Again there is something to look forward to.
Keegan's boys are Shearer's boys.
Howay The Lads!
Friday 3 April 2009
Monday 9 February 2009
Two Weeks Off... Now What???
Due to an international break, there will be no Premier League football for two weeks. And it's a time when most football fans go crazy. Yes, there is that small matter of supporting your country, but let's be honest - no football fan can just forget their clubs, and since there is no matches to comment on, my thoughts seem to be on the summer.
Yes, we are in a relegation fight, but since we're 4 points above the bottom three, that gives us a bit of breathing space and a bit of peace before the Everton game at SJP. If we lost at WBA, I can't imagine how these two weeks would feel like, really...
The January transfer window turned out to be good foe Newcastle. It seemed for a long time that our squad will be a lot weaker at the start of February, but I'm actually pleased. We got Kevin Nolan, Ryan Taylor and Peter Lovenkrands, and lost Shay Given. The little brat went to Wigan and gave me a lot of joy.
With a few players recovering from injuries, we can actually afford to have some selection options. Well, not "we"... Joe Kinnear... Who knows, perhaps Alan Smith turns out to be a goalscoring machine in the coming months...
I have a thought that won't leave me alone. There is a player I would love to see playing for Newcastle. A player with passion, creativity, tackling ability, finishing, technique... He has a lot of experience, he has played for three big clubs, has won titles, played foe his country and was made captain in most teams that he played for... And on top of that, he could be available on a free transfer! It's Mark van Bommel, Dutch midfielder.
He is curently at Bayern Munchen, and his contract is due to expire in the summer, and it seems like he won't be signing another one in Germany.
Could he be interested in playing for Toon? Am I the only fan of this player?
Yes, we are in a relegation fight, but since we're 4 points above the bottom three, that gives us a bit of breathing space and a bit of peace before the Everton game at SJP. If we lost at WBA, I can't imagine how these two weeks would feel like, really...
The January transfer window turned out to be good foe Newcastle. It seemed for a long time that our squad will be a lot weaker at the start of February, but I'm actually pleased. We got Kevin Nolan, Ryan Taylor and Peter Lovenkrands, and lost Shay Given. The little brat went to Wigan and gave me a lot of joy.
With a few players recovering from injuries, we can actually afford to have some selection options. Well, not "we"... Joe Kinnear... Who knows, perhaps Alan Smith turns out to be a goalscoring machine in the coming months...
I have a thought that won't leave me alone. There is a player I would love to see playing for Newcastle. A player with passion, creativity, tackling ability, finishing, technique... He has a lot of experience, he has played for three big clubs, has won titles, played foe his country and was made captain in most teams that he played for... And on top of that, he could be available on a free transfer! It's Mark van Bommel, Dutch midfielder.
He is curently at Bayern Munchen, and his contract is due to expire in the summer, and it seems like he won't be signing another one in Germany.
Could he be interested in playing for Toon? Am I the only fan of this player?
Monday 19 January 2009
Timing is everything, or so they say
What a plonker I really am...
Inspired by the return of Kevin Keegan to Newcastle, I thought it would be a good idea to hop on and ride the wave of optimism and true footballing passion... And since I'm too far away to actually go and support the lads in flesh (I'm half the continent away) a blog would be a good idea...
Oh boy, was I wrong... There is no Keegan as Toon manager, but instead there is a poor excuse for a manager, a shameless excuse for an owner, and a whole bunch of players who absolutley have no idea what to do or how to play...
I felt so sad the moment I read that Keegan was forced to resign. And although there was a thought of "Oh my, he's walked on us again", I'm 100% sure that KK was really FORCED to go... Some may call it blind support or whatever, but isn't that the very essence of what it means to be a supporter of a football club?
Supporter of THE CLUB should support THE CLUB regardless of who is the current manager, as staff come and go, and the club remains. Well, yes, but to many Keegan is such a strong symbol of Newcastle United, that if someone is against KK, he's against the Club, and therefore against the whole lot of people who live and breathe Newcastle...
