EPL Talk » Newcastle

The Premier League Relegation Battle: Life And Death At The Bottom

Ethan Armstrong — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:02:53 +0000

The weekend promised excitement, drama and last-minute heartache with several sides still fighting for survival at the season’s very end. Sunderland, Hull, Newcastle and Middlesbrough were all on the edge of the cliff. Some already hanging off the side. Others teetering on the brink. In the end, four losses would keep all sides in their places. Newcastle and Middlesbrough join West Brom in relegation to the Championship. Sunderland and Hull survive by the slimmest of margins.

Hull City: Early Form Rewarded

Hull’s explosive first half of the season (2o points from their first nine matches) was rewarded yesterday despite a 1-0 loss to Manchester United. The results of Newcastle and Middlesbrough allowed Hull supporters to forgive Phil Brown and Co. for the disastrous spell that eventually displaced their early good form. Hull only won one of their last 22 matches.

The Tigers defied expecation at the start of their campaign, recording wins against Fulham, Newcastle, Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham and West Brom all before the end of October. They dazzled further in November when they scored three goals at Old Trafford. They still lost to hosts Manchester United, but after being 4-1 down at the half, scoring two more goals against the Champs and bringing a point within view, showed the true grit of Hull City.

A lengthy slump aside, Hull deserved to stay up after their fierce start to the season. Now the question is: can they find that form again next year?

Death By Own Goal

One devastating moment from yesterday’s match at Villa Park sums up Newcastle United’s season. Villa’s Gareth Barry took a speculative shot from distance, firing the ball into traffic. United’s Damien Duff stood his ground, but was crushed when the ball ricochetted off his shin and careened into the net.

1-0 was the final score. And since other results meant Newcastle only needed a draw to survive, that one moment encapsulates the pain and frustration forced upon supporters as Newcastle’s latest campaign comes to an ugly close.

The Magpies will go down after 16 years in the top flight. Though they’ve had their rough patches, Newcastle always seemed to climb out of trouble and endure. But too many managerial changes and not investing enough in defense led to the fall.

Shearer should not be criticized. If he’d had more time to work out a system with the players (and if he’d had the brilliant goalkeeping of Shay Given at his disposal), it might have been a different outcome.

Duff, gutted from yesterdays events, vows to stay with Newcastle and fight for their promotion next season. Newcastle faithful wait to hear what Shearer’s plans are.

Gareth Southgate’s Nightmare

Middlesbrough have had their troubles since their last promotion to the top flight in 1998. We smirk when we think of 2006, when a fan stormed the pitch and threw his season ticket at Steve McClaren in frustration. But despite various problems, Boro spent the last ten years making themselves a Premier League mainstay. They usually finished mid-table, but even when they dipped lower, they secured enough points to keep from sweating over the drop.

But this season the problems became insurmountable. Former Boro hitman, John Hendrie blames poor transfer window moves and lack of firepower. Boro were the lowest scoring side in the league. Whatever the root cause, Boro simply could not climb out of the ditch they dug themselves.

But Gareth Southgate is expected to stay on as manager and despite the fear of losing some big players, Middlesbrough should have a good enough chance at returning to the top flight.

Sunderland Survive

The Blackcats put their old yo-yoing ways behind them as they prepare to enjoy a third consecutive season in the Premier League. Despite their survival, manager Ricky Sbragia stepped down after Sunderland’s loss to Chelsea. Read more here. Sbragia took over the post when Roy Keane left in December.

Sunderland announced today they will not be signing 27-year-old striker Djibril Cisse who spend the season on loan from Marseille. It will be intersting to see who Sunderland bring in to manage and play for the next season.

With Boro and Newcastle relegated, Sunderland will be the only side from the north east in the Premier League.

Conclusion

The season was very tight for a long time with many upsets and surprises. It took a while for the European hopefuls to pull away from the relegation zone denizens. Unlike last year, when Derby County clinched relegation early, this season’s bottom teams had their chances going into the final weekends. It is sad to see two mainstays go down, but that’s part of the life-cycle of the Premier League. Wolves, Birmingham and Burnley will come up to try and stake their claim on top flight football. Newcastle, Boro and others will fight in the Championship for a fresh chance to rise.

The rest of us will spend the summer scouring transfer rumors and analyzing friendlies and internationals while we wait for the league action to start anew.

