So "Sam the Man" is finally here and he is excited about the prospect of unlocking Newcastle's potential to compete with the best in the Premiership.
He’s not the only one, of course, because similar words and phrases have tumbled out of the mouths of everyone who has sat in the manager’s chair for the first time since Joe Harvey guided the club to that Fairs Cup success everyone keeps harking on about in 1969.
We know Newcastle have the potential to compete with the biggest clubs in the country, the problem is, with the odd exception of the Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson years, they have failed miserably to do that.
Big name managers have tried and failed, big name players have come and gone but, like Old Mother Hubbard, the trophy cupboard - erm, it’s probably a dusty cabinet anyway - is bare.
Do I think Sam Allardyce will be different? I certainly hope so.
On the face of things, he has the character, the temperament and the know-how to inspire the players he has inherited. He is determined to change things behind the scenes as well as on the pitch and he wants - in words that echoed Roy Keane’s when he took over at Sunderland - to change the culture at the football club.
Impressive sentiments and persuasive arguments, but only time will tell whether he will succeed where so many others have failed. He sported a wide smile at his unveiling press conference, let’s just hope he is still smiling in 18 months time.
Allardyce is not the most popular of appointments, but I question whether there was really any other alternative. All right, so I had my one-man campaign for Sven-Goran Eriksson, but Ottmar Hitzfeld? Not a chance, Gerard Houllier? Possibly, but would he really be any better?
I guess, all supporters can do now is get behind the team or don’t bother renewing your season tickets. Blind loyalty I know - look try telling yourself that is worth the time and effort to watch Leyton Orient - but isn’t that always the case with your football club? Isn’t that what makes Newcastle unique, the sheer number of you who are blinded by your loyalty?
Wow, I sound like a season ticket salesman for Freddie Shepherd don’t I? I don’t mean to, I’m just saying..... Look I don’t know what I’m saying, but I bet you understand what I’m trying to get across....
As for Freddie, this is his sixth managerial appointment and there is a huge amount of pressure on it being a successful one. He has got two wrong since Robson in Graeme Souness and Glenn Roeder and if he is to avoid a widening of the protests against him that we saw this season, Allardyce needs to succeed.
Lest we forget, when the fans protested after the defeat by Blackburn earlier this month, there were just as many chants for his head as there were for Roeder’s.
Anyway, it should make for an interesting summer at least.
I’ve not had the chance to comment about Obafemi Martins and Charles N’Zogbia’s behaviour at Watford have I. From what I’ve heard, neither can be defended.
Just because Oba has scored 17 goals this season, that does not excuse withdrawing yourself from the squad because you don’t want to be a substitute does it? Kieron Dyer did something similar when he didn’t want to play on the right wing and look what happened to him.
I’ve questioned Oba’s performances since the home game against Alkmaar in February and, again, from what I’ve heard from inside the dressing room, his commitment and attitude have been questioned by his teammates for some time.
As for Charlie, he was a really nice kid with lots of potential who sulked when Damien Duff was signed. He wasn’t handled that well by Roeder, but his head is up his - I’ll leave that last bit to your imagination, there might be children reading.
He either withdraws it, starts concentrating on football again, or, as much as it pains me to say it, he packs his bag and leaves. One thing is certain, I bet he wouldn’t behave like he has if he was at Arsenal!
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