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Your Shout: Uncomfortable Comfort?
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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
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