Backroom & executive staff

[Thiago]

18 hours ago, HTT II said:

Didn’t know, he’s probably the biggest regret of my time following this club, I watched him in the under 21 WC and he was by far the best player in the tournament, I thought we’d signed a potential superstar. He was so elegant on the ball, today I think he’d make it here in the PL, at the time, however, it was more hustle bustle. 

I still think if Sir Bobby had gone to a midfield three it would have accommodated him perfectly and given us greater control. Jose Mourinho was right around the corner with a midfield three like that and it was great for grinding out wins in tough circumstances. 

 

I will often dip into videos of Hugo (there's sadly not many floating about) but as you say he was a velvet footballer.

[Guest]

19 hours ago, HTT II said:

He had and especially of Gary Speed who was like a father figure to him and our true Captain despite Shearer being the official Captain. Jenas, Bellamy and Dyer spoke similar about Speed. What a player and more so a man he was. When he was Wales’ manager I thought one day he’d end up here and be a success 

Gavilan said similar about him when he passed. Said that when we was called up for the 2002 World Cup that it was an honour to have him representing NUFC there or something along those lines. Marcelino also said he used to look out for him.

 

https://www.goal.com/en/news/596/exclusive/2012/05/29/3133671/gavilan-speed-was-like-a-father

 

Not sure how Andy O’Brien feels about him though.

 

. "I'll never forget that when I was called up to the 2002 World Cup… [Speed] came up to me and said 'Congratulations because you are one of three players to represent us at the World Cup with Shay Given and Kieron Dyer'.

 

 

Edited March 20, 2022 by Optimistic Nut

[STM]

Viana was twice the player of Jermaine Jenas for example. He was a digital player in an analogue era.

 

It was noticeable how he quickly resurrected his career in Portugal. He really should have moved to Spain, rather than England.

[LFEE]

3 hours ago, STM said:

Viana was twice the player of Jermaine Jenas for example. He was a digital player in an analogue era.

 

It was noticeable how he quickly resurrected his career in Portugal. He really should have moved to Spain, rather than England.

Disagree. He just suited the Portuguese league as there was absolutely no physical contact in the games in that era over there and probably still isn’t. He was good but let’s not cloud our dislike for JJ to claim he also wasn’t good for us for the majority of his time here. 
 

Also Viana moved to Spain (Valencia and Osasuna) from us and didn’t pull up any trees in his 5 year there ?

[SUPERTOON]

9 minutes ago, LFEE said:

Disagree. He just suited the Portuguese league as there was absolutely no physical contact in the games in that era over there and probably still isn’t. He was good but let’s not cloud our dislike for JJ to claim he also wasn’t good for us for the majority of his time here. 
 

Also Viana moved to Spain (Valencia and Osasuna) from us and didn’t pull up any trees in his 5 year there ?

Jenas was shit for us the majority of the time 

[LFEE]

2 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

Jenas was shit for us the majority of the time 

He was great for 2 out of 3 seasons and won PFA Young Player Of Year in one of them. Then he got injured and lost his form in the 3rd season.

[Robster]

17 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

Jenas was shit for us the majority of the time 

Yeah my memory of him is of a fantastic first year, thereafter he was bang average.

[The College Dropout]

3 hours ago, STM said:

Viana was twice the player of Jermaine Jenas for example. He was a digital player in an analogue era.

 

It was noticeable how he quickly resurrected his career in Portugal. He really should have moved to Spain, rather than England.

Not true like. 
 

Viana never had the minerals to survive in the PL of that era and probably even now. I think he would’ve been better in a midfield 3 but even then I’m not sure he had the minerals to go to the top. He never went to the top in his career.  
 

i think a player like Moutinho may have struggled in a 442 in that era but that would be sheer physicality alone. Moutinho has that heart and desire. It’s reflected in his career. Moutinho’s 35 in the PL, by 35 Viana was doing the cash grab thing.  But aye Viana was elegant and classy. 
 

In the PL Jenas had a much heigher ceiling but again lacked the heart and authority on the pitch. Flattered to deceive so often.  He spent the bulk of his career in teams 4-8 for a reason and I don’t think he’s well liked by either club for a reason too. Jenas had all the physical and technical tools for a top Pl midfielder. Decent jump and battle in the air, superb engine could get up and down the pitch quickly for 90 minutes.  Jordan Henderson or Milner like physicality but better technically (than Henderson at least), Good first touch, crisp passer.   
 

