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So Kevin Nolan is on his way from Newcastle United to Upton Park. Surprisingly, the Newcastle skipper rejected a new contract at St James’ Park in favour of a move down a division to the Hammers.
At first glance, this is not good news for Newcastle. A solid first season back in the top flight has been largely based around the play of Kevin Nolan, never more evident than in the dismantling of Sunderland in October where he grabbed a hat-trick. And, generally speaking, losing your captain and talisman just months after losing your young star is not ideal. However, there is certainly a case to be made that this could be a great move for the club.
Look at it this way. Nolan is getting on a bit now. He may still have a few years but he is never going to get any better than he has been this season. His departure frees up space for a young driving force in the heart of midfield and, possibly more importantly, it shows the rest of the league that Newcastle are not the sentimental club they have become over the last few decades.

Throughout my life, Newcastle have been popular but never successful. People seem to want them to do well but they always fall short. For instance the infamous capitulation of Kevin Keegan’s side at the hands of Manchester United. They have come to be associated with sentimentalism, never a good thing in the ruthless world of modern football. The unexpected development in this story will go some way to shedding that image. This is now a club that will not pay over the odds now for someone based on what they have already done. Some fans may not like it but it is the way to progress the club.
If Alan Pardew can use this as an opportunity to bring in good young talent, or even bring through some of the academy players at the club, then this could be the moment where Newcastle United begin to move to the next level. They finished 11th in the league last year and with a chairman who does have money, then the possibility to establish themselves as a top 10 club is there. But the competition is stronger than ever. The replacement has to be good.
There is talent in the squad. Cheik Tiote showed that he has the ability to play a pivotal role if he can stay fit and reach a level of consistency. The transfer rumours are also positive. Seb Larsson and Charles N’Zogbia have both been mentioned, and this kind of attacking player is what the fans will want to see brought in. Much rests on the weeks ahead — before the season starts.
In the end, as with 99% of transfers, the proof will only be seen as the season progresses. If things start poorly at St James’ then the fans may become frustrated at the lack of a strong leader. If Nolan’s replacement scores 10 goals by Christmas then Nolan will soon become a memory of a forgotten era.
What do you think? Is this move a real problem for Newcastle, or could it prove to be a significant, positive moment in the club’s recent history.

What Kevin Nolan Leaving Newcastle United Will Mean For The Toon - World Soccer Talk

What Kevin Nolan Leaving Newcastle United Will Mean For The Toon

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Sky Sports recently broke news that Joey Barton’s contract offer at Newcastle had been withdrawn by the club and suggested that he would leave the club once his deal expires. The source in question is Barton’s agent, the notorious Willie McKay who spoke to Sky Sports news regarding the situation. On first glance, it may seem to be a worst case scenario for Newcastle United fans, but many may be missing out on the bigger picture here and not realise that this could be (and is most very likely) a clever ploy by the players agent in order to tip the balance in his favour.&nbsp; In other words, Willie McKay is most likely looking to put pressure on the Newcastle board and get one last big pay day from one of his clients, who is now 28 and playing some of the best football of his career.
Although I may be slightly non-objective being a Newcastle fan, I’ve always been a keen defender of Newcastle’s Number 7. A man that made many mistakes in the past is now open about his problems and <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1222048/Charles-Sale-A-good-deed-Newcastle-bad-boy-Joey-Barton.html">making genuine efforts to form himself into a better human being</a>, as can be seen through the way he hasn’t had a drink for more than three years .A player that grew up in some of the roughest parts of Liverpool, Barton does a lot for children from the area in order to make sure that they don’t go down the wrong path; although you’ll rarely hear the press go on about it. Barton’s image created framed by the media often leads him to be under the spotlight when he does the slightest thing within football these days, whereas other footballers who are heralded as heroes of the game receive nowhere near the same treatment. A prime example can be seen in Newcastle’s recent 2-2 with Chelsea, where Frank Lampard made a malicious and cynical tackle from behind on Barton himself, which only got him a yellow card. No outcry from the media or the fans and not even a mention on Match Of The Day later that evening, I guess he holds that old commentary cliché of “not being that sort of player”. I don’t condone what Barton has done in the past and I’m sure he doesn’t either, but I thought I’d just write this little paragraph so hopefully there can be a control on the Barton haters commenting (although there will no doubt be someone who wants to peddle the bandwagon along).

