United kept up its end in the Tyne & Wear version of Dumb and Dumber this week by meekly exiting the League Cup in front of a more than decent crowd (though heartily supplemented by an excellent turnout from South Yorkshire). McClaren’s team was booed off at HT by frustrated supporters but by FT that frustration had turned to anger with some loud choruses of “we’re shit and we’re sick of it” cascading down sections of the Gallowgate and East Stand. The McClaren idea of players, coaches applauding supporters at the FT whistle was met with abuse though the man sacked by Championship Derby in May had done off down the tunnel, doubtless to brush up on his keep smiling routine.
No-one can really blame supporters for feeling mightily disappointed by this abysmal performance against a 
Championship side that has hardly set the world on fire this season and who also let’s not forget rested plenty players for this match. It may well be early days to question the manager and the players but at this rate we are in for a hard, depressing season with little to provide any enjoyment to a B&W tribe that is now punch-drunk with one blow of disappointment after another. Ten games McClaren has asked for. Fair enough, let’s see where we are then but if we don’t have a win, a derby defeat and no LC run to look forward to then McClaren should justify his call for “blind faith” in whatever it is he is attempting. I’ll be honest, I can’t see a thing over the majority of his games that is remotely encouraging.
To be honest, Wednesday weren’t great but they were organised and resolute. United were utterly bereft in every department. The whole balance of the team hinted at a complete lack of adventure. It seems McClaren is too afraid of losing to put a team out that takes risks but the lack of movement, intensity and invention explains why (and I was delayed getting in by traffic, so correct if I’m wrong) we did not have a shot on target worthy of the description for the whole game.
There was no width, pace, invention and the big idea of playing De Jong up front on his own brought nothing as the so-
called Dutch master turned in one of the laziest performances it will be your displeasure to watch though to be fair Thauvin ran him close. De Jong would squander two excellent chances in the last few minutes but frankly I think I’d rather have eaten my own feet than sat through another 30 minutes of that garbage. We didn’t press the ball and we were static in possession. The lack of leadership on the pitch (no Colo for another Cup game, there’s a surprise) or meaningful direction from the touchline was evident throughout the game and in truth with no pivotal player on the pitch for us, no partnerships or understanding between players to spark anything like a threat on the Owls goal we always looked likely to be breached and let’s be honest, Krul’s hands had been warmed in a manner this opposite number hadn’t been before they scored following some half-baked defending.
Where United goes following this is anyone’s guess but the sight of Chelsea in the tunnel on Saturday is one that might work in our favour. Nothing is expected of McClaren’s charges on Saturday therefore the manager will be able to indulge his de-fault setting for attempting not to lose too heavily and if we don’t, no-one will pretty much have much to say about it. As expected blah-blah, a few clichés and off we all go. If this collection of misfits look half interested that might con enough people there is something there flickering. If this great spirit in the camp McClaren keeps referring to is shown then in the court of public opinion he might get time off for good behaviour. That spirit thing is an interesting one as it exists simultaneously in players who will chuck it as soon as they experience a set-back.
Fair play to Sheffield Wednesday, a fine club with great support and a proper football city that like us doesn’t get its just desserts. I hope they do well in the next round.
Newcastle United: Tim Krul (7), Daryl Janmaat (4) (Kevin Mbabu 46 (5)), Jamaal Lascelles (5), Mike Williamson (5), Chancel Mbemba 4), Vurnon Anita (4), Gini Wijnaldum (3), Florian Thauvin (2) (Ayoze Perez 46 (5)), Moussa Sissoko (4), Gabriel Obertan (3) (Ivan Toney 70 (3)), Luuk De Jong (3).
Unused Subs: Fabricio Coloccini, Yoan Gouffran, Rob Elliot, Barlaser.
Ref: Kavanagh – wasn’t getting conned by United’s play-acting though I’d like to see the big shout from Perez for a penalty again.
Our fans: Bored with following shit (5).
