I Wish I Was A Geordie - The Blog of Newcastle United in the US

On The Air: Airing Of Grievances

The quest for eighth place is back on track after Sunday's epic win over Aston Villa, and Matt, Phil and Tom are clearly still on a Newcastle United high as they return to the podcast airwaves! Wait, that's a total lie.

The IWIWAG team does indeed break down Newcastle's first win in more than a month, before looking ahead to an uncertain summer and trying to make sense of the club's long-term plan. Oh, right — there isn't one! Plus comparisons to similarly mismanaged American sports teams and enough ranting to satisfy the most disgruntled fan's black-and-white soul. Click below to listen, or visit our iTunes page to download and scream along.

I Wish I Was A Geordie Feb 25 2014

The Long Wait Is Over: A Goal And A Win

BREAKING: We can confirm that Newcastle United is, in fact, capable of scoring a goal. Here are three more conclusions after Newcastle ended its 450-minute scoring drought with a last-minute, 1-0 win over Aston Villa at St. James' Park:

The striking solution
Loic Remy plays with a swagger that borders on cockiness, and thankfully for Newcastle, one terrible miss didn't stop him from banging in the game winner a few minutes later.

That's quite a contrast to Papiss Cisse, who continues to look like he's lost all belief in himself. Cisse had about as point-blank of a chance as you'll get in the Premier League when Remy set him up in the first half, only to shank his shot way over the crossbar.

Newcastle gained steam when Luuk de Jong replaced Cisse in the 72nd minute, culminating with Remy's goal. At this point, Alan Pardew's decision is clear cut: Remy and de Jong need to start together the rest of the season. True, they're both on loan, but de Jong is a likely summer signing and it would behoove Pardew to revive the Dutchman's scoring form.

Cisse's chances of ending his personal Premier League drought — he hasn't scored from the run of play since last April — took a hit when Pardew switched his team to a 4-5-1 formation (with the Senegalese on the right wing) to try to get a foothold in the center of the midfield. At this point, though, Cisse looks so hopeless that it's ridiculous to justify building a system around him.

Dummett does the job
As Matt wrote on Friday, Pardew would be wise to test some of his young players in the season's final stretch, considering Newcastle has very little to play for.

While Sammy Ameobi was nowhere to be found today, Pardew at least gave Paul Dummett, one of the two promising left backs on the roster, a start in place of Davide Santon. The Italian Phil Neville was apparently injured, which no doubt saddened all lovers of aimless dribbling and bewildered looks.

Dummett had one very shaky moment in the first half, a miscontrol that set Villa off on a dangerous counter attack. Apart from that miscue, though, he played fairly well. Newcastle's roster is so lacking in quality crossers that Dummett also handled corner kick duty, and he actually whipped in some decent left-footed efforts. And in a game in which Newcastle seemed determine to hammer long-range shot after long-range shot, Dummett also had one of the more promising strikes, only to see it curl just over the crossbar.

We already know who Santon is as a left back, so there's no real value in giving him minutes at the position just to try to solidify a grip on eighth place. But it's not yet clear whether Dummett is a starting-caliber Premier League left back (the same could be said about Massadio Haidara, which is pesky). It's time to find out.

Muddled in the middle
Newcastle — and Pardew, for that matter — sorely needed a win, regardless of the quality of the performance. But let's just be honest: This wasn't a real impressive showing up until the last 15 minutes or so. Villa outplayed Newcastle in the first half, controlling the center of the midfield and creating some threatening counter attacks.

Vurnon Anita and Cheick Tiote had to deal with three bodies — Fabian Delph, Karim El Ahmadi and Ashley Westwood — in the middle of the park, and they didn't answer the challenge. Tiote looked rusty and fell back into his old fouling habits, while Anita was invisible for long stretches. To Anita's credit, he improved as the game wore on and covered plenty of ground.

