31st May 2005
Q: With Kluivert, Milner, Carr and Butt brought in during
the Summer of 2004, what were your expectations at the start of the
season?
On the back of a pretty decent 2003-2004, at least in respect of the
UEFA Cup run, I was quite optimistic with some solid close season
signings we could at last win something in 2004-2005. Getting any
higher than 4th in the league would still be a big call with Chelsea's
expenditure but a Champions League spot and winning a Cup would do
more than nicely and was within reach. SBR and Shearer were coming
towards the end of their time at SJP and although the team was somewhat
fragile away from home there was still a chance of success if Woody
could shake off his injuries, we could get in a quality right back
and defensive midfielder.
There was talk of signing Drogba, Eto'o and Miguel but none materialised.
So in great expectation 8 of us traveled up to Newcastle and rented
a house out for 5 days so the ladies could do a bit of shopping and
us lads (i.e. 2 dads and 4 sons) could take in the pre season tournament.
We visited the club shop and various sports outlets to stock up on
Toon shirts and help keep the wolf from Fred's door.
Not only had we signed Butt and Carr but we also now had Milner and
the icing on the cake, Patrick Kluivert. At the time the only one
of those that I would have signed was Carr. Butt and Kluivert had
recent injury problems and Milner was yet another young player with
potential. Carr was also a bit of a risk but with few other RB's available
he seemed worth the risk.
We got off to a great start, Dyer and Bellamy showing their true potential
in running Rangers ragged, with an interesting sub plot of Shearer's
physical battle with the towering Boumsong. Bernard scored a cracker
in a most enjoyable 4-2 victory. The following day was a different
with Sporting putting on a display of passing and control that was
denying us possession and blunting the previous days attacking edge.
At 1-0 down Kluivert was brought on to a huge ovation from the crowd
and great expectation lay on the stadium like a huge emotional blanket.
Patrick proceeded to produce what in hindsight was a cameo of his
whole season and possibly the last few years of his career. He came
on as a sub, played part of the game, showed one or two flashes of
brilliance and came very close to scoring with a deft header.
A "Tournament" we looked sure to win slipped away from us again, we
felt a little flat and the high levels of optimism from the first
day had dropped a little. From memory Butt was fine so long as the
game was played at a steady pace and Milner showed one or two flashes
but nothing to indicate he was worth £4m.
But with a match against Celtic to come at least the lads would have
had a more testing pre-season than many which might help us get off
to a better start in the League. Then everything turned to custard,
we lost to Celtic after holding the lead. Apparently the team had
played well except for a short spell and Dyer was upbeat in the changing
rooms despite the defeat.
SBR was less pleased and an argument ensued. Little did we know but
the seeds had been sown for one of the worst starts to a Newcastle
season in recent times and arguably our 3 best players at the time
(Woody, Dyer and Bellamy) were all to be in the thick of a series
of negative events.
Q: Many back then at the time were calling for Sir Bobby's
head - were you one of them?
SBR achieved a great deal in a short space of time, top of which was
getting Shearer to rediscover his form following a spell where he
seemed destined to leave SJP. However despite the progress some of
his transfer dealings turned out to be big money gambles that failed
to come off. He seemed to be obsessed at one time with buying young
players (predominantly English) and constantly talking about how he
was building a legacy for the next manager.
Many bought were either midfielders or strikers at a time when we
desperately needed to strengthen the centre of our defence. Bramble
was too young and raw to be holding a place in a side hoping to make
an impression in the Champions League but the signing of Woody gave
us great optimism. I think it all started to go wrong for SBR when
Southgate was trying to get away from the Boro as he wanted to play
in a team in the Champions League. For an older player the “asking
price” of around £4m was a little on the high side but he was a proven
international defender and just what we needed to tighten up our defence.
The opportunity was missed and we soon after went out of the CL to
Partizan Belgrade in the CL qualifiers and we seemed to be on a long
downward spiral ever since. We lost more money by losing that match
than it would have cost us to buy a quality CB.
In hindsight SBR hadn't been tough enough with a few of the players
(i.e. Bellamy, Dyer and Robert) and the subsequent lack of respect
for their manager caused the rot to set in.