Wednesday fans: Great numbers, might have thought they might have been louder (6)
MICHAEL MARTIN – Follow Michael – @tfeditor1892
I felt sorry for Anita and Perez. The former was the only one prepared to try & keep the ball and cannot be blamed that the latter was the only player wanting to receive the ball. Was Cabaye half the price of Winjaldum? Is there anyone in football other than the man himself that believes Sissoko is remotely close to Champions League standard. Drop both of them. Peter Cartwright was a better winger than Thauvin!
On current evidence which of the 2 Marseille players would you rather we had signed? Payet or Thauvin? Why did we go for Thauvin,when he cost more? Re-sale value. Expected future profits.
Nothing to do with a successful NUFC.
Money.
Who is making that choice?
Mike Ashley.
Ashley’s to blame for everything. His refusal to spend money in god knows how many transfer windows has irreparably damaged the club. I’m no fan of McClaren and he’s clearly not good enough but he wouldn’t be here at all if it wasn’t for Ashley. And despite McClaren’s shortcomings it’s not his fault we didn’t sign a striker, a creative midfielder or a couple of fullbacks and it’s not his fault he has to work with the same centre-backs we’ve had since we were in the championship. The people making these fuck-witted decisions – Charnley and Carr – were put there by Ashley and get told what to do. Everything wrong with the club is down to Ashley and regardless of who the manager is or which players we sign, nowt will change until he does the decent thing and sells up.
McLaren has come with this continental keep ball mentality a la Spain, what he fails to realise we aren’t Spain we aren’t Barcelona and we aren’t Arsenal. We are never going to score if the ball is continually being passed backwards and sideways. Any team who is allowed time to get 11 men behind the ball are likely to stop us scoring. McLaren has them keeping the ball at all costs. What the fuck for? Is it not better to move up the pitch as quickly as we can and have an effort on goal? Who knows we might score for fucks sake! If I have to watch Tom Thumb passing the ball 3 yards to our centre half one more time I think I will vomit. We can’t blame Malcolm for the players he has but the tactics are absolutely fucking gash- rant over.
The reasonable money spent this summer was never going to undo the damage inflicted by the chronic lack of investment and ambition over the last five+ years.
Ashley may have shit his pants towards the end of last season but nothing has changed. The club is rotten from the top down. There really is no point in blaming SM. Halting the downward momentum would have been a Herculean task for the most charismatic and innovative manager, let alone an uninspiring head coach of no real repute.. McClaren never stood a chance of changing the culture at the club.
Apparently, there is a Russian saying, “The fish rots from the head.”
True Rob,but if you were a player (not a supporter like we are) why would you bother? The owner does not care about the team or the city; he appoints his buddies who do not understand football; a manager who will go with the flow and his only intention is to buy players to sell them on. He gets what he deserves-it is just the fans that get the pain. I am not excusing the players,but it is not surprising. The whole club structure is wrong and guarantees failure.
Or maybe the players want rid of Ashley too!
Tactics aside, manager aside and Ashley aside that was what passes for the nations 8th highest paid bunch of footballers, (a team that included 6 internationals) failing to trouble the reserves of a mediocre Championship side, my brother in law follows Wednesday and even their first team are, according to him, ‘crap’. It must be great to play under Ashley, you can take the piss and know that it’s him who will cop the flak for your lack of professionalism.
As a club we have always had to overpay relative to talent to attract players up here, a problem the Mackems seem to share looking at their wage bill, but this lot are something else.
Short term we could do a lot worse than going with a 442. It may be unfashionable but we don’t have a forward who can play up front on their own (AP is too slight and the rest don’t have the pace) and we desperately need some kind of goal threat.
Long term we need to lob the head off the monster.
There is only one issue-Ashley. Everything is irrelevant ie tactics, the team,the manager.There is a long trail on this website of those of us who are boycotting and waiting for our fellow fans to join us in force to rid this club of that man. Turn your energy and fervour to this end and things will change, we have already seen evidence of this from just a small number protesting.To retain any pride in our team and city – act!
