United WE Must Stand
|
 Monday
02 January 2006
By Jonny
Hall
2006 is here and we leave behind with relish what was a terrible year
for our club Newcastle United. Graeme Souness continues to play with
our minds and his side are still producing performances that are simply
not even of average standard and not good enough for the stature of
this football club.
However we the fans must be the bigger man going into the second half
of the season and stop this constant bashing of Sounesss' name and
negativity for negativity sake attitude, because we are sinking down
to the same level as the performances have been of late , and quite
frankly we are better than that.
It’s been a torrid 16 months for everyone connected with Newcastle
United, that goes without saying, which has seen few highs but plenty
of lows. The stats and diabolical performances tell us that we should
get rid of Souness as soon as we can but the decision does not depend
on the stats or performances for now.
It also does not depend on the fans. 6 million people across the world
could think that Souness should leave Newcastle but as long as Freddy
Shepherd is in charge, it will ultimately be his decision as to whether
he stays or goes. So far the Toon Chairman has stuck by his under-fire
manager.
I was one of the fans who was calling for his head after the terrible
Wigan defeat and the festive period hasn't been much better. We are
yet to score since Michael Owen’s hat-trick against West Ham a week
before Christmas, and now that he has been ruled out for three months
or more, I don’t know if we will ever score again unless we splash
out in the January transfer window, and fast. Tactically Souness has
no awareness and the constant inability to play players in their suited
positions isn't helping either.
In an ideal situation, Graeme Souness would be gone in the morning
and if it was up to me he wouldn't have been appointed in the first
place but he was and the realism of the situation is that he will
still be here tomorrow (hopefully we'll beat Boro).
It is very easy to blame Souness for everything and it's also easy
to say "Souness out" but we the Newcastle fans shouldn’t
have to do it. We have built up a reputation over the years of being
the best fans in Europe. We have always sung for our team and despite
so much doom and gloom, we have always come out and got on with life
and with Newcastle that is what you have to do.
Our singing at St. James' Park used to always lift the roof. With
a band of 52,000 supporters behind you, no-one can fail. When we get
going, that Geordie passion can be absorbed by the players and the
doubters alike. This however has gone missing of late. You pay week
in, week out to watch your team play football. The place belongs to
you so make it special and restore the fortress that is the old Gallowgate.
Or should be.
There is no candidate who stands out to take over immediately should
Souness leave which also concerns me. Fans may argue that Ottmar Hitzfeld,
Paul Le Guen or Martin O’Neill are ideal candidates to have a crack
at the job. Yes they do all want to try out the Premiership but why
would they want to come to a wreck of a club like Newcastle mid-season?
They would not see it adequate to join a club mid-season because they
run the risk of failing before they reach the end of a season. It
is more ideal for any manager really to take over from Souness in
May so they can have that Pre-Season to really build our club and
take us somewhere Graeme Souness can’t, that is the Champions League
and back to winning ways. We will have to wait for that day though.
This is my recommendation to the fans. No-one enjoys Souness or the
football his players play but we must stand by this for now. All we
require is a little bit of patience. The injury crisis has not been
good but the players on the pitch seem to back the manager so why
can’t we until at least May when Freddy can get rid?
The players are lacking confidence and passion at the moment so why
can’t we back them? It wouldn’t harm to get off the team’s back for
once and get out our singing voices on and shout down the roof of
St' James' Park. While that alone won't transform our fortunes, I'm
sure it will help in some way.
I guarantee that if we wait, a world class manager will step forward
in May and he will be able to build his team and finally end that
silverware drought. We have waited 50 years so another couple of months
wait won’t hurt us, will it?
This season has been a disaster so far but it doesn’t have to end
a disaster. Let’s show Souness that managers come and go, but fans
will be here forever cheering their beloved team on. This is a rallying
call to all fans. We can still achieve success this season. We have
a shout for Europe and the FA Cup is starting next week. Let’s rescue
this season and install some confidence back into the side to start
playing football again.
Stand tall together alongside the team. Let us be United once again
and show we are not the pushovers we have been of recent. Let’s recreate
some atmosphere. Souness may not be a good manager, and ideally he'd
get the sack and we'd appoint a top manager, but is anyone confident
of either happening just yet? I am not asking you to cheer for the
manager or sway from your opinion of him, nor accept the rubbish we
are witnessing, I am asking you to cheer for the team and the badge
though.
This isn't about Souness or individuls but about us the fans and our
club. Get behind it and here is to a better 200 with any luck.
Howay The Lads!
© Jonny Hall
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