The first match of the PL season saw Dyer relegated to the bench for
refusing to play on the wing, then refusing the armband when Shearer
was substituted, despite this we were looking like certain winners
until Dyer failed to make any decent effort to stop Zenden breaking
down the wing to cross for the injury time equalizer from Hasselbaink.
3 points from the Boro game would have set us up nicely for 2 home
wins against Spurs and Norwich building the confidence for a tough
but winnable away game to Villa. Instead of building a momentum we
had been derailed from the moment Boro equalized and the knives came
out for the manager.
Personally I didn't want SBR to be sacked, his record compared to
the previous 2 managers was excellent and he had built a squad with
tremendous potential. Undoubtedly he was losing it a bit but all he
needed was the full support of the troublesome players he had to regularly
defend. Unfortunately those players were either too immature or lacked
the intelligence to either realize or understand the damage they were
doing to their boss and how their actions would backfire on them in
the future.
Inevitably SBR had to go due to Fred's statement that SBR would not
be offered a new contract, this could have had one of 2 effects, it
could have galvanized the whole squad behind the manager to realize
his and all our dreams of winning silverware or it could result in
some of the players taking the easy way out and undermine his position.
With the media on the case and no shortage of supporters with short
memories and allegiance to a small bunch of talented but childish
star players in preference to a world renowned manager there was the
smell of blood and SBR was on his way in a totally inappropriate manner.
But the club was a bit of a soap opera and had been more or less ever
since Keegan took over and raised the profile of the club to such
a high level.
Here was another episode filling the newspapers.
We'd had a pretty decent pre-season, had been winning away to Boro,
played Spurs off the park in the next game only to lose, 2-0 up at
home to Norwich only for Given and the rest to throw it away, then
ahead away to Villa. A 4 game start to the season that could easily
have yielded 12 points left us with 2 and Dyers influence was right
at the centre of it.
So in answer to the question, SBR should not have been sacked when
he was but Dyer should have not even been on the bench against Boro
and he should have been put on the transfer list with immediate effect
and never allowed to play for the club again. I'm not sure where we
would be right now if that had happened but Dyers actions were totally
unacceptable and should have been punished.
It does actually beg the question as to whether Fred should have been
a little more proactive in ensuring SBR was keeping his players under
control before the situation got out of hand. There were numerous
occasions when Bellamy, Robert and Dyer could have been treated a
little more harshly following various incidents.
Q: We had our usual great start to the season and the usual
happened - Sir Bobby was sacked a few games in; who was your preferred
choice of manager to replace him?
Being realistic about who would have come to us my first choice would
have been Martin O'Neill followed closely by Sam Allardyce. In hindsight
I guess we should have gone for David Moyes and who knows we may end
up having a good season after a bad one just like Everton. I must
admit Souness had never crossed my mind and it was most unexpected
when he was handed the job. I suppose there are 3 ways to handle players
like Bellamy, Dyer and Robert. One is to do it the SBR way, allow
them too much say, mildly censure them and cover up some of their
misdemeanors. Two is the Souness way, if they step out of line they
get one more chance after having the riot act read to them then the
next time they are out.
The third way is the one someone like Allardyce or O'Neill would employ
which possibly has a little more chance of success than the other
2 but if I was a manager and I had the choice of the SBR or Souness
way I would go down the Souness route. You are the boss and all the
squad need to know that and respect it. If they aren't happy with
that then they need to look elsewhere instead of trying to run things
themselves. If we were to have to find another manager now I would
go for Gus Hiddink from PSV. I'm not sure if he would be attracted
to SJP but his record is excellent and he may just fancy the challenge
of the PL.
Q: Your initial thoughts on Graeme Souness' appointment?
I've covered this a little above, but if I were a committed hard working
player desperate to be in a trophy winning team I'd be more than happy
to play for Souness. If I were a bit of a rebel who was inconsistent
in his performances I wouldn't want him as manager. As a 14 year old
I was on Middlesbrough's books and after training we'd get changed
and showered down at Ayresome Park. The Middlesbrough team that season
was storming away with the “old old” 2nd division and Souness was
the best player. In the changing room Souness had the respect of all
the other players at the club and he had a certain charisma and aura
around him that would make you feel grateful to have him on your side
especially if you were going into a very hard game.
