ChronicleLive - Blog on the Tyne - Newcastle United Blog

Papering over the cracks?

2009-07-18T18:11:40Z

Call me a killjoy but Newcastle United's 7-2 mauling of Darlington is hardly the cause for optimism with the Magpies still on course for crisis - unless drastic action is taken soon.

It might sound like doom and gloom - but if there is anybody that can see Chris Hughton holding the fort all season and Newcastle making an instant return to the Premier League with a group of disillusioned players then I will take my hat off to them.

Shola Ameobi was fantastic with two goals, bad boy Joey Barton sprayed the play, Kevin Nolan looked good and Damien Duff looked like a world beater - ahem, against Darlo and a team of triallists and kids earning peanuts...

You would expect it really - but a look behind this result tells a different story.

The magnificent 4,000 strong Newcastle following enjoyed their day in the sunshine at the Darlo Arena.

But they also made their feelings known in front of watching managing director Derek Llambias.

The casino boss had a box seat directly opposite the huge following from Tyneside with unsavoury chants towards Mike Ashley - to which Llambias responded with a clear shake of the head.

And chants in support of Alan Shearer throughout the game as blasts of "Alan Shearer's black and white army" were belted out as Newcastle's first team donned their yellow kit for the first time.

Later one Toon fan in the posh seats offered Llambias a gift - his boxer shorts.

But unlike Ameobi on the day, who bagged twice, the United supporter was off target - and after skimming the head of a senior Newcastle Press figure they landed on the back of a bemused Darlo fan.

With members of the Shepherd family in the executive box and the Profitable Group still waiting for an answer after making their second bid for the Toon - it was pretty much just an average day for Newcastle United.

Toon name team for Darlo friendly

2009-07-18T10:57:08Z

Newcastle United caretaker boss Chris Hughton once again named Joey Barton in the starting line-up for today's friendly with Darlington.

Barton was joined by Alan Smith in the engine room as Kazenga LuaLua was paired with Shola Ameobi in attack.

Meanwhile Andy Carroll was named as sub.

UNITED: Krul, R Taylor, Beye, S Taylor, Kadar, Smith, Nolan, Barton, Duff, LuaLua, Ameobi.

Subs: Coloccini, Enrique, Guthrie, Jonas, Xisco, Butt, Forster, Carroll, Donaldson.

Blog on the Tyne at the Darlington match

2009-07-17T14:03:14Z

CHRONICLE chief sports writer Lee Ryder will be bringing you live text commentary as Newcastle United take on Darlington in the club's second pre-season friendly.

With the Toon players getting off to a good start last weekend in the 3-0 defeat of Shamrock Rovers, all eyes with be on the team Chris Hughton puts out to face the League Two side.

Scores of fans are expected to make the journey down the A1 to take in the friendly fixture against Colin Todd's outfit, which kicks off at 12.30pm on Saturday.

Former Middlesbrough boss Todd has already warned his patched up team they face a "big step up" when they take on the Toon at the Northern Echo Arena, and it'll be up to the United players to put on another good performance.

Lee will be bringing you all the action and colour from the ground, plus there's an opportunity for fans to chat about the on-going mess at St James's Park and share some banter.

Just come back here from 12.15pm or click below to set a reminder.

Darlington v Newcastle United

New Toon banana kit enjoys a winning debut

2009-07-15T21:19:15Z

At around 7pm tonight there was an almighty hush as the controversial new away kit that belongs to Newcastle United dazzled a crowd of around 400 people who turned out to watch the future Magpies take on Ashington at Woodhorn Lane.

One player admitted: "There was just a big hush but we soon got used to it and there was no excuse for not picking out our team-mates!"

In a typical gonnabes v wannabes clash with young professionals taking on Northern League opposition, unsurprisingly there were a few tackles close to the bone.

But it was United who went in front after just two minutes as Callum Morris pumped a long ball into the Ashington half and after Fabio Zamblera flicked the ball into the path of Wesley Ngo Baheng, he steered the ball home.

