Nicky Butt, our captain in Wednesday disappointing defeat against Manchester City was interviewed by the Newcastle Journal this morning and gives a very good interview to Paul Gilder.
Nicky Butt – pleads for time for Big Sam
Nicky was brought to the club by Sit Bobby Robson in the summer of 2004 and during his 3 years here, has already seen 4 different managers at the club. Not very good for either stability or results.
Nicky told the Journal this morning:
“Everyone knows that managers are judged on results,†“But things will never improve unless he is given time. This club of all clubs shows you that. I’ve been here for three-and-a-half years and I’ve had four managers. Sooner or later, someone has to say,”
‘This is the manager we’re going to stand by, in good times and bad times,’ and hopefully get the rewards at the end of it all.â€
“Look at all the big teams like Manchester United and Arsenal and the other teams that are doing well, like Everton, they’re the clubs that have stood by their managers for a long time. If we do that, I’m sure we’ll do all right.â€
We don’t think the reason that Ferguson and Wenger have been at their clubs for a long time is why they are successful. We think they’ve been successful and that’s why they’ve been at the clubs a long time. However, Newcastle have had absolutely no success by just switching managers when we come across a very bad run, which we are in right now. We were pleasantly surprised the crowd neither turned on the players or even Sam on Wednesday night, even though it was again a very hard game to watch for the Newcastle faithful, and extremely frustrating.
It must also be a difficult time for young Chairman Chris Mort, who has described the speculation about Allardyce’s future as ‘tedious’ in recent days. Newcastle have not done well over the last 12 games, that’s correct having picked up just 9 points during that time with a couple of wins and 3 draws and everybody knows it’s not good enough. Sam knows that, Chris Mort knows that, the players know that only too well and of course the fans know that too.
Butt is hoping the new regime at Newcastle will show greater patience and understanding towards Big Sam as he continued:
“We’re all playing for him (Allardyce) – we’re all behind him,†“We realize our results and our performances are going to reflect on him.”
“But we’re all fond of him, we all want him to be here and I’m sure, hopefully, that he’ll get that time.â€
Newcastle will travel to Stoke City for a Sunday 3rd round tie against Stoke City and that will not be an easy game for the Magpies. And quite honestly our expectations are not very high that we can come away from there with a result, given our previous performances. So for once, maybe we can turn this thing around and actually win the tie.
But if there is another loss we think that will not even cause Mort to give Sam the sack, but we’ll all have to wait on that one. Nicky continued:
“It’s a possible banana skin, but all the Premier League clubs going into the third round are going to have games like that,†he said. “This is what we’re in football for, to be playing in these big games and, hopefully, to do well.”
“These are tough times, but we’ve got to stand up and be counted in the dressing room. The players are the ones who get results and it’s up to us to turn the corner sooner rather than later. We’re all together in the dressing room, and we’ve got to keep going.â€
“Things are going to be difficult with the four lads (Obafemi Martins, Geremi, Habib Beye and Abdoulaye Faye) going to the African Nations Cup (this month). That will make the squad smaller and smaller and so we’ve got to stick together.”
“We’ve had some bad results and we’re going to get stick from the fans and in the newspapers, rightly so because we’re paid to get results and we’re not getting them. But if we don’t stand up and be counted, we’ll just keep going down, down and down and things will just get worse and worse. I’m sure if you ask any of the lads, they’d all say we’re in it together and that’s the truth.â€
Good words from Nicky Butt in very difficult circumstances, and the fact the players are behind Sam is a good sign and maybe that is saving the big man. Maybe the players can now pull us out of this situation. Certainly if we can do that and somehow string a set of good results together everybody will much better for it. But going through this extended period of poor results is a very difficult thing for dedicated Newcastle fans, including us. 🙁
Comments welcome.
32 comments so far
Jinal
Jan 4, 2008 at 9:57 AM
Comment #1“Look at all the big teams like Manchester United and Arsenal and the other teams that are doing well, like Everton, they’re the clubs that have stood by their managers for a long time. If we do that, I’m sure we’ll do all right.â€
Lad, alright isn’t good enough.
Hadrian
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:06 AM
Comment #2stability is great , when the right appointments are made in the first place .
Butt’s just found a manager that looks like he’s gonna play him till retirement and wants to hold on .
lets see his signings and see what happens , altho names being thrown around like claudio pitbull are hardly going to improve sam’s image in fans eyes .
ourman
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:07 AM
Comment #3Sacking Sam with no replacement lined up would be daft. Replacing him with Shearer would be a huge risk.