Barton has become a hero at Newcastle. His great performances and key role in midfield has made him loved by the fans and many seem devastated by the news that he won’t be signing a new contract with the club. But Toon fans need not despair, as it is not the end of the world. It is true that there are some genuine and decent football agents out there (believe it or not), but Willie McKay has a little bit of a history that would suggest he isn’t one of those individuals. The name may seem familiar, but McKay has been given constant allegations of corruption within football in the past, and <a href="http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7116823.stm">was even arrested in the Portsmouth scandal</a> along with current Tottenham Hotspurs manager Harry Redknapp. <a href="http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/7784238.stm">McKay was also fined and banned from operating for one transfer window</a> due to his role in Benjani’s sale from Auxerre to Portsmouth and then from Portsmouth to Man City in two consecutive seasons, breaching FA rules by acting as the selling party for a player twice in a row.
It would be easy to attack Newcastle’s board and in particular Mike Ashley at this moment in time, and I’m sure that many Toon fans will. Yet it is under good authority from local North East journalist Lee Ryder that <a href="http:\/\/twitter.com/#!/lee_ryder/status/73377426176081920">Barton’s representatives have already been offered two lucrative deals that have been turned down</a>. For all the criticism of the Newcastle board, the one thing they have done that gains respect is to not be pushed around by wages demands and prices. <a href="http:\/\/www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/852333-sebastian-larsson-talks-to-newcastle-as-birmingham-bring-in-david-bentley">Seb Larsson was all set to sign for Newcastle</a>, yet the club rebuked his high wage demands and refused to be pushed over, and this is a welcome change from the Newcastle of old that used to dish out copious amounts of money for “high profile” players. The salary cap was supposed to be £30,000 per week, yet it is more than likely that Newcastle broke this rule in order to keep Barton at the club. He is a key player and in the prime of his career, the player has been the main cog in the Newcastle machine this season and vital to their success. It has been suggested that a stumbling block in the deal may be the length of the contract,&nbsp; as Newcastle are offering fewer years than Barton is asking for, although whether or not there is any truth in this remains to be seen.
If Newcastle fans need any reminding, Steven Taylor was in a similar situation not too long ago. The player refused to sign a new deal which seemed to be a ploy in order to pressure the club for higher wages. <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1306041/Newcastle-defender-Steven-Taylor-transfer-list.html">This resulted in Newcastle putting Taylor on the transfer list</a> and making a firm stand on the player. Eventually though, Taylor did sign a new contract with the club and it appears as though Newcastle were not pushed around on the demands. This shows how agents have become one of the main features of modern football and have so much power in the game. McKay has went to Sky Sports in order to put pressure on the board and is trying to whip the fans into a frenzy as he knows that they desire Barton to stay with the club. So shall we blame the Newcastle board for all this? In this instance, I think not. Joey may well leave the club and that would be unfortunate, yet it would be wrong to just give into higher demands and one player does not make a club. Newcastle may decide to cash in on Barton before they risk losing him on a free and it would be such a shame to lose such an influential player, yet the news broke today by Sky Sports and Willie McKay reeks of being a plot by the agent. There is still time for Newcastle to retain their talisman, but fans shouldn’t feel that today is the end of negotiations with Barton.
Follow me on Twitter <a href="http:\/\/www.twitter.com/clusks" target="_blank">@Clusks</a>

Why Newcastle Fans Shouldn’t Be Worried About Joey Barton Not Signing New Contract - World Soccer Talk

Why Newcastle Fans Shouldn’t Be Worried About Joey Barton Not Signing New Contract

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I would say that this season has probably seen me watch less football than I have done for quite a while. First an admission. I got engaged, started a new job and started the process of moving house. And yet I feel more passionate about the game now than I have ever done. Which got me thinking, are we suffering from football overkill? Can we actually have too much football?
I realize that maybe your natural reaction to such a question is one of incredulity. How can you have too much of the best sport in the world? But I am certain that the relative break I have had from the game has helped my appreciation of it deepen.
The simple fact is that because I have watched fewer games I have appreciated much more those that I have managed to see, a principle that could well benefit the game as a whole.
Football is by far the most dominant sport in our society. The papers are full of it, it dominates the sports bulletins and its big events are written into our national calendar. Sometimes it appears as though we all get so caught up in the stories around the game that sometimes we forget about the beauty of the game.

