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Blog on the Tyne is dedicated to bring Toon fans everywhere the most up to date NUFC views, opinions and comment.

The author Lee Ryder, proudly born and bred on Tyneside, has followed the fortunes of the club over the last three decades as a Toon fan and football writer.

From the high octane atmosphere of St James' Park to the Premiership grounds up and down the country and into Europe - this Blog has been there.

But the coverage doesn't stop at first team level.

Blog on the Tyne is also proud to be there to witness the future of the club with regular coverage of Newcastle United's reserve side, as well as all things black and white.

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Sicker than parrots

Posted by Lee on November 4, 2006 9:11 PM | 

Anybody who paid money to watch it at home or at St James' Park certainly deserved a stiff drink after enduring the worst performance of the season so far.

Yes that's the one folks the big pay per view clash between Newcastle and Sheffield United!

A swift one or 10 will of course have helped and no doubt one or two post match drinks have been slugged down rather hastily after this - but Newcastle United will still be second bottom of the Premiership tomorrow and the hangover will still be there.

That's the sort of placing in the table that got Ruud Gullit the sack and obviously the position that will get you relegated to the Championship, where the joys of Colchester, Plymouth and Stoke ply their trade.

And in typical Newcastle United style the defeat against the team that hadn't even scored on their travels this season, let alone won, came less than 48 hours after beating a team that are joint top of Serie A.

But while United's lofty position in UEFA Cup group H is an admirable one what kind of words do you use to describe their place in the Premiership?

It's the Premiership that counts at the moment and eight points in November is relegation form, there is no escape clause or excuse that can say otherwise.

And sadly if you play as badly as United did against Sheff United you don't deserve to win a football match.

You get out of it only what you put in and with the exception of James Milner and Steve Harper, Newcastle as a unit didn't put the fear of God up the Blades - even though they had the backing of the home crowd for the majority of the game.

They didn't attack enough, they didn't create enough and when they needed to defend - they let the water in.

Inevitably frustration set in soon after Danny Webber's headed goal.

And thousands of fans made their feelings known during and after the game calling for a change in the board room.

Everybody has an opinion why Newcastle are in this position.

You have to say money was wasted by Graeme Souness - who in my and many other people's opinion took the club backwards and brought in substandard players who weren't fit to wear the shirt or perform in front of great fans.

However, ironically, one of those players was Michael Owen who almost certainly would have made a difference to the current mess with his goals.

Don't forget United's defeats have not been hammerings and with nobody to take the chances in the final third at key times Newcastle have struggled to get results and obviously find themselves in the bottom two.

But when you have players who simply don't care about their public but are playing active roles in the team - namely Nicky Butt and Celestine Babayaro - then it should come as no surprise to find Newcastle in such a sticky mess.

Battlers like Barry Venison, Gavin Peacock, David Kelly, John Beresford, Warren Barton, Rob Lee, Peter Beardsley and the like must be mortified every time they tune in to see the Newcastle United of today.

Some people will point at the appointment of Glenn Roeder.

But it doesn't seem that long ago that people were singing his name when he guided the team into Europe when it looked like United were in danger of going down.

Roeder is certainly a thorough coach but he isn't a miracle worker.

And when the manager has only £15million to play with in the summer and his £10 million striker purchase only chips in with one Premiership goal after taking on Alan Shearer's shirt, problems are certain to come your way.

The United board have always backed their managers with cash.

But even when the board does come up with the goods they cannot guarantee big money signings will come off.

The reality is that Roeder is paying the price for the money wasted by Souness.

And unless there is a moneybags supremo ready to come in a tank millions of pounds into the club and throw money at the problem, Newcastle will have to battle on or do something drastic.

Drastic is sacking your manager and Alan Curbishley isn't going to sort this out and there isn't an unemployed manager on the market who could.

For me Roeder deserves more time and nobody was shouting for his removal in the same way they went for Souness.

But as we look at the Premiership table with anger tonight people are beginning to wonder what next.

Results are the be all and end all at football clubs and it is results that keep people in jobs.

Even when Souness was on his last legs he still had support from minor sections of the crowd but it didn't stop him from keeping his job.

So where next? What next? Amidst all the anger and annoyance, it's hard to see or think clearly, let alone come up with a solution for this one!

