Name the fans who are the eternal optimists? Who love supporting their club, the ones who travel the entire length of England to see their team get thrashed sometimes and yet will flock their stadium every single game and create a hostile atmosphere for every single visiting team. The only answer that you can come up with are the Geordie fans. These magpie lovers are the eternal optimists, one of the most passionate bunch of supporters you will ever manage to find in the sporting world. They worship their club Newcastle United and don't you dare mention anything about a certain team that plays in a red and white from wearside.
Its been a quite a ride for the magpies in the premiership after their return from the championship last season, finishing comfortably in mid-table, dominating teams at their St.James Park fortress and boasting of a home record second only to Manchester United. If only life could have been rosier off the pitch as well.....but life is never dull at tyneside. To start with the club boasts of an owner who surely wont be winning any popularity contests. Then there is the manager merry go round that keeps happening so often that there are times when you wonder how many managers does the team go through every season, And just for the record Newcastle United went through no lesser than 5 managers in their last 2 seasons in the Premier League. Mike Ashley who first showed hesitancy in updating the contract of the magnificent Hughton who had won them the Championship unbeaten at the first attempt and then appointing Alan Pardew, who at that point was jobless caused an uproar at tyneside last December. The geordie fans were outraged when the fan favorite Hughton was sacked and since this was not the first in a list of a no.of scandalous decisions that Ashley has taken since he bought the club, there were mass protests. Ashley's head was been called for, there was a dressing room unrest. And along came Pardew and brought with himself a sense of calmness and discipline and a stern determination to win over the geordie fans and it took him no time to win over them. Steely performances, hard earned grit and resilience at home made them very difficult to beat, none of Liverpool, Manchester United , Chelsea or Arsenal could beat them at home. The game against Arsenal when they came back from 4-o down to draw 4-4 will go down in geordie folklore, It was one of the greatest comebacks in modern day premiership history. Add to that an unbeaten record against rivals Sunderland, 35mn pounds of cash from Andy Carroll sale and the summer looked really sunny in the transfer market at tyneside last May.
Since then there have been some very big decisions that have been made regarding players and clearly there has been an emphasis on youth. Sale of crowd favorite and club captain Kevin Nolan has created a mixed response from the fans, after all he was their top scorer last season. Possible departures of Assist in chief Joey Barton, dynamic left back Jose Enrique look imminent. To top it all there have been no signs that the 35mn pound cash windfall of Carroll sale will be spent on players. While Sylvaine Marveaux was a free agent, Demba Ba signing was from the cash the club received for staying in the premier league. The voices coming out from the club insisting that the Carroll sale money will not be invested on players has hardly improved spirit of the fans.
Pardew wants to stamp his image on the team and wants to build a dynamic young side. Winger Sylvaine Marveaux joins his French counterpart, the fit again Hatem Ben Arfa. You have a fit again Dan Gosling who can play anywhere in the midfield or also as a full back, A very promising young juggernaut in Cheik Tiote, A reborn Jonas Gutierrez whose flagging career was revitalized by Pardew in the second half of last season and surely a blueprint of the team that the manager wants starts coming into picture. Defensive reinforcements are needed and they are reportedly set to go head to head with Sunderland for the signing of departing Manchester United defenders Jon O'Shea and Wes Brown.
There is a new Newcastle United team that is being built by Pardew, how well he does in his first full season at tyneside will be very crucial. He very well knows that this could well be his very last chance of managing at the top level as he continues his search for the next player fit enough to wear that legendary no.9 shirt.
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AND WHILE WE ARE AT IT,
Fabregas, Nasri, Ashley Cole - a list of footballers seeing which no gooner would dare say that Wenger knows best. But don't be surprised either if Fabregas or Nasri realise that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Hope they still have a certain former Barcelona B team player Alexander Hleb's number with them.
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I am still trying to explain to myself why has Wenger been reluctant to shell out a few extra pounds in wages to Samir Nasri to convince him that he is at the right club and at the right moment in his career.
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Can anyone please bring back the Santos president from the dream world that he currently lives in. 40mn+ euros for a player who until recently had not played in one competitive game for his country is appalling to say the least. I have run out of adjectives on that one.
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Nice Post. Really Different and innovative. Newcastle need to get some good players before they can even challenge for something. Since the departure of Shearer there hasn't been anyone who has even performed half as good as him. Carroll would have been a worth replacement but his departure certainly doesn't out them in a good spot. Difficult times for them . Spending the 35m they got in good buys is the only way out for them.
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