No More Excuses
Another Premier League game, another disgraceful result.
In Saturdays Newcastle Evening Chronicle, Roeder promised that Newcastle would "...come out punching and fighting. When the going gets tough, the tough get going, and that's what everyone from the chairman down to the tea lady will be doing tonight."
Well Glenn, if that is your best fight then it is time for you to go.
Newcastle dominated throughout, though failed to score a goal against the side who are rooted to the bottom of the league. Rossi hit the crossbar from close range in the first half and Damien Duff spurned a few decent chances, but Scott Carson will have played in more testing games.
Charlton could have scored a couple of goals themselves - Darren Bent failed to capitalise when Titus Shambles made his usual comical error, Bryan Hughes volleyed inches wide, and if Babayaro had not taken Rommedahl out in the closing seconds they could easily have snuck away with all three points in the bag. Things need to change. We now lie only one place above a relegation spot and this is our second worst start to a season in the Premier League.
With the state of play on the pitch coupled with our sliding attendances (another crowd below 50,000 on Saturday) as well as appalling preliminary financial results (a £12million loss for eleven months up to 30.6.06) then the case against our chairman is growing stronger by the day. If Shepherd is successful in his desire to pick up more shares and take overall control of the club, the club will die. Shepherd needs to go now.
We are so far away from being able to challenge from a Champions League place that we need to change everything - starting at the top. We need new owners, a new chairman, a new manager and several new players.
If we do not get these things soon, we will be the next Leeds United.
Come on you potential investors, get buying!
Relegation Battle
We have been sucked into the relegation battle. Is it too soon to claim such a thing after only eight games? Not when you watch our back four.
Bolton came to town on Sunday, and Newcastle managed to concede yet another lead at home in calamitous fashion.
Newcastle were the better side for much of the first half, though Jaaskeleinen was rarely tested. The opening goal came from a fortuitous handball decision. Oba Martins looked to whip the ball into the box, and the ball cannoned of a defenders arm. There was not much the defender could have done about it, but the linesman (or referees assistant as they like to be called these days) awarded the spot kick. Diouf began his antics there and then - firstly chasing the referee down to argue against the decision, and then walking over and kicking up the penalty spot just before Shola Ameobi placed the ball. Ameobi slotted it home well - probably his only contribution of the day.
Later in the first half, the luckiest man in the world of football (Peter Ramage, how on earth do you get paid to play football?) missed an open goal from six yards, which would have doubled our lead. He has never scored a Premiership goal and he never will.
The only other effort of note from the home side came early in the second half. Martins fired a shot at goal that was smartly saved by the Bolton keeper - one of the best and most under rated goalkeepers in the business. After the game, Roeder exclaimed that Newcastle 'Dominated for sixty minutes.' Are you sure Glenn?
Cue the Newcastle back four comedy show. I am not even going to bother describing them to you. You have seen it all hundreds of times before. Two goals in two minutes for the odious Diouf. The fans were absolutely furious, and the booing at full time will send a clear message to the fat controller - this is just Souness all over again. Actually, that is a bit unfair on the dour Scotsman -he had picked up a point more at this stage of last season and then went on to win his next three Premiership games. No pressure there then Roeder.
Perhaps the loudest message of the day to Shepherd did not come from the booing, but from the fact that there were only 48,145 in attendance - the lowest gate for a Premiership game at St James's Park since May 14th 2000 when 36,450 watched Newcastle play Arsenal before the stadium was redeveloped. The lowest attendance in 118 league games. The attendance was inflated by the inclusion of pre paid season tickets whether the supporters who paid for those tickets bothered to turn up or not. Many of them didn't.
We now face Middlesbrough (away), Charlton (home) and Sheffield United (home) in our next three league games. Anything less than seven points is not acceptable.
With a back four that is possibly the worst in the Premiership (prove me wrong -name me a back four worse that Carr, Ramage, Moore and Shambles) and a manager who is tactically inept, we could well go down. I have no doubt that Shepherd will give Roeder money to panic buy in January, but if he rates Oba Martins at £10million, I shudder to think what defensive options he will look at. Remember, this is the man who would not sign Sol Campbell because of his age, Woodgate because of his injuries, and continues to pick Bramble regardless of the errors he makes - leaving Taylor on the bench, so he can not use his 'options' as an excuse.
