March 2009 Archives

I decided to let the dust settle on Newcastle's defeat to Arsenal and subsequent slide into bottom three because I didn't want to get all emotional and drop tears on to my keyboard, but it doesn't look any better now than it did on Sunday morning does it?

The fear of relegation has haunted United ever since Kevin Keegan stomped off into the distance mumbling about his lack of control of transfers, but perhaps only now do we fully appreciate the danger the club is in.

There were many interesting things which came out of our interview with Niall Quinn last week, but the most headline-grabbing was surely the revelation Ricky Sbragia had nine games to save his job.

I'm not sure if that should be save or keep, but there is no doubt the Scot's position at the Stadium of Light is not as secure as some would have us believe. After the defeat against Man City, it is now eight.

Quinn did not mince his words. Everyone at Sunderland is on trial with Ellis Short still weighing up whether to increase his investment in the club and none more so than the manager with no track record in the dugout.

It is a risky business criticising crowd favourites, but I'm going to do it anyway because it's something which has been on my mind for a while now and I may as well just get it off my chest - Obafemi Martins isn't very good.

Well he is, but he isn't, if that makes any sense. He is a decent striker who is capable of scoring the odd spectacular goal, but he is not the hero he is made out to be by a large section of Newcastle fans and he does not deserve the adulation he routinely receives, no matter what he has done, or rather hasn't done, out on the pitch.

He is lazy, temperamental and difficult to play with in a team environment. Worse than that, his last three performances in a black and white shirt have arguably cost United several priceless points in their Premier League survival bid!

Another must-win game that hasn't been won. Another performance which made a mockery of the bold pre-match predictions about fighting, battling and devoting themselves to the cause and another missed opportunity to pull away from relegation trouble.

Newcastle United's players need to take a long hard look at themselves after an abject afternoon at Hull City because this simply isn't good enough when you think of the ability these players are supposed to have.

They said this was their cup final. Then again, when you think back to the FA Cup finals of the late-90s this was a typical Newcastle cup final performance.

With ten games left to play Newcastle United are only out of the bottom three on goal difference. Let's just say that again, in case you didn't quite catch it the first time, with ten games left to play, Newcastle United have the same number of points as teams in the relegation zone.

I know Newcastle have flirted with danger in the past - they came close to getting their fingers burnt last season when Kevin Keegan's second spell as manager failed to ignite immediately - but this is far too close to comfort.

To put it bluntly, if Newcastle lose at Hull City this weekend, they will almost certainly slip into the bottom three and the fear of relegation which has haunted the club all season may become paralysing.

One thing has become abundantly clear at Sunderland under Ricky Sbragia, a manager moulded at Sam Allardyce's finishing school at Bolton Wanderers, caution will never be thrown to the wind.

That is not necessarily a bad thing. You don't have to play unrestrained, attacking football to be successful and Sbragia has the tactical nous to ensure his teams are set up in a way best equipped to beat the opposition lined up in front of them.

The Scot is an excellent coach and knows his football But it would also appear to suggest that Sunderland's style of football will always be pragmatic and functional under his tutelage, rather than pulsating and frenetic.

I bet Steven Taylor was quaking in his boots when Rio Ferdinand, Peckham's most famous son after Del Boy and Rodney, squared up to him in the tunnel for having the audacity to send Cristiano Ronaldo tumbling to the turf. Either that or laughing!

Ok, so it wasn't a particularly pretty challenge on the Portuguese preener and Taylor did catch him high on the shoulder/face depending on whether you are speaking from a Newcastle or a Manchester United perspective, but did it really need plug face putting his ugly mug into things? In short, no it didn't.

There was an image I couldn't get out of my head as I left the Reebok Stadium retail park on Sunday following Newcastle United's dismal defeat - it was that classic horror movie shot of the victim being dragged, kicking and screaming into the abyss by some unseen evil beast set to condemn them to a slow and painful death.

The rank stench of relegation hangs heavy in the air again at St James's Park and there must be serious question marks regarding the suitability of a caretaker management team to get them out of trouble.

Chris Hughton looked to be struggling when he was left in charge of the mess left by Kevin Keegan's departure and he looks as though he is struggling following Joe Kinnear's heart problems.