Koren is expected to be shipped out of the Hawthorns as the Albion have a wealth of depth at their disposal.

A game i'm sure did nothing good for my health

I was looking around a few sites, particularly reading all the articles on epltalk.com that have recently been posted and they have been looking back over what has been an amazing decade for football. You can go to any sports related website and you will have an abundance of critics and experts telling you what their favourite moment of the past ten years was. And what is so great about reading them is that everyone has a different opinion as different moments in football can mean different things to people. It could be easy of me to make a countdown of what I think are the X greatest Y’s of the decade but no one can ever agree on different things. And that is why instead I decided I’d just write about what for me was my favourite moment of the decade as I realised everyone has their own say. I know this is a Championship related website and I try to filter through news and opinion related to the league but here at Championship talk we value any sort of opinion and any article people want to write. And if everyone else can do it then so can I!

November 13th 2002 – Champions League Group Stage One – Feyenoord 2-3 Newcastle United:

This was one of those games that can only back up any claim that football is the most exciting sport in the world. Sir Bobby Robson helped Newcastle climb back to the top of the table and make it into the Champions league once again, but unlike our woeful efforts in Europe under Keegan, this time we were up to the challenge. When having a bit of a search to see if I could bring back even more memories of the match, I found the Guardian’s minute by minute updates of the match and just reading through that gives me goose bumps.

This was such in important game in a very open group between Juventus, Dynamo Kiev, Feyenoord and Newcastle. Juventus looked comfortable at the top but the other three teams most certainly had something to play for and they were ready to give it their all. It was a packed house on a cold night in Holland and Newcastle were hoping to become the first team in history to qualify for the next stage after losing their first three group games and it wasn’t easy considering that we were relying on a Juventus win against Kiev in Ukraine as well as winning our own game. Even more hairs were standing on the back of my neck as the players walked out to a cauldron of flares, streamers, flags and an electric continental atmosphere.

The first half had a few chances and most of them were Newcastle. We were dominating the game and the pace of our team seemed to be catching Feyenoord out every time. But I watched on, as our 2-0 lead all of a sudden became 2-2. In the middle of Newcastle and Feyenoord goals, it was all kicking off at Kiev as Dynamo had went 1-0 up only to be pegged back to 2-1. The game in Rotterdam had turned and Newcastle were starting to get over run by a heart-pounding atmosphere and the new found Feyenoord confidence. If things stayed the way they were in Kiev, the winner would be through to the second group phase.

Clive Tyldesley was commentating on the match and I remember him saying something along the lines of ‘a goal here is so important for either of these teams, especially when you consider it could be worth £10 million pounds’. That was what was at stake here, but more importantly for me it was for the chance to play in the next round, stay in the greatest competition in club football and meet more of Europe’s elite.

Feyenoord were pressing and it just seemed like it wasn’t going to be Newcastle’s night. We were 2-0 up and in control and had thrown it all away. But in the 92nd minute we thumped the ball forward where Shearer managed to head the ball to Dyer who shot was saved. Craig Bellamy latched onto the ball and could of held it up, but instead shot from a difficult angle and the keeper could do nothing about it. It was absolutely amazing and what football was all about. A pure battle which had a blockbuster ending and I think it was a couple of days before I stopped bouncing off the walls in my house after that one. One of my favourite games ever.

I had someone ask me a few months ago, obviously not trying to be offensive, why do Newcastle fans chant Sir Bobby Robson’s name all the time and why was there such a monument for a manager that didn’t win anything for Newcastle. Well apart from being from the local area, it is moments like this that we love Bobby for. He brought excitement to the team and moments like what I’ve mentioned above. He made us into a side that did amazing things and we had some great games with him at the helm. Sacking Bobby was a terrible mistake, but the fans will always love him and its games like our 3-2 victory against Feyenoord that we will remember him best for.