Obviously as a manager he can't have the same effect on a game as
when he was a player but I can understand players like Shearer having
respect for the guy because if 2 players were from the same mould
character wise it would be them 2. You only have to read McDermott's
assessment of Souness as a person/manager and his passion for winning
to know that if Souness fails it won't be due to a lack of desire
or allegiance to the Toon cause. Newcastle United was made for Souness
I'm just not sure he has the acumen to win something for us. To sum
up I was hopeful Souness could help us win a trophy but less confident
that he could take us on to the next level up.
Q: And now, 7 months into the job?
I still think he can win us a trophy but I do worry that we may be
left a poorer team. I blame Bellamy more than Souness for the situation
in which we lost one of our best players for the business part of
the season and I also blame Robert for further disrupting the team.
I had little respect for Dyer following his various exploits but at
least he has done what Robert and Bellamy should have done, got his
head down, worked harder, behaved himself and started to fulfill his
potential. If Bellamy, Robert and Kluivert had followed Dyers example
we would undoubtedly have won the UEFA Cup and may even have given
Man U a shock in Cardiff.
What does disappoint me greatly is the lack of support for the manager
from many fans which just makes his job so much more difficult than
it already is. The fans should have backed him from the first day
and given him full support until at least December of this year. The
players we have been linked with (and I'm talking about Boa Morte,
Malbranque, Johnson, Distin, Emre etc.) are achievable and would improve
us as a team. Also the players tipped for leaving are what I would
expect. So I think Souness could still turn things around.
Q: Do you back him or do you want him out?
I back him at the moment and will reserve judgement until December
at the earliest. Also if we were to want him out we would have to
be confident that whoever came in would actually make a better fist
of it. I think the guy was given a tough task when he arrived and
he hasn't flinched yet in anything that's been put before him and
many of the incidents have been handled very well. Players such as
Dyer and Bramble have done really well since Souness arrived, not
to mention a number of the younger players.
Q: United dipped back into the transfer market in January
and brought in Boumsong, Faye and Babayaro, how do you think each
has performed?
Boum – I thought was a bit dodgy to start and didn't look as good
a player as Bramble, having said that Titus was playing really well
at that time. However I have been very impressed with his athleticism,
his mature and intelligent attitude and approach to the game. Again
if he had been available for selection against Sporting I have no
doubt we would have won that match and the Cup. A good signing but
one that SBR should have made when he was available on a free transfer.
£8m we could have spent on another player or two. Overall 7 out of
10.
Faye – I'd seen him play a number of times for Pompey and was impressed
with his play in a defensive midfield position. He's had some very
good games for the Toon but also some average ones. He started off
quite well at a much bigger club than he had been at previously but
surprisingly his performances deteriorated rather than improved. For
the money he was a decent buy and better value than Butt. He'll be
a good squad player but possibly not a first team regular next season.
Overall 6 out of 10.
Baba – There aren't many LB's around of the quality we need who would
be willing to come to us. Souness had inherited a LB from SBR who
seemed determined to move and for all his strengths wasn't the greatest
defensive LB. Baba is undoubtedly good enough but question marks over
his injuries and general commitment are disappointing and worrying
in equal measure. He went AWOL on occasions in his time at Chelsea
and I am not confident he will be even a medium term player for us,
I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't last the forthcoming season and
would be delighted if we could sign Wayne Bridge. Overall 5 out of
10
Q: And those signed in the Summer?
Out of the 4 players signed last summer I would say; Butt started
off well but tailed off badly and we'd do well to get £2m for him
this summer, now we have Faye there is less need for Butt. Kluivert
threatened to come really good and maybe with another season under
his belt in a better team he'd have cracked it in the Prem. But I
don't know why he was nearly always on the bench and whenever he came
on he didn't look as if he were carrying an injury. Too much of a
gamble on £60k pw, if he was on £30-35k pw I'd probably have wanted
to keep him on, but that would depend upon who we are going to buy
this summer.
Milner, somewhat disappointed in this lad until the end of the season
when he showed he could have a big future at SJP. I'm not sure of
his best position at the moment but feel he is not suited to being
an out and out winger, possibly centre midfield or playing off a target
man up front or floating around behind the front 2. I think a bit
like Bramble he will come good with more games under his belt, looks
like he will prove to be a good signing but need to make sure if he
isn't a regular that we don't lose him on a Bosman.