Ashington equalised after Fraser Forster dropped a cross from the right and Keith Douglas bagged on 26 minutes but Zamblera restored the lead two minutes before the break when he converted from Baheng's cross.

Former United trainee Liam Atkin smashed home after the break with 55 minutes played when Samuel Ameobi's header away landed straight at his feet.

But the yellow and orange clad Ameobi won it for the Magpies with 21 minutes to go following a thunderous shot after Samuel Adjei's good old fashioned trickery down the right hand side had Ashington rocking.

All in all a good run out for Alan Thompson's youngsters but the banana away kit was off to a winning start!

UNITED: Forster (Soderberg 46), J.Taylor (Tavernier 63), Lough, McLaughlin (Inman 63), Tozer, Morris, Godsmark (Airey 46 [Adjei 53]), Donaldson, Zamblera (Samuel Ameobi 46), Baheng, Danquah.

Disgruntled Toon troops are making a cry for help

2009-07-14T11:25:46Z

Habib Beye, Steve Harper, Steven Taylor, Jose Enrique and Kevin Nolan - all of them have played top flight football and all of them have played in Europe.

Therefore all of them know what it takes to play at the highest level and all of them are fully entitled to make their feelings known.

It was always inevitable that Toon players would come out and have their say about the situation and none them took much persuasion to be interviewed on Saturday night in Dublin.

If anything, it can only be described as a cry for help from the United players although many will point the finger at them for getting us into this mess in the first place.

True, it can be accepted that with four managers in one season and all of the trouble and strife that went with the 2008/09 season - United were always heading for a fall.

But in keeping with the madness at St James's what price the pleas from United's bewildered troops fall on dead ears?

Yet another sad chapter of the Toon crisis that continues to make Newcastle look like a laughing stock.

And while the players can escape the fans don't have that option.

The mess continues...

Irish consortium throw hat into Toon ring

2009-07-12T12:30:56Z

A former Sunderland shareholder has claimed he is putting together a consortium to buy Newcastle United.

News breaking here in the Irish capital today is at an early stage of starting a takeover of the Magpies.

Irish publican Charlie Chawke was part of the Drumaville consortium which bought Sunderland in 2006.

And Chawke said today: We are in talks with Newcastle at the moment.

"Our legal and financial people are speaking to the legal and financial people over there.

"Negotiations are not too advanced.

"It's at an initial stage but we have got a fairly good response.

"There's great interest, it's just a matter of putting the money together."

And despite the Sunderland links, Chawke added: "We had three great years there (Sunderland) but unfortunately we're gone now and we're looking for options.

"We have to look at options other than Sunderland and Newcastle would fit very nicely into our portfolio.

"Newcastle is a very viable option at the moment.

"It's for sale for about £100m, which is about 500m less than it was worth a year and a half or two years ago."

Toon young guns light up some dark days for United faithful

2009-07-12T12:30:56Z

Without getting too carried away about a 3-0 win over Shamrock Rovers it has to be said there were a few positives for the Newcastle United fans who made the journey over the Irish Sea here in Dublin to enjoy a rare bright spot this summer.

Behind the scenes in the Toon camp it's obvious the players, especially the senior troops, are looking for some answers about just where the club is going.

But with no sign of new players coming in due to the snail-paced sale of the Magpies, certainly some of the young guns snapped up their chance to shine yesterday against the Hoops.

Firstly, Nile Ranger's decent performance was capped with a late goal after he'd played the role of a roll on/off sub.

Then there was Wesley Ngo Baheng who toiled in midfield during the first half and showed his recovery from a serious knee injury has been a complete success.

Tamas Kadar and Callum Morris also shone in the friendly workout and at times it was hard to work out who were the rookies alongside error prone Fabricio Coloccini.

In the second half it was the turn of midfield trio Ryan Donaldson, Kazenga LuaLua and Frank Danquah.

Donaldson has been converted into a midfielder after starting his career as a striker but he has been told his best chance of making it is by dropping back into the engine room.

