[Archived] Poor Old Souness, players bite back

[den]

Just watched Newcastle on football first. At 1-0 to Fulham, there was everything to play for. Newcastle just had to keep plugging away, as they had been all afternoon and surely an equaliser would have come.

So guess what Souey did? He took off a full back and went three at the back. Fulham responded immediately by putting radlinski on.

There was so much room for fulham it was untrue. A short while later what did Souey do? He took off the other full back and put another forward on.

They looked just like rovers did. All over the place.

To be fair Newcastle could have scored six. The fact is they conceded four. For that blame Souey's tactics.

[Legion]

Newcastle have made an offer to us.

"What did we ever do to you guys to deserve this punishment!? Please please please take him back. We will give you kieron dyer, robbie elliott and a hotpot??"

Don't think we should - though the hotpot sounds promising.

Some of them are even thinking of getting Keggy back.

[John]

Marcus Babbel expains in this story he nearly became an alcoholic after his loan move to us.

Also tells us what our players got upto on our 'training trips' to Gleneagles and Spain.

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/sport/tm_obj...-name_page.html

[Kremmin]

Concede the first goal, get a clear penalty claim rejected, Souey gets sent from the dugout, formation all over the shop, and after match quote that, wait for it:"Lady luck deserted us today."

Absolutely priceless.

[Tris]

Marcus Babbel expains in this story he nearly became an alcoholic after his loan move to us.

Also tells us what our players got upto on our 'training trips' to Gleneagles and Spain.

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/sport/tm_obj...-name_page.html

To be fair it's not exactly ground breaking quality journalsim.

And if Babbel was shocked becuase Rovers players had a few pints at Gleneagles then I look forward to his autobiography ... it's gonna be a stunning read.

Not for the first time, I can only be amazed that people are going to huge lengths to discredit Souness however they can.

Really, what's the point? He's gone, Rovers have moved on.

[McClarky]

So guess what Souey did? He took off a full back and went three at the back. Fulham responded immediately by putting radlinski on.

There was so much room for fulham it was untrue. A short while later what did Souey do? He took off the other full back and put another forward on.

They looked just like rovers did. All over the place.

To be fair Newcastle could have scored six. The fact is they conceded four. For that blame Souey's tactics.

How many times last season did the opposition score immediately after another great tactical switch by the maestro? Ho, Ho, Ho!

[McClarky]

"What did we ever do to you guys to deserve this punishment!? Please please please take him back. We will give you kieron dyer, robbie elliott and a hotpot??"

Remember 96? Just tell the b*stards its pay back time for Shearer.

[92er]

When we lost at home to Fulham last season, didn't Souness change the formation to chase the game? If I'm right,Coleman will have had a deja vu.

[John]

Dont know if anyone mentioned Malcolm Macdonalds comments in The Sun today on the tactical mystery of what went on in Newcastle's game v Fulham, he was amazed. Like for us he was correct when he said you can only revert to three at the back when you have quick, athletic centre backs!!!

Also what a joke on Your on Sky Sports last night- Peter Beagrie was talking about defensive troubles at Newcastle- then mentioned that Blackburn had major defensive problems as well under Souness for a while but Souness and his coach Saunders managed to sort it out!

When was this exactly....

Edited November 9, 2004 by John

[philipl]

I had expected Newcastle to have two excellent seasons under Souness before everything started falling apart.

Make that two months.

We had the good fortune of getting him unemployed and down on his luck- he had to rebuild his self-belief by rebuilding the Rovers which he did before his ego started to destroy us.

Newcastle have the misfortune of getting him full of his own hubris and feeeling totally self-justified now that a "massive" club have come in for him. There is nothing to make him realise he was managing us to relegation so he is carrying on doing the same at Newcastle with a different set of players.

Newcastle will not realise it until its too late. All the screams coming out of St James' (assuming he's not so stupid that he alienates Shearer) will be put down to him disciplining the gobby hoodlums masquerading as players and he will be aplauded for his destructive bullying.

[trueblue]

Newcastle will not realise it until its too late. All the screams coming out of St James' (assuming he's not so stupid that he alienates Shearer) will be put down to him disciplining the gobby hoodlums masquerading as players and he will be aplauded for his destructive bullying.