The minute the January transfer window re-opens for business all eyes will be on Newcastle's board to see if they can pull something out of the bag, that's not impossible given some of the transfers that this club have pulled out of the bag in the past it's an option, if you pay the right price for the right people.

There are still plenty of games left to sort it out and three cups left to play for but the reaction of the fans only intensifies after each defeat from now.

And after the way United performed against Sheff United - nobody can blame them

The cold facts of the matter are Newcastle United are hurt at the moment.

They're like a boxer in his corner wondering whether to come out for the next round.

But after tonight's performance they have to start throwing a few punches and quickly.

What else can they do?


*Supermac will be on the stage for questions at Fluid bar before the Man City game on Saturday at 12pm

Entry will be free.


Comments (16)

Mark wrote...

FREDDY OUT, ROEDER OUT!

Posted by: Mark  | November 5, 2006 1:25 AM

Rob -- Baku Azerbaijan wrote...

Lee i agree with your comments, the mess is deep rooted and a thorough clean out is required, we purchased Martins for 10 mil, a total waste of money as far as i am concerned, he is not a PL player and should not be wearing the No 9 shirt, he is short in statue, not strong enough and has no heart or desire and will not score more than 10 goals a season, that 10 mill could have been spent on English players, we should be trawling the lower divisions looking for talent, players with heart, ambition and a willingness to fight to the end, we could and should have gone after David Nugent to name but one, i am sure there are a few more like him out there, what has happened to the scouting system at SJP.
Back to GR, why did he change a winning team, the lads played a top Italian side and beat them, how can he not play Ramage and Taylor, dont tell me that Carr and Baby are better, Luque had to sit untill the 66 minute to come on, by then Rossi had lost heart watching the ball fly over his head all game, Milner named offcial MOM was subbed at 66 mins, what message is that to GR. No we are a club going head long fast into a dog fight, maybe a losing fight at that. I wont give up on them never, but i get the feeling they have given up on us. FS has a lot to answer for and he is being very silent at present? . Time for Roeder to change tactics, play who deserves to play and play it simple and along the ground and he might just get a surprise.

Posted by: Rob -- Baku Azerbaijan  | November 5, 2006 5:17 AM

Rob -- Baku Azerbaijan wrote...

Lee i agree with your comments, the mess is deep rooted and a thorough clean out is required, we purchased Martins for 10 mil, a total waste of money as far as i am concerned, he is not a PL player and should not be wearing the No 9 shirt, he is short in statue, no desire or heart not strong enough and will not score more than 10 goals this season, that 10 mill could have been spent on English players, we should be trawling the lower divisions looking for talent, players with heart ambition and a willingness to fight to the end, we could and should have gone after David Nugent to name but one, i am sure there are a few more like him out there, what has happened to the scouting system at SJP.
Back to GR, You could see that terrified frightened look of a cornered fox on his face near the end of the match, the look that said "what the hell do i do now". Why did he change a winning team, the lads played a top Italian side and beat them, how can he not play Ramage and Taylor, dont tell me that Carr and Baby are better, Luque had to sit until the 66 minute to come on, by then Rossi had lost heart watching the ball fly over his head all game, Milner named offcial MOM was subbed at 66 mins, what message is that to GR. No we are a club going head long fast into a dog fight, maybe a losing fight at that. I wont give up on them never, but i get the feeling they have given up on us. FS has a lot to answer for and he is being very silent at present? Alan Olivers spin will not help either of his buddies now. Time for Roeder to change tactics, play who deserves to play and play it simple and along the ground and he might just get a surprise.

Posted by: Rob -- Baku Azerbaijan  | November 5, 2006 5:24 AM

Julian Duncan wrote...

Absolute disgraceful performance and as the Championship is now staring us in the face, the only honourable solution is for the Chairman and Manager to resign or be sacked ASAP. Thenn try to restore some confidence and pride in NUFC. They have made us the laughing stock of football and it cannot go on any longer.

Posted by: Julian Duncan  | November 5, 2006 8:39 AM

Ian Teasdale wrote...

