While John Carver would have you believe it was the players who were almost totally responsible for the club getting one point in ten games towards the end of the season, before we woke up and saved ourselves in that last game against West Ham by winning it for our first win in more than twelve weeks – the truth is that with the players Carver had available, we should have done a lot better than we did.
Steve McClaren – must get off to a good start
While we had a lot of injuries this year, in the final half of that ten game run, the team and players available were those who got us six wins on the trot earlier in the season under Alan Pardew, before he left.
Steve McClaren should be able to get the team better organized than John Carver was able to do last season, and we should be a lot harder to beat than under Carver, who we suppose will stay at the club as the assistant manager.
But you cannot say he’s done anything at all but prove he’s nothing than a journeyman coach at best, and a very poor man-manager who looked completely out of his depth at Newcastle, and simply blamed his players when anything went wrong – and a lot did go wrong.
While Steve McClaren isn’t the appointment we wanted to see, the former England manager is a much better coach than Carver will ever be – so the fact he’s getting appointed other than Carver is something to be thankful for.
With Lee Charnley’s decision-making this year being very harmful to Newcastle, at least he will not make Carver the head coach.
That was going to happen according to Carver even when he had just lost seven games in a row, when he made the ridiculous claim that he was still in pole position for the job, which only proved that John was living on another planet, as some fans had already suspected.
So while we would have liked to see somebody a lot better than McClaren in the job, it seems Charnley and Graham Carr want to keep to the strict system of transfer control they have been running at the club – which has shown no signs of bringing Newcastle any success.
But one thing is certain – Steve McClaren has to get off to a good start to the season – with one point in 10 games it’s even worse than it was last year, when we lost seven of the last eight games.
Alan Pardew didn’t get a win and only 4 points in the first seven games pf last season, and if that happens again we’ll have the Sack Pardew back with Pardew crossed out and McClaren’s name on their placards.
But before the season even starts, Newcastle need to bring in at least six very good players and that will be the next big step this summer.
The first step of appointing a top coach has shown Lee Charnley to be a conservative and staid decision maker, who seems too inexperienced for the job he’s in.
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
17 comments so far
Ron Knee
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:00 AM
Comment #1Jail
Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.
Lilongwe Geordie
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:04 AM
Comment #2Lilongwe Geordie // Jun 4, 2015 at 8:00 AM
McClaren is more of the same. An aim at mid table safety and the global advertising it secures. It is not exciting, or something that offers a lift to the fans. It is an improvement on what we had in Pardew and Carver, but not an improvement that will threaten the top 8 in the Prem.
Keeping Carver and co is another kick in the nuts, but one that most of us were expecting. Just the fact that the club are willing to do this is another sign that staying up will suffice. If Palace get Woodman then hopefully we can get Steele in. Another Geordie coach, but this time he will at least have a decent resume behind him.
Now, player recruitment. Anderlecht have said Mitrovic isn’t for sale, utter nonsense, just an attempt to drive the price up in my opinion. Hopefully Hull have priced us out of James Chester by slapping a ludicrous £10million price tag on him. If he is worth £10, maybe we should offer Willo as part ex, on the same scale Willo is probably worth around £8million.
All quiet on others, probably because players would like to know who we are looking to bring in as Head Coach/manager. I doubt McClaren will see a rush of players keen to sign on the dotted line. Would like him to bring Hughes with him, and I know Mason Bennet has been on our radar for a number of years as well. He seems to have disappeared from the first team picture though in recent years.
It would be interesting to compare and contrast the recruitment strategy that the club use when recruiting the new Head Coach, with that of recruiting the head bean counter at the club. I bet that is done in a far more professional way, and based on a solid CV and track record – or just Barry Leach, and further nepotism.
Average_Contents
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:05 AM
Comment #3As much as people try to justify shteve’s impending appointment there is one undeniable truth – it is a sideways step and not the forward one many thought would happen after that staged interview.
Everything remains the same. No jam tomorrow with shteve at the helm I’m afraid so what now? Just swallow it because we should? Not buying it. Quite literally.
The policy that has brought us to this point is alive and kicking.
Lilongwe Geordie
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:07 AM
Comment #4Haha, the Echo reporting that McClaren’s appointment would see Patrick Bamford not keen on joining Newcastle on loan as he became disillusioned with the bloke at Derby. They are also saying Bamford is one of our top attacking targets for the summer.
“Bamford having been identified as a leading target if, as expected, Chelsea opt to send him on loan to a Premier League club.”
A Chelsea kid, on loan, one of our top attacking targets.
Ambition.
Lilongwe Geordie
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:08 AM
Comment #5Apparently McClaren played Bamford as a winger, and ignored plea for him to be played as a centre forward. Sound familiar?
posada
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:10 AM
Comment #6Graham Carr. He would not have a job at a properly run football club like Liverpool Spurs or anybody else for that matter.
