Newcastle-Online comment: January 25th 2005
The Vicious Circle
"I consider his behaviour to be totally unacceptable and
totally unprofessional." - Freddy Shepherd 24-01-2005 commenting
on Craig Bellamy.
Too little too late Freddy, I'm afraid. And a tad ironic and hypocritical
of you too, given your own unacceptable and totally unprofessional
behaviour down the years running Newcastle United. If the man at the
top is morally bankrupt, conceited and lacking certain standards,
what hope is there for the ship he steers or those doing the rowing?
A ship that as I write is being engulfed by waves of destruction.
A ship that is way off course and some would say sinking... and fast!
The defence has already leaked in goals at an alarming rate, now it
seems the whole club is ready to burst at the loosely knitted seams.
Unlike the defence however, we can't stuff the holes with money in
the hope that the tide of doom will subside.
Oh no...
Since Shepherd was installed as club Chairman Newcastle have been
littered with disciplinary problems and PR disasters both on and off
the field. From the "Geordie women are dogs" comments to
the fall-out with Alan Shearer and Ruud Gullit. From the SOS farce
to Kieron Dyer's refusal to play on the right-wing. From the last
18 months of Sir Bobby Robson's reign and now to Graeme Souness' and
Craig Bellamy's fall-out.
Is Shepherd to blame for each episode of the now longest running soap
opera outside of Coronation Street and Eastenders? Of course not,
not directly anyway but as the main man it's his job to instill and
maintain standards for others to accept and live by and to punish
those that don't. To protect and build on the good name of Newcastle
United, not destroy it or foster those intent on doing so. Yet not
once has there been a concerted effort to stamp out ill discipline
and bad PR, only half hearted attempts - namely sound bites to the
media and soft, empty assurances to supporters. Lack of action has
cost this club dearly on all fronts and boy are we paying for it now.
Newcastle United are a mess both internally and out on the field and
the buck stops with Shepherd who failed to grasp the ill discipline
at the club from the offset and allowed it to spread far and wide.
Culminating in the latest pathetic public fall-out.
Today we are once again the laughing stock of the Premiership and
look to be heading to the end of yet another underachieving season
which as it stands, has been nothing short of unacceptable. A season
littered with on and off field problems, a season of controversy,
grave indecision and ludicrous mismanagement throughout the club.
12th in the League with not a chance on earth of finishing in a European
spot be that the Champions League or UEFA Cup, out of the League Cup
already, only two defeats away from being dumped out of the FA Cup
and Europe and facing the very real prospect of losing the services
of Shay Given, Olivier Bernard, Laurent Robert, Alan Shearer, Patrick
Kluivert and of course Craig Bellamy in the close season. The future
certainly looks bleak doesn't it?
The seeds of ill discipline and all that it entails were planted the
very day certain individuals were allowed to take control of the dressing
room to oust the then manager, acts of player power that has continued
through each season unabated, escalating each time with the perpetrators
rewarded not slapped down.
Kieron Dyer's refusal to play on the wing was meat with a place in
the first-team. Big Al's show of petulance was rewarded with a new
bar named after him, and Bellamy? We await the final outcome of that
one (if there is to be one) but a fine of 2-weeks wages and a slap
on the wrist isn't going to curtail the unacceptable behaviour of
pampered, under-performing, highly paid individuals who have become
untouchable.
To such an extent that it's not they who bite the bullet when they
do wrong, no, it's the men charged with managing them. Gullit and
Sir Bobby for starters, will Souness be next? The signs are already
there in Black & White.
5-months into an already difficult job, Souness will eventually fall
the way of his three predecessors one way or another and this whole
vicious circle will keep spinning and spinning and spinning.
The only integral aspect of Newcastle United at the moment, the one
constant in a sea of upheaval are the supporters and even then we
are dis-united as a group in one form or another. Our emotions torn
and twisted - we don't know whether we are coming or going but one
thing that isn't going anywhere is the badge and it's that we must
support, not the man.
Keep the faith! |
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