Joe Kinnear has confirmed in an interview that he is set to become Director of Football on a three-year deal at Newcastle United. The controversial signing is thought, by some, to put Alan Pardew’s job in jeopardy by undermining Pardew’s authority on Tyneside.
Here’s what Kinnear said:
“I’ve been very fortunate in my life as a manager, I’ve been manager of the year three times and I’ve had a great football career, so I think I’m ideal for this situation.
“I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to come back. I have turned down managerial jobs in the lower leagues, because I felt I’d gone past that and I wanted to get my teeth into something in the Premier League. It’s an interesting role for myself and I don’t think I could be at a better club to do it. I signed it with Mike [Ashley, the Newcastle owner] today and that’s taken care of.
“I intend to meet Alan either tomorrow or within the coming week to discuss the future and go through the team itself. We will discuss where it’s glaringly clear we need to improve and that will be my job, to go and find those players.”
The former manager’s best work came in the ’90s when he managed Wimbledon. But more recently, Kinnear’s most memorable moment came when he went on a tirade against a Daily Mirror journalist in a press conference:
What’s your opinion about Kinnear being appointed at Newcastle United? And do you think Alan Pardew’s days are numbered as Newcastle boss? Post your opinions in the comments section below.
Here are tonight’s world soccer news headlines:
Premier League
- Newcastle appoint Joe Kinnear as director of football in surprise return to former club — Independent
- Joe Kinnear has knowledge but is it relevant in today’s game? — Telegraph
- PSG escalate their interest in Tottenham’s Villas-Boas — The Guardian
- Michu believes the Premier League is superior to La Liga — Sky Sports
- Aston Villa close to signing £1.5m Antonio Luna from Sevilla — The Mail
- Brendan Rodgers hopes to buy Shakhtar Donetsk’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan for £20 million — Telegraph
- Tottenham’s £17m bid for Fredy Guarin is rejected by Inter Milan — The Mail
- Leroy Fer believes Everton remain keen on bringing him in — Sky Sports
International soccer
- Video: Luis Suárez’s goal was probably better than Andrea Pirlo’s — Pro Soccer Talk
- Pirlo and Balotelli lead Italy to hard-earned 2-1 win over Mexico — 101GG
- Final was 2-1, but Spain-Uruguay was nowhere near that close — Pro Soccer Talk
- World Cup qualifying: Ethiopia progress, South Africa knocked out — BBC Sport
- Riot police use tear gas at Maracana with protests blighting Confed Cup — Independent
- Ivory Coast first African team into play-offs — BBC Sport
La Liga
- Malaga forward Isco to decide future in next week — Sky Sports
The Nightly Soccer Report is tomorrow’s news today. It’s often tomorrow morning’s worldwide newspaper headlines that are published the night before. We do all the work for you, combing the Internet and aggregating the news for you. Read The Nightly Soccer Report on World Soccer Talk every night before bed, so you can stay on top of all the news that matters.
200+ Channels With Sports & News
- Starting price: $33/mo. for fubo Latino Package
- Watch Premier League, World Cup, Euro 2024 & more
- Includes NBC, USA, FOX, ESPN, CBSSN & more
Live & On Demand TV Streaming
- Price: $69.99/mo. for Entertainment package
- Watch World Cup, Euro 2024 & MLS
- Includes ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 + local channels
Many Sports & ESPN Originals
- Price: $6.99/mo. (or get ESPN+, Hulu & Disney+ for $13.99/mo.)
- Features Bundesliga, LaLiga, Championship, & more
- Also includes daily ESPN FC news & highlights show
2,000+ soccer games per year
- Price: $4.99/mo
- Features Champions League, Serie A, Europa League & NWSL
- Includes CBS, Star Trek & CBS Sports HQ
175 Premier League Games & PL TV
- Starting price: $4.99/mo. for Peacock Premium
- Watch 175 exclusive EPL games per season
- Includes Premier League TV channel plus movies, TV shows & more

Tom Siddons
June 18, 2013 at 2:34 pm
I doubt Joe Kinnear will get as much say as he claims he will! He has said he will buy players though so thats a positive for Newcastle, however he has said he may sell players which is definitely not a positive!
I don’t think Pardew will be sacked because of one bad season, he signed an 8 year contract so Mike Ashley has got to give him a chance.
Head over to my blog FootballNetwork for more in depth stories and opinions, footballnetwork.blogspot.co.uk
Andre
June 17, 2013 at 11:06 pm
In the last few years Newcastle have banged Hughton after he got them promoted and had them doing well in the prem, signed Pardew to an absurdly long deal, and brought a fired manager in Kinnear back to undercut Pardew. It really seems like they throw ideas around and say yeah thats cool pull the trigger
Guy
June 17, 2013 at 1:44 pm
Kinnear quote from The Guardian:
“I know I’ve got more knowledge than anyone at Newcastle as a football manager.”
Ruh-roh.
BA14
June 17, 2013 at 6:57 am
Is he suspended for any reason? Newcastle just might want to check that out.
Marc L
June 17, 2013 at 5:53 am
Pardew is signed to a long contract I think. So this is probably an attempt to make him quit and get NU off the hook for paying him.
geez
June 17, 2013 at 1:31 am
So all of Pardewsplans can go out the window cos now kinnear has to approve his transfers so it’s back top the drawing board…..what a disaster
brn442
June 16, 2013 at 11:35 pm
I’m not a fan of football the “director” position but if there is such a thing as club with rudderless management, it’s Newcastle.
Hopefully, this appointment with keep both the Magoies and Mr. Kinnear’s heart out of relegation trouble next season.
jtm371
June 16, 2013 at 10:22 pm
Alan it has been nice knowing you short odds he makes the season.
Marc L
June 17, 2013 at 5:51 am
Didn’t Kinnear get your boys at Forest relegated out of the Championship about 10 years ago?
I seem to remember that but maybe I’m thinking of some other idiot.
jtm371
June 17, 2013 at 9:55 am
Marc L
he came in for 03/04 season and moved Forest from 22nd to 14th but it all went bad 04/05 left fired after 23 games with only 4 wins and Forest was dropped to League 1.it has been a long slog for a long time.
Bruce Gottesman
June 16, 2013 at 10:12 pm
A brief perusal of NUFC fan sites will tell you what supporters are feeling – shock, dismay, and serious misgivings…
Mufc77
June 16, 2013 at 10:06 pm
Wasn’t Dennis Wise the DOF at Newcastle a couple of years ago and it turned out to be a disaster.
I can see another relegation scrap on the horizon for Newcastle.