Andy Gray - Sky Sports Expert

Toon and gloom

Kinnear appointment sends out wrong message

Posted: 02nd October 2008 17:28

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Obafemi Martins Michael Owen Nicky Butt Newcastle woe

Newcastle: directionless

It's the wrong message for the players, it's the wrong message for the fans and it's the wrong message for everybody who is connected with and loves Newcastle United?

Andy Gray
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At the moment, Newcastle are a rudderless ship floating about the ocean and going in no particular direction.

The sooner that changes the better, but by the time they find out which direction they're going in, it might be too late. The only direction they might be going is down into the Championship.

They've lost their last five games and by their captain's admission, they're lower than a snake's belly in regards to confidence. Now they're coming up against an Everton side in our live game on Sunday who are also under a bit of pressure after a bad start and will be even more determined than ever to get a victory.

So things are pretty dire and now they've appointed a man, in Joe Kinnear, who has been out of the game for four years and hasn't worked at the top level for even longer than that. To expect him to install some sanity and some confidence in six weeks is a tough, tough ask.

I don't know if he'll be capable of doing that and much of it will come down to the players. They'll be sitting there thinking, 'We've got this guy in for six weeks, so what? We don't even know who we're going to have after that'.

I'm not so sure about the logic in appointing somebody short-term. Why not just appoint somebody as the manager; even if you've agreed with them privately that they're only going to be in the job for six weeks?

It's not a given that Mike Ashley is going to sell the club. It's not a given that somebody wants to buy Newcastle United - why would you at the moment? Therefore Mike Ashley might be there a lot longer than people make out.

If that's the case then why not appoint a manager and ask him to get on with the job for as long as Ashley is the owner. Of course, if Ashley goes then that manager will have to understand that he'll probably get the boot as well but there's no need to come out and say Kinnear is only in the job for six weeks because that only fills Newcastle fans with fear and trepidation.

It's the wrong message for the players, it's the wrong message for the fans and it's the wrong message for everybody who is connected with and loves Newcastle United?

Of course, it's a no-lose situation for Joe. He's back in the limelight, albeit for all the wrong reasons, but he's at a Premier League club and he has six weeks to show anyone else who might be interested that he hasn't suffered for his time out of the game and he can still do a job.

Answer

As for Newcastle, it's hard to say what the right answer is. The fans want Kevin Keegan back and they may be right, but personally I'm not so sure.

Going back can be difficult. People always say that Kevin had success in his first spell; well Kevin built a fantastically attractive football team but it didn't win anything. They came second in the Premier League, but plenty of teams have done that.

Is Keegan a better manager this time around? I'm not so sure that he is. I remember Howard Kendall winning league championships, European titles and FA Cups during his first spell at Everton - but when he was asked to come back again it was much more difficult.

I think the same thing applies with Newcastle, especially because Keegan won't have the huge sums of money he had to work with under Sir John Hall.

So I'm not sure if he should go back, but that's a decision for either Mike Ashley or for whoever pays hundreds of millions of pounds to buy the club to make. Of course, those people will listen to the fans and understand their wishes but they won't be dictated to by the fans. They need to run the club in the best way possible to become successful.

We're talking about a club here that hasn't won a domestic trophy for 50 years and sometimes the Newcastle fans want somebody to come in and immediately turn them into Champions League contenders. Unless somebody comes in with vast experience as a coach and there's a bottomless pit of money then that isn't going to happen overnight.

Mess

I simply don't know how this club is going to get out of the mess they currently find themselves in. First of all everybody - from the coaching staff to the players to the players to the fans - has to roll their sleeves up and get it together.

In any big company, the guy who runs it is ultimately the guy who has to carry the can. Therefore as the owner of Newcastle United, Mike Ashley has to take responsibility for a lot of the problems at St James' Park.

But as a player you have to accept some sort of responsibility as well. I know that from personal experience during my time at Wolves when they were going bankrupt. As hard as it is during times of turmoil, you have to roll your sleeves up.

The bickering, the complaining and the public condemnations that have gone on are slowly chipping away at Newcastle and the longer they go without winning a football match the lower and lower everybody gets.

If the confidence keeps dropping then before you know it they could be detached at the bottom of the league. They're not going to get out of this without extreme hard work, dedication and belief.

As for putting a temporary manager in charge, I'm not so sure that's the solution.

Comments

Fuzzy Dunlop (Liverpool fan) says...

