The Newcastle fans are fighting back. Send your mails for or against them to theeditor@football365.com
Not fearing Ole
Paul McDevitt makes very valid and sensible points regarding the effects of this season’s congested fixtures and that teams with lesser injuries and/or bigger squad sizes would fare better than the rest. But that doesn’t mean you can’t compare Tuchel and Ole on managerial skill on the basis of what we have seen so far! You can still compare an apple to an orange because at the end of the day they are still fruit and ole and tuchel are two managers at two of the biggest clubs in England and the world.
But what’s amusing to see in the Mailbox and with my other United supporting friends is that whatever stick you try to beat Ole with, most if not all of it can be explained away with one argument or the other from his apologists- Tuchel is no better because even Ole had a similar new manager bounce, this season has been tough for him because United played more games with less rest time than their opponents and not because of his poor team selection and use of subs, he did not get the players he wanted in any of the transfer windows, he is not happy that his team are knocked out of the tournament, smiling is just in his nature and I’m waiting for someone new to chime in with more reasons as to why Tuchel is not all that and Ole deserves to be seen second only to Pep. Laughable, really.
To be honest, the more I see United fans defending Ole on here and IRL, makes me kind of happy. The fact that they are accepting of Ole’s managerial level to be appropriate and worthy of the United job is a boon to every rival club’s fan. I hope that your support and resolve to keep #OleIn increases even more now seeing my mails. Why? Because Ole does not frighten me and none of us see him as the man who will take United back to the top of English football.
SAF was a legend and was in charge of the best United teams till date- making the club the most successful during his long reign and setting the club up to be the biggest brand in world football, Moyes was a big mistake, LVG though, i think was well on his way to build a team which played beautiful football and win matches towards the end of his final season but (thankfully), was sacked after failing to finish in the Top 4. Mourinho heading to United had me conflicted, seeing our most successful manager at a rival club for the first time had me wishing for the failure of my favourite manager at the time, but with no proper backing in his last summer, he was kicked out after creating one of the most toxic dressing rooms in United’s history. And then came along Ole.
A manager who would not have been given the job if not for his legacy as a player at Old Trafford. He does not get the manager’s job at any other top club in World Football beside United, but that cannot be said for Tuchel- he came in after his stint at PSG and after he is done at Chelsea will go on to join another big club of a similar level. I can say that with chest, can anyone tell me the same for Ole?
Whatever the reason for United’s poor showing in the Champions League and the FA Cup and inconsistent form overall may be, Ole is simply not as good as Tuchel and most other PL managers based off his tactics, in-game substitutions and his overall demeanour. Heck, it would be less time consuming to name the PL managers he is better than at the moment. Maybe that could be the next mail i see with my name mentioned in the next edition of the Mailbox? Ah, who am i kidding- let the Ole Apologists come at me all guns blazing, would make my day seeing their unwavering support for the 1999 treble winning hero.
Aayush Choraria, New Delhi
Why do Newcastle fans have a bad reputation?
In last weekend’s Winners & Losers Daniel Storey raises the question why Newcastle fans are targeted more than most by the “know your place” crowd. I’m going to take a stab at answering this, and I feel it comes down to three key factors. For the avoidance of confusion the quotes below are paraphrased from conversations I’ve had with friends & acquaintances about Newcastle.
Reputation of the managers
“You never gave Pardew/McClaren/Bruce a chance, why do you think you’d get someone better?”
One of Mike Ashley’s calling cards since becoming owner is appointing managers beneath any Premier League club. Every Newcastle manager since 2008 has either never managed before or recently been fired from a lower division club. Kinnear, Pardew, McClaren and Bruce were all working their way down the divisions before receiving an unearned leg up back into the Premier League. However, many pundits and neutrals seem to forget their post Premier League careers and seem to assume “familiar name + non elite club = good fit”; especially with many pundits speaking positively about those managers, largely due to pre existing friendships based on their longevity in football rather than any accomplishments in the role. Meanwhile, Newcastle fans on each occasion appeared alone in dissenting the appointment of somebody fired from league one Southampton or relegating Nottingham Forest. This was especially evident when going from former Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez to poaching Sheffield Wednesday’s manager in 2019.
90’s & 00’s Expectations
“why do you expect Champions League football? You know you’re not a big club right?”
*sigh* This one gets rolled out a lot and is a combination of wilful ignorance and poor memory. There’s a very, very common misinterpretation spouted by fans of rival clubs and pundits (disappointingly including a few former players) that Newcastle fans expect to be challenging for trophies and Champions League football. The thing is, there was a time we begun to expect to challenge for these positions; in the late 90’s and early 00’s when we finished in the European spots 7 times in 11 years. There were some brief fallout periods as well when we desired a return to that level after the disastrous management of both Kenny Dalglish and then Graeme Souness, both of whom took us from established top 5 to low midtable in a season. So for a years we pined for a European return while finishing midtable, eventually adjusting to our new standing. So it seems some fans remember the complaints from back then and assume they are the same now, not helped by the likes of Jermaine Jenas and Kieren Dyer confirming those beliefs based on their time with Sir Bobby’s top 5 Newcastle.