So there you have it! That was my personal favourite moment of the decade. And here at Championship Talk we would love to hear your opinion on what was your favourite moment. And also as a new year (and decade) looms, we are looking for new writers to help add their opinion on all matters Championship and Football League! If you are interested in writing for the site and would love to have your say, please send an e-mail to:

thegaffer[at]epltalk[dot]com

We hope to hear from you!

Nolan Is The Cream Of The Championship Crop

Unless your team was unfortunate enough to be struck by bad weather (particularly Barnsley), you may realise we are now at the halfway point of the Championship season. 23 games gone and all of sudden ambitions become a bit clearer for clubs. The championship can be one of the most exciting leagues in the world and this season has been no exception – providing plenty of thrills along the way. Amidst the alcohol (and hangovers) of the festive period, why don’t we take a look back at some of the main talking points of the season so far and I will give my opinion on a few categories I feel have been worthy of being labelled the best so far this season.

The Toon Army Answer Their Critics:

Many people predicted Newcastle would struggle this season and few predicted the level of success they have achieved so far. A team that fell out of the Premiership with no fight what so ever has unified this season and sent the famous black and white stripes back to the top of the league. Many considered Newcastle to face even more pressure due to the stature of the club and were labelled ‘one of the big scalps’. But the players have responded well and despite the fact the off field troubles still continue, they find themselves sitting comfortably at the top of the table. The Geordies should be warned however that the work is far from done yet and as the Championship is one of the most open leagues in the world today.

Peter Whittingham Fires His Way To The Top:

In a league where usually a great goal poacher can gain you success, three of the top five goal scorers are midfielders. Cardiff’s Peter Whittingham finds himself at the top on 12 goals for the season, the former Aston Villa youngster has been in great form this season and one of the reasons why Cardiff find themselves in a serious bid for promotion. He is joined up there by fellow team mate Michael Chopra and both have helped make Cardiff a free scoring entertaining team. The two will be expected to keep up their efforts and Cardiff fans will be hopeful that Whittingham will continue to be allowed his freer role.

The Tractor Boys Going Backwards:

Roy Keane spent a considerable amount of money compared to his managerial peers in this league and so far Ipswich have struggled dearly. Instead of a promotion bid the club will probably have to focus their attention on a relegation battle as the club struggles in a number of areas this season particularly when it comes to a reliable goal scorer. The last few games have shown a bit of hope for the club and I still believe they will be safe, Keane is still finding the right formula and it is great to see how much confidence the board have put in him – something rare in this day and age.

Swansea Flying High – But How?

Not saying they’re not playing well but its rare to see a team with a goals for and against record like theirs. Swansea currently have the second worst goal scoring record in the league yet have found themselves in the playoff contention for much of the season. Paulo Souasa has made Swansea’s defence stern and hard to break down something, which isn’t often mentioned, but brilliant in it’s own right. The multinational side will be hoping to continue to churn out results for the club and promotion is very realistic target for the Welsh side.

Fortress Aston Gate Breached:

Bristol City almost managed to go a whole year without losing a single home league game until Sheffield United scored a last minute winner after Bristol City thought they’d held on to their record only seconds earlier when they equalised. Take nothing away from Gary Johnson however, the manager of City has been superb and I for one think it would be great to see a team from Bristol in the top flight once again. The club are sitting in 12th place as things stand so their season could really go either way. Fans of the club would be happy if their home form in 2010 mirrored that of the previous year.

The Madjeski Ruins Crumble:

On an alternative note, Reading’s home form has been woeful and something of a phenomenon. I couldn’t even tell you how many games it is since they last won at home, but it is definitely a confidence issue with the players, as the club has relied on it’s home form to pick up the points this season. The club should be optimistic that 2010 can bring a fresh start at their home ground – all it will take is one win for players to get their confidence back.

Rival Supporters Green With Envy At Forrest:

Nottingham Forrest are rolling back the years and are currently 15 games unbeaten. Billy Davies is once again proving he is a manager with confidence in this league and that certainly reflects on his players. The club is certainly stating its ambition and recently loaned in former England international Nicky Shorey, showing that the club is serious about bringing in players to help their promotion push. It’s quite funny really; a manager gains success with local rivals Derby County, has a disagreement with their board, leaves and then goes on to become successful with Forrest. Where have I heard that before?

