Firstly apologies for not doing a match report on the 2-2 draw at home to Wigan game last Saturday. A combination of being in Mornington all weekend, a hectic work week and the depression of actually watching the re-run has halted my efforts to bring it to you. You can read my comments and thought in the Match Thread on our forum if your bothered.
It has been another interesting week in the life of Newcastle United FC with again all the headlines being off the field sadly.
Firstly on Sunday the news broke that striker Andy Carroll had been released on bail following a charge of assault. Carroll is alleged to have attacked his former girlfriend Laurie Henderson in her Ponteland home in the early hours of Sunday morning. Carroll denies the charge and oddly has a bail condition where he must live with Kevin Nolan, what relevance Nolan has to all this is unknown.
As ever the UK tabloids have had a field day with this piece of juice news. The Sun yesterday ran a story with the headline Toon star ‘beat me after sex with pal’ as rumours circulate about what, if anything, actually happened.
This fresh allegation of assault is hardly what Carroll needs as he has another court appearance due on Monday (25th) where he will face a different charge of assault after an alleged brawl in a nightclub last year. This can’t help that court appearance in the slightest and you have to think that he is in serious danger of going to jail. Innocent until proven guilty naturally and Carroll does deny both charges, but one thing is for certain he really needs to keep his head down and have a serious think about the people he is associated himself with. It is typical that all this has comes out just a week after the club agreed to give Carroll a 5-year contract, he won’t be much use to us if he is spending time in Durham prison!
In other news this week assistant manager Colin Calderwood has left the club to become new manager of Hibernian. This one has surprised most people as we didn’t see this coming, Chris Hughton and Calderwood have worked well together over the last year or so, but I guess the lure of a management position, especially back in his native Scotland, was probably too much to refuse for Calderwood. Anyway good luck to the bloke I hope he does well.
There has been no mention of any replacements so far by Hughton or the club so it will be interesting to see if they promote from within, hire a new guy, or alternatively not replace Calderwood at all. Speculation is rife about possible replacements or re-shuffle in the club management but the Daily Mirror take the award for the biggest pile of bollocks, they claim Joe Kinnear is set for a sensational return to the club as manger alongside Peter Beardsley with Kevin Nolan player-coach.
Just your average week at Newcastle United FC then!
Andrew McTernan – Row ‘S’ Army
