We thought that Roberto Di Matteo, the former Milton Keynes Dons, West Brom and short-term Chelsea manager, would be the very strong favorite to take over at Sunderland, after Paolo Di Canio was fired late on Sunday night.
Roberto Di Mateo with Chris Hughton when Chris managed Newcastlee
Of course Di Matteo famously took over the management reigns at Chelsea a year last March when he took over from the sacked André Villas-Boas, and led the team to their very first Champions League success against Bayern Munich on the German club’s home pitch.
And Roberto also guided Chelsea to an FA Cup Final win last year when they beat Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley, but that wasn’t enough for owner Roman Abramovich, and Roberto was fired on 21st November last year, after only eight months in charge, during which he won two trophies for the London club.
But there is news in the Shields Gazette today – would you believe it – that Roberto fancies managing Newcastle United, and has turned down an offer to manage Sunderland, and now it seems the favorite for the Black cat’s hob is Gus Poyet, who doesn’t have the management experience of Roberto.
That’s a rather bizarre claim in the Gazette, and the only evidence is that some rumors are quoted – but at least it makes a good story line.
Since being fired just less than a year ago Roberto has been biding his time, and we’re sure he’s had other offers other than Sunderland, and at only 43 years old he has time on his side, and who knows he may eventually manage Newcastle – his teams certainly play great attacking football, and the Italian knows how to manager the big players.
Newcastle United may come in for severe criticism at times, but with one of the best fan bases in football, potential managers know they can become almost like Gods on Tyneside, if they are able to make the side successful – and wait for it – even win something.
Jermaine Jenas famously talked about the goldfish bowl that is Newcastle, but most football men would turn that into a positive, because if you are passionate about football, then Newcastle is the place to be.
And they can join the Geordie fans in their passion for football, and Arsene Wenger has talked about the Geordie fans living and breathing football, and the famous St. James Park Stadium overlooks the City, to remind everybody what’s important.
We hope Alan Pardew can have another successful season, like we had the season before last, and there’s even some signs that might be possible.
But make no mistake, Newcastle will not be short of applicants if and when the manager’s job does eventually become vacant again – but Alan Pardew will stay at Newcastle just as long as he is moving the club forward, and hopefully on to bigger and better things.
Comments welcome.
Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and +1 us on Google+:
You can also reach Ed at admin@nufcblog.com
133 comments so far
stuart no9
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:24 PM
Comment #41pardew out – RDM -IN
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:25 PM
Comment #42thebionicMAG
How does that explain it on my iPad then? That’s where it occurs mostly. Not only would I not use the iPad to browse porn without private browsing (not that I would anyway of course…) as I also use it for work, but it’s also set not to store the history.
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:27 PM
Comment #43Arguments for us having a poor squad: We only have Remy on loan
Arguments for Everton being better than us: They got Lukaku! On loan…
Pathetic. Try supporting the team rather than nitpicking.
John Tudor
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:30 PM
Comment #44you started the we “muppet”
yes you listed a squad that belongs to us minus remy the fringe players you mention may not be up to it and it all depends who makes them perform injuries pi55 poor reffing countless things nothing is certain in football muppet
John Tudor
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:30 PM
Comment #45come up and call me to my face you sad sack
John Tudor
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:34 PM
Comment #46ToonDarnSarf // Sep 26, 2013 at 8:23 PM
John Tudor
Who is we?
We have a squad good enough for the top 10. I just listed it! 22 players good enough for the first team and several more as back-up. Look at Norwich, Swansea, West Ham or any other club other than Everton or the top 6 and tell me which is better.
yes who is we
Jinky Jim
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:35 PM
Comment #47great !! now we are discussing porn instead of the Toon,thing is,you get fuct watching either.
catchy in norway
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:38 PM
Comment #48for what its worth, i think we have a squad that is easy top 8,
take RVP out of man u and its no better than out team , bunch of kids, or really old players well past there best ,
our manager is our weak link , he will always need one more player to get the best out of what we have
idiot
well back to the tv
John Tudor
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:39 PM
Comment #49and no i have not gone back to paying the fat tw@
my son in law goes and tells me everything
GeordieTwo
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:41 PM
Comment #50As far as wearing your speedo at the pool Mike man boobs and a banana hammock all at once? She might not be able to handle that much manhood at one go.
wolfshead@toon
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:42 PM
Comment #51bawawalol
dont know what age has to do with owt if saf came out of retirement to manage us would you tell him to f off
John Tudor
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:42 PM
Comment #52jfa was correct assuming you were ashleys mouthpiece and call me a makem or say i know nothing is an insult to me and all geordie fans up here
lesh
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:43 PM
Comment #53toon kk // Sep 26, 2013 at 6:57 PM @14
Toonkk, your suggestion that fans appeal to Ashley’s soft side, his need to be wanted and welcome ain’t ae daft ae some may think!
