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Soccer Break Tuesday
Short and sweet today with little news on Monday and plenty of action to look forward to this week.
Manchester United will look to stretch their Premier League lead against Newcastle United on Tuesday, though will their Wembley antics distract them? ‘A hole lot of trouble for United’ read one headline.
The week’s big game, big being an understatement, is Real Madrid v Barcelona in the Spanish King’s Cup final. Jose Mourinho, silent before last Saturday’s ‘clasico’ which prompted a walkout by media in protest, has a tactical dilemma. Play with caution and risk the wrath of former club great Alfredo Di Stefano or attack and risk a hammering from Barcelona’s slick forwards.
What would you suggest the Portuguese coach does?
A recap of the past few days looks at Villarreal’s push for Champions League football next season in La Liga after Monday’s 1-0 win over Real Zaragoza, and the usually dogged Stoke City’s five, yes five, goal FA Cup semi-final win on Sunday against Bolton Wanderers who are enjoying a great season in the Premier League.
To round off the best of Tuesday’s reads, Toronto is being hailed as the new ‘epicentre’ of Canadian soccer and click here for a debate on developing youth talent.
Finally, which is your favourite stadium? Browse this site for venue reviews and post your thoughts on grounds you have visited. The Nou Camp in Barcelona does pretty well.
Newcastle failing to learn from 20 years of managerial mayhem
After Newcastle United chalked up their biggest home win over local rivals Sunderland for more than half a century in October, crushing their biggest rivals 5-1, the first question manager Chris Hughton was asked was whether he thought the victory had made his job safe.
Such is the quicksand that the north-east club has been built on in recent years that even a result that once would have warmed their fans through the coldest of north-east winters proved only a short-term reprieve for an honest, straightforward, likeable and successful manager.
Earlier that week the club had issued a statement supporting Hughton following widespread speculation about his future in the wake of a 4-0 home defeat by Arsenal in the League Cup.
When they followed the Sunderland success by beating a full-strength Arsenal at the Emirates – with an earlier win at Everton and a 6-0 thrashing of Aston Villa also in the bag – one might have thought that Hughton had proved his credentials for a club desperate for some continuity.
Newcastle’s revolving door managerial policy in the previous 12 years had seen 10 managers come and go.
Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Ruud Gullit, Bobby Robson, Graeme Souness and others all came and went on the back of often reasonable Premier League showings before the combination of Joe Kinnear and Alan Shearer failed to prevent their relegation in 2009. In the 24 years Alex Ferguson has been at Manchester United, Newcastle have changed their manager 14 times.
Yet after all that, chairman Mike Ashley said via the club’s statement on Monday that he wanted a more experienced man in charge.
Pardew confirmed as coach. As Chris Kamara would say “Unbelievable Jeff”. Only difference this time is it wouldnt be hyperbole….Ashley better be careful goinmg to SJP, things could get nasty
End of St James’ Park is ultimate sell-out for Newcastle fans
Newcastle United fans have put up with a lot over the years but selling “naming rights” for James’ Park might be the final straw for some fans.
At 10pm on Tuesday the club announced that Chris Hughton would be made full-time manager and that owner Mike Ashley would no longer be selling and instead would inject 20 million pounds this week.
Slipped in among the back-slapping was the news that the club would welcome bids for the naming rights of the ground the club has occupied with pride since 1892.
Newcastle fans have had years of fun abusing Sunderland for what they consider the pretentious “Stadium of Light” which replaced Roker Park 12 years ago and now their fiercest rivals are poised to return the favour when one of the most famous and atmospheric grounds in the country becomes an advert.
Supporters have become less sensitive about names of new or rebuilt stadiums since the days when Millwall’s Den was imaginatively named “The New Den” and selling the naming rights to a new ground, such as the Emirates Stadium, is no longer that controversial.
Slapping a new name on an established ground, however, is another matter entirely.
I am a Man U fan – 3 generations born and bred, and furious at what the glazers are doing – but the magpie supporters must be beside themselves at what this unpredictable ….man is capable of –
Come on, follow the geordie boys and vote with your feet! Hit Ashley where it hurts – his pocket! He is selling you lads down the river and laughing at you!
You CAN do something about it!
Can Owen revive career at Manchester United?
On the face of it, replacing world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo with an injury-prone forward whose side just got relegated does not seem like a great bit of business.
The British media is certain that Michael Owen, a free agent after leaving Newcastle United, is on the verge of joining Manchester United if he passes a stringent medical.
Has Alex Ferguson gone mad? Far from it. Having banked 80 million pounds from the sale of Ronaldo to Real Madrid, he is poised to bring in one of English football’s most renowned goalscorers for free. And Owen is still under 30.
Even if Owen only ends up playing half a season, he will still be able to contribute and his England partnership with Wayne Rooney always looked promising.
However, United fans will hope Owen and Wigan’s Antonio Valencia will not be the only new recruits.
What do you reckon? An inspired signing or a gamble doomed to failure?
Nice topic.Manchester United is the richest club in the world. The Red Devils have won 16 English league championships, eight since the start of the Premiership in 1993. The club’s commercial potential was tempting enough for Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer to buy the team in 2005.
Should Shearer stay or go?
Alan Shearer has a big decision on his hands after his eight-game stint in charge of Newcastle United ended in relegation from the Premier League on Sunday.
Most fans of the club will be desperate for Shearer, the club’s record goalscorer, to be handed the job of rebuilding the team as they prepare for life outside the top flight.
