Chris Hughton has talked today about the enormous pressure he’s under to lead Newcastle out of relegation trouble.
Chris Hughton – many sleepless nights
There’s going to be a lot of talk from the Newcastle management and players before the Chelsea game, but unfortunately talk will not save the club this season.
Action on the pitch is what will do it, and that has been missing too much this season, and that is why we are 3rd bottom of the league and in a perilous situation for such a big club that is supported so very well by the best fans in the land.
You will hear many football people saying Newcastle can go down (because we can), but in truth they will be sad to see one of the best supported Premier clubs end up in the Championship.
It’s hardly what our fans deserve – is it?
Hughton said today:
“Of course the situation concerns me, do I like it? Absolutely no.” “Does it give me sleepless nights?” “Yes, of course, that’s normal, because you don’t want to be in this position or see the club in this position.”
“I’m aware of the responsibility I have. I have to stay focused for this group of lads. I’m still confident that we have enough quality in that training ground to get us out of the position we’re in.” “I can understand the worries of the supporters.”
“There is a dressing room and club that don’t want to see Newcastle in the bottom three.” “But I don’t think the players are starting to fear the worst. They know the situation – we have to gain points from the last eight games.”
We’re sorry to have to say this but we don’t think Chris can get the job done while Joe is away – we’d love to be wrong about that, but we cannot see us getting anything out of the Chelsea game, and then hopefully Joe can start coming back. In fact we could put that in the past tense because he hasn’t got the job done, with 2 just points from 5 games in charge.
It’s the games against Stoke City, Tottenham, Portsmouth. Middlesbrough and Fulham that will decide the season. We really need four wins out of those five games to be safe, and the last three listed are all at home. That’s why the Stoke game is so important and a draw there will not be good enough.
And we want to be specific about our criticism of Chris, because we think he’s an excellent coach and a terrific guy doing the very best he can – but he’s not the lead man and is much better at backing up a manager.
There’s nothing wrong with that,but he’s like a duck out of water, and the club are suffering because of it. We even think what Sam Allardyce said last week was very close to the truth – that experienced managers can change games, and Newcastle don’t have one with Joe Kinnear out, and the club is taking a massive risk in the Premier League survival.
And also relying on Joe with his health so fragile is also more than a big risk, which is why we think Mike Ashley should bring some experienced person in to manage the side.
What do you think?
Comments very welcome.
Read Ed’s new report on the 3-1 home defeat against Arsenal last Saturday, in his News of The World Column.
44 comments so far
Kash
Mar 23, 2009 at 9:43 AM
Comment #1We should have had a new manager in a long time ago!
evildick
Mar 23, 2009 at 9:45 AM
Comment #2i think we’re F@$#@d!
Toon Sweden77
Mar 23, 2009 at 9:51 AM
Comment #3The enormous pressure doesnt get any easier for you Chris if you continue to bench our best player, like you did on saturday with Owen!
Purely Belter
Mar 23, 2009 at 9:51 AM
Comment #4we are f**ked.
Purely Belter
Mar 23, 2009 at 9:52 AM
Comment #5owen is useless. the player we missed that was on the bench was jonas!
Toon Graeme
Mar 23, 2009 at 9:55 AM
Comment #6Ed – that sums it up for me there fella.
This is what annoys me:
Wigan are what 7th after yesterday and there stadium was practically empty.
Were bottom three and always near to capacity.
That speaks volumes.
Does MA really think JFK can turn it around.
He is not the man (JFK) to lead us up the premier league, we have been flirting down the bottom end nearly all season.
Chris & Colin is out of his depth – cant Mike not see that and is JFK is a gamble and might not be physically able to handle the pressure- and as for that bloody clip board.
Injuries, suspensions, poor lack lustre performances at times.
One of the worst seasons I have know and its not over yet.
GazzaToon
Mar 23, 2009 at 9:55 AM
Comment #7hardly what the fans deserve? well considering all i read on this blog all the time is people critisizing the club (with a few exceptions) its exactley what we deserve! we need to stop slaughtering our management and players after we lose against teams like arsenal and man u as we should not expect to be beating these teams. i think most people on here still think were challenging for the title with the way they react when we lose against a top 4 team. lets start getting behind the team and coaching staff and stop saying things like “new manager in”
UTD111
Mar 23, 2009 at 9:56 AM
Comment #8Why do people keep thinking that Jokin Here coming back will save us from relegation? His record is appalling!!
Cashley made the wrong decision when he backed the little scumbag Wise against Kev – who in their right mind would take orders from that little cockney twerp? – he made another wrong decision in not bringing in any proper football people to add appropriate knowledge at board level, thinking himself and the casino manager could do the job, he made another bad decision in appointing Jokin….and now his chickens are well and truly coming home to roost.