Carr, I've always liked him. He was an excellent player before knee
problems seemed to affect his game but he makes up for it in effort
and enthusiasm for the game. Maybe not the greatest defensively but
good going forward, possibly the opposite of Hughes. And it's great
to see how much he enjoys celebrating when we score, I like him a
lot but am a bit concerned about how we are going to keep all of our
defenders happy this coming season as Taylor and Ramage will want
to break into the regular back 4 of Carr, Boum, Bramble and Baba.
Good signing for the money and we should get another few years out
of him yet.
Q: Who is your player of the season?
A difficult one after the season we've had. Ironically the 3 players
that I have enjoyed watching most, in flashes, were Bellamy, Dyer
and Robert. But once again for a variety of reasons none of them managed
to play to their potential for enough games, arguably you could say
that about all 3 of them for the last 4 or 5 years. If only they had
developed the same approach to being a top Prem player that someone
like Ryan Giggs has. A supremely talented player that allied hard
work and a will to win that matched his natural talents.
Our other 3 strikers have been a bit of a disappointment as has JJ.
Many of our better performers; Boum; N'Zogbia; Milner; Ambrose; Taylor
and Ramage didn't play enough games for me. Given has had another
good season. But for me the guy who deserves the award has to be Titus
Bramble. He has taken a shed load of criticism form the Toon Army,
much of it arguably deserved, but he has never moaned or threatened
to leave or hidden in a game. He's stuck to his guns and despite what
must have been difficult times has come through to look a quality
player with some commanding performances.
Q: And who in your opinion, has been the worst?
I think there are 2 main candidates for this award (it could be increased
to 3 if you included Jenas for level of performance in comparison
to his ability / level of expectation), Andy O'Brien and Nicky Butt.
However Nicky Butt wins it by a distance because of the totally lethargic
style with which he has managed to play abysmally. At least with O'Brien
you can see he is trying his hardest and that he is just not good
enough whereas we all know Butt could have been a good player for
us.
What I can't understand is how he managed to play the back end of
the season when he had been out with a serious hamstring problem that
hadn't healed after 6 weeks and it was then diagnosed that he would
need an operation to resolve the problem. Lo and behold he is playing
the following week but was totally off the pace of the games. So he
may have been unfit, carrying the injury, or a combination of both.
I think it was the latter as I can't explain why he should put in
such a lackluster performance against Man U in Cardiff.
Q: With the likes of Taylor, Ramage, Milner, Jenas, Ambrose,
N'Zogbia and Chopra, many believe we have a good crop of youngsters
there, do you expect them to make it at Newcastle?
Certainty – Taylor; Probably – Milner and N'Zogbia; Possibly - Jenas;
Unlikely - Ramage and Ambrose; Definitely not – Chopra.
There aren't many certainties in this game but if I had to bet a lot
of my own money on any one player making it at Newcastle it would
be Taylor, thank God we didn't let Liverpool nick him off us a year
or so ago. It's just ironic that as he comes through we now have Boum
and Bramble playing really well. It's tempting to play a 5-3-2 formation
to fit all 3 of them in the team, but that's a whole different debate.
I think all of the others with the exception of Chopra can make a
future in the Prem but whether they make it at Newcastle is another
matter as I fully expect Souness to do what he has said and bring
in a number of 24 year old + players into the club pushing the youngsters
back down the pecking order. I would be delighted if all of them made
it in a successful Toon team but realistically I don't see any more
than the top 4 being here in 2 years time even though I think Ambrose
and Ramage could make it.
I'd like to add Ameobi to that list, I know he is older than the rest
but he is younger than many of the other first team squad players.
I have faith in him even if it may only be as a squad player and think
he didn't do himself any favours with some of the supporters when
he was prepared to play on with his hip and other injuries. Other
players didn't seem to want to play with injuries for the good of
the team but Shola did and it wasn't appreciated in my book. A bit
like Ambrose and Jenas he looks as though he needs plenty of good
diners in the summer, a bit of weight training and a month with the
Army. The ability is there with all of them they just now need to
have more of a presence on the pitch.