Well, I don't know the solution to this latest crisis, but i know one answer is not to get rid of Roeder.
We cant blame him for the problems left by a succession of managers, who over the years have sold more players than they have bought, taking one of the biggest squads a few years ago to one of the smallest.
The board has to take the blame for letting players away without replacing them just to cut the wage bill to try to make a profit.
I've always disagreed with booing your own team but on the final whistle on Saturday I have to agree with everyone else, the performance was diabolical. the whole team should hang their heads in shame. Not one of them deserves to wear the shirt.
At least we cant go any lower and things can only get better.

Posted by: Ian Teasdale  | November 5, 2006 11:06 AM

Adam wrote...

Every manager who has spent money at Newcastle United has bought sub-standard players. Some have also bought good ones, like Michael Owen, for example. Solano came back and did great, Scott Parker is fast becoming a Toon legend, Emre is a class act. Is it Souness' fault he had horrendous luck with injuries? Owen, Dyer, Parker, Emre, Luque.... Fair enough Boumsong, Faye and Baba were not great signings, but what alternatives did Souness have? He took a gamble on Boumsong and it didn't pay off, get over it. He didn't exactly break the bank on Baba or Faye, but he didn't have the money to - he bought the best he could afford. And don't get me started on Luque, who still hasn't had a proper chance in the team.

We cannot keep blaming a previous manager for the current manager's lack of managerial ability. The fact is, Roeder spent a good £15m in the summer and neither of his big signings have done the business. His best signing is probably Sibierski (who has, I admit, done great for us).

Roeder knew all along that Ameobi was crocked, he knew our defence was rubbish. But he let Kuyt slip and he let Sol Campbell slip - and gave pathetic excuses for both. Instead, he blew £10m on an unknown quantity from a foreign league, after criticising Souness for doing exactly the same with Luque.

I'm tired of Roeder's bad decisions, I'm tired of him contradicting himself and, most of all, I'm tired of the fact that Newcastle United are nothing short of rubbish. We have a squad better than most in the Premiership - we should be challenging for a European place.

Freddy has appointed the man he thought was best for the job on every occasion, and has then backed him with a lot of money. You cannot keep blaming him. Would a different chairman have appointed someone better? O'Leary? Steve Bruce? Allardyce? We might have been in an even worse situation with a different chairman and a different manager.

In my personal opinion, we should keep Freddy and get rid of Roeder. There might not be many options who are unemployed, so perhaps we'll have to pay compensation and steal someone else's manager. Either way, we are in a relegation battle and unless Roeder leaves, I fear we will lose it.

Posted by: Adam  | November 5, 2006 11:38 AM

JOHN COLE wrote...

Disagree entirely with Adam.
Anyone who thinks Shepherd is a fit Chairman needs therapy.
Under Shepherds stewardship we have gone from title contenders to down among the dead men.
Under Shepherds stewardship we have seen six managers come and go...no continuity - little stability. Shepherd was very critical of Viana - one of Robsons signings, who on paper was a good buy (hindsight is a wonderful thing). However, Shepherd has never uttered one word of criticism regarding the Boumsong signing.....silence sometimes speaks volumes Freddie. Scotty Parker, Emre and Duff have been good signings - yet in the last transfer window, when what we desperately needed was a commanding presence in the centre of defence - what we got was a work experience, a Frenchman who should have never worn the shirt again...and a Man City reserve.
Glenn Roeder is a decent man and a good coach...but I'm not sure whether he has what it takes to compete at the top level.

Posted by: JOHN COLE  | November 5, 2006 8:54 PM

Chris Gray wrote...

I can't remember things being this bad since Arthur Cox, Bobby Shinton and Billy Rafferty (Cox pre-Keegan in other words). I don't think Roeder is entirely to blame, but neither do I think he's the man to get us out of this mess. For a couple of years, the dream ticket has been in my mind: Shearer manager with Keegan alongside him. At least they would insist on some passion - both men know what it means to wear black and white. Some of the current posers have no idea whatsoever and need a kick up the backside. Those two would administer it quite effectively.

I agree with one or two others that Curbishley, though an attractive proposition in some ways, would not be the answer at the moment.

So get them both out of retirement, FS, and let them sort it out. They would work well together, speak the same language and command great respect from the players.

And if Shearer's leg's a bit better, get him out there on the pitch as well! In fact, even if it isn't ...