The Geordie looked good going forward out wide and also could have scored when he sent a header just wide in the second half.

Kazenga LuaLua is hungry to succeed after a stint at Donny on loan last term.

In a recent interview he told me he was "ready for men's football" and that this season could be a big chance for the younger brother of Lomana LuaLua.

Danquah is also a pretty cool figure with the Amsterdam-born youngster, once of Ajax's famous soccer school, already proving nothing seems to get to him.

If he can put in a few more performances like Shamrock in the second half, then there could be a few positives for fans to latch on to.

So in the end goals from Steven Taylor, Shola and the boy Ranger sealed a nice start to pre-season.

The Toon fans also deserve credit for enduring a downpour after the heavens opened in Dublin on the uncovered seating area.

Orange raincoats were provided for fans and they really did come alive in the second half after watching a slow start to their pre-season fixture list.

Next up Darlo away...

Profit in peace

2009-07-10T12:43:36Z

Newcastle United may well be just hours away from their first pre-season friendly of the season here in Dublin but while the first leg loosener of the summer is certain to attract plenty of interest - the identity of just who the new owners will be is still catching all of the headlines.

Such is the confusing state of affairs for Newcastle fans at the moment, wannabe owners of United, the Profitable Group went on record to confirm their interest in public today via former Liverpool midfielder Steve McMahon.

Initial claims that the Singapore-based group were contenders back on June 9 were dismissed by Derek Llambias as "total rubbish" only for the Profitable Group to release a statement soon after to leave Toon fans scratching their heads.

If Newcastle want to sell and Profitable Group are as serious as they want us to believe - then surely the time has to be now to step up to the plate?

And if there is talk that the Profitable Group are misleading people, what category do you class the current regime in?

A respected source has since revealed that Austrian gaming giants Bwin were also keen to be in the running with United - unlike they did with Profitable's initial interest - refusing to confirm or deny any knowledge of the bid.

Perhaps the current regime should make up their mind - either you can rule in/or out potential bidders or you can't.

Malaysian interest has also attracted plenty of publicity.

But despite the enormous hullabaloo caused by their first visit to Tyneside, AirAsia and Ananda Krishnan have publicly rubbished the Far East bid and in recent days there have also been sceptics out there who have rubbished the entire bid.

Some fans I have spoken to have dismissed it as a convenient and a well-timed tour in front of the watching world to generate more interest to the sale.

All of it adds to the farce for Toon fans who deserve much better.

With a players' revolt is imminent on Tyneside you could say that things have actually gone backwards this week rather than forwards!

For 90 minutes though tomorrow we are in danger of actually taking in a football match.

Just as a break to the madness.

Certainly 90 minutes of football action will be respite for the Toon Army.

Blog on the Tyne Live at the Shamrock Rovers game

2009-07-10T08:40:24Z

BLOG on the Tyne Live is the ONLY place you can listen to commentary from Newcastle United's match against Shamrock Rovers.

Chronicle chief sports writer Lee Ryder has made the journey to Dublin with hundreds of other Toon fans, and he'll be bringing you his unique take on the action.

It's the first chance the demoralised players have to show they are ready for the start of the upcoming Championship season after all the turmoil at the club.

Chris Hughton will be in the dug-out to direct the troops as Alan Shearer's future remains in limbo during the protracted takeover talks.

The match kicks off at 3pm on Saturday, click here to listen to the game as it happens, and chat to other fans below.

Shamrock Rovers v Newcastle United

Lack of urgency will cost Newcastle United dear

2009-07-08T19:28:03Z

It's as patronising as you can get but the money men who are trying to sell Newcastle United will tell you: "These things can't be done overnight."

But while that, painfully, may be the case - 10 months (which usually fly by) in a football club's history CAN be deemed as pretty much overnight as far as the big picture is concerned in what has turned into a not so beautiful game for Toon fans and the recent lack of urgency in the club's snail-paced sale is damaging Newcastle.

