So Kevin Keegan is to return to St. James Park. A homecoming. Back to unite the Geordie Nation. To reconnect Newcastle United to the champagne football he had them playing in 1996. It makes perfect sense. Keegan was one of the few men available who understands the code that can liberate Newcastle United. No wonder they are milling in their thousands around St. James Park tonight. Yes – it makes perfect sense. And yet it is a huge gamble. Keegan bowed out of football management after losing his way at Manchester City in 2005. Disillusioned. You can’t imagine any other […]

So we understand that Sir Alex Ferguson is furious with the BBC for comments made by commentator Jonathan Pearce during Saturday’s game with Newcastle. Pearce said when Rio Ferdinand scored United’s fourth goal, ‘It’s a Manchester United romp – and they’re all getting in on the act’. Ferguson has taken this comment to represent a dig at Manchester United’s Christmas party shenanigans. So unto itself the remark is harmless. But not for Ferguson. It’s more than a dig at United. It’s another salvo from the enemy. A sly shot from the bows in the war. The war against Manchester United. […]

If Sunderland’s 3-0 home reverse to Wigan Athletic had come in the Premier League, then serious questions would have been asked about the Black Cats survival chances. As it was, this FA Cup upset was buried beneath greater shocks elsewhere. It also, possibly, marked the end of Roy Keane’s extended honeymoon period as Sunderland manager. Fans shouting to him that he should be ashamed of his sides performance. And he was. No hiding from the truth. This next phase of the season promises to be a serious test of Keane’s management capability. As a player he set vigorous standards. And […]

Its been a difficult start to the new year for Roy Keane. Firstly, his Sunderland side gets dumped out of the FA Cup by Wigan Athletic, Makems letting their manager know that he ought to be ashamed of his teams performance. And he was. And he told us so. Then, in another blow to his nascent team-building plans, tough-tackling, straight talking midfielder Robbie Savage turned down Keane and joined Derby County, a club where he is loathed by the fans. Where he accepted, furthermore, that he would be playing Championship football next year. Savage stated that he has teamed up […]

‘Instead of the miss spurring us on, our heads went down. It’s just not good enough. We’ve got to get rid of this losing culture’. The words of Paul Jewell, after his sides Pride Park defeat to Blackburn Rovers. Derby were one nil up. A penalty to go two up. It’s missed and immediately Blackburn got back in the game. It’s a sure sign of a team that has simply got used to too much losing. Expecting things to go wrong. Worn down by the inevitability of it all. Paul Jewell has his work cut out to turn this challenge around. He […]

It’s another defeat for Newcastle United. Another sub-standard performance. More dissent from the travelling fans. You sense that much more of this, and Sam Allardyce’s long-term project may be brought to an early close. It is possible in a football club, that disaffected players can bring on a managers demise. Players disaffected with a managers style; routines; strategy. Players who subtly under perform, knowing the pressure it will bring on the manager. Players who will carry the burden of defeat, knowing the manager can do nothing about it. Sam Allardyce betrayed some of this sense of anxiety a few weeks ago. […]

It’s the last minute of Sunderland’s trip to Reading. The Black Cats look to be returning north with a useful away point, when Stephen Hunt’s close range shot is deemed to have crossed the line by the assistant. It’s a close call, and one which you would expect Roy Keane to take serious issue with. Especially after last weeks expression of dissatisfaction with referee Steve Bennett. But no – Keane is the model of restraint in the post match interviews. Unhappy with the decision – yes, but emotions kept well under control. With Sunderland dropping into the bottom three, it’s […]

So we understand Sir Alex Ferguson is angry with his players for their Christmas Party shenanigan’s. And so he should be. The hard fought for values of Manchester United were denigrated. One player arrested on suspicion of rape. Lurid tabloid tales of sexual debauchery dominating the front pages. What players get up to in their private lives is their business. But the football club Christmas Party is the business of the football club. The senior players should carry the clubs core values with them wherever they go. On and off the pitch. Failure to do so, suggests a misalignment with those values. The Christmas Party’s first […]

It’s nearly two months since Everton’s stormy derby match with Liverpool. A game which ended in controversy with Everton being denied a last-minute penalty by referee Mark Clattenburg. A decision which led to harsh, direct comments from David Moyes about Mr. Clattenburg’s performance. Since then Everton have looked almost unbeatable. Through to the semi-final of the Carling Cup; progressing nicely in the UEFA Cup; unbeaten in the League. Interestingly David Moyes puts the turnaround down to events on Derby Day. He recognised that a successful team takes matters into their own hands. They cannot lay the blame of failure at […]

Last Wednesday was probably the worst night in Scott Carson’s young career. Thrown in at the deep end, he conceded a goal that altered the momentum of the European Qualifier. A goal from a shot he would normally have saved easily. Like Peter Enckleman, when he conceded a soft goal from a throw-in, in the Birmingham derby, there is no hiding place for the keeper who makes the big match error. Yet since Wembley, Scott Carson has kept two clean sheets. Clearly this is man who has put Black Wednesday behind him. So what can a goal-keeper do to move […]