Newcastle United – Do we have the leadership to keep us up?

The Oxford English dictionary defines the meaning of ‘Leadership’ as the action of leading a group of people or an organisation’

The necessity of having a leader, or multiple leaders at a football club has never been greater in our modern-day game. Squad rotation is like we’ve never seen. Salaries and bonuses are at an all-time high and a plethora of highly paid, in the main, young men are paid to kick a leathery thing around a grassy field. These footballers need leaders amongst their ranks.

I look back over my 30+ years of watching football and it’s always been easy to pinpoint those leaders. The guys who stand up to be counted. The vocal centre half with his arm outstretched, controlling the game from the back and barking instructions to his team. I cast my mind back to the Liverpool team of the 1980s. It should come as no surprise to most people that their successes through this golden decade for them was down to the fact that they had a squad full of leaders ‘ Souness, Hansen, Nichol, Grobbelaar, Houghton, Whelan, Dalglish et al. Whilst these guys were superb players, they were all leaders on the pitch.

We move to the 90s and the Sir Alex Ferguson era. The ultimate leader, albeit from the training ground and dugout. His young stalwarts needed leadership to gel into the unbelievable outfit that saw them pick up countless trophies, culminating in their famous treble of 1999. (we don’t need reminding as NUFC fans of the Cup final) Amongst those young guys, they had leaders ‘ Schmeichel, Bruce (shit, did I say that?) Pallister, Irwin and latterly Beckham and Keane ‘ All shouters, all leaders of men!

I could go on and talk about the Arsenal invincibles, full of leaders, and more recently the Oil Barons of Manchester city, with Vincent Kompany the real stand out as a true leader, but you get my drift.

Anyway, I digress a little and I’d like to turn my attentions to our beloved club, Newcastle United.

On the 5^th‘February 1992, Sir John Hall unveiled a certain Kevin Keegan to the national press. He succeeded Ossie Ardiles at the helm. Ardiles was a likeable man who we will always be grateful to for giving youth its chance. Young players who went on to have superb careers at NUFC. Was Ossie a leader? I’d suggest to you that he wasn’t. We were in the doldrums. A true sleeping giant who was sleepwalking to the old Division 3. Up stepped King Kev. Out of the game since he was whisked off into the sunset in 1984, never to be seen again, right?

Kevin Keegan was a leader. He knew how to get the best out of his players. He will always argue that his most important signing was that of Brian ‘Killer’ Kilcline ‘ A leader, a shouter, an organiser. ‘Killer’ was never blessed with natural talent, but he was a leader. Surrounded by young players finding their way in the game, such a man was needed. Players such as Allan Neilson, Steve Watson, Lee Clark, Steve Howey etc looked up to Killer. They took inspiration from him. The rest, as they say, is history.

Since the heady days of Keegan, we have had very few leaders amongst our ranks. I struggle to get past Venison, Speed, Barton,Nolan as real leaders on and off the pitch. I can hear you shouting the legendary name of Alan Shearer from here. Was he a leader? He was a captain, I’ll grant you, but would a true leader take the ball of a young Paul Robinson, who was desperate to get his first goal in front of the SJP faithful when a game against Sheffield Wednesday was already won? Shearer already had 4 in the bag but was desperate for another. Do strikers make good leaders? I’ll let you make your own minds up on that one.

Let’s move onto to our current crop of players. Under Rafa, I though Jamaal Lacelles looked like strong leadership material. A tall, imposing figure of a centre half, you would often see him dictating play from the back and organising the team. He now looks a shadow of his former self under Steve Bruce, broken if you will, yet he’s still our captain.

Who else has worn the armband in the last couple of seasons? Jonjo Shelvey ‘ He can’t even lead himself, let alone be the inspiration that is so badly needed in this squad. Fede Fernandez? There’s promise. He’s an excellent defender, but I don’t see him organising; I don’t see him as a leader. Who else is there in the squad? As I wrack my brains, I struggle to see any leaders on that pitch. I can’t see who’d step up and give a real bollocking at half time, or who can dictate our shape on the park.

In this squad, is there one player who you’d get in the trenches with? Is there one player who you could trust your life with if push comes to shove?

During the recent league cup game with Burnley, there’s a memorable photo in front of the Milburn. The players were in a circle, taking guidance from Graeme Jones on the penalty takers. Our esteemed ‘leader,’ and I use that term sarcastically, should have been in that circle. Bruce should have had his arm around his penalty takers. He was a captain as a player, he’s no captain of NUFC. The next shot I saw was of Bruce wandering aimlessly down the touchline during the shootout. He wasn’t in the trenches, he was a solitary figure, away from the action! Is this the ‘leadership’ we need?

With the club in such disarray, from top to bottom, we are badly in need of leaders. Leaders who will stand up and be counted. Leaders who are proud to wear the badge of Newcastle United Football Club. Mike Ashley is no leader; Lee Charnley is no leader; Steve Bruce is no leader; our players are no leaders.

Will we survive this season? Not unless some of our squad and coaching staff take the bull by the horns and show some leadership! Give me a Killer in our ranks!

PAUL KARTER -‘@peekeekay