Who Will Relegation Hit The Hardest?

Christopher Walker — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:54:55 +0000

Who will feel the effect most if they relegated to the Championship?

With West Bromwich Albion’s fate sealed last week we can now prepare ourselves for a dramatic conclusion to the Premier League season on Sunday. The neutral (including yours truly) will relish it and will want to see as many twists and turns as possible. Anyone supporters involved will have struggled to sleep for a week.

We all have our own predictions as to who will go down and what the sequence of results to will be. What I wondered is what effect will relegation have on the clubs involved.

West Bromwich Albion – 31 points (already relegated)

Even the most biased of Baggies supporters could not have been surprised about the clubs fate this season. However there seems relatively little for the Hawthorns club to worry about. Brom perenially spend within their limits upon promotion and Tony Mowbray has followed similiar traits. Signings that broke the £1 Million mark included: Scott Carson (£3.5 million), Marek Cech (£1.4 million) ,Luke moore (£3 million), Zuiverloon (3.2 million) , Valero (4.7 million), Aboulaye Meitie (£2 million) and Roman bednar at £2.3 million.

Not taking into account players that left that Hawthorns, the Throstles have forked out around £20 million. No doubt a few of the above will leave to recoup some of this. It is also likely that some contracts will include a drop in wages upon relegation ,West Brom should be relatively comfortble providing they spend their parachute monies wisely next season and offload a few big-earners.

Middlesbrough – 32 points

Although ‘Boro are technically £85 million in debt, the vast majority is owed to chairman Steve Gibson – which is the equivalent of owing your Dad 200 quid. Conisdering Gibson’s patience with Gareth Southgate it seems highly unlikey he will let the club suffer. However should ‘Boro suffer the drop (and it seems likely they will) they will have to get wheeling and dealing quickly. One of the first names out of the door will be Alfonso Alves, who was signed for a fee rumoured to be £12.7 million and one shudders to think what kind of wages the Brazillian is on at the Riverside. After breaking his foot against in the relegation six-pointer against Newcastle and a poor goals return for the club, ‘Boro may have to brace themselves for a big financial loss. The other big name out of the door, and the one Middlesbrough will miss most from an on-field perspective is Stewart Downing. A host of clubs will have relished the prospect of Boro’s demise in order to sign Downing and it is thought that Spurs will lead the chase after keeping tabs on the winger for considerable time. Boro will be hoping for auction fever from rival clubs in order to raise as much cash as possible. It will come as no surprise that Tuncay and David Wheater will also raise the eyebrow for a host of clubs, with Robert Huth also likely to be the subject of some interest.

Should Middlesborough fail to survive, the winds of change are likely to blow through this cold part of the country including the possibility of a new manager. With numerous players likely to leave and taking into account the squads lack of experience, ’Boro may well have to be happy with a season of stability next season rather than a promotion charge.

Newcastle – 34 Points

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. There may have been talks of a conspiracy theory in regard to the strength of Manchester United’s team selection at Hull. But based on perfomances alone, Newcastle are where they deserve to be. If Newcastle are relegated we will witness a real exodus from St James Park, which in turn demonstrates the extent of the problems the Magpies will face. The list of players likely to leave include: Michael Owen, Mark Viduka, Obamfemi Martins, Damien Duff, Alan Smith, Nicky Butt, Jose Enrique, Geremi, Gutierrez and possibly Steven Taylor. If things continue in the trational ways of the Tyneside soap-opera then you wouldn’t rule out yet further changes at either boardroom or management level. Chairman Mike Ashley has been ostracised from the club before and if he cannot either persuade Shearer to take the job permanently and/or the Toon don’t get off to a flyer in the championship he knows showing his face in the Sir John Hall stand would be a tad unwise.

Newcastle will have to do their best to wheel and deal as early as possible in order to get the new players to gel as a unit early in the forthcoming season. The first thing they need to do is oust Joe Kinnear from his role, he isn’t physically fit to do job, and if the club are indeed relegated the job starts the minute the final whistle is sounded on Sunday. Although sacking managers isn’t a sign of stability, do any of us genuinely think that Kinnear would stay in the job until the end of next season – fit or not? With expectations and pressure form the fans likley to be huge and the club not in the best of health financially, relegation would hit United very, very hard.

