Coverage for the week of the 10th - 18th April 2006

Plenty to pack in this time round! 3 games, a bit more ongoing managerial speculation and a load of the usual nonsense uttered from within the tf bunker over the last week and a half or so. And don’t worry there hasn’t been a recurrence of the ebola outbreak, just some of us have had to have a few days recovering from the resulting hangover that inevitably followed Monday’s celebrations.  Time is not kind I tells ye!

We pick up in the aftermath of the win at the Smog-side.  To be honest it seems to me yet another case of us being given credit begrudgingly.  Outside of the local press, even The Journal, who were fair in their assessment of the game (Article), most other observers seemed to put our victory down to The Beasts’ inadequacies rather than the first 70 minutes where we hardly gave them a kick.  (Article) (Article) (Article) (Article)  Of course the Mike Baldwin look-alike in The Beasts’ dugout was keen to perpetuate this by suggesting his team selection was made because if they were going to lose a game he’d rather it was this one than either of their cup games (Article).  It was quite amusing to see how irate the foam hand brigade were at this suggestion, some of the calls to Bernie (ere warrabout the Burra eh Bernie?) Slaven on Century post match were a hoot, especially as I was sat with a load of them at the time.  Being sat amongst The Beats (watching me back at all times obviously) was an interesting experience to say the least.  Some of their deluded ideas were curious.  The lad sat behind me who kept calling Solano a “drag queen” (ideas on a postcard???) the pick of the inbred bunch.  And when he started talking about Nobby drink driving and being dressed as a pirate, the temptation to stand up and slap him whist shouting “THAT WAS CLARENCE ACUNA MAN!” was great, but resisted with grace and, may I say, style.  Fools.

The result left us genuinely eyeing European football again (admittedly another intertwobob jobby) (Article) (Article) and, to use a phrase popular on the Wear that generally gets on my tits, “top dogs in the North East”.  (Article)

With Shola Ameobi grabbing the goal scoring accolades (Article) (Article) talk turned to the players often missing this season and what little contribution we have had from Owen, Dyer, Luque and Moore with some interesting stats.  (Article)  Then later the same week we see an about face from the Chronicle as they joinThe Journal’s “Kieron Dyer in jury hell love in”.  (Article)  The Journal meanwhile took it upon themselves to run a piece on a player who left NUFC 18 months ago.  (Article)  Valid points possibly but the rights and wrongs of this have been raked over far too much and surely all our efforts are best concentrated on the players who are CURRENTLY at the club, not ones who should no longer be our concern.  No wonder we still see infighting and division amongst the fan base.  Steven Taylor, meanwhile, is reportedly close to a return (Article) and Michael Owen has put some boots on! (Article) (Article)  Did he tie the laces himself I wonder or does he have someone who does that for him?

The managerial merry go round brought another new name this week in Ronald “he’s going to flip one” Koeman (Article) whilst speculation in Italy saw Mancini’s price plummet for a while (Article) (Article).  Glenn Roeder continues to have his support, especially within the camp and it hasn’t been missed that Shearer is one of his biggest backers (Article).  FFS, not one to shy away from comment when things are on the up, reckons he deserves praise for sacking Souness. (Article)  Erm, just who appointed him in the first place though?  The weekend press saw links with Mark Hughes (Article) and Martin O’Neill now favourite to go to The Beasts (Article) and to SJP (Article) all at the same time.  Great clear as mud then. 

The announcement of a 6 monthly fall in profits (Article) brought a swift statement from FFS that whoever is appointed will still be backed (Article).   I personally surprised more wasn’t made of this announcement just one serious article (Article) and one very bitter Spurs supporter (Article).  Not even the almost obligatory comment from Professor Tom “they’re the next Leeds waiting to happen” Cannon.  You can see more at the NUFC finances website linked from the home page.

The build up to the Wigan game consisted mainly of geeing up from the local press to get “revenge” for the 2 disappointing displays against them already this season (Article) (Article), the players responding in kind verbally (Article) (Article) (Article) and Wigan manager Paul Jewell talking about respect both for the club (Article) and for Shearer (Article).  Thankfully we pulled off a comeback win (the first since Heerenveen I must add with a degree of incredulity) and finally got the credit we deserved both locally (Article) (Article) and nationally with another raft of identikit reports (all written this time by the Independent’s Simon Turnbull I reckon (Article) (Article) (Article), except Louise Taylor’s like (Article). 

Even better news then arrived in the form of Shay Given pledging his future to the club (Article) (Article).  Nothing is ever certain until the ink is dry on the contract like but keeping him around has to be one of the summer’s priorities and if we can get him tied down as a senior pro then that is a sign of something finally being done right within the walls at SJP.

And then the build up to the trip to the Village of the Damned.  The build up began as it would end with a load of bollocks from Steve Caldwell (Article).  A massive game (Article) in so much that is the be all and end all to their season (Article) with Steve Cram summing a feeling on Wearside (Article).  A determined NUFC (Article) headed down the A19 with one thing on their minds.  Bring ‘em on! (Article).

Not being one to gloat I’ll let the press reports do the talking. 4-1 (Article) 4-1 (Article) 4-1 (Article) 4-1 (Article) 4-1 (Article=) 4-1 (Article) 4-1 (Article) 4-1 (Article) 4-1 (Article) oh aye and 4-1 (Article).  Louise Taylor interestingly unavailable for comment this time.  Possibly on Berb’s yacht in the Caribbean.

Personally I was well chuffed for the man who got the comeback started, Michael Chopra who describes the best moment of his career (Article).  And you have to laugh at the hapless Steve Caldwell lacking class in his final comments on the game (Article).

With their chairman electing to be else where, their side going down like a holed catamaran you’d think it couldn’t get any worse.  Think again as Magic commentator Simon Crabtree decided to churlishly have a pop at Shearer in the match programme in a move that lacks class and shows the club, and that individual, someone who will be long forgotten whilst Shearer’s name lives on, working at a whole new low level.  NUFC’s response is here (Article).  Nothing is as yet forthcoming from the Mackems or Crabtree himself (Ed: their silence is a summary of their credibility).  They are to be pitied.  You may even find a response of our own somewhere on the website.  It’s not just you who can be “clever” with words you know.  Cock.

Of course the penalty that put us 2-1 up looks as if it will be Shearer’s last and the last time he will pull on a Black & White shirt in anger. (Article)  Tinged with sadness as it is, what a way to go though! (Article)  Respect and love always.  See tf 50 for more of the same.

NM

SIMON CRABTREE HAS GOT NO COCK