I am not saying that there is anything wrong with following all the off pitch stories and season-long narratives but the reason we all fell in love with football is the simplicity, the pure beauty of watching a team in full flow. Sometimes all the extra stuff that we are treated to comes in between us and that truth.
In my utopian view of what football could become there are less games in the Premier League and no top flight involvement in the League Cup, leading hopefully to a greater appreciation of the best that English football has to offer.
There is another, more practical reason why I believe a bit less top flight football would be a good thing. We all know that lower league clubs are struggling to survive. How many people would go and see some local lower league football once in a while if there were fewer games at the top? Maybe we might see a return to real localism within football. Fans could form an attachment to their local side as well as following a side in the top flight without being force fed an endless amount of top flight football, a lot of which often means very little.
There is precedent for this idea. The NFL has only 16 games in the regular season and fans of the sport appreciate hugely the short time they get with their team every year. It is a successful league with passionate fans and a successful commercial history. Meanwhile college and high school football thrives on a more local level, bringing together communities around sport.
Frankly, football could well be getting too big to sustain itself. A radical solution may be the only way forward for the sport whilst radical rationing of your own football intake may well produce some very surprising results in your own lives.

Why We Need Fewer Matches in the Premier League, Not More - World Soccer Talk

Why We Need Fewer Matches in the Premier League, Not More

<div id="attachment_29265" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/the_fa.jpg"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div></a>Inconsistent</div>
Everyone has had their own personal go at FIFA over the past few months, with most of the English nation angry that they didn’t get the World Cup (and were humiliated in the process), but the spotlight rarely falls on the English establishment of football and many of their agendas seem to slip under radar. I’ve had distaste for my country’s FA for some time now, but the reasons I am writing such a scathing attack on them is because of what I read last night. <a href="http:\/\/www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/England-are-to-declare-war-on-rule-bending-clubs-by-banning-players-who-fail-to-report-for-Three-Lions-duty-from-appearing-for-club-the-next-weekend-article694903.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter">This article in the Mirror claims that England are set to punish players that withdraw from the England squad without being checked by the FA’s medical staff</a>, which I guess is somewhat fair (although I don’t see the great urgency to call up players for pointless international friendlies). The article cites Newcastle United’s Nile Ranger, who withdrew from England U20’s make or break, blockbuster FRIENDLY against France U20’s without being examined by the English medical staff. But it’s another part of this situation that annoys me, with a quote below taken from the article:
“Ranger was to be banned from playing against Blackburn tomorrow, but they were forced to postpone the action when they realised Manchester United defender Chris Smalling had been allowed to cry off Under-21 duty without reporting to England.”
 