Joe Kinnear says he's been offered a long term contract by the Newcastle owner, Mike Ashley to remain at the helm of the 1st team, but with at least 10 teams in danger of relegation, shouldn't he think and work to resolve the problems rather than rabbit on and on about how fkin brilliant he is...
I still hope Keegan will be back. We lost 5-6 months already, and we may lose a whole lot more if we are in bottom three come May...
So, insted of creating a new blog called "Bring back the Keegan's Boys" the struggle (against what or who or how) is to continue here...
Howay The Lads!
Inspired by the return of Kevin Keegan to Newcastle, I thought it would be a good idea to hop on and ride the wave of optimism and true footballing passion... And since I'm too far away to actually go and support the lads in flesh (I'm half the continent away) a blog would be a good idea...
Oh boy, was I wrong... There is no Keegan as Toon manager, but instead there is a poor excuse for a manager, a shameless excuse for an owner, and a whole bunch of players who absolutley have no idea what to do or how to play...
I felt so sad the moment I read that Keegan was forced to resign. And although there was a thought of "Oh my, he's walked on us again", I'm 100% sure that KK was really FORCED to go... Some may call it blind support or whatever, but isn't that the very essence of what it means to be a supporter of a football club?
Supporter of THE CLUB should support THE CLUB regardless of who is the current manager, as staff come and go, and the club remains. Well, yes, but to many Keegan is such a strong symbol of Newcastle United, that if someone is against KK, he's against the Club, and therefore against the whole lot of people who live and breathe Newcastle...
Joe Kinnear says he's been offered a long term contract by the Newcastle owner, Mike Ashley to remain at the helm of the 1st team, but with at least 10 teams in danger of relegation, shouldn't he think and work to resolve the problems rather than rabbit on and on about how fkin brilliant he is...
I still hope Keegan will be back. We lost 5-6 months already, and we may lose a whole lot more if we are in bottom three come May...
So, insted of creating a new blog called "Bring back the Keegan's Boys" the struggle (against what or who or how) is to continue here...
Howay The Lads!
Monday 25 August 2008
Keegan's Boys vs Big Sam's Spoilers
Ah, those Wanderers won't let us play footie, will they...
As someone said: You can get Sam Allardyce out of Bolton, but you can't...
Nah, never mind. Ancient history that. But it's a fact that Bolton play...errr... a DIRECT game, to put it nicely...
They spoiled the party when Keegan came back, and it almost happened again in the first home league game of the new season...
In a game that just had to be boring, Shay Given again had to do wonders to give the rest of the lads momentum to go forward in a search of the victory.
And it was that man, Owen to build on a marvelous Shay penalty save and get the winner in front of the SJP crowd of 47.000+. After a long time there was less than 50.000 for a fome league game, and I hope it won't happen again anytime soon...
Recently I said that no player is worth 140k per week, but consider how the Newcastle fans feel now and how would they feel had it stayed 0-0 at SJP last Saturday... Now, is that difference worth 140k? Oh, yeah, it is!
Photos: Getty Images
Video highlights can be found here.
Next up: Coventry City away in the League Cup 3rd Round...
As someone said: You can get Sam Allardyce out of Bolton, but you can't...
Nah, never mind. Ancient history that. But it's a fact that Bolton play...errr... a DIRECT game, to put it nicely...
They spoiled the party when Keegan came back, and it almost happened again in the first home league game of the new season...
In a game that just had to be boring, Shay Given again had to do wonders to give the rest of the lads momentum to go forward in a search of the victory.
And it was that man, Owen to build on a marvelous Shay penalty save and get the winner in front of the SJP crowd of 47.000+. After a long time there was less than 50.000 for a fome league game, and I hope it won't happen again anytime soon...
Recently I said that no player is worth 140k per week, but consider how the Newcastle fans feel now and how would they feel had it stayed 0-0 at SJP last Saturday... Now, is that difference worth 140k? Oh, yeah, it is!
Photos: Getty Images
Video highlights can be found here.
Next up: Coventry City away in the League Cup 3rd Round...
Cheer Up Manc Muppets....
We won four points out of six...
Well, saying it that way doesn't reveal much, does it?
Especially when we often couldn't manage 4/6 points in recent times, even with playing against teams like Derby, Sheffield United etc...