Scapegoating the Ownership
“look, I know Ashley isn’t exactly great. You’re not the only club with a stingy owner in the Premier League though”
You’d have to be blind or have an agenda to not know that Mike Ashley is a crap owner of Newcastle, after all he’s been in front of parlimentary committees more than once for overseeing third world working conditions. However because he isn’t Oyston or SISU bad and selling off the stadium many equate him as just a bad owner, along the same lines as the Glazers and Gold/Sullivan. I won’t go into all the ways in which Ashley is bad for football (you can click here* or here for further reading on that subject). Instead there are some stingy owners, some owners who are bad at business and some who are stupid. Few in the top two divisions manage to be all 3.
In conclusion, I’ll offer a brief rebuttal to the three points mentioned above. Any fan would be disappointed if their club appointed failing coaches below the level of their division. Newcastle supporters don’t expect European football, just a club that tries to be the best it can be and however bad you think Ashley is, he’s worse.
*Sorry, I could only find this interview on Mail.Online…
Kevin, Nottingham
Nirvana for whom?
It truly is exciting for the women’s game to get the broadcast deal. While the current sum may pale by comparison to the men’s game – it is a start. It will give the game greater exposure.
The challenge for women’s sports has been getting eyeballs. In general, men follow sport. While many women do not. So I have often seen pleas for more men to watch the women’s game, in order for it to get the eyeballs needed to drive interest from broadcasters and sponsors. What is really needed is to get more women watching the game. Which is now likely possible, if given broadcasting exposure.
Ultimately the women’s game has more potential for sponsorship and advertising than the men’s game, given that women today control a higher percentage of the spending budget and are interested in a wider variety of products. Men’s sponsorships are very narrowly focused eliminating the opportunity for many businesses to advertise or sponsor the game.
However, as always lately, Johnny Nic goes way off piste by throwing up some fear factor over the women’s game gaining more viewership. Men are willing to pay to watch the game, whether Sky or DAZN, etc, or to actually have 30, 40, 50 or 75 thousand in a stadium. The WSL has an average of some 4,000, which is boosted by the one off game between City and Utd. This is a bit like the Rugby Union game where one-off large stadium games in London can boost overall attendance. I raise that point because any increase in WSL might be more of a risk to other sports than football.
Johnny, as usual, is pretty blinkered. In the entertainment world (and football is really just entertainment) everything is going to a subscription or paywall model. We have Netflix, Prime, Spotify and more. They co-exist with free to air – which is generally advertiser based – other than the very rare equivalents of BBC. Why the increase in subscription versus free-to-air? Well, you get to choose what you want to watch when you want to watch it. Often it means no ads at all. And let’s face it, the truly free-to-air model like the BBC is under extreme pressure. How long can it afford to pay for things like WSL when its funding model is at risk.
Finally, his call to arms of not having the women’s game end up like the men’s game assumes that women don’t want that either. This seems to be Johhny’s Nirvana not theirs. I don’t see women tennis players saying they want to be paid less than men, for example. If you women footballers they couldn’t earn more or they have to choose between being on free-to-air and not earning more or going subscription and getting big bucks, I know what they would choose.
Paul McDevitt
Chelsea right-backs
At the risk of being called an elevenarife I thought I would suggest that Lee, Hornsey’s list of great Chelsea right backs is missing at least two. In addition to the fact that obscure 90’s Chelsea players must be so much more interesting than the constant nonsense about who is better than Ole this week.
Steve Clarke and Paulo Ferreira immediately spring to mind. My sister in law was certainly a fan of Paulo.
Just for the record at the time I absolutely loved John Spencer and he was my favourite player. But if I take off my blue tinted specs I can admit that he is not a patch on some the greats we have had up front for the blues before and since.
Simon, Woking
And bugger me sideways we both forgot the legendary Dan Petrescu. Not just a family favourite on Channel 4 afternoon telly. I am going to anger a lot of people here but Super Dan was quite possibly the finest right back / Wing back the premier league has seen.
Simon, Woking
Fun-time Frankie
We seem to have lost so many greats of the game this season: El Diego, Big Jack, Nobby Stiles. Peter Lorimer at the weekend. Now the latest, Frank Worthington.
Being one of the last great long-haired mavericks of 1970s British football (along with Best, Marsh, Currie, Bowles and Friday) his time was long before football was officially invented, and before most of this site’s readers’ time, including mine. But I love watching the old footage that there is of these players, cherished by paying fans and all too often under-appreciated by exasperated managers. They were splashes of colour in the days of mud-bath pitches, slate-grey skies, brown flares and paisley kipper-ties.
I only hope the F365 footballer ‘Book Club’ will appropriately honour the great maverick by reviewing his autobiography, the suggestively-titled “One Hump or Two?” Full of anecdotes of great goals and moments of skill, as well as oodles of Carry On-esque sexcapades, such as joining the mile-high club with a French passenger in a plane toilet while her husband slept obliviously in his seat. Frank Worthington famously failed his medical at Liverpool because of chlamydia, or some other STD, which, reading the book, comes as no great shock!
The book is effortlessly evocative of a time of sidies, platform heels, medallions, ‘Confessions…’ films, dolly-birds and dense, Amazonian pubic rugs.
Supremely gifted and full of flair, fun-time Frankie wouldn’t have had it any other way.
RIP
Lee, long-haired almost-maverick
Late one
Nice touch of class displayed by the Celtic captain before the Old Firm match on Sunday toward the Rangers player Glen Kamara who was racially abused 3 days earlier by a Slavia Prague player in their Euro league match.
As a Rangers fan and someone who’s always loathed Scott Brown credit where credits due…
Neil, Glasgow
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