Savage article in the Times about the club - not for the sensitive

[Cronky]

Geordies need tough love not another hero

 

Matthew Syed (The Times)

 

"Newcastle United needs to be filled with people who love this club”, Alan Shearer said on Sunday and in that one, endlessly banal, hopelessly misguided sentence the latest would-be Messiah laid his finger on everything that has gone wrong with Newcastle’s football club and why it would be madness for Mike Ashley to appoint the former centre forward as full-time manager.

 

This is a club that have had far too much love: the love of the fans, the love of their various managers, the love of other supporters who, until now, have been happy to rally behind Newcastle as their second team.

 

This is a club that have basked in an orgy of self-infatuation, living on myths, dreams, brown ale and anything else that could numb the senses to the catastrophe that has been ticking like a time-bomb all season.

 

And now they want to turn to a man who has an excess of love but who has no qualifications to lead the club out of the mire into which they have jumped, feet first, except an ironed shirt and an occasional turn of phrase. A man who ticks no boxes whatsoever except possession of a Geordie accent and a legendary status on Gallowgate that is so patently irrelevant to the club’s present predicament as to be almost laughable.

 

This club do not need love; they need to be stripped clean of all sentimentality. They need a man who feels nothing but contempt for the position Newcastle now find themselves in and who is prepared to ignore the mass of fans and their hare-brained schemes.

 

They need a man who can state the truths the supporters do not want to hear; who can perform reconstructive surgery on a team that have lost all semblance of unity and coherence; a man who is hard-headed, hard-nosed and has spent hardly any time on Tyneside and is thus untainted by the delirium.

 

They need a man with a proven track record of management; a man who can finesse an understandably panicky owner; above all they need a man with the deep and long experience capable of persuading the good players to stay (and, let’s be honest, there are not many of those), who can get rid of the dross without the whole thing descending into a fire sale, and who can go into an infinitely complex global marketplace, identify a new crop of talented youngsters and persuade them that Newcastle are not a busted flush, but a club that can ride high once again.

 

And the new manager needs to do this with a close eye on the rapidly deteriorating finances, a deep awareness of the long-term contractual implications of his manoeuvrings in the transfer market and with a nose for how his string of new signings will cope with the unique demands of the Coca-Cola Championship, a league that is different in style, pace, philosophy and tempo from the Barclays Premier League.

 

Shearer, it hardly needs stating, is qualified for none of these tasks and it is symptomatic of the delusional contagion in the North East that so many supporters think he is.

 

Perhaps the most darkly comic aspect of Shearer’s initial appointment was how often we heard the phrase “the mood on Tyneside has been transformed”, as if the fans might be able to emote an awful team out of the relegation zone; as if the level of intoxication inspired by the great man’s appointment was a good thing rather than a distraction from what was, even then, a formidable challenge; as if sentiment has any bearing on success and failure when a team are plummeting towards calamity like a man in a concrete overcoat.

 

I sat in that opening press conference, heard Shearer’s repeated protestations of devotion to “the football club” (as if we doubted that), watched the fans outside taking off their shoes in an apparent show of fealty to their new saviour, and then got the train home wondering if this tedious soap opera will ever end. First Kevin Keegan, then Shearer; give it a couple of seasons of failure in the Championship and they will doubtless turn to the ghost of Jackie Milburn for managerial redemption amid yet more scenes of jubilation outside St James’ Park, yet more dreams of a return to the glory days, yet more whimsy and surrealism.

 

For the record, Shearer’s tenure has been a failure in almost every possible way, bar his ability to deflect criticism from his own inadequacies during post-match press conferences. He managed a derisory one win in eight games, executed tactical shifts and machinations that made Claudio Ranieri, the Tinkerman, seem like a rock of stability, but, most damningly of all, the St James’ Park hero failed even to inspire the passion and resolve in the players in what was the whole point of the exercise.

 

In retrospect, Newcastle needed only a point from their last two games to retain Premier League status, but failed to manage even that; their meek, passive, antiheroic surrender in the final quarter of an hour away to Aston Villa symptomatic of a club that had expended all their reserves of emotional energy on irrelevant happenings off the pitch; a club that have, in truth, spent so long navel-gazing that they no longer had the wit or the wish to look to the fights — the real fights on the pitch — that needed so dearly to be won.

 

As Alan Hansen said on Match of the Day (which is where Shearer should have stayed, firmly on the couch) on Sunday: “Even then, in the last ten to 15 minutes there was nothing, absolutely nothing. You know their life depends upon this and yet we spent 15 to 20 minutes waiting for some sort of effort [which never came].”

 

Some will point to Keegan, who as a virginal manager brought Newcastle back into the top flight 16 years ago.

