Fans have to be realistic over St James’ soap opera
Sep 4 2008 Liverpool Daily Post
THE managerial hokey-cokey at Newcastle United is only waiting for Kevin Keegan to shake it all about.
And, to be honest, we’d love it, just love it, if he did.
While it is unbecoming of columnists to point out the rare occasions when events match their predictions, there was an inevitability from the moment Keegan was appointed in January that the St James’ Park soap opera would serve up a cliffhanger which would end in tears.
Back in those heady days, Newcastle fans believed Champions League football seemed just a season away (Manchester City fans take note). That, of course, was before they got Wise.
The club’s transfer policy has long been a mess – Lee Bowyer and Joey Barton are just two examples of time bombs brought willingly and expensively into the home dressing room – while the closest the club has come to major silverware in recent times was lifting the Intertoto Cup.
But criticism of Mike Ashley is misplaced and the fans should now reflect that they got exactly what they wished for.
All fans think that what their club needs, at least in the days before Arab oil sheikhs and Russian billionaires, was a mega-rich fan who was happy to mix with supporters and wear his shirt to the games.
The cry is always for someone who understands the passion, the emotion of the sport rather than a cold beancounter who is after making a profit.
Except businessmen recognise that the best way of making a profit is to create a successful club. They also don’t allow managers to spend eye-watering amounts of cash on a whim without scrutiny from the board.
It is unrealistic for fans to expect the situation to be any different. It might be clear now that Mike Ashley is not the saviour for Newcastle but the second coming of Keegan the manager was never likely to produce miracles either.
Chelsea, seen as the modern-day overnight success, built strong foundations under the management of Glenn Hoddle, Gianluca Vialli and Claudio Ranieri before Roman Abramovich came along.
It may lack the romanticism that many fans dream of, but football dreams are usually built on years of steady progression and development and not the quick fix of a fans’ favourite.
