Can Steve McClaren turn it around?
Newcastle has been performing poorly this calendar year and has only picked up 15 points from a possible 75 in the league in 2015. Newscastle is a club with a huge history and one of the biggest stadiums in England. Their fans are very demanding and McClaren will need to do well to keep them from going down to the Championship next term.
Newcastle fans will be hoping that they had not called for Alan Pardew's sacking at the start of last season. Pardew's value to the club only came to notice after he had left. John Carver came on as a caretaker manager for the club and they endured a horrific time under him . Newcastle won just 2 out of the 16 games managed by him and barely escaped relegation. Meanwhile Alan Pardew went on to join relegation struggling Crystal Palace and took them to a mid table finish.
Carver was replaced by former England manager Steve McClaren in the summer and there were some major transfer dealings with hopes that this would change the club's fortunes. Georgio Wijnaldum, a very talented Dutch midfielder, was brought in alongside Aleksander Mitrovic and Florian Thauvin. But here have been few signs of improvement at the club.
Wijnaldum started life well, scoring a header against Southampton after running the whole length of the pitch on his debut. But Mitrovic has been poor so far, earning more bookings than he has had shots on goal. But it is not just the form of individuals that are causing trouble at the Tyneside club. The team's attitude in general has been poor. Players such as Thauvin showed up in a tuxedo for a home game showing how casual they are about football.
Even players like Coloccini, who has to lead the team have looked lost and disenchanted at times. The team is yet to win in the league and lies at bottom of the table with the same points as Sunderland. The only win McClaren was able to muster was against a low league Northampton side in the league cup which doesn't even matter now as they have been thrown out of the competition by Sheffield Wednesday.
McClaren recently said that he is going to bring in a change at the club. He said that there is going to be a change in the philosophy, culture and standards at the club. But remember, this is modern day football and the fans want results. McClaren can go on and on talking about what is happening in training and inside the club. But as long as he doesn't produce results, fans will be soon asking for his head.
Individual quality wise, Newcastle have a good squad actually. Tim Krul is a very able goalkeeper, Janmaat has had some terrible displays in the league but on his day he is a reliable defender, Wijnaldum and Colback are very good midfielders who have a lot of energy, and we all know what Papiss Cisse is capable of. They just are not clicking the way they want. There has been a lazy attitude all around and it has been pointed out by pundits a lot of times this season.
Attack wise they have been poor this season. They have scored the fewest goals, and have had the fewest shots among all teams and are lacking creativity. McClaren coming down from his spot above where he analyzes the match, and shouting at his players before sitting down with his hands on his head has become a repetition.
It hasn't looked at all so far like McClaren is changing things at Newcastle but the positive thing is the optimism shown by him and the fans need to stand by the club instead of booing them off, especially when they have two big games coming up against Chelsea and Manchester City next.
 |
| Steve McLaren |
Carver was replaced by former England manager Steve McClaren in the summer and there were some major transfer dealings with hopes that this would change the club's fortunes. Georgio Wijnaldum, a very talented Dutch midfielder, was brought in alongside Aleksander Mitrovic and Florian Thauvin. But here have been few signs of improvement at the club.
Wijnaldum started life well, scoring a header against Southampton after running the whole length of the pitch on his debut. But Mitrovic has been poor so far, earning more bookings than he has had shots on goal. But it is not just the form of individuals that are causing trouble at the Tyneside club. The team's attitude in general has been poor. Players such as Thauvin showed up in a tuxedo for a home game showing how casual they are about football.
Even players like Coloccini, who has to lead the team have looked lost and disenchanted at times. The team is yet to win in the league and lies at bottom of the table with the same points as Sunderland. The only win McClaren was able to muster was against a low league Northampton side in the league cup which doesn't even matter now as they have been thrown out of the competition by Sheffield Wednesday.
McClaren recently said that he is going to bring in a change at the club. He said that there is going to be a change in the philosophy, culture and standards at the club. But remember, this is modern day football and the fans want results. McClaren can go on and on talking about what is happening in training and inside the club. But as long as he doesn't produce results, fans will be soon asking for his head.
Individual quality wise, Newcastle have a good squad actually. Tim Krul is a very able goalkeeper, Janmaat has had some terrible displays in the league but on his day he is a reliable defender, Wijnaldum and Colback are very good midfielders who have a lot of energy, and we all know what Papiss Cisse is capable of. They just are not clicking the way they want. There has been a lazy attitude all around and it has been pointed out by pundits a lot of times this season.
Attack wise they have been poor this season. They have scored the fewest goals, and have had the fewest shots among all teams and are lacking creativity. McClaren coming down from his spot above where he analyzes the match, and shouting at his players before sitting down with his hands on his head has become a repetition.
It hasn't looked at all so far like McClaren is changing things at Newcastle but the positive thing is the optimism shown by him and the fans need to stand by the club instead of booing them off, especially when they have two big games coming up against Chelsea and Manchester City next.