But was just such a passive player. Wouldn’t impose himself.  Always passing sideways.  It wasn’t like he couldn’t pass it forward, make runs into the box he just wouldn’t. He would let games pass him by and just show glimpses of quality. Spurs fans would say the same thing. 
 

imo he’s probably more talented than every CM we’ve had since apart from Cabaye. Parker, Emre, Butt etc. but it feels like he left so much on the table and went out sad. 
 

players like Parker and Tiote never had Jenas ability but at least they tried man.  Got their foot on the ball and tried to make things happen. That’s why we need characters. From what I can see I like Trips, Burn, Targett, Bruno even Wood from a character perspective. We just need more quality with those types of characters. 

[Rod]

9 hours ago, The College Dropout said:

Not true like. 
 

Viana never had the minerals to survive in the PL of that era and probably even now. I think he would’ve been better in a midfield 3 but even then I’m not sure he had the minerals to go to the top. He never went to the top in his career.  
 

i think a player like Moutinho may have struggled in a 442 in that era but that would be sheer physicality alone. Moutinho has that heart and desire. It’s reflected in his career. Moutinho’s 35 in the PL, by 35 Viana was doing the cash grab thing.  But aye Viana was elegant and classy. 
 

In the PL Jenas had a much heigher ceiling but again lacked the heart and authority on the pitch. Flattered to deceive so often.  He spent the bulk of his career in teams 4-8 for a reason and I don’t think he’s well liked by either club for a reason too. Jenas had all the physical and technical tools for a top Pl midfielder. Decent jump and battle in the air, superb engine could get up and down the pitch quickly for 90 minutes.  Jordan Henderson or Milner like physicality but better technically (than Henderson at least), Good first touch, crisp passer.   
 

But was just such a passive player. Wouldn’t impose himself.  Always passing sideways.  It wasn’t like he couldn’t pass it forward, make runs into the box he just wouldn’t. He would let games pass him by and just show glimpses of quality. Spurs fans would say the same thing. 
 

imo he’s probably more talented than every CM we’ve had since apart from Cabaye. Parker, Emre, Butt etc. but it feels like he left so much on the table and went out sad. 
 

players like Parker and Tiote never had Jenas ability but at least they tried man.  Got their foot on the ball and tried to make things happen. That’s why we need characters. From what I can see I like Trips, Burn, Targett, Bruno even Wood from a character perspective. We just need more quality with those types of characters. 

Fickin Butt?  Are you kidding me?  I agree on your sentiments regarding Jenas by the way.  Nicky Butt, talented?  Sorry not having it. 

[The College Dropout]

10 hours ago, Rod said:

Fickin Butt?  Are you kidding me?  I agree on your sentiments regarding Jenas by the way.  Nicky Butt, talented?  Sorry not having it. 

As in Jenas was more talented than Butt, Shelvey the rest of them. He legitimately had all the tools. 

[Guest]

I liked Jenas. Struggled in 2003/4 season and then like many others had Souness taking on his progress. That Dabizas derby in his first ever start for us he bossed it having just turned 19. 

[JonBez comesock]

21 hours ago, SUPERTOON said:

Jenas was shit for us the majority of the time 

He wasn’t - he was “fucxing” shit the majority of times 

[gjohnson]

Jenas was good for us mostly, but couldn't handle the pressure of being a big (gold)fish in a small pond and couldn't deal with the attention....why he moved to London where he could be anonymous.

 

Viana at his best was sublime, at worst invisible. If he'd stuck around for a few more years learning from Speed he  would have been amazing. However as someone mentioned earlier he was 5-10 years ahead of his time with what he had.  Wrong place at wrong time.

 

And PS he never had good things to say about us....the best he ever came out with was 'i feel ill at Newcastle'

[Manxst]

13 minutes ago, gjohnson said:

And PS he never had good things to say about us....the best he ever came out with was 'i feel ill at Newcastle'

 Who? Viana or Jenas?

 

Viana has spoken well about us:

“And though things did not turn out the way he had hoped for on a personal level, Viana speaks just as fondly about the Newcastle fans and his former team-mates.

 

The Magpies finished third and fifth in the Premier League during Viana’s two seasons at the club and also went close in the UEFA Cup, losing to a Didier Drogba-inspired Marseille in the semi-final in 2004.

 

Though Robson wasn’t quite able to end their long wait for silverware, Viana says everything was set up at that time for success.

 

“It was the same with the two captains at the club, Alan Shearer and Gary Speed. They were very good for all the young players because they encouraged us and understood that it can take time to play your best.

 

“I had a very good relationship with Shola Ameobi and Jermaine Jenas, but my closest friend was Nobby Solano because of the language. He spoke Spanish and I could speak a little bit, too.