It's tiring to continue to lament the loss of Yohan Cabaye, but you'd be a fool not to notice how much the Dreamboat elevated his central midfield partners. Pardew has to be tempted to use a 4-4-2 with Remy and de Jong up top in the final 11 games, but he's going to have to weigh that urge against the need to give Anita and Tiote some help in the middle. Moussa Sissoko is the obvious — and only real — candidate, considering the only midfielder on the bench today was Dan Gosling, he of the dashing mustache. That could mean reverting to the 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 alignment, with Sissoko in front of Anita and Tiote, and Remy and Yoan Gouffran flanking de Jong.

NUFC's Bigi Player Development Problem

As I explained earlier this month, the 2013-14 season is pretty much over for Newcastle United. Yohan Cabaye is now a Parisian super-sub. Thankfully, both derbies are done with for the season. There is no threat of relegation, nor any hope or desire to push up into the Europa League. Newcastle went out of both cups so quickly that you could be excused for forgetting that it was in them at all.

But there's still one reason to play out the string, even if it means plenty of losing. With nothing else to care about, why not use the remainder of the year to see what some of Newcastle's top reserves are capable of? Trying out some of the reserves can help address one of the biggest hidden problems the club currently faces.

Two recent stories perfectly captured the player development disaster that's been lost in Newcastle's other recent missteps. First, there's the futile attempt by Mark Douglas to figure out what happened to Gaël Bigirimana. After a few relatively promising appearances last season, Bigi has completely fallen off the radar in 2013-14. Obviously, he had plenty of good players ahead of him this year, but the club's attitude about him is pretty disturbing. As Douglas recounted, "the last time I spoke to someone with influence at Newcastle they suggested it might never happen for him at the club, despite the obvious talent he had. When asked why, there was no real explanation." That anyone would give that assessment to the press, even anonymously, is thoroughly embarrassing.

The other story, of course, was reserve coach Willie Donachie's resignation after apparently hitting promising defender Remie Streete. Even outside of the violent outburst, Donachie's reserves weren't exactly excelling, sitting in 20th place in the Under-21 Premier League. And it's not as if the poor performance is because players are being moved to the senior team - who's broken through from the reserves since Tim Krul and Andy Carroll?

Both of these items speak to a total lack of attention to preparing the club's young players to succeed, which will have severe consequences in the years to come. It also demonstrates a serious flaw in Mike Ashley's supposed vision of building a sustainable, relatively inexpensive squad which manages to stay in the Premier League every year. Even by Ashley's own low standards, the lack of focus on the reserves will eventually doom him.

Among baseball teams in the US, a perfectly acceptable method of squad development involves relying on bringing players through the minor leagues, the equivalent of the reserve system. Teams will often trade their established stars for more young players, with the goal of having a youthful cohort that matures and blossoms simultaneously, perhaps suffering a couple seasons of growing pains in the process. Relegation prevents a Premier League club from completely following this model.  But you can see how a modified version of this approach would perfectly fit in with the constraints that Ashley has shackled on Newcastle. Of course, that requires a level of competence in player development that seems to have eluded the coaching staff thus far.

So with nothing else to play for this season, why not open the floodgates to the kids from here on out? Sammy Ameobi must continue to start - in fact, he's looked pretty promising in his recent appearances, so there's no real reason to replace him. Though not a reserve, there's no reason why 24-year-old Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa should continue to sit on the bench and stall his development. Once Bigirimana returns from his ankle injury, why not give him a chance to prove his critics wrong? After any threat of relegation has been extinguished, even the club's teenagers, like Streete, should be given some chances to show their worth. 

This summer is going to be pivotal for Newcastle's future. In order to make the most of whatever money there is to spend on new players, there must be an accurate evaluation of the club's youngsters. A tightfisted approach to player recruitment means that the reserves are vital to squad development. It's a shame no one at the club seems to be able to give them the necessary boost.

Fire Pardew? Sure, Then What?

Despite what a portion of the Newcastle United Twitterverse would have you believe, Alan Pardew is not a bumbling managerial idiot. Enough former players have talked up Pardew's training sessions for us to refute that myth.