 

They will dare to believe that this sets some kind of precedent. That inexperience can be some sort of blessing in club management.

 

But what about Sir Bobby Charlton, who took Preston North End down from the old second division in his first season in charge? What about the dozens of other precedents that show that experience matters in football management just as it does in every other area of life?

 

The reality is that, lumbered with Shearer, things are likely to get a lot worse for Newcastle, a club that face a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvent themselves from top to bottom.

 

But has Ashley got the balls to ditch him, to make a decision based on the kind of hard corporate logic that has served him so well in amassing a fortune in the sports goods market? Would the fans even let him?

 

And with that last, rhetorical question we hit the bull’s-eye of Newcastle’s travails. Until the club have an owner who can ignore the myopic short-termism of the nation’s most capricious fans, there will be no bounce for Newcastle United. I am not saying that all supporters are burdened by overinflated expectations, but can it be seriously denied that Newcastle are weighed down by a critical mass of unrealism? That this is the underlying reason for the lack of a single major trophy in 40 years?

 

Shearer’s appointment would symbolise everything that is wrong at St James’ Park, past and present. Expect him to be unveiled by the end of the week.

 

Matthew Syed

 

 

 

It's over the top, but I've often had the feeling that too many decisions over the last few years have been driven by sentiment, and not by hard-nosed professionalism.

 

Time will tell, but I don't think he's right about Shearer, who I'm banking on being more Bobby Robson than Kevin Keegan. I think Shearer made a mistake when he beat the Geordie patriotic drum before the Portsmouth game, but he seems to have a shrewd, calculating mind that can deal with difficult decisions. I'd feel happier if Dowie, with his experience and knowledge of the Championship, stayed with him.

 

 

[madras]

the thing is keegan was that, but he also knew how to play the crowd. beneath the media manipulation he was ruthless. can shearer be the same....i think so...has he got the eye for a player and tactical nouse that keegan started with... i hope so.

[Guest The Libertine]

i agree with a lot of that. i havent written off shearer but im not giving him extra time just because he's shearer. we dont have the extra time to spare.

[Guest gggg]

Matthew Syed. Nuff sed.

[Guest Heneage]

Keegan and Shearer will be ruthless for different reasons. Keegan wanted to rise his own career and wouldn't suffer fools. Shearer cares about the club so will not suffer fools.

[Shearer9]

The more I think about it, the less I like the idea of Shearer as manager.

[Guest fraser]

The club comes first is exactly how it should be. SAF loves Man Utd; that's part of what makes him so ruthless in pursuit of success, I believe.

[afar]

I got through the first couple of paragraphs, then bored to death with the rant. Although I agree that a love for the club is not a pre-requiste for the role, I think he's not looking at the real reason why people have faith in Shearer being a good choice.

 

Most sane people that follow the club, see Shearer as having all the necessary tools to become a success in a role as manager of the club. He's single minded, was a model pro, a true winner, an intelligent person, excellent with the media and not stupid enough or arrogant enough to think he can do it all on his own. He's also a big enough name to lure in potential transfer targets, demand instant respect and also because of his status with the supporters he'll be given the time to put things right.

 

I'll file this in the overflowing folder of "Crap southern journo, talking a bunch of un educated un researched shite about the Toon."

[Dave]

Been discussed in the Shearer thread.

[Guest TheKingOfNewcastle]

i agree with a lot of that. i havent written off shearer but im not giving him extra time just because he's shearer. we dont have the extra time to spare.

 

What bits, as a matter of curiosity?

[dcmk]

I got through the first couple of paragraphs, then bored to death with the rant. Although I agree that a love for the club is not a pre-requiste for the role, I think he's not looking at the real reason why people have faith in Shearer being a good choice.

 

Most sane people that follow the club, see Shearer as having all the necessary tools to become a success in a role as manager of the club. He's single minded, was a model pro, a true winner, an intelligent person, excellent with the media and not stupid enough or arrogant enough to think he can do it all on his own. He's also a big enough name to lure in potential transfer targets, demand instant respect and also because of his status with the supporters he'll be given the time to put things right.

 

I'll file this in the overflowing folder of "Crap southern journo, talking a bunch of un educated un researched s**** about the Toon."

 

Why cant people take a step away from being a fan and look at everything from both sides before branding stuff as 'crap'.  We as fans obviously are going to be biased and protective over whats written about Newcastle.  However if you read it,  he is simply stating Shearer is only here because of his hero status  (which is of course true), that there are more qualified people then him and we haven't been impressive at all since he has been here. 

 

Of course he missed a few points ie:  players are spineless, and his leadership skills and the way he unites the club together.  He has some good point though. 

