Posts Tagged ‘Newcastle United’

Fergie rules out Sol swoop

Bruce takes satisfaction in managing ‘big club’

• Manager has chance to fulfil his high ambitions
• Bruce buoyed by club’s sound financial footing

Steve Bruce has thanked Wigan Athletic for twice saving his career as a manager but argues he had to leave in the summer to join Sunderland to fulfil his ambitions.

Bruce had been sacked by Sheffield United and Huddersfield when he took the manager’s job at Wigan for the first time in 2001 and was becoming disillusioned with life in the dug-out again when he returned to Lancashire following an acrimonious split with Birmingham City six years later.

However, the former Manchester United defender is unapologetic about leaving Wigan in June and insists he would never have been able to further his career there because it was impossible to keep his best players. That helped to persuade the lifelong Newcastle United fan that an offer from Sunderland was too good to turn down and he has enjoyed an excellent start at the Stadium of Light, guiding the club to eighth in the Premier League ahead of his return to Wigan tomorrow.

“The first time I went to Wigan, we were in the old second division,” Bruce said. “I was only there for a few weeks but when I went there I was questioning myself. I was seriously thinking I didn’t want to go into management after what happened in Huddersfield and Sheffield.

“Birmingham had become such a mess that going there [to Wigan] second time around did reinvigorate me a little bit. I was fed up with all the infighting and whether the club was going to be sold.”

However, it was the sale of Wilson Palacios to Tottenham Hotspur in January which convinced Bruce that, if another club offered him a job without such tight constraints, he would take it.

He said: “For a calendar year I think we got 60-odd points, which would have qualified us for Europe. But you know, if you’re going into January and losing your best players, it’s going to be tough. It was. We still managed to finish the season 11th but it could have been something better.”

At Sunderland, Bruce feels that, whatever he builds, he will be able to keep intact thanks to the financial backing of the American billionaire Ellis Short, who took control of the club just before he arrived as manager.

“I don’t have to sell anymore, that’s one of the big reasons why I came to Sunderland,” he said. “We are trying to be a big club in the signings we’ve made. Of course, if it’s really good business, everyone sells one now and again – Mr Wenger does it regularly [at Arsenal].

“Last Christmas I think there was a bid for Kenwyne Jones and they turned it down, which goes to show you. I came here not just because of a big crowd but because it has a big-club feel.”

Preston North End 0-1 Newcastle

The rebranding of Newcastle United continues apace. While renaming their stadium Sportsdirect.com@ St James’ Park has been widely mocked , Chris Hughton’s side are reinventing themselves as efficient winners. A fourth successive triumph was secured by Kevin Nolan, restoring his reputation as a goalscoring midfielder, and returned them to the summit of the Championship.

Recruited in January, Nolan’s most memorable contribution to Newcastle’s demotion was a shocking challenge on Victor Anichebe in February. Another Evertonian, David Moyes’ long-term assistant Alan Irvine, was hurt by the Liverpudlian last night as he condemned the Scot’s Preston side to defeat. After an uneventful game – all quiet on the Preston front, perhaps – Nolan roused Newcastle with an expert finish, steering a shot inside the far post after meeting Danny Guthrie’s cross andturning adeptly. It was his ninth goal of the season and, among midfielders in the Championship, only Cardiff’s Peter Whittingham has proved more prolific.

“When the game is as tight as it was and it was heading for a 0-0, Kevin has a great knack of being in the right place,” said Hughton. “Once he gets there, he has got composure.”

That calm meant Newcastle reaped the maximum return for a minimal threat. Nolan’s goal was only their second shot on target. “For large periods of the game we were the driving force, but they have got that quality,” lamented Irvine. Paul Parry had looped a header on to the roof of the Newcastle net in the first half and Neil Mellor shot into the side-netting in the second but Steve Harper kept a ninth clean sheet of the campaign.

A second consecutive defeat was less of a concern that the ligament problem defender Youl Mawene sustained. “Youl has got a knee injury that we fear will be quite bad,” added Irvine.

Newcastle’s increasing injury list amplified their pleasure at the result.. “We had our problems today and that makes the win even more satisfying,” Hughton added. “Ryan Taylor felt his calf in the warm-up; Andy Carroll was ill and probably shouldn’t have started.” Circumstances were a mitigating factor, but his side didn’t excel.

“They are capable of winning games without being the better team,” Irvine said, a former academy director on Tyneside. Yet if the ability to prosper while playing badly is the hallmark of champions, Newcastle can plan for Premier League football next season.

‘Newcastle correct to sell naming rights’

• Would-be buyer backs Mike Ashley’s controversial move
• Increasing revenue more important than fans’ view

Barry Moat, the businessman who has been keen to buy Newcastle, claims he too would consider selling the naming rights of St James’ Park if he were in charge of the club.

Moat tried to achieve a takeover of the Coca-Cola Championship side this year but the owner, Mike Ashley, has taken the club off the market after he could not find anyone willing to meet his £80m valuation.

Since then Ashley has taken the controversial decision to rename officially the club’s home sportsdirect.com@St James’ Park in an attempt to attract sponsors wishing to attach their brand to the ground, with Sports Direct being the sportswear firm owned by himself.

It was another generally unpopular move by Ashley in the eyes of supporters but the Newcastle businessman Moat says it is something most clubs have to consider.

He told Sky Sports News: “I think you have to explore things like naming rights. Unfortunately we live in a world where football is big business and the gap between the Championship and the Premier League is getting bigger all the time.

“So you have to do things to close that gap. We need to get back up to the Premier League as quickly as possible. I think if you have to do some of those things, by taking the commercial benefit of a sponsor, as far as I’m concerned, if that gets the right players on the pitch, gives you the right entertainment on a Saturday, then where do I sign?”

Hughton admits interest in Campbell

• ‘He still has a lot to offer’ says St James’ Park manager
• Defender’s registration being withheld by Notts County

Chris Hughton today admitted he is keen on bringing Sol Campbell to Newcastle United. Hughton, the Newcastle manager, coached Campbell, who has a home in Northumberland, at Tottenham Hotspur and is trying to persuade his board to sanction a deal.

Campbell is currently unable to play anywhere as he claims that Notts County are withholding his registration in protest at his walk out from Meadow Lane in September. This stalemate should, however, be resolved on 10 December, when a Football League disciplinary commission convenes to deliberate Campbell’s situation and is expected to clear him to join a new club.

“Sol is one signing that might possibly happen here,” Hughton said. “He’s still got a lot to offer the game and, although he’ll get a lot of offers, I wouldn’t rule him coming to Newcastle out.”

The 35-year-old played just once for Notts County this season and Hughton admitted: “I wouldn’t expect Sol to be fit enough to play again until after Christmas.”

Campbell, whose fiancée is from the north-east, was close to a move to St James’ Park in the summer when he was seen at Newcastle’s training ground, but, with the club then up for sale, it fell through and he opted instead for Notts County.

The former Spurs, Arsenal and Portsmouth defender has made his desire to be reunited with Hughton plain. “I would be very interested in a move to Newcastle,” he said. “Newcastle are a very big club and could well be heading back to the Premier League. I’ve been approached by a few clubs, Newcastle are one of them, and I have reasons for wanting to go there.”

First, though, he must regain his registration. “I’m happy big time the Football League will hold the commission,” he said. “All I want to do is play again – sooner rather than later.”