To be fair to the AshleyOut crew, many fans were willing to give Ashley yet another chance, and I guess they have to judge the level of support for their actions.If people are still not ready for the fight I do not know what more we can do. I am ready for the fight at a moment’s notice!
Sad but true – the fact that many fans were willing to give Ashley another chance speaks volumes about the state of our support. I hate to keep saying it but it deserves repeating: as a fanbase we’re an absolute joke and we deserve everything that’s coming.
I have NEVER heard of a 4-6-0 formation at home, particularly against a side in a lower division than us.
McLaren has no idea.
If he has any honesty about himself he should resign, and give us an opportunity to recover this season before it is too late….
It can be argued we’ve no real direction or leadership on the pitch since Nolan / barton etc got forced out of the club.
Personally, I was shocked when this here fanzine celebrated the fact that we only lost 2-0 to Swansea; apparently, that was a great achievement because Pards/Carver would have taken a 4-0 beating. So we have accepted the tactic and philosophy of going into a season where damage limitation is our only ambition.
And now we are complaining that we are lining up against Sheffield Wednesday, at home, with 0 strikers (sorry, I meant to say “false 9” – apparently we are Germany and De Jong is Thomas Muller)?
Or that we lined up against Watford, at home, with 1 striker?
Pardew/Carver/McLaren/Charnley are basically the different faces of the same Ashley regime. Until we decide to leave the stadium empty for a month or two (no protests, no bed-sheets, no stickers, no need to make a fuss for the media – just don’t turn up) we will keep throwing players under the bus and blaming their place of birth, their height, the clothes they wear to get to the stadium and any other nonsense to avoid dealing with the elephant in the room.
CH and KK were good people – why do you think they are not here? Why are we still giving money to Ashley?
Final paragraph . Bang on . Go figure . The objective of the owner is not consistent with the purpose of a football club as we know it . The institution has been hijacked , SOLELY to serve his business interests . The ONLY Way to effect change is to have him out , and the only way for that to happen is to stay away . An empty ground is no spectacle , and it will hurt his brands . That is , the only solution .if people don’t get that , then we will collectively get what we deserve , until the kit is red And blue and the loftiest aim is joyless , hopeless survival by goal difference .There is a Choice . So choose .
EXACTLY, Everything that is wrong with Newcastle United stems from the fact it is not really being run first and foremost as a football club.
I think that (with a few honourable exception such as (Jamie Carragher and Mick Quinn) you have to also point fingers at the media for not pointing the problems with Ashley out more clearly, It’s almost as if they are scared to challenge Ashley because he is so wealthy and they are being told not to challenge him…
And then what are Richard Scudamore and others art the PL doing? Again too scared to intervene, whilst Ashley makes a mockery of Newcastle United and football itself.
Appalling all round.
Great point. We can talk about tactics, formations, managers and players ’til the cows come home but it’s ultimately irrelevent: everything we see on the pitch is a direct result of the way the club is run. Sunderland and Villa are the only clubs close to being as rotten to the core as us and it’s no coincidence that we are the three worst teams in the league by some distance.
Until Ashley goes there’s literally no reason for the club to exist other than to benefit a handful of wealthy men. There’s certainly no reason to fucking support them.
Surely, McClaren now realises that we need a change in formation and tactics. Putting Perez up front with Mitrovitch would also,hopefully, take a bit of pressure off Mitrovitch to stop him picking up more cards.
Hi Bob,
It’s our hope as I see it.
Unlike Keegan McLaren does not possess the natural attacking instinct, and never will.
I cannot see McLaren taking us anywhere except the Championship.
God help us passionate supporters…..