That's not to say Pardew is some elite tactician or master motivator; when you consider his four seasons in charge at Newcastle — a 12th-place showing in trying circumstances, a surprising fifth-place overachievement, a troubling fade to 16th place, and a bounce back to ninth place that's looking less impressive with each passing game — he looks like an average Premier League manager. His record of 57 wins, 57 losses and 36 draws at Newcastle backs that up.

Pardew isn't someone who's going to lead consistent top-four challenges, but he'll most likely keep you in the Premier League. Sounds like Mike Ashley's perfect manager.

And yet, in the wake of three straight lopsided — and largely lifeless — losses, the murmurings have begun that Ashley is ready to fire Pardew. Now, the fact that the Sunday Express claims Ashley will send Pardew on his way if Newcastle doesn't beat Aston Villa on Saturday doesn't mean we should all immediately plan for life after Pards (the local papers have already refuted the story). But if Newcastle continues to sleepwalk its way through the final three months of the season, Ashley wouldn't be out of line in making a managerial change.

Right now, Newcastle looks like a team devoid of any motivation or any hope of scoring. You can blame the sale of Yohan Cabaye or Loic Remy's suspension, but the manner in which Newcastle has rolled over isn't a glowing endorsement of Pardew’s leadership.

So, regardless of the unquestionably problematic circumstances under which Pardew is working, there is clearly room for an upgrade.

But let's not kid ourselves: Pardew isn't Newcastle's biggest problem at this point. The club’s transfer policy is absurdly rigid and has left the team sorely lacking in veteran leadership and full of players who look ready to leave the moment they hear whispers of a larger payday elsewhere. The much-praised scouting operation has brought in talent, no doubt, but seems to prioritize running and dribbling over passing (also known as the most important skill in soccer). Newcastle was already overly reliant on Cabaye to create scoring chances; without him, the team has no dynamic passers. (The key word here is dynamic; Vurnon Anita is an efficient passer, but he can only dream of Cabaye’s range and vision.)

A team full of Davide Santons, Moussa Sissokos and Hatem Ben Arfas isn’t going to dribble its way into the Champions League. It’s possible chief scout Graham Carr is recommending players who would rectify the team’s imbalance and is simply being ignored.

Which brings us to the overarching issue at Newcastle: Does Ashley even care anymore? His Joe Kinnear pipe bomb over the summer rendered the club incapable of signing players, either by design or incompetence. Kinnear is gone, but there seems to be a total lack of direction at the club, with multiple reports claiming Newcastle is in no rush to hire a new director of football, managing director or any other type of front office czar. Who’s making’s transfer plans for the summer? Who’s forming a process to improve Newcastle’s sputtering academy? The latter is said to be one of Ashley’s priorities, and yet any progress either hasn’t been reported — maybe because the club yanked the local papers’ access — or hasn’t been made.

Firing Pardew isn’t going to address any of Newcastle’s big-picture problems, unless Ashley plans to hire — and financially support — a manager and director of football who can work in tandem on developing a transfer strategy, a style of play and a plan for youth development. Based on what we’ve seen during Ashley’s seven-year reign, there’s almost no chance of that happening.

NUFC-Spurs: The Fans' Horror

What can be written after the latest NUFC Festival of Shame against Spurs? Here's how it unfolded in real time and in the fans' and commentators' own words, via Storify.

 

Three Points: Chelsea Defeat

Our rapid-fire reaction to Newcastle's dull 3-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge:

Just as expected
Chelsea is a really good team, blessed with three lightning-quick attacking midfielders, a rock-solid defense and a world-class (and arrogant) manager. Newcastle is a mediocre team, having sold its best player and lost its best attacking player to a suspension. And Alan Pardew isn't Jose Mourinho.

So how did you think this game would go?

Newcastle actually played OK in the first half. Pardew's undermanned team created a few decent chances, but didn't have the skill to finish them off. Chelsea, on the other hand, got two otherworldly sequences from Eden Hazard. That ended any hope Newcastle harbored of grinding out an unlikely point, and the visitors faded in the second half.

But, realistically, this was never a winnable game, so it's difficult to draw too many big-picture conclusions from it.