Q: What was the most disappointing aspect of the season for
you?
There were so many! Dyer refusing to play at Boro. Bellamy leaving
the club, only because he could have been such a good player for us.
Bernard leaving the club. Kluivert not making as big an impression
as he could have. JJ and Butt underperforming. Shearer looking a shadow
of his old self on too many occasions. The defeat to Lisbon is right
up there. But the biggest disappointment was the sacking of SBR, the
timing of it, the handling of it and the continuing wrangle over the
terms of his pay-off. I felt a little sick when the news came through
that he had gone whereas after the Lisbon game I was empty and angry.
The club lacks class at the top and this was a prime example the people
with the money not being real football people and handling a situation
as badly as it possibly could be.
Q: And the best?
The UEFA Cup run, especially the 7-1 aggregate victory against Olympiakos
and, surprisingly, our 1-0 wins against Chelsea and Spurs in the FA
Cup. Not our best performances but it was great to see us battling
to keep a clean sheet and achieving it after all the times in the
past we have succumbed.
Q: What in your opinion are our strengths and weaknesses?
Strengths – Shay Givens shot stopping and one on ones against incoming
attackers, the central defensive partnership of Boum and Bramble and
Steven Taylor.
Weaknesses – Shay Given's inability to dominate his box especially
in respect of crosses, lack of a dominant central midfield player,
lack of midfielders who can score around the 10 goals a season mark,
lack of strength in depth in the squad, too many young players trying
to make a mark in a team that has been struggling for form in the
league, lack of pace and mobility up front which causes is big problems
when playing away from home and an inability to attract the really
top players which must be as a result of our geographical location
as much as anything.
Q: Freddy Shepherd, how do you rate his management of the
club this season in particular?
It is difficult to say how bad his management has been without having
inside knowledge of what has been happening behind the scenes. Did
he sign Butt and Kluivert or did SBR? Did he advise SBR that he should
be tougher on some of the players discipline wise? Is it Fred who
is calling the shots or is he having his strings pulled by the Halls
et al? Should he have sacked SBR last summer? Should he have stuck
with him for this season? Should he be so outspoken or should he keep
a low profile? Should we have been drawn into bidding on live Sky
Sports for Rooney?
From what I know, which is no more or less than most other people,
I think he has performed very badly over the last 12 months. I think
he needs to take a long hard look at himself and make a resolution
to – not give interviews, not talk about possible transfer targets
until they are signed, let the manager choose who to sign, not talk
about the length of the managers contract, not talk badly about any
player we are wishing to sell and not talk about Shearer in the same
way as religious people talked about Mother Theresa! Freddy - Overall
3 out of 10, must do a hell of a lot better.
Q: Do you back him or do you want him out?
He's like most other if not all of the employees at the club, if we
can replace them with someone better then get them out so long as
it doesn't put the club in a vulnerable financial position. I honestly
don't know who else would come forward to run the show so in the absence
of any alternative I'd stick with the Geordie who on a reasonably
regular occasion gets the club's money out. Keep him for the forthcoming
season but if he makes any more big gaffes and has a season as bad
as the last I think he would have to step down.
Q: Bellamy - would you like to see him back at the club, thoughts
please?
If he were to make a full apology to the manager, the coaching staff,
the players, the fans and the Board and if he were to reform his personality
off the pitch then I would take him back as I can't see us signing
anyone better. I shouldn't say that as I am only willing to take him
back because he is such a good player, in reality he should have been
thrown out months or years earlier after various bust-ups both within
the club and outside the club.
If O'Brien or another lesser player in the club had behaved in the
same way they would have gone and I doubt there would have been a
murmur from the fans, except in support of getting rid. Similarly
I would have had Dyer out of the door after the Boro game but now
after his end of season performances I'm not wanting to lose him,
I'm sure I'm wrong and he should go as well! He's had a lot of money
out of our club, much of it spent on operations on his legs and in
wages when he has been out of the squad for long periods.
I don't think he has thought about that long or hard enough when he
has abused team mates, coaches and managers alike. He and Dyer could
have been the 2 major players for us this season and could have been
the difference between us winning nothing again and possibly winning
not 1 but 2 cups. I honestly think that if we had had our best 11
available and playing to the top of their form we could have beaten
Man U and Arsenal and taken the cup.
