It would appear that common sense and logic are alien concepts around Newcastle United’s St James’ Park where another manager drove out of the gates for the last time on Wednesday.
Not even eight months after taking over as coach of Newcastle, Sam Allardyce was consigned to the club’s managerial scrapheap.
At least he is in good company. In the 22 years that Alex Ferguson has been winning league titles, FA Cups and European honours for Manchester United, the lesser United have been through 10 full-time managers and numerous caretakers.
Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Ruud Gullit and Bobby Robson have all tried and failed to stir what is not so much a sleeping giant as a creature of pure myth. After all, the Magpies have not won a trophy since the 1955 FA Cup.
The club’s supporters, the so-called Toon Army, are regularly touted as the “best fans in the country” but they are also notoriously fickle when it comes to supporting the manager.
Allardyce, it seems, was not to their liking right from the start, his functional football at odds with the fantasy football they appear to demand.
The problem is fantasy football doesn’t always get you very far.
Kevin Keegan almost cracked it when he took them out of the second division and turned Newcastle into genuine challengers for the title. They blew a 10-point lead in the 1995-96 season as Manchester United reeling them in and Keegan quit a few months later.
Under Bobby Robson Newcastle again challenged the top four and performed well in the Champions League and UEFA Cup, yet after a poor start to 2004-05 he was jettisoned.
Souness (2004-06) and Glenn Roeder (2006-07) came and went in quick succession. Now Allardyce.
Quite who would want the job next is hard to fathom. Not only must Newcastle play dashing, attacking football, they must also be challenging for the title every season.
The gap between them and the top four is now so large that a good three or four seasons would be needed to turn fans’ fantasy into anything resembling reality and let’s face it, nobody gets that long at Newcastle.
Jose Mourinho’s name has been banded about, as has Harry Redknapp’s. But Mourinho probably has his eyes on bigger fish and Redknapp is enjoying exciting times at Portsmouth where expectations are a little more realistic.
Alan Shearer is a Toon idol but has no coaching experience. In a world without logic and common sense, that probably makes him the favourite to become the club’s ninth manager in 11 years.
PHOTO: Former Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce poses for photographers at his home in Durham, January 10, 2008. Allardyce became the latest example of Premier League impatience on Wednesday when he “parted company” with Newcastle United after half a season with the club. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis
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5 comments so far
I think it’s inevitable that he gets offered the job at some stage. Would it make any sense? No. Could it work? Maybe, yeah. Illogical choices can sometimes work out alright in football. I wouldn’t have bet on Frank Rijkaard winning the European Cup with Barcelona, for example. Still, you have to worry that it could all go a bit Steve Staunton.
- Posted by LondonThis job is probably getting to the point where it is as unwanted as the England position.
- Posted by Betting Blue BoyNewcastle have proven - and let’s face it, have been for some time now - they are one of the biggest laughing stocks in English football, even new owner Mike Ashley couldn’t resist listening to those idiotic Newcastle fans who grew impatient with Allardyce, nobody can achieve miracles straight away.
I really do not see the likes of Mourinho going anywhere near St James’ Park although a cheeky bet on the likes of McClaren might be more realistic.
I’d agree that the chances of Mourinho going there are about nil. mcClaren is a better bet, but yes, I suppose Shearer might be called upon one of these days.
- Posted by KevI have to agree with betting blue boy who in their right mind would want the Newcastle Job. The Toon Army may crave beautiful to watch attacking football like Man United play but Ferguson was given time to create a team. He even nearly lost his job to begin with. All great teams over the years have been built on a solid defence which Newcastle never have had. I know they would rather win a game 4-3 than 1-0 but unfortunately for them they lack the creativity in midfield and attack to do that, so they have to start back from basics and learn to defend and then when they stop leaking goals they can start stealing games 1-0 and that brings confidene which in the long run will bring them the attacking football they crave! Shearer is a god there so doesn’t want to ruin his reputation going back…….yet.
- Posted by Darren S BellJol will probably take the job as Shearer knows now is not the right time. Newcastle must be one of the few clubs to have failed despite a huge transfer budget.
- Posted by Mark MeadowsBlackburn, Chelsea etc have all succeeded up to a point with fresh cash so it is bizarre that the Toon have floundered. I think the fact that some really top players dont fancy living in the north east of England has been a factor that any manager will struggle to overcome, especially with an empty trophy cabinet.