The sensible move would be to line up a world class manager. If he can’t start till the summer then let Sam work till then – and don’t let him waste any more money in the meantime. If he proves himself in the meantime then so be it.
Didn’t I read somewhere that Hitzfeld would be available from June?
James
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:08 AM
Comment #4He’s worried because he knows a new Manager would offload him in a heartbeat. A brilliant player in his day but so far best his sell by date it is embarrassing. A new manager would get rid of him and get someone in with pace. Only a prehistoric Sam would stick by someone with no legs.
Man Utd, Arsenal and Everton stood by their managers because they knew their Managers played attractive football with their previous clubs. Moyes’s Preston were fantastic, as was Ferguson’s Aberdeen, and Wenger’s Monaco. But Sam’s Bolton is not the long term place we want to get to. So Mr Butt, that’s the reason we want shot of Sam.
thelongshanks
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:08 AM
Comment #5Well in a nutshell if sam gets sacked a new manager comes in and see’s butt is not good enuf and sells him.Sam is nicky’s lifeline.
ChrisM
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Comment #6Although i can see the point about the lack of stability when changing managers regularly, i can not see how we will turn the corner when we constantly play players out of position.
CHANGING THE SUBJECT BUT:
PLAY SHOLA AMEOBI UP FRONT FOR ONCE!!!!!! There is no question that the rest have been shit this season and have been given umteen chances. Shola has had one against Dearby. Yes he was crap that night but you cant tell me that he can be any worse than the top profile underperformers we play week in week out at the moment. Shola deserves a second chance.
Come on Fatty give him a go.
Black Caesar
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:10 AM
Comment #7Mr Butt there is talking absolute nonsense. You only give a manager time in the job if he is good enough, and am sorry but Allardyce simply isnt good enough.
Managers like Wenger, Mourinho, Ramos, Benitez, Eriksson have shattered this ridiculous myth about “You cant build Rome in a day” nonsense. All the above managers, to a lesser or higher extent, have proved that you can!
And one more thing – the only reason why Newcastle have gone through so many managers over the years is simply because we HAVE NOT chosen the right manager, or a top manager, in the first place. Look at Souness and Roeder. You dont need to be the prophet Isaiah to realise that they would get the sack because they are inherently crap! Not rocket science, and so is Alaardyce!!!
Get rid of him now, and next time we should go for a world class manager, who we’ll then stick with for at least 5+ years!
awc88
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:12 AM
Comment #8hmmmm time breads success, lets see well arsene wenger finished second in his first season at arsenal , and in his first full season did the double. Erm chris coleman was in charge of fulham how long? and dario gradi at crewe? oh yes and boro were going down after keeping bryan robson in the job so long,. and lets not forget its taken erickson, oh wait yes less than a season, and lets not forget ramos has taken an age to close the 11 opopint gap on newcastle, oh wait that wasnt that long either, well never mind like sam said 5 years and heel get it right
Jack
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Comment #9I can’t belive you all want Allardyce sacked. Don’t you learn? If we sack him, then another manager will come in and do just as bad. He needs time and support.
Bill F
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:21 AM
Comment #10Ed, I sent you an e-mail yesterday saying that I had had a virus alert whilst trying to get onto the blog.
I have been able to OK today so assume it’s now problem free. Were you having problems yesterday or was it just my firms virus checker being ultra catious. It is a government dept.
I would have to agree with ChrisM why not give Shola a run out. Oba at the moment is playing some real cr*p.
adam
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:21 AM
Comment #11sack sam in the summer. or he should resign. then we can get a quality manager after euros
Hammy
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:22 AM
Comment #12ChrisM,
Are you Strola’s agent?
James
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Comment #13THE FIRST 11
Of the current squad these are the only ones I would keep:
Given, Beye, Taylor, Enrique, Nzogbia, Owen
And bring in :
World class central defender, 3 creative midfielders with pace, 1 striker who doesn’t need ten chances to score one (unlike Martins). Right now I’d offer the earth to get Huntleear.
I would sell all of these :
Capaca, Rozenhal, Carr, Emre, Barton, Butt, Milner, Viduka, Smith, Martins (misses way too many chances).
mark
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Comment #14at last, a player coming out and basically saying “the fans shouting for allardyce this early are all muppets”
Kash2
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Comment #15Sacking Sam will cost us millions, we know he has some sort of credentials, maybe the board should tell him what they expect from him and his team in detail. Whether its wins, cleansheets, performances etc etc, then BSA can tell the board what it would take him to do that! I still think BSA is the man for the job, but if he doesn’t have the right tools to do it, then the job will be botched!
In a NUTSHELL, he needs money to buy matchwinners!