Crunch time for Ben Arfa
With Yohan Cabaye off to Paris and a bigger bank account, Hatem Ben Arfa has a chance to make himself the centerpiece of Newcastle's team (and earn himself a contract extension; his runs out in the summer of 2015). He's blowing the opportunity at the moment.

Ben Arfa had several silly giveaways in Newcastle's own half today, but that's nothing new. Those plays are the tradeoff for his unpredictability in the attack. The most worrying part of Ben Arfa's performances the past two weeks has been how invisible he's been for long stretches.

A segment of the fan base often trumpets Ben Arfa as an elite gamebreaker. It's time for him to either back up that reputation or leave.

On the bright side
OK, enough with the negativity. At least this week there were some signs of life from Newcastle. Sammy Ameobi showed the combination of speed, skill and length that made him look like a real prospect two seasons ago. If he can continue to fill out and toughen up, he still might turn into a legitimate Premier League player.

Luuk de Jong was again active, which is about all you can ask for from a player who hadn't started a game all season. Davide Santon actually faired OK in an unfamiliar holding midfield role, although he failed to track Hazard's run on the opening goal.

Moussa Sissoko, captaining Newcastle for the first time, blew a one-on-one chance with a heavy touch, but made a couple of tremendous runs and was generally involved in Newcastle's best passages of play.

At this point, a few bright spots qualifies as an improvement. Hopefully there will be a few more on Wednesday.

On the Air: Tough Sledding

On the heels of yet another stormy week in the Newcastle United universe, Phil, Tom and special guest @ToonArmyMIA sift through the wreckage of the Joe Kinnear era and a third straight derby defeat. How did a director of football render Newcastle so directionless? Why is the current batch of black-and-white boys subdued so easily by Sunderland?

Plus, we answer the question that's on everyone's mind: Which Newcastle players would make the most formidable bobsled team? Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it's podcast time!

Click below to have a listen or download on iTunes.

I Wish I Was A Geordie Feb 7 2014

 

No Europe, No Cups, Derby Losses...Why Does NUFC Play?

Those of you who have followed our blog and podcast for a while know that I'm generally the most optimistic of the regular contributors. In January, I defended the club's generally break-even transfer strategy (note that breaking even is definitely not what happened when Yohan Cabaye was sold and not replaced). But after mulling over Saturday's third straight derby loss, I had to come to a disturbing conclusion: what, exactly, is Newcastle United playing for?

In the past, I tended to downplay the importance of the derby. Partly, that's because I'm not from Newcastle, and have never met anyone from Sunderland, and so it would feel fake going totally gung-ho about a rivalry that I don't personally live in the way local fans do. But my views on the derby are also colored by my participation in one of the most storied rivalries in American sports, Duke-Carolina. Obviously, hating your rival is important ("Carolina, go to hell" is in the fight song, at least unofficially), but both schools are often competing for the national championship in college basketball every season. So there is almost always plenty to play for outside of two games against each other in February and March.

In my head, until now, that's what I always told myself about Sunderland. Sure, losing the derby sucks, but there are more important things to think about. But in mulling over this season at least, I'm struggling to think of what that would be. The board has openly stated that it doesn't care about winning either the FA Cup or the League Cup, despite both being completely winnable competitions for a club like Newcastle. It clearly doesn't feel the Europa League is worth qualifying for through finishing in the top six, or it wouldn't have let Cabaye leave town without a guaranteed replacement. Given that situation, what else is there to care about but the derby, really?

This is far from the lowest point in my Newcastle fandom - after all, I did live through relegation in 2009 - but it is a time where I'm seriously questioning the direction of the club in a way I haven't since returning to the Premier League. As demonstrated by its league position, as well as some of the quality wins this season, this club should have everything it needs to compete for Europe. It's got a decent nucleus of players (and cash on hand to replace Cabaye). It's got the most committed fans in England. It's even got name recognition in the States because of Newcastle Brown Ale. But it doesn't seem to have any sort of plan to capitalize on those attributes.

