Kinnear Will Be Back But What About Wise?
Derek Llambias has confirmed Joe Kinnear will be returning to Newcastle United as soon as his health allows it. But I still wonder whether it will be as manager or in some other role.
Llambias could not have been more unequivocal in his backing for Kinnear this week, although I still don't know whether a return to the stress and strain of frontline management will be for him given his heart problems.
However, suggestions that United have already lined up Wigan's Steve Bruce or any other manager is simply inaccurate.
That might change should Joe decide he does not want to return to the dugout, but he fully intends to at this stage. He has already indicated he expects to be back in control of the team by the time the Magpies travel to Stoke on April 11.
The weird and wonderful world of Joe may not be to everybody's liking, but he is well-liked by the United hierarchy. One of the key phrases used by Llambias when I asked him about Joe's future was they "trust him."
That is significant. Llambias and Ashley had their fingers badly burnt by Kevin Keegan and are still smarting from the public relations disaster of Dennis Wise's appointment and the subsequent deterioration of their relationship with KK.
Rightly or wrongly - and an industrial tribunal will hopefully give its verdict next month - the United hierarchy feel Keegan was in the wrong.
He inevitably thinks otherwise, but the point to all this is that they want to work with a manager they believe in and like - someone who can work in the management structure they stubbornly stick by and within the financial constraints of their business plan.
There will be money to spend in the summer, that has once again been stressed, but it will not be an unlimited pool of cash. As if it ever was going to be under Ashley's prudent - some would say miserly - strategy!
Kinnear understands that, but don't be surprised if, on his return, he insists on complete and utter control of all transfers, youth team, senior team or otherwise.
That insistence could leave huge question marks hanging over the future of Dennis Wise, even if Llambias has also offered his support to the man Newcastle fans - and most other football supporters - love to hate.
Even if Kinnear doesn't come back as manager, I'm sure there will be some sort of role for him at St James's Park in the future. He has made quite an impression on both Llambias and Ashley - who have appealed for fans to give him the time to prove he is capable of building something special at St James's Park.
Such an appeal may fall on deaf ears, which brings me nicely on to the announcement the club have reduced the cost of season tickets by 9%, have raised the age limit of concession tickets to 18 and offered a few other little sweeteners.
In other words, they have done pretty much the same as Niall Quinn and Sunderland ( and Portsmouth for that matter) - responded to the global economic crisis and a deepening recession by offering cheaper tickets in an effort to ensure there aren't rows and rows and empty seats at SJP next season.
The cheaper tickets will cut into the club's income - I reckon by as much as £2m - but it is clearly better to have fans in the stadium than kicking their heels around town when there is a match on. A letter will soon be landing on doormats appealing for existing season ticket holders to renew and I wonder how well that will be received?
Bums on seats, cash in the tills in terms of merchandise, refreshments etc etc. It's called marketing, but it's a decent piece of it I suppose given the present financial climate.
I'm interested to know what your thoughts are....
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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.
Once this season is over that's me finished with NUFC. It's not about how much the tickets cost, if MA was investing heavily in the first team I would pay what ever he wanted, but I'm not putting in my hard earned when he won't put his in. I want to see decent football, we haven't had that for a long time, I won't pay to watch rubbish.
I agree with Big Si. I've been going since the early 70s so I've seen plenty of dross in my time, on and off the field. However, I've never felt as low as I do now about my beloved club. Ashley, Llambias, Kinnear and Wise are ruining my club.
Derek, you can stick your 9% reduction. I won't be renewing and it's breaking my heart.
Discount or no discount, I have signed up for the 3 years and the thought of cancelling that has never crossed my mind...
People have their own opinion on the owner and they are entitled to that however I couldnt give two hoots who is in charge as long as we show progress on the pitch.
It is time for people to get behind the side and give the owner and MD the chance to back up their words of the last few weeks...
We cannot change what has happened in the past...the proof will be in the pudding if the words "We will be challenging for everything in 5 years" come to fruition...
We have alot to look forward to...We have the spine of a side that can challenge for Europe..Kids coming through that are the best we have seen for some years, the debt is under control, we are making sensible buys (Jonas and Bassong) not stupid ones ala Luque, Boumsong...
I have been going since the late eighties so have seen my fair share of good and bad however 36,000 Geordies back in the very early premiership years (or 30,000 in the old 1st division) made a ton more noise than 52,000 now...
If people dont fancy going then fine....I would much rather have 35-40 thousand in the ground getting fully behind the side than 52,000, quarter of which are moaning...
Pop urself next to the 50 inch toshiba widescreen down the local and moan at the barmaid....