Hull City - 35 Points

And to think the start Hull City had. The Tigers are clawing on for dear life in the Premier League and require one last roar this Sunday to ensure survival. Hull are likely to face a considerably weakened Manchester United team on Sunday which may give them half a chance of stealing a point. Whether any of that will come to fruition is another matter. Should Hull find themselves with an instant return to the Championship you would feel that financially the club will not suffer to the degree some of their rivals will. City were desperately unlucky to lose Jimmy Bullard so quickly after his £5 million move from Fulham and could find him leaving the club sooner rather than later at a cut-price fee. Bernard Mendy and Andy Dawson will also have attracted some attention, Giovvani’s early season exploits may tempt a rival club into a gamble. Hull however – are sound financially, have a good boardroom and a good manager in Phil Brown. Providing they can keep the nucleus of the squad together City should be stable and will look to try and bounce back at the first attempt.

Sunderland – 36 Points

The fans and players alike pleaded for the board to give Ricky Sbragia the managers job on a permanent basis, the phrase ‘be careful what you wish for’ now springs to mind. Should Sunderland fail to beat Chelsea in Guus Hiddink’s last league game in charge, the Mackems may need another black cat in the dressing room for luck. The club would appear financially sound given the money they have spent in the last few seasons however I would still expect a few to leave. Sunderland shouldn’t really be in this trouble given what they have spent over the last couple of seasons. If the club are confined to the Championship, it is likely they will look to offload the wages of Steed Malbranque and Craig Gordon. I cannot see Kenwyne Jones staying at the Stadium of Light, particularly with Tottenham knocking on Niall Quinn’s door. Kieran Richardson and Anton Ferdinand will attract offers and no doubt the pair pick up a fair size wage packet each too. This being said, Ellis short is now linked to a buy out of the club followed by a change of manager and a £200 million transfer kitty – if Sunderland stay up and we are to beleive the tabloids.

What Next For Michael Owen?

Christopher Walker — Wed, 20 May 2009 21:24:42 +0000

Michael Owen injured, unfortunately a familiar scenario.

With his international career apparently over and his club’s Premier League status under major threat it begs the question, ‘What will happen to Micheal Owen’?

On 30 June 1998, 18 year-old Michael Owen’s name resonated around the football world after scoring THAT goal for England against Argentina. Michael James Owen had made his debut just a year previously, scoring after coming on as substitute in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat away at Wimbledon. The following season the teenager bagged 18 league goals and finished as the league’s joint top goalscorer.

Owen spent seven years at Anfield scoring 118 goals in 216 games for the Reds. While Owen was neither big nor strong, he was blessed with pace, balance and two fantastic feet in front of goal. In the eight seasons he spent at Liverpool, Owen won the FA Cup, two League Cups, the UEFA cup and European super cup. Personal awards for the 5ft 8 goal machine include the prestiguous Ballon D’or, PFA Young Player of the year, the BBC sports personality of the year and he has shared the Premier League golden boot twice. Not bad, for a player who even as youngster consistently suffered with injuries – his hamstrings were a particular concern at Liverpool.

Following the sacking of Gerrard Houllier and the appointment of Rafael Benitez, on 13 August 2004 Owen was sold to Real Madrid for a cut-price fee of £8 million. Despite mustering the best goals to minutes played ratio in La Liga and netting 13 goals in 43 appearances in total his move to Spain proved to be less than succesful. Bear in mind that Owen only started 15 games for Los Galacticos, the less prolific pairing of Raul and Ronaldo were consistently preferred to the England forward. If competition for places wasn’t hard enough for him, Real promptly swooped for the Brazilian attacking duo of Robinho and Julio Baptista. Rumours of tensions between Owen and Real’s ‘darling’ Raul have also arisen since the Chester born striker left the club.

Throughout the summerof 2005 Owen seem destined to re-sign for Liverpool but instead his fomer emplyers baulked at the £16 million asking price – twice what they had sold him for just a year earlier. Instead it was Newcastle United that offered Owen an escape route back to ‘Blighty’ and the chance of regular first team football in order to retain his England place.