This isn't necessarily about spending money. As mentioned, I've got no problem with a break-even transfer policy, if that's what's necessary to undo years of financial mismanagement. Spurs does perfectly fine operating under this type of arrangement. But given the months that the club had to plan Cabaye's exit, not replacing him is indefensible. It leads to serious questions about what, if anything, Mike Ashley's intentions are as owner. And it's worth putting pressure on him, or whoever he chooses to replace Joe Kinnear, to give the fans some answers on that front.

This doesn't have to be a club that lives and dies by the derby. With everything available to Newcastle United, it should be easy to shrug off a derby loss by saying that we've got bigger aspirations than just beating Sunderland. But given the current state of affairs, it's really hard to guess what those aspirations might be.

Joe Kinnear Is Gone, But Does It Really Matter?

Well, that went about as well as you'd expect. Joe Kinnear stumbled back into the picture, did as close to nothing as one can reasonably do while being employed, and then disappeared as suddenly as he'd resurfaced at Newcastle United.

Turns out a belligerent, out-of-touch 67-year-old doesn't make an effective director of football. Who'd have thought?

Let's review Kinnear's performance: In eight months, he didn't manage to get a single permanent transfer "over the line," oversaw the sale of the club's best player for an underwhelming fee, and signed two players on loan — both of whom Newcastle had extensively scouted and negotiated with long before Kinnear's return.

So, yes, Newcastle United is a better club now that Kinnear has resigned. But it remains to be seen what exactly his exit means in the bigger picture. Will owner Mike Ashley bring back Derek Llambias to lead the front office? Will he hand over some or all transfer control to manager Alan Pardew? Will he elevate chief scout Graham Carr to lead all things player recruitment? Is this a prelude to selling the club?

More importantly, did Ashley even make this move — and there's no chance Ashley didn't play a role, because Kinnear wouldn't have jumped off the gravy train of his own volition — out of dissatisfaction with Kinnear's performance? Or did Ashley's old drinking buddy do his job by taking the blame for the sale of Yohan Cabaye and two empty transfer windows? Is this merely a hollow move to quell fan unrest in the wake of Saturday's derby disaster? With early reports suggesting Ashley won't replace Kinnear this season, might the owner be setting the club up for another dormant summer?

That we have to seriously consider such conspiracy theories is an indictment of Ashley's reign in and of itself.

The bottom line: Good riddance, JFK. But unless this move is the first in a series of meaningful decisions that results in a new course for Ashley's vision of Newcastle, it's not a game changer.

After Derby Disaster, A Lament From Afar

On behalf of the blog I'm dispensing with our customary Three Points match summary because, truthfully, there aren't three worthwhile points to make. In being dismantled at home 3-0 in what is supposed to be one of soccer's hardest-fought rivalries, Newcastle United looked every bit like what it is: an ambitionless club whose squad can do little but collapse around a removed linchpin. 

The American audience was likely surprised to be told by an English commentator at the start of the derby, telecast nationally here, that Newcastle is one of the biggest clubs in the world. It has the trappings, for sure: a huge and packed home ground, a rich tradition, a well-heeled owner. Yet the club insists on portraying itself as a fixed-income retiree struggling to live within limited means, which is an increasingly flimsy mask for the truth: This is not a soccer club. This is a set of trading cards for a disinterested owner whose focus on transfer profit only makes it harder to offload an enterprise he wishes he never got involved with in the first place.

It's a tragic state of affairs for a professional sports club when talent is pumped in only through desperation, and success is quickly liquidated to the bottom line. As a result supporters as passionate as any on Earth are treated to an unending yo-yo between false hope and embarrassment. Anger at Alan Pardew's even-more-quizzical-than-usual choices and substitutions on Saturday has little purpose given the paucity of his options. It's equally hard to be disgusted with the drunken idiots who ran out their frustrations on the pitch as the debacle wound down.

Yohan Cabaye demanded freedom to join a club whose potential matches his own. Would that we the fans could do the same. Sympathies from across the sea to our longer-suffering native compatriots. May we all live to see Newcastle United find the leadership its dedicated following has so patiently awaited and deserves.