Q: Bowyer - should he stay or go, thoughts please?
I never wanted him here in the first place and was shocked that SBR
would sign him. Having said that until the Dyer incident he appears
to have behaved impeccably and has real passion for the game (and
possibly for the club) which unfortunately spills over at times. He
has shown signs of getting back to his best and looks so close to
being a regular scorer. I was not as horrified as many by the bust
up between him and Dyer as an incident in itself.
What I was more bothered about was that the 2 players ended up suspended,
but it was better to see than Butt's lethargic display against Man
U which for me was a greater sin and should have resulted in a fine
of at least a weeks wages. If we buy one or more better midfielders
this summer I think we should sell him, if we don't we shouldn't.
Personally I'd buy Scott Parker for £6m and sell Bowyer for as much
as possible, say £1-2m !?
Q: Butt - should he stay or go, thoughts please?
If he has been playing with an injury for the benefit of the team
and that has been the reason for his awful second half of season performances
and if he will be fully fit for the new season and play with some
real fight and passion then maybe he could stay. However if that is
going to be the level of his contribution from here on in we need
to get rid at the first opportunity. Again it depends upon who we
sell and who we buy but I just don't see a place for Butt either in
the team or on the bench. Players such as N'Zogbia, Milner, Faye and
Ambrose all look to have taken over Butt in the pecking and with Dyer,
Jenas and possibly Boa Morte and Malbranque on the way he is very
much surplus to requirements. Butt should go - £1-2m!
Q: The enigma of Robert - how do you assess that whole saga?
I think Robert is one of those players that if he were in a successful
side who were dominating their league then he would be fantastic.
However in a side that is striving to be a top team against stronger
units he is never going to be seen at his best. At the top of the
Prem and I the later stages of European competitions skilful flair
players such as Robert need to also put a good shift in. You've only
got to look at the likes of Davids, Nedved, Schevchenko, Giggs, Beckham,
Henry, Shearer, Duff etc. to see that ability can be combined with
work rate.
As soon as he has a run of bad form he looks for other factors to
blame, if you read Roy Keane's book that is exactly the type of player
he wouldn't want in any team he was playing in as he demands 100%
commitment every game because he knows when it comes to the crunch
you can rarely afford to carry a passenger in your team. Harry Kewell
is similar to Robert in some respects and I expect him to be one of
the first to be allowed to leave Liverpool in the summer, so its not
just that Souness has a downer on flair players he was more than happy
with Duff at Blackburn and was rumoured to want to sign him from Chelsea.
Who wouldn't have Duff over Robert if they had the choice and they
wanted to win a trophy? As SBR once said “When I leave him out of
the team I wish I had put him in it and when I put him in the team
I wish I had left him out!”, unfortunately that says it all really.
Bags of talent, but its never going to be fulfilled. I don't think
he could be anything more than a squad player for us but will almost
certainly leave to go to a good team in an easier league and he will
have a certain amount of success and a few problems along the way.
Let's not forget he had run-ins with previous managers before coming
to the Toon and despite good runs of form he has been largely overlooked
by France.
Q: Dyer's refusal to play on the right wing and snub of the
Captain's armband upset many with calls that he should never play
for United again. Since then he has knuckled down and put in some
fine performances. Has he won you over, thoughts please?
I've covered this earlier on a related topic. Suffice to say I felt
at the time that he should have been shown the door as soon after
the incident as possible. However his performances towards the end
of the season have won me over to a great extent. At the back of my
mind I still feel we should sell him but the danger is we buy and
sell too many players in one go and end up in a relegation battle.
If we could sign a number of high quality midfielders in the summer
I wouldn't be against selling him as he's had loads of second chances
but we'd need to make sure we got the full market price for him. Get
him signed up to a new contract, see what the summer brings and take
it from there. Undecided.
Q: Kluivert - would you have liked the club to have kept him
on?
