Joe Kinnear has talked to the Evening Chronicle today about his Newcastle squad, and because it’s so small, injuries could be Newcastle’s Achilles heel this season.
Joe Kinnear – small squad means in juries could have big impact
Kinnear said today:
“We’ve got enough ammunition providing – and there is a proviso – that we stay with the squad we have got. If we pick up injuries, then we struggle. That’s our Achilles heel.”
“If two or three key players hit the wall, then we struggle to replace them, and that is something that should be addressed in the long-term as we come to the next window.”
“We have got people who are prepared to come in and give plenty of effort, but they haven’t got the same sort of ability as the ones who are going out.”
The Chronicle is reporting that Director of Football Dennis Wise is continuing to try to recruit top young players to the club, and Dennis was at the training ground again yesterday.
That’s actually good because presumably he is talking to Joe about players they could bring in during January, and they need to firm up those plans, in case the club is not sold by then.
As we mentioned earlier this morning Ashley and the Newcastle Board need to come up with a plan for January, in case the club is not sold by then.
Joe and Dennis could do that themselves, and assume there’s no money made available by Ashley, so they would need to wheel and deal, but that’s a lot better than doing nothing.
Comments very welcome.
62 comments so far
lesh
Nov 12, 2008 at 1:14 PM
Comment #1Now who said the very same in pre-season?
It’s criminal that the club continued to sell without lining up adequate replacements! Fine buying with an eye to the future but those kids’ll not be up to a bottom of the table scrap.
What, Mr Wise (?), about today and the immediate future?
Xisco Stu
Nov 12, 2008 at 1:16 PM
Comment #2JK’s done a funny there. Injuries may be our ‘Achilles Heel’ and most of our current injuries are Achilles.
Darling27
Nov 12, 2008 at 1:24 PM
Comment #3Good God!!! That’s what Kevin Keegan was trying to tell those idiots up on the 12th floor.
toonoot
Nov 12, 2008 at 1:34 PM
Comment #4“If two or three key players hit the wall, then we struggle to replace them, and that is something that should be addressed in the long-term as we come to the next window.”
Wall? Window? Knackers Yard or Builders Yard?
craig chisholm
Nov 12, 2008 at 1:51 PM
Comment #5jk is another knob, what does he mean we WILL struggle…. i call where we are right now an F-ing struggle, we are in the relegation zone ffs. as for being short on numbers, jesus christ, has he just realised that, everyone and his dog inc kk has been saying we are gonna be knackered as we have no depth. so what does ashley and wise do, they continue selling and not replacing. our entire window was a joke, the two last minute deals were shite, xisco is crap and the other bloke is knackered for the whole of his loan deal with us – panic buys or what – and all behind kk’s back. i will never understand why we sold milner when he was the exact blueprint that shithead ashley said he wanted. now milner is banging on the full england squad door. the only one i rate is colo. spiderman is fading fast and it looks like in ashleys rush to rip of the spics we are now going to get hit with a further 8 million quid bill for our ‘cheap’ new winger. there goes the january window money – if there ever was any. our achillies heel is, no manager, no direction, no owner, no chairman, no players, a shrinking fan base at the stadium, key players leaving, none coming in and complete chaos surrounding newcastle which has brought us to our present state – the worst it has ever been in our history.
It Could Be Worse, We Could Be Spurs! (DC)
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:05 PM
Comment #6preemptive excuse making
Punk Skunk
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:16 PM
Comment #7craig,
but there’s about 6 teams in the relagation zone & another 6 less than 3 points above…
…Don’t get me wrong man, i understand where y’comin’ from, but we’re startin’ to pick up some points…& yea, fulham was a right pisser…
Steve
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:22 PM
Comment #8Thanks for telling us something we didn’t know Joe!
If you’re still here in January expect to loose more first team players without replacing them!
craig chisholm
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:25 PM
Comment #9punk skunk, yeah mate, i know we are lets say – 3 wins on the bounce’ from looking ok. the point is though that we should not even be down there. we will never drag ourselves up and into safety with the turmoil at our club. this is way beyond keegan now, we all know he will never come back now. all he did was lift the lid off a club that is being ran in an amatuer shambolic way. ashley has destroyed newcastle to the core and does not give a wank i fear in the process. they asked 17 real managers before giving up in the end and turned to jk as a last resort to bail them out of the shit. we will never ever do anything unless ashley sells us. at the minute i think he is not even trying to sell us. i have never heard of such a prominant liar as our current board in terms of the footballing world. really, if we are honest, we deserve to go down as a club as we are by far the worst run joke in the prem this season and even last i guess.
Shearerbliss
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:29 PM
Comment #10Punk Skunk there are 3 teams in the relegation zone!
craig chisholm
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:32 PM
Comment #11shearer bliss, we all know that three teams go down mate, we are 4th bottom but have same points as 3rd bottom, we are in effect, in the relegation zone and to say otherwise is nothing more that either grasping at straws or kidding yourself or splitting hairs. punks comments were right really unless you want to disect every last word all the time.
