Cheer up it could be worse
It would be easy to go through the 2-0 defeat at Man U with a fine tooth comb.
But I'm not Andy Gray and it would also be far too depressing.
Putting it in simple terms we got hammered and it could have been six or seven or worse.
One thing that did get mentioned today was the fact we are approaching the 10 year anniversary of the demolition of Man U at St James' Park.
Is it really almost 10 years ago since we outclassed Man United 5-0?
It would be great to look back Ginola's screamer, or Big Al running past the Man U fans celebrating after putting in a gem of a cross or even Prince Albert's breathtaking chip over the mighty Peter Schmeichel - times have changed for the worse at the moment - but I don't want to be accused of looking through rose-tinted sunglasses again!
May I then look through a pair that are smeared with mucky soot instead?
Just for a change.
How about a look at the last time we were struggling at the wrong end of what was then the Second Division?
There might not be any logic in it but it is slightly nostalgic and it might make you feel a tiny bit better when you consider we were closer to Hartlepool (in the division below) than we were Man United (in the division above).
Yes it may well have been 10 years since we shoed Man U but 15 years ago, we were going into this week back in 1991 without a home win to our name and about to get mauled off Pompey 3-1 at Fratton Park.
Everything I Do I Do It for You by Bryan Adams was still number one and the bunch of kids Ardiles had running round were out of their depth in Division Two.
At 3-0 down at Pompey it looked bleak for Ossie's Biactol boys.
And at 3-1 it looked even bleaker, that was the way it was going.
Mick Quinn, in scoring a consolation goal managed to shatter his leg off the post and was ruled out for Ossie Ardiles' men - it was his last game for the South American.
Now that's what I call depressing and I'm not talking about Bryan Adams!
It has to be said Newcastle are a million miles away from the 5-0 days against Man U but they are also still a long, long way from that day at Pompey.
SECOND DIVISION 7-10-91
Bottom half
P Pts
Barnsley 12 11
Bristol Rovers 10 8
Plymouth 10 8
Oxford United 10 7
NEWCASTLE 11 7
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Lee Ryder - Proudly born and bred on Tyneside, the Chronicle's chief sports writer has followed the fortunes of the club over the last three decades as a Toon fan and football writer.
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we might be along way from that day at pompey but since then this club has generated a lot of cash and a huge following. A lot has been squandered on some bad players, but yesterday, with a multimillion pound team, we were rubbish. The tactics were a joke, an injured Shola alone up front and 20 million worth of strikers sitting on their backsides! G R sent out a team to play negative football and we got that all right. It was shamefull to see. At least Micky Quinn at pompey was scoring a goal, when all was lost. Where has the pride gone, it would have been better to go down fighting than that show they put on, over to you G R??
after watching the man utd game i realised with this current set up at this club we are going no where,i think its time for a change already within the management.i would go for alan shearer,he is the high profile figure the club badly needs to gain morale.to me glenn roeder does not know how to handle big name players and thats why he didnt go for any in the summer.i think roeder should move to a director of football position.we are playing negative football and it needs changing fast.
Who can forget that wonderful day? If you can WHY? That game nearly 10 years ago was the pinnacle of modern day NUFC. If i'm lucky in another 10yrs i might see it again, but i'm not holding my breath. The current squad is full of over paid and under worked prima donners. At least we have got sick note back for another 2 or 3 games till he puts his back out again and gets another 12 Months wages for nothing.
I'm sorry but bar doing a Chelsea and chucking 100M quid at the team i don't know what we are meant to do with the current squad. Barring a couple of exceptions nobody in the current squads good enough to be Man U, Chelsea or Liverpool boot cleaners.
How ii wish for the glory days again, but until then like everyone else we just gotta keep bleeding black and white till they return.
Toon Toon, Black and White Army
"Martins to get crash course in dealing with premiership defenders." Who is going to do that? Somebody's having a laugh! Perhaps our defenders should be having a crash course in how to deal with premiership attackers?
This is the worst team we've had since Dalglish. There are several shining lights but not enough of them. Our transfer activities over the summer were, apart from Duff, very poor. Bernard could be a good acquisition, let's hope Ollie can come back and give us some of the form he showed before he left. Chimbonda and Sol Cambell were available from May, no approach there. Cambell according to Roeder is too old at 32, where does that leave that fine footballer Sibierski? Young for his years?