Chris
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:14 AM
Comment #7“It would be interesting to compare and contrast the recruitment strategy that the club use when recruiting the new Head Coach, with that of recruiting the head bean counter at the club. I bet that is done in a far more professional way…”
and lets hope that it doesn’t take 18 months – like it took at Sports Direct 😉
https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/28330688/sports-direct-finally-appoints-new-finance-chief/
Lilongwe Geordie
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:18 AM
Comment #8Posada,
We bought out his contract at Spurs to appoint him. He also worked for Man City under Sven.
It isn’t that he isn’t a good scout, the problem is the fact that the club/Ashley has the club running on a skeletal staff at upper management level, and he is now being asked to fill roles that he isn’t qualified to do, and hasn’t done in the past.
Jail for Ashley
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:19 AM
Comment #9I think the appointment will now put any meaningful protest on the back burner as too many people will say he has to be given a chance, surely though if the summers recruitment is totally uninspired and he starts spouting party lines then he doesn’t deserve a chance. I remember the last interview I heard from Carver on the radio when he was making excuses and saying he wanted another shot at the job, he went out of his way to say it wasn’t mismanagement from the club, we are going o have this sycophant in the managers ear for the next five years.
kakaobi
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:27 AM
Comment #10Jobs for mates shows no ambition
kakaobi
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:28 AM
Comment #11Macclaren to give his 1st interview with a Geordie accent haha
beermonkey
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:29 AM
Comment #12average
McLaren isn’t what the fans need or want, if his appointment came in with an overhaul of the coaching staff a proper football man with proven record as a dof
for me it will be easier to take
no matter who the manager is were set up to fail with the way we buy players the way we coach and its from youth up
McLaren will paper over the cracks I think he is more suited to the type of players we have and he will give the youngsters a go
style of play will improve youngsters will be played and the majority of the fans will be happy
for me its about the club getting it right getting the foundations in place so we can succeed
the majority are not stupid and we can see we are miles behind most championship sides in terms of bringing through players and that’s not good enough
times are changing in terms of bums on seats were 3rd but that’s going to change soon Liverpool are building and will have 54k on seats soon both spurs and Chelsea are looking to build and west ham move into the Olympic stadium if we don’t get this right soon the lie that we cant compete (we choose not to) will be true
posada
Jun 4, 2015 at 8:43 AM
Comment #13Lilongwe
Carr is probably a good Scout. But, so are a lot of people. At Arsenal they have Scouts, but they don’t essentially run the club and make big decisions.
He has the ear of Ashley and is probably the only football person trusted by him.
But why, what did Carr say to Ashley in January – We will be fine until the end of the season with Johny Chuckle as Manager. On that basis alone I’d sack him on the spot.
Would not happen at a proper club.
sickandtired
Jun 4, 2015 at 9:02 AM
Comment #14@Lilo – the bean counter? Don’t hold your breath there.
SD haven’t had a FD for 18 months now. That’s how important Ashley thinks anyone else, or corporate governance, is.
As for Dr Ed, another reference to SackPardew. What does he expect? Anyone appointed by this regime must accept the restrictions they have and agree with them.
There is no such bollix as support the team and not the regime. If you get behind McClaren then you get behind the people who appoint him, just like Pardew and Carver.
sickandtired
Jun 4, 2015 at 9:07 AM
Comment #15And one glaringly obvious point in all of this and the alleged three approaches for McClaren.
As far as I am aware it is still illegal to approach a player or manager under contract (tapping up).
Either NUFC are guilty of that or the stories are plain journalistic garbage. That would mean the regime had him in mind for ages and have approached him officially only since he was sacked just over a week ago.
Some planning that would be, eh?
WLtoon
Jun 4, 2015 at 9:33 AM
Comment #16It has,nt been cemented that Mac is the new HC, but if he his i hope he does,nt get a contract for 4 yrs or more.
If he does,nt cut the mustard in his first season then we are stuck with him until his contract runs out, I doubt Ashley would pay up the remainder of his contract.
We would have to hope he leaves for the Palace job { sarcastic grin}
Sav
Jun 4, 2015 at 10:31 AM
Comment #17Clearly, when Ashley announced he wouldn’t leave before we win something, he didn’t mean we were going all out to win something. He meant he’s not leaving.
Carr selects a Head Coach who is not going to veto the players he picks. Charnley selects a Head Coach who isn’t going to demand extra funds, extra players or extra facilities and won’t squeal loudly if Charnley takes a fat little piggy to market. Quelle surprise.
I only hope that if, or when, we go on the skids this season the fans don’t misdirect their ire at McLaren, regardless of whether he is the one pushed out in front of the cameras but that we remember this day and direct our anger at Carr, Charnley and of course, the owner. If this triumvirate picks a washed-up manager who won’t create ructions, then they had better at least fix him up with a proper competitive squad or the trouble will be on their own heads. Will they have the balls to spend heavily Ashley’s cash? I doubt it and we can look forward to the same empty PR stunts next year.