<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>
Manchester United 3 – Liverpool 0: The scoreline was unfair, United should have won by more.&nbsp; Rooney and Ronaldo combined for five fluffed chances.&nbsp; Captain Stevie disappeared twice for the Reds.&nbsp; First, when he decided to stop running and not defend on the Wes Brown goal.&nbsp; Second, when he failed to get between the referee and Mascherano before the second yellow card.&nbsp; Javier’s post-sendoff Latin shrug produced the lasting picture for the match.&nbsp; He deserved the red, but Bennett would not have sent him if off at Anfield or if he was English.&nbsp; Being the big man is easy with a crowd behind you.
Chelsea 2 – Arsenal 1: The Gunners have dropped eleven points to United in five matches – having not won in the league since Feb. 11.&nbsp; Once five points clear, they reside six points behind, seven with goal difference.&nbsp; Chelsea passed Arsenal into second, which is likely how it will stay.&nbsp; Gallas’ decision-making at the back was shocking.&nbsp; His captaincy requires more than rash rhetoric, alpha-male displays and a stegosaurus hairdo.&nbsp; A decade in the team is pure Arsene, but maybe that’s not such a great thing.
Newcastle 2 – Fulham o: Newcastle finally get a win under Keegan.&nbsp; The same lot who heaved Allardyce for not getting to Europe are now erupting like loonies when they beat the 19th place side at home.&nbsp; Keegan’s last remaining gray hairs will hang on for another week.&nbsp; Fulham have not won away since 2006, I blame their away kits.&nbsp; Whatever marketing flunkie chose baby blue from head to toe should be fired.
Reading 2 – Birmingham 1: Reading came out on top in the other relegation six pointer, pushing themselves five points safe.&nbsp; Memo to Andre Bikey: you must meaningfully manipulate the ball on a goal before celebrating with a flip.

Premier League Odds and Sods 23 March 2008 - World Soccer Talk

Premier League Odds and Sods 23 March 2008

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>OK. I’m sorry about the headline-itis there. I was up late last night and I haven’t had my coffee yet 🙂 The transfer market has had some interesting moves in the last few days and I will be back on Feb 1st to recap things. The news I want to discuss right now is the move Newcastle have made to sign Dennis Wise. 
Wise has left his role as Leeds manager and is going to be in charge of signing new players and developing Newcastle’s academy. He is not going to be involved in first-team matters but instead is supposed to assist the Newcastle board as an executive director on “football-related” matters. Newcastle cleared out a lot of the previous management team when Mike Ashley bought out Freddy Shepherd and this is a first step towards rebuilding their management team.
The real interest is that new manager Kevin Keegan has apparently had no say in this particular appointment, which many pundits feel he should have. Personally, I don’t agree. A “sporting director” takes a lot of pressure off the first-team manager in terms of transfer negotiations, day-to-day operations of the academy, etc. It’s a common setup in many other countries such as Italy and Spain but has not caught on yet in England. Many still feel that clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United are led by one strong figure but a closer look reveals that both Sir Alex and Arsene are working in tandem with their board and a strong support cast.
It feels like that’s what Newcastle are aiming to do and if that’s the case then it’s a step in the right direction. Whether Dennis Wise is the best person to take on that role is another question as he has only been in management a relatively short time. He started as a player-manager with Milwall in 2004 before moving on to Southampton, Swindon and finally Leeds but he did reasonably well everywhere he went. Wise has apparently been eager to get away from day-to-day management and move into more of an executive role and Newcastle have wanted someone on their board with hands-on football experience so the fit was good from that standpoint.
Newcastle will reportedly compensate Leeds to the tune of £1m. Newcastle will also hire Tony Jimenez as vice-president of player recruitment and Jeff Vetere from Real Madrid as technical co-ordinator. Jimenez is a former London property developer who has reportedly worked with Newcastle owner Mike Ashley in the past. Jimenez is said to be close to the former Tottenham director Paul Kemsley and through his contacts in Seville, was involved in bringing Juande Ramos to White Hart Lane.
Vetere was once an apprentice at Luton Town, then the youth team manager of Rushden &amp; Diamonds, but his journey upwards took him to Charlton as “overseas scouting co-ordinator” and his growing reputation was such that he moved last January to Real Madrid. Vetere is regarded as one of the game’s most knowledgeable experts on emerging talent and there were rumours that Keegan was involved in his hiring.
Vetere and Jimenez are already at work for Newcastle and were spotted sitting together recently at the Everton-Chelsea League Cup semi-final at Goodison Park.

A Wise move for Newcastle? - World Soccer Talk

A Wise move for Newcastle?

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>
“There’s only one Titus Bramble” chanted the Wigan faithful, and he made the difference, earning a point in their 1-1 draw with Liverpool.&nbsp; Torres scored the initial goal, which salvaged Liverpool a point, but they have to be extremely disappointed with yet another poor result at “fortress” Anfield, winning only four of ten.
Any persistent delusions of a League title this season have been dashed, with four teams and a 12 point margin between them and the top.&nbsp; This will likely exacerbate the tension between Benitez and the American owners, who expected the club to contend after spending heavily during the summer.
Another manager whose seat is scorching his pasty behind is Sam Allardyce, who suffered another disappointing result as Newcastle lost to Manchester City 0-2.&nbsp; Remember back in the summer when Allardyce was the safe choice and hiring Sven was wacky?&nbsp; Elano continues to prove himself as the best value signing of last summer, as he added another goal in this one.&nbsp; Sven’s strange magic has City in the Champions League Places past halfway through the season.&nbsp; Imagine how good they would be if they actually had a real striker.
“It was like a funeral in there” Sir Alex said.&nbsp; The only thing quieter than the fans at Old Trafford was the team’s vaunted attack during Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Birmingham.&nbsp; Like Liverpool, United would really be stuck without their slightly effeminate Iberian.&nbsp; Though, it’s still better to be critiquing bad victories.&nbsp; Birmingham are quietly an up and coming side.
Arsenal cooly disposed of West Ham 2-0 at the Emirates.&nbsp; For once, Arsenal took control of the game from the onset and never relinquished it.&nbsp; Eduardo and Adebayor both scored for the second game in a row.&nbsp; Scoffed at by English pundits a few weeks ago, their recent run of form has them back on top as favorites.
Aston Villa beat Tottenham 2-1.&nbsp; Shockingly, Dimitar Berbatov did not mention to put four past a decent Villa side.&nbsp; It was a nice result for Villa, having seen some solid performances in recent weeks come up fruitless.&nbsp; Spurs may be more fit, but they still can’t defend set pieces.&nbsp; The two goals they allowed from them didn’t matter against Reading, but the two allowed in this match proved decisive.
Spurs have scored the same amount of goals as rivals Arsenal.&nbsp; But their goal differences are +4 and +26 respectively, which says a lot.&nbsp; Despite picking up the pace a bit under Juande Ramos, Spurs remain closer to relegation than playing in Europe.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "newcastle" - Page 6

General

Premier League Odds and Sods 23 March 2008

General

A Wise move for Newcastle?

General

Odds and Sods 3 Jan 2008