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Harper: 'The football club is dying a slow, painful death'


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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1199187/.html?ITO=1490

Slow death! Magpies players plead for end to Toon agony

 

By COLIN YOUNG

Last updated at 11:39 PM on 12th July 2009

 

After more than 16 years at Newcastle United, goalkeeper Steve Harper may have thought he had seen it all and lived through enough of the club’s trials and tribulations.

 

But Harper is just one of the many perplexed and frustrated members of the Newcastle squad who has been back for pre-season training for almost two weeks now.

 

Still there is no sign of their saviour, Alan Shearer, or any manager for that matter, and their agonising and prolonged sale drags on.

 

Harper, who returned last season to reclaim the No1 shirt following Shay Given’s exit in January, has warned the once proud club is ‘dying a slow, painful death’.

 

And after their week-long training camp in Ireland and a 3-0 win over Shamrock Rovers, even the normally cautious and diplomatic caretaker manager Chris Hughton, the man put in temporary charge of team affairs for the fourth time by owner Mike Ashley, has admitted players are on the verge of revolt.

 

Hughton has been in contact with Shearer, who is patiently still waiting for news of his confirmation as permanent boss, but the man who led the club to relegation in May is having little or no influence in first team affairs, much to the chagrin of Harper and Newcastle fans who who will have noted Fraizer Campbell, one of Shearer’s close-season targets, has signed for neighbours Sunderland.

 

Harper said: ‘What happened last season was desperately disappointing but just when you think there’s an opportunity for this club to put itself right, build and get straight back up, the opposite happens.

 

‘We want it to be resolved so we know where we are and where we’re going because at this moment the football club is dying a slow, painful death. For five or six years now it’s been a gradual, slow implosion.

 

‘We’ve got to soldier on but the sooner the better for everyone concerned – but most importantly for Newcastle United.

 

‘A lot of fans have come up to me and said ‘‘In two or three years, it might be a blessing that relegation happened".

 

'Obviously everyone is very disappointed that it happened but if something good comes out of it and the club rebuilds then maybe I can see that point.

 

'But at the moment the club isn't rebuilding — it’s in a state of limbo and it's no good for anyone. We just want to get this club going back in the right direction and the situation is very, very frustrating for all of us.

 

‘To be fair to Chris Hughton, Colin Calderwood and the lads, we have made the best of what is a dreadful situation.

 

'We can’t do anything about it as players but it is awful and the sooner it’s resolved, the better for everyone because we can start again.

 

‘All we keep hearing is “next few days, next few days, next few days”.

 

'Everybody – fans, players, staff – want it resolved so we can rebuild this football club because we're in an awful state at the moment.

 

‘Everybody is in limbo — fans, players, staff. The players don’t know what’s happening, staff don’t know what’s happening, the fans don’t.’

 

:clap:

 

That what you were after, Skirge? ;)

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1199187/.html?ITO=1490

Slow death! Magpies players plead for end to Toon agony

 

By COLIN YOUNG

Last updated at 11:39 PM on 12th July 2009

 

After more than 16 years at Newcastle United, goalkeeper Steve Harper may have thought he had seen it all and lived through enough of the club’s trials and tribulations.

 

But Harper is just one of the many perplexed and frustrated members of the Newcastle squad who has been back for pre-season training for almost two weeks now.

 

Still there is no sign of their saviour, Alan Shearer, or any manager for that matter, and their agonising and prolonged sale drags on.

 

Harper, who returned last season to reclaim the No1 shirt following Shay Given’s exit in January, has warned the once proud club is ‘dying a slow, painful death’.

 

And after their week-long training camp in Ireland and a 3-0 win over Shamrock Rovers, even the normally cautious and diplomatic caretaker manager Chris Hughton, the man put in temporary charge of team affairs for the fourth time by owner Mike Ashley, has admitted players are on the verge of revolt.

 

Hughton has been in contact with Shearer, who is patiently still waiting for news of his confirmation as permanent boss, but the man who led the club to relegation in May is having little or no influence in first team affairs, much to the chagrin of Harper and Newcastle fans who who will have noted Fraizer Campbell, one of Shearer’s close-season targets, has signed for neighbours Sunderland.

 

Harper said: ‘What happened last season was desperately disappointing but just when you think there’s an opportunity for this club to put itself right, build and get straight back up, the opposite happens.

 

‘We want it to be resolved so we know where we are and where we’re going because at this moment the football club is dying a slow, painful death. For five or six years now it’s been a gradual, slow implosion.

 

‘We’ve got to soldier on but the sooner the better for everyone concerned – but most importantly for Newcastle United.

 

‘A lot of fans have come up to me and said ‘‘In two or three years, it might be a blessing that relegation happened".

 

'Obviously everyone is very disappointed that it happened but if something good comes out of it and the club rebuilds then maybe I can see that point.

 

'But at the moment the club isn't rebuilding — it’s in a state of limbo and it's no good for anyone. We just want to get this club going back in the right direction and the situation is very, very frustrating for all of us.

 

‘To be fair to Chris Hughton, Colin Calderwood and the lads, we have made the best of what is a dreadful situation.