Owen’s career at Newcastle started off and on a similiar note to how it has continued- with injury, suffering from a thigh problem in pre-season and missing the first few weeks of the season. Owen managed just 11 games in his first season, netting seven goals after breaking his foot in december and having further surgery in March. Much to Newcastle’s dismay Owen still made the 2006 World Cup sqaud and suffered an horrific knee injury in his first game against Sweden, twisting as he fell with noone around him. Chairman Freddie Shepperd went ballistic and no wonder – his star striker earning around 120k per week was out for the season. Owen has since scored 23 goals in 62 games for Newcastle – far less prolific than in previous seasons.

It has been widely accepted that Owen is likely to leave the Magpies on a bosman this summer whether or not United can stave off the imminent threat of relegation going into the final game of the season. The question is who will want him?

The injuries that have plagued the former Liverpool star have cetainly taken their toll. Owen not only has even more trouble staying fit than before but he appears three yards slower than the 18 year old lad who held off Ayala for 30 yards before ghosting past Chamot and slamming the ball in the top left corner for England. Even with a 50% paycut his wages are still well out of reach for most clubs and he certainly is no youngster at 29.

Everton have long been linked with offering the forward a return to Merseyside but David Moyes is surely too shrewd to risk a large chunk of his relatively small wage on an injury prone player. Some still talk of a return to Anfield , if he does play proffessional football Anfield again it won’t be in a Liverpool shirt though.

In spite of media speculation, even on a bosman a move to any the big four seems rather unlikely. Then there are the clubs who tout themselves as big four contenders City, Villa, Spurs and the aforementioned Toffees. I can’t seen any of them fancying him. While Everton are unlikley to risk their preciously low resources , the other three have enough money to go for a younger and more reliable option.

Whoever decides to take on Owen it will be a gamble and doubts will always remain as to whether it is possible to get enough minutes out of the player, let alone a decent goal tally. Wherever he goes it is likely Owen will not only have to take a huge drop in wages but forget about adding to his collection of winner’s medals at the top level. It would seem folly to take sign him as anything more than a bit-part striker for any club willing to challenge in the upper half of the table. The clubs in the lower half may not only seem unnattractive to a man with 89 England caps to his name, but could he even fit in with direct style of play at the likes of Stoke, Bolton or Blackburn if they were interested?

This being said it would appear there is enough evidence in previous Premier League activity that at least manager will fancy a flutter on the man who doesn’t mind placing the odd bet or two himself, the question is who?

Key Relegation Battles This Weekend

Christopher Walker — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:39:30 +0000

While this weekend could be the last stand for West Brom, there are four other key battles on show

I have spent this morning perusing the remaining fixtures for the relegation threatened teams and it appears that everything seems to point to the round of matches starting Saturday 9th May to Monday 11th May. As I have written before I am often against the over hyping of the run in especially with nine points to play for. However with eight of the threatened teams about to do battle with each other the relegation picture could become that bit clearer.

West Brom Vs Wigan

The baggies could finally receive the Coup de Grâce on Saturday. A loss at home to Athletic coupled with a point for Hull on the same day will seal their fate. Should both Hull and Sunderland win then a mathematical miracle to catch Hull will be needed, including a maximum point return from their last three games and the recovery of goal difference deficit of eight to level with the Tigers.

Blackburn Vs Portsmouth

Within two months of each other both clubs sacked their managers in a bid to avoid the dreaded drop and so far it appears to have worked. Paul Hart’s charges need one win to seal survival, Big Sam’s battling Blackburn need four points. With Rover’s travelling to Chelsea for a date with Guus Hiddink the week after and Porstmouth facing a massive battle with Sunderland both teams should be going all out for this.

Bolton Vs Sunderland

While Wanderers look likely to survive, needing just three points to be sure of safety. Ricky Sbragia’s Sunderland appear to be in relative free-fall. The Black Cats have won just three league encounters since the turn of the year and a win at the Reebok would be the ideal tonic before facing Portsmouth and Chelsea respectively. Megson’ men will not make this easy, they have their own need for a win to guarantee another season in the top-flight. Should Sunderland fail to emerge victorious here or at FrattonPark next week, it could well come down to the last game against Chelsea. One faint ray of hope shining on the Stadium Of Light that day is the possibility Chelsea could field a weakened side, bearing in mind a date at Wembley for the FA Cup Final and a possible Champions League final.