Even if this run continues, I suspect that the fans will not turn on Roeder. He is a man who fell into a job that he could not refuse - you can't blame him for taking it. This time the flack will all be directed towards the man at the top. The fans will not drive Roeder out as we know that the idiotic Shepherd will only go and replace him with someone like Curbishley - another leap sideways. As I have stated several times over the past few months - Shepherd appointed Roeder and then claimed it was 'the fans choice'. Rubbish. I do not know a single supporter who would have chosen Roeder to take us forward.
Then again, I bet Roeder is not one of the highest paid managers in the Premiership. Higher dividend pay outs anyone?
Fenerbahce (UEFA Cup) 1-0 (W)
Antoine Sibierski scored the only goal of the game eleven minutes from time as Newcastle got their UEFA cup group stage off to a winning start.
The game was very tight with neither side having too many chances, though Rustu had more to do than an obviously injured Steve Harper.
Our back four - in which Taylor partnered Ramage at centre half, looked far more comfortable than of late though they were rarely tested.
The crowd was 30,035 - boosted by an incredible turnout of around 4,000 Fenerbahce fans.
Are You Souness In Disguise?
1971/72. That was the last time we beat Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Speaking to some loyal Reds fans before the game, Man United have been off their game of late - some claiming that their points total is quite flattering considering some of the inept performances that they have put in recently - a home defeat to the Gunners, and a draw at newly promoted Reading.
Whilst the odds were against us, surely we would have a go? Lets go all out and play a bit of football. Lets go down fighting.
Not this manager! Our tactical genius decided that the way to approach the game would be to drop Oba Martins after he finally broke his home goalscoring duck with two on Thursday. He would also leave the in form Charles N'Zogbia on the bench. He would recall Nicky Butt to the starting line-up - presumably so he could have a bit of a chat and a laugh with his old pals at full time? Basically, Roeder decided that we would go to Old Trafford aiming for damage limitation. In only succumbing to a 2v0 defeat some would be forgiven for thinking that he had, in some warped way, succeeded. Anyone who actually watched the game would know that this was not the case at all. We were absolutely hammered. Man United hardly got out of second gear and could still have won the game five or six. Harper pulled off some good saves, and Man United were unlucky in and around the box throughout the game. This is not good enough. Thanks to our Chairman's amateurish handling of the club, we are now just 'also rans'.
Graeme Souness should never have been given the managerial job at Newcastle United. Seven games into last season we had endured some woeful performances and the heat was on the Scotsman. Most fans were determined to drive him out. After the first seven games of last season our record was P7 W2 D2 L3 F5 A7 PTS 8. Pretty poor.
Now compare this to Roeder's record: P7 W2 D1 L4 F6 A10 PTS 7. It is there for all to see - Roeder has somehow managed to make a worse start to the season than the man who was possibly our most unpopular manager in decades. We have less points than at this stage last season and we have conceded three more goals. Hmmm, perhaps Boumsong was not the only problem after all.
If we fail to improve Roeder will start to feel the heat from the terraces, but I don't think that it will ever reach the fever pitch levels of the campaign that finally drove Souness from the club. No, this time I think that the focus of the fans rage could well be the hapless Mr, Shepherd. He can attempt to manipulate the media all he wants, but the fans are not fooled - Roeder was NOT the fans choice for the job. (Martin O'Neill anyone?). If Shepherd continues to resist the advances of potential new owners, and if things do not improve soon, there could be trouble at Gallowgate with attendances already showing a small decline
Our next five league fixtures are Bolton (H), Middlesbrough (A), Charlton (H), Sheff United (H) and Man City (A) - 13 points from these fixtures would go a long way to appeasing the fans.
Squad Breakdown
Below is my breakdown of our current squad, and a rating of their performance this season:
Goalkeepers
1. Shay Given Shay is one of the top goalkeepers in Europe. He is our most consistent performer week in week out, and he will be a huge miss as he recovers from injury over the next five or six weeks. SSF 7/10
12. Steve Harper A reasonable understudy. Harper has barely featured for Newcastle over the years, and has not endured the best of times when he has. Prone to error, Harper has conceded two howlers in his past three games. SSF 3.
Defence
2. Steve Carr One thing you are always guaranteed from Steve Carr is 100% commitment in a game. He is not the greatest right back to ever grace a football field, but there are not too many better right backs than him in the Premiership. SSF 6.