When I first read that sentence, I was dumbfounded for words. You’ll take Man Utd’s word on it, but Newcastle should be punished? I’ve realised, this season in particular, there has been a particular lack of consistency from the FA in many of the decisions they have made.&nbsp; Most of us are already aware of the terrible treatment the likes of <a href="http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/blackpool/9378679.stm">Wolves and Blackpool have received for fielding “under strength teams”</a>, as both have been fined unjustly. The fact is, the FA ask you at the start of the season to make a squad of 25 players (which in itself is one of the weakest set of squad rules in world football, that does little to aid home-grown player development) so why are clubs being fined for fielding these players? I actually find it quite disrespectful to the starting line ups of the Wolves and Blackpool sides on those days, and that Blackpool XI actually put in a great performance only suffering a narrow 3-2 loss. I also ponder why these fines aren’t handed out for teams fielding “under strength” sides in the FA Cup, but then I remember that the FA Cup doesn’t make as much of a profit as the EPL does.
You may have read Karl Sears’ wonderful write up of his <a href="../how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-about-england-and-love-club-football-29250#more-29250">reasoning’s for not supporting his national side</a> (which I echo) and I was talking to fellow EPL talk writer <a href="http:\/\/twitter.com/#%21/JesseChula">Jesse Chula</a> the other day about many of the problems with the English national side. The main one, I believe, is the selection policy and I honestly don’t believe that Fabio has full power over some of the players chosen. Capello claims that he is picking players “on form” yet somehow Joey Barton, who has probably been the best English midfielder this season, misses out on the national side. As well as this, Glenn Jonhson, who isn’t even first choice right back at Liverpool anymore, get’s in the squad. And the selection of Carlton Cole…well need I say more? I think England fans should envy France and Italy, two nations that really took action on their poor World Cup performances and completely overhauled their squads in preparation for future competitions; England on the other hand seem to be stuck in a state of limbo where they are too scared to drop a number of high profile players due to their marketability and in the end they are only going to suffer from the same old results. Italy imposed stricter rules on Serie A teams in order to makes them develop Italian players, yet the EPL still doesn’t have the same rules as it is more than likely that the FA are worried that profits will drop if fewer foreign stars can fill teams up. I’m not saying I don’t want these foreign players in this league, I love them, but there can hardly be complaints about England’s poor performances when there is nothing to encourage reliance on developing English players.
The home nations tournament has just got under way and I’ve heard many ask why England aren’t involved, as with interest in the national side taking a blow after last summer, this would surely be an ideal chance to reignite interest in the team. A friendly against Denmark isn’t exciting and when you are calling up a lot of the same old faces and not experimenting with a lot of fresh new faces, it becomes mundane and pretty pointless. But if England on the other hand were in a home nations tournament, I would be genuinely interested, as although it is still technically a friendly tournament, you know it is going to be competitive and something that would be exciting to watch. I’ve seen arguments that being in the home nations cup “wouldn’t really test this English side”, but I don’t believe that England are at as high a level as they think they are and much of their reputation is built through optimism and media hype. When I turn on FIFA 11 and chose Chelsea, I see John Terry is rated something ridiculous like 84, but when I watch him play in real life, he has all the tactical awareness of a paper bag blowing in the wind. I do believe they are better than the likes of the other home nations (with no disrespect, although I do believe that on their day any of them could give England real problems), but the recent friendly against France showed that they are not quite on the elite level.
I was going to mention something about the FA handing out bans this season, although I couldn’t find videos of incidents to help showcase my point. The fact is that I wouldn’t mind some of the FA’s decisions this season if there was some actual consistency to what they were doing. Joey Barton got a three match ban for punching Morten Gamst Pedersen in the chest which was justified and correct, yet on the same day, Cesc Fabregas made a horrible lunge in a game against Wolves which went completely unpunished. If you want to make the argument that a punch is worse than a dangerous tackle like that, then you are wrong; that is saying it is ok to try and break players legs. Tom Huddlestone also got away with a blatant stomp on Johan Elmander this season, something which was caught clearly by cameras and I cannot see how the FA can genuinely not hand out a ban for something like this.
I am bewildered at times at how this FA conducts itself.
Follow me on Twitter: @Clusks

The English FA: Corrupt and Pathetic - World Soccer Talk

The English FA: Corrupt and Pathetic

<div id="attachment_29107" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/pardooo.jpg"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div></a>Andy Who? Focus on Pardew and NUFC!</div>
Monday was a bad day for the Geordies, it was like finding out the girl you’re deeply in love with has ran away into the arms of another man and never truly loved you anyway. It would be impossible to sum up a collective reaction of the Toon Army to the news, as people seemed more confused (not unusual for Newcastle fans under Ashley) than anything else. Andy Carroll – our prized possession, who apparently wasn’t feeling the same loyalty and love for his home region on Monday, had jumped ship at the first opportunity. There are a number of confounding stories out there on how this came to be, you only need to ask a cross section of Toon fans to find that they’ll all give you a different account of why Carroll left, but it is becoming generally accepted that it was a deal that suited all parties. Newcastle would always be happy to cash in (to be fair, £35m for a guy who is good at heading a ball is an amazing deal) and Carroll, who demanded an improved contract on the one he only signed in November, was keen to earn big money. For such a deal, Newcastle fans may have been more accepting had the timing not been so frustrating as no replacement was forthcoming and the clubs resources now look stretched. But much like being dumped by a girl you’re deeply in love with, there are two options you can take. You can sulk all you like, accepting the tragedy of what has happened or you can be positive – playing the cards you’ve been dealt.

