Fists Of Fury Are Biggest Threat To Newcastle Promotion
And it was all quiet on the Newcastle front, a relatively serene march towards the Premier League. Oh hang on, what was that, Andy Carroll has fractured Steven Taylor's jaw....... run for cover!
Nobody has confirmed or denied these reports, but their very existence is a problem. The Journal had wind of the story and so did everyone else, fractured jaws, damaged hands, training ground rows, but up came the shutters, up went the wall of silence, but still it came out.
This wasn't like trying to muffle a fart, this was like trying to say a bomb going off in the centre of town was just a routine training exercise.
It is a shocking incident if the allegations are true and utterly unhelpful to Chris Hughton and the rest of the Newcastle squad as they look to secure that immediate return to the top flight we all want.
Time and time again people have warned Carroll. If you look through the archives on this blog I've done so several times and have even been criticised for it by some of you.
But who cares what I've got to say? Hang on, don't answer that! Carroll is a hugely talented young footballer with the world at his feet.
But when Alan Shearer wades in to the argument, as he did in The Journal earlier this month, when Hughton and the other senior players have tried to guide and coax him, you know something is wrong.
As for Taylor, training ground prankster and arguably Newcastle's best defender, the news he will be out for the rest of the season is a tragic one for him given he has already missed the last three months with a knee injury and was due to return to full training in a couple of weeks.
And this is a club and a squad which has made so much about the togetherness, the unique team spirit, which has been forged in the fires of relegation. Has that all been shattered by one alleged punch?
I'm not going to get into the ins and the outs of what happened now, partly for legal reasons, but it is an embarrassing episode for everyone concerned. Egos and reputations, as well as bones have been damaged
All the rest of us can hope for is that it does not distract the rest of the squad from the real task in hand. They have, in case anyone has forgotten, another tricky away game at Doncaster tonight and then a potentially decisive promotion clash with third-placed Nottingham Forest next Monday.
The gossip will spread like a wild fire over the next few days as people try to make sense of why two teammates would fall out with each other in such spectacular fashion.
Most of us will find it impossible to ignore it, that's human nature, but the players must try harder than anyone to ensure it does not distract them for the bigger task ahead of them.
This is all we can hope because the damage to Taylor and Carroll has already been done.
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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.
Carroll should be taken out of the entire equation until the end of the season.
Give him leave or whatever you want to call it - His presence in the squad from now until the end of the season will be divisive and a hinderance.
Just get him away, forget it happened, get promotion and then deal with him - If that means sacking him or selling him, so be it.
Luke,
You've got it all wrong mate. ST was just having trouble keeping his weight down during a period of inactivity associated with his injury. That's why they've wired his jaw shut. As for that nice Mr Carroll, i'm sure he was just explaining to his team-mates how Mike williamson hurt his hand when.......
Admiral Colly, I should just take the Newcastle stance and say "no comment" to everything, absolutely everything. Stick your head in the sand and everything goes away, or you get eaten, or suffocate.... Footballers and their egos, girls, money and everything blooming else. Point is, you can't go around hitting people in life...actually I'm going to stop there!
I trust no one suffered from brain damage.
If the story is true then carrol should be shiped out asap.Boy is geting to big for his boots,if he thinks he can assult and team mates and get away from it.The club went no comment for the reason if the story is true carrol would be on remand in durham now.
I must be the only one who would rather have Andy Carroll in the team than Steve Taylor.
Carroll has made a huge contribution to the promotion drive this season and I'm not sure Taylor has been missed, other than his regular "column" in The Journal and The Chronicle. I'd rather keep Mike Williamson and cash in on Taylor, if he is wanted elsewhere?
There have always been hotheaded players in the game and it's up to Andy and Hughton to get his temper under control.
His absence from the team would be a huge loss at this stage of the season.