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Steve McClaren sacked as Newcastle United 'Head Coach' (Manager)


Tooj
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I'm with scoobos on this. You might well be right and maybe we're being overly positive but I think we should at least give him more time. I actually think he's been the most unlucky manager we've had in a long time. Little things have gone against us at crucial times, especially before xmas. Two examples that spring to mind: 1) the mackems match, when I remember thinking to myself during the first half that it was the best we'd played in about 10 years, which admittedly had a lot to do with how shocking they were, but still we were so on top it wasn't true. Then Colo goes and gets sent off out of nowhere with a terrible decision, we're 1-0 down and totally capitulate due to aforementioned negative mentality that has been growing for years. 2) The Villa match - the weather was the biggest leveller ever. I know this sounds like making excuses, but Barcelona would have struggled to look the better team in rain like that, and anyone who has played football at a decent level knows what I am talking about. Admittedly we should have dealt with Ayew better in the second half, but I really believe that if we hadn't had that freak rain we would have won that comfortably, especially coming off the back of the Spurs and Liverpool games and how absolutely woeful they were at the time. You can't coach or prepare a team to play in those conditions, and we don't have a team of cloggers who would relish that kind of game. And even then we had the chances to win it. That's 5 points that would have us comfortably in mid table and looking up, without mentioning a game like Everton at home.

 

I know that's going to sound like I'm clutching at straws. I am not desperate to defend McLaren, he's not the bloke I would ideally have in charge of the toon, not by a long stretch. However we are where we are thanks to Ashley, and I happen to think McLaren is a decent bloke doing his best and he should get a bit more time before being judged so harshly. One more thing, I've heard a lot of ex pros say that he's one of the best, if not the best, coaches they've played for, which has to count for something.

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It's not clutching at straws. He has been unlucky. There have been a few games when we've been total shit and deserved to lose - like Everton and Palace away, and one or two others - but plenty more where we've looked ok but the points haven't matched the performances.

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He has his limitations, no doubt. His inability to get a plan in place for away games is evidence of that.

 

I think the negativity around the place wasn't helped by our early fixtures, we were playing some decent football even then, but we were facing some really good sides. Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Southampton, West Ham, and a surprise package in Watford. Then comes a demolition of Norwich, and a dominant 1st half vs the mackems. Colo getting sent off like that is a fucking crime and I honestly believe we'd have comfortably won that game had he stayed on the pitch. Win that game and sunderland are 1pt ahead of Villa on 17pts and we're 4pts clear of the bottom 3 on 27.

 

I'm adamant we're playing a more pleasing style of football, I'm sure we'll stay up and while McClaren isn't an inspiring Head Coach given the context of where and what the club currently is, he's doing an all right job. I'd drop him for Moyes, Rodgers or whomever but don't kid yourself that Pardew is a better manager, he's just a streaky manager who's limitations are papered over by talented footballers.

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We've spent £80m, it could be argued that that quality boost alone has made performances improve. Performances have improved yet results have gotten worse. It's inexcusable, and I'm sick of the club not takig decisive action when it's needed. It hardly promotes a winning attitude when failure is overlooked by those at the top. We nearly got relegated last season because of it and it's groundhog day

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We've spent £80m, it could be argued that that quality boost alone has made performances improve. Performances have improved yet results have gotten worse. It's inexcusable, and I'm sick of the club not takig decisive action when it's needed. It hardly promotes a winning attitude when failure is overlooked by those at the top. We nearly got relegated last season because of it and it's groundhog day

I doubt having a different manager in charge for the West Brom game would done anything about the number of chances that went begging.

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We've spent £80m, it could be argued that that quality boost alone has made performances improve.

 

That's the thing. Have we seen a marked improvement from any of the players who were here last season?

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We've spent £80m, it could be argued that that quality boost alone has made performances improve. Performances have improved yet results have gotten worse. It's inexcusable, and I'm sick of the club not takig decisive action when it's needed. It hardly promotes a winning attitude when failure is overlooked by those at the top. We nearly got relegated last season because of it and it's groundhog day

 

on how many players though?

 

We didn't overhaul the squad, in the summer did we? We signed 1 centre back when we probably needed 2. We didn't sign a left back when we needed one, we signed 1 striker when we probably needed 2. We gambled on a replacement for a replacement Left Winger we gambled on. We didn't sign a creative central midfielder until January!

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The more I think about McClaren, the more I think he's there to change the coaching and playing philosophy and oversee the next few transfer windows before they do something mental like appoint Ian Cathro in 2 seasons.

 

He'll have to keep us up first, like.

Edited by Ayatollah Hermione
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The ethos behind his bid to play better football is a reason I want to see him succeed, I must admit. I just don't have a lot of faith in him because of his previous track record and his inability to get results here. Plenty of sides have gone down playing :quotes: attractive football :quotes: as well.

Also, while I think there's issues with the squad and the malaise which was present when he took over, the squad isn't that bad. Not one of the worst 3 or 4 in the league anyway.

Edited by Alex
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We're bottom 4 without playing Williamson and Gouffran who for me and a lot of others were our main problems for losing games. We now don't play them and were still losing games that we shouldn't and that's on McLaren.

That is outstanding logic.

 

No scissors or grown up glue for you, I fear.

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It's not an unfair comment. The players who have come in have largely improved on those they replaced yet the results haven't improved. As I said earlier, he hasn't really improved the performances of those who were here last season.

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It's not an unfair comment. The players who have come in have largely improved on those they replaced yet the results haven't improved. As I said earlier, he hasn't really improved the performances of those who were here last season.

Williamson & Gouffran weren't the main reason we lost games last season, and their absence wouldn't suddenly fix the problems up front, in the centre or at the back, would it? Which was the implication of the previous post.

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That is outstanding logic.

 

No scissors or grown up glue for you, I fear.

Essembee has had better comebacks than that btw.

 

Player wise Mbemba is 5 times the player of Williamson and Perez, Wijnaldum or whoever who have replaced Gouffran are all 5 times the player he is. Yet there has been no upturn in results despite having improved players. That is on the manager.

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Essembee has had better comebacks than that btw.

Player wise Mbemba is 5 times the player of Williamson and Perez, Wijnaldum or whoever who have replaced Gouffran are all 5 times the player he is. Yet there has been no upturn in results despite having improved players. That is on the manager.

You're half right, but it all comes back to Ashley for me. He's largely responsible for us being perceived as a "stepping stone" club and the players attitude is quite often fuckin appalling because of it. As someone said, we haven't got the 3rd worse squad in the league, but we are where we are because players with ability like Sissoko largely just go through the motions. The other thing is McLaren himself, who's record shows he's a pretty average coach. Ashley isn't going to show ambition and appoint someone a couple of levels above him though, and you can't blame McLaren himself for that.

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