We loved Andy Carroll, it’s true, but in the space of 24 hours, that love has turned to hate. And although there was a sense of panic and depression felt by the fans on the Tuesday after Carroll’s switch, the spirit and the belief of the Toon Army appears to be intact. Carroll was a great player for us, but we never felt like a one man team. The previous four games before the disappointing performance at Fulham saw Newcastle grab two victories and two draws and in truth those two ties should have ended up as victories. The team was playing well regardless of Carroll being there or not and although there is less security thinking that Carroll will at some point return to the side, the fans are aware that their side can perform to a high level and match anyone on their day. As well as this, Newcastle have been suffering with injuries to key players all season, particularly that of marquee signing Hatem Ben Arfa who has now signed to the club permanently and could be crucial to survival hopes when he returns in March. Dan&nbsp; Gosling made a late cameo against Sunderland before having a slight reoccurrence of his knee injury and fans are interested to see what he can offer the team. Cheick Tiote has also just served his three match suspension after his dubious red card against Stevenage and it will be a massive boost to have him back in midfield after he has offered so much to the club this season. Truth be told – Newcastle have had to overcome a lot of difficult moments this season, but they’ve done it. If you had told any supporter that they could be on 30 points in 10th place on this date, they would have bitten your hand off! Survival is the goal this season and the side (Carroll or no Carroll) have proven that they are capable of accomplishing that.
The question has already been raised by the ever generic British pundit union as to “where will the goals come from now”, but you’d think that these “experts” had forgotten that there were 10 other players on the pitch when Carroll was in a Newcastle shirt. Newcastle have had eight different scorers in the league this season and many seem to forget that one goal behind Carroll in the top scorers chart is Kevin Nolan with 10 goals to his name. The strange thing about Kevin Nolan is that you don’t seem to recognise him for most of the game, yet he just seems to be in the right place at the right time and gets the goals the team needs. Losing Ameobi to injury is a blow, but in recent games Leon Best has worked hard and Lovenkrands should be hungry to impress and establish himself back in the first team. Not exactly world beaters, but I don’t think that enough credit went to the Newcastle midfield for all the work they did for Carroll. Joey Barton has been the best English midfielder in the league this season, and although he may not be “marketable” enough to get in the England squad (which I suspect is part of the reason that Carroll’s fee was so high), and I’m sure he can provide the same service to whoever else is up top. When Barton plays well, Newcastle play well.
The £35m fee alone has been questioned by many and most Newcastle fans will tell you that Carroll is nowhere near worth that, as much as we loved him. He was great for us and brilliant at heading the ball, but he is still a very unfinished article and is still unproven at the top level. It annoyed me somewhat that Sky Sports News had Iain Dowie and Tony Cascarino on transfer deadline day claiming that Liverpool we getting a “proven goal scorer” and he was worth it “in this climate”. Carroll has had one good season in the Championship and half a good season in the Premier League; I wouldn’t want to pay that figure for someone like that. Carroll could be a great player, but the word there is “could”. I see Inter Milan signing Giampaolo Pazzini for about £8m, David Villa joining Barcelona for about £30m and Mario Balotelli (young player of the year, by the way) joining the usually ripped off Man City for £24m and it begs the question, will Carroll ever be able to repay such a massive fee? In truth, Newcastle have got a figure beyond their wildest dreams for a 22 year old that came from their own youth academy. £35m is not the end of it either, as it is believed that there are other clauses that could take the overall figure past £40m+ with an added sell on clause. BIG money for a team that is trying to reduce its debt.
The Toon fans still feel caution over this however, <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1350044/Football-tycoon-Mike-Ashley-loses-1m-2-hours-gambling-casino.html">as they wonder how much of this £35m their beloved owner will stick on black at the local Aspers Casino</a>. Alan Pardew has tried to <a href="http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/feb/01/alan-pardew-newcastle-united">reassure all that the money will be used in the summer to strengthen the team</a>, but did let slip that this will be available for both wages and transfer money. Many Newcastle fans, from understandable experience, have already written off this claim and believe that the club will see very little being reinvested to strengthen the squad, although in my new found optimistic mood, I will reserve judgement until the summer comes about. In the mean time, it is important that the club ties down Joey Barton and Jose Enrique to new long term contracts, as both are adored by the fans and have been crucial to the side’s recent success. Joey Barton himself has said that <a href="http:\/\/www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/01/24/joey-barton-i-will-end-my-career-with-united-72703-28043687/">he wants to end his career in the North East and with the form he has been in</a>, no Toon fan will complain about that.
So should we be negative? Maybe a bit that we’ve lost our prize asset, but truth be told we have a hell of a lot more money than he is worth. We have a number of key players coming back from injury. We are in a good position to achieve survival in our first season after being promoted. We have a lot of promising youth players coming through our academy (who we will now set the bar at £35m for – each). I’m not too worried, I know our striking options are limited at the moment but any Newcastle fans know that we were not a one man team with Carroll in the side and the other players in the squad deserve a lot more credit. A bad performance against Fulham, sure, but the team has had those games this season, even when Carroll has been in the side. It’s time to forget about Carroll, any focus on the loss of him downplays the impact the other players have had and all the Toon army need to focus on right now is their own side’s hopes and remaining games this season. Unlike our former No.9, let’s show some faith in our team!
Follow me on Twitter: @Clusks