But, this is Keegan's Newcastle!!!!
Gosh, I wish I could be in Toon dressing room during Kevin's teamtalks. What on Earth do you say to the lot that gave away 11 goals in last two games against Manu to make them play like men, not like scared boys?
Well, ok, it wasn't quite the samo lot, but it's still newcastle XI, and those haven't done really well on this pitch...
First of all: Shay Given - fit again, aware, brave...just fantastic! I have to admit that I doubted that Shay will ever get back to his best, but thankfully he reassured me - and how! That double save from Rooney and Scholes was amazing. It's just like scoring a goal!
The new boys: Gutierrez, Guthrie and Coloccini... wow... I'm tryin' not to be euphoric, but they seem like massive signings already. Duff... N'Zogbia... well, it's like getting new players in when you compare their (non)performances last term...
Inspired, full of heart, pride and responsability. That is what we want to see, and that is what the lads gave us. And here is a special tribute to Obafemi Martins, who played despite his mother passing recently. He scored the goal for the fans, and the fans cheered him on and thus helping him to overcome a personal tragedy. It's all down to sticking together, isn't it?
Photos: Getty Images
Video highlights from the Manchester United game can be found here.
Well, saying it that way doesn't reveal much, does it?
Especially when we often couldn't manage 4/6 points in recent times, even with playing against teams like Derby, Sheffield United etc...
But, this is Keegan's Newcastle!!!!
Gosh, I wish I could be in Toon dressing room during Kevin's teamtalks. What on Earth do you say to the lot that gave away 11 goals in last two games against Manu to make them play like men, not like scared boys?
Well, ok, it wasn't quite the samo lot, but it's still newcastle XI, and those haven't done really well on this pitch...
First of all: Shay Given - fit again, aware, brave...just fantastic! I have to admit that I doubted that Shay will ever get back to his best, but thankfully he reassured me - and how! That double save from Rooney and Scholes was amazing. It's just like scoring a goal!
The new boys: Gutierrez, Guthrie and Coloccini... wow... I'm tryin' not to be euphoric, but they seem like massive signings already. Duff... N'Zogbia... well, it's like getting new players in when you compare their (non)performances last term...
Inspired, full of heart, pride and responsability. That is what we want to see, and that is what the lads gave us. And here is a special tribute to Obafemi Martins, who played despite his mother passing recently. He scored the goal for the fans, and the fans cheered him on and thus helping him to overcome a personal tragedy. It's all down to sticking together, isn't it?
Photos: Getty Images
Video highlights from the Manchester United game can be found here.
Thursday 7 August 2008
Summer Cup - We're Top Four, We Are
I wrote this some time ago, but didn't post it... Here goes....
With the opening game of the Premier League approaching, Newcastle United travelled to Majorca to find some fitness and form in the sunshine, and to play in a friendly tournament nicely named "Summer Cup 2008".
Looking at the photos taken during the Toon training sessions, seems like the lads had samo fun together as well as doing some hard pre-season work. Nice to see the group bonding, but the lack of firepower upfront left the fans frustrated, Newcastle goalless, and Kevin Keegan with some problems.
Two 1-0 defeats, to Hertha Berlin and the host, Mallorca showed that Ameobi and Smith probably couldn't score if they stayed on the pitch for a week...
And bla bla...
The friendlies versus PSV Eindhoven and Valencia CF gave us some hope ahread of the much awaited trip to Ol' Traff...
Still, few people could predict the outcome of the Manu match...
With the opening game of the Premier League approaching, Newcastle United travelled to Majorca to find some fitness and form in the sunshine, and to play in a friendly tournament nicely named "Summer Cup 2008".
Looking at the photos taken during the Toon training sessions, seems like the lads had samo fun together as well as doing some hard pre-season work. Nice to see the group bonding, but the lack of firepower upfront left the fans frustrated, Newcastle goalless, and Kevin Keegan with some problems.
Two 1-0 defeats, to Hertha Berlin and the host, Mallorca showed that Ameobi and Smith probably couldn't score if they stayed on the pitch for a week...
And bla bla...