And long after Mike Ashley, Derek Llambias and Seymour Pierce's Keith Harris and Tom Sheldon are back in the comfort zone of London's wine bars and theatre district - the reality is Toon fans could well be rolling up at Boundary Park, Roots Hall and the other St James Park if things aren't sorted.

Ashley always maintained that he would look after the Mags as long as he was in control.

Well with Chris Hughton in caretaker charge, Alan Shearer in limbo and transfer targets not even on the radar as Big Al would have planned - the club continues to sink into oblivion.

Saturday afternoon will see the black and whites run out at Shamrock for the first game of the season.

It was supposed to be the start of a new era for United fans but instead it will continue to be a period of uncertainty and fear.

Even if United are sold tomorrow then they are already miles behind the rest of the division and if the new owners don't pull off the appointment of Shearer, they could be in for more pain.

True, new owners could pull out a manager that makes everybody stand up and take notice in the next few weeks.

That, however, is only if Mr Ashley can come to an agreement and take the ballpark figure that appears to have emerged since the club went up for sale.

Llambias stated in the Chronicle this week that Seymour Pierce had received more than two bids of £100million.

Well if that is the case what happened to the first come, first served policy?

The farce continues...

Michael who?

2009-07-04T11:58:44Z

I stopped worrying about Michael Owen on the day his contract expired with Newcastle United - but to see the pint sized striker paraded with a Manchester United shirt and scarf should not be a major surprise.

He's not fussed what Toon fans think or Liverpool supporters either.

Owen probably stopped worrying about Newcastle when he refused to sign a new deal last season, months before the season ended and months before United were relegated.

Whether he has ever truly cared about Newcastle United is a major topic for debate, in my opinion his time at St James's Park was simply his job but he didn't go about like most Toon fans wanted.

There didn't seem to be any joy in his face when he played for Newcastle or after a number of his goals.

It was just a job for him, that he had to get out of bed for in the morning.

The fact you only seemed to see him smile when he was at the races with his top hat on underlines that.

Sir Alex Ferguson is shrewd enough to know that Owen will probably turn out to be an excellent signing.

And the fact that Newcastle went down made it easier for Owen to go to Old Trafford.

As Toon fans we were always sceptical about his desire to play for Newcastle, backed up by his latest comments - or more boring drivel if you like.

Even Liverpool fans knew that he didn't look like a man who cared as much as others, underlined by their love for Robbie Fowler at the time.

Owen for me is manufactured as a footballer, he isn't one of the game's characters.

In the 1970s, people like Denis Law, Rodney Marsh and Supermac were great players because they had charm, cheek and skill to die for.

They wouldn't be ashamed to mix it with real people in pubs have a pint or get some pie and mash down their necks.

In the 1980s football had people like Frank McAvennie, Charlie Nicholas and Ian Rush while Kevin Keegan showed that the world was changing for footballers with a string of commercial deals, which kept him in the public eye.

But still in the 1990s where would our football memories be in the pub on a Friday night if we couldn't talk about Micky Quinn, Lee Clark, David Kelly and Rob Lee!

Certainly we won't be talking about Michael Owen in the same breath as the likes of that lot.

Owen has done it by the book and has been trained on FA courses as a kid to say sensible things to the media, look after his body and don't drink too much.

Yet it says it all when Toon fans probably have more feeling (not much) for disgraced midfielder Joey Barton than the choir boy looks of Cheshire's (not in Wales) Michael Owen and his mundane Hollyoaks accent.

Gone and quickly forgotten me thinks.

Potential buyers jet into Toon for NUFC tour

2009-07-02T19:17:46Z

NEWCASTLE United managing director Derek Llambias is understood to have handed a group of Asian businessmen a tour of St James's Park as the sale of the Magpies took a fresh twist.

The Chronicle understands Llambias was with the group throughout the day.

The Asian party are thought to be from Malaysia and were shown the facilities on offer at United but the identity of the group is yet to be confirmed.

