Newcastle United - fan's review of 2008/09 Premier League season
Newcastle United - fan's review of 2008/09 Premier League season
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Tuesday, 02, Jun 2009 04:04
Good, bad or just the same old, same old? What the fans made of the 2008/09 season.
A catastrophe in three acts.
Start of the season and hopes, if not expectations, are as high as always (Europe is always the aim) and a 1-1 draw with United gives reason for optimism. But all is not well and the next thing you know Kevin Keegan leaves the club claiming Dennis Wise stabbed him in the back - Et tu Brute! The one silver lining being that Mike Ashley puts the club up for sale, realising he is no longer welcome.
Joe Kinnear steadies the ship - to an extent - but the standard of football is still diabolical and 12th place at Christmas disguises the pantomime defending that will set in for the rest of the season. Mediocre is probably the word that sums up the Magpies' performance but at least Joe had 'em heading in the right direction.
The season takes another turn for the worse, along with Kinnear's health. Chris Houghton, lovely lad, couldn't manage his way out of a paper bag; so, enter 'The Last Action Hero' of Tyneside.
Problem being it's a lot easier sitting on the (MotD) sofa saying 'shoulda, woulda, coulda' than it is actually getting Newcastle to play with some urgency. Meaning Shearer is left holding the smoking gun of Newcastle's relegation.
The final game of the season summed up the whole season perfectly. Bright start but inability to take goalscoring chances; comedy defending and lack of concentration makes the job harder. As the second half wears on the acceptance of defeat comes all too quickly.
Grade: F
High Point
Not sure there was one really. If anything it was probably the 3-1 win over Middleborough. A win over a local rival is always sweet but this was so much bigger at the time.
Shearer's first win and it looked like it might turn the tide. That win brought hope, the cruelest of mistresses, the first time safety had become a distinct possibility.
One friend told me the day after the Boro game it was the happiest he'd been in months.
Low Point
You'd expect me to say being relegated here really wouldn't you. and you're right, I will. But being beaten 2-1 at Sunderland is probably equal to it.
Newcastle hadn't lost a derby against Sunderland home or away for eight years and had not been beaten on Wearside for 28 years.
Ironically the relegation battle, with Boro and Sunderland in it up to the final day, was almost like another 'mega derby' so the reality of relegation was made all the worse by seeing the Mackems celebrating our demise even more than their own salvation.
The manager
Which one?!
Keegan would surely have kept the team in the Premier League but was right to stand up to Wise and Ashley.
Kinnear was surprisingly good, although he never really seemed like the long-term solution.
Houghton happened to be handed the wheel when the ship was already heading well and truly towards the iceberg.
Shearer, one win and two draws in eight games is hardly stellar, but ask anyone on Tyneside who they want to lead the team and there is only one name. Will probably only take it if Ashley goes and he trusts the new owner.
Fan's Player of the Year
- Sebastien Bassong -
Managed to look good in a defence that leaked 59 goals - which is pretty hard - but when you consider his partners at centre-back were either Sideshow Bob (Fabrizio Coloccini) or Steven Taylor then you can begin to see why he stood out.
Excellent positional sense (unlike the other two), good in the air, tackles and makes blocks the way you'd hope your centre-back would.
Will be back in the Premier League with another team next season.
Needs for Next Season
A major overhaul is needed - if only to try and reduce the wage bill. The current squad is probably good enough to compete at the top of the Championship but the club cannot afford to keep all those high wage earners.
Unfortunately players such as Bassong, Obafemi Martins, Damien Duff and Kevin Nolan, who are essential to the fight to get back to the Premier League, are precisely the ones who are likeliest to leave as they still have a transfer value.
The best hope Newcastle have is that Mike Ashley finds a buyer quickly who will be able to bankroll the wage bill for a season while the team plays in the Championship and has funds to buy a couple of decent strikers to replace Michael Owen and Martins.
Dominic Beaumont