My Awards So Far:

Best Goal Of The Season So Far: Nicky Maynard – QPR V Bristol City

Yes its fresh in the memory (from this weekend) but don’t let that take anything away from Maynard’s goal. City may have ended up losing this game, but Maynard’s strike was a superb individual effort – controlling the ball with two fabulous touches before volleying the shot past a helpless Cerny in the QPR goal. If you haven’t already seen it I suggest you do, it’s as good a goal I think you will ever see!

Best Decision Of The Season So Far: Barnsley Hiring Mark Robins

I remember hearing a few Barnsley fans who were unhappy at the club hiring Robins’ from Rotherham, but he is one fantastic manager. When he took over the club was at the foot of the Championship, yet Robins’ has helped the club up the league and gained the respect of the Yorkshire outfit’s fans. Fantastic wins against West Brom, Blackpool and Cardiff have steered the club into more control and Robins’ must take plenty of the credit for that. As a Newcastle fan I went to our game against them at Oakwell and it is clear to see how confident he has got his team playing and every player gives 110%.

Worst Decision Of The Season So Far: Plymouth V Barnsley Replay

This was a tough decision and Barnsley are involved once again. If you are a regular reader you may have read my post slamming Peterborough’s decision to part ways with Darren Ferguson but the Plymouth V Barnsley game at home park was a whole different story which raises all sorts of questions regarding common sense in football. Barnsley were 4-1 up in the 2nd half but weather conditions got so bad (in the referee’s opinion) that the game was called off after 58 minutes. Barnsley were understandably upset at the decision, particularly when football league rules state that the game must be replayed from the start at a later date. The conditions did look bad, but do you really need to restart the game from 0-0 when Barnsley were dominating? If anything the game should restart from 58 minutes at 4-1 – Plymouth is not exactly the easiest place to get to. Barnsley fans were promised that their tickets for the replay would be free, but travel costs alone are quite expensive on that particular journey – I’m sure the tykes would gladfully of taken the three points!

Best Signing Of The Season So Far: Doncaster Rover’s Loan Of Billy Sharp

Many football fans have a keen fondness for Sharp, particularly because he has fired their own team to victory numerous times on their football manager game. The young front man struggled in his time at Sheffield United, but a loan move to local Doncaster has seen the player rekindle the form he showed at Scunthope United and he seems to be enjoying his football more than ever. Who knows, maybe he felt too much pressure at United but Doncaster has put him back on the map. Donny will be hoping that the Blades don’t decide to recall the striker earlier to cash in on his good form as he has been their key player this season.

Worst Signing Of The Season So Far: Ipswich Town’s Signing Of Tamas Priskin For £1.7m

In this league £1.7m is a lot of money. It seems even more when its a striker who has got you one goal all season. Priskin may be the stem of all Keane’s problems as his price tag would suggest that the Irishman was intending to base a team around Priskin and he has been less than impressive so far. Priskin is probably lacking a lot of confidence at the moment and Keane should keep the faith with him, Brendan Rodgers proved at Watford that the big Czech hitman can get you the goals if you implement him in the correct way.

Best Game Of The Season So Far: Nottingham Forrest 3-2 Derby County

It’s a big derby that hasn’t got the recognition it really deserves considering both sides have fallen from grace slightly. Last Season Derby beat Forrest 3-2 in this fixture, so Forrest were obviously keen to prove a point and took a commanding 3-0 lead at half time. Nigel Clough obviously got his players fired up at the break and a fortuitous own goal followed by a Jake Livermore strike meant that there was everything to play for in this thrilling local encounter. Forrest held out and took home the bragging rights. I bet Derby will be determined to get one over on their rivals when the sides meet at Pride Park in 2010.