The Toon managing director then accompanied the group on a flight back to the capital were talks continued tonight.

Another sad day for Newcastle United

2009-07-01T13:36:55Z

It was the day that most Toon fans were hoping to see Alan Shearer put his side through their paces and begin to get his teeth into the tough fight ahead to make sure Newcastle United are able to compete in the Championship next season.

Instead, Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood attempted to lift spirits for a set of disillusioned Toon players who really don't know whether they are coming are going.

Departed stars Michael Owen, Mark Viduka, David Edgar, Cacapa and Nacho Gonzalez are long gone while five stars who have been on international duty have been handed an extra week off.

One of those putting their feet up for a while longer is Sebastien Bassong, a player who wants out but might face a struggle.

Had Shearer been in charge he would have probably been talking to Bassong about his future now.

With his future unclear he could well be sold be the current regime with Mike Ashley just having coughed up £10million of bonuses and transfer instalments.

It has to be questioned just which players want to be here at the moment and you could probably count them on one hand.

Without Shearer's or presence or any other potential new manager, players are simply going through the motions.

As for discipline and respect for Hughton and Calderwood?

Well Oba Martins turned up 20 minutes late at the club's training HQ in Benton.

The start of a new era?

You're having a laugh.

Flip flops and towels at the ready?

2009-06-28T15:24:45Z

Newcastle United players will return to their Benton HQ this week - but they will be walking back into a different environment to the one they left back in May under the guidance of Alan Shearer.

In my humble opinion, the training ground was transformed last season from a millionaires health club to an army boot camp within a week from April 1 when Big Al was appointed as boss in our last gasp bid to avoid the drop.

That wasn't Chris Hughton's fault as he was brought in amidst an emergency situation to look after other people's players but he now has another big job on his hands.

For Mike Ashley bringing Shearer in was the last desperate act from a desperate man as things started to crumble at St James's Park due to a string of decisions, which have almost killed us as a club.

Make no mistake, Chris Hughton is one of the most likeable blokes in football and in a sport that is often dominated by people on ego trips, the Londoner is different because he is a total gentleman.

However, one thing he's not, again in my opinion, is management material.

And when Hughton took training last season for long periods and Joe Kinnear watched on, the training ground did for me represent a bit of a joke and not a very funny one at that.

Indeed, watching players like Cacapa wander in with flip flops and towels at the ready for another long session on the treatment table was enough to make my blood boil, especially with the position Newcastle United found themselves in.

It was well documented at the time that Big Al introduced a system in which players were punished for being late and the treatment room quickly emptied when players were told they would have to stay in their until teatime rather than knock off just after lunch.

The reserve team also changed with first team members being told they had to play rather than a bunch of kids.

It's understood that Xisco didn't fancy the idea of playing in places like Warrington, Widnes or North Ferriby under Kinnear but that also changed when Shearer was appointed.

Yes, Newcastle's bid to beat the drop ultimately failed under Shearer but with just eight games to go it was always going to be tough.

For me we went down by virtue of one goal but it's safe to say that if Shearer had not have been appointed, we'd have been down much earlier than the final day, well it is in light of just what Newcastle's training ground had turned into.

Again Hughton is regarded as an excellent coach and the players clearly enjoy working under him.

But are they scared of him?

Does he send the fear of God into the players?

Certainly Shearer did.

For example one of Shearer's managerial successes was to get Mark Viduka on the pitch and playing in the way we all know he can when he can be bothered.

He collared Viduka and asked him if he was up for the battle and if he wasn't to pack his bags and leave early.

It worked to an extent, Viduka was one of the better players during the run-in and what if that "goal" against Fulham had stood?

Football is a game about emotion, passion and most importantly controlled aggression.

But I just can't imagine Hughton picking a teapot up and smashing it off the wall if he felt he wasn't getting his point across.

My memory takes me back to an incident not long after Christmas when the winter sun was blinding.

As I walked to an interview room I heard a bellowing voice.

