"The problem with Newcastle"

[Guest Moe-Ali]

http://www.footballingworld.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1163809972&archive=&start_from=&ucat=134&

The problem with Newcastle

 

Newcastle United are the 'sleeping giants' of the Premier League and the fans have had enough. Bryan Sanchez takes a look at what Glenn Roeder can do to save his job.

 

The clocks go back, the floodlights are on mid-afternoon, the yellow ball is out, and the yearly festive season rush for players in the January transfer window is just around the corner, teams all around Europe will be looking to improve their squad and find the best bargains, and one team that needs a visit from Santa are Newcastle United.

 

Newcastle have always been regarded as a team with big potential, the sleeping giants of the league, who one day may move up that table and reach a Champions League spot once again. They last played in Europe’s premier competition when Bobby Robson took them there in 2002 far too long ago for the supporters.

 

In recent seasons however, the shining light at the end of the tunnel the Geordie fans have been desperately waiting to see after years of disappointment is descending into darkness, and they have had enough. An estimated 5,000 fans protested after the home game defeat against Sheffield United, the chants of ‘sack the board’ are once again being heard around St James Park.

 

It was only just under ten years ago that the Toon Army were declaring their love for the likes of David Ginola, Faustino Asprilla, and Les Ferdinand. Prodigal son, Kevin Keegan, came so close to winning the Premiership but lost out to Manchester United and winning the league has been just a distant memory ever since.

 

 

The club is currently in the relegation zone and after another dismal performance away to Manchester City on Saturday Glenn Roeder must be thinking about improving his squad, especially up front. The Magpies manager was criticized during the summer after bringing in only four players; Anton Sibierski an aging midfielder, Damian Duff, a gifted left winger who left Chelsea despite winning two championship medals in succession, £10m signing Obafemi Martins from Inter Milan and Giuseppe Rossi, an Italian-American teenager with very little Premier League experience.

 

Although the pint-sized striker had an amazing scoring record in the reserve league with, 42 goals in 49 games for Manchester United, he still isn’t being given the chance to show what he can do for Newcastle which is strange considering he is only at the club until January.

 

Newcastle’s three recognized strikers all suffer regularly from injury; Shola Ameobi requires a hip operation and judging by the performance against Man City he needs it as soon as possible. Michael Owen is still recovering from his injury at the World Cup and Martins has suffered niggling injuries since August.

 

It’s hard to believe then that Newcastle sold a product of their youth system, Michael Chopra, to Championship side Cardiff. The 23 year old was never given a good run in the first team and many thought that with the retirement of Alan Shearer, Glenn Roeder should have kept the forward. The case for Chopra is good. He has represented England at every level up to under-21, he has good experience playing out on loan for Barnsley, Watford and Nottingham Forest, and with his goal average of almost a goal a game this season with Cardiff, Newcastle may well be regretting his sale.

 

The January transfer window is not far away and Newcastle will find themselves in more trouble. Injuries, Rossi’s return to Old Trafford, and the news that Albert Luque is looking for a out of the club means a striker or two is an absolute must for Roeder.

 

His position as Newcastle manager is under scrutiny and Ian Dowie’s departure from Charlton this week puts Roeder under more pressure as the bookies favorite to go next. Antonio Cassano is reportedly to be a target after his recent exclusion from the Real Madrid team. His criticism of Fabio Capello has cost him his position in the team and may well see Newcastle as a way out.

 

Whether or not he will survive until then is still remained to be seen, one thing is for certain though the club need more quality in the squad and need to make sure they buy sensibly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not a bad read.

I found it very...realistic.

Sparked alot of thought, because previously, i knew most of these things, but it gives you a different view when you see it all together

[Raconteur]

Except it perpetuates myths - like the myth that we peddled Chopra when the fact was that the lad ran out of patience waiting for a chance in the first team! I'm sure every one of us would rather see Chopra here instead of Rossi but at the end of the day that was Chopra's decision...

 

[Tachikoma]

Except it perpetuates myths - like the myth that we peddled Chopra when the fact was that the lad ran out of patience waiting for a chance in the first team! I'm sure every one of us would rather see Chopra here instead of Rossi but at the end of the day that was Chopra's decision...

 

 

*cough*

 

Could have done better than give a 23 year old only a 1 year extension though.