I can understand how fans can be biased towards players and managers who have done good things for their teams in the past but what is the deal with Newcastle fans and Kevin Keegan? He was a great player but that's all he ever was or will be. He has consistently shown a lack of tactical knowledge over the years and relies on stupid heart-on-sleeve antics. His first spell managing Newcastle he spent way more than anyone and still threw a 12 point lead away to lose the title to man u... And that's the most successful thing he's achieved in management. Man City... rubbish, Fulham... rubbish, England... rubbish... Oh and he got the job this time round having not watched a game of football in two years. What a joke!

Posted 17:33 29th October 2008

Christopher Holmes (Sunderland fan) says...

i would like 2 start and say that newcastle have Finally got what they deserve, they have been boasting that they are some big club and it just shows that they arnt no more. i think the fans are to blame for no one wanting to buy the club, people are scared to buy newcastle because they think that if they dont give what the fans want straight away they will be treat like they are doing to mike ashley, you cant get results straight away give them time and it will happen, look at sunderland now weve been up and down more times than a yo-yo and now we have finally got our act together.

Posted 10:24 27th October 2008

Brian Martin (Newcastle United fan) says...

andy Gray writes about newcastle fans wanting instant success i think supporters have been very patient i have been a supporter since 1947 and have seen managers come with there 5 or 3 year plans then the next manager comes in with his3yr plan i am now running out of years how patient does he want us to be

Posted 14:39 22nd October 2008

George O'connell (Newcastle United fan) says...

I have read with interest the comments above by numerous supporters of various clubs, all of which can be taken with a pinch of salt. None of them have a clue what has and is going on at Newcastle other then comments attributed to the media. The facts are plain Ashley bought the club to enjoy the attention that it brought. He had no idea on how to run a football club. He assumed that there would be instant success not aware of the involvment that was required to create that success. He then employed people who were his friends to run the club for him ( a form of nepotisim perhaps) The problem being these people were not of the required standard either.He (Ashley, based we are led to believe upon the advise of his new directors) placed the whole first team up for sale. According to sky Owen was offered for sale on the last day of the transfer window. That being the case it do's not take a genius to work out we would be relegated regardless of who was the manager. As to this nonsense of being a big club, that title is only attributed to teams / clubs who win at least one competition each year. And as we all know that is the same clubs every time, the rest of us regardless of our fan base, the size of our stadiums or potential are just making up the numbers.

Posted 13:59 21st October 2008

Darren Behan (Ipswich Town fan) says...

As an Ipswich Town fan, I think I am qualified to talk about mis-management, administration and relegation, not to mention disillusionment of the suffering fans. Firstly, let's not be misled about Mike Ashley. I are pretty certain if he had not of bought the club, Newcastle would have probably sold all their players and gone into administration. And that was pre-credit crunch. Secondly, why is everyone against Wise. We shouldn't forget his pedigree whilst at Leeds, he got the team playing decent football when the odds were against them after administration and actually has spent time scouting all over the world. I think we need to give him a break. Some of the players that KK says were forced on him have done well. KK couldn't pick his nose, let alone a player! Finally, on to KK himself, I think he is the most over hyped manager in years. He has bottled every job going, he has walked out on Newcastle, Fulham, England and again Newcastle. That says enough for me. He has no idea of tactics, especially when England manager. God, could you imagine if he had got Newcastle into the Champions League, it would have been comical watching him up against a seasoned experienced manager.

Posted 13:05 14th October 2008

Kunal Singala (Burnley fan) says...

Oh my! i've just come back from a two month businness trip and look what is happening to my favourite prem team. KK out, JK in, MA trying to sell, NU bottom of the PL, and our best player , Owen , putting contract talks on hold. I don't blame him one bit. I'd do the same thing. I'm just shocked that KK didn't renew his contract when he saw owen had about 18 months left on his contract. My mate said he could leave for 2m. 2m!!!! we lose 27million pounds. 15m difference from what we paid for him and 12m for what we could get for him. in my eyes hes worth around 14m. As for keegan, I have to say i've finally lost faith with him. When the going gets tough, Keegans out of here! Don't get him back, what about Aidy Boothroyd, Hiddink, Phsyco? all have top flight expirience. Get wise and ashley out. Get some stability.

Posted 13:26 11th October 2008

Alistair Mackie (Newcastle United fan) says...

Haway man! The poor run of form might also have something to do with our big names being injured. Martins and Guiterrez anyone? (Viduka looks like his career is over). And what about our sparce midfield from which we have a very short supply of pace. To the point where people are going to start noticing Barton for his other efforts as a midfielder. I mean cmon, Butt and Geremi?! With all due respect they're not ones for the future are they!!! Get lost with your patronising pity. It's all very logical why we're having a bad run of form.

Posted 23:43 10th October 2008

Sola Abolurin (Manchester United fan) says...

