Souness

[BigToe]

'BUSINESS AS USUAL' FOR SOUNESS
By Damian Spellman, PA Sport

Newcastle boss Graeme Souness is hanging onto his job at St James' Park amid frenzied speculation over his future.

As rumours of an early-morning meeting with chairman Freddy Shepherd at St James' Park proved unfounded, Souness headed to the club's training headquarters a few miles away to prepare for the FA Cup fourth-round clash with Cheltenham on Saturday.

Neither he nor Shepherd said anything in public, although the word coming out of both camps was that it was very much business as usual despite the furore which greeted the Magpies 1-0 home defeat by Blackburn on Tyneside at the weekend.

But with bookmakers Ladbrokes quoting him as 2/7 favourite to become the next Barclays Premiership manager to go, Souness once again found himself in the spotlight and facing a desperate battle to cling to his job.

Shepherd has warned he would not accept the club's crippling injury list as an excuse for failing to miss out on Europe, and hundreds of fans demonstrated at St James' after Saturday's game.

Souness, however, remains stubbornly intent on his task and has repeatedly insisted he will not walk away, and while that may not have gone down well with fans, the players appear to be behind him.

"It's hard for us as players to hear that because he's a brilliant man to work for," said 22-year-old defender Peter Ramage. "He manages how he played, with 100% commitment and determination, and it's good to see he's determined to turn it around.

"We are fully behind him, every single one of those players in the dressing room is behind him, so it's hard to hear for us what the fans are chanting.

"But they are more than entitled to their opinion. They pay for their season tickets and what not to come and watch the games and they deserve to be entertained, and at the end of the day the position we are in is down to the players, not the manager.

"He picks the team, but I bet he wishes he could get his boots on and get out and help, he's that kind of guy.

"He's given me my chance, he's kick-started my career and I've got nothing but admiration for him."

But many fans do not share the players' view, and for some, his departure cannot come soon enough.

"We have massive problems," said Frank Gilmour, chairman of the Independent Newcastle United Supporters' Association.

"The team are not playing the way they should and Saturday's performance was lacklustre.

"I have always said he was the wrong man for the job. He has turned what was a good team under Sir Bobby Robson into the mediocre outfit that it is now.

"I'm glad the protest happened because Freddy Shepherd should know exactly what the fans feel."

Mark Jensen, editor of fanzine 'The Mag', added: "I walked through the protest and I think these fans have a right to voice their opinion because they are totally hacked off with the current situation.

"We are in such a mess and nobody can be happy with the way things are going at the moment."

Shepherd has been unhappy for some time with the direction in which the team has been going after handing Souness around £50million to strengthen his squad in the last 12 months.

He knows just how much injuries to summer acquisitions Michael Owen, Scott Parker and Emre in particular have hampered his manager, while Kieron Dyer, Steven Taylor, Shola Ameobi, Stephen Carr and Craig Moore have all been sidelined for lengthy periods.

However, with the likes of Craig Bellamy, Patrick Kluivert, Aaron Hughes, Andy O'Brien and Darren Ambrose having left the club last summer and Nicky Butt, Hugo Viana and James Milner having been sent out on loan, the squad is actually weaker in depth that it was.

The chairman's problem is two-pronged: he now appears to have a mandate to act, but has no desire to pay out around £5million in compensation to Souness and his coaching staff, while there is no obvious replacement, despite persistent links with Bolton's Sam Allardyce.

Just how he resolves that situation could have a major say in how the remainder of the club' season pans out.

Could not have happened to a nicer guy and I hope the door hits him on the way out.

[spideybuff]

That man is one shite manager...all he ever do is he win in Scotland with Rangers, bog frickin deal. Celtic was in a mess in them days, tha's probably why. Newcastle need to look at where they were before he came, and where they are now and recognise that Bobby Robson had the team playing better than they really were. Souness take them right back to where they were under Gullit...steups !!

[Collin Mcsamuel]

Robson was getting treated like shit by the players though. They would laugh at him during team talks to the point that Alan Shearer punched one of his team mates for it. They got Souness in beacause he takes noo shit from anyone but now they are acting like children again and not performing for him.

[Peong]

Under Souness Newcastle signed some good players though, Emre, Luque, Owen.  These are big players who could make an impact but they all got injured.  

But that is only an excuse for this season.

[Tenorsaw]

Souness = shittest managerial style in PFL.  Following closely on list of EPL's shittiest managers:  Steve McLaren.  Dem fellas ain't know they head from they ass.  They have managers that come up from the Championship like Jewel and Pardew looking like legends with somewhat inferior squads.

[Brej]

da man killin a great team

[Ponnoxx]

 They need a man like Ranieri....

[Cantona007]

da man killin a great team

No offence eh, but Newcastle were never a "great team". Amazingly some people want to blame Souness for Newcastle's lack of success; they never had any to begin with.

[supporter]

Souness is an ass and i always wondered how he got a managerial job. he kicked yorke in a training session, which coulda easily ended dwight's career.

the only ounce of success he had with blackburn was due to brad friedel.

I hope Newcastle and their immature players/manager get sent down

[Feliziano]

I hope Newcastle and their immature players/manager get sent down

doh forget de chairman too..Fat Fred
this club really gone to the dogs yes.