[Cajun]

Except it perpetuates myths - like the myth that we peddled Chopra when the fact was that the lad ran out of patience waiting for a chance in the first team! I'm sure every one of us would rather see Chopra here instead of Rossi but at the end of the day that was Chopra's decision...

 

 

*cough*

 

Could have done better than give a 23 year old only a 1 year extension though.

 

Im in the "Chopra has become hugely overrated since he left" camp tbh.

[Tachikoma]

I was never in the "Chopra was shit" camp to be fair

[SEMTEX]

im in the 'Chopra is a twat' camp.

[Willow]

Chopra is crap. Its easy to score in the lower leagues and he never made the big step up and scored in the premier league.

No-one complained when he left because the general opinion was that he just couldn't cut it. Good luck to him, I personally don't want him playing for us again.

People need to forget the Keegan days as they were over 10 years ago, they don't mean anything today.

[Guest]

Sound like a cracked record, but look at Earnshaw, Rasiak, Gray, Blackstock...all strikers who couldn't hack it in the Premiership, scoring goals regularly in the Championship.

[Cajun]

Sound like a cracked record, but look at Earnshaw, Rasiak, Gray, Blackstock...all strikers who couldn't hack it in the Premiership, scoring goals regularly in the Championship.

 

 

Rasiak is on the same as Chops now, don't see many going on about how he would do a job here.

[Nate]

Chopra is crap. Its easy to score in the lower leagues and he never made the big step up and scored in the premier league.

 

He might have done given half the opportunities Shola has had. Could anyone see Ameobi scoring as many goals in that Cardiff side? I can't.

 

I don't think anyone is saying Chopra is good enough for our first team, but it's a shame he wasn't given a chance to prove himself when we were giving countless starts to someone who was, and clearly remains, nowhere near the standard required.

[Guest]

Chopra is crap. Its easy to score in the lower leagues and he never made the big step up and scored in the premier league.

 

He might have done given half the opportunities Shola has had. Could anyone see Ameobi scoring as many goals in that Cardiff side? I can't.

 

I don't think anyone is saying Chopra is good enough for our first team, but it's a shame he wasn't given a chance to prove himself when we were giving countless starts to someone who was, and clearly remains, nowhere near the standard required.

 

Yes...without a doubt.

[Cajun]

Chopra is crap. Its easy to score in the lower leagues and he never made the big step up and scored in the premier league.

 

He might have done given half the opportunities Shola has had. Could anyone see Ameobi scoring as many goals in that Cardiff side? I can't.

 

I don't think anyone is saying Chopra is good enough for our first team, but it's a shame he wasn't given a chance to prove himself when we were giving countless starts to someone who was, and clearly remains, nowhere near the standard required.

 

But why was shola given the chances ahead of chopra? Unfortunately for the Shola knockers the old "because he is a Geordie" excuse can't be used in this instance! So why wasnt he? His style of play looks more suited to Shearer than Shola's was, could it just be he wasn't as good?

 

I could see Shola scoring in that league tbh.

[Nate]

Chopra is crap. Its easy to score in the lower leagues and he never made the big step up and scored in the premier league.

 

He might have done given half the opportunities Shola has had. Could anyone see Ameobi scoring as many goals in that Cardiff side? I can't.

 

I don't think anyone is saying Chopra is good enough for our first team, but it's a shame he wasn't given a chance to prove himself when we were giving countless starts to someone who was, and clearly remains, nowhere near the standard required.

 

But why was shola given the chances ahead of chopra? Unfortunately for the Shola knockers the old "because he is a Geordie" excuse can't be used in this instance! So why wasnt he? His style of play looks more suited to Shearer than Shola's was, could it just be he wasn't as good?

 

Well, obviously because Chopra wasn't deemed good enough. However, if he does keep on scoring for fun in the Championship, considering how low my opinion of Shola is (which probaly defines which side of this argument you come down on), it looks like a poor decision not have given him a run in the first team.

[Superior Acuña]

We didnt sell chopra anyway, we offered to keep him and he refused

[Guest Phil K]

im in the 'Chopra is a ****' camp.

I'm in the "Chopra is proving himself right and Souness/Roeder wrong - surprise surprise, seeing as neither's done much right themselves" camp

[Guest Alan Shearer 9]

shouldn't of sold Ambrose/Hughes.

[Guest]

Chopra is crap. Its easy to score in the lower leagues and he never made the big step up and scored in the premier league.

