Behind-The-Scenes Drama Overblown

After Newcastle made headlines on Saturday for a shameful performance against Liverpool, it has continued to dominate the English press for what's happened off the field. As I said earlier in the week, I'm not buying Luke Edwards' contention that the club is riven by "French vs. everyone else" cliques. But the massive overreaction - banning his paper, the Telegraph, from press conferences, and embarking on a massive PR campaign - only serves to fuel a story that should have faded days ago.

Why don't I think the Telegraph story adds up? As my co-blogger Tom said* in an email, "I don't know what else explains the blatant lack of effort against a Liverpool team minus its best player and without anything substantial to play for." Well, what explains last year's team, fighting for the Champions League and brimming with confidence, getting obliterated by Wigan 4-1? Or not showing up at all against Everton on the season's final day, when Newcastle had nothing to lose, still a slim chance at the Champions League, and Everton had nothing to play for?

The poor performance on Saturday was worrisome given Newcastle's position in the table. Even without Luis Suárez, Liverpool used Daniel Sturridge's speed to take advantage of a disorganized back four. It cut off space in the midfield knowing that Newcastle has struggled under pressure and has not counterattacked effectively. These are problems that should be addressed. They're not necessarily a signal of locker room unrest.

And it's not like the team has looked unmotivated for weeks on end, either. As quickly as we've all wanted this season to just be over already, so things can start fresh (and hopefully in the Premier League), the last few weeks have felt like an eternity. But the win against Fulham which saw both Papiss Cissé and Alan Pardew end up in the crowd at St. James' Park was only a month ago. Four days later, the club nearly pulled off a miracle against Benfica. It's difficult to imagine a club that looked less torn apart by internal divisions than Newcastle on those two occasions.

Assuming that there was a kernel of truth in the Telegraph article, where did it come from? No doubt the locker room would have been a hostile environment after the derby loss, and even worse following Saturday's debacle. Particularly after that embarrassment, you would expect plenty of fingers to be pointed. Players probably did question Pardew's tactics, and each other. Who wouldn't after a performance where everyone, from the manager on down, was singularly awful in their own special ways?

So if someone at the club talks to Luke Edwards after the derby, and after Liverpool, and tells him the players and manager are at each other's throats, that would be completely true. In the hands of a writer looking for something sensational, it's also all the evidence he needs for his story. But it's also not an accurate portrayal of the state of affairs.

Of course, the easy way to put all of this silliness to rest isn't to shut journalists out of the club, or to put out cautiously worded PR statements, but just to win on Saturday and end any fears of relegation. Make that drama disappear, and the rumor mill will vanish along with it.

* See Tom's clarification about his comment below.

Comments

[Jaeger]

frustration is a very powerful influence on the quality of players' form. like cabaye and sissoko against west brom. it takes them out of the game mentally and the team suffers... where you need a strong leader. thats one of my few problems with cabaye as skipper.
(assuming colo leaves) i think krul would be a good choice, but if it was to be a field player (correct term?) saylor or maybe jonas, just because of their prem experience and intelligence on the pitch. might not be our best players but leadership skills are just as important.

hoping for a wigan loss and a draw from us. best likely situation there is for us i think.

[Tom]

Just to be clear about the comment from me that's quoted in this post. I wasn't saying I believe the Telegraph story is 100 percent accurate. But I do believe that something - and none of us have the ability to know what it is, since we're thousands of miles away - has been going on in the locker room.

I don't know if I buy that it's simply a French vs. non-French thing. But I think something is up with some players. Ben Arfa has gained noticeable weight. Cabaye doesn't look fully engaged, despite the fact that he's been wearing the captain's armband of late. There are others, too.

I'd also point out a major difference between the Sunderland and Liverpool losses in that they were both at home in majorly pressurized situations. Wigan and Everton last year were on the road, and while there was incentive for NUFC, I don't believe it's the same as this year. Everyone connected with the club knew it was overachieving and that finishing in the top four would merely be a bonus.

[Dave from Newcastle]

Tom:
Your comment on the Liverpool and Sunderland games being at home during pressurized situations is why I am thrilled that the next two games are on the road, despite our horrendous road form this year. Tomorrow is a great opportunity for the team to play a bit more loose while more focused. Keep in mind the "biggest" relegation game they had so far this year was at Villa and they got 3 pts there.

I'm going to say 1-1 tomorrow. I believe there is too big of a hill to climb from 6-0 to a win at WHU 7 days later. But depending on other results around the league a point could be very satisfying and set the team up for 3 at QPR.