Never mind, if its a warm summer, people will be buying lots of shorts and T-shirts…..
geordie jock
Mar 23, 2009 at 9:58 AM
Comment #9Why do people keep going on about Jonas, He is absolute shite.
UTD111
Mar 23, 2009 at 9:59 AM
Comment #10Jonas?
Give me Jimmy Milner or Charlie N’Zog any day……oh hang on, Cashley sold them, and Shay Given…..
batty
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Comment #11GazzaToon you fckin knob we dont critisize the club we critisize the owner board and manager thats a diffrent thing all together and as for not expecting any thing against the likes ov man u who lost against fulham arsenal who stoke beat and chelsea who spurs beat why not why cant we beat them ile tell you why because our manager hasent got a clue
UTD111
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Comment #12We’ve won 6 games all season – what makes people think we can all of a sudden win 4 out of the next 8?
“Lesser Teams”? Fulham just possed ManU ffs!
batty
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:03 AM
Comment #13UTD111 tottaly agree m8
batty
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Comment #14UTD111 ive said this for a while we sell milner zogs and even emre and look who we replace them with
Toon Graeme
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Comment #15Gazza – been behind the team through good and bad all season long – that goes without question – but the facts speak for themselves.
What more can we as fans do. We are there home and away giving 150% behind the boys (including away games).
What gets said on here doesnt even enter my mind when I enter the turnstyle – but as a fourm to discuss issues and concerns its spot on.
If you weed out some posts and look for a common theme and link – you can see that the majority all think along similar lines.
Even though we were beat – I was behind the lads until the very end and couldnt hardly speak at the end of the 90 mins.
I dont think its inconceivable that we could beat Arsenal, Man U or Chelski. This weekend Fulham have and Tottenham too – why not us?!
Kash
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Comment #16@GazzaToon – Are you for fcuking real you muppet?! We can’t even beat the likes of Hull, Blackburn and every other team thats in the thick with us.
The players deserve to be slaughtered because they’ve done a sh1t job, and yet they get paid stupid amounts of money.
Anyone who tries to say that the fans are culpable for the teams plight is a PR1CK! We still pack the stadium out, and we still kick and head every ball with the players. The coaches and players job is to win matches and maintain premier league status. THEY ARE NOT DOING THERE JOBS!
nufc007
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:06 AM
Comment #17i think we played well in the last game until we got the injuries! and in my opinion we have played some of our best football against man u and arsenal this season…
I honestly don’t think its hughtons fault…people are making him a scape goat for the defeats….the chances were there and it was up to the players to put it away!
anyway….I am very nervous about the next few games but I just want to get stuck into them…lets hope we get no more injuries!
on another note…ledley king for england!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!
batty
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Comment #18UTD111 agree with comment 8 and the fat cont still wont get a proper manager in its a disrace
UTD111
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Comment #19Spot on Batty – the Tshirt salesamn is asset stripping big time and pocketing the money
batty
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Comment #20on another note r i p jade goody the pain has now gone terrible disease shame for her kids
Tel
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Comment #21Ashley is in for a rough ride if we go down, the hatred of him and his mafiosa has not disapeared, it is merely on hold whilst we give the team the support they need.
As for Kinnear, he really should put his health first and call it a day, perhaps its the lure of the reported £1million payday should he keep us up.
Anyone who sings the praises of owen obviously wasn’t at the hull game, he never had a look in, why change a successful formation as we had against Man utd to accomodate him? Sure I didn’t expect anything against Man u, Aresenal or Chelsea to come, but surely we should have the guts to attack teams like Bolton, Hull and more importantly the coming games as Ed mentions. We can still survive, more by luck than the judgement of the T-shirt salesman and his casino manager, and hopefully someone will buy us in the summer as I can’t go through another season like this, I will end up arrested for bad tempered behaviour, divorced for much the same and a nervous wreck. Come on Mike bring in someone for the last few games, Hughton good coach, s**t manager. Why can’t you see what is blatantly obvious?
Geordie Jock, Jonas may st
hitman
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Comment #22with the international break we have time to get a manager in,ashley carnt wait for joke to come back,the fatso needs to act now.
batty
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Comment #23http://www.sunderlandecho.com/nufc/Double-injury-blow-for-Newcastle.5098341.jp
Toon Graeme
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Comment #24Can I just point out that any other manager would have been sacked if you look at the run of results etc- but its never that easy with NUFC is it!!
coyote
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Comment #25I was sent a joke last week
Andrea Dossena has been made a member of the Magic Circle after making 70,000 manc disappear live on TV…………………………………..
do you think shola could qualify cos sjp emptied quickly when he came on saturday?