Brian in Cape Town
Just returned to Oz after a short holiday in the UK. Consider myself very fortunate that I resisted the urge to go to the game against Watford and now this Sheff Wed humiliation. I really feel for the Geordie faithful who have deserved more for many years now. When I was younger I followed my team through think and thin as many do now. Was at the fairs cup final as a 15 year old when 60,000 geordies sang the Blaydon races, went to Wembley when we got beat 3-0 by Liverpool. The ups and downs of football, support the toon and the downs far outweigh the ups. I left in 1990 so missed Keegan and Sir Booby but didn’t mind missing those other loser managers in between as well. Acknowledging we didn’t win anything back then the biggest difference between then and now was we always had hope. It appears that hope we had has gone and it’s been replaced with a level of drab negative football that is difficult to comprehend. I can understand the frustration and anger of the faithful. I’m lucky in one way to be somewhat removed being 12,000 miles away but like all the Geordies all over the world we all feel the pain. We are all proud Geordies, we want a team to be proud off, the loyal deserve a team to be proud of. Until we have an owner and a management team that really understands how we feel and has the ability to coach and communicate that to the players then we will continue down this road to nowhere. Bobby and Kevin knew it and knew how to do it.
As I’ve said for last few years, get along to Gateshead and support them, how anyone thought things would be different coz we spent 50 mill on untried players astounds me, I’m not sure what people watch sometimes, pennies dropped now. Shambles
I’m not angry. Just sickened. What’s the point of NUFC?
No point in going on about non attendance no one was fussed the first few games and all that with are new players and a bit of money spent. But oh we arnt winning lets protest again makes us look like idiots. Best fans in the country cliche makes me cringe. As for there fans being good maybe in numbers but I’ve never seen so many missiles thrown down from the away.
supporters an’t be blamed for the state of Newcastle United Jack.
Sorry that might have came across the wrong way. More what I am getting at is as a group we never seem to be able to keep up any sort of sustained pressure on the regime or any sort of campaigns going. There are plenty of other clubs we could take example from. If people are willing to put up with it nothing will change.
Not blamed but are now complicit in it continuing this way.
The only way to see Ashley off is non attendance and a concerted campaign against him.
Where are the AshleyOut people?
Where have they been all summer?
Were they fooled by the money spent in the window?
While the blueprint is the same….buy to sell on at profit regardless of what the team actually need….nothing has or will change.
It amazes me how many were fooled by it.
Not sure, Michael: for standing by and doing nothing (and I was a season ticket holder until recently so I’m as much to blame as anyone) as Ashley slit our club’s throat we have a fair bit of blood on our hands too.
So many people I know love to slag off Liverpool fans but there’s no way they would have put up with this shit.
Approximately 29,000 Newcastle fans turned up only to be humiliated…..again.
Why have Newcastle fans become so amazingly lethargic and soft?
We would have been rioting if this had happened 25 years ago.
There is only one solution to this now. I cant see how anyone can argue against it.
Non attendance is the ONLY way Ashley will go.
I cant understand why anyone would keep going…..what is the point?
There is no point at all, Tom, other than to explicitly support Mike Ashley and make yourself miserable. 29000 did that tonight. It’s gone on so long, they deserve no pity. Stripped of dignity and pride, they probably got what they deserved.
It should be clear to everyone, SEVEN long years after Keegan said it, that Newcastle United will never get anywhere whilst Mike Ashley is the owner.
What more evidence to people need?
Agree completely. As a fanbase we are an absolute joke and deserve everything we get. The Ashley Out campaign managed to persuade supporters to boycott a game for the first time in my living memory… then told everyone to go back the week after. They haven’t updated their website since July (though they’ve been sharing Chronicle/Mag articles on Twitter and Facebook) or sustained the campaign at all since last season. Huge missed opportunity though I can hardly blame them for giving up seeing how 40,000+ fans, most of whom hate Ashley, still turn up week after week. The fact that many of those fans were taken in by the shite Ashley spouted on Sky in May is embarrassing.
Shit club. Shit team. Shit fans (and yes, I include myself in that).
McClaren and Charnley need to check their respective integrity resources and the consider their futures at the club