No Doom And Gloom For The Toon - Perspective - World Soccer Talk

No Doom And Gloom For The Toon – Perspective

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The partisan nature of football is one of the greatest things about the sport. It gives us the chance to get behind one team, to share banter with opposing fans and feel that ecstatic high when our team wins. But do we take things too far? I am not talking about violence or poor behaviour by a minority of idiots, we all know that there is no excuse for that, but would the game be better, perhaps even more enjoyable if we all occasionally took off our team’s blinkers?
For me, one of the most frustrating elements of the modern game is the fan who never admits any failure by his own team. We see it from managers all the time but they are paid to protect players and play the mind games. We all moan every time we see football move away from being just a sport but we could all be a part of the problem.
Sport is completely unimportant. It doesn’t matter at all. Football is something that was invented as a way to pass the time between other much more important things, at its best when the balance between seriousness and frivolity is found and at its most useless when it becomes the be all and end all. By refusing to see things as they truly are we admit to seeing football as something more important than it is. Society frowns on those who blindly and ignorantly ignore simple truths. Why should football be any different?

I am as guilty as much as the next man. My natural position is to robustly defend my team even if I know that really they are rubbish or that they have made a mistake. I have seen otherwise perfectly normal, morally upright people defend actions on the pitch that would not be accepted in real life simply because the accused plays for their team. Surely this is a trait that we should all try and step away from?
Football creates debate like no other sport. Unfortunately in my experience it also fails to follow up on this promise of good discussion thanks to the proliferation of people who refuse to say a word against their team. How many arguments can you remember being ruined by someone who simply sticks to the line of argument that makes his club look good, regardless of its relationship with the truth?
How frustrating is it to see managers come out after the match and claim not to have seen a decision or that they only lost because of poor decisions and/or bad luck? I find this bad enough but coming from friends and fellow fans it is much worse. If we all just took a step back and viewed the game a little more objectively then I am certain we would all benefit. Debates would still happen but we might actually progress towards the occasional agreement and we might all regain a little bit of perspective.
After all, football is only a game, much as that may baffle a few people out there.

Is Extreme Partisanship Bad For Football?

Is Extreme Partisanship Bad For Football? - World Soccer Talk

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