I really feel for Newcastle and the situation they are in. I sincerely believe they will get relegated if they continue like this. There is absolutely no confidence within the team, no manager, the club is up for sale..to cut the long story short, the club is in complete disarray. Joe Kinnear has not managed at top level for a long time and it will take a lot for him to prove that he is a premiership manager. I hope he would be able to help their short term problems but if he can't, that would be too disappointing.

Posted 16:28 7th October 2008

Neil Munro (Liverpool fan) says...

Firstly let me make it clear I think it is incredibly sad to see the situation at Newcastle and really hope it gets fixed soon. However, Newcastle fans need to wake up and smell the coffee! The current situation is NOT simply down to Mike Ashley. It was been evident to many of us that Newcastle were lacking leadership and common sense in the boardroom for many seasons before now. Finally it looks as though those years of mismanagement, incompetence and poor decision-making have caught up with the club. I sincerely hope Newcastle won't be relegated. But if they are the Toon Army should not simply blame Mike Ashley but also look to the legacy of farcical and incompetent leadership from the Boardroom going back over at least the past 10 years. EVERYBODY who has been charged with running Newcastle over the past decade or more should hang their head in shame as not one of them can stand up and honestly say they have done a good job. The result? A club in debt that no serious money wants to buy, a team in dissarray with most if not all players desperate to be anywhere else, a managerial post nobody wants and probably a VERY long season battling against relegation. Good luck to the Newcastle fans, I really hope you have reason to smile again soon but I suspect it's going to be a long haul.

Posted 01:39 6th October 2008

Luke Jordan (Liverpool fan) says...

There's no doubt that the Newcastle suits are hugely to blame for the mess in the club. I can't help feel that the fans are somewhat to blame also. What was wrong with Allardyce?? Admittedly it wasn't pretty but that's what u sign up to with Big Sam. Yet sitting 11th in the League the fans got on his back, shouting abuse, booing etc.. putting Ashley under hige pressure to please the fans and sack Sam. I've no doubt now that you'd take three points no matter how you got them. I do have sympathy for Newcastle fans but they've got to hugely lower their expectations. There'll be no top 4 finish within the nest 5 years and what you need now is stability and consistency in key areas in the club. Look at all the top teams and the length of time the manager's been there. Fergie, Wenger, Rafa, O'Neill, Hughes (when at Blackburn). Patience is needed in Newcastle.

Posted 21:37 5th October 2008

Marc Pollard (Hull City fan) says...

I understand Newcastle fans not liking Dennis Wise, but Kevin Keegan said in an interview months before he took the job that he hadn't watched a game of football for 2 years - you can't blame Mike Ashley for getting SOMEONE in to oversee transfers etc?! Keegan wouldn't have had a clue what was going on or who to sign?!?!?

Posted 20:54 5th October 2008

Al Scarbrough (Liverpool fan) says...

The whole thing is PR foul up. First Mike Ashley wanted to show everyone that he was a normal fan like the other Geordies (all be it with a spare billion in the bank), then they brought in the messiah who would be allowed some bad results in the short term as long as he delivered the sexy football back to the fans. We can all agree he contributed the bad results. Now KK has used fan power in the media to make Ashley out to be the bad guy for bringing in Wise. Everyone should grow up and take a leaf out of the book of another passionate North East club, Boro. A fantastic chairman who has never been afraid to back his manager over a sustained period of time. You don't see him in the papers spouting off. As a Liverpool fan we have had our problems with the owners but we had a manager who was strong enough to stand side by side with his players and weather the storm. The geordie fans deserve a manager with the same class. Al

Posted 11:41 5th October 2008

Dalif heilig Al-qudsi (Newcastle United fan) says...

As sad as the situation is being made out to be,i sincerly wished that my beloved does not go down like the other English giants,notably Nottingham Forest.If everyone were to read the current standings and try to make predictions out of it,it'll be akin to having eggs being thrown at our faces.In spite for my loathe for Spurs,im certain they'll pick up their form eventually and so will Newcastle United.In case for those who doubt our "fabled fan base",it remained there even during our woes in the 80's and the stint in the lower divisions before getting promoted and began challenging for top honours upon return.Things have not been jovial apart from SBR's managerial reign,the purchase of lil MO and the return of Kevin Keegan (just to name a few) but the verdict is still out on Joe Kinnear.Like many,i am skeptical of him and the expletive laden interview never helped matters even more but either way,the supporters of Newcastle United will remain cohesive as its legacy from the time of Wor Jackie,Supermac and Al Shearer can never be copied by others.We are the Toon Army and together we stand united

Posted 09:39 5th October 2008

Aaron Doig (Newcastle United fan) says...