Best Manager Of The Season So Far: Billy Davies – Nottingham Forrest

As mentioned above, Forrest are having a great season and much of that can be credited to their fantastic manager Davies. It could have been easy (especially as a born and bred Geordie) to give this award to Chris Hughton at Newcastle United, but Davies has guided his team up the table without the resources Hughton possesses. 15 games unbeaten is a fantastic achievement for any club and Forrest can only go from strength to strength. Davies never really got a chance with Derby in the Premiership; he will be hoping he can get this opportunity with Forrest.

The One To Look Out For: Tom Cleverly – Watford

He may be on loan from Manchester United, but this lad can strike fear into any defence. Many clubs have their eyes on the young red devil – his performances for Watford have not gone unnoticed and the 20 year old has been a star for the Hornets. A clever player on the ball who shows bags of confidence, he is a player who improves with every game he plays and any young Englishman that puts the effort in on the pitch is bound to be coveted by a number of league sides.

Best Player Of The Season So Far: Kevin Nolan - Newcastle United

A player that never really did anything for the Toon in the premiership has exploded into life this season and has been one of the driving forces behind Newcastle’s surge to the top of the table. The former Bolton captain has put a number of defences to the sword and Newcastle will be confident that if they can keep their star midfield man in the transfer window then they will bounce back to the Premier league at the first time of asking.

So there you have it. But remember, that’s only my opinion. Do you agree? If not why don’t you leave a comment and let us know here at Championship talk! Hope you all had a great Christmas and heres to hoping that you and your football team has a great new year!

Ameobi: Key Man At The Derby

Apologies for a lack of updates lately, with the amount of work I’ve been doing lately my life mirrors the ‘congested holiday fixture list’! Unfortunately this weekend we have once again discovered that the UK is the only country more efficient in a world war than being in a snow ‘storm’. Early season promotion favourites West Brom and Cardiff both had games postponed which makes tomorrows North East derby all the more interesting as we will find out if Newcastle can extend their lead at the top or if the Boro can keep up with the pack.

Middlesbrough have rarely been considered serious rivals to the Toon Army, the Geordies often focus on their mackem counterparts a few miles down the road so fiercely that Boro are often forgotten in any local affairs. But Sunday will see a change as both fans will no doubt raise the roof off St. James’ Park to support their teams and 3 points would be very welcome for either club. Last seasons tense Premiership encounter between these two sides ended in victory for Newcastle, albeit an unlucky defeat for Middlesbrough.

The task ahead of Boro is tomorrow however is one that many of the leagues other clubs would not envy. Newcastle have only conceded four goals in their ten home games, the best record in the football league and the depth of their squad is often good enough to see them to victory. Shola Ameobi is likely to start after being rested against Barnsley, the often-criticized striker has been missed by manager Chris Hughton and his cult status has elevated among the Geordie faithful. Shola chants were present in Newcastle’s 2-2 draw against Barnsley, but Hughton made the right decision not to rush the striker back as he is a key player for the team. He’s often had a knack for scoring in Tyne-Wear games and he will no doubt be expected to emulate this against the Teesiders; watch for Newcastle to work the wings and get crosses onto Shola’s head.

Newcastle will be without the hard working Andy Carroll, who is suspended after picking up his 5th yellow card of the season. Hughton backed the big striker in Newcastle’s last game after his off the field troubles and after repaying his managers faith with a good performance, Hughton will be disappointed he won’t figure in his game plan. This most likely paves the way for a possible Harewood and Ameobi partnership up front (sounds like a dream come true for the game of football doesn’t it?) unless the manager would instead prefer to play Kevin Nolan in a more advanced role, a position he has been deadly in all season.

Middlesbrough on the other hand will be hit hard with injuries, particularly the loss of Adam Johnson being an unwelcome headache to Gordon Strachan. Defender Sean St. Ledger has returned to his parent club, meaning there will be a reshuffle at the back for Boro and Strachan may be tempted to welcome back Chris Riggot at some point if the defender is passed fit to play.