The friendlies versus PSV Eindhoven and Valencia CF gave us some hope ahread of the much awaited trip to Ol' Traff...
Still, few people could predict the outcome of the Manu match...
Wednesday 30 July 2008
What Is "Long Term" Anyway???
Hello everybody!
Right... The new season is upon us, and from what we've seen so far, it probably won't be remembered as "The Treble Season", that's for sure... And I'm not being pessimistic. In fact, you could say that I'm one of those romantic blokes who believe that wor lot is going to play the game of their lives, no matter who the opposition is... I could add that it probably won't be "The Season The Romantic Fans Enjoyed" either...
It might be remembered as "The Season Joey Barton Was Outside" though... Or how about "Owen Scored A Winner At Anfield And Kissed The Newcastle Badge In Front Of The Kop Season"... As long as you can dream, you are welcome to join the black and white masses waiting for a spark to explode with the delight that only footie can bring...
Well, before I start labeling the season that hasn't even started, let me see what can be done to make that eventual "label" decent at least...
I'm getting tired of all this "long term vs short term" talk when it comes to Newcastle United Football Club... What does it mean really? What, signing 29-year-old players is "short-term" while bringing in kids is "long-term"? Well, I can hardly get along with it...
When Sir Alex brought Edwin vd Sar to Manchester United a few years ago, was it for the long term or for the short term? Or when Big Sam brought Wor Gary Speed to Bolton? And when Wenger got Francesc Fabregas, he didn't say: "Ah, ziz boy iz for long-terrrm, lyke for z 2012/13 se-son...." Well, no, he let the lad play, and he's much better player now than he would have been if he played for the reserves...
All I want to say is: why spending millions for a, say, backup left back, if we have Ben Tozer and Tamas Karar, two highly talented kids? Why not play them? Not even 10 years of playing in the reserves can't give a player the experience for the real thing. So, make sure the coaches are doing their bit, and let the children play!
I feel sorry for the lads who spent years at the Academy and in the reserves, waiting for their chance, and left the club in the end, disappointed and untried really. Very well, I'm under no illusions that we have a bunch of 18-year-old Nestas, Rui Costas, Beardsleys and Shearers, but there is bound to be two or three who can be decent players for Newcastle...
Right... The new season is upon us, and from what we've seen so far, it probably won't be remembered as "The Treble Season", that's for sure... And I'm not being pessimistic. In fact, you could say that I'm one of those romantic blokes who believe that wor lot is going to play the game of their lives, no matter who the opposition is... I could add that it probably won't be "The Season The Romantic Fans Enjoyed" either...
It might be remembered as "The Season Joey Barton Was Outside" though... Or how about "Owen Scored A Winner At Anfield And Kissed The Newcastle Badge In Front Of The Kop Season"... As long as you can dream, you are welcome to join the black and white masses waiting for a spark to explode with the delight that only footie can bring...
Well, before I start labeling the season that hasn't even started, let me see what can be done to make that eventual "label" decent at least...
I'm getting tired of all this "long term vs short term" talk when it comes to Newcastle United Football Club... What does it mean really? What, signing 29-year-old players is "short-term" while bringing in kids is "long-term"? Well, I can hardly get along with it...
When Sir Alex brought Edwin vd Sar to Manchester United a few years ago, was it for the long term or for the short term? Or when Big Sam brought Wor Gary Speed to Bolton? And when Wenger got Francesc Fabregas, he didn't say: "Ah, ziz boy iz for long-terrrm, lyke for z 2012/13 se-son...." Well, no, he let the lad play, and he's much better player now than he would have been if he played for the reserves...
All I want to say is: why spending millions for a, say, backup left back, if we have Ben Tozer and Tamas Karar, two highly talented kids? Why not play them? Not even 10 years of playing in the reserves can't give a player the experience for the real thing. So, make sure the coaches are doing their bit, and let the children play!
I feel sorry for the lads who spent years at the Academy and in the reserves, waiting for their chance, and left the club in the end, disappointed and untried really. Very well, I'm under no illusions that we have a bunch of 18-year-old Nestas, Rui Costas, Beardsleys and Shearers, but there is bound to be two or three who can be decent players for Newcastle...
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