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Denis Cassidy Book **Contains Shepherd**

James

by James
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James

James

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Our former chairman Denis Cassidy is releasing a book.

 

In it he claims that he was the one who told Shepherd and Doug to leave after Toongate.

 

“A wave of shock and anger was sweeping through Tyneside and the boardroom was no different when I firmly recommended what action must be taken.

 

“I was seriously unpopular with my colleagues on the board as a result, for a variety of reasons. Sir Terry Harrison, the chairman, said ‘you had no right to act in such a way – you aren’t the chairman, I am’.

 

“Freddy, the culprit, exploded ‘don’t you ******* moralise at me and Sir John stated ‘you can’t force people who own the club to resign’.”

 

Cassidy later became non-executive chairman but was forced out soon afterwards by the return of Shepherd and Doug.

 

A few years later, Cassidy claims he was approached by Sir Bobby Robson who in a six hour meeting intimated that Shepherd and the Halls wanted rid.

 

Bobby requested a private meeting that lasted six hours, during which he poured his heart out and repeatedly asked: “Why do they want me to go? Why?”

 

However, Cassidy claims that, far from it being the friendly parting that official quotations would have fans believe, Robson was bewildered and hurt at his shoddy treatment.

 

Recalling the long goodbye, Cassidy insists: “Bobby sought a meeting with me in private. He wanted to discuss his position at the club, and the sequence of provocative actions taken by Freddy Shepherd, with someone who knew the parties involved and had been around long enough in the upper reaches of business to offer some sound advice.

 

“It was also important that we were contemporaries – both vintage February 1933 and fellow Geordies who liked each other.”

 

The meeting was to go on for a mammoth six hours and, claims Denis: “Bobby was hurt and confused and was searching, not unreasonably, for a rational explanation, repeatedly asking me rhetorically: ‘But why do they want me to go Denis? We’ve finished third, fourth and fifth in the last three years. That’s the best performance since Kevin Keegan. Why?’

 

“I told Bobby frankly that, whatever help I could offer, he should accept that there was no way back, and if the board wanted him to go then he should seek to manage his exit, if he could, to ensure that he preserved his dignity and reputation.

 

“I stressed there was nothing he or I or anyone else could do to change that – I had been in a similar position at the club in 1998 – if Freddy and Douglas were determined to get rid of him. Yet Bobby still persisted with the question: ‘Why?

 

“Ultimately I told him he must know the answer even if it seemed too trivial or ridiculous to be true. He thought carefully for a long time and then said: ‘Perhaps they are jealous of me, but that’s really too. . .daft! Look what I’ve done for them.

 

“He told me frankly of his problems with Kieron Dyer, Craig Bellamy and Lee Bowyer but felt they were all ‘good lads’ who were valuable assets but needed firm guidance.

 

“Bobby was at pains to stress his admiration for his skipper Alan Shearer and constantly extolled his virtues.

 

“He never publicly or privately leaked mischievous stories. His attitude was in stark contrast to the deceitful undermining of him by the board.

 

“Bobby remained a gentleman to the end, retaining his dignity, but behind the public face he was deeply hurt and confused by events.”

 

By the Bank Holiday Monday after defeat and four games of a new season, Sir Bobby was diverted to St James Park from his routine drive to the training ground.

 

Cassidy takes up the story again: “There, he was greeted by Freddy Shepherd with the words: ‘I am relieving you of your position immediately.’ This was followed by ‘I am an honourable man and we will honour your contract.’

 

“Amid the seemingly endless coverage this attracted, one simple self-justifying statement made by Freddy has lodged in my memory to this day.

 

“When referring to the previous season’s outcome he said: ‘Fifth position is not good enough for this club.’ Really? In the 11 seasons they had been in the Premiership they had achieved a top-five position only six times - three under Kevin Keegan and three under Bobby Robson.

 

“The Hall-Shepherd partnership – because nobody else made significant decisions – had managed to disenchant the inspirational Kevin Keegan and dismiss Sir Bobby Robson, the most experienced and internationally successful English manager to date.

 

“Even for those fans who did believe that Bobby was too old or had lost his grip, his public humiliation and sacking were shocking, reflecting badly on the club and all connected with it.

 

“Newcastle United had gone from being the great entertainers of English football to being the Premiership pariahs.”

 

Keegan's departure happenned at a time Cassidy was in Australia, and he found out about it on the news. He expected the resignation to be John Major.

 

Shepherd has the following to say:

 

“There were only two people who were present when we parted company with Sir Bobby and Cassidy wasn’t one of them, so he must have a good imagination to be able to write in a book exactly what was said on that day.”

 

He added: “Many of the events he is referring to happened several years after his short tenure at the club, so I find it hard to understand why he is writing about them now.”

 

The book ends with an open letter to Mike Ashley.

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Guest Howaythetoon

Guest Howaythetoon

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There was something very dodgy about Sir Bobby's sacking if you ask me. He was clearly being undermined by the powers that be. Perhaps he didn't agree with the way business was being conducted by certain figures...

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Cronky

Cronky

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Well I'm buying it. The extracts in the Chronicle are about the episodes that we already know a bit about - the SBR sacking and the Spanish brothel. There's bound to be some new stuff as well.

 

Can't resist a good old tell-all memoir, me.

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Guest neesy111

Guest neesy111

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It was public knowledge the Shepherd had undermined Sir Bobby during the 2004 transfer window.  That was when Shepherd completely lost the plot at the club and we started our downfall which hopefully was halted last season.

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Mr Logic

Mr Logic

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Robson states in his book that he never had an ounce of trouble from Lee Bowyer, sounds like an absolute load of fabricated nonsense to me.

 

But it's accepted knowledge that he did have some troubles with Dyer and Bellamy which means it's not all fabricated nonsense, or perhaps not nonsense at all, maybe it just never made it into Robson's book at the time because he'd forgotten about it, forgiven it, was too much of a gentleman etc.

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NG32

NG32

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I thought the club was ready to move Bobby on but how stupid was i to think the KNACKERS running the club would have a plan.

 

The way he was treat was a disgrace.

 

 

Also, why do people kick up a massive funk about SBR being undermined by Shepherd and Dougie Hall with buying and selling players behind his back.

 

Yet when KK makes a stand against this sort of thing he gets loads of shit from spiteful people.

 

Genuine question.

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