BT9MAG
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:33 PM
Comment #12Craig – are you kidding? In what single way is Jonas fading fast?
He’s had one bad game for us – and even then there was flashes of his quality… He just misplaced too many passes (something he RARELY does)!
If we hadn’t have given away that penalty I reckon we’d have won the game and people would have completely forgotten that Jonas had an off day…As it is, we lost and now you’re making out like he’s a has-been!
african-kenyan-ronniezog
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:38 PM
Comment #13Lets not play a hide n sick game here-this guy simply cant manage newcastle united.HE PROVED THAT ON SUNDAY WHEN HE SUBBED JONAS INSTEAD OF DUFF FOR ZOG,AMEOBI FOR OWEN AND BASSONG FOR CACAPA,”””””””””””HE SIMPLY SUCKS””””””””””””””
craig chisholm
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:39 PM
Comment #14bt9…………yeah i know what you are getting at. its easy to like jonas. he is exciting i know but the more i look at him the more he seems to be a bit like a headless chicken sometimes. duno mate, just starting to wonder if he is all energy and no braind, a bit like robbie savage type mold.
on a different note – does anyone else think that that bird in the blue t shirt is well hot (right)
dan
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:43 PM
Comment #15craig,
Yes we are in the relegation zone but it is very tight this year and we are starting to pick up points, two more wins could have easily put us in the top ten.
Look at sunderland ffs, how much money have they spent on ‘proven prem’ players. They laught at us as a club in crisis; but were are they in the table?
Xisco scored on his debut and has hardly had a decent run of games has he. You can’t blame him when the whole team were not providing. Would the other guy be playing ahead of the likes of Barton even if he was fully fit? It is not like we have payed alot of money for him, that is why you bring in loan deals, it is hit and miss.
Jonas had a poor game against Fulham but he is just feeling his way back from a Shoulder injury and allways gives 110%. He has been our best player by a country mile IMO.
We are now in the situation where people are arguing who should partner our world class CB. A few years ago we were watching Bramble put in into his own net…. Things can only get better! Dont be so negative.
arctoa
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:44 PM
Comment #16Worst it’s been in our history? You’re having a laugh, surely.
51times
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:48 PM
Comment #17african-kenyan-ronniezog – Ameobi did well again at Fulham, plus Owen and Martins can’t play together.
craig chisholm
Nov 12, 2008 at 2:49 PM
Comment #18dan….dont be negative……….you godda be kidding mate. show me some positives please please! i am thinking of january too which is what is truly going to break us mate. not only will we not be able to sell but we will loose owen in jan along with harper and once the rot sets in, you know yourslef, its a killer to stop. the few good players we do have will get alot of interest, i think martins will go for sure. hey, we will still have smithy though!
arctoa………no i am not joking man, ok, we are still in the prem and in with a good shot of keeping that status but the bigger pic is shit, there is no point in adopting the ostrich position i reackon, i would rather admit that we are a right bag of shit right now.
MURPHY
Nov 12, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Comment #19Please Everyone Get of joes back! He’s a saviour at the moment, remember he came into manage newcastle when the club was in turmoil and he’s helped settle things down a bit and he’s doing a good job. All these people slating him, are you ever happy? The guys doing us a favour in very hard conditions, he’s trying to communicate with the fans, he’s trying to add to the squad, he’s trying everything! So give the guy some proper support in the short time he’s here. rant.
Alan Shearer
Nov 12, 2008 at 3:07 PM
Comment #20Don’t worry Craig man. It’ll be allreet pet.
craig chisholm
Nov 12, 2008 at 3:08 PM
Comment #21murphy, sorry man, i disagree with you on jk. he is not helping us out at all… he is helping himself and he is getting well paid so no, i dont feel sorry for him. also, he has been the biggest gobshite i have ever heard of since he came to us and he has said a fair few lies too from the very day he walked through the door. everything from the club is nearly sold, he is only keeping the seat warm for kk, shearer is coming back with kk. the list goes on forever and its all crap. he just needs to get on with getting us out of the relegation zone instead of trying make us happy by telling us lies and gobbing off constantly. he is nothing more than ashleys mouthpiece. we need to get sold and we need to get rid of the lot of the management asap inc jk.
ganiyu
Nov 12, 2008 at 3:11 PM
Comment #22injury united
ganiyu
Nov 12, 2008 at 3:14 PM
Comment #23bad manager. not our class
Shearerbliss
Nov 12, 2008 at 3:18 PM
Comment #24Bit to paronoid craig. NUFC is a big club and there are plenty of players who want to play for the club. Plenty of people who would love to buy the club and manage it. So if players WANT to leave let them go! Defoe is as good as owen,derbyshire has a great future,Arsenal shop window was there for everyone to see,etc.etc.
