For those of you who had bet on Alan Curbishley to win the sack race, I hope you held onto your betting slip, as he decided to walk off the plank before he was pushed. I'm sure Ladbrokes will have some controversy on their hands now that Newcastle have denied sacking(firing) Kevin Keegan. Mike Ashley might have done that just to avoid having his flat(place of living) burned down by villagers. This isn't to suggest he looks like Frankenstein, and I'm always impressed that he shows up to games wearing a Newcastle kit(jersey), though I'm sure that's because they're always on sale. But the timing of these announcements is quite telling, as both managers have had problems with upper management during the boardroom.Many remember Alan Curbishley from his time at Charlton where he would lead them to the top of the table in August, and slowly descend for the rest of the year. He left the club amicably in 2006, and that December took over at West Ham. West Ham had gotten off to a horrid start after the purchase(illegal) of Mascherano and Tevez from MSI, who were expected to buy the club. However, an Icelandic group led by a billionaire and biscuit salesman bought the team(you can't make this stuff up). Their transfer of the duo was deemed to have broken the rules, and the club was fined a world record £5.5 million. However key goals from Tevez kept them in the Prem, while Charlton was relegated. The difficult wasn't over, as they battled lawsuits from Sheffield United(who had been relegated), that West Ham should have been docked points. There was also the question of Mascherano and Tevez, who were eventually sold to Liverpool and Man U respectively(in two deals that really exposed how fraudelent West Ham's signing of them was in the beginning). The Icelanders also put their money where they eat their biscuits: Upson, Neill, Boa Morte, Ljungberg, Parker, Bellamy and Dyer all joined in 2007. Collectively they spent more time on the bench then they did in the lineup. It's hard to determine how much influence Curbs had in signing them. The biscuit salesman who had been chairman sold his stake to his countryman, which hints at his being the one to blame. But the fans have been all over Curbs, and were disappointed by last year's 10th place finish, though they were safe from relegation. There was little spending this off-season, and the biggest deals were the selling of Anton Ferdinand and George McCarthy to Sunderland. This was done against his wishes, and today he decided that the destiny of the club was no longer in his hands. I think Curbs is a good manager and he has a track record of keeping teams in the Prem. These days that's not enough.
It's pretty clear to see why the female half of Newcastle loves Kevin Keegan. He helped lead the team back into the top flight while playing at Newcastle, and then as coach he saved them from relegation and promoted them to the Prem where he nearly led them to a title. He coached England, and came within a Robbie Fowler pk miss of leading Man City to the UEFA Cup. When he was appointed coach of Newcastle last year many thought he could lead the team to glory, but what has ensued has been confusion. Much like Curbs, Keegan has had to contend with injuries. His strike force of Owen, Ameobi, Viduka and Martins have all missed a number of games. Duff has been out of the squad, Barton has been in jail, and a number of their big name signings have been failures. They brought in two Argentinians, and Xisco, but James Milner was lost to Villa. The real issue has been the chaos at the top of the club. Owner Mike Ashley seems very involved, and they have three men with Director in their title, including the insufferable Dennis Wise. Keegan has not been happy with their transfer policy, and with Owen refusing a new contract nobody is sure which direction the club is going. It seems that these are tough times for English managers. The top clubs are now only importing foreign players, but foreign managers as well. Nobody seems content to finish in the middle of the table, everybody has ambitions for the title, Europe, world domination. It seems like maybe this is a good time to sit and reflect, that we can't all be winners, and sometimes avoiding relegation is good enough.One Liners
- Flamini says he has not quit Les Bleus, just waiting for Domenech to get fired and then he'll join the squad
- Redknapp denies trying to sign Barton, like any sane person would
- Ronaldo says he has spoken with City, no the other Ronaldo, the transvestite loving Brazilian one, apparently he thought they were offering £135 million for him
- Lamps looks to be fit, Defoe looks to make a name for himself
- Football(soccer) writers suffering finger pains from all the writing, relieved transfer window has closed