"Oi I wanna word with you", he said.

As I tried to look up I couldn't see exactly who it was but soon as his frame blocked out the sunlight it was Alan Smith.

"Why you been writing **** in the paper about me having an effin setback!"

I promptly replied, that not only was the article not written by me but it was in a different paper all together.

Smith then exploded into another rant about why journalists couldn't check things with the club.

I didn't mind Smith's honesty one little bit, I didn't mind him kicking off - it was refreshing to see he gave a **** and he instantly went up in my estimation in five minutes flat.

I replied we were often kept in the dark about injuries with physios often touchy about the subject for obvious reasons.

A few minutes later Smith calmed down but rather than hauling his player away from a sticky situation, Hughton watched on and let the situation peter out.

Whether other managers would have done the same is a good question.

The point Smith also made was that everybody should have been "together" back then, but what was clear was that there were split camps in that dressing room and cliques.

A professional has pointed out to me on several occasions that a team that drinks together, wins together.

But that clearly isn't the case in Newcastle, team spirit didn't exist.

So where am I going with this.

Well basically, if you needed me to point out that Newcastle weren't already in deep trouble, I'm doing it now.

Under the supervision of Hughton and Colin Calderwood, things don't look good.

I could actually understand it more if Calderwood was handed the job as boss until Ashley sells the club.

I'm not saying he would be a success but he is a manager and Hughton is pigeon holed as a coach.

There aren't too many options at Newcastle but even Richard Money would be a better bet than a confusing system like the Hughton/Calderwood system, which yielded just one win in 10 games last season.

Money actually does scare some of the reserve team players - he might just be a better bet if Ashley is going to continue to dig his heels in on Shearer.

Many will say that Shearer also won once last season.

But after witnessing the transformation of the training ground in just a few days last season, the scary prospect of going back to of this bling boys millionaires health club, it has to be said Newcastle fans are on course for more pain, more grief and more agony.

Taking the Michael

2009-06-22T21:09:46Z

So there you go then, Michael Owen arrived to 20,000 fans celebrating his arrival to Tyneside like we'd won a trophy and leaves with no more than a whimper after a playing his part in the Toon's relegation to the Championship.

Owen was never going to stay on Tyneside the minute we were placed in the same division as Scunthorpe, Blackpool and Barnsley was he?

It's a no-brainer and today's interview was inevitable.

So what good memories do we have of Michael?

Well his two goals against Sunderland last season and his hat-trick against West Ham at Upton Park back in 2005 in the 4-2 win in the east end were basically it.

He scored 29 goals in his three years on Tyneside but was haunted by injuries.

And if it wasn't injuries it seemed to be recovering from injuries in order to "get fit for England."

To be totally honest I can count the amount of times I witnessed a smile from the little striker on one hand.

Yes, he is one of the most media savvy footballers of his generation but when it came to talking to the local paper it was like getting blood out of a stone.

If his goal ratio is half decent his positive response to interview requests was dreadful.

More often than not, the "captain" was happy to let players who had little experience of dealing with the Press, young players like Andy Carroll, Kazenga LuaLua and David Edgar are all those who found themselves thrust into the media limelight at an early stage due to senior players like Owen's reluctance to talk the fans via the Press.

In true Newcastle style, Owen will probably go on and have an injury free run and score plenty of goals elsewhere.

Not bad for a player who once said "I'm here as long as you want me" during a dinner for Wallsend Boys Club a few years back.

But, and at the risk of sounding like sour grapes, would you really want Owen next season?

The player who walked round with a face like a smacked backside for three years seemed like a lost soul for much of Newcastle's slide to the second tier.

Yes, he was injured at Villa Park when we finally crumbled.

But when he walked off with a bone dry shirt after failing to get anywhere near the goal against the Villains, you just knew his time was up.

With Nile Ranger and Andy Carroll waiting in the wings to take his place, the two young strikers are at least something Toon fans can hang their hats on next season.

Thanks for the memories Michael, well sort of.