Bob Piper has been a Labour Councillor for the Abbey
Ward in Sandwell, West Midlands, for 10 years. He is a lifelong supporter of Aston Villa Football Club and a follower of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
The views expressed here are mine in a personal capacity, not those of the Labour Party, Sandwell MBC, Aston Villa or Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Get it! Mine... just mine!
Promoted by Bob Piper of 115 Barclay Rd, B67 5JZ on behalf of the Labour Party, care of 39 Victoria Street London, SW1H 0HA . Hosted (printed) by Swaithe Internet Solutions who are not responsible for any of the contents of these posts.
Please note however, that The Labour Party is not responsible for the content of this website or individual posts as, unless specifically stated, I am writing solely in a personal and individual capacity.
Promoted by Bob Piper of 115 Barclay Rd, B67 5JZ on behalf of the Labour Party, care of 39 Victoria Street London, SW1H 0HA . Hosted (printed) by Swaithe Internet Solutions who are not responsible for any of the contents of these posts.
Please note however, that The Labour Party is not responsible for the content of this website or individual posts as, unless specifically stated, I am writing solely in a personal and individual capacity.
It seems my comments on football have upset some west Ham supporters who don't think politicians should comment on football. Well, tough sh*t because I'm going to do it again....
Today I feel for Our Man. Not because in Sam Allardyce they have chosen a manager totally inappropriate for the style of football their supporters want to see (i.e. keep it on the grass, play a bit, and win something), nor because they have wasted good money on Joey Barton, not even because several clubs are chasing their top striker... but because today is the 3rd round of the FA Cup.
Now, my team hasn't won the FA Cup for over fifty years either, so I'm not crowing about that - although we have won a few things in between. But we didn't play Southern League Hereford in the FA Cup in 1972 when the BBC cameras were there for Match of the Day.
Way back then, when MoD, like Newcastle and Hereford was also in black-and-white, there was no satellite TV, no wall-to-wall coverage of every cup tie shown on the night and re-shown again on the Sunday. No, just Match of the Day, David Coleman, Barry Davis and Fat Motty, with one, maybe two matches with extended highlights.
The Toon, convinced even then they were giants, played wee Hereford United, and the grainy black-and-white film showed.... well, this (from Wikipedia)...
George's fresh legs were to pay dividends minutes later when he won possession on the Hereford left, turned well and found Mallender. Mallender's long ball was headed on by Billy Meadows and was not fully cleared. In the midfield Ronnie Radford challenged Tudor for the loose ball, won it and played a one-two with Brian Owen. The return pass bobbled on the muddy surface but sat up kindly for Radford who unleashed a 30-yard strike that, in the words of commentator Motson, "flew into the top corner of McFaul's net".
and that is why I feel sorry for Our Man today. If the current MoD crew were in charge the cameras would have gone to watch Manchester United somewhere, and although Newcastle may well have still made the news, outside of Hereford the whole thing would have been forgotten. But today, on 3rd Round FA Cup day, with Newcastle not playing until tomorrow, every Magpie in the country knows they will see "that bloody goal" on Football Focus.... and probably repeated all over again tomorrow, and Ronny Radford and Ricky George will be giving it plenty.
Still, console yourselves, you'll still be in the Cup tonight, which is probably more than we can say as we turn out in front of the cameras this evening for our annual defeat to ManUre.
Talk is of Emre and Martins going now. Newcastle's two most talented players. Talent doesn't go well with the new regime.
Worst thing about that draw against Stoke is that I have to sit and watch it all over again at Newcastle. My watching is fuelled by sheer loyalty. Any enjoyment long gone.
The problem is Steve, I don't think you've got much choice but to stick it out. Keeping on changing the cards and giving a new manager 20-30 million to spend every six months or so is a recipe for disaster. Also, I read somewhere that Sam has an enormous backroom staff, all of whom will want paying off... and look around... who's available if you sack him. O'Leary? Now if you really want your weekends ruined... there's yer man.
