Newcastle-Online.com reader Neil Crossley writes in again questioning the validity of recent support for Graeme Souness from some of his players, claiming that the comfort zone for many at Newcastle United, is holding the club back.

I don’t know about you, but I am sick of hearing how many players are behind the manager. There is clearly a problem somewhere, because I haven’t seen, in all my days, a bunch of players under-perform as badly as the current crop have done.

Just to summarise the goings on so far, the players who have leapt (as far as their injuries will allow them) to the defence of the manager include:

Alan Shearer - 35 yrs old, offered a reported 67K pw extra year contract by Mr Souness last year, despite a return of just 3 league goals from open play all season.

Robbie Elliott - 33, offered new contract last season due to an alleged lack of funds for a left-back - 5 months before £40m appeared. Subsequently he is near the first team when he shouldn’t really be near the Championship.

Peter Ramage - 22, offered a first team place due to decimation of the back line - puts his relative success down to Mr Souness, though quite how happy Stephen Carr is isn’t deemed of any relevance.

Lee Clark - 33, brought in as a coach, and offered a playing contract just in case. Now playing every match in the Premiership, when his capability is more on the lines of Robbie Elliott.

Emre - 25, rescued from Inter by Souness and offered in excess of a reported £40K pw salary, regardless of his lack of first team opportunities at Inter, or his injury record. Saved from making less than 10 sub appearances a year in Italy.

Albert Luque - 28, bought for £9.5m and possibly the worst player at the club this season. Has been given a number of assurances by Souness in spite of continued failure to perform on the most basic level.

Jean Alain Boumsong - 24, bought for £8.5m and, next to Luque, one of the worst performers in the Premiership currently, but playing every game, so quite what his excuse is is beyond me. Still getting into France squad presumably because he’s picked so often, but an utter liability of a player on another reported £40K pw.

There are any number of cynical reasons why the aforementioned players are jumping to defend the man responsible for their ill-deserved, preposterously wealthy lifestyles. But I’m more concerned about the difference between them claiming they are 110% behind the manager, then playing like they’ve got one eye on the pub and another on Sunday lunch.

My theory is that, psychologically speaking, they are all very comfortable. They are made to feel very welcome by the great leader Souness, his right hand man Sir Alan of Gosforth and entertained frequently by the walking joke Dean Saunders. I think it is the FACT that they are “110%” (thanks, Peter) behind the manager that is preventing anything serious from happening at this football club.

Souness is, for a fact, tactically inept. His training appears to be weak. His attitude during a game is one of a man protecting these players, not directing or leading them. If there’s anyone out there in Internet-land who is a manager or leader, you know for a fact that the most important thing is respect. Friendship simply doesn’t apply. I couldn’t give a stuff if my team liked me, if they were performing and respected what I was doing.

But it isn’t like that at SJP. The players like Souness. But where’s the leadership? He won’t scream at the players when they’re doing it all wrong, because a) he probably can’t see it, and b) he’s protecting his interests and his little friendships. It is this “I’ll protect you” to the players, then “I’ll blame you” to the press that makes him a very poor manager indeed.

His agenda, for me, is clear - he is self-serving and bereft of any ability whatsoever, other than knowing how to protect his interests. He couldn’t work in a more apt environment than Newcastle United, under a more apt chairman than Freddy Shepherd.

What is therefore staggering about this whole sorry scenario is that the very thing that is ultimately keeping Souness in a job, i.e. the backing of Cap’n Al, Geordie’s Pete and Lee, and international stars Luque and Emre, is the very ethos of all that is wrong with a club far too deep in back-slapping and chuminess.

Until the Fat Controller realises that this is a professional outfit, with professional aspirations, and NOT a school playground where the teacher can choose a party with his wife over a reserve team match, we will never go forward.

Neil Crossley