After another embarrassing performance and a 5-0 demolition at the hands of title contenders Manchester City, the Newcastle faithful are once again left wondering: where did it all go wrong?
The once elite Premier League club have seemingly given up any hope of playing European football in the foreseeable future and have been left languishing in mid-table for yet another season.
It wasn’t even fifteen years ago that the North-East club were fighting for the title under Sir Bobby Robson, never mind the Champions League campaign that went along with that but somewhere along the way they lost the legendary spirit which that specific Robson side possessed. Gone are the days of the 4-3 comeback against Leeds or the breathtaking brand of football that lead them to back-to-back top four finishes.
Where did it all go wrong?
After Robson was sacked in 2004, the side lost its heart and soul, but still had world class players in the likes of Alan Shearer, Laurent Robert and Kieron Dyer amongst others. You compare that team with the team that started today and not only is the quality lacking throughout the modern day side, but the heart and courage that the Robson team possessed is now non-existent.
The likes of Shearer, Dyer, Robert, Gary Speed, Nolberto Solano, Craig Bellamy, Rob Lee all had a never say die attitude that meant that if they did ever go one nil down, you never counted them out. Compare that with the likes of Mike Williamson, Yoan Gouffran, Vurnon Anita, Papiss Cisse and even captain Fabricio Coloccini who wilted after City’s first goal on Saturday night.
The club enjoyed a few years of UEFA Cup success combined with steady performances in the league between 2004 and 2007, but as the years went on so did Robson’s core group of players. Shearer and Solano retired, while Speed, Bellamy, Aaron Hughes, Jermaine Jenas, Dyer, Robert and Jonathan Woodgate were all sold as manager after manager tried to stamp their authority on a side which already carried its own legacy. Performances faded, Carver, Souness, Roeder and Allardyce all tried to become the leader of a new age of Newcastle United, but none succeeded.
Then came Mike Ashley. Before I get onto the now notorious Newcastle United owner, it must be said that he did potentially save the club from financial meltdown, but did his new buy-low-sell-high transfer policy lack the imagination that Newcastle United so desperately need?
If Newcastle had managed to keep a hold of their better players over the last few seasons they would now have a potential starting XI that would include: Tim Krul, Daryl Janmaat or Mathieu Debuchy, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Fabricio Coloccini, Jose Enrique or Davide Santon, Cheick Tiote, Yohan Cabaye, Moussa Sissoko, Hatem Ben Arfa, Demba Ba and Andy Carroll.
Granted, some of those players departures made way for others’ arrivals but if the hierarchy at Newcastle really did want to contend for Europe, as has been suggested, then the selling of quality players like Ba and Cabaye for big money then taking a gamble on players like Vurnon Anita and Siem De Jong doesn’t seem like a very sound strategy.
The reality of the situation is that the “everyone has his price” transfer policy is only hindering the performances on the pitch because the replacements are often not fit to wear the Black and White shirt. That’s where it has all gone wrong for Newcastle United: the heart and spirit of the club have been cut out by mercenary players who don’t know what it means to walk out onto that St. James’ Park pitch. In place of Shearer and co are now players who only turn up on a Saturday so they can look after their bank balances and the same can be said for the powers that be in control of the club.
Newcastle United is now a business, not a football club.
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