What I can't understand about Newcastle is why every manager buys one of the league's 'bad boy' prima donnas and thinks they can change them (I said the same about West Ham but their fan site got all arsey about it). Batty, Bellamy, Dyer, Bowyer - any chance of sending Joey to the Hammers? - to name but a few. How come no-one ever bought Collymore?
Anyway, as I said, at least you are still in the hat, although with thirty-odd quid for a replay ticket that's probably a mixed blessing. As Shearer so helpfully pointed out, you negotiated a tricky away tie at Birmingham last year... and look what happened next!
First off, the reason for manager's repeatedly being sacked is usually blamed on fickle fans ( yeah fickle, 50,000 of us who have never seen a tropy in our life times, turn up and we're fickle but anyway..)
The truth is we have had some awful managers. Souness and Roeder are quite obviously awful. Gullitt and Dalglish turned out to be awful and their absolute lack of success since then proves this.
Robson was a high point - however, he was eventually shown the door because he was quite obviously losing it and could no longer manage the job. Again, since then he has only worked part time with the Irish which doesn't suggest anyone else was knocking down his door. Don't forget for this is a man who spent 10 million on Bassedas and Carl Cort and let the godlike Nobby Solano go for 1 million. He also presided over an embarassing time when we were never out of the News of the World. It culminated in no less than two of our players being accused of rape and Kieron Dyer crashing his new Hummer/Sports car every other week. The dressing room was out of control.
Fat Sam has been hopeless. In many ways the worst of the lot. I honestly believe that 90% of the fans who turn up week in week out could pick better sides with more balance and ability (why does he continue to play wingers on the wrong wing? Right footers on the left, left footers on the right).
We knew his football with Bolton was dull but it is so much worse than you might have imagined. We thought with better players he could attempt an occasional pass. But no. Likewise he arrived with so much arrogance, bluffed it for a while and now seems to have no plan whatsoever. Just awful.
As regards the idiots we have signed I think it comes down to what is left to choose from. Look at Sunderland, they spent 36 million pounds in the summer on absolute rubbish. If you're not big four, and increasingly, if you aren't a London club, players don't want to come and play for you. It becomes hard to spend money.
So you are left with players with problems - be they form, discipline, injury etc. If Barton hadn't been such an arse at Man City then Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea would have tried to sign him. But they didn't have to take the risk. We did.
I am not defending this approach but I do understand it.
There is so much crap spoken about Newcastle fans. This rubbish that we'd "rather lose 4-3 than win 1-0".
Utter bollocks. First off we aren't winning 1-0. People forget that. We are playing dull football but it's losing, dull football.
I am not advocating sacking Sam. But I think we should be looking around. Give him till the summer but see if we can line someone up.
Don't let him have any more money to blow. (Enrique, Smith and Barton 18 million and not one assist between them and only one goal from a penalty).
We have the right chairman and owner now but Fat Freddie's last little gift to us was Sam. Give him till the summer but from what we have seen he is simply a liability.
If Martins and Emre go in the transfer window then the fans will turn on him even more. Likewise, I dread to think how many people will show up to see Newcastle play Stoke in the FA replay. The football is simply painful.
Let's face it Bob, some managers may get better with a longer run. Other managers will only cause more trouble.
And with respect, I am absolutely sick of forum posters, bloggers, journos etc who don't watch Newcastle United telling me, and other fans who do, about our football team and what should happen.
Not bollocking you Bob. Well maybe 1% you - the rest of my vitriol is aimed at moronic talk show callers and the southern media - particularly Mackem Louise Taylor of the Guardian.
Anyway, ding dong the witch is dead. Sam has gone. Does it make any real sense? Yes, but only if they have someone lined up. Am I happy? Probably shouldn't be but at least I am looking forward to watching football again.
January 6, 2008 1:40 PM | permalink
Keep stirring, Bob.