 

'We can’t do anything about it as players but it is awful and the sooner it’s resolved, the better for everyone because we can start again.

 

‘All we keep hearing is “next few days, next few days, next few days”.

 

'Everybody – fans, players, staff – want it resolved so we can rebuild this football club because we're in an awful state at the moment.

 

‘Everybody is in limbo — fans, players, staff. The players don’t know what’s happening, staff don’t know what’s happening, the fans don’t.’

 

:clap:

 

That what you were after, Skirge? ;)

 

Knew it was coming BUT what I wanted was that from one player on behalf of the squad, sadly this is just the start of it, there will be more from other players, you can bet on it.

 

But anyway  :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

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Fucking hell, he's not held back.

 

From my POV, there's nothing particularly shocking in what he's saying, it's just it's rare (but totally refreshing) to see someone being so honest about it in public. And fair play to him, because everyone's thinking the same thing.

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Hughton has been here seventeen months and this is the fourth time he has been asked to manage the club. Seeing it written out like that is just..

 

edit: It's the third time, iirc. Article says fourth.

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Fucking hell, he's not held back.

 

From my POV, there's nothing particularly shocking in what he's saying, it's just it's rare (but totally refreshing) to see someone being so honest about it in public. And fair play to him, because everyone's thinking the same thing.

 

Yeah you're right - it's more that he's broke the mould of footballer robot-speak,  "Slow, painful death" is pretty emotive language for a footballer.

 

Love the sexy Partridge pic by the way.

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Guest Heneage

Nothing overly shocking here, the painful death maybe but everything he's said is to be expected. We need to use this to build and come back stronger, rid ourselves of dead wood and bring in young exciting players while continuing our youth academy development.

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It's a relief that a player has finally got off the fence and grown some meatballs like.

Even so, he could have been even more brutal for my tastes as he's basically stating facts here, everyone knows the club has gone to shit.

 

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How did Ashley become a billionaire? Did he inherit?

 

Basically made an absolute shitload of cash by floating his chain of sportswear shops at a ridiculously over-inflated price.

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How did Ashley become a billionaire? Did he inherit?

 

Basically made an absolute shitload of cash by floating his chain of sportswear shops at a ridiculously over-inflated price.

 

£986mill I think it was he made..

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Harper is quite right - the club IS dying a slow painful death.

 

Unless the situation is clarified this week, there is a real danger of the club imitating the Mackems back in the 80s and going into the old 3rd Div(Lg 1) ; if that happened, I reckon there would be huge repercussions off the field because support would dwindle away until there was a hard core of around 10,000 fans....

 

This season is almost dead now, and unless the club starts performing convincingly, both on AND off the field, it will become harder & harder to attract decent recruits - look at Sheff Weds, for example, once a major player in the top league - it is hard to see them ever regaining anything like their former status and before anyone says ' we are NUFC, we are different..' NO, we are NOT ; even Wednesday fans never had to put up with the amount of sleaze and off-field balls-ups that Newcastle supporters have faced over the past 5 years, and the fans have had enough...if this isn't sorted out soonest, the attendances will be laughable in comparison to those over the past 15 years, and if NUFC lose its supporters, it loses everything that makes it look like a 'big' club - lets face it, the trophy record doesn't, the way it is viewed by the rest of Football doesn't and even the stadium doesn't ; Sheff Weds built Hillsborough at a time when other clubs played in hovels, but the team lost out as a result of the cost - now, Hillsborough is old hat and the team matches it...

 

NUFC needs NEW, switched-on owners who want to succeed - a return of the Shepherds does NOT fill that

requirement and will always be viewed with suspicion by many fans so it can only be hoped that, either by good luck, greed, or whatever else motivates Ashley, we get the new owners the fans deserve.

 

Results on the field are vital, because the club will get nothing but bad publicity from the Murdoch-owned press and media who have been behind the club's demise right back to 1998.

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He's confirmed what everybody knows. Glad to see it coming from a player this time. The situation we're in is ridiculous. Glad to see him talking about things imploding for the last 5 or 6 years. No holding back. Good stuff.

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Its not just Sheff Wed though is it.You look at the championship and its littered with ex ESTABLISHED prem league teams..god the 3 that went down into league 1 were all established prem league teams.I can honestly see another Leeds or Southampton scenario coming with us if this matter is not resolved.I honestly dont believe we will bounce back up as it hardy ever happens to a team that has been a prem regular, its the yo yo teams that bounce back usually. just look at these teams who were established prem teams not 1 has bounced back since relegation...Leeds,Nottingham Forest,Coventry,QPR,Sheff Wed,Southampton,Wimbledon(mk dons),Ipswich,Charlton

 

its frightening reading really, add to that the uncertainty of the whole sale etc and disillusionment within the squad theres a real danger we will slip into Leeds territory...Mike Ashley will be remembered for killing this once established premier league big boy just in the same way Ridsdale killed Leeds..Its an absolute disgrace to think we were relegated after 16 years in the prem league 1 year less than the likes of Villa,Everton and Spurs and lets be honest they will never go down just like we should never have and to a certain extent Boro too

 

Get this mess sorted or this club is headed for administration or possible liquidation because of the money its hemoragging within 12 months

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