Tel
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Comment #26OOps. try again,
geordiejock, jonas may not have the end product but his work rate is second to none, he attacks, and often takes two or three defenders out of the game creating openings elsewhere. He also has more pace than the options of our ageing midfield which was demonstrated at hull where they simply weren’t in the game. Lets hope for a miracle run and prem league footy next year.
Toon Graeme
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:18 AM
Comment #27Just reading that sunderland echo link – David Edgar – Cascapa or Geremi to fill the void?
Wiser_than_wise
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:19 AM
Comment #28you know what i am not even gonna come on this blog and read them same regurgitated sh*t nolan,hughton or any of the NUFC players are gonna spew this entire two weeks and i just wait for the chelsea game, im tired of hearing the same shit” blah blah blah we are not gonna relegate,blah blah blah we have the strongest squad amoungst the relegation candidates,blah blah owens goals are gonna save us come match day and NONE acts on what they say all week they just pack up ba*ls and watch how they get murdered, i am tired of some of the bullshit we as fans have taken so for this is beyond a discrace this is a seasonal comedy club
BTW were is lambias did he go into hiding again, or is he afraid he will get found out that he and ashly are just compulsive lyers
batty
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Comment #29Toon Graeme looks like our better goal diff will be gone m8
batty
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Comment #30Wiser_than_wise but some still beleive they tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but th truth m8
hitman
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Comment #31wiser than wise,lambiass only come out and did all his talking to try and sell more season tickets.
hitman
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:25 AM
Comment #32and it didnt work so he crawled back up ashleys ar$e
Toon Graeme
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Comment #33Wiser-than-wise & Batty,
Agree – the positive spin PR will go into overtime from say Wednesday and next week it will go into overdrive.
It not that we will not get owt from Chelski – its the thought of getting nowt out of the ‘easier’ teams afterwards.
Tel
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:31 AM
Comment #34Ok we all have a common goal, ie survival, and minor differences in team selection /formation from what we have available, we all give 100% and more home and away, what more can we do, the fat man just sticks his head in the sand and does nowt. He is still Gambling on us staying up so he can fleece us of more money and the sky money, he has no interest in the everyday fan apart from how much he can make from them. HE IS NOT A NUFC FAN, HE IS A LONDON BUSINESS MAN OUT TO MAKE A FEW QUID. HE WILL NOT INVEST, HE WILL SELL. SELL. SELL.
Wiser_than_wise
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Comment #35@hitman
no doubt no wonder he looked more bloated than usuall during the weekend game, labarse was up him
evildick
Mar 23, 2009 at 10:44 AM
Comment #36the worst part is, ameobi is gonna be our first choice striker in the championship…
Sav
Mar 23, 2009 at 11:56 AM
Comment #37Ed, as Clint Eastwood says says to Gene Hackman in the appropriately named ‘UNFORGIVEN’ –
“Deserves got nothing to do with it.”
I disagree about an interim manager for our interim manager. It really is down to the players we have now. The transfer window was our last opportunity to rectify our shortcomings and we cut a profit instead of investing.
Ryan Taylor was a threat to no-one but us. Kevin Nolan was 18 months past his best. Neither Wigan nor Bolton fans were up in arms about either of them.
Only Lovenkrands has lived up to expectations, which were never very high in his case in all honesty.
Ashley has trusted the wrong people and failed to show real courage of his convictions and real long term commitment. Nobody believes he wants to be here or that he wouldn’t sell up and ride on tomorrow if he could and that has permeated the club like a bad smell since August. Even more than Keegan leaving, Ashley’s reaction to it has done untold damage and he has failed to convince otherwise when he’s had the chance.
THE MAGPIE
Mar 23, 2009 at 12:20 PM
Comment #38Dont worry everyone-that expert on football-Derek said we would get 43 points and he knows what he’s talking about?
ToonTinka
Mar 23, 2009 at 12:40 PM
Comment #39Well I don’t think having chris in charge rather than joe has been any different from what im used to seeing under Joe.
Both are not good enough.
To be fair I don’t think any manager could of done any better giving the circumstances this season with Injuries and the turmoil surrounding the club. It was always going to be this way because the investment in new squad players fell short. We just havn’t got enough of them in. Transfer windows have been a shambles for a long time now.
Im afraid we deserve to be where we are. Poor football decisions have cost us from those above.
Im preparing for the worst, even though I fancy Owen to get us out of this mess.
workyticket
Mar 23, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Comment #40Tel // Mar 23, 2009 at 10:13 AM
“Ashley is in for a rough ride if we go down, the hatred of him and his mafiosa has not disapeared, it is merely on hold whilst we give the team the support they need.”
Tel, you mean you’ve only just started to give the club “the support they need” now? I think you’ll find the general idea is to support them all the time.