I will put my money where my mouth is, just like I have done for the past 22 years
Ruts, there is only so much you can take, I've been going since 1971 and I've seen more 5 year plans than you can shake a stick at. Been a season ticket holder since 1982 when KK came as a player stood in crowds of less than 10,000 so don't tell me about not supporting the team. I've had enough and like I said I'm not paying to watch rubbish, Nolan is the future then is he ? he's not even good enough and neither is Ryan Taylor, that's what you have to look forward to ... the crazy gang 2. Lump it long and kick the opposition off the field.
there you go again luke is there any chance of someone with a bit of nouse to stand up and write a worthy article.This reduction will mean nothing if the club is relegated.
There I go again what Gordon? Asking for your thoughts about season ticket reductions which you have duly given me. What would be a worthy article for you? Me saying Newcastle are going to be relegated, which would be a disaster for the club and everyone associated with it. We all know that and I've written about it enough times. Bang, bang bang goes the drum.... we want Ashley out, we want Ashley out...oh hang on a minute, he owns the club outright and cannot find a buyer so can't get out, erm, bang, bang, bang goes the drum, sack the board, sack the board...
There are things wrong with how the club has been - and is - being run, but how many times can I keep saying it. The Ashley regime says it wants to improve things and learn from their mistakes. My view is they should be given a chance to do that. Actions, we know, speak louder than words but let's at least give them a chance to act. The bottom line is Newcastle have to stay up this season, everyone knows that but this blog entry wasn't about that was it so wind your neck in!
Sawdox,
The slightest sign of unrest and you hoy your Paddington out of your pram!! Are you familiar with the concept of loyalty? I am willing to bet (and I'm only spiffballing here) that you have been divorced at least 3 times. For better or worse my botty. You are as fickle as a Leyton Orient fan on a promise. You'll take an opportunity to blurt your load rather than support your club at a time it is most needed. What happened to solidarity?
It's upsetting to hear that you're heartbroken - I'll send you some Kleenex via first class post. There, there. Never mind.
This blog has been a much livelier place recently hasn't it? ! Arguments, threats, taunts, Kleenex tissues - it's like an episode of Jeremy Kyle without the annoying host - oh hang on a minute, I'm the annoying host aren't I?!
As for as fickle as a Leyton Orient fan on a promise....I support a crap club with average crowds of 5,000 who play in a cruddy little corner of east London, who have not been out of the bottom two divisions since I was five or six years old. I have lived in Newcastle for the last 12 years. Now surely that counts from something in the loyalty stakes guys and girls!? Anyways, feel free to carry on, this is entertainment, right here, right now!
You summed up my thoughts in your response to Gordon's comment, Luke. It's been a few weeks since I posted, simply because I find reading some of the pessimistic rubbish that gets written on here far more depressing than anything else that's happened to NUFC this season. If you were to use the comments of some so-called supporters as a guage of the football club, then you'd have a very sorry and false representation in front of you. People need to realise that we aren't a Champions League team anymore and what we need to do is re-establish the club as a Premier League mainstay without the relegation flirtations of the last two seasons. Throwing Man City or Tottenham money at it isn't working very quickly for those two, so why should we waste our money following that model? As Ruts (who made a very good comment) said, would you rather Jonas & Bassong on low transfer fees and reasonable wages or the bottomless pit of Luque & Boumsong who cost the club millions (risking its future) and didn't show in all their months here what Jonas & Bassong showed on their debuts.
Yes, we've had a disappointing and turbulent season, but given everything that's happened the team looks much better now than it did before Christmas (not excusing some bizarre team selection on Sunday, mind). It's positivity that will take us out of this, not p*ssing and moaning at every opportunity like so many seem to revel in doing. All these people who seem to think that by writing "Ashley Out" at every opportunity will lead to a new owner anytime soon need to take a reality check. Would they sell their £250,000 house for £100,000? Nope.
I was born in 81 and didn't have the luxury of my dad buying me a season ticket as a kid etc. Buy the time i was old enough to scrape together all the money i had in the world - you couldn't get a flippin ticket cos the waiting list was a squillion geordies!
I moved to York about 10 years ago and after reading these blogs on a daily basis i've recently started to get a little frustrated at nearly half the people on here complaining and whinging. You don't realise how lucky you have been or how lucky you are! You got to see some of the best football played by Newcastle in their history, while so many others only dreamed of being there. Is your team still in the Premiership? Yes it is. Do you want them to stay there? My guess is, yes you do, but walking away wont help! You know what, maybe you should walk away and give us lot a chance to get in and be excited to see our team play every other week. Let us sing on the terraces and let us back our team with the other 35,000 who are always in full voice. I say - shame on you for quitting when the going gets tough, but I'm also glad as people who actually want to be there and see their team will now get that chance. If you plan to stop going then just get on with it and stop going.
