Premier League - Parker urges Toon to forget past

Eurosport - Fri, 03 Oct 15:30:00 2008

Former England defender Paul Parker believes Newcastle need to stop looking to the past if the beleaguered club are to move forward.

FOOTBALL Newcastle St James' Park fan keegan shirt - 0

"Newcastle's main problem at the moment seems to be attracting a successor to Kevin Keegan in the Toon hot seat.

They've brought in Joe Kinnear, but I don't particularly think he is the best man for the job, even on a short term basis - his rant at reporters has already proved that.

There are definitely better people out there, but the plain facts of the matter are that few are brave enough to take it.

The massive weight of expectation from Newcastle fans can be a major deterrent to prospective long-term incumbents of the managerial post.

And that's not to mention the worryingly short stays of recent Toon managers, which can hardly make the job look any more attractive.

Whoever takes the job needs to be able to handle the pressure, shoulder the expectation and take the abuse. But even if there is someone out there who ticks all those boxes, they may still not meet with the fans' approval.

Why? Because Newcastle fans seem to want 'one of their own', not someone from the South or a member of the so-called 'Cockney Mafia', as they have dubbed Mike Ashley, Dennis Wise et al.

Anyone who arrives in the North East without prior experience of Newcastle - either the club or the town itself - seems to be on a hiding to nothing.

At the moment, Newcastle fans only have eyes for Keegan and they are desperate to get him back. But Keegan is not the way forward; on the contrary, I believe re-hiring him now would be a backwards step for the club.

Whoever buys Ashley out should be given free reign to make their own choices on the manager without having to bow to external influences. They should be allowed to hire someone who they think can do the job properly and guide the club out of their current predicament.

Under no circumstances should they allow themselves to be influenced in their selection by the fans and their desire to see a familiar face in the hot seat. If they want to bring in an 'outsider', so be it. Anything else and the club stand to alienate themselves.

Whoever buys the club shouldn't have to bring Keegan back just to appease the fans. A long term plan is needed and sometimes to be able to see that, a step back is necessary. Understandably, fans find it difficult to do that.

On the field, Newcastle are lacking everything a successful club has got and it's difficult to see where the points are going to come from at the moment.

As a player when your club is in a situation like that, it begins to play on your mind. You start looking at yourself and your team-mates and making comparisons with the opposition. Reports in the newspapers start to bother you and you begin to feel unsettled.

And it is supremely difficult to shake off that mentality, especially in a league where competition is so great.

At the moment Newcastle are in a prime position to go down - the football they're playing, the attitude and hunger of the players, the players they're buying, the boardroom situation, the managerial situation - none of it says to me that they're going to stay up.

With a long-term replacement for Keegan unlikely to be found any time soon, it's not looking good for them. And I fear that if the situation has not been sorted out by November, it may be too late for them.

One thing is for sure: Newcastle have a real battle on their hands and they are going to need all the help they can get if they are to turn the situation around."

Paul Parker / Eurosport

Comment 37 - 56 of 56

Sort comments by: Most recent

  1. Newcastle have no right to call them self a big club yes they get good support but lack the silver cups like Liverpool and Manchester United Newcastle history of sucsess is not great either.

    From Richard, on Tue 7 Oct 8:35PM

  2. Why the hell should we listen to the views of a man who ducks out of the way of a free kick in a world cup semi final?

    From davidman, on Sun 5 Oct 8:44PM

  3. What's the similarity between NUFC and a suicide jumper ? They are both in freefall. Once the mindset is there, almost impossible to turn it round. Best of luck.

    From Old Mr Happy, on Sat 4 Oct 8:17AM

  4. Sorry but twice now K.K. (The Messiah) has proven his lack of balls when the going got tough.
    A little like the team that want him back.

    liverpool lill

    From Rory, on Fri 3 Oct 9:59PM

  5. Ramsden82 - get your facts right before you start spouting them..we finished in the top 4 5 times in 10 years between 93 - 2003.not great success but facts,so i suggest dont make comments on things you know nowt about,rather foolish..not very bright is it...your like a mackem who thinks a draw against newcastle is a win.