18. Craig Moore Signed by Souness as a backup, Moore has probably been our best defender this season though his lack of pace and size can leave him exposed. SSF 6.
19. Titus Bramble Has made an appalling start to this season, last season and all other seasons, but amazingly still starts games week in week out. SSF 3.
26. Peter Ramage Does not look comfortable at full back, and is to weak to be a centre half. Ramage can be seriously exposed against the big teams. SSF 5.
27. Steve Taylor Huge potential. Taylor has struggled with injury this season, and when he has been fit Roeder has bizarrely favoured Bramble. Unfair to grade at this stage.
33. Celastine Babayaro Plays a few, misses a few. Frequently either suspended or missing with strains and complaints that are barely detectable. When he does play he gives us all hope that one day we might live the dream and pull on that black and white shirt. SSF 5.
Midfield
4. Nobby Solano Made a slow start to the season and is now missing with injury. SSF 4.
5. Emre Has obvious talent, but is a luxury player. Can often work as a decent foil for the industrious Parker, but does not add presence to the midfield - this is something that we lack. When he is on his game he can be dangerous, but he can also go missing at times. SSF 7.
11. Damien Duff Yet to settle and recreate his Chelsea best form. Has moments of magic, and will become a very useful first team player when he has more presence to aim for in the box. SSF 7.
14. Charles N'Zogbia Charles is one of the best young players in the Premiership. Unfortunately so far this season he has spent a lot of time on the bench or filling in at left back. When he has started, or been introduced in his favoured left wing position, he has been superb. SSF 8.
16 James Milner I can't figure Milner out. He is capable of brilliance one second, which is often followed by a terrible final ball. He has enjoyed an extended run in the team in Nobby's absence. SSF 6.
17. Scott Parker I was slightly critical of Parker last season - he was very industrious but we did not see much of him in an attacking sense. This season he has stepped up a gear and has been superb. There are very few players that put in as much work as Parker. Apparently he will feature in the next England squad. SSF 8.
22. Nicky Butt Very lucky to still be at the club, though it is probably just as well he is or we would be very short on numbers. SSF 5.
Forwards
7. Albert Luque Roeder is not giving the Spaniard much of a look in.
9. Obafemi Martins Still very early days for the young Nigerian, but his two UEFA goals midweek should give him more confidence. I have been impressed by his aptitude and effort, but less so by his composure and finishing. SSF 7.
23. Shola Ameobi Leading the line despite a hip injury that has required surgery for over a year. Despite this injury, Shola has bagged a few goals. He will continue to soldier on until we can sign another striker in January. SSF 7.
Long term injuries
8. Kieron Dyer The name rings a bell.
10. Michael Owen His recent knee operation was declared a success. He is a huge miss.
Sibierski - why?
Is it Thomas Gravesen to shore up the midfield? How about a return to Tyneside for Johnny Woodgate? Much needed strengthening at left back from Wayne Bridge? Surely Malbranque could be on his way to strengthen our options on the right hand side? And a forward - surely we will sign a top quality forward?
Antoine Sibierski and Giuseppi Rossi. That's all.
If there were many of us left under the illusion that Newcastle United are a 'massive club' as Freddy Shepherd would like to call it, then I think last night's transfer inactivity just about helped us to realise we have finally become an 'also ran'.
Yes, I know we signed Oba Martins last week - but a signing like that had been on the cards for two years since we found out that Alan Shearer was going to hang up his boots. What we were desperate for was a strengthening of the squad. What we received is a joke.
Rossi is undoubtedly a promising young player, but I can not see the point in bringing a player like him in on loan. If he is a failure then it is a waste of time. If he is a huge success then that is to the massive benefit of a club that some of us still like to call rivals.
Sibierski. Are you joking Roeder? We desperately need players in all of the positions listed above, so we go out and sign an average, ageing, Manchester City reserve player who plays in the area of the field that needs least strengthening. What on earth is going on? Judging by the dozens of phone calls that I received last night from friends and family once the news broke about this signing, there are a lot of seriously disappointed and disillusioned Geordie's out there. I have never known such a bewildered reaction to a signing. We should have kept Lee Bowyer and Michael Chopra - I would sooner have those players than the two we have brought in.
Fingers crossed that the rumoured takeover bid is successful - I can not face too many more years of mediocrity, mid table, managerial merry-go-rounds and mis-management from the fat controller.