Posted by: Chris Gray  | November 6, 2006 10:22 AM

Lee T wrote...

Freddy Shepherd has had years to get it right at this club and he has failed dismally. He has now appointed four sub-standard managers (though I do understand why he appointed Dalglish, so I'm not too harsh on him for that) and when he stumbled upon the right manager in Bobby Robson he messed him around terribly. The big mistake was made in the summer after we finished third in the league. We should have invested heavily in the defence and another attacker, instead Bobby was rewarded for his success by being stripped of transfer funds and was only allowed to sign Lee Bowyer on a free. He then sacked Bobby when their was no chance of getting in a decent replacement. SOuness had no track record as a top-flight manager in any of the big leagues. His sides played terribly football and he was renowned for his poor transfer deals including the ridiculous signing of George Weah's "cousin" when at Southampton. And yet... Shepherd backed this man to the tune of £50m!!
Leeds, Leeds, Leeds. That's where we are headed and it's not pretty.

Posted by: Lee T  | November 6, 2006 11:07 AM

stephen wrote...

i wish everyone would stop panicking bout our situation, yes we are 2nd bottom of the league but there has only been 11 games gone.the time to start worrying is at the 20 game mark,so come on get behind the lads,heard today that fs read the riot act and hopefully it will pay off.i also heard shola is gone for the season,i think we should sign christian vieri on a FREE i dont think he`s got a club at the moment,we shouldnt be relying on a 19 year old loanee to get wer goals we maybe should try the kids like carl finnigan,james troisi or andy carroll, they`ll play sometime i hope.MICHAEL CHOPRA 15-11 THIS SEASON why o why did we let him leave in the summer.he mightve relished it this season,i saw his goals on tv against sunderland last week and thought they were pure strikers goals.so start getting a bit belief in the lads

Posted by: stephen  | November 6, 2006 1:13 PM

Paul wrote...

Quite frankly, I am amazed that Roeder did not resign after Saturday's horror show. To see him slumped in his seat with 20 minutes left was, to me, a sign that he had no idea how to rally his beaten troops.

Posted by: Paul  | November 6, 2006 1:40 PM

Trevor wrote...

Well, well, well. Another fine mess!

It is fascinating to read all these passionate comments with interesting views on various players; I think it is a strong case of "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." However, some of you need to take off your "Eight Pinter" specs. "Emre a class act." You can't be serious, the guy does not want to be here and an early prediction would be, 'watch the January window for his departure'. "Parker fast becoming a legend." Hardly! Someone ought to coach him out of that silly business of checking his run and turning a reverse circle, when he has the ball. PS: did anyone see him in the second half yesterday? I thought he'd been substituted.

Contributor Adam's contention that we have a better squad than most in the premiership is a delusion. We have a poor squad with few exceptions. "Give Luque a chance." Well Adam, he can either play football or he can't. We have yet to see him offer even a glimmer that he can. He wanders around the pitch like a lost dog. Martins was an enormous waste of money and a panic buy. Inter must still be laughing down at the bank. He is somebody else who will be sold at a great loss in quick time. Butt is the most careless passer of the ball in the premiership. Carr and Solano are past their best. Duff flatters to deceive. Not one of our defenders is good enough for this level of football.

Roeder, nice guy that he is, is either lying or mad when he says he is not under pressure. However, he bloody well should be. If anyone else in the real world of proper jobs was performing as badly as Roeder and Shepherd, where would they be?

The problem is that Shepherd is arrogant and self delusional. His delusions are centered on the premise that we are a big club. Big stadium and big support is meaningless without success on the pitch. Why is it that every other club seems to find players we have barely heard of, who want to play and play to win. How many of the Sheffield United players were many of us familiar with? How many big names there? They wanted it, our boys didn't. Pulling out of tackles? What is going on??

Our transfer business is the worst in the premiership, if not Europe. We buy a load of lazy overpaid slackers and let the likes of Campbell go to Portsmouth on a free. Chimbonda (top of the OPTA defender stats last season) was on the market from May until August when Spurs bought him. Glenn was too busy looking for strikers, and look what we ended up with.

As has been proved time and time again, this club seems to be incapable of ever making the right decisions.