On £30k pw I'd have given him one more season, anything more and I'd
have let him go. I don't think it is good for the team/squad to have
one player on a lot more money than the others, especially when they
aren't performing to the level to warrant the difference (I suppose
we have that with Shearer for next season). Again I don't know enough
about what goes on behind the scenes at SJP to know why Kluivert was
injured so often, how hard he trained, what the rest of the squad
thought of him, who wanted him to stay and who wanted him to leave,
whether he wanted to stay etc. It will also depend upon the quality
of striker we can get in to replace him as to whether we/he has made
the right decision to leave. I'm sad he didn't fulfill his potential
at SJP but as he didn't I'm not too sad that he is leaving.
Q: Which 5 players would you like to see signed in the close-season?
Realistically please.
Assuming Owen is a non-starter I'd go for: Andy Johnson, Mikael Forsell,
Scott Parker, Wayne Bridge and Boa Morte. I would be quite happy for
players such as Robbie Keane, Emre, Henri Camara and Malbranque to
be brought in either in addition to or instead of the above.
Q: Your season 2004-05 Toon XI?
Purely on performances on the pitch disregarding everything else I'd
go for: Given, Taylor, Boumsong, Bramble, Babayaro, Milner, Faye,
Bowyer, N'Zogbia, Dyer, Bellamy.
Q: Has Shearer, in your opinion, made the right decision to
not retire as he had first planned or the correct one?
I've written him off on a number of occasions in the past and he has
come back to surprise me. Personally I think he has made the wrong
decision and I wonder if he weren't a Geordie whether he would have
been kept on. If he is as popular and influential (in a positive way)
in the dressing room/training ground as Souness and some of the players
say then it may not be a bad thing he is staying. If he isn't then
£80k pw for a player well past his best may not do a deal for squad
morale when others are on more like £20k pw. However we will need
to get the right strikers in to play with him and instead of him.
Personally I think he should have retired and we should have moved
on and brought in 3 new strikers all with pace and mobility but I
hope I am proven wrong.
Q: Shepherd has claimed he'd like Big Al to take over from
Souness one day, your thoughts?
Once again it depends upon what alternatives are open to us at the
time and who Al may have on his backroom staff, (possibly Keegan,
Speed and Lee). I'd love him to be the Toon manager one day but only
if he was successful and as you can't guarantee that then it may be
best left alone and remember him as a Toon legend as a player.
Q: Shearer - is he a good or bad Captain?
I think he is a good captain as you expect the Captain to lead by
example and be unphased by any opposition. He appears to encourage
players as well as rollock them. However I do think defenders or midfielders
possibly make better Captains because of their position on the pitch.
I'd be quite happy for Boumsong to be Captain next season but if we
won a trophy Boum should let Shearer be the first player to hold the
cup aloft, or is that me being sentimental?
Q: What should be his role next season?
Depends upon who is brought in in the summer, how Shearer plays and
how the new signing(s) play. I would think he should play most of
the European games, many of the home games and only a few of the away
games. He should take a bit of the weight off Souness re discipline
within the squad and look to nip any problems in the bud before they
build up too much, allowing Souness to concern himself with the team's
preparation for the games ahead.
Q: Aaron Hughes' sale - your thoughts?
I think I was as surprised as anyone when he was sold, I think we
all felt O'Brien and then Elliott would be the ones to go if anyone.
Hughes has been a steady performer but never really been good enough
to cement himself a 1st team place. He would have been a good squad
player but maybe at his age he wasn't willing to continue that role
too much longer. With the emergence of Taylor and Ramage, Bramble's
improved performances and the signing of Boumsong we can probably
afford to let him go.
I just sometimes wonder whether he could have made a better fist of
the defensive midfield role than maybe Faye or Butt will this season.
The test of whether a sale was good business or not is whether you
would buy the player back given the opportunity and we won't know
that until our new signings are in and playing. In the past we rued
the selling of Ferdinand and Solano but can't think of many others
we would have bought back. Selling O'Brien would have made more sense.
Q: Finally, what are your expectations for next season, in this moment
in time?
If Everton and Liverpool further strengthen their squads in the summer
then I think the best we can hope for in the League is 6th place but
Spurs, Boro, Villa and Man City could also be fighting it out at the
top so I could easily see us ending up as low as 10th. I would like
to think we could win the UEFA Cup next time around and maybe the
Carling Cup or whatever they will be calling it. So I'll go for 8th
in the League, losing semi finalists in the League Cup, losing quarter
finalists in the FA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners or Runners-up.
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