Newcastle United have never won a major trophy without a Scot in their team. Therefore, promoting one from Club Ambassador to the Board of Directors is a step in the right direction.
Bob Moncur the player was the Scottish centre-half whose only three goals for Newcastle United in 296 games were scored when they mattered most – across the two legs of The Intercity Fairs Cup Final against Ujpest Dozsa in 1969 before he lifted the trophy as Magpies Captain.
The latest member of the reformed Magpies board that includes new Head Coach Steve McClaren alongside Executive Super Scout Graham Carr and Managing Director Lee Charnley knows a thing a two about stepping up to the plate and delivering when it matters. And — most importantly to a club starved of silverware since his goal-scoring heroics in 1969 — about winning major trophies.
Embodying everything Newcastle United should represent – courage, class, character, credibility and success – Moncur is exactly the sort of figurehead the club need and, as an adopted Geordie, he can be the bridge between the top brass and the fans, whose passion he fully understands and shares.
Owner Mike Ashley spelled out a more ambitious vision for the Magpies in his first ever interview on Survival Sunday and spoke of “punching above NUFC’s weight” (financially) having steadied the club in that all important department since he took the reigns in 2007.
In that interview — a stepping up to the plate of its own — which clearly energised Moncur, Ashley said “we now need to bolt the horse on – and we’re going to.” This means assembling a competitive team with which to win a trophy or crack the Top 4 — a target which the billionaire equates with winning something.
Speaking of horse metaphors, anyone who has seen Seabiscuit or Secretariat starring the legendary Penny Tweedy knows it takes an organisation with spirit, nous and the right men and women on and off the track to produce and hone a thoroughbred capable of winning the big prizes.
Graham Carr is the player whisperer and trainer Steve McClaren is now a big part of that team at St James’ Park charged with the task of preparing the players. The stadium itself is top class and the new Head Coach is eager to return its Fortress status as seen in real evidence against Chelsea and West Ham last season with 50,000 fans in full voice.
Mike Ashley’s plan of achieving financial stability for the club has been realised and with a new training ground completed soon, the club now need to ready the playing side and make sure it is a springboard for the next level of attacking the Cups and cracking the Top 4 and the Champions League.
As highs of fifth place in November in the last two seasons have shown and respectable eight and tenth positions on January 1st 2014 and 2015 prove, Newcastle are able to get into strong positions at the half-way point yet having the stamina via squad depth to maintain it and kick on has proved a problem with alarming post-Christmas crashes.
Possessing a full squad of Premier League competent players is the key over a long and demanding season and while there is calls among the fan-base to move on their least favourite players, a more prudent policy might be to retain them and make them 3rd and 4th choice squad men while upgrading the first team.
Experienced Moncur, who had a managerial career notably winning the First Division with Hearts and helping develop Peter Beardsley at Carlisle before facing the tougher side of managerial life including relegation, is under no illusions about the task facing The Magpies:
“Its maybe a bit unrealistic to think we’ll finish top four immediately. You never know, things change quickly but the FA Cup to me is special.”
Yet he isn’t afraid to stick his neck on the line and voice an opinion and his personal stance on Newcastle’s Cup competitions has been well-documented and made known to the board.
“I have said to Lee (Charnley) in the past I can’t understand why apparently we aren’t having a go, especially with The FA Cup”
Interestingly, Moncur was Acting Chairman on the night of Wednesday, October 29th, 2014 when Newcastle went to The Etihad Stadium in The Capital One Cup and recorded a famous 2-0 victory to knock the holders Manchester City out of the competition.
They were finally knocked out by Spurs when injuries especially to keepers Tim Krul and Robbie Elliot rocked the squad yet Newcastle were the only club to beat both superpowers Chelsea and Man City last season.
Its why the mooted appointment of fitness coach Steve Black, last at St James’ Park during Kevin Keegan’s reign until 1996 would be vitally important, specialising as he does on injury prevention and motivation to a squad that at its best can beat the best yet was accused of having its “flip flops” on in March.
If Newcastle can get Steven Taylor, Rolando Aarons, Siem De Jong, Cheick Tiote and Papiss Cisse fully fit and playing 30+ games a season then the team is a different animal and the season an entirely different prospect – with the addition of a clutch of new signings of course.
Steve McClaren has only been in the hot-seat for 10 days yet already the Geordie natives are getting restless as no signings have arrived but its very early days and Moncur believes Ashley and the club will deliver on their promise of a spending spree:
“There will be money spent this summer but that’s one thing. How it’s spent is another and that’s the biggest thing in football,” he said.
Hard decisions have been taken to ensure the club’s long-term future in recent years but there is light at the end of the tunnel with signings on the horizon and hopefully the gleam of silverware will follow real investment in the team to bring back the glory days.
