A Tough Decision To Make On Joe Kinnear
Whatever you may or may not think about Joe Kinnear as a football manager I'm sure everyone hopes he makes a full recovery from heart surgery - if you don't you are sick, sick puppy who should perhaps think about putting yourself down.
However, whether Kinnear ever returns to St James's Park as manager is doubtful. By my reckoning, he will not be able to return to the dugout this season, which raises the prospect of Chris Hughton being caretaker boss for more than three months. Not an entirely convincing situation, nice guy that Hughton is.
I'm not entirely sure Kinnear ever intended to stay beyond May anyway. His family are reluctant to move to the North East and I wonder whether there have already been warning signs about his health this season.
Surely, if he did intend to stay, he would have bitten Derek Llambias hand off when a two year contract was offered to him last month, rather than keep it locked in a draw in his office! I might be wrong - it wouldn't be the first time - but just a theory for you to ponder.
Newcastle have a tough decision to make this week. Llambias and owner Mike Ashley will have to decide whether to let things drift along with Hughton and Colin Calderwood at the tiller, appoint another temporary manager until the end of the season and assess things again then - or simply accept that Joe's health isn't up to it and look to appoint a permanent manager - Sven Goran Eriksson here we come - from now.
Joe's record isn't the greatest one in the world, but I will still stick up for him to an extent because he took a job nobody else wanted, he has worked in difficult conditions and has had terrible luck with injuries.
In his 21 games in charge, Newcastle have won just five games, drawn nine and lost seven. Not exactly a win ratio which would have put him in the running for the Chelsea job, but a decent one when looked at in context.
When Joe arrived, Newcastle were in the bottom three and in disarray in the dressing room. He may appear confused at times, but he has given the players a focus and they are now four points clear of the drop zone
It is too soon to write Joe off just in terms of his managerial career at St James's Park, he intends to be back in a couple of months, but this is another tricky period for the Magpies.
Llambias has talked a decent game in the last few days, but the decisions they make now could determine whether Newcastle are still a Premier League side next season and or whether their business plan lies in tatters on the floor of a Championship club!
We have all called for actions rather than words and its, erm, action time I guess....
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Luke Edwards - is Chief Sports Writer of The Journal and uses his blog to give a unique and entertaining insight into events at Newcastle United and Sunderland.
"Llambias has talked a decent game in recent days" ???
And I thought you were one of the journos who could cut through the you know what and tell it like it really is. Has he promised you a dozen roses on Valentine's day? Cos all you'll get is a soggy daisy from his garden.
Don't tell me, you're going to give them one more chance?
*Shakes head in disbelief*
Steady on sawdox, I said talked a good game, not he's wonderful, brilliant and I'm a signed up member of the Mike Ashley fan club!
The interview Lee Ryder and myself did has given them the chance to try and put the record straight on a few things. But as I've said, it is their actions, not words which will determine how things go from here.
As for Roses and Valentine's Day, commercial clap trap, I don't need to buy presents for my wife to show that I love her - although I will be in the dog house if I don't so I'll, be popping into town later like the rest of the socially pressurised sheep out there
Llambias says they're focusing on the academy and its easy to see they are, we've picked up some youth players that are tipped for big things, personally I feel we could do with a manager thats known for bringing them through (ferguson or wenger anyone? :-) )
Seems we're focusing the money else where rather than risking it on big money signings like luque and viana in the past (good waste of 20m right there) and this can only pay dividends in the future! Personally I'm willing to see where Ashley is going to take the club as no one else wants us and for me, the signings we've made are quality! ie: Jonas, Nolan, Taylor, Guthrie, Coloccini! wouldn't include xisco in that list but he's so young, he must have some talent as he's highly rated in spain! Be interesting to see what we do transferwise when we get geremi, viduka, owen, smith and perhaps duff off the wage bill!
Llambias is quoted in the journal - 'What a star Bassong has been. That was one of Dennis Wise’s signings, he was our cheapest signing.' In another article he claims KK was responsible for transfers. If my memory serves Bassong was signed before KK was removed so lies one way or another and shameful to print without pointing this out to him in the cosy chat. To get back to today's topic, JK is an idiot who has not moved us one inch forward since he joined.KK's accumulated more points on his licence than this fool has mustered in the league. The septic regime should never have appointed him with his record and they only like him because he's a stooge who will spout any garbage they want the afflicted to hear and is cheap. It beggars belief that they are offering him a 2 year contract and the once proud Geordie nation just sits by and watches while they decimate our club. Get well by the way then get out with the rest of the parasites sucking the blood out the very city.
Ivan you are a very sad case. Only you can change how you feel and how you express yourself. Go on, give change a chance and look for some good somewhere.
Howay the Toon!
Well - lets be honest - we all wish JFK well. But equally - we all want a better qualified manager. And the barrier to us signing any decent manager - or players - and a vehicle by which we lose any decent players - is one and the same. the current regime have no credibility in the business.