Hadrian
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:38 AM
Comment #16jack , are we assuming freddy sheperd gets to pick our new manager again?
and kash2 , matchwinners like claudio pitbull? that korean chap? wes brown?
Hammy
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Comment #17Hmmm Kash2..you might have something there….
How come in most jobs if you perform poorly you get a written warning then the boot
but in football if you do crap you get a huge payoff?
I might have to botch a couple of Brain ops to see what the NHS do…..
Ed Harrison
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Comment #18Bill – sent you a note back – thanks for warning.
big pea ov the weab
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Comment #19if we sack sam who is going to come in for the job a certain mr sherear a dont think so big als a geordie ledgond y would he jeperdise that for a crap bunch ov players that wouldent do nowt in the championship let alone the premiership
UTD111
Jan 4, 2008 at 10:52 AM
Comment #20The one thing that Butt’s statement does tend to put to rest is the myth thats been circulating round tyneside that there is dressing room discontent with his tactics, training methods, choice of pies for lunch etc
However, not sure I feel comfortable with the players being “fond” of him (eeeek!). Steady on – this isnt Sunderland boys………
awc88
Jan 4, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Comment #21utd11 what wud u expect butt to say when he is asked if there is dressing room unrest,hes too much of a professional to say that there is, course hes gonna say no hes nott gonnna go against the manager when hes in a job. You never heard the players come out and say anything against Guilt when he was here but it weas clear he upset everyone
Steeley
Jan 4, 2008 at 11:11 AM
Comment #22The reason the fans didnt boo Sam was because they didnt want to give Sam another excuse for losing. The fact is, the crowd backed the team and it made absolutely no difference because of Sam’s naff tactics.
At the end of the day, when a decent managerial appointment is made we can all get behind that manager. Fat Sam is the last relic of the FFS days and the sooner we get rid and and appoint someone who deserves time in the job the better!
UTD111
Jan 4, 2008 at 11:11 AM
Comment #23Jeez awc88 – you’ve just proved that no matter what they say, they’ll never win with people like you!! Who would you rather believe – the captain of the team or some spotty cockney journalist who’s got it in for United whenever he can??
Steeley
Jan 4, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Comment #24awc88 – exactly! If Butt had said “yeah, we all think he’s sh!te…please sack him!”, I doubt that he would have had much of a career left in football, let alone at Newcastle United! It’s against their standards to come and diss a manager, unless of course they (or the manager) are definitely leaving.
Steeley
Jan 4, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Comment #25UTD111 – some spotty cockney, simply because he isnt on the club’s payroll and blatantly being restricted in what he can and cant say!
UTD111
Jan 4, 2008 at 11:20 AM
Comment #26Steeley
Its either:
a) he’s telling the truth, or
b) he’s being professional
We should applaud both. To have him sday what you would like to hear as suggested above would give the press another field day and yet again drag United’s name through the mud. Is that what you really want? Are you Sunderland in disguise??
stjames
Jan 4, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Comment #27As coincidences go this one is telling: On this day in 2006 under Souness we had 26 points. On this day in 2007 under Roeder we had 26 points. Both managers were sacked, Souness in feb 2006, Roeder in may 2007. In Roeder’s case the sacking was more that of a caretaker than of a manager as Shepherd never really accepted him. His hand was forced after Roeder did such a splendid job after he succeeded Souness.
Today we also have 26 points.
Tom_Toon
Jan 4, 2008 at 11:48 AM
Comment #28the only reason butt is saying this because hes so crap that with any othwer manager he wont get played.
Leo
Jan 4, 2008 at 12:07 PM
Comment #29i would side with bill f and chrisM give shola a chance, whats the worst that can happen….
Eve
Jan 4, 2008 at 1:21 PM
Comment #30Look I’ve no problem at all, giving a manager time, that’s what they need, time. They’re not going to be successful overnight. But when it’s going bad, which it is, it’s going very bad, then I’ll give him time, but only if things start to improve, which they’re not. They’re getting worse if anything. But if we bring someone new in, (it’s to late for Sam) we need the ones in charge to have balls and to stand by our manager no matter what. Or else we’ll never get success.
Grunde Axelsen
Jan 4, 2008 at 5:26 PM
Comment #31Keep Sam for at least three years. He´s had a tough start. But, who would replace him? Not like Jose is standing in line to take over a club with way to high expectations to a really mediocre squad. I belive things can happen, but it wont happen overnight. You´ve got my support Sam,
Craig Allen
Jan 4, 2008 at 6:57 PM
Comment #32awc88 // Jan 4, 2008 at 10:12
some fair comments …