I was born in 81 and didn't have the luxury of my dad buying me a season ticket as a kid etc. Buy the time i was old enough to scrape together all the money i had in the world - you couldn't get a bloody ticket cos the waiting list was a squillion geordies!
I moved to York about 10 years ago and after reading these blogs on a daily basis i've recently started to get a little frustrated at nearly half the people on here complaining and whinging. You don't realise how lucky you have been or how lucky you are! You got to see some of the best football played by Newcastle in their history, while so many others only dreamed of being there. Is your team still in the Premiership? Yes it is. Do you want them to stay there? My guess is, yes you do, but walking away wont help! You know what, maybe you should walk away and give us lot a chance to get in and be excited to see our team play every other week. Let us sing on the terraces and let us back our team with the other 35,000 who are always in full voice. I say - shame on you for quitting when the going gets tough, but I'm also glad as people who actually want to be there and see their team will now get that chance. If you plan to stop going then just get on with it and stop going.
And what you convienantly left out of your original piece at the top luke is that there is going to be a AVERAGE reduction of 9% more proof of yourself turning into a ashley puppet??And secondly if chris hughton was so pleased at the result against everton why didnt anyone at thomson house ask hughton or print the facts is that we never had a corner or a shot at goal for 90 mins.
Luke some of us are,nt going to change our minds about Ashley and his cockney gang any time soon so you becoming his appologist is,nt going to work.
Think about it before you turn into Anal Oliver !!!
Luke, you said somewhere up there that this blog is the place to be etc and that people are getting bitchy with each other. I personally think that this blog alone can sum up what is happening at SJP. People are looking for reasons to be negative, people are being rude and hurtful to others because we as a region have not been in this situation before. The club is totally devided, and regardless of who is right, who is wrong and what is right and wrong - the fact is Newcastle ISN'T United anymore. Its really sad. We're all on the same team, we always have been and always will be. We shouldn't be fighting each other but thats whats happened to this club. We've not been able to vent our frustration anywhere as it has fallen on deaf ears and now we've turned on each other.
I think a part of the reason people are unhappy is the fact that we cannot see a decent end in sight, even under Souness i felt that, when push came to shove, he'd get sacked and we'd be back to square one, at the moment i don't know what the future holds. I don't want to have a manager who is a 'great guy' 'loves the club' and the board 'like'. I could be all of those things but i shouldn't be manager either. i'd rather have someone who wants to drive the club forward, challenge the board to invest more, noy be a 'canny guy'. Does Ashley think Ferguson is a soft touch with the Man U board, i bet he isn't!
I understand that the line the club are taking at the moment is all they can say while we're in trouble and he's recovering from his op, crunch time is the summer, we need a new direction under a new manager to revitavlise belief amongst the fans, if that doesn't happen then people will vote with their feet i guess.
me, i thought about cancelling my ticket (i'm a 3 year victim) but i guess as a fan your in it for the ups and the downs, let's hope the ups are coming soon...
Luke, is the "9% deduction" a club line or a media line? Cos I'm guessing that it inludes a VAT decrease so it's really a 6.5% reduction.
Not that I'd accuse the club of spinning like!
So now I'm an apologist for reporting the message from the boardroom in a fair and balanced way eh Gordo? That's my job, I'm a journalist, not a rabble rouser or a protest coordinator. I report the news, spark debate and offer my opinions, which you can either love or hate. I've always said actions will speak louder than any words from the boardroom, but for all of the mistakes Ashley and Llambias have made it's only correct they have the right to respond to criticism, just as it's only fair you get to liken me to some guy called Alan and his backside on this blog. Basic principles of a free and democratic society.
My right to reply - you are clearly the angry red pimple on that backside which needs to be squeezed!
Luke, i think you are being unfairly treated in all of this for simply reporting what has come out of SJP and playing Devils Advocate if you will.
But you have to admit Anal Oliver was pretty funny!
Luke, your recent reports have been anything but fair and balanced. Ever since you cosied up to Blofeld and his henchman for tea & biscuits at St James Park you have been firmly in MA's pocket. Your assertion that we should give this corrupt regime a chance is staggering. They have failed in all four of the transfer windows to add enough quality players to boost a universally accepted paper thin squad, they refuse to change a failed management structure & transfer policy which ultimately led to the appointment of the odious Kinnear who was unable to secure a job at any other club in the country following failed attempts at Luton & Nottingham Forest. They offer a reduction in season ticket prices but only if we sign up before the end of May by which point the club will not have had the opportunity to spend the money they have promised. I am quite sure the board do 'like' & 'trust' the puppet Kinnear as he is surely the only man in football desperate enough to manager under the current conditions. The notion that MA wants the club to emulate Aston Villa does have some credence though... If by Aston Villa he means the Doug Ellis era when a total lack of ambition, direction and funding led to them battling mid table mediocrity and relegation. Ironically the current Aston Villa with a squad of young promising British talent & a credible manager enjoying support and funding from an ambitious board are curiously similar to Bobby Robson's NUFC. How times change!