Hull Vs Stoke

The tale of two cities sees pre-season relegation favourites clash at the KC. While the Potters are the third team needing just one victory to continue an unlikely Premier League story at the Britannia after enjoying a decent run of results, Hull appear to have climbed up a cliff and promptly dived off it head first. Just a solitary league win since prevailing over Middlesbrough in December is leaving the Tigers clawing on for dear life. What may favour them is the wretched form of Newcastle and Boro but this cannot be relied on. Phil Brown will have no doubt targeted six points from this game and a trip to Bolton with SirAlex Ferguson’s league leaders being the final visitors the KC this campaign.

Newcastle Vs Middlesbrough (Monday)

Probably the biggest game of them all when the teams occupying the final two relegation places do battle at St James Park.

Newcastle’s tenure under Alan Shearer was never destined to yield many points in the first five games. Three losses to in form Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs have left the Magpies in yet more trouble but even the former England striker could have seen those three results coming.

The games that have really caused the Shearer sleepless nights have been Stoke away and Portsmouth at home. Granted Stoke have a strong record, conceding only 15 and losing just four. But given the run of games that Newcastle have that was an opportunity missed to gain 3 points. Last week’s stalemate with Pompey will have done little to lift the mood at St James Park, Newcastle have only scored once in five games and only gained two points in the process.

It’s not exactly been luxury for the visitors either, a meagre two wins in ten games has seen ‘Boro looking like relegation fodder. The confidence bred by the recent home win against relegation rivals hull was soon blown away by defeats to Man United and Arsenal. This Tyne-Tees derby has been targeted by Southgate as a must win and no wonder, their last two games are against Villa and West Ham.

Newcastle United Need a Miracle to Stay in the EPL

David Schiavone — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:00:18 +0000

The Magpies look destined for the drop

After another defeat, Newcastle United look destined for the Championship. Alan Shearer’s men have three games to save their season, but it appears too little too late, and although it is not mathematically certain they will go down, performances on and off the pitch have made it clear they are just not good enough to remain in the EPL.

After a 3-0 drubbing from Liverpool and a performance that can only be described as disconsolate, hopeless and somewhat distressing for the fans. Despite an encouraging opening start, Newcastle were forced into their own half for much of the game and did not muster a single shot on target throughout the match.

The omission of Michael Owen from the starting line up has also raised even more doubts over his future, furthermore Shearer’s tactical nous must also be called into question, Duff at left back and switching a reasonably effective Joey Barton from centre midfield to right wing is baffling, and may have been a factor in his sending off.
Next Monday’s match against relegation rivals and neighbours Middlesbrough has gained even more significance and will most definitely decide which team has at least a chance of survival. The draw against Portsmouth coupled with the above defeat has left the Magpies in a precarious position and once that I do not see them escaping. Being currently 3 points from safety may not seem much but if recent performances are factored in, Newcastle may as well be preparing for life in the second tier of English football.

On paper, Newcastle have a talented bunch. Damien Duff was a revelation at Blackburn whilst helping Chelsea secure an EPL title. Viduka is an established international and Obafemi Martins is a £10 Million player. Meanwhile, a special mention must go to Michael James Owen, brought in from Real Madrid, earning a reported £100,000 per week, yet he cannot string two full games together. Now even when seemingly fit, Shearer decides he is not good enough for the first eleven. With only 8 goals from 26 EPL appearances, time must be up for the injury prone, former Ballon d’Or recipient. But each of them have failed to perform this season.

I would also point to the loss of Shay Given from the squad as a major factor in the plight of Newcastle United. He is one of the best goalkeepers in the league and served Newcastle well but after 12 years of loyal service, even he knew this was a sinking ship and gladly waved goodbye in January. In previous seasons he was probably responsible for accumulating 10 points or more for the Magpies, and how desperately they need those points now. Steve Harper, though an able deputy is not a first team goalkeeper.

The decision to appoint rookie manager Alan Shearer must also be questioned. He doesn’t have the necessary qualifications, and has never managed before. His lack of experience is telling, the decision to play a 3-man defence against Tottenham was a mistake, Damien Duff is not a left wing back and Joey Barton on the right wing is wrong.
His appointment stinks of desperation from Mike Ashley, who was so desperate to win over the fans he employed the one man that every member of the Toon Army would not disagree with. All this, to the detriment of the club.

In a season where mistake after mistake has been made, it looks as though Newcastle United will not be competing in the EPL next season, and is it coincidence that their new kit does not feature the Premier League logo, I think not.