Opposition View: Newcastle United
Under Mike Ashley, Newcastle United have become arguably the Premier League’s biggest basket case club.
Which is a real shame because the city lives and breathes football. Over 50,000 supporters make the pilgrimage to the fantastic St James’ Park for every home game and with the potential and passion, they have a club that has all the ingredients – bar a load of money – to be challenging for the top six.
How frustrating must it be then to support the Toon Army at the moment? We spoke to Olly from NUFC Blog.co.uk about having one of the best managers in the Premier League, his expectations for the season and – sorry everyone – the Albion blowing a seven point lead with three games to go so that Newcastle won the Championship two years ago.
Mike Ashley somehow remains at the helm of Newcastle. Is there any hope of him leaving the club anytime soon?
We live in hope and not expectation when it comes to Ashley’s future. The club is ‘up for sale’, but many question whether he ACTUALLY wants out – with Newcastle seen by him as nothing but a money making machine that gives free advertising to Sports Direct. There’s been interest from Amanda Staveley last year, however those talks broke down in January this year, with Ashley deeming her a time waster. She made several offers, but they all fell below his extortionate asking price of £400m. It’s claimed that he’s reduced that asking price, and it’s been reported recently that ex-Chelsea Chief Executive Peter Kenyon is looking for investors to assemble a takeover bid – but it’s fair to say we’re not holding our breath anymore on this front, unfortunately…
Rafa the Gaffer is one of the best managers in the league. How on Earth have you managed to hold onto him with the circus in the boardroom?
He came on the basis of the potential he could see. We’re a one club city with passionate fans and a 52,000 stadium in an area that breathes football. The whole of Tyneside has been longing for success after years of disappointment under Ashley, and Benitez saw a project here and felt he could bring the good times back. The connection between him and the fans was the main reason he stayed when we went down – but there’s only so long that can keep him here when he’s fighting a losing battle. Fortunately, we got ourselves back up at the first attempt after relegation, but a year on from our return to the top flight and Ashley is back to his old tricks; failing to invest, not communicating and leaving a world class manager with his hands tied. Rafa’s a fighter and a part of him may like the challenge, but his contract is up at the end of the season and he looks no closer to signing a new deal. The January window will be Ashley’s last chance to win him over. After a net spent of -£21m over the summer, there’s no excuse this time – especially when new signings could be the key to keeping us up.
If Rafa walked, what would that mean for Newcastle on the pitch and how would the fans react?Speaking of managers, we’ve obviously got one of your former bosses in our dugout. What’s Newcastle fans opinions of Chris Hughton?
Us Geordies have a soft spot for Chris. After we were relegated to the Championship back in 2009, he did an incredible job of getting us back up at the first attempt. The club didn’t give him nearly enough of a chance the following season, with his sacking so soon after success showing just how fickle football is in this day and age.
He’s an honourable man and an underrated manager too.
Do you think Newcastle can ever get back to being title challengers again or are the top six so far clear of everyone else that it would take a miracle?
It would take a huge Man City-esque takeover, and even then it would take huge money and ambition to assemble a squad good enough to compete with the top six. With the way financial fair play is now, I can’t see big takeovers being able to have the same immediate impact we saw at City. If the right people came in and ploughed money into a side managed by Rafa Benitez then who knows what we could achieve, but a top six finish seems a million miles away at the moment – never mind challenging for titles. Just look at Everton. They’ve spent hundreds of millions over the past few windows yet they don’t look like threatening big six anytime soon.
What represents a good season for you this year?
It’s a sad indictment of where we’re at right now, but simply staying up would be an achievement. After finishing 10th last season, any ambitious owner would’ve seen the summer as a big chance to kick on under Benitez, but we’ve only marginally improved our squad, watching several Premier League rivals improve significantly in the mean time. The likes of Wolves and Fulham have only just come up from the Championship, but both completely blew us out of the water when it came to summer spending. I even think you guys spent money on two players this summer who would’ve BOTH became our record signings! We’ve not spent more than £14m on one player in over 10 years now. We’re getting left behind by the vast majority of sides in the Premier League, yet we have a manager who’s one of the most successful managers in the division. Right now, the vast majority of NUFC fans would bite your hand off for 17th. Aside from Huddersfield and Cardiff, it’s hard to find a side poorer than us at present – although I do back Benitez and this group of lads to turn it around.
If you could sign one player from Brighton, who would you take to St James’ Park?
Pascal Gross, without any shadow of a doubt. Glenn Murray is a clever player and good goalscorer, Lewis Dunk often impresses me and Anthony Knockaert is a real threat on his day, but we desperately need a good number 10 – and Gross seems exactly that. He seems to be at the centre of everything you do going forward and looks like a player that really grafts too. What a bargain he’s been for you!
Who is your key player and why?
Jamaal Lascelles. Shelvey is a close second as we don’t tend to turn up from an offensive perspective if he doesn’t perform, however Lascelles really is our rock and the glue that holds us together. He’s our captain and leads by example on and off the pitch, he’s barely put a foot wrong in a year and a bit of Premier League football and is a towering presence at the back. A few weeks ago we went into the break against Arsenal at 0-0. They barely created a thing. Lascelles got a knock and didn’t come out for the second half. After the restart they were 0-2 up before long, with us looking nowhere near as assured at the back as soon as he went off. Considering how limited we are in attack, it’s vital we’re strong at the back – and he’s a huge part of that.
What’s your favourite memory of playing Brighton? I expect us blowing a seven point lead with three games to go so you guys won the Championship was quite good!
Haha! I can’t lie, the moment we got wind of Jack Grealish’s late goal was quite a surreal and special moment at St James’ Park – then again, all that REALLY matters is that we went up, with the title just being a bonus. My favourite memory of playing you was our game at The Amex during that season. It was looking grim when you took the lead, with Huddersfield breathing down our necks in 3rd, so the second half comeback was the huge. Diame’s goal was perhaps the most bizarre and luckiest goal I’ve ever seen, but the celebrations after Perez’s late winner were memorable for all the right reasons.
Finally, a prediction for the game?
This really is a huge game for us. We’re heading into a very generous run of fixtures, but we’re in desperate need of that first win of the season to kick start our campaign – especially when we’re up against a side who must be seen as fellow candidates for relegation. Despite the late collapse, we showed real signs of life at Old Trafford and I’m hoping we can take that into this game. I don’t think it’ll be pretty, but I think we’ll edge it. 1-0 to us.
Thanks to Olly for answering our questions and not rubbing in the final three games of the 2016-17 season too much. You can check out his writings on Newcastle at NUFC Blog.co.uk