History has not been kind to Strachan at St. James’. The manager has never won in ten attempts, only once managing a draw. Put that together with Boro’s peculiar form this season and you’d begin to think that a little bit of anxiety may be rising in the Scotsman. The match may be dependant on what Boro shows up, they recently managed a very impressive 5-1 victory against QPR but then lost 3-0 to Blackpool the following game. So far Strachan has struggled to get any form in his side and the club could do with a victory over Newcastle to raise their spirits and kick-start them back into action. The club has a lot of quality players who just seem to be feeling the pressure a bit too much this season, it will be interesting to see how they handle the atmosphere of the derby game.

Boro could well suffer the same fate as many other teams in the Championship this season. Newcastle don’t tend to play very well over the whole 90 minutes, instead presenting the odd incisive move and being rewarded for it. What they do best is stopping other teams from playing their game plan and patiently wait for a breakthrough. Barnsley proved however that enough hard work and keeping your chin up are effective and deservedly grabbed a point.

I don’t think I’m letting my support of Newcastle getting the better of me when I predict that the Toon will win this one. I think most people would back the league leaders who have turned their disputed stadium into a fortress. Middlesbrough have puzzled many this season, they have a lot of good players and a good manager in charge but can’t seem to get it right on the day. Their saving grace is that this game is being played away and on the road they have faired better than their Riverside games and you can often throw the formbook out the window when rivals meet. Overall it should be an exciting game for all football lovers and the game is live on BBC1 from 12.50pm.

Ferguson: A Harsh Sacking?

Even though Peterborough are currently remaining silent on reports while I write this, the man who lead the Posh from the bottom division of the football league to the Championship has apparently been relieved of his duties. Chairman Darragh MacAnthony appears to have taken the decision after Peterborough’s poor start to the season; the Posh currently sit bottom of the table with only two wins to their name. But any football fan must ask, where is the justice in this for Ferguson? I personally find it a shame that McAnthony has taken this decision and i’m sure many fans of the club will feel the same.

Peterborough has been quite a colourful club in recent years. Whether it be inviting disgraced TV pundit Ron Atkinson and a bunch of sky TV cameras into their club to “sort things out” or engaging in a legal dispute with Victoria Beckham over the naming rights of the clubs nickname ‘the Posh’, many English fans will be well acquainted with the name. Sky Sports favourite and director of football Barry Fry will also be familiar face to football fans, being one of those larger than life characters within the game.

This latest bit of news from Eastern English side though confuses me some what. How can any chairman justify sacking a manager who has won back-to-back promotions for your team and also shown great commitment throughout, notably rejecting the chance to manage Reading this summer – instead preferring to sign a new four year contract with Peterborough. The club is bottom of the table and on poor form, but you should expect that if you’re going up into a new league; Ferguson hasn’t even been given the opportunity to turn things around in any manner.

As mentioned above, Barry Fry is a recognisable figure from the club. A former manager and chairman who has always had the clubs best interests at heart. A meeting on Monday 9th November was scheduled after the club suffered another defeat to top of the table Newcastle United; a team they were hardly expected to beat. I wonder what Fry himself makes of this decision and how much of a say he had in it; he’s a man who’s whole life has revolved around football and surely he would realise Peterborough have a brilliant thing in Ferguson.

Maybe I could be wrong here but that scheduled meeting for Monday maybe have started out as a review of the clubs form and possibly gone a bit far and ended up with the worst possible scenario. Even then, to let Ferguson go suggests that the board’s ambitions for the club are currently set too high. They have shown little faith in one of the brightest young British managers and once again we see another reason why clubs look to hire foreign coaches; the Brit’s just aren’t given a chance to develop.

There are still 30 games left to play this season! 30! With all due respect, the Posh are not one of the big hitters in this league – nor are they expected to be. Any team that gets promoted to a higher league needs to prepare for the battles of relegation and build from there. Although some considerable investment has been made into the club, they have a lot of players that still need to adapt to the Championship. I can’t imagine any of the players are too happy about the decision, it’s clear that if he won two promotions then he obviously had a good rapport with his players.