Was it Butch Cassidy said ‘Ask me to stay and I’ll leave’?
Same psychology?
GeordieTwo
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:45 PM
Comment #54As a close friend of Mike’s I just feel it’s important to share these little personal tidbits with you. Mike is very excited about his date. He has already phoned Derek and Joe for advice. Is there tongue with the first good night kiss or not? Where should he put his hands? A lot of big questions. Stay tuned.
John Tudor
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:45 PM
Comment #55you can spout off all the players we have form dictates where you are not how many internationals and how good they compared to others end of season tables tell you
stuart no9
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:46 PM
Comment #56i think porn and nufc actually have a lot in common if the trurh be known , both have a load of fan//es that want fu..ing
lesh
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:47 PM
Comment #57Could be that the Gazette’s putting out a planted story that the red-tops will put the club back into the spotlight again and for the wrong reasons?
Puts a lot of pressure on Pardew too!
John Tudor
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:50 PM
Comment #58and i class “we”as the geordie nation
tequilamag
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:52 PM
Comment #59JT well you can`t really criticise TDS for watching streams if your doing the same thing.
moonraker
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:54 PM
Comment #60re RDM;
I’d be very surprised if he wants to manage the Toon as he’s always been London based apart from working in W Midlands at WBA.
Also Newcasle is a high tariff job and I heard a rumour that he is a bit of a lazy sod.
I might be wrong of course but I would think he’s waiting for a southern job
One thing for sure though; with the squad we’ve got, a top coach could push to top 6 for sure!
GeordieTwo
Sep 26, 2013 at 8:55 PM
Comment #61If people want to relay advice to Mike through me about his date feel free. I know he would really appreciate hearing from lads and lasses that have been in the dating scene recently. What kind of mood music should he play. Should he go back to his disco days and wear a gold chain and an open necked shirt? What about a disco ball? Is it too soon to play Bee Gees music? He’s very tense. Please help him out.
John Tudor
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:00 PM
Comment #62no im not criticising him i don’t watch streams i listen to commentary on radioand im told by son in law his opinion half time full time by phone
im explain to him that nothing is certain hes just one sided blinkered and resort to saying im a makem or an idiot.
im neither
John Tudor
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:02 PM
Comment #63dyslexic maybe pi55 poor grammer maybe a makem or thick no
John Tudor
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:06 PM
Comment #64pardew could get barca relegated said by many
who employed him ashley
yes we have better players than most led by imbeciles
i for one am still out
lesh
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:18 PM
Comment #65probably done to death but this snippet of background from the Board to fans forum meeting. This from the Chrons report on I:
Steve Cole (SC) – “What was the thinking of appointing a Director of Football?”
The board suggested that MA’s approach was appointing someone who he already had a relationship with, who he trusted and who was a football man that understood the game. Joe Kinnear (JK) was the owner’s choice.
Now we onow£
GeordieTwo
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:22 PM
Comment #66Mike is considering having a good old fashioned game of nymphs and satyrs going at the castle when his date arrives. I think that might be a real ice breaker but we really need advice from those with more experience in these matters…. Ibiza mate what do you think? tads? Any and all suggestions are most welcome.
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:24 PM
Comment #67John Tudor
“we see the games live. we are not makems pal, we are realists”
That’s what I meant by saying “we”. Who exactly are you associating yourself with there?
Who cares if Remy doesn’t belong to us? I’m talking about the squad that we have for this season. 22 first team players plus several fringe players IS NOT A THIN SQUAD!
Football always depends on injuries, loss of form, ref decisions etc. but they affect every team.