You mean just like at Ewood during the last months of his reign !

[dave birch]

Let's not count our chickens.

We should only gloat when it happens. Who knows, he could take them on a run that leads them to the pinnacle of the prem. How would weazle words look then?

[philipl]

The sacking of Tony Parkes means that Sparky is very much his own man doing his own thing with his very own Tafia.

He's certainly making sure that he and not Souey gets the blame or the plaudits from here on in.

Meanwhilst we can count the successive defeats suffered by Newcastle.

[thenodrog]

The sacking of Tony Parkes means that Sparky is very much his own man doing his own thing with his very own Tafia.

He's certainly making sure that he and not Souey gets the blame or the plaudits from here on in.

Meanwhilst we can count the successive defeats suffered by Newcastle.

Reading between the lines of TP's comments straight after Souness left I had a definite feeling that TP had been 'constructive' to a degree in his departure. Maybe he had simply fallen out with GS or maybe he had a hand / influence in some of the 'unrest' within the squad, maybe he was the eyes and ears of the directors*. Whatever it was Hughes has decided to remove any possibility of a repeat performance.

*Having a private chat over a drink with a person of 'very hig ranking' at BRFC late in the evening after the Portsmouth game last season, we were watching the Premiership on TV and discussing GS and I was told......and I quote..... 'The stupid effin ###### has lot the effin plot, big time'. Hardly a strong vote of confidence imo! I may be making 2+2=5 here but just maybe TP was playing a part in a 'whispering campaign' even then.

[92er]

Maybe the person of "very high ranking" was considering Souness' purchases,the quality of the play,the stories in the newspapers about the manager falling out with et more players.Just a thought.

[RevidgeBlue]

4 straight defeats for Newcastle now.

The Fuhrer will be falling out with Shearer and giving him away to Fulham for nothing next.

[vyeo]

4 straight defeats for Newcastle now.

The Fuhrer will be falling out with Shearer and giving him away to Fulham for nothing next.

4? i counted 3... fulham, chelski and manure... and all at home too

who did they lose to prior to fulham? oh well here's to another newcastle defeat next wk

[greggyk]

4 straight defeats for Newcastle now.

The Fuhrer will be falling out with Shearer and giving him away to Fulham for nothing next. 

4? i counted 3... fulham, chelski and manure... and all at home too

who did they lose to prior to fulham? oh well here's to another newcastle defeat next wk

Chelsea at home in the cup

[Simon Says]

Lost in the league to Bolton, Fulham and now Man U and Chelsea in the Cup.

Happy days on Tyneside!

[joey_big_nose]

To be fair to Souness you have to say that in the 2002/2003 season he organised our defense superbly. It was more our defensive solidarity rather than attacking prowess that got us to sixth.

The big problem Souness suffered after that was his inability to maintain that solidarity. I dont know what was going on in his mind. It was absolutely crackers to get rid of Berg for Amoruso. Fair enough, he couldnt count on Niell and Greskol suddenly becoming abysmal but tacticlly he had no answers. Until Gray turned up not a single one of our defensive players had two good games in a row.

You certainly get the feeling that if Graeme gets his way he can whip a team into shape and drive them up the table but if things start to fall apart he has little ability to arrest the decline. This has been evident here, at Liverpool and at Rangers.

[Ewood Dream]

To be fair to Souness you have to say that in the 2002/2003 season he organised our defense superbly. It was more our defensive solidarity rather than attacking prowess that got us to sixth.

Bingo. When we finished sixth we had a very gritty, hard to breakdown backline with Berg and Short (granted it wasn't the paciest).

[broadsword]

Where does this utterly daft preconception come from that Short is slow?!

He ain't!

[blue phil]

Well , not when he's next to Amaruso anyway , Bryan ....

[broadsword]

That's true.

Anyone looks fast next to him.

Having speedy defenders as an assurance against leaking goals is a misconception methinks. Organisation and reading play is so much more important I think.

[waggy]

just heard a disconsolate geordie call dean saunders a third division coach on tv,deano cards for the geordie's next season