Category — Newcastle United
Newcastle promoted and targetting title
Newcastle manager Chris Hughton has challenged his players to win the Championship title after celebrating their promotion back to the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Sheffield United.
The Magpies’ return to the top flight was assured when Nottingham Forest failed to beat Cardiff before kick off at St James’ Park on Monday and Hughton’s team kept the crowd of 48,270 in celebratory mood by coming from behind to win thanks to goals from Peter Lovenkrands and Kevin Nolan.
With promotion comfortably secured just a year after the misery of relegation from the Premier League, Hughton could be forgiven for resting on his laurels for a while as he reflects on a successful start to his reign.
But the former Tottenham assistant manager, who began the season as Newcastle caretaker amid chaos off the pitch, is determined to ensure his side finish the season as champions.
That goal is well within the Magpies’ reach as they are six points ahead of second placed West Bromwich Albion with just five games to play.
“I must admit right at this moment, I am not even thinking about next season. Right at this moment, we have five games left and our aim now is to win the Championship,” Hughton said.
“The fact that we have been at the top for so long this season, it would be a real disappointment if we didn’t win it.
“I have a group of lads there and they know that is the next target, the next target is to win it.”
Promoted with six games to spare, the Magpies were in danger of having their party spoiled by the Blades, who took a 22nd-minute lead through Richard Cresswell’s deft header which took a touch off Darius Henderson on the line.
The home side were far from at their best, but they got their chance to level when Chris Morgan, having already been warned by referee Andy Hall about his wrestling match with Andy Carroll, grappled with the striker once again in the box and saw the official point to the spot.
Lovenkrands duly dispatched the penalty for his 15th goal of the season, but it was left to Nolan to win it 18 minutes from time with an acrobatic finish as he matched the Dane’s tally.
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has often been criticised by fans for his chaotic reign, but he was at St James’ Park for the match and visited the dressing room in the immediate aftermath of the final whistle as the party got under way in earnest.
Hughton said: “He was down in the changing room, but it was fairly chaotic down there.
“I managed to speak to him very, very briefly. It was just congratulations. This is what we are all in the game for.
“The moments you see in the changing room today, you don’t see that often and when you are involved in it and you do see it, you have to enjoy it.”
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April 6, 2010 No Comments
Newcastle could return to Premier League in 2011 season
Newcastle are on the verge of securing an immediate return to the Premier League after a 2-0 win over promotion rivals Nottingham Forest on Monday.
Shola Ameobi returned from injury to fire Newcastle into the lead, midway through he second half, and Jose Enrique’s first goal for the club, in injury time, sealed a win that makes automatic promotion a virtual formality for the Magpies.
If Newcastle win at Peterborough on Saturday, they will be promoted if third-placed Forest lose at Bristol City. Amoebi, who came on for the injured Andy Carroll, was making his first appearance in seven weeks and he showed what Newcastle have been missing when he received midfielder Kevin Nolan’s pass with his back to goal with 19 minutes left.
The big striker turned and fired a low left-foot shot in off the far post to break the deadlock. Newcastle had further chances to kill off the match but it was not until injury time that Enrique finally struck to seal the crucial win.
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March 31, 2010 No Comments
Owen is a confirmed Red Devil
Its confirmed, Owen will join Red Devil on a Pay-as-you-play deal. It was reported that Michael will take a pay cut from his £110,000 a week pay with Newcastle for a reported £50,000 per with but with massive performance-related bonuses which could take him close to his pay with the Magpies.
The former Liverpool, Real Madrid and England frontman completed a series of stringent medical tests and has signed a two-year deal with the Barclays Premier League champions.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson told the official club website: “Michael is a world class forward with a proven goalscoring record at the highest level and that has never been in question.
“Coming to Manchester United with the expectations that we have is something that Michael will relish.”
Michael Owen said: “I had just begun to talk to other clubs when out of the blue Sir Alex phoned me on Wednesday afternoon, invited me to have breakfast with him the next morning during which he told me that he wanted to sign me. I agreed without a moment’s thought.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I intend to seize it with both hands.
“I am now looking forward to being a Manchester United player and I am fortunate that I already know so many of the players here. I missed pre-season last year and am pleased that I will be starting at Carrington from day one.