Posted by: Trevor  | November 6, 2006 3:01 PM

Mick wrote...

The fans told Shepherd who to appoint after he said he'd listen, we chose Hitzfeld and the chairman chose a 3 times loser in Roeder.

Shepherd Out, you're clueless.

Posted by: Mick  | November 6, 2006 7:07 PM

Adam wrote...

Trevor, "he can either play football or he can't" - do you honestly believe Premiership football is that simple? I like to think I'm not deluded, thanks very much. Do you honestly believe a player who consistently scored and created goals in one of the best leagues (possibly the best) in the world - as well as in the Champions League against Europe's finest - can't play football? Language, climate, culture - these are just a few of many non-football things that would affect your performance as a professional in any field. Your state of mind is just as important as physical and technical attributes. The style of the Premiership, as we have seen with players like Reyes, is also a fairly major factor. If you give Luque a run of ten matches in his natural position, you can then judge him either way. Andy Cole was discarded once or twice before we signed him - how many times had he had a proper run of matches? And what about Michael Chopra? Both have proven their premature doubters wrong (to different extents).

I like your point about Roeder feeling pressure though - if Roeder doesn't feel under pressure right now, he should not be in charge of Newcastle United.

Posted by: Adam  | November 6, 2006 8:54 PM

Michael wrote...

Well, its a mess. Where to start? With Shepard? No way. Not for me. He's done his best to provide funds for players, and the one's brought in have not been right. Martins when Andy Johnson could have been a proven solution, the inability to think creatively in terms of getting in a replacement at the back when Boumsong went. I mean, we know that massive money wasn't available to bring top class in, but I look at Everton getting the best out of seasoned pros like Stubbs and Weir and think Newcastle could and should have looked at that type of player to fill a gap and be a leader. But no, Roeder thinks creativity in the market is getting Rossi in. An unproven youngster trying to make his mark in a struggling team? Never gonna happen.

I would blame the players, however, over Roeder, but not by far. When they cross the white line, they have a job to do, and simply put they are not doing it.

Their respect for the club, fans and the management is questionable to say the least. Now we have a situation where an 'enforcer' in Nigel Pearson has to be brought in. What for? If the players don't / won't listen to Roeder, they are hardly gonna be likely to listen to the ex-manager of Carlisle United barking at them! These are multi millionaires we are talking about, and that kind of motivation will surely only work at the lower levels.

The only thing that can dig Newcastle out of this mess is the appointment of a manager who has achieved and is respected even before he sets foot on the training pitch because of his pedigree, as a top player and/or coach. Who is that man? Well, its a tough call really. Curbishley would not be the right man, Eriksson has the results but is damaged goods.

For me, I believe someone like Van Gaal, currently a technical director at, erm, AZ Alkmaar would surely be interested in an opportunity to manage in the Premiership.

Thats if he believes the current squad full of 'I don't care' footballers could still be there next season!

Posted by: Michael  | November 7, 2006 12:49 AM

Dale wrote...

Well, well well, same old NUFC. It seems that Freddies days are number, about time too I say.

However, one thing I don't agree with is the unfair critisim Martins is coming in for. He has been here about two months and yet he seems to be disgarded as a waste of money to most sections of the toon army.

We have argubly the best fans in the county yet we seem hell on bent destroying players who do not score a hat trick each week, set up a couple of goals each game or score 10/10 for there performance. Martins needs time to settle. We, as Toon fans need to give him time to settle. Would any of us feel settled in a foreign country after 2 months?? I doubt it.

In recent years we have destroyed the confidence of some very good players. What we did to Viana was close to murder in my opinion. There we have a player who was voted Young Player of the Year by some of Europes top coaches, yet we deem him not good enough after one season. Similar to Luque, although he is the one out of the 3 mentioned who maybe not mentally strong enough for this league.

All that I ask is that we give Martins more time to blend in to life in England. Do you think we will give him that chance?? I don't think we will unfortunetley.

One other question, if NUFC had of signed a certain Henry when Arsenal did , do you think the supporters would of gave Henry the amount of time he got at Arsenal to settle?? I very much doubt that either. He would of been disgarded and moved on.

Posted by: Dale  | November 7, 2006 5:25 PM

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