How can people say Mike Ashley is not to blame? He was the one who hired Dennis Wise who in turn scouted and signed players who Keegan didn't know about and was subsequently asked to check them out on youtube. He was the one who gave the media and supporters absolutely no information which in turn led to the press, starved of a story, to spout vicious rumours about NUFC from so called "St James Park Sources" or "club insiders". One of the only things Mike Ashley said was "we are going to have a bit of fun this season." Well thanks for the laughs mate. Jog on and take your hideous Sports Direct sign with you. NUFC for life.

Posted 09:33 5th October 2008

Ricky Clewes (Newcastle United fan) says...

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't let me hear any more of this "You are not a big club" dribble from you so called big club supporters. Firstly, what is wrong with you people, are you paranoid about perhaps having some competition in the Big Club bragging rights, and secondly, as a season ticket holder at Newcastle, believe me, not many real fans refer to us as a big club, this acclaim comes from everywhere except the Toon Army, especially the media. As for the "I am sick of hearing about Newcastle" brigade, how in Gods name do you think we feel, there is no one more tired of hearing our name being dragged around the airwaves than we are. Give us all a break up here, your bragging rights are quite safe for the foreseeable future.

Posted 15:45 4th October 2008

Craig Whitfield (Sunderland fan) says...

I'll start by saying I don't think Newcastle will go down.. but I don't understand why everyone is blaming Mike Ashley for whats happened at Newcastle.. Surely its the way the club has been run over the last 15 years or so thats got them in this position they're in. I can remember Newcastle spending an awful lot of money on an awful lot of players over the years. The fact the club was sold when it was to Mike Ashley suggested that they had problems & so it turned out! Sunderland fans have wondered for years how they could afford to pay top wages & prices for players when we were scratching about looking for bargains.. well it turns out that they couldn't afford them either! The problem isn't Dennis Wise, Mike Ashley or the fact Kevin Keegan walked out again but the way the club has been run over the last few years.. Eventually someone has to pick up the pieces & inevitably they're the ones who shoulder the blame!

Posted 12:35 4th October 2008

P Singh (Sunderland fan) says...

Newcastle have been badly run for many years even before Ashley arrived. Shepherd did nothing but get the club further and further into debt. Ashley said it himself that the club were still paying for signings made several years ago (probably under Keegans 1st reign!) so the clubs finances have been a mess for ages. Newcastle are crazy for wanting rid of Ashley who would have stabilised the club and Shame on Keegan for purposely using fan power to get what he wanted. What if he comes back, and doesnt like the new owners? Spit his dummy out again, will he? The new board need to think long and hard about appointing him again as rumours circulate he'll be back. I hope the turmoil remains at least until the end of October for the Tyne-Wear derby!

Posted 10:36 4th October 2008

Alfred Siew (Manchester United fan) says...

Am I the only one having a laugh here? The basic problem with Newcastle is that the fans run the place, not the owner, nor the manager. They wanted money - they got it, they wanted Fat Sam out, and KK in, they got it too. They wanted Shearer, but he's too smart to come back. Come on, wake up! You aren't gonna win anything for a long time - just like MU hadn't until a few years after Sir Alex built a good-enough team. And the sooner the fans let the boardroom do their business, the faster the team will turn around. You want a quicker fix? Sure, bring back the Messiah, and yeah, Shearer too, might as well, so you'll all go down this season in flames... that will ensure all the deadwood is purged and you can truly rebuild. No club is too big to be relegated. It happened to Man Utd too.

Posted 08:00 4th October 2008

Billy Kelly (Liverpool fan) says...

as a Liverpool supporter i can understand all this sack the board business, but why sack the board? only Dennis (un)wise needs to leave.What is his job? Does anyone know? Ashley is a billionaire!!! The likes of Everton, Forest, Birmingham-all big clubs- would love an owner like him. Whats all the fuss about Keegan? he knew he wasnt up to the job, too long out of the game. i keep reading that no-one would take the job but look at Capello! he took on the biggest shambles this country has seen for years so dont give me that impossible nonsence. ASHLEY..stay out of the stands. stay in the boardroom and sack the cabby basher!!!

Posted 00:12 4th October 2008

Sam Grist (Arsenal fan) says...

To be honest, i think any news out of Newcastle is seen as bad these days, however i can see this appointment being one of the few things that are good. Many people have held the relm at Newcastle over the last few years, and although Keegan was a positive manager, he still wasn't great. But Newcastle need something to occupy the space he left until this gets sorted out, and this is filled by Joe Kinner. And besides, the guts he has to step up to a job nobody wants is incredible, this may follow thorugh into the players and bring some long awaited postive atomsphere back on Tyneside.

Posted 21:27 3rd October 2008

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