It wasn’t exactly a popular appointment at Newcastle to hire Steve McClaren as manager and it looked more like Steve was more than willing to come in and manage under all the restrictions the Newcastle manager (or head coach) has placed on him because of the way the club is run under owner Mike Ashley.
It as also surprising that Newcastle still went after McClaren in June after he was apparently the first choice in January after Alan Pardew left – but he had just been fired by Championship club Derby County.
Steve McClaren – things not going well
How many other Premier League clubs would have done that?
None.
The Times chief football writer Henry Winter has written in the Sunday Supplement that Steve McClaren is not suited to be manager of such an iconic club as Newcastle United.
And Henry thinks McClaren is less than convincing in his TV interviews after the games.
What we don’t like seeing is Steve with his head in hands on the touchline – what message does that send to his players?
Certainly not a manager in control of things.
This is what Winter has written today:
“He has the presence and aurora to be a No 2, we saw that at Manchester United,” “But I just don’t think for a club of that stature and emotional identity with the fans that he has the stature to be manager.”
“You hear him criticising the players and speaking afterwards and he is not convincing – the greatest managers are at their most impressive and most quotable in defeat.”
“We saw with England that when the heat was on he couldn’t deal with it. Man management is key, I don’t think McClaren has that. The dressing room has individuals who need bringing into line.”
“Coloccini should be leading the dressing room,” “He should be saying ‘whatever we think about McClaren, we have a duty to the people who pay us good money and to the Newcastle fans, who give everything each week to have pride in the team’.”
“They are not doing it. I would look at Coloccini as much as McClaren.”
Coloccini is not the appropriate captain to have at the club and if Steve wants to fix problems he should take the captaincy away from the Argentine this week.
And against Liverpool at home next Sunday he has to make some changes in the starting line-up such as starting Kevin Mbabu at left back in place of Paul Dummett, who has struggled in the last three games.
Surely we have players who can play better and with more pride and passion than the eleven who started the game yesterday.
Steve cannot suffer many more defeats before we think Mike Ashley might have to ask.
But if Steve is fired will he leave the decision for who to appoint as the new manager to Lee Charnley who has hired John Carver and Steve – who have both been disastrous appointments?
Newcastle can still recover this season – but there is not much leeway – and the club needs to start doing the things right for a change.
Comments welcome.
130 comments so far
GeordieTwo
Nov 29, 2015 at 6:49 PM
Comment #121Possibly jesper mate. We can’t get a decent manager to come for obvious reasons. If Ashley sells up things might change. If not we’ll be looking at more of the same. I’m not sure how Ashley will respond to a second relegation. Most of these players will desert us in a second so no quick climb back up to the Prem this time. Ashley has driven us into the ground. Nobody understands him at all. He refuses to admit he doesn’t understand how to run a football club and everything that follows is a foregone conclusion Suck it up and sell up Mike.
andrew84
Nov 29, 2015 at 6:54 PM
Comment #122Fair points well made there toonking.
lochinvar
Nov 29, 2015 at 6:55 PM
Comment #123Clarence Seedorf: Premier League job would be ‘an honour’
By Chris Bevan
BBC Sport
Dutch legend Clarence Seedorf says he is ready to return to management and it would be “an honour” to finally come to the Premier League.
The 39-year-old former AC Milan boss has been linked with Newcastle and Championship side QPR in recent weeks.
Seedorf told BBC Sport: “England and I have a particular story – I was close to going to play there many times.
“It never happened, so as a coach it would be great to experience English football and fans on a weekly basis.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Seedorf discussed the prospects of Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez at Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid respectively, as well as his own future coaching plans.
Seedorf, the only player to win the Champions League with three different clubs, was also reportedly close to the Galatasaray manager’s job before Mustafa Denizli was appointed this month and is viewed as a potential successor to Danny Blind as Dutch coach.
“If there is a good project I would be happy to consider it,” Seedorf said. “There are a lot of rumours about my next job but to be linked with important clubs is a nice feeling and it is always better to have options than to not have options at all.”
Seedorf’s time in charge at Milan in 2014 was perceived to be unsuccessful because it only lasted five months, but his average of 1.84 points per game would have secured a Champions League place over the course of the 2013-14 season.
‘My philosophy is organised attacking football’
Was he in London last night for dinner with Charnley and McLaren ?
Charley resigns.
McLaren gets Director of Football.
Seedorf gets Head Coach
Could be interesting
Mister Tuff
Nov 29, 2015 at 6:58 PM
Comment #124Nothing wrong with a bit of Pardew bashing – good for the soul.
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Nov 29, 2015 at 7:05 PM
Comment #125LGFUAD…it takes charecter to admit when one is wrong! I respect that mate 😉
GeordieTwo
Nov 29, 2015 at 7:09 PM
Comment #126A new manager coming would be all about control. Who would come with no control over incoming and a sorry excuse for a squad? We need a massive clearout and then bring in 6 or 7 players who can handle the Prem. Clear out Colo, Gouffran, De Jong, Dummett, Cisse, Tiote, and Saylor. Bring in a few experienced players in their late 20’s who can handle the league. It would cost a small fortune but otherwise we are definitely going down.
usmagpie
Nov 29, 2015 at 7:10 PM
Comment #127I watched the Liverpool game today and when you see bad passing and not so good shooting they always put the camera on the Klopp, this is the difference between Klopp and McHAIRLOSS. Klopp would stand there ( Yes he stands most of the game talking to his players unlike SM that sits there) and encourage his players always with a smile on his face as he understands that encouragement works better and not sitting with your head in your hands. This is why SM will not change anything at Newcastle, 6 games ago the season starts here, 6 games later we are in a relegation battle. We honestly as a club cannot wait for him to figure things out. He has the next three games I have heard to turn this around, ok so lets look at two of them. Liverpool and Spurs, we need a new manager now that can be given the next three to four weeks to look at his players and see if he has the magic to get the most out of them. After this period of time he can assess which ones need to leave and which ones can stay. Then he can go into the transfer window and get the players he needs to change the fortunes of Newcastle Untied. I wish we would have gotten Klopp he seems like a good manager and his players seem to want to die for him and the club. If we wait for the next three weeks to fire SM then the new manager will not have enough time to assess what he has to do to make things right. Any other club in the Prem would have fire SM weeks ago, so who in the club is going to stand up and make the decision before its to late?
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Nov 29, 2015 at 7:11 PM
Comment #128It’s vey delusional to say Pardew is world class!
…it’s very difficult to take that statement serious!
James RS
Nov 29, 2015 at 7:18 PM
Comment #129True words from Henry Winter and Charnley is also to blame
GeordieTwo
Nov 29, 2015 at 7:29 PM
Comment #130Spot on usmagpie @127. Sunderland have started to get their house in order with Big Sam. Bournemouth keep pecking away and getting points. It’s only us and Villa who are hopeless right now. That can’t continue for much longer or we are going down. It could be over by Christmas the way we’re playing. If we lose 4 of the next 5 and draw or lose against Villa we are done like dinner. That would be 10 or 11 points from 19 games.