Sat 7th Nov - St James' Park, Newcastle
John Richardson: Give KK a chance
Instead of St. James' Park it is Sid James' Park.
John Richardson
Quotes of the week
Far from being the second coming of the Geordie messiah, the return of Kevin Keegan to Newcastle has descended into one long, miserable farce for the Toon faithful.
Eight games into KK's second reign at Newcastle and the club is still waiting for a first win. Two draws and six defeats in his two-month tenure means the pressure is well and truly on Keegan's shoulders as the club he loves slides towards the bottom three.
But while there are those voicing their disapproval of Keegan, John Richardson of the Sunday Express has stood by the former England manager saying the farce at Newcastle is not of his making.
"An ex-Newcastle player said to me the other day it is like a Carry On film up there. Instead of St. James' Park it is Sid James' Park," he said on the Sunday Supplement.
"I am afraid it is a serious matter. I absolve Kevin Keegan of all blame here because I think the shambles is going on behind him.
"They have got an owner in Mike Ashley who talks to Paul Kemsley a lot, the ex-Tottenham vice-chairman, who has helped him bring in people like Dennis Wise (executive director), Tony Jimenez (international director or whatever) and it is all brackets up there.
"In the old days Kevin Keegan, if he wanted a player, would just go to Sir John Hall's office and the two would speak. Now it is a committee of six or seven.
"It is a complete farce and it is how not to run a football club.
"Half of them still reside in London. Half of the club is run from London and you can't run a football club like that."
As for Keegan, Richardson argued that he should be given time to prove himself and not judged on what has happened since January.
"Kevin Keegan is suffering because he hasn't been able to go into the transfer market yet," he said.
"People are having a go at Keegan. I say let Keegan have the money in the summer and let's judge him next season. But ideally I would like another takeover at the club.
"You have got to give him a chance. In fairness to Keegan, they have had difficult games. They have played the Arsenals, the Manchester Uniteds twice, but let's judge Keegan at the end of the season.
"Hopefully they will escape."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Monday 23rd November | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 19:45 | Preston vs Newcastle |
| Saturday 28th November | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Newcastle vs Swansea |
| Saturday 5th December | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Newcastle vs Watford |
| Wednesday 9th December | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 19:45 | Coventry vs Newcastle |
| Saturday 12th December | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Barnsley vs Newcastle |
| Sunday 20th December | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 13:00 | Newcastle vs Middlesbrough |
| Saturday 26th December | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 12:45 | Sheff Wed vs Newcastle |
| Monday 28th December | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 17:20 | Newcastle vs Derby |
| Saturday 9th January | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Reading vs Newcastle |
| Saturday 16th January | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Newcastle vs West Brom |
| Monday 18th January | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 19:45 | Newcastle vs West Brom |
| Wednesday 27th January | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 19:45 | Newcastle vs Crystal Palace |
| Saturday 30th January | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 17:20 | Leicester vs Newcastle |
| Saturday 6th February | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Newcastle vs Cardiff |
| Tuesday 9th February | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 19:45 | Derby vs Newcastle |
| Saturday 13th February | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| 15:00 | Swansea vs Newcastle |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Saturday 7th November | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Newcastle 3 - 1 Peterborough | |
| Monday 2nd November | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Sheff Utd 0 - 1 Newcastle | |
| Saturday 24th October | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Newcastle 2 - 1 Doncaster | |
| Tuesday 20th October | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Scunthorpe 2 - 1 Newcastle | |
| Saturday 17th October | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Nottm Forest 1 - 0 Newcastle | |
| Saturday 3rd October | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Newcastle 0 - 0 Bristol City | |
| Wednesday 30th September | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Newcastle 1 - 1 QPR | |
| Saturday 26th September | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Ipswich 0 - 4 Newcastle | |
| Tuesday 22nd September | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Peterborough 2 - 0 Newcastle | |
| Saturday 19th September | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Newcastle 3 - 1 Plymouth | |
| Wednesday 16th September | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Blackpool 2 - 1 Newcastle | |
| Sunday 13th September | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Cardiff 0 - 1 Newcastle | |
| Monday 31st August | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Newcastle 1 - 0 Leicester | |
| Wednesday 26th August | |
| Carling Cup | |
| Newcastle 4 - 3 Huddersfield | |
| Saturday 22nd August | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Crystal Palace 0 - 2 Newcastle | |
| Wednesday 19th August | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Newcastle 1 - 0 Sheff Wed | |
| Saturday 15th August | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| Newcastle 3 - 0 Reading | |
| Saturday 8th August | |
| The Coca-Cola Football League Championship | |
| West Brom 1 - 1 Newcastle | |
| Sunday 2nd August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Dundee Utd 1 - 1 Newcastle | |
| Wednesday 29th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Newcastle 0 - 0 Leeds | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newcastle United | 16 | 33 |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion | 16 | 31 |
| 3 | Cardiff City | 16 | 27 |
| 4 | Queens Park Rangers | 16 | 27 |
| 5 | Blackpool | 16 | 27 |
Sunderland fan Lucinda Gittins was strutting her stuff in the Soccer AM studios this week.
Catch every game, every goal from the Championship this season... right here on skysports.com!
Peter Beagrie expects a contrast of styles when Cardiff and Swansea clash at the Liberty Stadium.
Newcastle winger Jonas Gutierrez insists that he wants to remain at the club and get them back in the Premier League.
Frenchman David Ginola told Goals on Sunday just what it means to pull on the black and white shirt.
Chris Hughton was delighted after Newcastle's easy victory, while Darren Ferguson believed Peterborough were beaten by the better side.
Newcastle continued their charge back to the top flight with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Peterborough.
Newcastle and West Brom continue to set the pace at the top of the Championship table.
Comments (3)
Joseph Roberts (Newcastle United fan) says...
I don't see why people are getting on Keegans back. With what the last 3 managers have done before him he's virtually back to square one. He's not a magician and with no more than 4 players who may get into a top four squad (Given, Taylor, Martins,Milner) i don't see what people expect really. The only pace we have in the side is martins (the top scorer) and he never plays cos owen is english and used to be good. Fat Sam got rid of dyer and solano and replaced them with smith which makes a whole lot of sense. One win and i think we'll be ok, lets just hope keegan gets the chance to put his magic touch back on the club in the summer and bring back the fast, free flowing football that made me a fan all those years ago.
Posted 13:27 17th March 2008
Oswald Goff (Newcastle United fan) says...
Kevin is a great guy and his track record proves it.He is a great manager na dneeds the time to build what he is capable of building. I do understand that we need the results to stay in the league but be fair the man ha s not had a chance to work his magic.We are struggling because big sam has let go of players that would have got us results and had the heart to play for a team with so much passion and drive that it deserves. We can look at the players that were bought last season, misfits and players that dont really understand this great club is about. I will support this club no matter what happens but we need to give Kevin a chance , he will bring back th glory days and we will be up with the best were we belong.
Posted 05:53 17th March 2008
Amit Vinayak (Newcastle United fan) says...
Hi there.Having read the comments of the Sunday Express Editor about the way Newcastle is in dire trouble and the way the club is being run, I think its an absolute gimic. Ashley and Mort have no clue what they are doing and I'm afraid we are not moving forward in their presence.The players need to start showing their worth and most definitely Keegan needs to be giving millions to spend in the summer and I also think we need another takeover at the club with someone who knows about football. Newcastle Utd are in the wrong end the table, we should be in the top four but we are needing new players and much more to go forward.
Posted 13:14 16th March 2008