November 2007 Archives

It is increasingly rare in the modern, public relations constrained age, but every now and again, a footballer speaks and you have to sit up and take notice. Joey Barton’s interview in Saturday’s Journal is one such moment.

Without going into too much detail for fear of ruining the story (you can read it on the Journal Live website from Saturday morning or you can do something revolutionary like actually buy the newspaper) Barton has raised some emotive issues about the future of Newcastle United by warning the club’s fans they are starting to become a hindrance rather than a help.

It seems a little harsh that, after months of investigation, suspicion, rumours and questioning, only one player’s transfers appear to have caught the attention of the authorities - Amdy Faye.

Faye will not be remembered fondly as a Newcastle player, in fact, given some of his anonymous performances in a black and white shirt, there are some of you might struggle to remember him at all! He cost £2m from Portsmouth, was about six foot tall, African and he played in Newcastle’s midfield 45 times. Jog any memories?

I have a confession to make, I have been off work for a week and didn’t even watch Newcastle plunging to a new low against Liverpool on Saturday. I didn’t even watch the highlights on Match of the Day.

I adopted a similar policy to Sunderland’s 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Everton. Why? Because, for one week only, I got away from football. I went home to stay with my parents, did a bit of Christmas shopping, went out drinking, ate well and, well, switched off from work and enjoyed the other things in life for a while.

They say a rest is as good as change and, before any of you start to worry about my mental state, I’d just like to reassure you that I’m back and have plenty to say on the events of the last week. I will not pull any punches either. I might even slip in a couple of low blows!

Well, alright then Steve McClaren, you may have made a complete mess of this qualification campaign, but you can stay as England coach. After all, better to be a lucky manager than a good one isn't it?!

I hate to say I told you so - I don't really - but didn't I say Israel would beat Russia at the weekend and that lucky little so and so would end up keeping his job. As anyone who can remember Middlesbrough's run to the Uefa Cup final a couple of years ago will testify, the red-faced one has made a habit of unlikely and dramatic last-minute escapes!

Steve McClaren has talked passionately - if he is ever capable of such a thing - about surviving adversity, a couple of England players have mumbled something about not blaming the manager, but if England don’t qualify for the European Championships in 2008 there is no way McClaren can hold on to his job.

It is all well and good talking about stability and the fact nobody can wave a magic wand to instantly bring success to an under-achieving club like Newcastle United, but for pity’s (I’d like to swear here but this is a family show), England didn’t need to have a magic wand waved for them to qualify for Euro 2008 did they?

So the North-East derby ended with honours even and points shared and, from what I can gather, both Sam Allardyce and Roy Keane were fairly happy with that.

As the home - and for prolonged periods - better team, Sunderland will have more reason to feel aggrieved at failing to secure a famous victory, but that has been the story of their season so far. Decent performances, but a lack of killer instinct in front of goal which means they are drawing games they could win and losing games they could draw.

As for Newcastle, well they were forced to battle and scrap for whatever they could get. The performance wasn’t anything special, a number of players had disappointing games, but through it all, I thought they showed commendable spirit and resilience to come away with a point.

Given the ills suffered by Newcastle United and Sunderland this week, a North-East derby is exactly what the doctor would have ordered if Sam Allardyce and Roy Keane had popped along to their local GP this morning.

Newcastle are floundering after back-to-back defeats, including a 4-1 home defeat to Portsmouth, have ruined much of the early-season optimism a solid start brought and rapidly drained whatever confidence Allardyce had built up during his first five months at the helm.

As for Sunderland, dreams of emulating the likes of Wigan and Reading in their first season back in the Premier League have quickly evaporated and Keane is beginning to lose patience with a group of players who have won just two games out of 12 this season. A battle against relegation looks the most likely course of their campaign.

As infuriating, humiliating and depressing as Newcastle's 4-1 home - or should that be pummelling - to Portsmouth was, it is unhelpful and as premature as a teenager fumbling his way to second base to start talking about Sam Allardyce being replaced as manager.

Don't get me wrong, there is plenty to get your teeth into for those who are unsure about the manager's credentials and uncertain about the direction he is taking the team, but sacking a manager after just 13 games and who, just two weeks ago was celebrating - or at least mentioning lots - the fact the club had just enjoyed it's best start to a season in 11 years is, to put it bluntly, stupid.

Allardyce was far from a universally popular choice as manager and I have some real concerns about some of his comments since he became manager - particularly in terms of playing style away from home - but can we at least give him a season to prove he is capable of improving things.

They will be raging in Edinburgh and fuming in Cardiff, they might even be a little bit peeved in Belfast, but honestly, does anyone really think a Great Britain football team for the Olympics is such a bad idea?

Obviously I’m not Scottish so I don’t have any strong feelings about an independent Scotland, equally, despite the Welsh surname and the fact my dad’s middle name is Clwyd, I’m also not Welsh.

Interestingly, I do qualify to play for Wales through my grandfather on my mother’s side - well if it’s good enough for Vinnie Jones and half the Ireland team - Bernie Slaven, Mick McCarthy, Tony Cascarino and Andy Townsend anyone? - it’s good enough for me!