It’ll be interesting to see who is brought in to replace Ferguson, I can’t think of many managers that could turn things around for the club. Ferguson is young so he is still developing, but at the same time has shown magnificent maturity in what he has accomplished. Any club that decides to snap him up will have a gem of a manager – I have already seen that Brighton fans are hopefull of the Scot filling their vacant managerial post after Russell Slade was given the axe. All I can see for Ferguson is success in the future and I hope he is back in management sooner rather than later.

It’s also quite ironic that Ferguson’s last game in charge came against another club whose chairman makes a few questionable decisions – Newcastle United. Anybody fancy getting the rumour mill going regarding a bit of Mike Ashley advice to MacAnothony?

Collymore: Out of touch?

Unless you only prefer to read the opinions of actual celebrated and well-recognised figures in football, you’ve probably come across Stan Collymore’s ludacris proposal to “make the Premiership better”. If you can’t be bothered to read through it (and I don’t blame you), Collymore basically thinks around 20-25 teams who he believes to have the most prestige should sit in the top tier of English football and keep it at that. Meaning no clubs gets promoted to the Premiership and the worst teams don’t get relegated to the Championship. Collymore cites that Newcastle and Leeds should be put in this league due to the fact that he believes them to be ‘too big’ for their current league.

As a Newcastle United supporter I’d be the first to admit we deserved to be relegated. We were shocking in the 08/09 season, the club didn’t perform well enough over 38 games and got what we deserved. I was praying on the last day we could get something from Aston Villa but there was no commitment from our players and the team suffered the consequences. This season we are attempting to “bounce back at the first time of asking” as the pundits always coin and in all honesty – I love the championship. Of course i’d prefer to be in the Premiership – that is every clubs ambition, but it has been a challenge and England’s supposed ‘lower leagues’ should be celebrated for their great support and the drama they bring themselves to the game. Newcastle’s most recent game at home against Doncaster was our biggest attendance of the season, in no small part due to over 3,000 travelling Doncaster fans who sang their hearts out for 90+ minutes. There is no way you can justify telling fans like that “sorry, you can’t have any major glory – your club isn’t considered successful enough”.

And even then, clubs in the championship this season are enjoying visiting St. James’ park and playing the club at their ground. Scunthorpe recently broke their home attendance record when Newcastle visited and the club who was promoted from league one last season celebrated long into the night after their famous 2-1 victory over the Geordies. Clubs are also enjoying the extra revenue they receive from having a club like Newcastle in the league, who have so far sold out every single league away game this season.

Leeds United were also relegated, not only from the Premiership, but also from the Championship. If the league had been in Collymore’s format, Leed’s wouldn’t have been relegated, but instead they would be struggling with a makeshift team because of the financial difficulties they faced. Collymore believes that fans want to watch games between Man United and Leeds or Newcastle and Sunderland every season, but would fans want to watch it with such a gulf in talent as Leeds experienced in their most recent Premiership season? It doesn’t matter what league it is in, I jump at the chance to watch derbies such as Nottingham Forrest V Derby, Ipswich V Norwich or Sheffield United V Sheffield Wednesday; they’re still big games even if they’re not being played in the top division.

This shows massive disrespect to the supposed “smaller clubs”. Look at Burnley for example. Burnley, a town in the north west, with a population of just over 70,000 got promoted through the championship play offs last season and have managed to pick up a famous 1-0 victory over the reigning champions Manchester United. You take away that excitement for the fans such as the playoff drama, going to Wembley, seeing world class players come to face your team, and what reason does it give you to support a team? Collymore has failed to grasp that for a lot of supporters in this country, that is what football is all about – hope and glory. I’m pretty sure Burnley fans, even if they lose a game, are loving every second of being considered one of England’s top 20 clubs.