[Carlito]

To blatantly say that Shearer has no chance is very harsh in my opinon although he does raise some fair points. Many years ago a young Bobby Robson was relegated with Fulham. It's like asking how every great manager in football coped in their first ever 8 games? Way too early to judge him and he inherited a team where the damage was already done. You can't help someone who doesn't want to help themself.

[Guest johnson293]

Matthew Syed. Nuff sed.

 

Thought I recognised the name, and then remembered about this...

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/newcastle/article4761813.ece

 

[Guest The Libertine]

i agree with a lot of that. i havent written off shearer but im not giving him extra time just because he's shearer. we dont have the extra time to spare.

 

What bits, as a matter of curiosity?

 

that its rather embarrassing the way we treat the "messiah's" and it would probably be better to get a manager who couldnt give a fuck and just wanted to win and probably would win. before anyone asks, i dont know who.

[Guest Heneage]

i agree with a lot of that. i havent written off shearer but im not giving him extra time just because he's shearer. we dont have the extra time to spare.

 

What bits, as a matter of curiosity?

 

that its rather embarrassing the way we treat the "messiah's" and it would probably be better to get a manager who couldnt give a f*** and just wanted to win and probably would win. before anyone asks, i dont know who.

Is Shearer really a Messiah? I don't consider him one.

[Guest nufc_geordie]

"For the record, Shearer’s tenure has been a failure in almost every possible way, bar his ability to deflect criticism from his own inadequacies during post-match press conferences. He managed a derisory one win in eight games, executed tactical shifts and machinations that made Claudio Ranieri, the Tinkerman, seem like a rock of stability, but, most damningly of all, the St James’ Park hero failed even to inspire the passion and resolve in the players in what was the whole point of the exercise. "

 

A lot of that statement is a rant that I find it difficult to disagree with. This statement in particular holds true for me. Shearer is tactically inept and that has shone out over the 8 games he was in charge.

 

 

[Guest The Libertine]

i agree with a lot of that. i havent written off shearer but im not giving him extra time just because he's shearer. we dont have the extra time to spare.

 

What bits, as a matter of curiosity?

 

that its rather embarrassing the way we treat the "messiah's" and it would probably be better to get a manager who couldnt give a f*** and just wanted to win and probably would win. before anyone asks, i dont know who.

Is Shearer really a Messiah? I don't consider him one.

 

i'd say so. he's practically worshipped by the vast majority of our fans so if he isnt one then he's pretty near.

[QBG]

He blatantly didn't listen to Shearer's interview after the Villa game.

[Tooj]

Keegan and Shearer will be ruthless for different reasons. Keegan wanted to rise his own career and wouldn't suffer fools. Shearer cares about the club so will not suffer fools.

 

So Keegan never like? What a joke of a post that is.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I agree that sometimes we're a bit naive for wanting people with a 'connection to the north east' or whatever, but then again it's normally John Hall or someone like that who goes on TV saying that sort of thing.

 

I hope that most fans would rather have Mourinho than Shearer, but I don't see why it is a bad thing to be excited by a club hero becoming manager. Would Chelsea fans be idiots if they welcomed Zola back, or Klinsmann at Spurs?

 

We welcomed Keegan back because he had shown himself to be a good manager who favours attacking football - no problem there.

 

And Shearer is an intelligent young manager who deserves a go, everything he has said indicates that he won't be standing on sentiment when it comes to forcing through the changes that we need. He more than anyone understands the problems we have had in the past, and I'm sure he's also noticed the sentimental streak that sometimes creeps in around NUFC.

 

Syed is a nob anyway... in summary.

[Crumpy Gunt]

Syed is a quality ping pong player though but....

[Lenny]

I also got bored of that after a couple of paragraphs. May well have a point, but it was pretty much a one sided rant as someone above pointed out. I didnt read all of it, but the writer seemed about as narrow minded in his opinion as some of the Newcastle fans he's referring to.

[johnnypd]

i think the general idea is correct but the way he gets his point across is OTT and like most in the press and most outside tyneside he also misjudges the fans. the 'mood' wasn't exactly transformed when shearer was appointed, i think most still thought it would go down to the wire, people in general just seemed too drained to muster up much of a positive reaction akin to keegan's appointment last year. most fans do accept that shearer is notsome godsend who is going to transform us, that he is totally unproven. at this point he could turn out to be great, or shit, or just an average manager. but he does seem to have natural authority, he knows exactly what the club needs and we need stability, so it is probably best that we stick with him for now.

[TêteDeMaure]

I wholly agree.

[Big Geordie]

Is he the former tennis player who has written a load of shite with regards to the club in the past? What qualifies him to pass judgement?

 

Perhaps we should go and exhume Bill McGarry. He sounds ideal if you listen to this wanker.