Roeder did a good job at the end of last season but I fear over the longer term, he is well out of his depth, as his strategy for Sunday's game proved. He will, I predict not be manager much beyond christmas, we will likely be out of Europe and who of any quality will want to join us? I hate to be negative, but I fear the worst. Our club is becoming a joke.
Worst team since Dalglish?
What about when Ruud Gullit signed players like George Georgiadis or Marcelino?
Then you have people like Amdy Faye (sold), Celestine Babayaro and Albert Luque who hardly set the world alight under Souness.
Glenn's future, like any other manager, depends on the results he picks up.
I think signing Sibierski was for the benefit of the squad although I see you point on the age level.
Surely you cannot have any problem with the two main signings this summer Duff and Martins, both of whom have already made some kind of impact.
Perhaps you are being a bit harsh on the manager so early in the season.
Roeder's tactics for Old Trafford were pathetic. Everyone in football knows we can't defend, so what do we do away to one of the best teams in Europe? That's right, try and defend for 90 minutes. You need to be able to defend in order to keep a clean sheet away to Manchester United. Rocket science? I don't think so.
And heaven forbid any team might previously have gone to Old Trafford and packed the midfield in order to frustrate Man U. What was that about, the element of surprise? A few teams have done it successfully, such as Bolton, but they have either been used to the system or good at defending. Your players need to be familiar with both the system and, of course, their individual roles.
But forget the tactics, how about the mentality - what a truly defeatist way to put out a Newcastle United team in any football match. Glenn Roeder paid ã10m for Martins - the man he keeps reminding us will score us lots of goals in the Premiership. So why did he drop him? What an absolute vote of no confidence for Martins (not to mention his own decision to pay ã10m for him), and indeed our other attacking players, that Roeder didn't think we were good enough to attack Man U.
You ask all the loyal supporters who paid good money to travel down to Manchester and sing their hearts out for 90 minutes: Would you prefer us to go to Old Trafford and just lay down and die? Or would you prefer us to put out our best team and go down fighting? Nobody expected us to win, but we all would have hoped for the team to at least have a go. It's not like we're lacking in attacking players, is it? Play to your strengths, there's a simple notion. We might not be good enough to beat them, but there's no shame in showing a bit of pride, is there?
In response to Adam: Of course we have had worse players. Many who cost us dearly in more than just monetary terms. We could list people like; Andersson, Maric, Cordone, Big Dunc, Bassedas, Acuna and Cort. However, I can't remember seeing such a bunch of disparate (and desperate)overpaid players who can't put three passes together, let alone look like threatening a goal.
I did say, "apart from Duff," however, I have little to add about Martins because although he scored a good goal against a team about as bad as us at West Ham and two against a team which would struggle in the English League Two, we have seen little of him. Not all his fault because we have no play makers who can thread the ball, Beardsley-like to split defences, that he could use his pace to get onto.
Sibierski as a squad player? We've got rid of better squad players for next to nothing and we also almost cocked up with Milner.
This club is badly run and poorly managed. Just look how Aston Villa have started the season with a manager who knows what he is doing. I feel sorry for Roeder, he seems like a decent bloke but do not believe he has the talent, ability and know how, to be able to turn the team around.
I regret to say that I believe that we will spend the rest of the season looking up the table.
Trevor, I'm not sure if it's me your post was in response to(!) but in response to a couple of your points... I agree Martins is a bit wasted without Beardo-esque through balls, but I honestly belive we have a player capable of that kind of creativity - Luque. I'm sure many will disagree with me, but as far as I'm concerned the team is very predictable at the moment and the one player we have with creativity and flair is Luque - I just wish he would get a proper run in the team (the most games he's played in a row under Roeder is 2, if that!)
With regards Milner, I actually don't think he will ever be good enough. He works as hard as any other player and constantly gives his all, which is fantastic. But creatively, all he seems to do is hit hopeful crosses into the area. I'd prefer a slower player like Nobby on the right who can pick someone out and place the ball on their head. I think if we can get around ã5m for Milner we should take it, especially if we can keep Dyer fit (pretty big "if")
but manu have started the season like a house on fire. We know we are rebuilding...I reckon people are being a bit harsh
Roeder OUT!