But is sentiment once again in danger of clouding the judgement of those who will make the decision? After all, Newcastle appear in such a mess that surely a manager of vast experience is needed.
Then again, Kevin Keegan was a managerial rookie when he took over in 1992 with the club heading for the third tier of English football and he transformed them into a side that almost landed the Premier League title.
The recent record of former big name players making the jump to manage big clubs is not great, however. Paul Ince failed at Blackburn Rovers, Tony Adams at Portsmouth and Roy Keane ultimately walked away from Sunderland.
Geordie fans will demand an instant return to the top flight and that will heap huge pressure on whoever is in charge next season. Shearer would be given more leeway than an outsider, but it would still be a huge gamble for him and the club.
I dont care whether he is leaving or not and I am happy Newcastle were relegated.
Newcastle poised for tense finale to relegation soap opera
England’s most popular soap operas thrive on a weekly recipe of misery, doom and gloom that is gobbled up by television viewers seeking some relief from their own trials and tribulations.
In that sense, the final weekend of the Premier League season is quite similar.
With Manchester United already polishing the trophy again after sealing a third consecutive title last week, neutral television viewers are salivating at the prospect of watching the suffering of fans of Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Hull City and Sunderland as their clubs desperately scarp for top flight survival.
Like the inevitable rubber-neckers at road traffic accidents, there is something cruelly compulsive about the raw emotions of relegation D-Day.
For those poor fans at Villa Park, the KC Stadium, Upton Park and The Stadium of Light, fingernails will be whittled down to nothing as their sides hover between survival and exile from Planet Premier League and all its hype and glamour.
Sadly, there is usually one club that the majority of neutral voyeurs want to see fall off the cliff — and this year they play in black and white stripes.
And it was written.Owen at United!Cheer up Alan Shearer, Oh what can it be, to be a S***E Jordi B*****D – and a S**** Football TEEEEAAAAM!
Shearer’s arrival could give Toon Army false hope
Newcastle’s interim boss and Geordie hero Alan Shearer opened St. James’ Park on Tuesday and his Premier League side trained in front of 7,500 fans.
It could prove to be a masterstroke. As the sun shone down and school kids on half-term flocked to the stadium, it had the city buzzing again just two days after the disappointing loss to Chelsea.
But the Geordie faithful are precisely that, and rarely do they turn their backs in disgust when things aren’t going well, just ask Habib Beye.
If the Magpies don’t escape relegation, it will be horribly sad to see St. James’ Park half-full at best for Championship games.
Newcastle’s run-in however is a tough one, and with just seven games remaining I fear for the club and their most loyal fans.
Seeing the optimism that abounded on Tuesday among the young faces was uplifting, but the effect Shearer’s return has had could turn to heartbreaking scenes come the season’s end.
PHOTO: Newcastle United’s interim coach Alan Shearer gestures during their training session at St James’ Park in Newcastle April 7, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis
I don’t think this gives Newcastle fans ‘false hope’ but I do think it gives them something to get excited about – unfortunately its in the situation they’re in.
As for the ground half empty, they won’t sell out in the championship but with the amount of seasons tickets that would have been renewed in January/February they’ll have a big turnout.
http://www.worldfootballcolumns.com
Shearer confirmed as Newcastle manager — can he keep them up?
Well, at least we now know it wasn’t an April Fool’s Day joke… Alan Shearer has been confirmed as Newcastle manager for the final eight matches of the season.
He faces a Herculean task in keeping Newcastle up and with no managerial experience to his name the odds must be against him.
Click here for the full story, and let us know in the comments if you think the move is inspired, desperate, desperately inspired or just plain daft.
PHOTO: A Newcastle United fan is seen outside St James’ Park in Newcastle, April 1, 2009. Alan Shearer will become the club’s new manager until the end of the present season. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis
Honestly, I’m surprised it took Newcastle and Shearer this long to agree to what had been rumored months ago.
from Left field:
Quiet day for April Fools
I've been scouting around for some sporting April Fools but I've not spotted many good ones.
Maybe some websites and blogs have held off on the jokes given the state of the world economy is no laughing matter.
Gazzetta dello Sport's French football blog Sotto La Tour Eiffel says Zinedine Zidane will come out of retirement to play for Marseille.
Have you seen any better April Fools? We are assuming of course that Alan Shearer is really going to manage Newcastle United. However, there has been no official confirmation so far...
I saw this one yesterday about alan shearer going back to manage newcastle. What was that? Oh.
Can Shearer save Newcastle?
It sounds like an April Fool’s joke but apparently it’s true: Alan Shearer looks set to be confirmed as caretaker manager of Newcastle United until the end of the season.
Now, Newcastle could certainly do with a touch of inspiration as they bid to preserve the top flight status they have held since winning promotion back to the top tier in 1993.
But is Shearer up to the job of becoming the club’s latest saviour? He certainly faces a steep learning curve if he is indeed to become Newcastle’s fourth manager of the season.
Newcastle have eight Premier League matches remaining this season, starting with a home match against Chelsea on Saturday.
Can the 15 million pound man who scored 206 goals in 404 appearances for Newcastle transfer that record of success on the field to his new role? And if he does keep them up, should he sign up for the long haul?
FILE PHOTO: Newcastle United’s captain Alan Shearer looks on following the final whistle his testimonial match against Celtic at St James’ Park in Newcastle, May 11, 2006. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis
Yer
What can he do in 8 games that all the other managers were not able to do, the game is not played on inspiration alone. He experience is almost next to nothing, all we can do is be optimistic and hope he does. Good thing for him the bottom half of the table is packed
