Nothing To Play For
Lack of ambition leaves Newcastle in crisis once again
as summer out-flux becomes increasingly plausible.
After another regrettable and
forgettable January, the fans of
Newcastle United yet again have
half a season to look forward to
with absolutely nothing to play
for.
!
Whilst it is obvious we should
remain theoretically ‘thankful’ for
not being amongst the struggling
clubs enduring half a season of
doubt about our Premiership
survival, for most it is the
seemingly never-ending
depression this club is caught
within that is the most worrying,
and it has no signs of coming to an
end under current ownership.
!
It still remains painfully clear that
with even marginal investment,
continuity and ambition it could
have been a totally different story
for the North-East’s sleeping
giants- out of all competitions,
comfortably mid-table and without
one of our lynchpin players yet
again it is all too
despairingly familiar.
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It is all well and good keeping
Pardew in charge as a statement
of long-term intent and stability,
but selling our best players, and
not replacing them, is just as
destabilizing as changing
manager every 6 months.
!
Some of the stand-out names to
have changed clubs in January
included Juan Mata, Nemanja
Matic, Newcastle long-term
target Kurt Zouma, Nikici
Jelavic and Shane Long and
whilst a number of teams did not
strengthen at all during the
window for good reason, when
Yohan Cabaye was announced to
have been leaving Newcastle
mere days before the end of the
window alarm bells were
rightfully ringing for many.
With the deal said to have been
in place for Cabaye to leave in
January for en extended period
of time and perhaps even from
the end of summer, the club
were happy to disregard a clear
need to replace one of our
consistent performers not only of the
season, but of any successful recent
period, and leave a massive hole in a
weakened team who is now presently
finding it impossible to bring
anything of note to the pitch. They
(or apparently Kinnear) had months
to line up a replacement of any
caliber but again failed to deliver in
an all to familiar style- it is fairly
obvious premiership survival is now
our cyclical goal and evolution and
growth remain peripheral.
!
Whilst the more logical
acknowledged Cabaye leaving as
inevitable and a clear step up:
champions league, world-class
manager, coaches and players etc,
others continue to question his
loyalty and indeed and his ‘morals’.
The word ambition has been
frequently mentioned alongside his
name, mainly due to him warming
the PSG bench at times in some
capacity, but who truly has ambition
and who lacks it?
Newcastle United has simply
become a place of footballing
purgatory, due to the tyrannical
and dictatorial reign of Mike
Ashley- the world’s first skint
billionaire. You only have to look
at the body language of the players
who still remain to recognize a
work force who understands what
this club has become- a poisoned
chalice of neutralization and
disfigurement. Who in their right
mind would want to see out their
career at this club in the current
climate? It would be a waste of
time and effort with no sign of
change.
The only reason we seemingly
attract players is for them to play
well and move on- whilst many
will argue that this is an element
of the modern game, you have to
look at the wider rot that has set in
at this club to fully acknowledge
that this is not legitimately the
case. When you see premiership
teams like Everton and
Southampton keeping their
players happy it becomes
saddening to see your own club
applying an inverse ethos that
leaves us rooted to the same
position season after season.
We are not talking City money,
but if we actively set aside funds
to strengthen on a periodic basis,
and not when vital to premiership
survival, whilst working like an
actual football club with an ounce
of respectability in the
process who honestly
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