 

He might have done given half the opportunities Shola has had. Could anyone see Ameobi scoring as many goals in that Cardiff side? I can't.

 

I don't think anyone is saying Chopra is good enough for our first team, but it's a shame he wasn't given a chance to prove himself when we were giving countless starts to someone who was, and clearly remains, nowhere near the standard required.

 

I'll ask you this. Would Chopra have scored 5/6 goals or however many it is for us this season?

[Baggio]

Chopra has found his level tbh

[Guest]

im in the 'Chopra is a ****' camp.

I'm in the "Chopra is proving himself right and Souness/Roeder wrong - surprise surprise, seeing as neither's done much right themselves" camp

 

Roeder was the one who gave Defoe his chance at West Ham, Souness was the one in charge when Duff was at his best, so it's not as if they can't spot potential.

[Nate]

Chopra is crap. Its easy to score in the lower leagues and he never made the big step up and scored in the premier league.

 

He might have done given half the opportunities Shola has had. Could anyone see Ameobi scoring as many goals in that Cardiff side? I can't.

 

I don't think anyone is saying Chopra is good enough for our first team, but it's a shame he wasn't given a chance to prove himself when we were giving countless starts to someone who was, and clearly remains, nowhere near the standard required.

 

I'll ask you this. Would Chopra have scored 5/6 goals or however many it is for us this season?

 

That Ameobi has? Probaly, hard to say.

 

To clarify, i'm not suggesting Chopra is good enough for our first team, or even that we shouldn't have sold him. I just think he should have been given more games ahead of Shola while he was here.

[Cajun]

Chopra has found his level tbh

 

 

I could understand it if Chopra went to a lower prem club and had knocked a few goals away but he is in the CHAMPIONSHIP, players like RASIAK have scored as many goals as him!

 

Fact is when he was here at the end of last season the majority thought he wasn't good enough, now he has scored a few goals in the championship it seems most people think we shouldn't have let him go!

[Cronky]

Chopra just wasn't quite strong enough for the Premiership, and was easily muscled off the ball. It's a weakness that often separates good Championship strikers from the very top ones.

 

Our old hero David Kelly was like that, I think. A great opportunist striker in the lower division, but easily snuffed out in the top league.

[Tachikoma]

I could understand it if Chopra went to a lower prem club and had knocked a few goals away but he is in the CHAMPIONSHIP, players like RASIAK have scored as many goals as him!

 

Fact is when he was here at the end of last season the majority thought he wasn't good enough, now he has scored a few goals in the championship it seems most people think we shouldn't have let him go!

'

The problem is that we let him go only to bring in a striker on loan for 4 months, who is currently not much better than the one we let go. (him going was mostly our fault >_>)

 

Cardiff is going to be a lower prem club come next season anyway =P

[geordie2000]

I could understand it if Chopra went to a lower prem club and had knocked a few goals away but he is in the CHAMPIONSHIP, players like RASIAK have scored as many goals as him!

 

Fact is when he was here at the end of last season the majority thought he wasn't good enough, now he has scored a few goals in the championship it seems most people think we shouldn't have let him go!

'

The problem is that we let him go only to bring in a striker on loan for 4 months, who is currently not much better than the one we let go. (him going was mostly our fault >_>)

 

Cardiff is going to be a lower prem club come next season anyway =P

 

We did not let him go, he was out of contract and rejected our offer as he wanted guaranteed first team football. which was something we could not guarantee (in hindsight we could of, with our injury list).

[Guest Invicta_Toon]

I could understand it if Chopra went to a lower prem club and had knocked a few goals away but he is in the CHAMPIONSHIP, players like RASIAK have scored as many goals as him!

 

Fact is when he was here at the end of last season the majority thought he wasn't good enough, now he has scored a few goals in the championship it seems most people think we shouldn't have let him go!

'

The problem is that we let him go only to bring in a striker on loan for 4 months, who is currently not much better than the one we let go. (him going was mostly our fault >_>)

 

Cardiff is going to be a lower prem club come next season anyway =P

 

We did not let him go, he was out of contract and rejected our offer as he wanted guaranteed first team football. which was something we could not guarantee (in hindsight we could of, with our injury list).

 

 

he said the other day we went back in for him when everyone got injured but he gave some shite excuse about 'being a man of his word' after he'd promised cardiff

 

plastic geordie tbh.