    From hayley.lynch13@..., on Fri 3 Oct 8:41PM

  6. I completely agree that Newcastle are not a big club, they have won nothing for decades and have no other 'right' to be successful because their supporters are loyal.. more like stupid

    From benc9, on Fri 3 Oct 5:18PM

  7. I don't have anything against Newcastle, i'd like to see them do well but what past? Newcastle have not been a top 4 team in the past 30 years. "We finished second once"....well blackburn won it once and they aren't a top 4 team. At best over the past few years Newcastle have been a mid tablish team. Now Potentially Newcastle have everything apart from financial backing to be a top 4 team, and to actually win a major competition.
    It started going wrong for Ashley when he sacked Big Sam.

    From Matthew R, on Fri 3 Oct 4:13PM

  8. Seeing as its comedy hour;

    Whats the difference between a zebra and a geordie?
    One is a dumb animal that spends all its life in black and white stripes.
    The other is a zebra.

    From steve, on Fri 3 Oct 3:59PM

  9. Right Rob O, we'll have a joke-off tonight at 11pm. May the best man win

    From Tony K, on Fri 3 Oct 3:53PM

  10. heh. TonyK, mine was the best i could do on a Friday afternoon! Ask me again at 11pm tonight and I could do better!

    From Rob, on Fri 3 Oct 3:27PM

  11. Why is it that if we are apparently such a non-entity that every ARSEnal fan feels compelled to write about us?
    I think it's a bit of the green eyed monster, even though we are struggling on the pitch and the club's organisation is all over the place, the black & white army and people of Newcastle are still loyal and passionate.
    In contrast our cockney friends from the smoke will jump ship the very minute things aren't going according to the script.
    They envy our pride, passion and unswerving loyalty.

    From pickle, on Fri 3 Oct 3:25PM

  12. Fair enough. Still b.ollocks though

    From Tony K, on Fri 3 Oct 3:01PM

  13. I slightly ammended my earlier post

    From Dan, on Fri 3 Oct 2:50PM

  14. Cheers soccermanager83 we heard you the first time and it was b.ollocks then too

    From Tony K, on Fri 3 Oct 2:40PM

  15. I don't get Newcastle - they hang on to this "past" like it was a rosey era inwhich they dominated English football and Europe. They've never made an impact in England, let alone Europe. 4 league championships, the last of which was in the 1920s ... how long ago was that? Since World war 1, when you think of all that's happened, they've reached the pinnacle of English football just once! ONCE... the fans though expect too much, and they also think they care more than any other set of fans in the country, and that they deserve it more ... they don't, they're just perenial whingers who need to accept their place in the pecking order, stop looking to the past - the reason managers are too scared to pick up the poisoned challice is because of the weighty expectations ... no, no, DEMANDS placed upon them to bring back the mythical glory days

    When Keegan was a good manager in the mid 90s, you won nothing then too, despite spending loads in a day when you could buy a title like Blackburn did with 20m! ... he's not the messiah, your not a big club, get over yourselves

    GOONER

    From Dan, on Fri 3 Oct 2:31PM

  16. Comment 41. Total rubbish and you know it

    From Tony K, on Fri 3 Oct 2:20PM

  17. Come on rob o my joke was miles better than that

    From Tony K, on Fri 3 Oct 2:18PM

  18. I think paul parker is correct newcastle are a league 2 club at best. michael owen should be at sunderland he might win something there.

    From Will, on Fri 3 Oct 2:17PM

  19. How exactly are newcastle fans more passionate than ANY other fan Mickr273? is it because you continue to support your club without winning anything, like almost every other fan or is it becasuse you sit in the stands without shirts on?

    From mpr1138, on Fri 3 Oct 2:13PM

  20. soccermanager83. what is your problem then? NUFC is average and so is KK. Makes sense they go together well, right?

    From Half A Brain, on Fri 3 Oct 2:12PM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account