Retribution is mine ... or is it Martin Robson the Mackem schizo again? Offering nothing of value, just yet more angry vitriol. Accusing yet another blogger of relationship issues - we've been here before haven't we Mart ... perception = projection = reality, remember?
And this isn't even a thread about your own club.
Take off the comouflage. Step away from the samurai sword. Count to ten. And while tapping your EFT energy centres, repeat after me ...
Even though
I'm from a small town in Durham
I still love and repsect myself.
All better now?
Johnny, you say you want a chance to come and 'get excited' by watching Newcastle. There were 47,000 people there on Sunday, meaning there was plenty of room for you to come along.
I've been going for too many years to mention, not as long as Sawdox, but long enough to know that I don't appreciate people telling me 'to get behind the team'.
It has gotten so bad lately that I now look forward to weekends when there is no game. Long gone are the days when all my spare cash was gathered together for regular away trips, and with the current hierarchy, things really don't look like getting better. Messrs Seymour, McKeag and Shepherd remind me that a 5-year plan doesn't work!
My blind faith and eternal optimism has wained and although there is an average 9% discount, normal ST holders (meaning those who weren't gullible enough to be sucked in to the Direct Debit or 3 year options) may still face an increase. If that's the case, I will give up my ticket and pick the games I want to watch, because they won't be sell outs.
Without respect the problem IS Ashley. You should not buy a football club to feed your ego , unless you are willing to fund it properly. If that is true of an ordinary club it must be doubly true of NFC. We went through Christmas near the bottom of the table and he does not buy he net sells (and not even good deals at that). Here we are 2/3 of the way through the season with not even 11 fit premiership level players and a manager sick in hospital teetering on the brink of relegation. Do you think any of the top half clubs would allow themselves to get in this situation - no way. So Ashley is 100% of the problem. He won't or can't sell . So the only way to force him is to starve him of cash and stop buying tickets. If enough people do that he will run. Hopefully someone with cash can buy and we start again.
Small town in Durham eh & here was me thinking that Westerhope was a suburb in Newcastle.... Anyway the sad reality of the situation is that we the fans are being sold down the river by this regime. My perception of the situation with the local media is that they are happy to promote the agenda of the club now that the communication lines have been opened and Kinnear dusts off his big book of lies & gives them tittle tattle to write about. I find it inconceivable that any NUFC fan believes that this regime will have us challenging for even a top six finish within five years let alone a Champions League Place. Luke Edwards has asked us to give MA & DB a chance to prove themselves. My question is based on what? They have promised to spend an un-specified amount of money on a list of unobtainable transfer targets conveniently released days after the close of the transfer window. If JK is well enough they want him to return and sign a two year contract to lead us to Premiership Glory. Oh Please!!!
I suppose if this offers nothing of value I should turn my attention to leaving sad pathetic remarks that say little and mean even less.
RA
I actually said their actions will speak louder than any words RA, which I suppose at least translates loosely into give them a chance - at least a chance to prove they can put things right and not just talk about the problems they inherited. That's all we can ask for at the moment because they aren't going anywhere, like it or not, because they can't sell up. I wrote back in January that it's better to have an unpopular owner who cares about trying to right some wrongs than an unpopular owner who doesn't care either way. If things aren't put right I'll be as critical as anyone. All that matters for now is that NUFC remain in the Premier League this season.
The headline is - What about Wise? No one has commented on this. Is it possible to overlook his cheeky-chappy cockney,massively annoying snidy little face, who when he was a player did his best to wind-up the opposition and was constantly whining to the ref to get people sent off and look at the possibility that he might have something to offer to make the club more successful? Can he change and appear more agreeable? Is he happy in the north of England or does he like many southerners, think we are all a load of idiots just here to do the donkey work and should be grateful to serve London and the south-east. Well what has he done since he came??? Get rid of the man I say.
To be fair Luke you have been one of the more probing journalists. However, you did say at the start of the Jan window that if they messed it up you would come down hard on them. So what happened? You might be too close to the situation to see it but it does seem that since the Llambias interview you have cosied up to them a bit. They should have been hammered on Feb 3 after yet ANOTHER disastrous transfer window.
Luke - just a suggestion, but shouldn't blog "posters" be limited to only one alias per email address? Apparent that loads of blog entries lately are coming from the deranged brain of the same Mackem idiot. But using several aliases to create the impression that their ridiculous views are more widely held. And now seemingly even pretending to be a Mag so they can stir up trouble.
Don't get me wrong, it was a good laugh for a while. But it'd be good to get back to talking about the Toon on here with other Mags.