 

“He was really funny; him and (Lomana) Lua Lua were always joking and laughing. He would sing and play his trumpet, while Lua Lua did his African dancing.

 

“Solano always brought his trumpet to training, but he couldn’t play it all the time because Bobby would say it was too loud!

“Training was always great fun. I remember we would play a game against each other, and whoever was the worst player from the game would have to wear a yellow shirt the next day. Every day, we would write the date and something funny about that player.

 

“And I have nothing bad to say against the fans. Sometimes it was difficult to play for them, for example in the last few games of my second season, but when things were going well, they were amazing and when things were not, they still stayed with us and supported the team.

 

“Fans in Portugal can learn a lot from them about how to behave; we don’t have the culture of always supporting the team and when you lose there it can get dangerous. Not only for you but also your family.

“But my parents and my wife were made to feel very comfortable in Newcastle. I can’t say anything bad about the people.””

 

https://www.planetfootball.com/in-depth/hugo-viana-on-turning-down-liverpool-for-sir-bobby-life-at-newcastle/

[pedro111]

That Jenas screamer against man u where we took the lead but got battered. One of the best goal celebrations in the crowd I've been involved in. 

 

 

 

Edited March 21, 2022 by pedro111

[Guest HTT II]

42 minutes ago, pedro111 said:

That Jenas screamer against man u where we took the lead but got battered. One of the best goal celebrations in the crowd I've been involved in. 

 

 

 

 

The game where Scholes showed Dyer was was the daddy…

[The College Dropout]

One thing I loved about the Jenas side was the athleticism. Needed some more strength but we certainly had the speed and a bit of power with Speed and Shearer. 
 

On our day teams couldn’t Handle us. Bellamy, Dyer, Jenas could run teams ragged.  Robert and Solano adding the finesse.  
 

I remember Sporting couldn’t handle the pace of Dyer and Jenas for 130 minutes.  But Souness had already gotten rid of Bellamy, Dyer and Jenas got injured then they smashed us. 

[Guest HTT II]

16 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

One thing I loved about the Jenas side was the athleticism. Needed some more strength but we certainly had the speed and a bit of power with Speed and Shearer. 
 

On our day teams couldn’t Handle us. Bellamy, Dyer, Jenas could run teams ragged.  Robert and Solano adding the finesse.  
 

I remember Sporting couldn’t handle the pace of Dyer and Jenas for 130 minutes.  But Souness had already gotten rid of Bellamy, Dyer and Jenas got injured then they smashed us. 

We had such a dynamic team back then, one that could play so many ways, counter, direct, pressing or just outmuscling the opposition.

[The Prophet]

Jeans was above average, but nothing special. 

[toon25]

Souness, man. What an absolute fucking cunt. It was utterly grim watching him dismantle a good side by pissing off key players and shifting them for tuppance just so he could feel like Billy Big Bollocks in the dressing room.

 

 

[Guest HTT II]

2 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

Jeans was above average, but nothing special. 

He had it all as a player, but just didn’t have the courage for me to be one of the top top players of his generation. He was a cowardly player in so many ways. 

[tgarve]

19 minutes ago, toon25 said:

Souness, man. What an absolute fucking cunt. It was utterly grim watching him dismantle a good side by pissing off key players and shifting them for tuppance just so he could feel like Billy Big Bollocks in the dressing room.

 

 

Was painful- and some fans lapped it up at the start “ sir Bobby has lost the dressing room , Robert and Bellamy need to be brought into line etc “ 

This was the turning point in NUFC ( along with ashhley to compound it ) and we have never recovered 

[Guest HTT II]

I do think Robert was way on the decline towards the end of his time here, ironically he was on some kind of hot streak under Souness for a spell.

[TRon]

On 20/03/2022 at 12:13, LFEE said:

He was great for 2 out of 3 seasons and won PFA Young Player Of Year in one of them. Then he got injured and lost his form in the 3rd season.

 

I agree, I know a lot of people on here didn't like him, but I thought him and Dyer gave us a very dynamic midfield. We didn't get overrun much in those days did we?

 

 

[TRon]

2 hours ago, The College Dropout said:

One thing I loved about the Jenas side was the athleticism. Needed some more strength but we certainly had the speed and a bit of power with Speed and Shearer. 
 

On our day teams couldn’t Handle us. Bellamy, Dyer, Jenas could run teams ragged.  Robert and Solano adding the finesse.  
 

I remember Sporting couldn’t handle the pace of Dyer and Jenas for 130 minutes.  But Souness had already gotten rid of Bellamy, Dyer and Jenas got injured then they smashed us. 

 

Yep, basically said the same sort of stuff in the post above.