As for Dennis Wise. this is the weak chink in the armour. Kinnear claimed he (Kinnear) got the recent signings - in which case
a) - why did Kinnear get his own way over transfers when KK (allegedly) didnt. What makes JFK judgement worth financial backing over KK? I know whose image I would want my team built in - and it aint Joes.
or
b) what is wise doing if this is the case?
with recent job losses at Findus and Nissan - whats a 1.5 milion/year guy doing for his money??? this is disgusting - and this is the issue that Llambias should be shamed in to talking about. And this is the missed opportunities that have left me dissapointed with the Chron and Journo.
It is not a tough decision. I can't imagine there is doctor in the country who would recommend that someone should manage Newcastle United months after a heart operation. Joe will probably want to come back but NUFC should pay him until the end of the seaon, tell him he's welcome back any time as an honoured guest but stay away from the pressure for his own good.
I am disappointed that Derek Llambias was allowed to skirt the issues that we really want to know about, but he was always going to. I feel for you, Luke. I bet you wanted to ask the questions we want answers to, but I bet you were probably censored to an extent?
It's all a load of spin to try and get Ashley back in with the fans, however, the damage is done and will take more than a PR stunt to correct. Decent financial management and investing in the right people behind the scenes instead of your friends is a start.
As for Joe Kinnear, I never liked him. His tactics are naive and his comments from Day 1 have been nothing short of perplexing. The man is an idiot!
He has a history of heart trouble, so it's perhaps no surprise that he's taken ill in one of the most high-pressured jobs in English football.
It might be a blessing in disguise. Don't get me wrong, I wish him a speedy recovery, but go and do it elsewhere.
Mr. Ashley can now use his actions to try and regain some of the fans' support by appointing a manager with a better football brain than Kinnear. WE DON'T CARE ABOUT TROPHIES, WE JUST WANT TO BE ENTERTAINED, and entertainment has been thin on the ground lately.
Something needs to happen and quickly, because as we stand, we're going down
Well said Graham. However, my biggest fear is that they bin JFK and appoint that clown Poyet. Would there be a bigger puppet out there for midget man to control? I wish JFK well, but he was never the right man to lead this club forward. If MA is as ambitious as he claims surely we should go after Sven. Like him or loathe him, he did a great job at Man City, on far more limited resources than Hughes has had at his disposal. This really is crunch time for the Toon. Leaving Calderwood/Houghton in charge has the potential for disaster!
JFK may not be a super star manager but he is not bad, hes not an idiot or a muppet or clueless, he just is not KK or AS.. we really need to get over this rubbish and stop hanging on to KK days..(and i was really up for him coming back and for AS in the future, remember KK tried to get him in -he didn't want to know!? he would of been manager now..)
At this moment in time JFK is the man that stepped up therefore he is the man for the job. Ok he is in hospital and I think we should find a new full time manager if we can and then offer JFK a coaching roll or somthing less stressful at least out of graditude for helping us out of the bottom 3.. good job Joe..
If JFK was healthy enough at the time he was offered a contract and he put it on hold for a single second - you couldn't get a much more damning indictment of NUFC.
Everytime he has been linked with us I have not wanted him but now I am ready for Steve Bruce and I would do it now rather than wait until the end of the season.
Get well soon Joe and enjoy a less stressful job!
Now I think I speak for a lot of people hear in saying that i’m not a fan Of Mike Ashley or Derek Llambias, however unless I choose to support Sunderland, I have no other option than to roll with this current regime and see what happens. (I personally believe they're trying to make the club look better to prospective buyers again in a bid to sell the club but that’s by the by).
However on to the manager situation...... Joe Kinnear at least racked a few points on the board and most likely has got us into a 'slightly' better position than we would have been. Nonetheless I think he's an embarrassment when talking to the media and his previous and current health problems are somewhat of a worry (wish him a speedy recovery though). So...... this leads me to talk of potential new managers to help us move forward with our current regimes 5 year plan and top of my list would be and always has been Louis Van Gaal but due to how well AZ Alkmaar are doing in the Dutch league I think that’s very unlikely. My second choice may seem somewhat random as he is a manager of a lower league but I would like to see a young English manager given a chance in the premiership apart from annoying ex footballers and that man is Darren Ferguson of Peterborough. The man has done an excellent job down there and with Sir Alex being his dad I’m sure he’s learnt a few tricks of the trade along the way!
Any comments????
I'm in agreement with the majority of what has been said. Firstly, I'd like to wish JFK a speedy recovery and thank him from the part he played in dragging us out of the mire. It was plain to see that nobody other than Joe wanted the job, yet he stepped up and got the lads playing again. Granted, it hasn't been earth-shattering stuff, but it's been enough to drag us out of the position we were in.
Yes we're still flirting with relegation but the facts are that if Joe hadn't taken the job, we would now be bottom of the league hurtling towards the Championship. Having said that, his current health condition does not make good reading for his future as Newcastle manager. The stress of the job is enough to blow the lid off a pressure cooker, which is more than can be said for any other job in world football. For the best of all involved, Joe should now take time to rest and NUFC should appoint a new permenant manager. Sven has been mentioned a number of times in this blog and it would appear that either he, or Steve Bruce, would be the fans choice. For a long time now, Sir Bobby Robson has been a fan of Steve Bruce, and I personally feel its time for him to come home and do the job for his home town team. He's an astute young manager with huge potential, just what the Toon need. Howay the lads!