It is great to see big derbies in the top league and famous teams play each other, but it isn’t like the Premiership is lacking in any of those sorts of games. There is a gap in the quality of football between the Premiership and the football league, but that doesn’t mean to say that the lower leagues should become redundant. The main thing I have taken from this Championship season is the excitement from the supporters. There are 24 teams in the Championship and every supporter of those clubs dreams of next season playing in the Premiership and that in itself is one of the spectacles of football. And then there are 48 league clubs below them who hold the same dream and a number of loyal supporters of non-league clubs who would give their left arm to see their team in the big time.

Maybe Mr. Collymore wasn’t given a history of his former employer Nottingham Forrest when he signed for them back in 1993. A certain Brian Clough took Forrest from being what could be considered a small English club to champions of Europe in what is one of the greatest stories in football. He had previously won the old division one title with rivals Derby, becoming manager of the club when they sat near the bottom of the second division. Fans can look on in envy at the times Forrest and Derby had, but it is a great envy because it lets you know that nothing is impossible. It’s true that there is a lot more money in football these days and times are different, but the beauty of football is that you can never predict what will happen.

If you read this Stan, I urge you to issue an apology to a number of supporters that are upset by your comments, in particular the supporters of Wigan, Hull, Reading, Bolton, Barnsley and Watford who are all apparently not worthy of your time. My club, Newcastle United, does not have a special right to be in the Premiership, we must earn it like every other club.

Also Stan, if this league was to include 25 teams, they would not play 50 games a season, it would be 48 games. Maybe you were “salivating” a bit too much at the thought of this and in your excitement forgot to proof read it or perform key stage 1 maths.

Ashley: no longer on the fans good side

Since his takeover of Newcastle United in 2007, Mike Ashley has had a turbulent tenure as owner of the Toon Army. Ever since I left the North East to attend university in Leeds, I get asked quite a lot what I think about Mike Ashley and why the fans have such a strong dislike towards him. I hope I can answer a few questions that I (and I imagine other Newcastle fans) get asked frequently and explain a few reasons why we’re so keen to see him leave.

1. The Kevin Keegan saga

When Kevin Keegan was awarded £2m this month just about all of my housemates, classmates, work mates and even 2 of my lecturers asked ‘you must hate “King Kev” now eh?’. Well, no. The wonderful George Caulkin can explain it in no better way. But to echo that statement (or if you can’t be bothered to read it) Kevin Keegan has done so much for the club and in my opinion has every right to have that money. He stood up for what he believed in, which is the same reason Alan Curbishley left West Ham weeks before Keegan left his post at Newcastle. He was brought into that club and signed into a contract under false promises; I’m pretty sure if all responsibility was taken away from your current job you wouldn’t best be pleased. There is no way Ashley, Llambas, Wise or anybody can defend signing a player to appease two agents and directing the manager to ‘go watch him on Youtube’. When I first started supporting Newcastle KK was in charge, so I can personally never thank him enough for getting a whole city excited and making me as enthusiastic about supporting the team as I am today.

2. Hiring Dennis Wise

This does relate somewhat to the first point, but it has it’s whole own story. What infuriates me most is Dennis Wise all of a sudden coming out on sky sports trying to seem like his was right all along and how innocent he feels. I don’t care if he ‘did what he was told’; he made a lot of bad decisions. Xisco and Ignachio Gonzalez being two names that spring to mind, Gonzalez being signed for what I feel is the equivalent of what is known as a bung in football; which is illegal. The way Gonzalez came to the club alone shows his lack of commitment and Wise’s neglect while in the director of football position.

3. “Hiring Alan Shearer is the best decision i’ve made since I bought the club”. Ok…and then…?