“I want to thank Sir Alex for the faith he has shown in me and I give him my assurance that I will repay him with my goals and performances”
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July 4, 2009 No Comments
Michael Owen going to Manchester United?
There is a report by the website, www.independent.ie, that Michael Owen might go to Manchester United on a free transfer. His signup with MU is with the condition that Owen can prove that he is truly fit.
Michael is without a club since his contract ended with relegated Newcastle end of June 2009.
I for one would like to see Owen be given a chance to be what he used to be, a striker that produces goals. It will be sad if he ended up with some lowly Premier League club. Eveyone believe Michael Owen thrived in the spotlight with clubs that are top flight.
You can read the full article in the website link above.
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July 3, 2009 No Comments
Will Alan Shearer take up Newcastle offer?
Newcastle United were still attempting to finalise a deal to secure Alan Shearer as their manager on Friday afternoon.
Owner Mike Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias are keen to come up with a package which will persuade Shearer he will have the tools for the job.
However, until agreement is reached, supporters will have to remain patient in anticipation of what will be a crucial decision for the club’s future.
The club has already started to lay off staff – around 150 employees, many of them part-time, had earlier been informed their jobs were in jeopardy.
Shearer has already provided Ashley – whose Sports Direct International business on Thursday sold its directly-owned stake in JJB Sports for a small profit – with an outline of how he would want to approach the job.
He has explained how he would revamp a squad which proved ill-suited to the task of retaining Premier League status, despite a massive wage bill.
Any new manager would have to substantially reduce expenditure on salaries, which currently amounts to more than £70m.
Some big earners will inevitably leave as they look elsewhere for football at the highest level, although the prospect of cashing in on £10m striker Obafemi Martins if the club chose to do so would be hampered by a lingering groin problems which requires further surgery.
Others may have to stay if Newcastle cannot find buyers.
But if Shearer retains the job, the chances of controversial midfielder Joey Barton remaining on board are minimal.
The 26-year-old, a £5.8m signing from Manchester City, has been injured for much of his time at St James’ Park. He has also served a term in jail for common assault and affray, but it was his stand-up row with Shearer in the dressing room at Anfield after he was needlessly sent off in a 3-0 defeat by Liverpool on May 3 which proved the final straw.
Barton was banned from the training ground for the closing weeks of the season, and there is little appetite to see him return for pre-season training on July 1.
It is understood Shearer would look to offload him and his £60,000-plus-a-week wages as a matter of urgency.
Meanwhile, Newcastle full-back Jose Enrique admits he will have to consider any offers which come his way after enduring the longest year of his life.
The 23-year-old Spaniard, who has three years remaining on his contract, expects to resume his career in England in the Coca-Cola Championship following the Magpies’ relegation, but will look at his options.
He told Spanish Sports daily Marca: ”No-one likes to play in the Championship, but I’m only thinking about fulfilling my contract. The team has a great budget and I am sure that if they do things well from the beginning, we can create a team of the level of Aston Villa.
”I like the city and I am very happy in England, but that doesn’t rule out that I will study any offer that could arrive.Today, I see myself playing next season at Newcastle. At the moment, I’m focused on my holidays. It was a bad time for me and I need to relax. It’s been the longest year of my life.”
Whoever does eventually take over will have to drastically re-shape a weak, but expensive squad in an attempt to return to the top flight at the first attempt.
That is certain to mean high-profile departures, but Enrique is confident Shearer is the right man for the job.
He said: ”We have had four coaches this season, and there have been times when we haven’t even had a coach.
”Things have been bad since the first moment, but I hope everything will change for the best.
”I believe that with Alan Shearer on the bench, this change is possible.
”Since September, we could already see that it was going to be an uphill struggle for us.
”There were many big names in the dressing room, but something wasn’t working. There were many bad things from the beginning.
”We only won seven games the whole season and that, for a club like Newcastle, is very bad.
”If they leave Shearer in place, things will change for the better. He is a coach that can do something great for Newcastle, and they have to give him time.
”I think that if they let him work on a long-term project, he can do something very good for this team.”
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May 30, 2009 No Comments