Like I said, show me a squad outside of the top 7 that is better than ours. Loan players are obviously included for the club they are playing for, not the club they are contracted to in case you haven’t worked that out…
GeordieTwo
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:25 PM
Comment #68Well so far mates I have to say your contributions to Mike’s dating advice have been lukewarm at best. Does nobody care? That would be a sad state of affairs. The man trimmed his toenails as a sign of his commitment after all. 😥
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:26 PM
Comment #69John Tudor
“we” as the “Geordie nation”? So you speak for all Geordies right? And every NUFC fan who is not a Geordie is somehow inferior? Get real.
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:30 PM
Comment #70John Tudor
So listening to commentary and getting 2nd hand feedback (which anyone can get via this blog) is actually better than watching the stream of the match??
I believe the comment was that anyone who thinks we don’t have a squad good enough to get in the top 10 and challenge for a cup either knows nothing about football or is a mackem.
I stand by that. Why would our own fans think that we have a cr*p squad when everyone in the know would say otherwise!
The only reasons we won’t get top 10 would be managerial ineptitude, really unlucky with injuries or the turmoil at the club.
solano
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:34 PM
Comment #71The blog is dying…we have Ed, bless him, who has fallen into the trap of trying to cheer everyone up by highlighting Blunderland’s turmoil in order to make our predicament at NUFC more tolerable. It just won’t wash, but it is a sign of the times, as since my return to Blighty, I have attended 2 fans’ meetings and Sunderland is often cited as some kind of comparable gauge. What a sad indication of how far we fallen….I remember the days when we looked down on Spurs and Chelsea (even Liverpool) and dined at the top table with Man U and Arsenal. Now we admit we can’t even challenge Swansea, Southampton and Norwich for a player!
Then there is TDS…who it seems by sheer number of personal misinformed postings has killed off everyone’s will to reply and debate. However, at least he generally talks of the one important issue (in a week where the club have published their frighteningly limited ambition of survival) which dominates football talk in the city.
Such a pity however that he is so out of touch with general opinion on the regime we suffer, that respected posters, have decided to drift away rather than comment on these reactionary rants.
John Tudor
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:39 PM
Comment #72i never said we had a crap squad you assume i said it or believe anyone who cant agree with you said it there ergo you think im thick or a makem it is you who are short of the that last penny in the pound sir goodnite and yes in my eyes you are inferior for your petty remarks of thick and makem
GeordieTwo
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:41 PM
Comment #73I’m still interested in debating Solano. Let’s discuss the team as it stands and how to improve it. We have some fine players, there’s little doubt of that. But we lack consistency and resolve to fight back and win. I think Cabaye’s misadventures in the summer definitely set us back as did the lack of commitment from the owner. We should have sold 3 or 4 players and brought in at least 2 more. Stopgap players are of no use to us anymore and that’s what I consider Willo and Obertan to be. Did you see Obertan against Leeds. In clear on goal twice and shoots straight at the keeper. Hopeless. Why do we continue to keep him around?
GeordieTwo
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:43 PM
Comment #74PS the blog isn’t dying it’s just resting Solano. Like a beautiful Norwegian blue. Or better yet like a phoenix. The blog will rise from its own ashes to triumph once more. Wait, I have to wipe my eyes now.
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:43 PM
Comment #75Solano
Would you prefer that people debate based on false truths and misunderstandings and the only topic is how Ashley/Pardew/JFK is destroying our club.
Face it, Ashley isn’t going anywhere unless he wants to! I don’t object to a march demanding more positive progress for the club and highlighting the passion of the fans but demanding Ashley to leave is futile I believe. He’s just too stubborn.
I’d rather all fans just put their energies into getting behind the team.
Funny too…just a few days ago there were a few people who blamed the blog’s decline on the likes of Ruddy…
Maybe Ruddy, JFA, John Tudor and MacToon should just ignore me and me them…
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:45 PM
Comment #76John Tudor
I never sad you did say that! It was Ruddy who did!
I just said that anyone who thinks that either knows nothing about football or is a Mackem. If you don’t think that (and any reasonable fan will not) then I’m not talking about you.
John Tudor
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:46 PM
Comment #77two yards from keeper foot on the ball pirouette spin tap in he should have had two identical goals
that cracking squad player tds raves about g/ nite
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:46 PM
Comment #78The blog will improve when either Ashley leaves or the protestors realise that he won’t and stop nitpicking.
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:47 PM
Comment #79John Tudor
Um. Who did I rave about?
ToonDarnSarf
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:49 PM
Comment #80Maybe I should just start ignoring certain posts…