That was a rare quote from Ashley after Newcastle were relegated from the Premiership. I’m pretty sure the bookies weren’t taking bets on the next permanent Newcastle manager at that point, so it begs the question, why does Shearer not manage the club now? I take nothing away from Chris Hughton, I’ll admit that Hughton has done a great job at Newcastle and I respect him for the job he has done; I hope he keeps his job no matter what happens with the ownership of the club. A lot of people I know have said he should have the full time job, but I don’t think so. He’s made a good start, but what about when things take a turn for the worse and we start to lose a bit of form, is Hughton the sort of man who can fire up the players? I think Chris would be the first to admit he works best as an assistant manager and it is my belief that Alan Shearer would make a great manager and should of learnt his trade in the same manner as Kevin Keegan did. People also comment on the fact that Shearer didn’t manage to save us in the end. But he tried, he is a true professional that loves the club and the region; if Newcastle were 2-0 at half time this season I can guarantee you Shearer could get a message across to the players a lot better than Hughton could because he has the passion. Alan Shearer in charge of the team would inspire the city once more and get home attendances back up (even though the club still gets a higher average crowd than a lot of premier league clubs…Sunderland). Also just to note Joe F’in Kinnear’s comments at the start of the season, claiming he was offered the job on a full time basis. So when were you going to install Shearer exactly?

4. Not speaking to the fans

Freddie Sheppard and Sir John Hall were some what shady in their dealings, but at least they made some effort to speak to fans, you can barely get a word out of Ashley. Even when Newcastle fans do hear from Ashley they have to hear it from some outside source, mainly national newspapers rather than a local source or even the clubs own website. And then there’s the club’s bizarre relationship with sky sports who are shall we say slightly selective of what they claim and the fans they broadcast. Even after KK got sacked the club made no comment, proving how very wrong they were. The fans are in the dark about everything at the moment, which is a shame because they still show their faith week in, week out.

5. No structure

A football club is not a business in a normal economic sense. Mike Ashley brought in a number of old associates to help make up the hierarchy of Newcastle United and help run the club to make us have a structure a lot like the top 4 English teams. What he didn’t understand however is that Peter Kenyon was hired by Chelsea because he knows how a football club should work. It would have been fair of Ashley to stay out of matters and merely watch games if he had put in the right structure and hired people who know how a football club should be run. Instead he hired Chris Mort, who although had built a slight rapport with the fans in some respects, quit and returned to his expert field of business. He was replaced with Derek Llambas – who still lives in Essex. This is also a man who was apparently dared by Mike Ashley to streak across the St. James’ pitch and obliged. Oh an that was only in August when the club is supposed to being the process of getting sold (allegedly) and being described as ‘in turmoil’ from every news source on the face of the planet. Great job guys!

6. Lack of bodies

Newcastle played all of last season with one recognised left back at the club. That is a Premiership team with one left back. In the January transfer window all our dealings came in the last 3 or 4 days. At one point in this season we had about 13 players in our squad that had actually made a senior start in a league competition. I’m pretty sure that Chris Hughton has had a word in Ashley’s ear this season and told him that he needed the bodies and thankfully we’ve managed to get in three loan signings (Danny Simpson, Marlon Harewood and Zurab Kish…you know the one). We have managed to keep hold of quality players and Peter Lovenkrands has returned after he found out the hard way that nobody in the Premiership wants him. Oh and he got a 3 year contract, quite a lot for a championship club who are struggling with debts most would agree. And not forgetting our two Argentina internationals…

7. The sale of Newcastle United

You could say anything you wanted about the sale of Newcastle United Football Club and you’d probably have as much evidence as any other news outlet. I am sick of hearing phrases coined like ‘South African businessmen shown around St. James’ Park’. I know selling a club or major organisation can be a long process, but something tells me that Ashley is merely holding out for his ridiculous valuation of the club. I think it was several weeks ago the club issued a statement on their website that a bid had been received, yet they’ve said nothing since. All I have heard is rumours, and it makes me wonder why state that bid has been received to the public if you are not going to then say anything else within a month. The price tag of £100m is ridiculous and it doesn’t surprise me that all of these businesses most likely came in with lower offers. I always hope every day that I’ll be able to wake up to the headline ‘Newcastle sold to [insert name/multibillionaire sultan here]‘ but I just give up. It is a strange feeling when I return to Newcastle; when I grew up the people from the area actually knew what was really happening at the club.