I have been in and watched football so long than to think we have become that bad to go down. To be quite honest since SBR left the only excitement of our seasons is staying up, not cups! Therefore the team has been just doing enough. I honestly would love to cut out alot of these players for another 10 Jonas.
Without being sarky but who are you to judge an Argie international!
ganiyu
Nov 12, 2008 at 3:20 PM
Comment #25i hope we come out of the bottom 4.talk 2 ya all later
ganiyu
Nov 12, 2008 at 3:26 PM
Comment #26the thruth is that beye and enrique needs competition.duff is not a reliable winger.zog should be there even though he doesnt look up some times but he creates more chances than duff which should be a priority.butt should be moved to the reserves.p.o
Mark-o
Nov 12, 2008 at 3:36 PM
Comment #27Craig,
Out of order mate. You make some fair points but writing off Jonas after 5ish games one of which was bad. You say he runs round like a headless chicken, that only because the likes of Shola arent used to playing with quality like him. if we had a creative midfielder to play around the 2 strikers and a decent target man up front then his end produce would be better as he has better players to aim for.
Joe Kinnear is helping the club out, any other manager could have stepped in at the time, Hoddle, Shearer, Souness, Allardyce etc could have asked for a go to boost what little publicity they have. Kinnear obviously felt he had something to offer where as the rest of them were bottlers.
And regarding the relegation zone issue theres 6 point seperating WBA and Hull in 6th. so by next weekend we could be in the top half of the table, admitidly we should have taken more points than we have, but its not all doom and gloom. You want a positive? Ashley will sell sooner or later and if (heaven forbid) we do go down, parachute payments off the FA and a rich buisness man and we’ll be laughing back up!!!
Let try getting behind the team and the manager rather than slagging OUR players off!!!
Lost prophet
Nov 12, 2008 at 3:57 PM
Comment #28Just seen Smith in the gym. Walking gingerly and spending most of the time in the pool.looks like he’s on the mend.
Turkish Magpie
Nov 12, 2008 at 4:04 PM
Comment #29Team for Wigan
——————–Given—————-
——————————————-
–Beye—–Colo—-Taylor—–Enrique
——————————————-
–Jonas———-Barton———–Duff
——————————————-
——-Owen—–Ameobi——-Martins
Ameobi links up well with martins
Butt= old
Cacapa= crap
Nzogbia= deserves a chance but Duff is in top form
Bassong=unlucky because Taylors back and Enrique getting back to form
Punk Skunk
Nov 12, 2008 at 4:04 PM
Comment #30Thanx craig,
i thought everyone would get what i meant…
…Effectively, we’re on 12 points with a bunch of others, that puts them & us in the relagation zone, with a bunch just above on 3 or less points more than us…
Turkish Magpie
Nov 12, 2008 at 4:04 PM
Comment #31Lost Prophet which Gym?
Lost prophet
Nov 12, 2008 at 4:10 PM
Comment #32David LLoyd Gosforth.
hitman
Nov 12, 2008 at 4:16 PM
Comment #33we ll knew this would happen a few injuries and were in the soup big time,the blame lies at one place and that is………………
Turkish Magpie
Nov 12, 2008 at 4:35 PM
Comment #34I live in North Sheilds though
Angryman the Angryfan
Nov 12, 2008 at 4:55 PM
Comment #35That headline is bollocks.
The Board of Directors are Newcastles Achilles heel!!!
Nothing more nothing less……
CASHLEY OUT!!!!
TTID
Nov 12, 2008 at 4:57 PM
Comment #36Good thinis we wont go down and take Derbies record now!!! He he he ha ha ha i really hate the fat fat tw*t….
Little Willie
Nov 12, 2008 at 4:57 PM
Comment #37I’m not sure what comment of craig chisholm’s is the most clueless, claiming Milner is banging on the England door or that Jonas is a Robbie Savage type player.
Have a look at Villatalk, their fans think he’s average and that they were robbed.
MDS
Nov 12, 2008 at 4:58 PM
Comment #38Jonas is outstanding at advancing the ball from midfield to the final third on the dribble. That’s his role as I see it, plus hustling back to his own end to defend. It isn’t his fault that no one knows what to do when he gets it there. The team needs a bit of a creator in the final third in my opinion instaed of relying on deflections off loing balls…
On another note, I think Bassong needs to be used as compeition for Taylor and as part of a 3 man rotation at CB. Enrique is holding his own at LB and we can bring in some cover there in January.
Ryan Peacock
Nov 12, 2008 at 4:59 PM
Comment #39ALERT!!!!!!!!! WHAT DO YOU THINK?
NEW SONG
to the torres one:
we bought the lad from italy,
martins martins,
he says its to chilly,
martins martins,
up the front with Mickey O
give him the ball
he scores a goal
oba martins, newcastle’s number 9
not bad is it?
Ryan Peacock
Nov 12, 2008 at 4:59 PM
Comment #40JUST SEEN IT ON 606